Alright! I’m calling this cycle early. I am tanking, hard. Fatigue is wreaking havoc on my body (and probably my digestive system). I’m going to take a deload, and I’ll probably move into a Lower Recoverability template on 5th Set. Unlike before, I have the potential for good days; but I can’t run my body into the ground, lest I suffer the consequences. It’s been a shitty week. But, I’ve set a few PRs regardless. I think a deload/dietary re-evaluation will do me well.
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Deadlift
135 x 2 x 5
185, 225, 275, 310 x 3
345 x 7
275 x 5 x 5
GM — 135 x 35
Done. Couldn’t find my groove today. Adductor/hamstring soreness wasn’t too bad coming into this. Pulling on the shitty power bar at my gym wasn’t fun, screwed up my straps setup. Couldn’t finish rep #8, but I got close.
Take the rest you need, you’re not going to be 100% for a while, and it is possible that your new 100% may not be what you were used to, and you’ll have to work up from a lower starting point. Keep going anyway, you’ve displayed a lot of character and determination through some serious adversity since you’ve been posting here, I know you have it in you!
As I write this, I’m thankful for the fact that I’m finally feeling healthier than I have for the last 9 days. With that being said, I’m going to finish out my 5/3/1’s week; and hopefully I’ll be able to hit 3 new PRs this week. We will see. I’m aiming for a 140 x 8 Press, 310 x 8 Squat, and 170 x 11 Floor Press. Oh. Also, I broke the 170 lb. barrier. Cool. I can’t wait to be able to squat heavy without losing my brace from almost shitting myself. Wonderful.
Sounds like you’re in the wars a bit there. How long has it been since your last deload? Its funny how the cumulative fatigue hits you out of nowhere. One day you’re fine; after the next session you can’t concentrate on anything and getting tweaks here and there
@gsg202 It’s only been a month. It’s just been a long month. When the gut is inflamed, I’ve found it’s best not to push it too much (especially since I can still get stronger utilizing volume through sub-maximal work). I’ve only just begun to recover from my last “flare”, so I’ve made the decision to finish out this cycle. I’ve also put on 5 pounds + I’m feeling hungry for sustenance again, which I take as a sign that I’m digesting the food I’m eating. I’m feeling fresh enough to hit some bench/press PRs; but the right side of my lower back is tweaked. So, I’ll see what I can squat.
Also, I’m gonna replace my FSL work with sled work. It should get me stronger and more conditioned. I’m running a pretty minimalistic template because I really can’t handle all that much work without running myself directly into the ground. All of my fucking upper body work comes in the form of either band stuff or BW exercises, because they’re comparatively easier to recover from than barbell training.
I can’t wait until I get better so I can run Texas Method after a properly done LP. If I can get my squat somewhere around 405 by the beginning of September, I’ll be set to run Starting Strength straight to a 500 pound squat! I’m only partially kidding about that.
Okay. Not the best day today. But, I’ll toughen up and get over it. Hit a 140 x 4 Press. Was aiming for 7, didn’t happen today. That’s okay. Onto deadlifts tomorrow, just because I didn’t like my last session. To minimize bodily stress, I may spread one 4-day training week into two actual weeks.
Alright. My adductors are pretty fucked. I’m also nursing a shitty lower back (some pain running down the right side of my lower back and into my glute when I bend back too far). I’m just shot, so I’m deloading. I’m finally feeling a little better, so I’ll push the food a little.
Note: I’m going to pull beltless conventional deadlifts for a few cycles. I’ll be using less weight, which will lessen my need for recovery from the most taxing lift I perform. I’ll also be stronger when I do put a belt on.
If I can stay healthy, I can get stronger.
Also, I did 1 set of 76 pushups with more in the tank. I did the first 50 without stopping. That’s a huge PR. I’m stronger than I thought.
@T3hPwnisher is it possible to do PMT using rack pulls? The pins I have access to are spaced a few inches apart. I know you’ve had pretty great success with them in the past, although you focused on mat pulls. What is your general starting height relative to your knees? Also, how would I determine my starting weights for a first cycle?
By all accounts, it CAN be done with pin pulls, but in my experience, I don’t find the move carries over as well as block/mat pulls. When you break the bar off pins, there’s no flex in it like normal, which means your starting position and mechanics can change a bit compared to if it’s the plates making contact. If you can, get some rubber patio tiles or just make some blocks out of wood, but if the rack is all you have, give it a go. You can make the spacing less dramatic by standing on something while you pull. If it’s like 3 inches between holes, you could stand on 45lb plates to make mid hole spacing jumps, if you’re following me.
I don’t really go based off knee height: I just put 6 patio tiles on either side. If you google “Mythical Strength ROM progression”, you should find a blog post I wrote that shows a near full cycle of ROM progression training.
Go with something you can get for 10+ reps. Will give you some room to grow through the cycle.
@guineapig it’s fucked up, but it’s what I’m working with at the moment.
