Hyde’s Strength Odyssey

You know, there's several of us around here that have mentioned targeting a 2025 meet @Hyde @SkRaw85 @slimsaw00 . Wouldn't it be something if we could find one that we all prep for and do together live? Or at least follow the same program as we head towards it, have one PL log for all of us? Something like that?
 
You know, there's several of us around here that have mentioned targeting a 2025 meet @Hyde @SkRaw85 @slimsaw00 . Wouldn't it be something if we could find one that we all prep for and do together live? Or at least follow the same program as we head towards it, have one PL log for all of us? Something like that?
You’d be best off finding a buddy local to you and convincing them to do it with you. Or train with you some & go watch to support you.

A lot can happen in a prep; people rarely make it without some kind of little injuries or illness or some adverse life condition that makes them question whether they’ll be able to actually show on game day. My advice is do not travel a long way to only hope someone will show up. Also, most people do not need the same things, as far as training.

When you’re on that platform, you will have spotters to help keep you safe if you miss, and judges/audience with eyes on you, but you have to lift that barbell alone.
 
12/31/24

Shoulder warmup
Nerve Flossing
5 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camels
Bird Dogs
Copenhagen Planks
Ab Wheel
Glute Bridges

Deadlift, powerbar
45x15
135x5
225x3 can feel it in lat, shut it down

SSB GM
65x10
155,205x5
+belt
225 3x5

20” Box Stepups
2x10

Band Pullthrus
Avg 2x8

GHR
2x8

Lat stretches

Deadlift deload: did a little more on good mornings since pulling was going to be a bad idea. I basically can’t do anything with my right shoulder & lat until they’re healed up some, so sooner that happens the sooner I can get back to it. Everything with the SSB has felt really hard lately, so that’s probably a great place to target some weakness.

Bloodwork Friday morning to see how the past months on 500 test/wk have been treating me, what my blood thickness & cholesterol look like, before I consider any changes.
 
When you’re on that platform, you will have spotters to help keep you safe if you miss, and judges/audience with eyes on you, but you have to lift that barbell alone.

it's been a few years since I competed but both with Oly stages, xfit, and more strongman style I really never saw anything but camaraderie. Everyone there loves the same thing and has worked hard in their own way to be there. My ex used to ask me why I was laughing or talking to people in the middle of an event at times and it just got to where I was so comfortable that everyone there was just a friend I hadn't meant yet, lol.

it can feel daunting to walk into some new gym and "feel" like the outsider on the day of an event your first time, but once you realize half the people there are in the same boat you can warm up pretty fast. next thing you know you're standing up screaming UP UP UP for that guy busting his ass trying to beat you lol
 
it's been a few years since I competed but both with Oly stages, xfit, and more strongman style I really never saw anything but camaraderie. Everyone there loves the same thing and has worked hard in their own way to be there. My ex used to ask me why I was laughing or talking to people in the middle of an event at times and it just got to where I was so comfortable that everyone there was just a friend I hadn't meant yet, lol.

it can feel daunting to walk into some new gym and "feel" like the outsider on the day of an event your first time, but once you realize half the people there are in the same boat you can warm up pretty fast. next thing you know you're standing up screaming UP UP UP for that guy busting his ass trying to beat you lol
Oh there’s camaraderie, but strongman is much more casual than powerlifting. Everything about it feels casual and less organized, from the local to the absolute highest level in the world. In powerlifting you have such little time doing such a tiny singular thing, and so much going into it. Strongman may have twice the events, run twice as fast, it’s a shitshow for warmups, and these people will likely be doing 3+ shows that year. Everyone stands in a line waiting for their turn, nervously chatting away, until right before. At meets, people are usually more in their heads sooner, listening to music, visualizing, etc.

All the meets I’ve done with friends, I am glad they’re there, especially when we arrive & warm up - but I barely get to watch any lifts because I need to prepare myself for MY lifting. It’s not time to cheer & spend energy, or worry about them - they’re on their own until the flight is over & we can catch up. I trained a fucking year for less than 9 minutes of lifting, so I am coming to collect.

