KLEEN - STRONG BODY STRONG MIND!

[Segansational]

Get after it Kleen! Nice job on the weight loss, I just dropped ~9# on my latest cut too. Also got an Oculus recently (older model), so I'll have to see if that boxing game is available to me or not. My set only has one controller. But honestly I'm also OK using the free fishing game I found. Life is stressful enough. The VR is a nice escape to relax lakeside, even if virtually!

 

[MrKleen73]

Glad to see you back in the grove !!

Yeah I am, liking it too! Thanks!

Get after it Kleen! Nice job on the weight loss, I just dropped ~9# on my latest cut too. Also got an Oculus recently (older model), so I'll have to see if that boxing game is available to me or not. My set only has one controller. But honestly I'm also OK using the free fishing game I found. Life is stressful enough. The VR is a nice escape to relax lakeside, even if virtually!

Thanks, I have an even bigger update!

Body weight 208.3 Lbs as of yesterday morning!

That is a total of 18 lbs as of right now and 7 lbs in the last few weeks since I have really turned the heat up on the weight loss. I think before my abs to start showing at all I will be around 195 by looking at this 208 anyway. I can't wait for my first refeed this weekend. I was going to do it Sunday but my wife leaves that day so I am thinking I will probably move it to tomorrow so I can enjoy a dinner date with her.

I didn't lift Wednesday night because I was just toast from the cardio and sun from lunch time. When I went to unload the bar from the day before I just didn't have it in me. I decided to wait another day and hit it when I had more energy.

Yesterday I had a good upper body workout.

Warm Up and Activation = 10 minutes

Superset 1 Cluster Sets
Meadows Rows - 25x12, 50x12, 60x12, 9, 9 = 30 rep target 30-36 will stay at this weight.
Bench - 95x12, 135x8, 155x20, 15, 10 = 45 rep target 45, going up to 165 next time. Ring finger on ring of barbell.

Section 2 Pump Sets 15-25 reps

Cable Rows 8p x 16, 7p x15
Pec Deck 4p x18, 15

Supinating Curls - 25x16, 25x10
Cross Body Triceps Ext - 10x25, 19

DB Side raise Low End Partials - 35x25, 22

Rear Delt Destroyer 35x25>25x15>10x10

Very happy with being able to hit 20 reps at 155 right now. I was not really expecting it to go that well especially with the keto. Shoulder didn't hurt either. The wider ring finger on the ring on the bar is where the money is for me right now. Between that and starting to be able to lock in my arch better due to increased scapular stability I am feeling more and more confident.

 

[jinxie]

Moar VOLUME!!!

 

[MrKleen73]

Yes Sir, trying to bump it up! I set up this program outline borrowing some things from Fortitude Training, adding Cluster sets, and spacing things out more to allow for my connective tissue recovery rate to keep up. I think it will be a good way to to keep up frequency, intensity, and overall volume over 12 days, and hopefully for 2-3 rotations.

I am going to get in 6 hard sets in my "load" range of 8-15 reps with the cluster sets and 4 sets in Pump range of 15-25 reps with the first 2 push and pulls sessions in this rotation for a solid 10 HARD sets then cap the rotation off with a Muscle Round session for both upper and lower, then rinse and repeat. Arms and shoulders get a little more in the pump area for DAT DER VOLUME!!!!

Okay, I got into that Thrill of the Fight VR again today for HIIT cardio, it kicked my ass again! I did better and also warmed up on the target bags for 10-15 minutes at a good pace to get things going then fought a sparring partner for 5 2 minute rounds with 1 minute rest. Couldn't breath or barely hold my hands up. I was so tired, ass still kicked. I did win though!!! LOL.

It's funny when you are dying and are sent to the corner for the round, I can totally understand why people fall down in those or legit run into things because I can't tell you how many times I wanted to sit down on the stool in the corner and had to remind myself it wasn't really there. I literally almost just turned around and plopped down to catch my breath and barely caught myself.

 

[Rocket3015]

You got your mind in the right place, everything else will fall in line. Great work so far!

 

[love2liftkat]

You are back and killing it!!! I love it! You’ve always been such a big motivator for me!
That VR sounds like a blast-so intense!

 

[Rocket3015]

You are back and killing it!!! I love it! You’ve always been such a big motivator for me!
That VR sounds like a blast-so intense!

