Kleen - Project 50: Under Construction

[MrKleen73]

Glad you got to enjoy some time with your son, and the concert. After seeing you going to a couple of concerts, I’ve got the fever, I told my wife we need to get tickets to Music Midtown in Atlanta in September. Guns and Roses will be there Sunday the 17th, which is really the main group I want to see, and my wife wants to see Pink on that Friday, ha got to keep the little lady happy. There’s a lot of groups all 3 days, but I think we’ll just do the Friday and Sunday.
Oh, and we’ll keep your friend Mark and his family in our prayers, hopefully he pulls through.

Those would both be great concerts. Pink has such a powerful voice. Nothing even needs to be said about G&R, just an awesome opportunity to see them!!!

I love the energy at a concert !!

Yeah, one of my favorite things to do. I love concerts and live music!

7/25/23 - Upper body

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This was a good workout. I went too hard on machine lateral raises so I dropped the weight on the last set, and will do lower next time. It felt really good to take the sets to something more challenging than the 4-5RIR stuff lately. I ended up doing this whole session in one shot but it was a good one.

This morning I got up and was at the gym at 5:00AM, hit the first half of legs. Was a decent session first time getting up early to train in a long time.

This morning I did High Bar Squats, Quad Focused Walking Lunges, and Sumo Deadlifts. This afternoon will be Reverse Lunges, Seated leg Curl, Calves, Dumbbell Shrugs, and Modified Candlestick for Abs. I will post the details once I have completed the training for today.

Nutrition - Today is a feeding day, had about 45g of carbs via CT lemonade as an intra/pre with a BCAA / Hydration mix.
Post Workout - Had a shake and a serving of Quaker Oats Cinnamon Squares with half cup of milk.

The office is providing fajitas for lunch today, going to take the high road and go for the chicken even though I know the beef taste better. I will probably make one taco out of beef just because it is the best, but the bulk of the protein for the meal will be chicken breast fajita.

 

[Rocket3015]

AM Workout and Fajitas, Sounds like a great day to me!!

 

[MrKleen73]

AM Workout and Fajitas, Sounds like a great day to me!!

Yessir!!!

7/26/23 Lower body

Warm Up - Stairmill Step pushdowns - 6 minutes

Morning Session

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Afternoon Session

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All in all a pretty decent training day. I started to warm up for calves then remembered I am not supposed to do them. I just put a generic number I knew I could hit easily in there, and will pick up on this as soon as I am released to do calve work.

High Bar Squats were challenging. I had not done them in so long. I erred on the side of caution and stuck closer to a 4RIR on them this morning. Lunges were serious work both on the walking and the reverse lunges. All in all a good day of training.

 

[Dustin07]

Not gonna lie, my favorite part was reading SKIPPED

 

[MrKleen73]

Not gonna lie, my favorite part was reading SKIPPED

I laughed when i saw it actually posted.

 

[akboom87]

Nice sessions and looks like a fun time at the concerts! Keep it up man!!

 

[Rocket3015]

Not gonna lie, my favorite part was reading SKIPPED

When I saw that (before I read the post) I almost Posted my Sponge Bob picture.

 

[MrKleen73]

Nice sessions and looks like a fun time at the concerts! Keep it up man!!

Thanks, and yeah definitely!

When I saw that (before I read the post) I almost Posted my Sponge Bob picture.

LMAO Right!

Although, I definitely have the calves... I laugh every time I sit down for a while and stand up I have to push my jeans down off my calves so they don't look like high-waters. It began almost immediately after I started training them again. They just started inflating, and are noticeably bigger.

Legs are feeling nice and full tonight. Calories for the day should land me somewhere between 2250-3000. Not sure how much fat was in the skirt steak fajita I ate, but I didn't use cheese or anything just tortilla, meat, veggies, and hot sauce. Don't get me wrong I love cheese but I almost never put it on my tacos unless I have plenty of spare calories.

Tomorrow I leave work at 3:00PM. The wife and I have another concert to go to!!!! Tomorrow is the Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin concert! Oh yeah that bad boy is going to be DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!!!! I am definitely excited for this one. I haven't seen either of them since the last time they toured together which was a LONG time ago. They are both so damn good live!

Anyway, I will fast until we get to dinner and a drink. Then I am off Friday, so at some point Friday afternoon I will go get my next upper body session in.

The last few weeks with all the concerts has been busy. We didn't plan for them to all be together like this. We bought the tickets all throughout the year, but they sure came in a bundle. I don't think we have anything else until October, but I will be on the lookout.

 

[gphagan1]

Thanks, and yeah definitely!
LMAO Right!

Although, I definitely have the calves... I laugh every time I sit down for a while and stand up I have to push my jeans down off my calves so they don't look like high-waters. It began almost immediately after I started training them again. They just started inflating, and are noticeably bigger.

Legs are feeling nice and full tonight. Calories for the day should land me somewhere between 2250-3000. Not sure how much fat was in the skirt steak fajita I ate, but I didn't use cheese or anything just tortilla, meat, veggies, and hot sauce. Don't get me wrong I love cheese but I almost never put it on my tacos unless I have plenty of spare calories.

