Milk and Squats Update

The Update?  I’m not drinking milk and I’m doing fewer squats.  It was a very interesting experiment.  I gained almost 30lbs in about 30 days.  My conditioning declined, but not egregiously, and my strength went up significantly.  At least squat and deadlift went up significantly.

So, why did I stop.  There are a host of reasons:

1. My clothes stopped fitting.
2. I felt gross all the time.
3. I started to get some inflammation in my hip and the thought of drinking the milk and not squatting was more than I could take.
4. I got a little bored.
5. I was distracted and couldn’t concentrate.  I had a lot of ups and downs during the day, presumably from insulin spikes.
6. I felt like I was starting to get sick.

That is why I stopped, but not why it was a bad idea to do it.  In fact, I think it was a good idea.

1. It is nice to practice something that regularly and see consistent improvement.
2. I got a lot stronger.
3. My strength became more proportional to my size.  I have always been fast for my size and weak for my size.  Which is not to say I was weak.  I was just weak for my size.  And it is not to say I was that fast.  I was just fast for my size.  Well, now I feel I am closer to the right amount of strong for my size and I’m still not slow.
4. I don’t change my routine much.  I have pretty much done CrossFit with a little extra strength for 3 years.  It is good to break out every once in a while.

But the experiment is not complete.  I am losing weight by the day.  I think my strength is still ok, but I will need to test it regularly.  I will also need to test that metcon to see how much I lost and whether it comes back.  My greatest accomplishments during this endeavor was to deadlift 465×2, do 3×5 squats at 335lbs, run a 20 minute 5k and PR Fight Gone Bad (361, but that was only two week into the milk).

This was actually the relatively easy 445lb lift before the 465lb double.

The best case scenario is that I stabilize at a lean 205-210lbs, can still lift 465lbs for at least one if not 2, drop my 5k back closer to 18, and spend some time utilizing this new found strength and muscle to lower those all important metcon times.

The lame scenario is that I go right back to my old weight, keep none of the strength, and have to work my way back up to where I was before with nothing to show for it.

The worst case scenario is that I can’t lose the fat, lose the strength anyway because I am not doing heavy stuff three times a week and am not eating enough to maintain strength, and get worse metcon times because I am heavier and no stronger.

I think the most likely scenario is that I lose more weight than I would like but still end up heavier than before (197-202lbs) maintain a good portion of the strength (should still be able to do 465 for at least one) see less improvement than I would like in my pressing because I didn’t do the program for long enough, and get back to where I was metcon wise, but maybe not any better than I would have been if I had just focused on that.

And you know what?  I’m ok with that.  I had a CrossFit total of 980 last time I did it.  I should be well over that now.  I also snatched 180 during this little experiment.  My previous best was 165.  If I had to deal with a month of discomfort and it got me 25-50lbs on my total with a month of losing weight and getting reconditioned, it’s totally worth it.  Do I think other people should do this?  Not very many.  Here are the few conditions where I think it would be ok.

1. You are a highly trained athlete who has been stalled for 6 months on your big lifts.
2. You are going to compete in strength competitions.
3. You are severely understrong AND skinny to the point that you cannot accomplish enough CrossFit to get strong (I have seen maybe 2 people who fit this description in over a year at the gym).

Just about everyone else can get better conditioned and stronger by doing CF and maybe adding a few extra lifts.  If that doesn’t do it you can get stronger by eating a ton of healthy food (3000-5000 calories of GOOD food) and making sure to squat, dead, press, clean twice a week and metcon maybe twice a week.

Strength is important.  People should develop it.  There are a lot of understrong crossfitters who should make this a priority.  But if time, prioritization, lots of food, and a ton of effort stops working, I am here to tell you that you can still get stronger.

Coming soon, before and after pictures.  People who haven’t actually seen me for the last month will be a little surprised.  I gain weight quite easily.