209 Lbs. Minor Milestone

Training Bodybuilding
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So I weighed today for the first time over a decade.  The scales read 209 lbs. and there was much rejoicing.  I didn't know if I would EVER reach 200 lbs.  Since putting in a little dedication in the gym and going on a bulking diet, the mass has started to accumulate.  I may be fatter than I've ever been, but I also have more muscle mass and strength than ever before.

BTW, 209lbs may not sound like a lot, especially since I’m 6’1". but… BUT… I’m, a paraplegic. So the muscle mass I can grow is limited to back, chest and up. You can also include the top row of abs for what it’s worth.

To celebrate, I went to my favorite little diner on Route 66. I tanked up with a plate of brisket, 3 veggies, a huge roll with butter, and 3 coffees with 5 half-n-half servings. Since I could still breath without unbuttoning my jeans, I ordered the apple pie alamode… mmmmmmm

With apologies to Dr. Berardi, bulking is good.

January of 2009 I’ll turn 40. My goal is to be 250 lbs by then. At that time, I’ll start cutting.

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Good Job Bro, keep up the good work!

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Nicely done. And it just occurred to me that your top half outweighs both halves of most of the Physique and Performance posters. Oh, and that sounds like a fine meal you packed away.

4

Sweet! Congratulations. Forgive me for the ignorant question, but did only the top half of your body gain size or did your legs (even if you don’t train them) gain size as well?

5

Dude I don’t care what you think, its a big achievement.

Out of curiosity what type of workout do you perform?

I know this guy who got paralyzed in a football game and ive seen his rehab work( mind you he got injured many years ago(approaching 8-10 id say.)) It would be interesting to know what you do if you don’t mind.

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[quote]BF Bullpup wrote:
Sweet! Congratulations. Forgive me for the ignorant question, but did only the top half of your body gain size or did your legs (even if you don’t train them) gain size as well?[/quote]

That’s a good question actually.

Well, fat distribution is still whole body… so the legs got some of that. My hamstrings may be a little bigger from seated (on the floor) one arm cable rows. My hammies are just barely functional so it would be more of an exercise through stretching with minimal muscle recruitment… if that makes sense.

I do know that when I’m in training, my legs are stronger. If I get a calf spasm, it takes more effort to pull my foot back and stretch out the calf. Apparently, when in training, your body chemistry changes enough that the whole body become stronger/more efficient.

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You have come a long way. Grats, bro!

I wouldn’t call this minor. It must taken a hell of a lot of work to get the top half of your body this big by itself without the advantage of the huge hormonal kick that comes from squatting and deadlifting.

/salute

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Good work 4est.

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Great work! This is no minor achievement. Good luck the rest of the way.

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Run 4est run…Yep im going to hell

no seriously, excellent job man, u should really post some pics of what should be a monsterous upper body

the word “inspirational” comes to mind

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Great stuff.

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[quote]Ron.Odinn wrote:
Dude I don’t care what you think, its a big achievement.

Out of curiosity what type of workout do you perform?

I know this guy who got paralyzed in a football game and ive seen his rehab work( mind you he got injured many years ago(approaching 8-10 id say.)) It would be interesting to know what you do if you don’t mind.[/quote]

Thanks for the compliment.

I actually went to the same rehab center I was admitted to in 1985 to use the same scales that weighed me at 90lbs (or less) 22 years ago.

I’ve had to “invent” some ways to do different exercises over the years. This process never ends as each gym is different and trying new things every now and then help to break the monotony of a routine. Just last week I figured out how to do pullups while holding on to the 2x2 side rails of a power rack and the week before that added some medicine ball work and my version of the WSB Grappler. I call it “The Gimpler”.

Like many others, I spent years on useless workouts with lots of isolation exercises and volume. I’ve always tried to do free weight exercises when possible. Finding a exercises and a workout routine has been a never-ending process. Gaining more strength and mobility over the years opened doors to new exercises. Unfortunately, I’ve spent more years out of the gym than in the gym :frowning: .

Some workouts from several months ago are in my profile blog area. Recent workouts are in the Westside/Conjugate method thread. I started posting on page 115 with a list of all the useful exercises I could remember being able to perform. Those exercises were listed to get input from the guys in the thread for a workout plan. http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=986305&pageNo=114#1498659

In a nutshell, two things are responsible for most of the progress since I started blogging here:

  1. Working out at a powerlifting gym with a powerlifting style workout (and logging it)

  2. Eating tons of food

I didn’t want to overdo the minutiae but rather get into a good habit of working out and eating on schedule. I’ve concentrated on eating a fair amount of protein often and upped the calories. Diet wise, the only anal detail has been to eat 1 cup of cottage cheese before bed every night. Soon, Dr. Berardi’s methods for diet (not dieting) should be put into action.

[quote]entropy_fx wrote:
Run 4est run…Yep im going to hell

no seriously, excellent job man, u should really post some pics of what should be a monsterous upper body[/quote]

One ticket to hell… window seat please.

Thanks for the compliment but my upper body is far from monstrous. Maybe I’ll get a pic doing pullups - that really exaggerates the lats and shoulders. It makes me appear to be a guy who lifts weights.

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[quote]4est wrote:
…my version of the WSB Grappler.
I call it “The Gimpler”.
…
[/quote]

Awesome.

You have doubled your bodyweight - and that is amazing. I feel bad for the guy I know, not because of his condition, but because for a while he was getting to twitch his toes.

Sadly due to lack of funds he can’t go to a real rehab so he has to use the local YMCA( it has a hospitals Rehab area built in but in my opinion its not that great(but what do I know))

You nailed it with that high volume routine, thats exactly what they have him doing or it was.

By no means am I an expert, but im still willing to bet that someone such as yourself could very well help educate or people with disabilities in the fact that they can work with and around anything in their way.

I know that from just reading what you have posted it makes me want to bust ass even harder with what I got.

Cheers.

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That’s a pretty amazing feat in my book bro. Congrats!

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Topic was “meh” until I read this sentence.

Then it became awesome.

A ****ing weightlifting paraplegic over 200 pounds is made of win and God.

Congratulations.

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Looks like I’m a day late to the party.

Congratulations, 4est!

Check in again at 225, mkay? You’re a great asset to T-Nation and I hope you continue to stick around. You’re one of the top-notch blokes around here.

Take care, mate!