Tomorrow I leave work at 3:00PM. The wife and I have another concert to go to!!!! Tomorrow is the Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin concert! Oh yeah that bad boy is going to be DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!!!! I am definitely excited for this one. I haven't seen either of them since the last time they toured together which was a LONG time ago. They are both so damn good live!

Anyway, I will fast until we get to dinner and a drink. Then I am off Friday, so at some point Friday afternoon I will go get my next upper body session in.

The last few weeks with all the concerts has been busy. We didn't plan for them to all be together like this. We bought the tickets all throughout the year, but they sure came in a bundle. I don't think we have anything else until October, but I will be on the lookout.

That’s cool you and your wife are getting to enjoy so many concerts. I went to so many concerts in my 20s, back in the 80s, that if I did it today, with the price of tickets, there’s no telling how much it would cost. In the Summer of 1988 my cousin and our girlfriends went to 4 concerts, the best was the Monsters of Rock in the Liberty bowl, in Memphis, with Van Halen, Metallica, Scorpions, Dokken, and Kingdom Come, needless to say that was a wild weekend. Sorry Kleen, I guess I’m living vicariously through your concerts. I hope you guys enjoy it though.

 

[MrKleen73]

That’s cool you and your wife are getting to enjoy so many concerts. I went to so many concerts in my 20s, back in the 80s, that if I did it today, with the price of tickets, there’s no telling how much it would cost. In the Summer of 1988 my cousin and our girlfriends went to 4 concerts, the best was the Monsters of Rock in the Liberty bowl, in Memphis, with Van Halen, Metallica, Scorpions, Dokken, and Kingdom Come, needless to say that was a wild weekend. Sorry Kleen, I guess I’m living vicariously through your concerts. I hope you guys enjoy it though.

Lucky you!!! I wanted to go to that concert so bad!!!

Yeah concerts are ridiculous now. If they weren't so bad I am sure we would go to a lot more. I think we normally do 4-8 concerts a year. Between dinner, drinks, and the tickets a concert night can be anywhere between $300-500 and that is with me having a relatively low ticket price threshold. A lot of concerts are just simply out of our price ranges. At least we pay for the night out in payments. LOL Tickets first, then months later, food and drink.

Really enjoying the new workout layout. I actually have a little bit of DOMS in a few spots on my upper body and my glutes are already feeling yesterday's session. Getting up in the AM is going to take some discipline, but I will work on that. Worst case scenario, if I have to I can knock the whole session out in one long session in the evening.

7/27/23 - Morning Weight 209 - Weight climbed up a little over the last week, but abs still visible. Just minor adjustments needed here.

Next week I will bring back the frequency of my walks, or do actual cardio in the gym on non-lifting days. The fasting structure will be returning and I will laser in my focus on hitting 190-195. This week I also intend to prep everything Sunday, and have exact measurements and everything on all of my meals so I can accurately track calories. I have been prepping recently but mostly just meat and rice then eyeballing my servings. So this weekend whether it is straight meat, veggies and rice, or some sort of mixed fair, I will have the macros per serving ready and all of my servings separated. Make an honest effort and turn this into an actual cut instead of worrying so much about muscle loss and trying to recomp. Heck, I might even look into some sort of diet pill or something.

 

[gphagan1]

Lucky you!!! I wanted to go to that concert so bad!!!

Yeah concerts are ridiculous now. If they weren't so bad I am sure we would go to a lot more. I think we normally do 4-8 concerts a year. Between dinner, drinks, and the tickets a concert night can be anywhere between $300-500 and that is with me having a relatively low ticket price threshold. A lot of concerts are just simply out of our price ranges. At least we pay for the night out in payments. LOL Tickets first, then months later, food and drink.

Really enjoying the new workout layout. I actually have a little bit of DOMS in a few spots on my upper body and my glutes are already feeling yesterday's session. Getting up in the AM is going to take some discipline, but I will work on that. Worst case scenario, if I have to I can knock the whole session out in one long session in the evening.

7/27/23 - Morning Weight 209 - Weight climbed up a little over the last week, but abs still visible. Just minor adjustments needed here.

Next week I will bring back the frequency of my walks, or do actual cardio in the gym on non-lifting days. The fasting structure will be returning and I will laser in my focus on hitting 190-195. This week I also intend to prep everything Sunday, and have exact measurements and everything on all of my meals so I can accurately track calories. I have been prepping recently but mostly just meat and rice then eyeballing my servings. So this weekend whether it is straight meat, veggies and rice, or some sort of mixed fair, I will have the macros per serving ready and all of my servings separated. Make an honest effort and turn this into an actual cut instead of worrying so much about muscle loss and trying to recomp. Heck, I might even look into some sort of diet pill or something.

That’s the way I view it on the concert ticket prices….you get tickets early, and that night dinner and just a good time out with the little lady, in the end it’s worth the $300 to $500 you end up spending. Of course we only go to maybe 2 or 3 a year, not counting the free ones they do here in our little college town at their amphitheater.

Looks like even though you have had to deal with some nagging injuries you’ve been able to have success with your training and nutrition adjustments, 209 and abs still showing are all good signs. Man you should start to look pretty shredded around that 190 mark.

