The Stimulant Washout: Put the C4 pre-workout completely away. Use water or raw aminos to restore natural adenosine receptor sensitivity and heal sleep quality.
Load Management: Strict RPE 5-6. You should end every single set feeling like you could have performed 5-6 more reps with pristine mechanics.
Joint Mobilization: No barbells. Let cables and light dumbbells gently load and decompress previously inflamed rotator cuff and spinal spaces.
Glucose Sinks: Retain your daily Metformin schedule. Use the light sessions and daily LISS walks to keep your muscular GLUT4 pathways active.
Day A: Full Body Mobilization & Reset (Tuesday)
Type
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Reasoning, Tempo & Notes
Core Stability
Bird-Dog Bracing
3
8 / side
Tempo 2-2-2-0. Hold the contraction at extension. Keeps the lower lumbar protected against past sciatica flare-ups.
Vertical Pull
Light Lat Pulldowns
2
12-15
Tempo 3-0-1-2. Hold the squeeze at the sternum; allows safe, blood-flow activation to the lats.
Shoulder Health
Cable Face Pulls
3
15-20
Tempo 2-0-1-2. Focus on high external rotation. Lubricates the frozen shoulder joint with fluid.
Squat Pattern
Bodyweight Goblet Squat
2
12-15
Tempo 3-1-1-0. Pause deep in the bucket. Gently stretches the hips and groin under complete control.
Accessory Pull
Light EZ Bar Curls
2
15
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Pumps the biceps with safe, rich blood flow without taxing your CNS.
Day B: Decompression & Posterior Flow (Thursday)
Type
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Reasoning, Tempo & Notes
Spine Hygiene
Jefferson Curls
2
10
Tempo 4-0-4-0. Extremely light weight (5-10 lbs max). Focus on segmenting each spinal disc safely on the curl.
Hinge Pattern
Cable Pull-Throughs
2
15
Tempo 3-0-1-1. Completely removes shear spinal loading while flushing the hamstrings and glutes with blood.
Horizontal Press
Light Dumbbell Flat Bench
2
12-15
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Neutral grip. Stops well short of technical failure. Protects shoulder capsule pathing.
Tricep Isolate
Light Cable Pushdowns
2
15
Tempo 3-0-1-1. Deep contractions to supply the elbows and triceps tendons with recovery nutrients.
Wednesday & Weekends: Total Reset
30-45 minutes of LISS treadmill walking. Continue your sleep hygiene water guidelines (cap 128oz by 8:30 PM).
Week 2 Execution Guidelines
The Structural Wake-Up: Lift on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We are preparing tendon-to-bone junctions for the higher-volume RPE 9 training of the upcoming Hypertrophy-Shift cut phase.
Tempo Priming: Re-establish the strict 3-0-1-0 tempo on all repetitions to prime motor patterns.
Sobering Intensity: Move up to a controlled RPE 7 (leaving 3 clean reps inside the tank on all exercises).
Start the Deficit Now: Begin the ~500 kcal/day deficit and 140-175g/day protein target this week, not on Day 1 of the harder training block — introducing the diet change during a light week avoids stacking two stressors at once.
Baseline the Data: Log food (especially dinner, your least structured meal) daily this week, and take a waist measurement under standard conditions (morning, relaxed, same spot as your 39" reading) to compare against in 2 weeks.
Day A: Upper Body Structural Prep (Monday)
Type
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Reasoning, Tempo & Notes
Horizontal Press
Incline Dumbbell Bench
2
10-12
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Use ~50% of your standard Hypertrophy-Shift working weight. Zero bouncing at the bottom stretch. RPE 7.
Horizontal Pull
Chest-Supported DB Row
2
10-12
Tempo 3-0-1-1. Squeeze the shoulder blades together for 1s. Preserves spine while prepping lat thickness.
Vertical Press
Arnold Shoulder Press
2
10
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Rotate slowly to warm up the rotator cuff structure for upcoming heavy overhead tasks.
Arm Accessory
EZ Bar Skullcrushers
2
12
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Warm up the elbow cartilage. Squeeze inside the triceps cleanly.
Day B: Lower Body Joint Loader (Wednesday)
Type
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Reasoning, Tempo & Notes
Squat Pattern
Dumbbell Goblet Squats
2
10-12
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Push your hips back cleanly. Focus on solid core bracing at RPE 7.
Hinge Pattern
Romanian Deadlifts (DB)
2
10
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Feel the stretch strictly in the belly of the hamstrings. Avoid rounding your lower spine.
Posterior Isolate
Cable Leg Curls
2
12
Tempo 3-0-1-1. Unilateral focus to protect knee joint tracking before heavy squatting begins.
Ankle/Calf
Seated Calf Raises
3
15
Tempo 2-2-1-1. 2s pause in the deep bottom stretch position to lubricate Achilles tendon.
Day C: Full Body Neural Activation (Friday)
Type
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Reasoning, Tempo & Notes
Unilateral
Dumbbell Reverse Lunges
2
10 / leg
Tempo 2-1-1-0. Safely primes single-leg stability mechanics while targeting glutes and quads.
Vertical Pull
Lat Pulldown (Neutral)
2
10-12
Tempo 3-0-1-1. Neutral grip handles are highly joint-friendly for historical shoulder friction.
Arm Compound
DB Hammer Curls
2
12
Tempo 3-0-1-0. Stabilizes wrist positioning while priming the brachioradialis structure.
Core Bracing
Forearm Planks
2
60s hold
Static hold focusing entirely on intra-abdominal pressure and deep, rhythmic breathing.
Anabolic Synergy & Medication Alignment
Post-Workout Sip-Slowing (Mounjaro): Because Mounjaro causes delayed gastric emptying, liquid aminos (Perfect Amino) and proteins (Fairlife) should be sipped over a 20-30 minute window. Avoid downing it instantly, which can lead to bloating or gastric discomfort.
The Metformin Buffer: Keep a 2-hour gap between your morning Metformin dose (8:00 AM) and pre-workout stimulant formulations. On training days in Week 2, consume a small handful of fast carbs (like a banana) to balance glucose clearance during heavy exertion.
Sleep Stack Pairing: Take your Magnesium Glycinate and Vitamin D3 at 11:00 PM as standard. By lowering stimulant intensity during this 2-week bridge, you allow the Magnesium to restfully down-regulate your nervous system.
Prescriber Check-In: Use this lower-demand week to raise the Mounjaro plateau (12+ months at 2.5mg with weight regained and waist unchanged) with whoever manages that prescription, and ask for GGT on your next liver panel.
Supplement Continuity (Cut Phase)
Creatine Monohydrate (7.5g/day): Continue at full dose, no change. Non-stimulant, supports strength retention through the deficit — this is not a bulking supplement, it's a muscle-retention one.
Perfect Amino (5.3g/day): Continue as-is. Supports muscle protein synthesis while you're eating at a deficit.
Fairlife Protein (2x30g/day): Continue both servings. This is core to hitting the 140-175g/day protein target — don't let it slide just because training volume is lower this week.
Magnesium Glycinate (270mg/day): Continue at the 11:00 PM sleep stack dose. Directly supports the sleep-duration goal for this phase.
Ubiquinol/CoQ10 (200mg/day): Continue, no change. This exists to offset statin-depleted CoQ10 and is unrelated to the cut — don't stop it.
Collagen Peptides (11g off days / 22g lifting days): Continue at standard dosing. Not a primary muscle-protein source, but supports joint/tendon health given the shoulder and sciatica history.
New: Fish Oil — Nature Made Burp-Less (360mg Omega-3/softgel): Starting at 1 softgel with the morning protein shake and 1 with dinner (~600mg EPA+DHA/day total) — a conservative starting dose given the aspirin interaction. Confirm with prescriber and adjust as needed.