Hyde’s Strength Odyssey

[Hyde]

Sorry mate, hate to inform you but you have Visible Lat Sybdrome. The only cure is to completely quit lifting weights for at least 5 years.

The cross we bear

 

[Rocket3015]

The cross we bear

How can I catch this, with it were as easy as a cold !!

 

[Hyde]

9/4/22
BW 265.0

Reverse Hyper
210x20

Band Pullaparts, Pressdowns, Rows
2-3 rounds

Comp Bench
45,95,135x5
185x3
225,255,285x1
315x1 with commands
225 3x2

Band Pulldowns
Avg 2x25

Seated DB Rear Delt Flyes
25 2x12

80% week is done. Next Sunday is the comp. I will probably squat and bench a couple plates on Wednesday along with the associated warmups to stay loose.

 

[wfreiling]

Go kill it, I wanna see video.

 

[jtmass]

Really looking forward to hearing about the competition. Hope you come back home with the win.

 

[Hyde]

Go kill it, I wanna see video.

My wife is coming to handle me, so I will probably have some this time! Maybe not on bench, because she’s my liftoff. Sometimes she asks someone in the audience to hold the phone for that.

 

[Rocket3015]

Good Luck Man, I will be rooting for you!!

 

[dapack]

Thinks are setting up perfect for you to crush it!!

 

[Smont]

When your talking about a lift with commands. That's competition style and someone gives you the green light or says when it's ok to press. Basically reenacting what you would do in a competition scenario?

Sorry I'm playing catch up here, how many days till the comp, I know it's gotta be close

 

[Hyde]

When your talking about a lift with commands. That's competition style and someone gives you the green light or says when it's ok to press. Basically reenacting what you would do in a competition scenario?

Sorry I'm playing catch up here, how many days till the comp, I know it's gotta be close

Right, I have my wife hand off, then she issues commands like the head judge would, and I do not wear headphones because I cannot on the platform. Comp is this Sunday, the 11th. 5 days out!

So different powerlifting federations will have different rules, but they will all give you a Press & Rack command you must obey. This federation, the USPA, also has a Start command before you may begin lowering it.

So you lift the weight out or may elect someone, a friend or one of the spotters, to lift off to you. When they have stepped off the bench out of the way and the bar is held motionless, head judge says Start and you may lower. When the bar is motionless on the chest, whether that takes half a second or 5, the judge says Press - it’s about displaying control, not time. When it is locked out convincingly, the judge will say Rack and the spotters will assist you in putting it back in the jcups.

Different feds may have different rules about whether your head can lift off the bench, if only the toes need touch or if the entire foot must remain flat through the lift, little things, but they all demand your butt doesn’t entirely lift off and neither can all of a foot.

If the bar goes back down at any point, that is up & down motion and a no-lift (such as if you sink the bar further down and then heave it back up after a Press command is given). If the bar is traveling seriously unevenly, that can be a no-lift. Butt or foot lift is no-lift. Not waiting for a command is a no-lift (like jumping the press or rack commands). If one of your elbows can’t lock out all the way, you need to tell the judge right before every attempt. Take your thumb loops off once you wrap your wrists.

 

[Rocket3015]

Sounds much more complicated than just lifting the weight.

 

[gphagan1]

Your gonna kill it…..your definitely heading into this looking like your right where you want to be. If I remember correctly, I guess I could look, but I think you had gotten sick not long before your last competition and things had gotten challenging. This time every thing seems to have aligned up the way you want it. That alone can help you go in with a confident and positive mindset.

 

[Hyde]

Sounds much more complicated than just lifting the weight.

Absolutely. You have to lift it well, within a set of rules, on somebody else’s time & conditions.

A lot of people get let down when they first compete because they are basing what they can do on gym lifts when the stars aligned. But when they call your name and tell you that bar is loaded, you better be ready to grab the bull by the horns!

Your gonna kill it…..your definitely heading into this looking like your right where you want to be. If I remember correctly, I guess I could look, but I think you had gotten sick not long before your last competition and things had gotten challenging. This time every thing seems to have aligned up the way you want it. That alone can help you go in with a confident and positive mindset.