 

[MrKleen73]

That’s the way I view it on the concert ticket prices….you get tickets early, and that night dinner and just a good time out with the little lady, in the end it’s worth the $300 to $500 you end up spending. Of course we only go to maybe 2 or 3 a year, not counting the free ones they do here in our little college town at their amphitheater.

Looks like even though you have had to deal with some nagging injuries you’ve been able to have success with your training and nutrition adjustments, 209 and abs still showing are all good signs. Man you should start to look pretty shredded around that 190 mark.

This is the last time I was about 190, and I am pretty sure I am at least 5 pounds bigger now.

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[Hyde]

190 is going to be a great lean look for you!

 

[MrKleen73]

190 is going to be a great lean look for you!

Agreed, I wouldn't complain with looking just like that to be honest. Obviously would need more shoulders if i wanted to compete but I am pretty sure my delts have improved a lot since then. I wasn't doing much on side raises or rear delt training like I do now.

 

[Rocket3015]

Can't wait to see some Updated Pic's

 

[MrKleen73]

Can't wait to see some Updated Pic's

I will start posting up some progress pics again, most likely this weekend. Have a before I turned up the heat picture, and then update every two weeks to make sure I am seeing visual progress, but even moreso for accountability.

Oh, just a cool thing I noticed at the gym yesterday morning. I got some new workout shorts that actually fit decently and are not basketball shorts. They weren't tight by any means, but a little fitted when I walked into the gym. By the end of my warm up they were a little more snug, and by the time I finished my squats my legs swole up so much that my adductors basically ate my shorts. The fabric kept getting stuck up on them during the bottom of the squat, causing them to hike up further on my legs and my quads were looking pretty legit. Ripped and bouncing with every step, it was actually kind of impressive. I don't normally see what my legs look like during training.

Also, my adductors have been responding very well to the leg press since the stance I use has the knees not only going way out over my toes, but out at about a 45 degree angle so there is a lot of adductor involvement. Big adductors make legs look so much more impressive. Almost as much as a huge hang on the hamstrings.

 

[gphagan1]

This is the last time I was about 190, and I am pretty sure I am at least 5 pounds bigger now.

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You were definitely ripped, that will be a great build and look.

 

[MrKleen73]

7/28/23 -
Upper Body Week 1 Day 3 - slow negatives and pauses in stretched position on all reps

WU = MaxTrainer - 5 minutes

3 Warm Up Sets for individual exercises = 30rm x 12, 20rm x 8, 10rm x4

Chest
Dumbbell Press - 60x10, 60x7 - Excellent stretch on these. Far superior to any machine or bench so far.
Machine Fly - 85x12, 85x10 - Warm Up was a little over target, effected reps.

Back
Machine Pullover - 100x11, 100x9 - Great stretch and nice and slow negatives.

Triceps
Barbell Skullcrusher - 60x9, 60x8 - Performed somewhere in between a skullcrusher and a JM Press - Great stretch

Biceps
Cable Curls EZ Bar Wide Grip - 90x8, 90x7, 90x6 - Huge pump from these, also squeezed and raised elbows while flexing at the top to get a nice chest contraction in the mix.
Hammer Curls - 15x12, 15x10, 15x8 - Awesome contractions here.

Shoulder and Traps
Barbell Upright Row - 45x20, 45x17, 45x13 - Paused in top position on these. I got a great pump in medial delts and traps!
Machine Reverse Fly - 70x15, 70x12, 70x8 - Rear delts were really popping after these.

Chest and biceps got 2 exercises in this session, and last time back and triceps got 2 exercises. Shoulders being a spot I want to bring up and being a smaller muscle group can get equal attention in both sessions. I am doing something similar with lower body, giving 2 exercises to glutes and 1 to hamstrings one session then the next gets 2 hamstrings and 1 glute. There tends to be a lot of carry over in those 2 anyway...

This was a 2 hour session, with all of the warm up sets it gets a little silly, but I only do 1-2 warm up sets on any 2nd movement for a particular body part. However as you can see that only happens twice in the session. This is why I am breaking it into 2 unless I am not working that day. It is going to get a bit silly as we get further into the meso. I may end up shortening rest periods even more. Possibly even bringing them down to a minute since I am not focusing on strength anyway.

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7/29/23 - Morning Weight 212.2 - I am holding on to a good amount of water right now. Getting in the surplus on days I haven't fasted going into is adding up quickly. Abs have diminished some but I am looking full and thick right now.

Just got back from my ART session. WHEW!!!! The hot spots in my calf and ankle are brutal! He really dug in today and it hurt like hell. He told me I could return to very light calf work once the initial soreness from this session goes down. It is already really tender and he warned me it was really going to hurt the first several steps when I wake up after sleeping. Hoping it doesn't affect the rest of my leg session today too much. I think for the most part it shouldn't be an issue.

My adductors are still a little sore from the last session so we shall see how things go. I don't think it should be a big deal. Neither of the quad movements I am doing today hit the adductors as hard as squats.

 

[Hyde]

Your legs will be alright once you get up to temp & have some blood in them. It’s starting to warmup that will be feeling rough if anything. Good luck!

