Building Back Up

those lying leg curls and rdls are definitely good causes of DOMs for me. add in bulgarian squats, lunges, and the glute machine and I'm sure to be miserable within a day or 2 lol. last week when I added lunges in for the first time in AGES, it felt like my buttcheeks were sitting on rocks, lol
 
How do you do with vitamin c?

Like carbs, it will lower cortisol…just curious how you respond to it before bedtime, sleep-wise.
 
Hyde said:
How do you do with vitamin c?

Like carbs, it will lower cortisol…just curious how you respond to it before bedtime, sleep-wise.
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I do better with small amounts than large doses or none at all. I take 100mg a few times per day and once right before bed.
 
Weight: 206.2

Another bad night, but at least dozed off for 20 minutes twice after this wake up time. Push workout later.

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Flat BB 5 x 5/5/5/5/4 x 225
Hammer OHP 3 x 8/8/9 x 200
DB Upright Row 5 x 12/12/12/10/8 x 35’s
Skullcrushers 3 sets

Had to do this without a spotter, but there’s a chance I could’ve got that last rep at 225, but you know…safety or something like that.
 
Sleep looks rough but body weight is looking good.
 
Weight: 207.0

Slept very hard during the 5 hours, and eventually fell back asleep (into REM I think) for another 30-45 minutes. Best I’ve had in 2 weeks.

Today’s WO

BB Rows 4 sets
DL Couple Singles at 405
Pull-ups 3 sets
Cable Shrugs 4 sets
DB Curls 3 sets
 
GreenMachineX said:
Attempted to go to bed much earlier…unsuccessful as I suspected.
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If it were me starting over with insomnia again I would try to just stick with a time that you can do consistently every day, even if it doesn't put you to sleep the first week or two. The brain does have a way of eventually recognizing the programming.
 
Dustin07 said:
If it were me starting over with insomnia again I would try to just stick with a time that you can do consistently every day, even if it doesn't put you to sleep the first week or two. The brain does have a way of eventually recognizing the programming.
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I meant the unsuccessful part was I still woke up way too early. I fell asleep fine like normal, but stuck awake after 5 hours.

But last night I did get 6 hours! Felt better today.
 
Still walking up way too early and stuck, but this is the best score I’ve had in 2 weeks I think. Next month I’m going to talk to my doctor about cutting the pill in half and taking it at 9pm and 1am. Maybe that will be more effective.

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GreenMachineX said:
I meant the unsuccessful part was I still woke up way too early. I fell asleep fine like normal, but stuck awake after 5 hours.

But last night I did get 6 hours! Felt better today.
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I typically wake up around 3-3:30am, especially right now with the M Test. I typically feel really recovered and not groggy at all if its all natural (I mean if I did not take melatonin or anything that night). I tend to force myself back to bed, which turns into regret when the alarm goes off at 4:30.

I am torn between whether it would be better to just get up when I wake up at 3:30, or stay in bed like I do. My mom and dad haven't set an alarm clock in like 2 decades or longer now. I'll be on vacation with them tomorrow-Saturday and I can pretty much garantee you they'll be up around 4:30am, coffee smell will wake me up around 5-6 on a non-work day, and by the time I pour the first cup they will probably already be done, doing their bible reading, dad likely jumping into the pool 😂 😂

I know for me if I got up at 3:30am then I could go sit in the living room and do some reading, something I rarely get to do anymore. but my only concern is then turning that into a weird routine where here at the age of 43 I just naturally wake up at 3:30am for the rest of my life like my mom, haha. But on the flip side, up here in the northern states, I absolutely LOVE it come June when the sun wakes me up naturally around 4-4:30am.
 
a large part of me thinks that @Smont hit the nail on the head about removing distractions from life. I have three monitors open right now at work, I am replying to customers, working on a quote, entering orders, and thinking about this post. I sneak down to the gym for cardio at lunch and I use that time to watch educational videos on youtube about greenhouses, aquaponics, distillation, etc. I drive 2-3hrs a day commuting and I use that time to listen to podcasts, Hubberman, and many others. I get home and am usually doing 3 tasks at once. if my wife has a late night (tues/thurs late gym classes) then I'm usually cleaning, working the dogs, cooking, and if I can fit it in, running back and forth to laundry in between stirring vegetables, feeding fish, throwing a ball for the dogs, etc.