I believe this go's for alot of us!!

 

[MrKleen73]

You got your mind in the right place, everything else will fall in line. Great work so far!

Thanks, I am loving it right now. Adjusting, tweaking, and learning to train this version of my body without holding myself to any previous expectations is allowing me to really enjoy the process again. Humility and acceptance are amazing things for sure.

You are back and killing it!!! I love it! You’ve always been such a big motivator for me!
That VR sounds like a blast-so intense!

It really is, and I am ridiculously intense anyway. I am sure it is a you get what you give game and well I tend to give a lot.

I believe this go's for alot of us!!

Thanks Kat and Rocket, that means a lot! You both have been a source of motivation and inspiration to me as well. You could say you are like Ambassadors of Consistency!!!

So speaking of the intensity of the VR, I mis-stepped in one of my bob and weave moments and flared up my lower back and probably my internal hip rotators as well because my internal hip rotation is sensitive this morning. It started rolling in a couple hours after the session. I rolled it a bit last night, but I am not too sure if I will work lower body today or give it a day. It is a muscle rounds day for legs so I might be able to pull it off at the gym on some machines. Going to see how it feels after trying to warm it up with some general movement around the house. If so I will probably go to the gym and do something. If not then I am going to give it another day of rest. I don't want any injuries!!!

 

[jinxie]

Kleen, are you preparing for a contest of some sort, or just getting Uber jacked bc it’s awesome to be so, particularly when naked, lol?

I just cranked up my carbs, chasing some fuller, thicker musculature. Wish I could handle this sort of volume. Perhaps once I’ve reestablish a better base. Envious!!!

Keep up the great work, man.

 

[MrKleen73]

Kleen, are you preparing for a contest of some sort, or just getting Uber jacked bc it’s awesome to be so, particularly when naked, lol?

I just cranked up my carbs, chasing some fuller, thicker musculature. Wish I could handle this sort of volume. Perhaps once I’ve reestablish a better base. Envious!!!

Keep up the great work, man.

No Sir. Not even close to being in shape for anything like that. I am trying to help motivate my daughter to eat right at camp so she can make a lot of progress and using it as a catalyst to keep myself motivated as well. I am just getting back in after over a year lay off due to a combination of persistent injuries and depression. Fighting through re-strengthening my injured areas and correcting some issues while trying to use a nice combo of stuff in the tool box.

When you said high volume, I had to go back and look at it because I am counting volume based on body parts and movement patterns more than overall work done in the training session.

To me it was lower volume due to only 3 hard sets with the cluster sets per main body part followed by 2 pump sets for the same body part. So only 5 sets per body part this workout and only going to failure on the last set of each exercise. However yeah pretty high volume over the entire workout with 21 sets and one of them being a double drop set. It's cool how we all quantify things differently. With this set up I am just spreading out a moderate volume per body part over time so I can manage the holes I am digging in each muscle group. No way my body would let me get away with hitting 10 RPE9 - failure sets per body part in one workout right now. I would be aching and whining and not able to train or completely reaggravate something. The muscle rounds I really kind of count as 3 working sets, yes there are 6 mini sets there but the first 2-3 are typically feeling a little like a warm up then the cumulative fatigue makes the last few very hard sometimes failing and having to lower the weight to complete the mini sets at 6 reps. I only allow failure on one of those mini sets to manage intensity and CNS recovery as well.

Other than the main Cluster sets everything else the weight is kept low enough not to really tax my connective tissue, so in design anyway this split or training block should still be relatively joint and connective tissue friendly.

 

[jinxie]

Sounds like a good plan. I still shutter at the volume.

I hope you’re feeling better, mind and body. They do seem to work in unison much of the time.

Good luck to your kid — she’s got a good motivator in you, among other things.

 

[MrKleen73]

Sounds like a good plan. I still shutter at the volume.

I hope you’re feeling better, mind and body. They do seem to work in unison much of the time.

Good luck to your kid — she’s got a good motivator in you, among other things.

Thanks, and yeah it is a lot of volume in 1 workout. Just not too much per body part. Well for me.

I just started my APEX ALCHEMY log, and will be doing most of my updating in there for the time being. I will probably post updates here but all conversation will likely be in the other log.
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[MrKleen73]

Hey guys, my sponsored log is almost over and starting to transition back into this one. I have about a week left and wanted to start discussing ideas of moving forward over here. I have made a lot of progress the last several weeks and want to keep things moving along.