If they’re a better deadlifter than me, I get to cheer for them for their third attempts - I always dump all my adrenaline on whoever is left after me if I can. That’s a great feeling, to scream for the biggest pulls of the meet.
 
In powerlifting you have such little time doing such a tiny singular thing, and so much going into it. Strongman may have twice the events, run twice as fast, it’s a shitshow for warmups, and these people will likely be doing 3+ shows that year. Everyone stands in a line waiting for their turn, nervously chatting away, until right before. At meets, people are usually more in their heads sooner, listening to music, visualizing, etc.

For sure the more you broke it down it does remind me a lot of the different events, and I can only assume that oly events are very similar to PL events. I never did a straight PL, just the Oly, but you only have 2 lifts... snatch, and clean and jerk. You're right though the way you describe PL is similar to how I remember Oly.... like... you're on.... when I did it, it was only one platform we all used, one barbell... weight only goes up... so you better have your spot figured out. But I wasn't going to C&J 400lbs so I had plenty of time after my 3rd attempt to watch the big boys 😂

That’s a great feeling, to scream for the biggest pulls of the meet.
next to Eve and offspring, Sports have to be the next greatest gift God has given man. To give it your all, and then to sit there and get lost in someone elses effort, to feel their success and failure. It's both poetic and violently male at the sametime.
 
Was just thinking it'd be cool to work towards a same meet/date/timeframe goal with you guys. But I guess I could see how that might not work. I find it an interesting dichotomy with BB and PLing all being individual sports, but you usually need a "team" and support system behind you too.
 
Oh there’s camaraderie, but strongman is much more casual than powerlifting. Everything about it feels casual and less organized, from the local to the absolute highest level in the world. In powerlifting you have such little time doing such a tiny singular thing, and so much going into it. Strongman may have twice the events, run twice as fast, it’s a shitshow for warmups, and these people will likely be doing 3+ shows that year. Everyone stands in a line waiting for their turn, nervously chatting away, until right before. At meets, people are usually more in their heads sooner, listening to music, visualizing, etc.

All the meets I’ve done with friends, I am glad they’re there, especially when we arrive & warm up - but I barely get to watch any lifts because I need to prepare myself for MY lifting. It’s not time to cheer & spend energy, or worry about them - they’re on their own until the flight is over & we can catch up. I trained a fucking year for less than 9 minutes of lifting, so I am coming to collect.

If they’re a better deadlifter than me, I get to cheer for them for their third attempts - I always dump all my adrenaline on whoever is left after me if I can. That’s a great feeling, to scream for the biggest pulls of the meet.

Sorry for quoting the whole post, but what you mentioned about strongman is what is intriguing to me. I just need to get stronger, lol.
 
Was just thinking it'd be cool to work towards a same meet/date/timeframe goal with you guys. But I guess I could see how that might not work. I find it an interesting dichotomy with BB and PLing all being individual sports, but you usually need a "team" and support system behind you too.

I understand. We’re just in very different places. Your biggest hurdle is just making a decision to commit to something; mine is finding a way to get stronger than ever while managing to make it to the contest more or less in one piece. I have a near constant aspect of autoregulation I have to navigate. There is no “just follow this 12-week template for me,” because it’s not going to go to plan for that long. I used to always sign up for a meet as far out as I could, as soon as it was posted. Now I try to hold off when it’s not filling fast in case I need to bail.

Sorry for quoting the whole post, but what you mentioned about strongman is what is intriguing to me. I just need to get stronger, lol.
A lot of people love that, like my wife obviously. Even the biggest shows, there’s more of a sense of pressure & intensity, but at the core you can tell this came from a group of guys meeting up in a mall parking lot to take turns picking up heavy kegs & such.
While powerlifting meets are like coordinated max out gym sessions.
 
Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you a prosperous and wonderful year ahead.

I am more excited than ever to train for the year ahead.
 