like we as humans don't know how to sit still anymore. we have become so insanely effecient at multitasking (even though some people don't believe its possible, I disagree) and cramming so much more work into every minute of the day, its no wonder our brains are so fuked and can't figure out how to sleep. those are 8 hours we could be doing 27 different tasks! ha
 
Dustin07 said:
a large part of me thinks that @Smont hit the nail on the head about removing distractions from life. I have three monitors open right now at work, I am replying to customers, working on a quote, entering orders, and thinking about this post. I sneak down to the gym for cardio at lunch and I use that time to watch educational videos on youtube about greenhouses, aquaponics, distillation, etc. I drive 2-3hrs a day commuting and I use that time to listen to podcasts, Hubberman, and many others. I get home and am usually doing 3 tasks at once. if my wife has a late night (tues/thurs late gym classes) then I'm usually cleaning, working the dogs, cooking, and if I can fit it in, running back and forth to laundry in between stirring vegetables, feeding fish, throwing a ball for the dogs, etc.

like we as humans don't know how to sit still anymore. we have become so insanely effecient at multitasking (even though some people don't believe its possible, I disagree) and cramming so much more work into every minute of the day, its no wonder our brains are so fuked and can't figure out how to sleep. those are 8 hours we could be doing 27 different tasks! ha
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If that’s the case, I should be sleeping great on vacation, and clearly I’m not. No distractions, just having fun.

Edit: also, I would think I would’ve slept worse when my wife was deployed if that was the case, right?
 
Weight: 211.6

Back from vacation. Averaged 20k steps per day at amusement parks which helped. I’d say most of the weight gain is just water and glycogen unlike that last vacation blow up to 219 during Thanksgiving 😂

But, I’ve confirmed, larger breakfasts with some honey help me control later meals. I can’t skimp on other meals to “save calories” for planned cheats.

Also, sleeping better. Cut my testosterone dose to 7mg daily for about 10 days now from the alternating 7-8mg daily. Feel so much more calm too. Feeling a bit achy again though, so will continue with 7mg daily except 8mg on Sunday and Wednesday. Labs in 6 weeks.
 
Flat BB 5 x 205/210/215/220/225
T-Bar Row 3 sets
Machine OHP 3 sets
NG Paused Pull-ups 4/4/3/3
DB Upright Row 4 sets

Felt the reduced test dose. So, do I go for sleep/but a little weaker/achy, or less sleep/but strong/healthy joints? lol

Maybe 7mg daily with 8mg every 3 days will work.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Flat BB 5 x 205/210/215/220/225
T-Bar Row 3 sets
Machine OHP 3 sets
NG Paused Pull-ups 4/4/3/3
DB Upright Row 4 sets

Felt the reduced test dose. So, do I go for sleep/but a little weaker/achy, or less sleep/but strong/healthy joints? lol

Maybe 7mg daily with 8mg every 3 days will work.
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Okay, so we know more test makes you sleep worse, and you have HCT concerns anyway taking more. We also know you feel a little flat and dry missing the extra estrogen - so we don’t actually need more long-acting test, which will affect sleep, just need to raise estrogen.

#1 play would be add some oral DHEA. 25mg periWO here and there, maybe take a dose and see how it goes. Then if you like it try adding more days with it over the week until things feel right? You might only even need 2 doses per week or something, e3d or something. Or you could try oral Pregnenolone, that will also hit the progesterone receptor pathway for collagen synthesis and joint support, and also negatives like raise prolactin slightly. I like Nootropics Depot 5mg Cherry flavor tabs you put in your lip.

But try a cheap bottle of DHEA first.

If you go to EOD test shots, you will raise estrogen but also possibly HCT and also probably worsen sleep/hormone rollercoaster. So we need to stick with daily microdose for sure.
 
Hyde said:
Okay, so we know more test makes you sleep worse, and you have HCT concerns anyway taking more. We also know you feel a little flat and dry missing the extra estrogen - so we don’t actually need more long-acting test, which will affect sleep, just need to raise estrogen.