I have been considering running a mild-moderate cycle with a recomp style diet afterwards to accelerate getting back to my composition goals and then cruise a bit once there.

I have a lot of options on hand and figured I might discuss here and come up with some sort of plan.

SD - running either as a 20mg pulse on training days, or running @10mg a day...
MSten - 10mg day or possibly 10mg non training, and 20mg training
EPISTANE - 15-30 a day
Manifest at 1 dose a day = 30mg DMZ, 30mg EPI, 50mg furaza, - this one is not really a mild cycle but I have it on hand so mentioning it. Can you believe that was only one dose and the daily for this was 60mg DMZ, 60mg EPI, and 100mg furaza... Talk about a stout cycle!!!! I may end up seeing if anyone wants something stronger like this and sell it or trade it though.

I still have a couple bottles of dienolone I could add in as well. Honestly wouldn't mind trading trhe Manifest for a couple more bottles of TD Dienolone... I missed the BOGO for APEX and now it is gone...

 

[Hyde]

I think all setups will get you where you want to go, but it depends on what you can tolerate.

I would choose a setup you can run longer vs harsher. 6-8 weeks over 4 weeks.

Can your joints realistically tolerate Epistane at all anymore?

I would be leaning on Msten or Sdrol for 6 weeks, 10mg most days with 20mg 3x a week after a week or two if you think it will still be tolerable.

@wfreiling in case you wanted a trade, Xcel Sports Nutrition made some bangers back when.

 

[MrKleen73]

I think all setups will get you where you want to go, but it depends on what you can tolerate.

I would choose a setup you can run longer vs harsher. 6-8 weeks over 4 weeks.

Can your joints realistically tolerate Epistane at all anymore?

I would be leaning on Msten or Sdrol for 6 weeks, 10mg most days with 20mg 3x a week after a week or two if you think it will still be tolerable.

@wfreiling in case you wanted a trade, Xcel Sports Nutrition made some bangers back when.

Great observations!!! I was thinking the same thing about the EPISTANE. It used to treat me nicely but I just don't think it would be a great run. Biggest benefit would be a little assistance with Estro sensitive fat in chest, but like you said, not a good compound for the joints at all.

Definitely wanting to stretch it out a little and keep things minimal but strong enough to be obvious gains. Don't want to crush for a month, blow up and feel bad when i can go slower, be more likely to maintain, and not be so obvious to those around me that I am on something. I know... good luck with that, I got loads of muscle memory just waiting for a taste of the sweet nectar to explode.

 

[Whisky]

Great observations!!! I was thinking the same thing about the EPISTANE. It used to treat me nicely but I just don't think it would be a great run. Biggest benefit would be a little assistance with Estro sensitive fat in chest, but like you said, not a good compound for the joints at all.

Definitely wanting to stretch it out a little and keep things minimal but strong enough to be obvious gains. Don't want to crush for a month, blow up and feel bad when i can go slower, be more likely to maintain, and not be so obvious to those around me that I am on something. I know... good luck with that, I got loads of muscle memory just waiting for a taste of the sweet nectar to explode.

funnily enough my thought was that you still have muscle memory and SD is a big gun that I don’t think you would need yet. I would use something milder and save that for pushing new boundaries/exceeding previous

 

[SkRaw85]

Great observations!!! I was thinking the same thing about the EPISTANE. It used to treat me nicely but I just don't think it would be a great run. Biggest benefit would be a little assistance with Estro sensitive fat in chest, but like you said, not a good compound for the joints at all.

Definitely wanting to stretch it out a little and keep things minimal but strong enough to be obvious gains. Don't want to crush for a month, blow up and feel bad when i can go slower, be more likely to maintain, and not be so obvious to those around me that I am on something. I know... good luck with that, I got loads of muscle memory just waiting for a taste of the sweet nectar to explode.

Wrists and knees ache just reading the word lol

 

[Rocket3015]

Sore joints suck!

 

[MrKleen73]

funnily enough my thought was that you still have muscle memory and SD is a big gun that I don’t think you would need yet. I would use something milder and save that for pushing new boundaries/exceeding previous

I think you are right on the choice for gear here. SD even at 10 would probably blow me up fast enough I may be getting the WTF are you on questions. Again not too worried if they do figure it out. I am not ashamed, just get annoyed at the dogma...

