Deadlift PR of 453 pounds at 194 Pounds Body Weight.

I am kind of going against everything I have said about how I have been training these days and yes for the most part I do not go under 5-6 reps minimum to keep away from injuries. But sometimes in the heat of the moment when everyone else is going for it, you just get drawn into it and have to go for it...

Anyways, yesterday we where doing heavy Deadlifts over at CrossFit Langley with 5 sets of 5 reps increasing the weight with each set. Well we got up to 403 for 5 reps on our 4th set and then the boys wanted to put the weight up to 453 pounds for a set of 5, I knew that was not going to happen for me but I thought I would give a single a try and see how it felt, any problems and I was not going to force it.

My first try was a fail , juts did not feel good off the floor so I bailed right away on it. A few minutes later and attempt number 2... It came up nice and never stopped till I locked out at the top easy, back kept straight all the way up and felt good during and after. There may even be some more left on the table for another day...

Cut Sneak Peek - 3.5 Week to Go!

I have been cutting down from 200 pounds to a target weight of around 190 and so far I'm just a little over 5 weeks into my cut and so far I have lost about 6 pounds, but I'm pretty sure I have gained a bit of muscle so there may be more than 6 pounds of fat loss going on? If you're wondering why I want to get my body fat so low, it's because I am doing a trial run for a Men's Masters Physique contest I plan to enter in November of this year.

It's kind of funny how even though it's only 6 pounds, the weight has really come off my waist and so some of my pre-bulk clothing is fitting again. If I had to guess, I would say I am around 7% body fat at the moment and want to close out at between 5-6% at the end of my cut.

Up until now I have even while cutting, I have been making slow progress in the gym but lately the energy is diminishing. Regardless, I am still pushing to get my target weights and hitting them. I am going to try a Carb-Reload this weekend to try and get my metabolism back on track as it seems around 7% is when my body is starting to say "wait a second" :)

Anyways, here are some more "Sneak Peek" photos of how things are looking right now:

Get Fit Over 40 Update Video - Lost a Few Pounds - PaloVia Wrinkle Laser

I wanted to do another update video, not too much going on but there are a few news worthy topics I wanted to go over with everyone.

Some of you may remember I started a weight cut about a month ago and so far everything is going really well. At the beginning I was right around 200 pounds from my bulk and wanted to cut down to 190 pounds over about a 2 month period, which is a very realistic expectation of 5 pounds per month or just over 1 pound per week. So far I am down about 6 pounds and really the only thing I have changed is how many calories I'm eating, some days I cut 1000 calories from my base diet and some days I cut a bit less. I have not changed my ratio of proteins, fats or carbs one bit and I have not changed how I workout, still no traditional cardio and I am still lifting heavy weights just like  I did when I was bulking. Sure the energy is a bit down but I can work through it!

In terms of losing muscle, I am happy to say I feel have not lost any and perhaps have even put on a pound or so since I feel my strength is on par with perhaps a few extra reps here and there. Check-out my Lose Fat and Gain Muscle - Back to the Basics video on how I am doing this.

I do make quick mention of my two weeks so far of testing my NeriumAD Face Cream. Two weeks is not a lot of time to really see results but I will post an update when I have completed a full month of use.

The other main update I talk about is my acquisition of a PaloVia Skin Renewing Laser which is the first FDA-cleared, at-home laser clinically proven to reduce fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes. Unfortunately this products has been discontinued "for business reasons" by the company that created it but I did manage to find one in good working condition. I am going to most likely do some dedicated reviews on this product and I am hoping it will help with my wrinkles under the eyes :(

NeriumAD Age Defying Treatment at 2 Weeks - How to look Younger and Better

I was hoping to do weekly updates but to be honest one weeks use of a skin care product is really not going to show very much, even two weeks is asking a lot! It has now been two weeks since I started using the NeriumAD Age Defying Treatment and so far so good, no rashes or itching or an extra nose growing out of my face...