#1 play would be add some oral DHEA. 25mg periWO here and there, maybe take a dose and see how it goes. Then if you like it try adding more days with it over the week until things feel right? You might only even need 2 doses per week or something, e3d or something. Or you could try oral Pregnenolone, that will also hit the progesterone receptor pathway for collagen synthesis and joint support, and also negatives like raise prolactin slightly. I like Nootropics Depot 5mg Cherry flavor tabs you put in your lip.

But try a cheap bottle of DHEA first.

If you go to EOD test shots, you will raise estrogen but also possibly HCT and also probably worsen sleep/hormone rollercoaster. So we need to stick with daily microdose for sure.
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Good call. I’ve played with dhea before years ago and disliked the water retention in the past, but I think it’s because my estrogen was low and it was making it normal (and I was just fat 😂). Now is a better time to give it a shot since I’m on track to actually get lean (leanish). Ordered a bottle of 5mg sublingual to start.

Edit: I do recall that too much back then overstimulated me for a few hours, such the reason for starting low.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Good call. I’ve played with dhea before years ago and disliked the water retention in the past, but I think it’s because my estrogen was low and it was making it normal (and I was just fat 😂). Now is a better time to give it a shot since I’m on track to actually get lean (leanish). Ordered a bottle of 5mg sublingual to start.

Edit: I do recall that too much back then overstimulated me for a few hours, such the reason for starting low.
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In your case 5mg tabs make sense as sensitive as you are. This way you can find a dose that gets the dryness corrected without overdoing it as easily. I mean you probably will overdo it as you dial things in at some point, but this gives a lot of flexibility.
 
Hyde said:
In your case 5mg tabs make sense as sensitive as you are. This way you can find a dose that gets the dryness corrected without overdoing it as easily. I mean you probably will overdo it as you dial things in at some point, but this gives a lot of flexibility.
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Gotcha, sounds good. I’m going to give it a few days before I start this. Feeling like I might be getting sick again and don’t want to introduce new variables.
 
Trap Bar DL 4 x 3 x 325
Single Leg Curl 4 sets
Cable Shrugs 3 sets
DB Curls 4 sets
Overhead Cable Extensions 3 sets

Feel like garbage again which made that trap bar DL way harder than it should’ve been. Form felt odd too though.
 
IDK how much dhea you guys use, or if the admin of it matters, but I still really like the XPG DHEA for a clean dose without the preg since I'm pretty sure pregnenolone is the only thing that gives me "severe" sides right now.

GreenMachineX said:
Edit: also, I would think I would’ve slept worse when my wife was deployed if that was the case, right?
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yeah thats a good point, I would think so. although its hard to say since your sleep has been bad for a while, to as how much worse it could get. Sleeping next to my wife is typically a really good sleep aid for me. Worst sleep I ever got was around ages 34-37 before we got married when I had the bachelor pad, and also when I briefly owned that gym.
 
Dustin07 said:
IDK how much dhea you guys use, or if the admin of it matters, but I still really like the XPG DHEA for a clean dose without the preg since I'm pretty sure pregnenolone is the only thing that gives me "severe" sides right now.
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That would actually be the worst product he could take, because transdermal is the best delivery method for raising actual DHEA levels - meanwhile we’re chasing raised estrogen WITHOUT meaningfully raising androgens.

This is a pretty niche scenario, as many guys on TRT or even just over 40 might benefit from raising neurosteroids as well - this is what I do when I need more joint padding on TRT doses, add transdermal DHEA as I can tolerate. Definitely improves mood and focus for the day.

But we don’t want any more meaningful stimulation as touchy as GreenMachine can be with sleep & such; we only need some joint padding and fullness.
 
Hyde said:
That would actually be the worst product he could take, because transdermal is the best delivery method for raising actual DHEA levels - meanwhile we’re chasing raised estrogen WITHOUT meaningfully raising androgens.

This is a pretty niche scenario, as many guys on TRT or even just over 40 might benefit from raising neurosteroids as well - this is what I do when I need more joint padding on TRT doses, add transdermal DHEA as I can tolerate. Definitely improves mood and focus for the day.