I think I have settled on the idea of running MSten at 10mg daily and an additional 10mg on training days. See how that treats me, and at that dose is something easily ran 6-8 weeks without any real issue.

As far as me trying to push through new boundaries, I highly doubt that I will be trying to push through any previous boundaries. I am honestly just trying to regain as much as I can back without actually pushing myself into any extremes that might lead me to injury. I just want the amplified results of the intensity I am able to perform with since my ability to maximize performance is limited by some injuries. Basically I need to get more out of less right now, and unfortunately the less is training intensity/volume.

If I end up getting surgery on the shoulder we might see more pushing for highs but for right now I just want more results from the work I am able to do. Who knows, might find I am able to train enough for classic physique type stuff or something with the use of AAS. However not sure I will be able to chase big numbers for a while if again.

Wrists and knees ache just reading the word lol

Yeah, funny how you can remember the good about something until someone reminds you about the bad. It's like that one girl who used to rock your world, but was cray-cray and you almost forget until a buddy reminds you about the bunny she boiled on your stove that one time...

Sore joints suck!

AMEN!!!!

Okay, so I am out of town right now in Austin, will be heading back to Houston Thursday. Not real sure about the gym situation but intend to lift while here for certain. Probably go to the gym for lunch here shortly if possible.

 

[MrKleen73]

Good Morning Muscleheadz!

So here are my before and afters from the log I just completed. This is my current condition and where I want to start working on more of a recomp, if not just growing into being leaner. Sine I plan to run MSten starting next week, I expect that running my normal Build and Burn style recomp strategy might result in some weight gain but will definitely result in a leaner version of me either way.

Current Weight should be about 200 lbs in the final picture. I was just under 200 the last time I weighed myself but have added a little more carbs in recently.

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[jinxie]

A nice recomp. You look more developed throughout, particularly your abdominals. Well done sir!

 

[MrKleen73]

A nice recomp. You look more developed throughout, particularly your abdominals. Well done sir!

Thanks @jinxie I was thinking the same thing but didn't want to call it out to see if anyone else mentioned it. I definitely feel I lost more than 8lbs of fat, and my arms and shoulders have filled out a decent bit.

I plan to make sure I have already filled back up to normal glycogen store levels before starting my MSten run. I am expecting to be sitting around 204-208 once the carbs are fully reintroduced. I want to have a good comparison point for the end of the run and not inflate gains by being depleted at the beginning and full of glycogen at the end.

 

[Whisky]

A nice recomp. You look more developed throughout, particularly your abdominals. Well done sir!

was thinking exactly this. The definition around the arms is a clear indicator of the recomp as well.

now I’d expect nothing less from a guy who used to dominate the recomp competitions we used to have in AM 4 years back or so but for a natty effort it’s pretty impressive bro.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Nice work mate! Shoulders and traps are popping, and big improvement in abs!

Looking forward to seeing the effects from your cycle!

 

[Rocket3015]

Looking leaner for sure!!

 

[thebigt]

Good Morning Muscleheadz!

So here are my before and afters from the log I just completed. This is my current condition and where I want to start working on more of a recomp, if not just growing into being leaner. Sine I plan to run MSten starting next week, I expect that running my normal Build and Burn style recomp strategy might result in some weight gain but will definitely result in a leaner version of me either way.

Current Weight should be about 200 lbs in the final picture. I was just under 200 the last time I weighed myself but have added a little more carbs in recently.

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starting to look like the KLEEN of old---keep it up!!!

 

[Segansational]

Nice choice! The Manifest sounds most interesting, but Msten was going to get my 2nd vote! Interested in your build and burn set up, sounds like something I need.

 

[SkRaw85]

I think you are right on the choice for gear here. SD even at 10 would probably blow me up fast enough I may be getting the WTF are you on questions. Again not too worried if they do figure it out. I am not ashamed, just get annoyed at the dogma...

I think I have settled on the idea of running MSten at 10mg daily and an additional 10mg on training days. See how that treats me, and at that dose is something easily ran 6-8 weeks without any real issue.

As far as me trying to push through new boundaries, I highly doubt that I will be trying to push through any previous boundaries. I am honestly just trying to regain as much as I can back without actually pushing myself into any extremes that might lead me to injury. I just want the amplified results of the intensity I am able to perform with since my ability to maximize performance is limited by some injuries. Basically I need to get more out of less right now, and unfortunately the less is training intensity/volume.