It's hard to really say if I can see a difference at this point but perhaps the fine lines under my eyes have diminished a bit, or I should say look a bit softer?

To be fair, a full month of use should be the milestone to really base the effectiveness of my NeriumAD Night and day cream, so stay tuned...

Lose Fat and Gain Muscle - Back to the Basics

There are a lot of opinions on the subject of losing fat while either maintaining or gaining muscle and many people believe that you can not lose fat and gain muscle at the same time let alone keep all the muscle you have.

Now keep in mind this is just my opinion on the subject, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, having an opinion does not make you right and what is right for one person may not be right for another.

I base my beliefs on this subject from my personal experience and also from what I have seen others achieve.

The bottom line is yes, you can keep your muscle and maybe even gain a bit while cutting fat, is it the optimal environment for muscle retention and growth? No it is not but with the right approach it can be done.

If you are a newbie (someone new to working out and or body building / weight training) and you are trying to gain muscle while losing some fat, you will see better than average results because your body is new to the demand of the added resistance you are exposing your muscles to. Even in a calorie depleted diet, your body will understand that it needs to priorities and grow your muscles to adjust for the added strain or demand on them. Your body will take from its stored fat and leave your muscles alone as it realizes the need to become stronger because of the extra load on your muscles.

Now lets take a person who has been weight training or body building for some time and has built up a good base of muscle, their body is used to them training hard and in some ways has become accustomed to the extra strain they put on their muscles. Their body see's this as normal and this person will only see very minimal muscle gains over time even in a calorie rich environment. If this individual wants to now cut weight and lose a bit of fat, they need to put their body in a position where it is calorie depleted so that the body will use up stored fat.

This is all good but the problem is most seasoned body builders take the wrong approach to this. They cut their calories which is good, but then they also start to do lots of cardio while usually changing their workout program from lifting heavy weights with low reps to lifting lighter weights with more reps. This is done in an attempt to try and burn more calories. They will often cut most of the carbs out of their diet again in an attempt to reduce calories.

Here are the problems I see with this approach and why many weight lifters and body builders who are trying to lose fat, also lose muscle along the way. We need to first look at this from the point of view of how the body see's what's going on...

• Body - I see there is less food around so I guess we need to take some energy from somewhere else, hey that stored fat sure looks tasty...
• Body - Wow, you are really moving around a lot these days with all this high level activity that doesn't require much strength at all. And by the way you seem to be lifting lighter weights too, I thought you wanted to get stronger? I'm thinking if there was a bit less muscle on us, we could be more efficient so all this new cardio activity would get a lot easier for us. Hey man, I'm only trying to help!
• Body - What's up with all this lettuce and broccoli? Where did the rice and sweet potatoes go? How am I supposed to make insulin to keep your muscles fueled and healthy without the simple carbs. I'm thinking we just don't need those big calorie absorbing muscles as much as we used to? No biggy, I can turn them into much needed energy just like the stored fat I've been using up until now.

I'm hoping you can see what I'm getting at here? Your body is going to do the logical thing based on what you are telling it is the priority. If you stop lifting heavy weights, get super busy doing high level cardio, cut out the carbs which supply the insulin that is vital for muscle growth and health, and then reduce the energy supply substantially. You will lose weight but it won't just be fat, it will also be some of the the muscle that you don't seem to need as much these days.

So as a seasoned body builder / weight lifter with a good base of muscle, how do you keep your muscle while losing fat? 

• Keep lifting heavy in the gym just like before.
• Don't change your diet too much, keep the carbs in there, just eat less food overall and adjust your food intake based on your energy level. If you have lots of energy you may be able to cut calories a bit more, if you are super tired, bring a few more calories back in.
• Don't even think about cardio unless you have a super crazy deadline to meet but keep the cardio to a minimum!
• Don't get fat in the first place ;)

Watch my YouTube video where I talk about this subject and tell you how my current weight cut is going: