Quiet's Journey.

[Quietman]

I am a 23 year old, 6'1 225 male. I was a multi-sport athlete in high school and college (though I did not graduate) and am a former semi-pro football player. I am also more recently a recovered drug addict and current drop out. My life story is a long one...but while it has everything to do with why I'm here, it's not relevant to being here. I have been out of the gym for 2 years, at first held out by the herniation of my C-4,C-5, and C-6 cervical discs. My life has been intertwined with iron from a very young age...when I heard it was possible that I wouldn't lift a weight again I gave up. I was already in emotional shambles from a poor personal life and, embarrassingly, I couldn't handle anymore. I stopped living. stopped leaving my house, I stopped eating, I stopped sleeping, I started to abuse pain medication and smoke massive quantities of cannabis. I destroyed myself. About a year ago I weighed in at 193...for me, that is skin and bones. That is ribs showing, shoulders concaved, nobbly joints, grayish waxy skin stretched then. It took me less than a year to go from a 265 lb full back to this. I wanted to kill myself. I had tried before and failed...I had tried when my life was good, or, at least, much much better than it had become.
When I had failed the first time I decided to take it as a sign that I had more to do. That there was a reason for me to be here, even though I couldn't fathom it. I promised myself that no matter how low I got I wouldn't resort to that again. I would do what I had to do to work my way out of it. I did that. A year later and I've finally been able to go back to the gym. I'm not sure how it will go, I quit going to the doctors 8 months ago, so I'm really feeling my way through this. 4 weeks in and I've put 10 pounds back on. I'm sure a lot of it is water and food weight, but it feels awesome to be able to tell myself "I've been lifting again for 34 days", rather than lamenting "It's been 800 some odd days since I've touched the iron".
I'm joining this for the same reason everyone has: knowledge and support. I want to be able to share my work, my journey, with the like minded.


I can go on, but it would probably be for my own amusement...without further ado, I bring you my thoughts, my habits, and my workouts. I head to the gym in thirty minutes, after words I will post my diet, and the basic theory behind my routines and hopefully get some much needed feedback.

Looking forward to being a part of an Iron family again.

 

[Quietman]

Today: Legs.

20 minute warm up walk on 3.7

Single leg squats-5 sets of 8

Box Squats-2 sets of 12

Free Squats- 3 sets of 8

Lunges- 3 sets of 12 each

20 minutes on the Bosu ball doing an assortment of one and two leg exercises

30 minutes stretching and rolling.

I still haven't been able to do a whole lot of leg work without putting strain in my neck but it's considerably better than where I was on day one.

 

[leprechaun1]

sub'd.

 

[Quietman]

Thank You Leprechaun.

Today:back

20 minute warmup-15 minutes on 3.7, 5 minutes on 7.5

Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs 5 set of 8- the warm up for these felt strong, I upped the weight a bit but struggled to maintain form so dropped back down and settled for hanging a 5 on the rack pin.
Close Grip Lat Pull Downs 3 sets of 10-same weight with these but i will probably add a donut to it next week.
Bent Over Dumb Bell Rows 4 sets of 8-bumped the weight up on these and still did crisper reps than last week...don't feel like the muscles in my neck are strong enough to support upping the weight more for now.
Seated DB Curls
Seated Hammer Strength Rows-4 sets of 10 started with 3 plates-what I finished with last week, and had problems maintaining form again so I dropped down to two plates and did em slow.
E-Z Bar Preacher curls- 3 sets of 8
Abs-3 sets of reverse planks for one minute each
decline crunches 4 sets of 20-all the way down, squeeze at the top.
Cardio-15 minutes on 8.0
15 minutes on the bosu ball
20 minutes of rolling my legs out
20 minutes of stretching


I'm feeling good. Still have some major imbalances in my hips and shoulders but I can feel it all starting to catch up.

 

[gokix811]

The fact that you are keen to start a new chapter in your life is inspiring! Keep at it and good things will happen! Best of luck in your journey

 

[Quietman]

Thank you. : )

I haven't been in able to log on for a few days because of my schedule. We fired a few cooks at work and I picked up their shifts. I'll take all the money I can get, I'm trying to save up so I can switch to personal training as soon as I finish getting my certification and have a safety net while I build up my clientele.