If I end up getting surgery on the shoulder we might see more pushing for highs but for right now I just want more results from the work I am able to do. Who knows, might find I am able to train enough for classic physique type stuff or something with the use of AAS. However not sure I will be able to chase big numbers for a while if again.

Yeah, funny how you can remember the good about something until someone reminds you about the bad. It's like that one girl who used to rock your world, but was cray-cray and you almost forget until a buddy reminds you about the bunny she boiled on your stove that one time...
AMEN!!!!

Okay, so I am out of town right now in Austin, will be heading back to Houston Thursday. Not real sure about the gym situation but intend to lift while here for certain. Probably go to the gym for lunch here shortly if possible.

“Baaaaaabe! But it was only that one time…..
And that bunny was soooooo mean!”

 

[MrKleen73]

was thinking exactly this. The definition around the arms is a clear indicator of the recomp as well.

now I’d expect nothing less from a guy who used to dominate the recomp competitions we used to have in AM 4 years back or so but for a natty effort it’s pretty impressive bro.

Thanks! I was tempted to hop right on something and get the assist, but I wanted to earn it and make some good progress on my own first.

Nice work mate! Shoulders and traps are popping, and big improvement in abs!

Looking forward to seeing the effects from your cycle!

Thanks Benny!

Looking leaner for sure!!

Gracias!

starting to look like the KLEEN of old---keep it up!!!

Finally!!!! I am feeling pretty confident stretching out my tshirts in a much better way now. Tight sleeves, and loose in waist instead of the other way around!!!

Nice choice! The Manifest sounds most interesting, but Msten was going to get my 2nd vote! Interested in your build and burn set up, sounds like something I need.

Oh yeah the manifest is definitely something special. I need to find somewhere to put it up for sale or trade since I won't mess with the EPISTANE again more than likely.

The simplicity of the Build and Burn days is simple and I believe allows me to keep a pretty nimble metabolism. Depending on the goal I do a caloric swing of a pretty decent proportion. Say I want a true recomp, I will estimate my daily caloric needs and then set up my Build days for something like a 20% surplus, and my Burn Days for the same 20% deficit. This allows me to focus on feeding for anabolism on the Build day when lifting, and then on Burn Day which are rest or rest and conditioning I have the lower calories with far less carbohydrates. I have found this to be my preferred way to eat for recomp. It works best when you are lifting 3-4 times a week otherwise you end up with too many build days to make much progress on leaning up and might as well just go with a static caloric count in my opinion. That or just be okay with some of your training days being on a burn day. It won't hurt anything, but I would save those days for like chest, arms or shoulders. For back and lower body you want to be fed!

If being aggressive the percentages change, if fasting the deficits can sometimes be larger on Burn days due to the muscle sparing effects of fasting.

I used to do this in a pretty strict manner counting the calories, sticking to strict percentages but have gotten pretty good with just adjusting on the fly. A simple way to do it though is just like say sometimes when recomp/cutting I will just target around 3200-3500 for build and on the burn it may be anywhere from 1500-2000 calories depending on if I am fasting or not. Over the week it gives me multiple days where I am stoking the insulin all day for growth, and then multiple days I am keeping insulin very low and natural GH production up.

I didn't do much calorie counting this time around, just an rolling estimation and count of carbs during refeeds. I think that if my foot and hip hadn't slowed down the cardio I would have made another 2-3 lbs progress in this time.

“Baaaaaabe! But it was only that one time…..
And that bunny was soooooo mean!”

Awwwwwww Honey, you made me protein! I forgive... Come to Papa!

 

[Hyde]

Looking forward to your continued progress!

 

[MrKleen73]

I forgot to mention I went to the gym here in the building and had a pretty decent workout yesterday.

Arnold Press 65x 3 sets RPE8, 1 set RPE9
Chest press machine 3 sets RPE8, 1 set Fail
Pull ups - 7 sets of 5, 1 set of 4

Dips 22,17, 14
EZ Bar Curl 90x12, 90x9, 90x8

TRX Alphabet - 3 rounds of 5 reps each position with an aggressive lean to increase resistance.

I will most likely wait to lift legs until I get home tomorrow.

