ME Upper (and diet info)

Max Effort Upper

Special guest appearance by 4Board after a 4 day mid-western tour (3 shows daily)
The usual warm-ups
Floor press-medium grip: work up to 275 x1, 295 x1, 315 x1, 330 miss. 4Board made 335 then missed 350 when his foot slipped and his arms flew out. I finished with 2x5/ 255
DB extensions: 5x5/ 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
Low pulley rows w/ big v-bar: 4x10-12/ 225, 250, 275, 275
Seated DB cleans: 3x20/ 30, 35, 40
One-arm side raises: 2x15/ 25, 30
Hammer curls: 3x10/ 30, 35, 40

Today was the 28th day of my diet. Now I start the transition phase back to "regular" eating. I had a few goals when I began the diet.
1) lose weight
2) establish new eating habits
3) don't get (too) weak

I decided "too weak" was more than a 10% strength loss. I don't have any factual basis for that number; I just pulled it out of thin air. So, how did I do?

1) Lose weight. I started at 245-pounds and weighed in this morning at 221. I lost 24 pounds. Around my waist I lost a maximum of 2.5". I measured myself at three spots in my mid section (hips) and lost 2 to 2.5" in all three spots. I only lost an inch from my thighs. The biggest losses were around my shoulders (lost 1.5" in circumference) and waist. I don't have post diet bodyfat measurements yet. I should have them tomorrow.

2) Establish new eating habits. A lot of my cravings are gone (ice cream in particuliar). I think I ate fairly healthy overall before but tended to rely on food I guess like some people use booze and cigarettes (as a crutch?) Don't get me wrong I still like to eat (and am looking forward to a solid meal tonight) but I think I will be able to manage it better. If that makes sense to anyone.

3) Don't get (too) weak. I feel I was sucessful here too. Examples: I did a high box squat w/ safety squat bar w/ 2 sets of chains 400x1, Reverse-band deadlift (conventional pull) 620x1, Squat morning w/ safet squat bar 410x1. All three are PRs. Some were gut-busters but I got 'em.
In my upper body lifts I did not fare as well. 2-board benchpress-wide grip 350x1 (370x1 is record), Close-grip incline press 275x1 (295x1 is record), and Floor press-medium grip 315x1 (345x1) are examples of my ME upper trainings. It should be noted that the 2-board and close-grip records were "set" weighing between 240 to 250 pounds and I weighed 258 (!) when I did the floor press. So, yeah, the loss of "leverage" hurt some. But overall, I have to say I am not disappointed. My efforts to increse the bar speed, especially in my benchpressing have noticeably helped me. I knew I could not expect to get stronger AND lose weight simultaneously so I have to say I am pleased to be where I am now. Now there is only room for improvement.

Get strong(er)
Ed T.