 

[gphagan1]

7/28/23 -
Upper Body Week 1 Day 3 - slow negatives and pauses in stretched position on all reps

WU = MaxTrainer - 5 minutes

3 Warm Up Sets for individual exercises = 30rm x 12, 20rm x 8, 10rm x4

Chest
Dumbbell Press - 60x10, 60x7 - Excellent stretch on these. Far superior to any machine or bench so far.
Machine Fly - 85x12, 85x10 - Warm Up was a little over target, effected reps.

Back
Machine Pullover - 100x11, 100x9 - Great stretch and nice and slow negatives.

Triceps
Barbell Skullcrusher - 60x9, 60x8 - Performed somewhere in between a skullcrusher and a JM Press - Great stretch

Biceps
Cable Curls EZ Bar Wide Grip - 90x8, 90x7, 90x6 - Huge pump from these, also squeezed and raised elbows while flexing at the top to get a nice chest contraction in the mix.
Hammer Curls - 15x12, 15x10, 15x8 - Awesome contractions here.

Shoulder and Traps
Barbell Upright Row - 45x20, 45x17, 45x13 - Paused in top position on these. I got a great pump in medial delts and traps!
Machine Reverse Fly - 70x15, 70x12, 70x8 - Rear delts were really popping after these.

Chest and biceps got 2 exercises in this session, and last time back and triceps got 2 exercises. Shoulders being a spot I want to bring up and being a smaller muscle group can get equal attention in both sessions. I am doing something similar with lower body, giving 2 exercises to glutes and 1 to hamstrings one session then the next gets 2 hamstrings and 1 glute. There tends to be a lot of carry over in those 2 anyway...

This was a 2 hour session, with all of the warm up sets it gets a little silly, but I only do 1-2 warm up sets on any 2nd movement for a particular body part. However as you can see that only happens twice in the session. This is why I am breaking it into 2 unless I am not working that day. It is going to get a bit silly as we get further into the meso. I may end up shortening rest periods even more. Possibly even bringing them down to a minute since I am not focusing on strength anyway.

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7/29/23 - Morning Weight 212.2 - I am holding on to a good amount of water right now. Getting in the surplus on days I haven't fasted going into is adding up quickly. Abs have diminished some but I am looking full and thick right now.

Just got back from my ART session. WHEW!!!! The hot spots in my calf and ankle are brutal! He really dug in today and it hurt like hell. He told me I could return to very light calf work once the initial soreness from this session goes down. It is already really tender and he warned me it was really going to hurt the first several steps when I wake up after sleeping. Hoping it doesn't affect the rest of my leg session today too much. I think for the most part it shouldn't be an issue.

My adductors are still a little sore from the last session so we shall see how things go. I don't think it should be a big deal. Neither of the quad movements I am doing today hit the adductors as hard as squats.

Nice workout, I think a lot of people underestimate how well the good old dumbbell press works the chest. When you slow it down and get a good stretch, your able to feel the muscles you’re working and really focus and squeeze out every last bit. Hopefully working your quads goes well, without any issues.

 

[Rocket3015]

hell. He told me I could return to very light calf work once the initial soreness from this session goes down. It is already really tender and he warned me it was really going to hurt the first several steps when I wake up after sleeping.

Sometimes it hurts so bad the next day, you wonder if it was work it ? But a few days later you are ready to go again. We are a crazy bunch !!

 

[Hyde]

Sometimes it hurts so bad the next day, you wonder if it was work it ? But a few days later you are ready to go again. We are a crazy bunch !!

Nobody said it would be easy - they only said it would be worth it!

 

[MrKleen73]

Your legs will be alright once you get up to temp & have some blood in them. It’s starting to warmup that will be feeling rough if anything. Good luck!

Yessir! It worked out well, and I got in a great session.

Nice workout, I think a lot of people underestimate how well the good old dumbbell press works the chest. When you slow it down and get a good stretch, your able to feel the muscles you’re working and really focus and squeeze out every last bit. Hopefully working your quads goes well, without any issues.

Yeah, I stopped pushing them for a while because gripping the heavies was starting to bother my elbows. However they were my bread and butter for years. I definitely get better pec stimulation from them.

Sometimes it hurts so bad the next day, you wonder if it was work it ? But a few days later you are ready to go again. We are a crazy bunch !!

Oh yeah, it hurt so bad, I actually worked them a little to just push some of the inflammation fluids out of the muscle.

Nobody said it would be easy - they only said it would be worth it!

Facts!

7/29/23 - Lower Body

Stairmill Warm Up - 6 minutes

Exercise specific Warm Up = 30rm x 12, 20rm x 8, 10rm x 4

Pre-Workout - Pump Addict @1.5 scoops

Peri Workout Drink - CT Lemonade 74g, 10g BCAA from hydration drink


First Exercise was Hack Squats it just didn't capture in the screen cap.
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Things were pretty warmed up by the time I got off the stairmill. It is such a great warm up for working legs. Calve was feeling pretty good with all of the blood in them from the stairmill. Hack Squats went well, had great positioning able to bottom out the machine without rounding my lower back. Really limited the weight going so deep.

I did some light leg press calf raises, had to go heavier than expected to even reach a moderate effort. I guess that is a good thing.

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7/31/23 - Morning Weight 208.9lbs - I kept calories down to about 1500 yesterday, and am fasting today so this should kind of get us back on track for seeing the scale move down. At least for a couple days. LOL That is one thing with the fasting, it is a bit of a zigzag effect, but as long as it trends down it is working.