Bloodwork was drawn this morning. Didn’t really have time for my bench deload and not even sure it’s a good idea with my shoulder (weighing benching 185 vs full rest), so I went back home to help get my son ready for school instead of the gym.

I may do something tomorrow in the garage, or add some into Sunday’s squat deload. Which will probably just be in the freezing garage with all the snow they’re calling for. I’d love to try out the Titan rackable cambered bar I got from my wife’s coach the day I tore my knee. She’s been calling to me, asking for a first date!
 
Didn’t really have time for my bench deload and not even sure it’s a good idea with my shoulder (weighing benching 185 vs full rest), so I went back home to help get my son ready for school instead of the gym.

I may do something tomorrow in the garage,

maybe just enjoy a chill mobility session for that shoulder? Kelly Starret style?
 
maybe just enjoy a chill mobility session for that shoulder? Kelly Starret style?
My ART doc gave me a few drills to push blood through the areas I need to target, as well as for tractioning and improving mobility to take stress of it. Doing those daily.
 
Bloodwork results came back. Been on ~500mg test/wk, 72mg/day generally, for 8.5 weeks (300/wk for something like 4-6 weeks prior). Compared to 10 weeks ago, 300/wk & weighing 242lbs:

-Liver is healthier
-Fasting glucose improved slightly
-Kidney function seems about the same
-Lipids have worsened (HDL 49->37, LDL 99->118, Trigs 64->70)
-Blood thickness is exactly the same (technically less thick, actually). HGB remains 18, HCT 54
-White blood cells are through the roof, because I’m still sick for like 3 weeks now

I’ve been around 250lbs most of this last 10 weeks, so 7-8lbs gain isn’t really a big difference as far as how it should affect bloodwork. From this I can conclude that 500 test/wk seems to be a very safe dose for me, with no increases in blood thickness, but lipids aren’t much different than ~800/wk of test, mast & DHB or deca - and they’re not able to stay in range. Pretty good, as 70 trigs is still less than double my 37 HDL, so not speeding towards atherosclerosis, but not something to just ignore and live on indefinitely either. No surprises there.

The other consideration is that with lipids where they’re at, it can be assumed they will slowly degrade further at this dose, and as soon as I up the dose, test or especially anything else, lipids will definitely drop into atherosclerotic ranges. So if I do that, the clock will be ticking.

I’ve got some thinking to do, how I want to proceed with gear and training goals.
 
1/4/25
BW 249.6

5 min Walk
Band Shoulder/Elbow warmup

Smith Bench
12x10
12,102x6
152x5
172 5x5

Barbell Shoulder mobility stuff

Rope Cable Facepulls
11,16x15

ss w/ Rope Cable Pressdowns
11,16x50

Deload bench, shoulder hurts, sick. Not training today like I was scheduled to, not even to deload my squat.

My labrum or subscap is hurt, my lat needs to heal, my knee needs to take it slow and I feel like I’ve been getting sicker. I can’t train any comp lift to standard, so there’s zero reason to be looking at a meet in 12 weeks or way to carry on training progression towards a peak. I’m neither very strong nor in a good place to push, & if I drop to cruise now I basically get off Scot-free from this little test blast (which did restore a good bit of muscle).

I didn’t take any test yesterday, and I will continue to not for the moment to let my levels come back down. I may throw 100mg deca or some GH in at some point, but recovery of the foundation is the priority for the moment. Training is going to be more instinctive for now.
 
My labrum or subscap is hurt, my lat needs to heal, my knee needs to take it slow and I feel like I’ve been getting sicker. I can’t train any comp lift to standard
I am in the same boat as you brother lol... we do the best we can even despite the injuries. Sorry to hear about all the troubles.
 
Hate to hear about the injuries not getting any better. Definitely understand the need to heal up and recover before thinking about any competition. I’ve actually been contemplating surgery on my left shoulder because the rotator cuff has been shot for years, and 2023 and 2024 kept feeling like 2 steps forward and 3 steps back, so it may be time. Not saying that’s your situation, just can relate to constantly working around injuries. Hopefully with the help of your ART guy you’ll be able to work a plan to heal up.
 
