My weight has been hovering between 180-183 lb. for several weeks now. I’ve noticed that I feel better at a higher bodyweight. Maybe it is a guy thing. Maybe most people would feel better with more muscle mass instead of worrying about a specific number on the scale regardless of body composition.

I’ve been looking into how to lean out as I would like to work my way down to a lower body fat percentage. I’ve never made a real go at this before so it’s new territory for me. Most of my dietary changes over the course of my life have been concerned with increasing food quality or the amount of food I eat in a day. Keeping up with the number of Calories I’ve eaten or the macronutrient breakdown of that food has never stuck with me for very long. I keep wanting to change the game plan and I know that doesn’t work, but it is so tempting to try and incorporate aspects of a variety of diet plans to come up with the magic ‘silver’ bullet. Discipline and consistency. It’s that simple and that hard.

Training has been going well. When I got started back to lifting this summer I tried to stick with a linear progression a la Starting Strength as long as I could. Without a power rack I was left to sub in front squat for squat and drop off bench press for extra press sessions or a variation of the press. Main issue I had with this setup was the duration of the workout sessions and just feeling drained afterwards. Starting this week I switched over to the Wendler 5/3/1 program as best I can with the equipment I have. I’m working with the Boring but Big assistance setup. The four lifts I’m focusing on are: front squat, press, deadlift, and push press. For the Boring but Big assistance lifts I switch over to squat after the front squat working sets and press after the push press working sets. I’m really liking this setup so far. I can focus on one main lift for the workout session and then focus on weaknesses or other areas of improvements with the assistance movements. Here’s how training looked this week.

Monday, August 29, 2011:

Front Squat: 5@60kg (132 lb.)

5@60kg+10 lb. (142 lb.)

15@70kg+10 lb. (164 lb.)

Squat: 5×10@70kg (154 lb.)

Good Mornings: 5×10@40kg (88 lb.)

 

Tuesday, August 30, 2011:

Press: 5@50kg (110 lb.)

5@50kg+10 lb. (120 lb.)

11@60kg (132 lb.)

5×10@40kg+5 lb. (93 lb.)

Pullups: 2×5@BW+45 lb.

3 singles @BW+70 lb.

5×10@BW

Barbell Shrugs: 2×40@70kg (154 lb.)

 

Thursday, September 1, 2011:

Deadlift: 5@100kg (220 lb.)

5@110kg+10 lb. (252 lb.)

12@130kg (286 lb.)

5×10@100kg (220 lb.)

Hanging Leg Raise: 5×12@BW

 

Friday, September 2, 2011:

Push Press: 5@50kg (110 lb.)

5@60kg (132 lb.)

15@60kg+10 lb. (142 lb.)

Press: 5×10@40kg+5 lb. (93 lb.) – Used Fat Gripz for last 4 sets.

Chinups: 5×10@BW

Bent-Over Row: 3×10@40kg+5 lb. (93 lb.) – Used Fat Gripz here as well.

Pushups (ballistic, dynamic, whatever): 3×10@BW – Hands and feet elevated about 10 inches with plates. Start with hands on the ground and then push up quickly to catch yourself on the plates.