 

[Rocket3015]

Nobody said it would be easy - they only said it would be worth it!

Yes It Is!!

 

[MrKleen73]

8/1/23 - Morning Weight 206.2

Upper Body - Morning Session

Pre-Workout - Pump Addict Blue Raspberry Lemonade @ 1 scoop - This was my first time using this flavor and I like it a little better than the other one but both are pretty good.
Peri-Workout Drink - CT Lemonade Mix 55g, BCAA + electrolytes 10g

Exercise Specific Warm Ups = 30RM x12, 20RM x8, 10RM x4 - RM are estimated

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This morning's session was great. I picked up the pace and was able to get 4 compound movements, and some Skull Crushers in. During lunch I will finish upper body with some shoulders and biceps. Probably add in some ab work, or start it with 15-20 minutes of conditioning for the ol ticker, then finish with the weights.

I will update again after the Afternoon Session.

 

[Dustin07]

Pump Addict Blue Raspberry Lemonade @ 1 scoop - This was my first time using this flavor and I like it a little better than the other one but both are pretty good.

I had to double check, that's the same one in my office desk right now lol

 

[MrKleen73]

I had to double check, that's the same one in my office desk right now lol

Yeah, I like it, pretty fruity and enjoyable.

 

[akboom87]

8/1/23 - Morning Weight 206.2

Upper Body - Morning Session

Pre-Workout - Pump Addict Blue Raspberry Lemonade @ 1 scoop - This was my first time using this flavor and I like it a little better than the other one but both are pretty good.
Peri-Workout Drink - CT Lemonade Mix 55g, BCAA + electrolytes 10g

Exercise Specific Warm Ups = 30RM x12, 20RM x8, 10RM x4 - RM are estimated

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This morning's session was great. I picked up the pace and was able to get 4 compound movements, and some Skull Crushers in. During lunch I will finish upper body with some shoulders and biceps. Probably add in some ab work, or start it with 15-20 minutes of conditioning for the ol ticker, then finish with the weights.

I will update again after the Afternoon Session.

Nice session, also I like how you have your warm up weights in the notes that is a handy little trick I’m going to use for my next meso.

 

[MrKleen73]

Nice session, also I like how you have your warm up weights in the notes that is a handy little trick I’m going to use for my next meso.

Yeah, it just occurred to me while training the other day. How can I track if I forget what my warm up sets were the last time. If I go heavier on a warm up set or something and don't realize it, that could make me appear to be underperforming when i get to my work sets just from doing more before the actual work. So I tried to capture them for some consistency.

I am actually starting to enjoy pushing the pace a little more. The reps seem to be holding decently strong in my follow up sets even with the shorter rest periods. Trying to find a nice balance. Most large compounds are 1-1.5 minutes, and isolation / smaller muscles 30-60 seconds rest. Just increasing the pace to increase actual fitness level.

 

[MrKleen73]

8/1/23 - Upper Body Afternoon Session

Pre-Workout - Muscletech Vapor X5

Elliptical - 20 Minutes - 278 calories

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Nice session to finish up training for the day.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Nice work mate! Haven’t checked in for a while, your numbers are looking great!

 

[Rocket3015]

You are making Great Progress ! The Hard Work is paying off!

 

[Dustin07]

How can I track if I forget what my warm up sets were the last time. If I go heavier on a warm up set or something and don't realize it, that could make me appear to be underperforming when i get to my work sets just from doing more before the actual work. So I tried to capture them for some consistency.

I really like that. I tend to go back and forth, some days trying to increase warm-up sets 5-10lbs because lets face it, why would my warm-up sets be identical at 500lbs to a 300lb max right? But to be 100% honest there are days when everything is tight and crunchy feeling and I will sit there and hammer my warm ups at like 25-35% until I feel warm and break a light sweat. Then make huge jumps...

 

[MrKleen73]

Nice work mate! Haven’t checked in for a while, your numbers are looking great!

Thanks, and welcome back!

You are making Great Progress ! The Hard Work is paying off!

Thanks you Sir!

I really like that. I tend to go back and forth, some days trying to increase warm-up sets 5-10lbs because lets face it, why would my warm-up sets be identical at 500lbs to a 300lb max right? But to be 100% honest there are days when everything is tight and crunchy feeling and I will sit there and hammer my warm ups at like 25-35% until I feel warm and break a light sweat. Then make huge jumps...

Oh yeah, they need to go up gradually too. I like the whole idea of the estimated 30RM for 12, 20RM for 8, and 10RM for 4. It's a pretty reasonable guesstimation. It also doesn't require a ton of adjustment within the 6 week meso, but over a longer period of time, like a training block they should indeed have moved a little if it has been productive training.

Yeah, I was crunchy this morning, woke up with a really tight lower back... On a squat day no less!!! I had to do the stairmill an extra minute and one extra warm up set on Squats. I hit my target reps but it wasn't at 2RIR quite yet, and I didn't push harder because I felt the back had already been kind to me so why push things.

About to eat meal number 2, got busy in the middle of this update and wasn't able to get it in earlier.