Yeah feeling good. Ate over 4,700 calories yesterday and lots of sodium and still woke up 265.2lbs so my metabolism is nuts. Going to get my last practice in tonight since I have a very big work day planned tomorrow, and getting bloodwork drawn in the morning. Once that’s done, I’ll be able to mentally bring it down further.

 

[Hyde]

Did not do any lifting last night. I was wiped after taking my son to gymnastics (which he kicked ass in), and decided rest was more important than playing with piddly weights practicing lifts I’ve done thousands of times. As my wife put it, I know what to do. I am feeling extremely confident in my technique. I also did not want to distort my eGFR readings on my bloodwork drawn this morning.

Exhausted from work today, but back at home tomorrow and Friday and I plan to push anything possible to next week from here on.

 

[Rocket3015]

Get some rest, you got this!

 

[Hyde]

Bloodwork results came back…I can’t believe how good they are. I mean if you saw this you wouldn’t possibly think of someone 265lbs with 28% bodyfat eating 5,000 calories of fast food & sugar every day on 1.5 grams of steroids/wk (currently 2 orals), who has been on blast for over 4 months now, and using Mk677.

EGFR is 81, liver enzymes all good, total billirubin actually dropped in half down to 0.5mg/dl with using 500mg CEL TUDCA, fasted glucose is 91, phlebotic values all just a hair out of range (51 hematocrit, 17.6 hemoglobin, 413 platelet count), TSH is a nice moderate 2.43 with T4 & T3 at top of normal (thyroid is healthy and metabolism is roaring properly all on its own), Trigs are 91.

The worst thing on the whole panel is that my LDL is up to 124 and HDL dropped to 25. For this trash diet, that is just totally insane. 5mg Ezetimibe nightly has kept my LDL from barely climbing. And I have been on Anavar for almost 6 weeks!

Just goes to show how important ancillary support and compound choice are. The drug use, good and bad, matters a lot more than the diet, unfortunately.

 

[gphagan1]

Bloodwork results came back…I can’t believe how good they are. I mean if you saw this you wouldn’t possibly think of someone 265lbs with 28% bodyfat eating 5,000 calories of fast food & sugar every day on 1.5 grams of steroids/wk (currently 2 orals), who has been on blast for over 4 months now, and using Mk677.

EGFR is 81, liver enzymes all good, total billirubin actually dropped in half down to 0.5mg/dl with using 500mg CEL TUDCA, fasted glucose is 91, phlebotic values all just a hair out of range (51 hematocrit, 17.6 hemoglobin, 413 platelet count), TSH is a nice moderate 2.43 with T4 & T3 at top of normal (thyroid is healthy and metabolism is roaring properly all on its own), Trigs are 91.

The worst thing on the whole panel is that my LDL is up to 124 and HDL dropped to 25. For this trash diet, that is just totally insane. 5mg Ezetimibe nightly has kept my LDL from barely climbing. And I have been on Anavar for almost 6 weeks!

Just goes to show how important ancillary support and compound choice are. The drug use, good and bad, matters a lot more than the diet, unfortunately.

That’s actually great results all things considered. I’m gonna include Ezetimibe in my supports next cycle. I’ve heard a lot of good reports, but this is the proof.

 

[Rocket3015]

Great To See Hyde - Strong and Healthy !!

 

[RegisterJr]

So many rules… but good! It shouldn’t be a standard gym sesh!

 

[Hyde]

That’s actually great results all things considered. I’m gonna include Ezetimibe in my supports next cycle. I’ve heard a lot of good reports, but this is the proof.

I couldn’t believe how much it helped Zoo when he wrote about it in his log. He had been cruising on a very very low dose of Tren (like 125mg or something) and following a ketogenic diet with lots of whole eggs. He went to the doctor and his total cholesterol was genuinely like 600 (mine was 170s I believe today). He stopped the Tren, stopped the keto, added Ezetimibe and went on blast. His LDL in a few months dropped to like 180. Nearly a 400 point reduction in total, while still incorporating several whole eggs a day (despite my nitpicking).