 

[MrKleen73]

Well, I am not getting any breaks over here. LOL Leaned over to look at something a little closer Thursday at work and when I stood up I felt a sharp pain in the far left side of my lower back. I tweaked the heck out of something over there. I have been in bed since except for a little bit yesterday where I was able to be up and walking without too much pain.

Get up for work this morning, put my work clothes on and having to tighten my core to wear my pants started radiating pain through my back and some nerve referral in my right glute. Probably from walking strange. Anyway, it is bad enough that I decided to stay home to rest it more and am calling the doctor today to see if I can get some muscle relaxers. Imay try to go to the gym and sit in the jacuzzi. No workouts obviously since Thursday.

The position of this leads me to believe I pulled or strained one of the small muscles on the lower left side just near the back of the oblique above glute or it is referral pain from a disc. I am leaning toward the first. If for no other reason than optimism. Hopefully this clears up quickly, I am still feeling confident it will.

I am going to treat this as a forced deload and hopefully will be able to go in and move some blood around sometime this week. At this point I can't wait to be able to take my walks again. I have come to find them pretty therapeutic.

Did some pleasure eating while on bed rest over the weekend but reigning it in today.

I will probably kick off my planned cycle in another week or two depending on how recovered I am feeling. I don't want to rush into something and have to stop. Hopefully I am right in thinking this is just a tweaked muscle.

I will also be adding in the McGill Big 3 as rehab / prehab as soon I as can do the exercises, a la @Hyde and the consistent mention of how positive it has been for him.

Oh yeah, I have been using a combo of HELIOS and Ibuprofen to control inflammation. Seems to be helping.

Hopefully some muscle relaxers or something will help get me to where I can start walking and doing some light training to get blood moving pretty quickly.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Bummer dude!

Hope this passes quickly for you!

 

[Whisky]

Well, I am not getting any breaks over here. LOL Leaned over to look at something a little closer Thursday at work and when I stood up I felt a sharp pain in the far left side of my lower back. I tweaked the heck out of something over there. I have been in bed since except for a little bit yesterday where I was able to be up and walking without too much pain.

Get up for work this morning, put my work clothes on and having to tighten my core to wear my pants started radiating pain through my back and some nerve referral in my right glute. Probably from walking strange. Anyway, it is bad enough that I decided to stay home to rest it more and am calling the doctor today to see if I can get some muscle relaxers. Imay try to go to the gym and sit in the jacuzzi. No workouts obviously since Thursday.

The position of this leads me to believe I pulled or strained one of the small muscles on the lower left side just near the back of the oblique above glute or it is referral pain from a disc. I am leaning toward the first. If for no other reason than optimism. Hopefully this clears up quickly, I am still feeling confident it will.

I am going to treat this as a forced deload and hopefully will be able to go in and move some blood around sometime this week. At this point I can't wait to be able to take my walks again. I have come to find them pretty therapeutic.

Did some pleasure eating while on bed rest over the weekend but reigning it in today.

I will probably kick off my planned cycle in another week or two depending on how recovered I am feeling. I don't want to rush into something and have to stop. Hopefully I am right in thinking this is just a tweaked muscle.

I will also be adding in the McGill Big 3 as rehab / prehab as soon I as can do the exercises, a la @Hyde and the consistent mention of how positive it has been for him.

Oh yeah, I have been using a combo of HELIOS and Ibuprofen to control inflammation. Seems to be helping.

Hopefully some muscle relaxers or something will help get me to where I can start walking and doing some light training to get blood moving pretty quickly.

sucks that dude, speedy recovery

 

[SkRaw85]

Well, I am not getting any breaks over here. LOL Leaned over to look at something a little closer Thursday at work and when I stood up I felt a sharp pain in the far left side of my lower back. I tweaked the heck out of something over there. I have been in bed since except for a little bit yesterday where I was able to be up and walking without too much pain.

Get up for work this morning, put my work clothes on and having to tighten my core to wear my pants started radiating pain through my back and some nerve referral in my right glute. Probably from walking strange. Anyway, it is bad enough that I decided to stay home to rest it more and am calling the doctor today to see if I can get some muscle relaxers. Imay try to go to the gym and sit in the jacuzzi. No workouts obviously since Thursday.

The position of this leads me to believe I pulled or strained one of the small muscles on the lower left side just near the back of the oblique above glute or it is referral pain from a disc. I am leaning toward the first. If for no other reason than optimism. Hopefully this clears up quickly, I am still feeling confident it will.