Hate to hear about the injuries not getting any better. Definitely understand the need to heal up and recover before thinking about any competition. I’ve actually been contemplating surgery on my left shoulder because the rotator cuff has been shot for years, and 2023 and 2024 kept feeling like 2 steps forward and 3 steps back, so it may be time. Not saying that’s your situation, just can relate to constantly working around injuries. Hopefully with the help of your ART guy you’ll be able to work a plan to heal up.
I don’t want to imply that nothing is improving, just that 225 was not a safe weight to deadlift with my lat even Tuesday, and baby weights on bench are still painful. And I don’t know the timeline for when things will be back in business, so it seems like a good time to throttle back.
 
I hate to hear the issues are causing you to have to pull back, but I completely understand how futile it is to try to push when things just aren't at a place they can be pushed.
 
-Lipids have worsened

I’ve got some thinking to do, how I want to proceed with gear and training goals.

And I don’t know the timeline for when things will be back in business, so it seems like a good time to throttle back.
IDK what weight you WANT to be at, but thinking about the break that Kleen has taken and what I have learned about fasting in terms of improved lipid profiles and it's anti inflammatory potential, would this be a time to maybe chill in that regard, throw in a couple fasts and see if it helps both from the inflamation side of things and lipids?

given your current injuries, could you enjoy a more BB style approach to the gym, limiting weight and ROM, making more use maybe of machines for a few weeks until you know the body is ready for legit barbell work?
 
IDK what weight you WANT to be at, but thinking about the break that Kleen has taken and what I have learned about fasting in terms of improved lipid profiles and it's anti inflammatory potential, would this be a time to maybe chill in that regard, throw in a couple fasts and see if it helps both from the inflamation side of things and lipids?

given your current injuries, could you enjoy a more BB style approach to the gym, limiting weight and ROM, making more use maybe of machines for a few weeks until you know the body is ready for legit barbell work?
Ultimately I’ll need to be more muscular than I am, but I’m fat enough I wouldn’t push any further. So losing some fat & weight for now would be just fine. I may throw a short fast in sometime soon, if I can set it up right.

The lipids are purely a matter of the anabolic use. Said simply, as doses goes up, HDL goes down. LDL tends to rise as well. Orals, DHT derivatives & 19-Nors tend to be even worse for lipid skewing than plain testosterone even (probably moreso because of the estrogen that accompanies testosterone). If you took your bloods now, I’m sure you’ll find them unfavorable compared to previous, due to the recent bit of Var exposure you had. But they are likely already improving now that you’ve stopped.

I don’t really want to get away from the barbell per se. I just can’t press or pull for the moment. I’m not sure about rowing yet; I suspect if I keep it light enough I can push them.
 
1/4/25
BW 249.6

5 min Walk
Band Shoulder/Elbow warmup

Smith Bench
12x10
12,102x6
152x5
172 5x5

Barbell Shoulder mobility stuff

Rope Cable Facepulls
11,16x15

ss w/ Rope Cable Pressdowns
11,16x50

Deload bench, shoulder hurts, sick. Not training today like I was scheduled to, not even to deload my squat.

My labrum or subscap is hurt, my lat needs to heal, my knee needs to take it slow and I feel like I’ve been getting sicker. I can’t train any comp lift to standard, so there’s zero reason to be looking at a meet in 12 weeks or way to carry on training progression towards a peak. I’m neither very strong nor in a good place to push, & if I drop to cruise now I basically get off Scot-free from this little test blast (which did restore a good bit of muscle).

I didn’t take any test yesterday, and I will continue to not for the moment to let my levels come back down. I may throw 100mg deca or some GH in at some point, but recovery of the foundation is the priority for the moment. Training is going to be more instinctive for now.
Sorry to hear things are flaring up and not feeling great, wonder if it would be a little better once you are over whatever crud you have?

Sounds like a solid plan though and sometimes (for me at least) some instinctive training can almost be more fun and re invigorate and produce some great sessions!
 