Also, I read a paper where the VA realized veterans who had been using 5mg saw virtually the same % reduction in LDL as taking the standardly prescribed 10mg, so now the VA only prescribes 5mg/day and saves 50% of the money while patients get 50% less unnecessary drug exposure. That is the dosage I have always used, 5mg nightly.

 

[Rocket3015]

I couldn’t believe how much it helped Zoo when he wrote about it in his log. He had been cruising on a very very low dose of Tren (like 125mg or something) and following a ketogenic diet with lots of whole eggs. He went to the doctor and his total cholesterol was genuinely like 600 (mine was 170s I believe today). He stopped the Tren, stopped the keto, added Ezetimibe and went on blast. His LDL in a few months dropped to like 180. Nearly a 400 point reduction in total, while still incorporating several whole eggs a day (despite my nitpicking).

Also, I read a paper where the VA realized veterans who had been using 5mg saw virtually the same % reduction in LDL as taking the standardly prescribed 10mg, so now the VA only prescribes 5mg/day and saves 50% of the money while patients get 50% less unnecessary drug exposure. That is the dosage I have always used, 5mg nightly.

Good to know!

 

[gphagan1]

I couldn’t believe how much it helped Zoo when he wrote about it in his log. He had been cruising on a very very low dose of Tren (like 125mg or something) and following a ketogenic diet with lots of whole eggs. He went to the doctor and his total cholesterol was genuinely like 600 (mine was 170s I believe today). He stopped the Tren, stopped the keto, added Ezetimibe and went on blast. His LDL in a few months dropped to like 180. Nearly a 400 point reduction in total, while still incorporating several whole eggs a day (despite my nitpicking).

Also, I read a paper where the VA realized veterans who had been using 5mg saw virtually the same % reduction in LDL as taking the standardly prescribed 10mg, so now the VA only prescribes 5mg/day and saves 50% of the money while patients get 50% less unnecessary drug exposure. That is the dosage I have always used, 5mg nightly.

That’s pretty amazing…Zoo is the first guy that had recommended it to me, and I just never got it, but it’s something I’ll be adding from now on.

 

[RegisterJr]

Ok ok. Getting ezetimibe.

I didn’t see the post from Zoo.

My triglycerides were 600+ this time last year. LDL similarly increased. They dropped to around 450 right before my diet in May. My next bloods for them are November. Doc swears I’ll never come off these new statins, but this sounds very promising.

 

[Hyde]

Ok ok. Getting ezetimibe.

I didn’t see the post from Zoo.

My triglycerides were 600+ this time last year. LDL similarly increased. They dropped to around 450 right before my diet in May. My next bloods for them are November. Doc swears I’ll never come off these new statins, but this sounds very promising.

With your diet tighter, and losing weight, you probably won’t need Ezetimibe if you are doing well with the statin therapy. BUT it is safely stacked with statins for most, and guys have reported needing less statins to control lipids when incorporating Ezetimibe. I would see what your bloodwork shows and if LDL cholesterol is still elevated in November then you could have that conversation with your doctor. I’m not sure it does anything for trigs.

 

[Hyde]

Well boys, weighed in at 268.4/122.0kg officially this afternoon around 4:30pm. Feeling good and mentally in a great place. I know what I am capable of; I just have to execute now. Competition begins at 9am tomorrow on the 11th. I was told there’s nearly 40 lifters and there should be 3 flights. The drug-tested meet today was over by 3:30pm, so should be about perfect tomorrow - nice big flights with lots of rest between attempts, but not a crazy long day either.

I’ve had 5,000 calories so far. Time for a bit more pizza and a couple little slices of cheese cake to tuck in for bed, then it’s up at 6:30am to prepare.

Wish me luck - whatever comes next, I’m all in!

 

[match]

Well boys, weighed in at 268.4/122.0kg officially this afternoon around 4:30pm. Feeling good and mentally in a great place. I know what I am capable of; I just have to execute now. Competition begins at 9am tomorrow on the 11th. I was told there’s nearly 40 lifters and there should be 3 flights. The drug-tested meet today was over by 3:30pm, so should be about perfect tomorrow - nice big flights with lots of rest between attempts, but not a crazy long day either.