But we don’t want any more meaningful stimulation as touchy as GreenMachine can be with sleep & such; we only need some joint padding and fullness.
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well that answers that! and yeah its funny you mention joint padding cause I was thinking about that today. Since I didn't take dhea with me on my trip last week I opted to drop it for now and figured I would bring it back in later if my joints start to get feisty.
 
Hyde said:
That would actually be the worst product he could take, because transdermal is the best delivery method for raising actual DHEA levels - meanwhile we’re chasing raised estrogen WITHOUT meaningfully raising androgens.
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That's interesting, I didn't realize that. I started DHEA & pregnenolone orally, but maybe I should've gone with Dermacrine.
 
congrats on sleep! lol
I slept like absolute dogshit last night. I forgot that I switched my outdoor lights from timer, to permenant on since I have my heat lamp for the chicken coop on the same circuit and at 2am I didn't feel like going out in the cold to deal with it, lol. but it was like having headlights shooting in the bedroom window.

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Dustin07 said:
congrats on sleep! lol
I slept like absolute dogshit last night. I forgot that I switched my outdoor lights from timer, to permenant on since I have my heat lamp for the chicken coop on the same circuit and at 2am I didn't feel like going out in the cold to deal with it, lol. but it was like having headlights shooting in the bedroom window.

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One way or the other, you were going to be dealing with those lights lol
 
Weight: 208.4 (or 208.6, can’t recall)

Weiggt dropping nicely for only 3 days in. Kcal between 2800-3000 each day and going to stick with that.
 
GreenMachineX said:
Weight: 207.4

2 pounds from my recent low! Vacation barely made a dent. Slept great last night too…totaled 7 hours.
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Standing OHP 5 x 115/120/125/130, 7x135
Paused Pull-ups 5/4/4/4
CG Bench 10x135, 7x145, 6x150
Horizontal Pull-up 6/6/8
DB Upright Row 4 x 10 x 37.5’s

Not bad. These past 2 workouts I chose to do a ramp up 5x5 because I’m unsure where I am with the reduction in e2 and after a week off working out. I’ll probably start the 5x5 up with static weight at the weight just under my top 5 set.
 
Weight: 207.6

Squat 5 x 245/250/255/260/265
Back Extensions 3 sets
Machine Shrugs 4 sets
DB Curls 3 sets
Machine Preacher Curls 2 sets

Took a step back on squats also and ramped up my 5x5. 5 hours sleep…feeling rough.
 
Weight: 207.6

Welp, actually sick again. Guess I’m taking off working out again for a few more days.

Also, my hamstrings haven’t been this sore in a long time…think I need to keep the back extensions in because they nailed my hams way more than RDL. But, the body soreness/achiness from the illness is compounding that DOMS from the workout. Hard to walk 😂
 
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I would have to be VERY sick to not get exercise in. I'm a firm believer that unless i'm on my deathbed type ill, exercise speeds recovery with common colds. Even during COVID I maintained my daily 2 mile jog back then (which became 50/50 jog/walk cause exhausted) and I golfed a lot since it was social distance style anyways.

GreenMachineX said:
think I need to keep the back extensions in because they nailed my hams way more than RDL.
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This is legit lol. I know exactly what you're talking about
 
Dustin07 said:
I would have to be VERY sick to not get exercise in. I'm a firm believer that unless i'm on my deathbed type ill, exercise speeds recovery with common colds. Even during COVID I maintained my daily 2 mile jog back then (which became 50/50 jog/walk cause exhausted) and I golfed a lot since it was social distance style anyways.


This is legit lol. I know exactly what you're talking about
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I still get daily steps, but I’m not going to push it with those nasty body aches. Sinus stuff doesn’t matter though.
 
Weight: 206.6

Guess that extra large Sunday meal wasn’t at damaging as I thought. Also, 2600 kcal might not be enough when sick either.
 
generally speaking I sorta think nearly everything is worth logging. I might be wrong about that, but I have a decades worth of data I can look back on ( well, 2 decades but the previous forum is gone) whenever I'm thinking "what was I doing when I accomplished X". it's always a nice accountability aspect for me to be like, oh... I was eating less and doing more cardio. thats why I was less fat. lol
 
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