1/7/25
BW 247.8 yesterday

5 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Side Plank Activations

Circuit:
A) Ab Wheel
3x10

B) Reverse Hyper
90x10
180 3x15

C) Lat Pulldowns
50,80,110,110x15

Split Squats
Band Pullaparts

Squat, Duffalo Bar
55 2x10
145,235x5
285 3x5

Last deload session in the books. Endurance feels very poor & heart-rate seems quite high, but I was sick so shouldn’t expect much different. Squats felt pretty heavy too, but got better as I went (per usual). Not sure I’m in for particularly good training ahead, but the mind is willing.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0266.webp
    IMG_0266.webp
    102.6 KB · Views: 86
Still can't see most photos since the update, so missing out. But keep up the work! It's doing the boring/less fun work even when we don't want to or have that drive that gives us the consistency and path to greatness!
 
1/7/25
BW 247.8 yesterday

5 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Side Plank Activations

Circuit:
A) Ab Wheel
3x10

B) Reverse Hyper
90x10
180 3x15

C) Lat Pulldowns
50,80,110,110x15

Split Squats
Band Pullaparts

Squat, Duffalo Bar
55 2x10
145,235x5
285 3x5

Last deload session in the books. Endurance feels very poor & heart-rate seems quite high, but I was sick so shouldn’t expect much different. Squats felt pretty heavy too, but got better as I went (per usual). Not sure I’m in for particularly good training ahead, but the mind is willing.
Great job still getting the work in, that on the door at your gym, pretty true statement and wise words.
 
Great job still getting the work in, that on the door at your gym, pretty true statement and wise words.
It was the back door of the strongman room at a friend’s gym we went and trained with the other weekend, my first deload session. Great place about 3 hours from here with a regular commercial gym then a full powerlifting/crossfit/strongman area they’d bought out next door & merged.

One of those very rare breeds where you get the best of both worlds under one roof, super rare.
 
It was the back door of the strongman room at a friend’s gym we went and trained with the other weekend, my first deload session. Great place about 3 hours from here with a regular commercial gym then a full powerlifting/crossfit/strongman area they’d bought out next door & merged.

One of those very rare breeds where you get the best of both worlds under one roof, super rare.
That sounds awsome, I just got the green light to build a powerlifting area at the boxing gym. We had a room upstairs and some chick was running yoga classes up there and she couldn't get enough clients. The owner has had a lot of ppl looking to join but they want more weights and there's a PL gym near by that shutdown. The building is steel and concrete on every floor so there's really no weight limit so we're getting new equipment and some more strongman stuff. Were looking to put 2 power racks, a deadlift platform, a log press and a leg press in there to start. He's getting a cable crossover machine that can be used for pretty much any cable exercises too. Just something he wants up there. I have a decent amount of room to work with. You have any suggestions? I was about to DM you this and then I saw your post about that gym
 
That sounds awsome, I just got the green light to build a powerlifting area at the boxing gym. We had a room upstairs and some chick was running yoga classes up there and she couldn't get enough clients. The owner has had a lot of ppl looking to join but they want more weights and there's a PL gym near by that shutdown. The building is steel and concrete on every floor so there's really no weight limit so we're getting new equipment and some more strongman stuff. Were looking to put 2 power racks, a deadlift platform, a log press and a leg press in there to start. He's getting a cable crossover machine that can be used for pretty much any cable exercises too. Just something he wants up there. I have a decent amount of room to work with. You have any suggestions? I was about to DM you this and then I saw your post about that gym
Hey @Smont glad to you see posting again. I know you’ve been through some shi$&. Hoping things are getting better for you.
 