 

[MrKleen73]

I thought I had already posted up some of my workout from yesterday. Probably sitting on my computer screen at home.

8/2/23 - Morning Weight 205.8


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Afternoon Session
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I had to cut the abs off of this day. With the addition of sets I did not have time to do them before I needed to change and get back to work. I am probably going to remove Ab work from the weight training days. Just do them twice a week when they fit in. I have those deep inset abs so I don't need them to grow just to be used regularly and to train to pull them in and back more than get them bigger. I think 4-6 sets of modified candle sticks or ab wheel rollouts a week anywhere in the week will be more than enough. Maybe even just 3 and some light high rep crunches with my navel pulled back toward my spine.

I went up on everything either reps, weight or both. Was a great session for how tight my lower back was upon waking. My squats improved to where the first set of 8 was not a 2RIR, but I didn't push it. The 2nd set we got there. Dr Mike recommended just following the weight and rep recommendations even if you can do more unless it is just too easy to be productive.

This leg session is just so long with all of the warm ups it is 38 sets, and I have to rest a little longer because I get winded on some of these. I even only do 2 warm ups on the second exercise for a muscle group but still it is a long session, even broken in two. I sure wish the gym opened at 4:30, I think I could get it done in one session, if I only did 1 warm up set for the second exercise of a body part. I do feel I get better stimulation with all of the sets to be honest though.

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8/3/23 - Morning Weight 205.2 - I have been dropping steadily this week, even on my feeding days. I was 212.2 on the 29th, 206.2 on the 1st, 205.8 yesterday and down .6lbs today. Considering the last 2 days have been feeding days I would say this is good progress toward getting back down. I also expect to have 2-3lbs LBM on me over the last 2-3 weeks with steady creatine supplementation. So I think by the time I am touching 200 again I will look sharper than last time.

I got my intra workout carbs in for the next 6-12 months for a total of about $65!

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[MrKleen73]

8/4/23 - Morning Weight 204.6 - Didn't drop a lot from fasting yesterday, but I did end up drinking some water in the middle of the night so that might have thrown things off a little.

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Hit all targets again today. Getting better in these movements too. Only have 2 exercises to get in today.

My boss is taking me and another co-worker up to the hospital today to say goodbye to Mark, the family has decided to take him off of life support on Saturday. So hopefully for everyone's sake he succumbs quickly and peacefully. Very nice of our boss to take us up there during work hours to say goodbye.

 

[Dustin07]

Didn't drop a lot from fasting yesterday, but I did end up drinking some water in the middle of the night so that might have thrown things off a little.

I seem to notice that while my first few long fasts had huge drops, later fasts had far less unless I did add in my LISS. Maybe it's because I got better about electrolytes/salt during my fasts thanks to you and Hyde. But I did get to where I started feeling like for my fasts to be worth the discipline I needed at least a 30 minute walk with the dogs and if I could make it a hill climb and break a light sweat, it was 2x more effective for me.....

(coincidentally, fasted walks with the dogs also seemed to be more sweat inducing)

My boss is taking me and another co-worker up to the hospital today to say goodbye to Mark, the family has decided to take him off of life support on Saturday. So hopefully for everyone's sake he succumbs quickly and peacefully. Very nice of our boss to take us up there during work hours to say goodbye.

ah man, I'm sorry to hear that. I know you said odds weren't in his favor but it's still rough. at least he won't be suffering and will be free.

 

[gphagan1]

8/4/23 - Morning Weight 204.6 - Didn't drop a lot from fasting yesterday, but I did end up drinking some water in the middle of the night so that might have thrown things off a little.

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Hit all targets again today. Getting better in these movements too. Only have 2 exercises to get in today.

My boss is taking me and another co-worker up to the hospital today to say goodbye to Mark, the family has decided to take him off of life support on Saturday. So hopefully for everyone's sake he succumbs quickly and peacefully. Very nice of our boss to take us up there during work hours to say goodbye.

Looks like that weight is peeling off of you now. It won’t be long you’ll be in that 190 range. It’s good to see your steadily hitting your goals or being able to increase rep/weight.
Sorry to hear about your coworker, hopefully his family will be alright.

 

[MrKleen73]

I seem to notice that while my first few long fasts had huge drops, later fasts had far less unless I did add in my LISS. Maybe it's because I got better about electrolytes/salt during my fasts thanks to you and Hyde. But I did get to where I started feeling like for my fasts to be worth the discipline I needed at least a 30 minute walk with the dogs and if I could make it a hill climb and break a light sweat, it was 2x more effective for me.....

(coincidentally, fasted walks with the dogs also seemed to be more sweat inducing)


ah man, I'm sorry to hear that. I know you said odds weren't in his favor but it's still rough. at least he won't be suffering and will be free.

Yeah, I was actually thinking I must be at a decently stable weight, and kept my hydration decent. I do believe I am holding a little more size with the addition of the creatine. I was looking beefy in the gym this morning.

I didn't mention it yesterday but I took my hour long walk at lunch. Was hot outside, and with my recent stress I just wanted to get outside in the sun and sweat. Felt better after for a while then got tired as a mofo. LOL

Looks like that weight is peeling off of you now. It won’t be long you’ll be in that 190 range. It’s good to see your steadily hitting your goals or being able to increase rep/weight.
Sorry to hear about your coworker, hopefully his family will be alright.