I am going to treat this as a forced deload and hopefully will be able to go in and move some blood around sometime this week. At this point I can't wait to be able to take my walks again. I have come to find them pretty therapeutic.

Did some pleasure eating while on bed rest over the weekend but reigning it in today.

I will probably kick off my planned cycle in another week or two depending on how recovered I am feeling. I don't want to rush into something and have to stop. Hopefully I am right in thinking this is just a tweaked muscle.

I will also be adding in the McGill Big 3 as rehab / prehab as soon I as can do the exercises, a la @Hyde and the consistent mention of how positive it has been for him.

Oh yeah, I have been using a combo of HELIOS and Ibuprofen to control inflammation. Seems to be helping.

Hopefully some muscle relaxers or something will help get me to where I can start walking and doing some light training to get blood moving pretty quickly.

Ugh, sorry man. That’s never fun. Slow roll it back to proper health! I probably sound like a broken record on this forum but…… I have great success with ibutamoren (at the expense of prolactin sides for me anyways) and mega dosing cissus for a week to break down inflammation. I swear by it.

 

[Hyde]

Short frequent walks up to 10 min is the ideal flushing method according to McGill. If you feel you can do 10 min no problem, you are better off adding a second or even 3rd walk for more frequent flushing.

Best thing is when you first get up, try to get a short walk in, then add another after a meal later on to get that blood glucose management as well (if you feel good for more walking of course, don’t overdo it).

 

[RegisterJr]

Sorry man, I hope you reset soon.

 

[Rocket3015]

I hope things turn around quickly !!

 

[Segansational]

Heal up soon. On the bright side, pleasure eating is always fun!!

 

[MrKleen73]

Bummer dude!

Hope this passes quickly for you!

Thx!

sucks that dude, speedy recovery

Thanks!

Ugh, sorry man. That’s never fun. Slow roll it back to proper health! I probably sound like a broken record on this forum but…… I have great success with ibutamoren (at the expense of prolactin sides for me anyways) and mega dosing cissus for a week to break down inflammation. I swear by it.

I have some Ibutamoren at the house, 30mg tabs. might add those in EOD, otherwise I would fill up with water like a balloon.

Short frequent walks up to 10 min is the ideal flushing method according to McGill. If you feel you can do 10 min no problem, you are better off adding a second or even 3rd walk for more frequent flushing.

Best thing is when you first get up, try to get a short walk in, then add another after a meal later on to get that blood glucose management as well (if you feel good for more walking of course, don’t overdo it).

Perfect, this is pretty much what I was planning to do. Try to get in a few short walks a day. I am recovering well now. At least I feel like I am at a place I can manage a walk today. I went ahead and took the last 2 days off of work to completely let it rest.

Sorry man, I hope you reset soon.

Thanks! I think I am on the mend now, just have to play my recovery well.

I hope things turn around quickly !!

Thanks Rocket!

Heal up soon. On the bright side, pleasure eating is always fun!!

Yes it was, but had to get that under control. Between that and lack of ab control I feel I look a little sloppy. It is easier to brace my core today than yesterday which is a good sign, and the fact I can wear my pants over the area now without pain is good.

Contemplating trying some machine / dumbbell based movements with very light weight just to get blood into some of the muscles. Obviously limiting to movements that I feel should be safe to attempt.

 

[Hyde]

I would avoid dbs in the acute injury phase (now). Machines totally let the weight stay with them, but even light dbs require some core involvement.

Definitely run through some of the Big 3 before any training. If you can’t even contract your abs for a Curl Up, you aren’t going to be ready to hold a 10lb Db away from the body.

This video is worth your 20 min as a refresher for some of the finer points of executing the Big 3 (contractions and intent are everything to get anything from them):

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[MrKleen73]

I would avoid dbs in the acute injury phase (now). Machines totally let the weight stay with them, but even light dbs require some core involvement.

Definitely run through some of the Big 3 before any training. If you can’t even contract your abs for a Curl Up, you aren’t going to be ready to hold a 10lb Db away from the body.

This video is worth your 20 min as a refresher for some of the finer points of executing the Big 3 (contractions and intent are everything to get anything from them):

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Awesome, this is actually the video I have been watching to learn how to execute this properly so good to see it being the one you recommend. I watched a couple in depth videos of his this past week.