That sounds awsome, I just got the green light to build a powerlifting area at the boxing gym. We had a room upstairs and some chick was running yoga classes up there and she couldn't get enough clients. The owner has had a lot of ppl looking to join but they want more weights and there's a PL gym near by that shutdown. The building is steel and concrete on every floor so there's really no weight limit so we're getting new equipment and some more strongman stuff. Were looking to put 2 power racks, a deadlift platform, a log press and a leg press in there to start. He's getting a cable crossover machine that can be used for pretty much any cable exercises too. Just something he wants up there. I have a decent amount of room to work with. You have any suggestions? I was about to DM you this and then I saw your post about that gym
Very exciting stuff! Beyond what you mentioned, a Lat Pulldown w/ low row/cable attachment/footplate is ideal if you guys don’t have one downstairs, and a Glute Ham Developer is something cool that really can’t be replicated that easily. In addition to GHR, it’s a great place for sit-ups, back extensions, and preacher curls. If you can’t find a GHD for a price you can afford, get a cheap back extension somewhere. But for the same floor space the GHD does more. I think it’s one of the best machines for most athletes, because the way it builds hamstring size & strength directly correlates to upright movements like squatting & jumping. And stronger hams mean more stable, resilient knees.

I’m assuming the cable crossover or somewhere else has place for chin-ups already.

The number one thing though, is to get a couple genuine 29mm power bars. People will look for this. Brand is not as important because they follow similar specs, but lifters will look for that as the standard for what is a good, resilient bar with solid knurling for all the big 3, rows, etc. You always bench on a power bar, and some powerlifting feds use it for all 3. If you have a couple power bars and allow chalk and deadlifts, that is what a large group of even casual lifters need as top priority.

I’d assign a specific old bent bar for rack pulls; most gyms label one with tape so people don’t ruin other good bars. They make those strap safeties for some power racks if you want them quiet & have the cash, or you could build 3-4” blocks to pull from on the deadlift platform and ban rackpulls.
 
1/8/25

6 min Walk
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Side Plank Activations

Back Extensions on GHD
2x20

alt w/ Situps on GHD
2x15

Squat, powerbar
BW,45x10
135x5
225x3
295x1
+belt
345,385,415,435x1

Dynamic Bench, powerbar
45x10
45,95,135x5
155 3x5
175 2x5

Nautilus Plate-loaded Incline Press
35,50,75/side 2x10 each

Hoist Roc-it Lat Pulldown
65,105x25
145x15

After how hard reps with 285 felt Tuesday morning, I wanted to take just 15 minutes to squat something heavier to help tune my CNS back up. Really pleased with how fast & smooth 435 was, and I also suspect I should probably go back to flats (at least for any lowbar lifting like this).

Also very happy that I finally didn’t feel like dying just walking to warmup for a change, and that my shoulder wasn’t hurting to unrack and press speed bench. So that’s on the up & up too.
 
Sounds like a productive session!
 
Sounds like a productive session!

Trying to think about things more in terms of “what do I need to focus on to get better” vs more generic balanced programming. What is going to help ME the most right now; what do I need/what is holding me back the most?

Awesome to see you felt good enough to squat some big weight.💪👍

As I was finishing training last night at the commercial gym a college kid came up to tell me how cool he thought my squat was, that he loved watching it. I didn’t think a lot about it when I was squatting it, but it felt pretty good later to learn I had actually inspired someone with it.
 
As I was finishing training last night at the commercial gym a college kid came up to tell me how cool he thought my squat was, that he loved watching it. I didn’t think a lot about it when I was squatting it, but it felt pretty good later to learn I had actually inspired someone with it.

probably first time he saw a rhino outside the animal planet channel!!

it is a beautiful thing watching a big dude squat enough weight to bend the bar in half though, any gym rat loves to see a good squat!
 
1/10/25

5 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Side Plank Activations
Ab Wheel
Glute Bridges

Dynamic SSB 13.5” Boxsquats
65 2x5
vs Light Bands
65,155,205x3
+belt
245 7x3

SSB GM
65,155,205x5
+belt
245 3x5

Deadlift, powerbar
135,185,225,245,265,275x5

Great day of training. Woke up actually feeling good, for the first morning in ages. SSB still kicking my ass around, but the box was deeper than I intended (measured afterwards) & it’s my 3rd day of squats in 4 days, so I’m happy with it. Made progress on the good mornings too - felt like my face was going to explode.