I’ve had 5,000 calories so far. Time for a bit more pizza and a couple little slices of cheese cake to tuck in for bed, then it’s up at 6:30am to prepare.

Wish me luck - whatever comes next, I’m all in!

Go Hyde! Can't wait to hear all about it! Sleep well champ

 

[gphagan1]

Go kill it Big Guy…..Beast Mode is officially on.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Good luck mate!!! Looking forward to reading about it tomorrow!

 

[Rocket3015]

With your skill, luck is just a bonus. I know you will be Great !!

 

[RegisterJr]

Get after it big man.

 

[Segansational]

Go get it brother!

 

[dapack]

Crush it!! Cannot wait to hear how you did.

 

[jtmass]

Good luck, Hyde. Waiting for the results.

 

[Hyde]

1st place in the Open 275lb Raw class, by a wide margin over the 2nd place lifter. Went 9/9 on my attempts, earning 3 white lights every single lift (27/27 possible) - what is known as a perfect meet, exceedingly rare, & my first time I’ve ever accomplished this in 9 years of competing. One of the judges today was a World level judge I knew from a competition some years ago, in his late 50s, who told me he still has never managed a perfect meet.

Pulled off a 5.5lb lifetime PR total of 1,609lbs/730kg, a 22lb meet PR on bench, but most importantly with it my first ever Masters level total (top 10% of all totals in the nation for this class) & invite to the IPL World Championship. The USPA is the #1 federation for untested lifters, by far. This is where the highest standards are, and this is where the highest level of competition generally takes place, besides a couple random big money meets. Earning an invite to compete at the world level here is as serious as it gets, & my ultimate goal for the meet. I made a realistic plan, stuck to it, & executed.

Squat:
1st - 240 (529.1)
2nd - 257.5 (567.7)
3rd - 275 (606.3)

Bench:
1st - 157.5 (347.2)
2nd - 170 (374.8)
3rd - 177.5 (391.3)

Deadlift:
1st - 242.5 (534.6)
2nd - 262.5 (578.7)
3rd - 277.5 (611.8)

Total:
730kg (1,609.4lbs)

Respect the depth - 275kg/606lbs

3 whites after a 177.5lg/391lb bench

Smoked 277.5kg/611lbs to finish strong

1st Place hardware

Truly, the finest performance of my lifting career!

 

[MikeWay]

Wow!!! Well done!

 

[match]

So proud of you man! Way to go! I hope you are really enjoying the moment.

Hard work pays off guys, if this doesn't motivate you to get after your goals/dreams, what could??

 

[gphagan1]

Man that is absolutely Awesome……I knew it looked like everything was aligned for you to go big, but a perfect meet on top of first, and a 1609 total, wow. You absolutely deserve it after all the hard work and dedication you’ve put in. The one more rep, one more meal, pushing past the pain all culminated to becoming a CHAMPION.
Congratulations

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Awesome dude. You must be on cloud nine right now!!!
I am super stoked for you!

 

[jtmass]

Wow wow wow!! I am so thrilled for you. And the medal looks world class!

Congratulations not just for the win, but for the perfect meet score as well. I honestly had no idea how good you were.

 

[Rocket3015]

Congratulation this is fantastic !!!

 

[wfreiling]

Dude this is great news. I’m so stoked for you! That’s an amazing accomplishment.

 

[Segansational]

Incredible job and congratulations on all of those major accomplishments!

Also, pretty awesome that someone like you with this much knowledge and ability is willing to help out guys on this forum so often. Don't know why you bother slumming it with us knuckleheads, but I'll take it!

 

[Rocket3015]

Incredible job and congratulations on all of those major accomplishments!

Also, pretty awesome that someone like you with this much knowledge and ability is willing to help out guys on this forum so often. Don't know why you bother slumming it with us knuckleheads, but I'll take it!

I for one am very thankful that he does !! Thank you Hyde!!

 

[Hyde]

Thank you everyone, both for the congratulations now and your support & fellowship along the way! Lifting is an individual pursuit, but it’s also a brotherhood. I appreciate you all.