I was also unsure about the DB's because of the required stability. So will go ahead and avoid since you thought it was worth mentioning as well.

 

[MrKleen73]

Had a great workout tonight! Well for what I intended anyway. I went to the gym so I could work on machines with support and get a nice pump. Push some blood and nutrients into the muscles. I achieved exactly what I wanted and did so pain free. I kept weights nice and light and just created my own tension through intention.

Hoist Decline Bench 5 sets
Seated Row 5 sets
Side Raises 5 sets

Super set 1
Triceps Extensions / Preacher Curls 4 sets

Super set 2
Rear Delts / Straight Arm Pec Deck 4 sets

Did some mild transverse abdominis / posture work in sauna - Nothing dangerous or intense, I lost control of my abs at first when I hurt my back so just contracting my abs to restore correct posture. I centered my pelvic tilt and held my lower abs and bellybutton back toward my spine for a few 30ish second holds.

So far my back is feeling pretty good. I kept cueing myself Dead Waist, to keep from engaging the core while lifting.

 

[MrKleen73]

Woke up feeling pretty good this morning, back is still a bit tight and tender but better than yesterday. I was able to take 2 10 minute walks and then a very low intensity 10 minute ride on the recumbent bike just to loosen things up and get blood in.

I woke up this morning looking pretty good, like a more full version of my last pics and decided to weigh myself. With a moderate carbohydrate load I was 206.3 lbs. Right around where I thought I would settle after reintroducing them.

Yesterdays Nutrition - 22 hr fast, broke fast preworkout with 25g whey, 15g carb powder - Intra - 15 whey, 30g carb powder, - Post Workout Meal - 3 cups 2% milk, 65g whey, everything bagel with Ultimate SPicy Hummus Spread, and 1.5 cups of honey nut bran cereal.

I had been feeling a touch of indigestion after a week on ibuprofen, and also some of the poor eating choices earlier in the week. So I opted for a very easy to digest meal and to keep the protein all powder based for easier digestion.

Estimated totals - 140p, 220c 40f. - 1800 cals

 

[Hyde]

Nice job with everything! Keep the short frequent walk up - nothing will help as succinctly as that frequent flushing & staying out of pain/being hyper-mindful of your spine movements.

 

[MrKleen73]

Nice job with everything! Keep the short frequent walk up - nothing will help as succinctly as that frequent flushing & staying out of pain/being hyper-mindful of your spine movements.

Thanks, I got in 3 10 minute walks yesterday, really tried to focus on getting control of the transverse abdominis especially while walking. My hyperlordosis, or sway back has come back a bit from not controlling my abs for so long. So really trying to get that corrected which will stabilize my pelvis and core a lot better.

Back seems to be making some strides, I am back in my normal pants and able to cinch my belt back up without any pain or discomfort. I feel a lot more stable and have to remind myself to be mindful of the injury instead of just walking all carefree like I am completely out of the woods.

Nutrition - Fasted 22 hours yesterday- Had a big bowl of Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup with double chicken for dinner, didn't have many of the noodles may 40g of carbs worth and probably 5oz boiled potato in the soup. Then had a protein smoothie with 2.5 scoops whey 6 tbsp Natty PB, and 2 cups of milk and an ounce of pepper jack cheese.

Best estimates: 120p, 100c, and 110f - 1870

No reason to toss a bunch of food at a body that is just resting, especially when I am trying to create a deficit and can't really do cardio.

I am planning to go in to the gym tonight and see if I can manage some light leg curls and extensions while keeping a dead waist. Might attempt a little BFR to make the most out of lighter weights. If that doesn't work out I will have my swim trunks with me and will hop in the pool do water resisted leg work and walk some laps. Maybe alternate between the pool and hottub for a few rotations.

 

[Rocket3015]

Sounds like things are headed in a positive path !

 

[MrKleen73]

Sounds like things are headed in a positive path !

Yes Sir, feeling positive. Wasn't able to get to the gym last night. Remembered towards the end of the day the kiddo actually had a home game last night. So I could go watch them perform in Color Guard, obviously gym was going to wait.

I am feeling pretty good this morning. Going to go do some leg work a little later today. See what I can make happen without any reaggravation.

 

[Rocket3015]

Train Smart !

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Good to hear things are coming back in track!

You are inspiring me to adjust my mindset!