Really pumped I could pull 275 painless. Making progress healing shoulder & lat!
 
Bloodwork was drawn this morning. Didn’t really have time for my bench deload and not even sure it’s a good idea with my shoulder (weighing benching 185 vs full rest), so I went back home to help get my son ready for school instead of the gym.

I may do something tomorrow in the garage, or add some into Sunday’s squat deload. Which will probably just be in the freezing garage with all the snow they’re calling for. I’d love to try out the Titan rackable cambered bar I got from my wife’s coach the day I tore my knee. She’s been calling to me, asking for a first date!
That’s a sexy score!
 
1/4/25
BW 249.6

5 min Walk
Band Shoulder/Elbow warmup

Smith Bench
12x10
12,102x6
152x5
172 5x5

Barbell Shoulder mobility stuff

Rope Cable Facepulls
11,16x15

ss w/ Rope Cable Pressdowns
11,16x50

Deload bench, shoulder hurts, sick. Not training today like I was scheduled to, not even to deload my squat.

My labrum or subscap is hurt, my lat needs to heal, my knee needs to take it slow and I feel like I’ve been getting sicker. I can’t train any comp lift to standard, so there’s zero reason to be looking at a meet in 12 weeks or way to carry on training progression towards a peak. I’m neither very strong nor in a good place to push, & if I drop to cruise now I basically get off Scot-free from this little test blast (which did restore a good bit of muscle).

I didn’t take any test yesterday, and I will continue to not for the moment to let my levels come back down. I may throw 100mg deca or some GH in at some point, but recovery of the foundation is the priority for the moment. Training is going to be more instinctive for now.
Sorry to hear man. I bet a little GH would go a long way with you right now.
 
1/11/25
BW 248.0

7 min Walk
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
KB Suitcase Carries
Band Shoulder Warmup

Reverse Hypers
180 2x20

Axle Pinpress from Chest
35x10
85,125x5
175x3
215,255,275,300,305x1

Bench from mono jcups
45,135,185,195,205,215,200x10

Cable Tri Pressdown
40x50,25,25

ss w/ Band Pullaparts
Mini 3x35

Very difficult to get my brain to trust my shoulder, but as sets went on my nervous system woke up as it gained trust the deadpresses were safe. Meant to take 315 but when I switched to 3 wheels, forgot to adjust for the axle only being 35lbs 😝

Then 10,000lbs of regular bench at a 200lb average, using the Rogue mono hooks to keep unracking stress off the shoulder. Feel like I just need to get back to getting some volume & laying a base to expand.
 
Those axel pin press are huge!!!
I believe I would have done 315 if I’d properly loaded it, but that’s still not that great of a bench even with zero eccentric for me. Even if I got 10% from the lowering phase, that wouldn’t even be a 350 bench at nearly 250lbs.
 
Yesterday was my son’s 4th birthday party. We had a big party with all our family and some kids/parents from his class (including his best buddies). There was a piñata full of candy, lots of decorations, pizza & cake - the kids really had a blast. Later that evening my wife & I took him to an indoor trampoline/climbing park before getting him hotdogs & cake.

I’m really glad it all went so well, because it was a lot of effort. It was great seeing how happy he was, & I’m happy we got to do it that way. I know there won’t always be a time where this kind of stuff will be very exciting or important to him, so I’m grateful to be able to do it when it does. He’s really special to me.
 
Yesterday was my son’s 4th birthday party. We had a big party with all our family and some kids/parents from his class (including his best buddies). There was a piñata full of candy, lots of decorations, pizza & cake - the kids really had a blast. Later that evening my wife & I took him to an indoor trampoline/climbing park before getting him hotdogs & cake.

I’m really glad it all went so well, because it was a lot of effort. It was great seeing how happy he was, & I’m happy we got to do it that way. I know there won’t always be a time where this kind of stuff will be very exciting or important to him, so I’m grateful to be able to do it when it does. He’s really special to me.
4 already, man time flies! Glad you had a great time sounds like he did too, lots of good memories!
 
Back
Top