As for updates, my hips are still very much out of balance and I've begun adding wall squats and bosu ball exercises to my daily routine. I feel like it's done some good but I wont know how much until I load the weight on my back again. I have tone beginning to show through again...I'm at a loss for the words to describe the feeling it gives me...my flexibility and stamina have increased dramatically...much faster than I expected...

I am getting up in 5 hours to go to the gym before work, so it's time for head to meet pillow.

 

[Quietman]

Warm up-treadmill for 10 minutes at 3.8-i should have done the full twenty but i was itching to lift today.
Squats-3 sets of 8.-went the heaviest since being back and felt good...i really probably should have added a few side plates but I was able to keep my hips balanced deep with where i was at...
Box Squats-2 sets of 20.
Single Leg Squats-3 sets of 10 each
Leg Press-3 sets of 10
Reverse Hack squats-3 sets of 15
Rdls-one set of 8. by the time I got to these I couldn't control my leg shaking and was completely unable to hold form. i think i will start with them next leg day.

stretch-bosu ball, wall squats.

I placed my supplement order this morning...it should be here tomorrow. looking forward to adding vitamins and protein shakes to my food.

 

[leprechaun1]

Looks like a "good" leg day. I am the same with warmup and sometimes I'm even tempted to skip (not a good idea). Looks like you're making good progress, congrats.

 

[Quietman]

my legs are crazy sore right now.

came home on my break expecting my supps and they're not here yet. Kinda upset cuz i'm thinking with the time that they might not be coming and i paid all that extra money for next day delivery >=o/ ...oh well it gave me an excuse to shower and relax before the next half of the day.

probably going to swing through before the gym tonight just to check again...i haven't received a supplement order in a few years and I kind of feel like a kid on Christmas eve trying to stay up listening for hooves on the roof.

 

[gokix811]

Which supps did you order?

 

[leprechaun1]

my legs are crazy sore right now.
...i haven't received a supplement order in a few years and I kind of feel like a kid on Christmas eve trying to stay up listening for hooves on the roof.

And just like Christmas the waiting and expectations will probably be the best part :18:

 

[Quietman]

Which supps did you order?

Aminolast from gaspari
glutamine powder
cre-mono
something called "craze". it's a pre-workout that i wont be able to use all that often since i need to be able to sleep right after i work out.
animal pak
combart powder from muscle pharm
gaba
somarest
and omega 3 pills



and its here!!! gonna take a quick shower then go hit the gym, powered by my new goodies.

 

[Quietman]

alrighty today was chest.

warm-up 5 minutes on the bike 10 on the tread mill and 5 doing push ups and jump rope.

dumb bell bench press 2x8,4x6
incline dumb bell-3x10 (lowered the weight and exaggerated the chest pump)
db flies-4x12 (held for a count of three at the apex of each rep)
hammer incline 2x10,1x8,1x6.
seated db flies 4x8
tri press 4x10 (pumped the weight way up from last week.)
db kick backs 3x10
bench dips 3xmpr

i'm sore. my chest is cramping..and i have a super massive head ache. time for a shower and for head to meet pillow.

 

[Quietman]

back

15 minutes on tread at 3.3

lat pull downs-5 sets of 8
close grip pull downs-4 sets of 10
bent over rows-3 sets of 8
cable rows-4 sets of 8
seated db curls-4 sets of 8
hammer strength rows 8 sets of 12 (did two different types of hammer strength rows just don't know the names)
planks-4 sets of 1 minute
cute blonde-got her number
hanging leg raises-5 sets of 12

good day in the gym and at work. time for bed.

 

[Quietman]

forgot to post my shoulder work out. i'm going to start posting the weights i'm doing because i'm having troubles remembering from week to week. I've not been posting them mainly due to pride. It's hard for me to accept where I'm at now as opposed to where I was 2-3 years ago. The only fix is to work. Took time to build, took time to lose, will take time to rebuild.


Shoulders-
db presses-
45'sx1x12
50'sx1x12
65'sx4x8

Side Delt Raises-
25'sx4x10

Front Raises
25'sx4x10

Bent over side raises
20'sx4x10

seated hammer strength press
1 plate on each arm of burn outs-3 sets of 15 reps holding at the top of each rep for a count of 5 deep breaths.