@T3hPwnisher thanks for the clarification dude. I’ll give it a go. It’s something I’ve been looking to try for a while. I’m gonna prioritize my deadlift for a substantial amount of time, since it seems to be the lift most likely to make the most improvement. I say that only because the deadlift isn’t necessarily bodyweight dependent (as opposed to say, the squat); and my ability to even maintain my current bodyweight is limited at best.
Alright. I’ve decided what I want to do. I’m going to switch my diet around so my gut isn’t blowing up every two seconds, there has to be a problem food in there somewhere. I’m also going to focus on substantially limiting lower body work.
Day 1
Squat — 5/3/1 Pyramid (5s PRO)
GM x 25
Ab Wheel x 25-50
Day 2
Press — 5/3/1 Pyramid
Chin-ups x 25-50
Band Tri. Ext x 25-50
Band Face Pulls/PA x 100
Day 3
Deadlifts
PMT* (starting at just below knee) rest-pause set
Ab Wheel x 25-50
GM x 25
Day 4
Floor Press — 5/3/1 Pyramid
Chin-ups x 25-50
Band Tri. Ext. x 25-50
Band Face Pulls/ PA x 100
Going to see if I can hit 335 x 12 for my starting point with PMT. Shouldn’t be too hard. It’s time for me to focus on building my conventional deadlift.
I really did have a whole bunch of potential in this sport before I got sick…I was squatting 350 beltless at 15. A year of training was wasted. I’m going to be 17 on Thursday…holy shit, I’ve been sick that long. What sucks about the whole thing is that there is no possible way for me to push either my training or my recovery…I’ve thought about quitting a million times, but I know my pride wouldn’t let me. But I mean…if I’m forced to train light and I physically lack the ability to recover from my sessions in a timely manner, why am I wasting my time? I’m literally only training to assuage my ego, because there’s no way I have the physical capability to get stronger (because doing so requires the food that I simply lack the ability to process). Hell, I thought I was going to be back to training and eating normally by now. It’s been 3 months since I started this log and I have nothing to show for it besides my virtual participation award. “Hey, I trained today! I accomplished nothing, didn’t get any stronger, and spent 4 hours in the bathroom; but look at me. I trained, so I at least have the illusion of control over what happens to my body.”
I’m living on purees, for God’s sakes, and I’m still having week-long strings of shitty days. If I kiss my girlfriend, I get sick. I have no timeframe for when I’ll be better and able to have a social life/eat normal foods/go an hour without using the bathroom/be paranoid about how I’m gonna deal with the next time I can’t go to the bathroom. I’m fairly certain the constant and unrelenting stress and fucked up situations I’ve been enduring at home for years is hindering my healing as well. I also cannot do anything about this. I was happier when I was smoking.
What kind of life is this? I tell you, it is not one worth sticking around to see the rest of. It used to be bearable, back when I could immerse myself in eating and training and forget the rest of the world. I can’t do that now, and my situation at home has only continued to get worse and worse. I have no outlets left. I don’t even know why I’m putting this on a public online forum. Not that it matters much.
Haven’t checked in much lately but these press PR’s are insane man! Good work brother.
Tell you what man, you’re in a situation that I couldn’t even begin to put myself in the place of, consoling will not be my strongsuit in this. What I will say though is life is gonna throw fucking dirt at you man. Some people get more dirt than others, you seem to have a dumptruck of dirt being hurled at you by an NBL superstar pitcher.
All I can say is as time goes on less and less dirt will be getting thrown at you. You’re 17, 1 year away from being an adult, 1-3 years away from moving out of your house, home problems won’t be an issue, I’m waiting to get out of my parents house too. There’s a load of dirt taken away, not to mention you’ll be graduating from highschool soon. Another load of dirt off, unless you go to college, where usually there are more mature people and some more freedom, you don’t have to deal with the daily bullshit in highschool. So maybe some dirt taken away there.
As for your sickness, you’re still recovering, at a slower rate than you want yes, but recovering and that’s what is important. So you can let life bury you into your grave right now and not get the better portion where you can be who you want to be and make yourself who you’ve always envisioned, or you can keep shoveling some of the dirt out of the way, even if it means just keeping you’re head up above the ground and eventually there is less and less dirt, all the while you’ve become better at shoveling, and life just seems that little bit sweeter my man.
Hi mate, it sucks that you are going through all of this at your age when you just want to be enjoying yourself and having fun. I remember 17 years ago when I was 17 all I did was mess about, not a care in the world. However, what that means is when I hit adulthood and then problems came along I was less equipped to deal with them.
Everyone will come up against these challenges at some point in their life. Going through this at your young age now will mean you can face things head-on later in life. Some of the people that go on to achieve big things face real adversity at a young age. So keep your head up.
I don’t know you well at all, but you’re doing more than 99% of the worlds population of 17 year olds (I’d even guess you’re doing more than 99% of the 17 year olds in your neighbourhood). The commitment and work-ethic you’ve shown is impressive for your age. Keep that attitude up from here on out and nothing will hold you back.