Yessir! Heading in the right direction.

He has a strong family unit, I have no doubts they will take care of each other and come out okay. Financially, I know he had his life insurance through the company maxed out @ 5x his salary same as me, and a 401K so they should be okay financially too.

I didn't bring my workout clothes because we were going to the hospital for lunch, but my Boss let us go on the clock so thinking about going across the street and doing the last 2 shoulder movements in my jeans. LOL If they will let me anyway, I don't need to sit down and have a t-shirt in my bag so it is worth a shot.

 

[Hyde]

Sorry to hear about your friend. Life is precious!

 

[MrKleen73]

Sorry to hear about your friend. Life is precious!

Thanks @Hyde! It sure is!

 

[sammpedd88]

I thought I had already posted up some of my workout from yesterday. Probably sitting on my computer screen at home.

8/2/23 - Morning Weight 205.8


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Afternoon Session
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I had to cut the abs off of this day. With the addition of sets I did not have time to do them before I needed to change and get back to work. I am probably going to remove Ab work from the weight training days. Just do them twice a week when they fit in. I have those deep inset abs so I don't need them to grow just to be used regularly and to train to pull them in and back more than get them bigger. I think 4-6 sets of modified candle sticks or ab wheel rollouts a week anywhere in the week will be more than enough. Maybe even just 3 and some light high rep crunches with my navel pulled back toward my spine.

I went up on everything either reps, weight or both. Was a great session for how tight my lower back was upon waking. My squats improved to where the first set of 8 was not a 2RIR, but I didn't push it. The 2nd set we got there. Dr Mike recommended just following the weight and rep recommendations even if you can do more unless it is just too easy to be productive.

This leg session is just so long with all of the warm ups it is 38 sets, and I have to rest a little longer because I get winded on some of these. I even only do 2 warm ups on the second exercise for a muscle group but still it is a long session, even broken in two. I sure wish the gym opened at 4:30, I think I could get it done in one session, if I only did 1 warm up set for the second exercise of a body part. I do feel I get better stimulation with all of the sets to be honest though.

================================================================================

8/3/23 - Morning Weight 205.2 - I have been dropping steadily this week, even on my feeding days. I was 212.2 on the 29th, 206.2 on the 1st, 205.8 yesterday and down .6lbs today. Considering the last 2 days have been feeding days I would say this is good progress toward getting back down. I also expect to have 2-3lbs LBM on me over the last 2-3 weeks with steady creatine supplementation. So I think by the time I am touching 200 again I will look sharper than last time.

I got my intra workout carbs in for the next 6-12 months for a total of about $65!

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Countrytime has a black Cherry lemonade flavor too!

Also, I’m very sorry about your friend. Prayers to you and all involved.

 

[MrKleen73]

Countrytime has a black Cherry lemonade flavor too!

Also, I’m very sorry about your friend. Prayers to you and all involved.

Oh wow, how does that taste? Sounds pretty legit.

Thanks!!!

 

[sammpedd88]

Oh wow, how does that taste? Sounds pretty legit.

Thanks!!!

Tastes great!! The only place I can find it is ol trusty Amazon

 

[akboom87]

Hope all is well man!

 

[MrKleen73]

Hope all is well man!

Thanks, doing okay, had a rough day yesterday, was stuck in bed all day. My trigger point on the left side really flared up to where I couldn't breathe while standing up without extreme pain. First thing that has broken me down to tears like that since my first shoulder surgery. Just brutal pain.

I found out Saturday from my ART guy that I have a bulging disk in my neck. He thinks this is actually the reason for my pain in my trigger points. While I was explaining the pain it occurred to him it could be a nerve issue. So he ran me through the clinical testing for a bulging disk and asked me if I had ever injured my neck because he is pretty sure I have a bulging disk. Which yes, I was in an accident that rotated my C7 like 15-30 degrees several years ago and it caused tremors, weakness and numbness in my left hand until he realigned it back to center, and then took about 6 months to get back to normal. Anyway, long story short, he thinks something I am doing is aggravating it causing the recurring problems in my trigger points.

He recommended I pay attention to positions or activities that seem to bother it even slightly in the moment. He also said since the nights are worse to really try to pay attention to how I am sleeping and try to keep from both craning, or tucking my neck when I sleep. Obviously try to pay extra attention to maintaining a neutral neck position during lifting.

There are so many things I am doing in the gym that might have something to do with this. I just recently added high bar barbell squats back into the mix and those sit right on the vertebrae. I am also using a pretty extreme ROM on back work and he said protraction exacerbates the issues with the trigger points once they are really aggravated. So could be any rowing work too.

Anyway, that is what I am dealing with right now. I am going to see if i have the money on my benefits card to even pay for an MRI, if so I will try to see if I can't get one done soon, if not I will have to just find ways to work around it until I can afford the MRI to see what the actual damage is. It's going to be a learning time again that's all.

Here is my Leg Session from over the weekend.

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I also added what I missed from Friday morning to get the volume back on track.

