At the end of the Sculpting Macro, the last rest week before
starting the new year’s adventure in beating my body into submission, e.g. the new
Power Macro, we had a double ‘oscopy; a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. Yep both
ends were violated on February 1st. And if you know anything about
the prep for a colonoscopy, you know that working out is the least of your worries. So my last real workout for the Sculpting Macro was a Friday morning
run and the mini whole body on January 29th. So how did all of this intrusive
inspection come out? They removed a couple of small benign polyps from the
colon; not great news. However it seems the lesions from my Barret’s esophagus
have cleared up; better news. Anyway, besides being old and falling apart
internally, everything else looks pretty good and the New Year looks to be on
track to get ahead of that Last 10
Pounds.
If you are ever faced with a colonoscopy (I’m now on the 5
year plan), I would like to provide the following recommendation on the prep. The
week before, get yourself started on some sort of a ‘fiber’ supplement; e.g.
psyllium, etc.… It’ll make the initial……purging……a heck of a lot easier. And if
they find any of those nasty little polyps, you may want to add fiber to your
basic supplement list.
Measurements………..
We’ll start out with weight. We
maintained the 197 lbs we saw at the end of the Endurance Macro. During one of
my visits to the doctor I remember seeing over 200 on the scale. This to me is
a BIG WOW!!! I don’t think there are
many 60 year old men out there that can see 200 on the scale and say they are
not overfat, overweight. Also note that my 3 month blood glucose, my HbA1c is
still in the 5.7 range. There is no fat gain here. And neither of my doctors,
my GP or my GI doctor, said anything about ’losing weight’. So let’s take a look
at body fat;
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Skinfolds
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Pec
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9
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Calculated BF = 12.6
Realistic BF (+4) = 16 to 18
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Ab
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10
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Thigh
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13
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Body fat calc is from ExRx and
is Age Corrected to 60. The end of the Endurance Macro 14.24 Calculated. End
of Sculpting Macro, maybe a 1 to 2% change (14.24 to 12.6).
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Between the changes in skinfold,
albeit minor, and the consistent weight it’s a pretty good assumption that muscle
was preserved and a small amount of fat was lost. There was NO jaw dropping
change in physique, just good management of what I have. And finally the
comparison between Casey Butt’s, Your
Muscular Potential, and where we’re at, at the end of this Sculpting Macro;
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5’9” Average Joe (15% BF)
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5’9” Mark Jennings (Power)
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5’9” Mark Jennings (Endurance)
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5’9” Mark Jennings (Sculpting)
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5’9” Chiseled Athlete (10% BF)
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Chest
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38.7”
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42.5
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42
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42.5
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45.5”
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Bicep
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13.1”
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15
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14.5
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14.5
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16.7”
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Forearm
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12.1”
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12
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11.5
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11.5
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13.3”
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Neck
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15.3”
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15.5
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15.5
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15
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16.3“
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Waist
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33.5”
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37
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36
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36
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30.3”
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Hips
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41.0”
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41
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41
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40.5
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38.0”
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Thigh
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22.1”
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24
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24
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23.7
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24.8“
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Calf
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14.3”
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16
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15.5
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15
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16.4“
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Torso Shape
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Inverted V
à
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Rectangular
à
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Rectangular
à
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Rectangular
à
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Positive V
à
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The Mirror Check…………
I am always amazed at how I look a few days into the rest
week. This is where you can really visualize, get an eye-ball on, the results
of any work you are doing. There is no inflammation, no excess water, there is
just you. You can see the areas of subcutaneous fat and the areas where muscle
has managed to peak through. And if you’re working hard looking for progress,
this is where you will see it.
Whatever I’m doing, I think it is definitely in the right
direction. And that makes it hard to shift gears and get into the next Power
Macro. I will be eating more and working less, albeit harder and heavier, but
less……………..will we lose the gains made from the Endurance and Sculpting Macros?
Only Time will tell…………..
Niggly Injury of the
Month……………
Five or so weeks ago, the third week-o-rest during the
Sculpting Macro, I sorta’ kinda’ tweaked my knee. Not like a major tear or
anything. However, the injury got progressively more ‘uncomfortable’ as I
pushed through the last 3 weeks of the Sculpting Macro. It was very noticeable
during the morning runs. The original incident happened when I tried to pull a second
300 lbs dead lift rep. I was using a double overhand grip and on my weaker arm,
I lost grip and tried to save the lift; Bad Ju-Ju, should have let the bar
drop. Then I went on to complete two more 250 lbs 8 rep sets, again with an
overhand grip. And when I finished up, I noted a small tingling in that left
knee. I think I jacked it when I caught the weight; locked that left knee out
when using the right leg to support the lost grip. WOW!!! And it only took me
five or so weeks to figure it out, Double WOW!!! So going into the Power Macro,
probably the first few weeks will be very, very light runs. Completing heavier
box squats doesn’t seem to bother it, not going low enough I suppose.
Although the good news; there are no longer any signs of
shoulder pain that I had assumed originated from opposed grip deads.