Seated ez bar preacher curls
80x4x12

reverse planks-4 sets of 1 minute
hanging leg raises-2 sets of 20

I'm heading to the gym in about 15 minutes. Believe it'll be a leg day...

 

[gokix811]

Keep up the good work! You'll be amazed at how far you've come when you look back. You're stronger than you think

 

[leprechaun1]

Took time to build, took time to lose, will take time to rebuild.

Much easier to rebuild then to build for the first time. Gotta love muscle memory

 

[Quietman]

That's the truth.

Legs
Warm up-10 minute walk on 3.1, 5 minute jog on 7.5
Squats
225x8,245x8x4,225x8,135x20
245 is the heaviest I've gone in my month and a half back. I was pleasantly surprised, I thought I would have one more week at 225. If I wasn't working out alone I think I could go a little heavier...but sometimes I think I grow better alone.
Leg press
4-45's on each side x 14, 5-45's x 4 sets of 10, 3 plates x 2 sets of 8 going as deep as possible and letting the weight come to a complete stop at the bottom for a count of 3 deep breathes.
Machine Calf raises
whole stack (says "300") for 6 sets of 10 and 2 sets of holding until i gave out.
lying leg curls-200 x 4 sets of 10
single leg lunge squats. 35's each hand for 2 sets of 15 on each leg.

My legs were shaking so bad that I had to sit down for about 5 minutes before I could stretch. Showering after days like that is my favorite. I just zone out and listen to water.

My weight is up to 229 and my jeans are all starting to require a belt again. With skinny pants being all the rage I feel like I look like a thug in my "baggy" levi's lol.

 

[leprechaun1]

Those are some nice numbers on the squats.. Looks like it's starting to shape up nicely for you. How often do you work legs per week?

 

[Quietman]

once or twice. just depends on how I feel. I've thought about going 3 a week, but I think it'll be a month or two before I can pull that off, I spend 40 hours a week running around a kitchen and twice a week is making it a hard thing lol.


today-back.
warm up-10 minutes on tread mill.
lat pull downs-
160x10x4
close grip pull downs
160x10x4
db rows-85x8x4
cable rows
180x3x8
hammer strength rows
2 and half platesx10x3
seated db curl
45x10x4
standing ez bar curl
90x10x4


went up in every lift except lat pull downs (weight was much easier but the 20 lb jump on the stack was too much).

worked 13 hours today, and I have not eaten near enough and can really feel it. going to chow down then go sleep. got to be up early again tomorrow.

 

[Quietman]

I guess I pushed something a little to hard...my right trap started aching after my leg day..i kind of ignored it on back day and the day after i paid. it's not a sharp pain, it just aches. i rested it untill wednesday when i did a light chest with the hammer strength weights, this morning at 5 am i was doing legs. i couldn't get my arm on the bar on squats but i did leg presses with no pain just fine so i did a lot of sets on the various leg press/assisted squat machines. i actually ache quite a bit more than i'm used to..i may not have paid enough attention to these machines in the past. it's aching on and off lightly rght now...i'm going to see if it feels up to a light back day...if not it'll turn into a core/cardio day.

i don't like being out of the gym again so soon, but i know that it's just a part of it with how i train. I'll be smart with it over the next week or two, i'm going to use the time to explore some of the assisted machines i've always avoided. i was going to load music...but apparently that's above my pay grade so it'll be a while before i get to start sharing my stuff


i

 

[Quietman]

well it's been a while since I've logged in and updated. I'm pulling two-a-days now, and with work and school I've been busy...but today is my first day off (from work and study) in about 2 weeks so I thought I'd catch up a little. I've gotten my weight up to 243, and with the body caliper tests they offer at my gym (which i think are hokie as hell) I've supposedly put on 30 lbs of lbm over the last 10 weeks. all of my weights have increased considerably...i'm still not back to where i was but i'm heck of a lot closer than I was 3 months ago.

this mornings workout
chest
bench db press-95's for 4 sets of 10
incline hammer press-2-45's 1-25 1-10 for 3 sets of 12
flyes-40's for 4 sets of 8
inclne db press-65's for 3 sets of 15
incline flyes-30's for 3 sets of 6 holdin for a count of 5 at the bottom of each rep
cable flyes-just kind of fooled around on these, don't know weight or reps but 2 sets.
tri press down-110 lbs for 4 sets of 12


i'll be going back tonight for abs and tri's.