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Today is a lifting day but I am going to miss it to let my upper body rest a little more. Yesterday was brutal so I need some separation from training just a little longer. Hopefully pushing training back one day will allow things to cool down enough to be manageable. My neck and upper back are definitely starting to tighten back up from me coming in to work. My boss has already suggested that I shouldn't be here and thought I should go home to rest. So I think that is what I am going to do.

Oh yeah to catch up on my weigh-ins.

8/5/23 Morning Weight was 202.4 - I got the whoosh the day after resuming feeding but it was short lasted. LOL I was back up to 8/6/23 - 207.2, & 206.2 yesterday.

8/6/23 - Morning Weight 205.8 - Since not lifting today I am going to limit my calories to further the fat loss initiative since activity will be low.

I am heading home to take another muscle relaxer and lay around and rest as much as possible the rest of the day. Wish me luck.

 

[Dustin07]

Thanks, doing okay, had a rough day yesterday, was stuck in bed all day. My trigger point on the left side really flared up to where I couldn't breathe while standing up without extreme pain. First thing that has broken me down to tears like that since my first shoulder surgery. Just brutal pain.

Anyway, long story short, he thinks something I am doing is aggravating it causing the recurring problems in my trigger points.

My neck and upper back are definitely starting to tighten back up from me coming in to work.

Homie you got so much on your plate. By all means go through the process of physical healing however that may be, but don't rule out the possibility that a lot of this is stress related. It certainly seems that most of the physical pain and re-occurrence of old injuries has been in conjunction with life stress the past 12 months... just sayin.

When my wife's kids finally parted to the 7 seas, and one left the state for the first time ever to take a job at a national park (with bouldering, ziplining, suspension bridges and all kinds of death defying ****) my wife's knots in her back got so bad she was getting puke inducing vertigo. our friend is a professional massage therapist and those treatments would definitely help for a day or two, but I think her ability to get over the empty nest stress helped the most.

 

[akboom87]

Thanks, doing okay, had a rough day yesterday, was stuck in bed all day. My trigger point on the left side really flared up to where I couldn't breathe while standing up without extreme pain. First thing that has broken me down to tears like that since my first shoulder surgery. Just brutal pain.

I found out Saturday from my ART guy that I have a bulging disk in my neck. He thinks this is actually the reason for my pain in my trigger points. While I was explaining the pain it occurred to him it could be a nerve issue. So he ran me through the clinical testing for a bulging disk and asked me if I had ever injured my neck because he is pretty sure I have a bulging disk. Which yes, I was in an accident that rotated my C7 like 15-30 degrees several years ago and it caused tremors, weakness and numbness in my left hand until he realigned it back to center, and then took about 6 months to get back to normal. Anyway, long story short, he thinks something I am doing is aggravating it causing the recurring problems in my trigger points.

He recommended I pay attention to positions or activities that seem to bother it even slightly in the moment. He also said since the nights are worse to really try to pay attention to how I am sleeping and try to keep from both craning, or tucking my neck when I sleep. Obviously try to pay extra attention to maintaining a neutral neck position during lifting.

There are so many things I am doing in the gym that might have something to do with this. I just recently added high bar barbell squats back into the mix and those sit right on the vertebrae. I am also using a pretty extreme ROM on back work and he said protraction exacerbates the issues with the trigger points once they are really aggravated. So could be any rowing work too.

Anyway, that is what I am dealing with right now. I am going to see if i have the money on my benefits card to even pay for an MRI, if so I will try to see if I can't get one done soon, if not I will have to just find ways to work around it until I can afford the MRI to see what the actual damage is. It's going to be a learning time again that's all.

Here is my Leg Session from over the weekend.

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I also added what I missed from Friday morning to get the volume back on track.

Invalid Link Removed

Today is a lifting day but I am going to miss it to let my upper body rest a little more. Yesterday was brutal so I need some separation from training just a little longer. Hopefully pushing training back one day will allow things to cool down enough to be manageable. My neck and upper back are definitely starting to tighten back up from me coming in to work. My boss has already suggested that I shouldn't be here and thought I should go home to rest. So I think that is what I am going to do.

Oh yeah to catch up on my weigh-ins.

8/5/23 Morning Weight was 202.4 - I got the whoosh the day after resuming feeding but it was short lasted. LOL I was back up to 8/6/23 - 207.2, & 206.2 yesterday.

8/6/23 - Morning Weight 205.8 - Since not lifting today I am going to limit my calories to further the fat loss initiative since activity will be low.

I am heading home to take another muscle relaxer and lay around and rest as much as possible the rest of the day. Wish me luck.

Sorry to hear about the pain from the disk, that sucks. Definitely have a lot going on so hopefully you can get some rest and relaxation in and be feeling better.

 

[Hyde]

I’m not saying an MRI isn’t useful, but remember it’s more for confirmation and an image that can be used as reference for surgeries. The extent of the damage is probably only useful to know to guid surgical decisions, but outside of that the answer is rehab no matter what. And that pace will be determined by your individual response/pain, not how ugly or nice it is on a picture. So even if you can’t afford imaging, it’s still worth putting your effort eggs in a rehab basket for now.

Some people have truly awful looking backs on imaging, but no pain and high function (and vice versa).

 

[Rocket3015]

@MrKleen73 there is nothing I can do to help you out, but I do pray for you. I pray you are Healthy, Happy and Heal Quickly !