Man that is absolutely Awesome……I knew it looked like everything was aligned for you to go big, but a perfect meet on top of first, and a 1609 total, wow. You absolutely deserve it after all the hard work and dedication you’ve put in. The one more rep, one more meal, pushing past the pain all culminated to becoming a CHAMPION.
Congratulations

That’s a really good, honest way to say it. The way this is done, not just lifting for fun, but all the work of TRAINING that must be done at some point, and everything it takes to support the recovery from that continued effort - it is not easy. It is not about fun; it takes real work & dedication to do whatever is required to reach the end goal.

Every cursed moment on the reverse hyper, every ache & pain & strain, the thousands of reps of accessory while your heart is pounding away, every miserable moment after choking down another meal I didn’t want to eat, all the times I had to go to bed early, or get up so early, the gallons of sweat. If it was easy, it wouldn’t have be worth anything to me. This took so much, and it meant even more.

It was all worth it, in the end.

Also, pretty awesome that someone like you with this much knowledge and ability is willing to help out guys on this forum so often. Don't know why you bother slumming it with us knuckleheads, but I'll take it!

We’re all just trying to learn and get a little better as we can - knowledge/experiences have the most positive impact when we share! Everything I know about lifting, at some point was probably based on information someone else shared with me, and my experiences when I tried it. Never stop learning!

 

[MrKleen73]

Congrats @Hyde Well done!!! Always impressed with your work ethic and discipline! Very happy for you that you get to realize the fruits of your labor! Definitely a well deserved win for you!!!

 

[SkRaw85]

Hell yes!!!! The best part is, this is just the beginning……

Stoked for you my man. Solid work!

 

[RegisterJr]

Congrats Hyde! Nice job!

 

[dapack]

Congrats on a perfect meet and PRing!!! I know your last meet was not the best but this definitely makes up for it.

 

[Hyde]

Worlds is in just over 5 weeks. After lots of reflecting and discussion with the wife, I am not going to attend. We will be driving back from Strongman Corp Nationals for my wife the Sunday prior, so there’s no way we want to drive the family 14 hours one way just 4 days later down to the gulf coast. Flying is cost prohibitive to take the family at this point (especially because then we need a rental car), and I don’t really want to go to our favorite area of beach in the country solo, just to compete & bounce. That’s where we got married l, and I would want to take my family if I went.

Most importantly though, it’s probably just not that safe. My bloodwork is good to keep the PEDs up, but I am more susceptible to injury right now than ever. To lift the weights I’d need to try to sustain a peak and compete again so soon is playing with fire. And I absolutely have no interest in eating so many calories for another 5+ weeks.

So I am going to stick to the plan - this 4 weeks will be no barbell work or spinal compression. Dbs, bodyweight movements, unilateral work, non-compressive machine work, paired with a dietary focus on dropping a little bodyfat and getting on a semblance of a sane diet. Get my GPP up, help prevent some imbalances, give some neglected beach muscles a bit of volume.

 

[gphagan1]

Worlds is in just over 5 weeks. After lots of reflecting and discussion with the wife, I am not going to attend. We will be driving back from Strongman Corp Nationals for my wife the Sunday prior, so there’s no way we want to drive the family 14 hours one way just 4 days later down to the gulf coast. Flying is cost prohibitive to take the family at this point (especially because then we need a rental car), and I don’t really want to go to our favorite area of beach in the country solo, just to compete & bounce. That’s where we got married l, and I would want to take my family if I went.

Most importantly though, it’s probably just not that safe. My bloodwork is good to keep the PEDs up, but I am more susceptible to injury right now than ever. To lift the weights I’d need to try to sustain a peak and compete again so soon is playing with fire. And I absolutely have no interest in eating so many calories for another 5+ weeks.

So I am going to stick to the plan - this 4 weeks will be no barbell work or spinal compression. Dbs, bodyweight movements, unilateral work, non-compressive machine work, paired with a dietary focus on dropping a little bodyfat and getting on a semblance of a sane diet. Get my GPP up, help prevent some imbalances, give some neglected beach muscles a bit of volume.

Sounds like a safer and healthier plan, especially considering your long term goals. Better to be smart and not have any setbacks. Besides this win has put you in position to probably be able to choose any competition you want to get you closer to your goals.