Cholesterol, Heart
Disease, Masculine Feelings and the J Curve…………
How would you feel if your ‘pill pusher’, a person you are
supposed to trust, gives you, maybe, poor advice? What I’m talking about here
is serum cholesterol, what the values should or shouldn’t be. And the reason I
bring this up is; have you ever heard of a ‘J’ curve. Basically, a ‘J’ curve is
a graphic representation of the statistical……..‘sweet spot’. Yes, the ‘sweet
spot’. That area of the curve that says if you don’t do enough or if you do
too much you are at a statistical higher risk of failure………or of injury……… or of
dying, WOW!!! And did you know that there are several proponents of this ‘sweet spot’ for mortality risk vs. serum
cholesterol. The easiest to find is Ned Knock’s Blog, Health Correlator. And in one of his entries you will find the
following representation of various causes of mortality, of death vs. serum
cholesterol.
In an earlier entry I had stated I was shooting for a total
cholesterol of 200. Well that’s pretty close to the ‘sweet spot’. Based on the referenced curve, it looks like
cholesterol levels between 200 and 210 are where you need to be, statistically, as far as mortality from heart
disease and closer to 220 as far as mortality from all causes. One of the
things that really jump out from this statistical analysis is that mortality
from parasitic and infectious diseases plus death by communicable and
nutritional deficiency increase as serum cholesterol drops. WOW!!! And yet my ‘pill
pusher’ wants to see total cholesterol in the 160’s, the 170’s. I am convinced
200 is the right answer. Look at the curves, judge for yourself. And if you’re
on any kind of statin to control cholesterol and have issues with those………masculine
feelings…….I would reduce the dosage to the minimum.
However, I do have a caveat to that recommendation, you had
better be working out…….intensely……..several time a week. If you’re still
dinking around with a 30 minute walk every other day, still 30 pounds on the
heavy side of normal and your chair polishing day-job wears you out, stick with
what your doctor recommends, he’s dealing with a different issue……overall poor
health. Those……masculine feelings…….are only of secondary concern at that
point.
Tweaking the Power
Macro Schedule……………….
Last month I put out a 3 day per week Power Macro schedule;
it is basically what I had worked through last year. However, I have decided to
modify the schedule to accommodate working with a new gym partner. She has
Tuesdays and Thursdays available. She is also very, very out of shape. So to
get my ‘big lifts’ in and still be able to work with a partner, concentrating
on technique and lighter lifts, I am going for evening, morning split sessions.
And these split sessions WILL BE
short, intense sessions, between 30 and 40 minutes. This deviates from my usual
60 to 90 minute sessions.
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Week 1
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Week 2
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AM
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PM
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AM
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PM
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Monday
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SLOG Plus
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Low Heavy
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SLOG Plus
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Up Heavy
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Tuesday
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Low Light
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Mini Full
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Up Light
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Mini Full
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Wednesday
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SLOG Plus
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Up Heavy
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SLOG Plus
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Low Heavy
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Thursday
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Up Light
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Mini Full
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Low Light
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Mini Full
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Friday
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SLOG Plus
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Low Heavy
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SLOG Plus
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Up Heavy
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Saturday
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Low Light
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Low Light
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Sunday
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Keeping the overall times fairly short should allow for social
and after work activities. And maybe I won’t be so worn out like I am from my
standard 90 minute sessions. The only component of this schedule I am worried
about is the SLOG (slow jogs). Just need to keep the speed in check and all
should be fine. The SLOG Plus is nothing more than adding a two set round of
the Mini Full bodies to the morning run. Based on the 6 day schedule, will
probably need a week off every 4th week; maybe, we’ll see.
And the split routines, just what will they include?
·
PM Low
Heavy – box squat drop sets plus pull ups; triple bicep routine; hip thrusters.
·
AM Low
Light – deep squat, calf raise and tibia super; ham/glut machine, seated
calf super; leg press, leg extension and leg curl super.
·
PM Up
Heavy – neutral bench drop sets plus rows; triple bicep routine; Arnold
press.
·
AM Up
Light – bent row, lat pulls and upright row super; seated row, straight
armed pulls and tricep pulls super; wood choppers.
And the Mini Full body is basically 4 sets of squats,
military presses, wide grip benches, upright rows and bent rows; in that order.
For my partner, we’ll just clean off the bar and let her push 45 lbs for each
exercise. The only one I think she might have a problem with is the upright. That’s
my weak area. However, this gal is a big girl, without the layer of fat she’s
dragging around, she would be quite formidable. I hope she sticks with it long
enough to see progress.
Summary……………
Even with the Sculpting Macro starting out on the slow side
and finishing up with those……intrusive exams……….we definitely made progress. I don’t
think I have made this much of a change in overall appearance since my initial adventures
in Taiwan. Yes indeed, in a 2 year span I have gained 15 lbs, I have reduced overall
fat and I am feeling pretty damn good for a 60 year old. This year I will still
be working on those love handles and man pooch areas and may try additional or
different supplements in an attempt to improve insulin sensitivity. I’m thinking
that’s the culprit in my case. And I will also be experimenting with low CO2
exposures; stay tuned for that one folks.
So run, jump, lift and stay away from sugar………life will get
better.
MMJennings
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