I am now officially an over 35 lifter…just typing that made me feel older and more feeble.
The results are in!
Albumin = 5.1
SHGB = 35
Cortisol = 25.2
Total test = 387.1
If you plug all of that into a calculator it means my bio-available test is 192. 
That explains a few things…
Back down to 193 bodyweight from a high of 203 this past December through Keto, I.F. and lifting light like a curlbro.
Since starting HRT I’ve been slowly adding carbs back into my diet. I’ve eaten around 40 grams each day for the past few days. I’ll continue to slowly add them back in while lowering may fat intake. Hopefully I can do it right and start eating over 2,000 calories without getting fat. After being in ketosis and lifting then having a carb day and lifting I don’t see how people make any gains at all with the keto diet. It’s a quick way to drop weight but my energy level was extremely low, unless I was fasted which seems odd to me.
I feel wide awake and lots of energy when fasted. Eat…and both of those reverse… for me.
It’s the same with me. Starting Dec. 30, 2014:
I’d wake up around 6 pm, eat 3 or 4 eggs with a slice or two of bacon then leave for work and get back home around 6:30 am. I wouldn’t eat anything while I was at work then, after dropping the kids off at school I’d have a couple of pieces of chicken and pass out around 9 or 10 am.
While at work I’d do:
10 sets of 15 lateral raises (with random objects)
10 sets of 5 pull ups (on the crossbars for the bathroom stalls)
10 sets of 10 squats or step-ups (holding a larger random object)
10 sets of 10 curls (smaller random object)
I usually did that 4 or 5 days throughout the week then would do C.T. Fletcher’s 200 rep set on the bench andsome trap bar deads on the weekend.
Last night I figured since I have the test and thyroid thing back on the right track I’d hop back on a 5/3/1 type split. It felt pretty good.
Legs!
Leg curls, front squats, calf raises and stiff deads.
OHP day!
Used a swiss bar this time and it felt heavy!
Bench day!
Insane pump from the dumbell inclines.
Well, that didn’t last long. Shortly after my last post I hurt my left shoulder again, then had a grade 1 separation of my right shoulder AC joint.
Obviously I have been doing something wrong so I started over from square one and set about finding exercises that didn’t aggravate my right shoulder injury. I could row without much pain so that’s what I did. For a long time I couldn’t reach over my head with my left arm and I couldn’t reach behind my back with my right. Needless to say heavy weights won’t be an option for quite a while, if they are ever again. My rep strength is pretty close to the same as it was before, after building back up from an empty bar.
I’ve been following the above “intermittent fasting” plan for quite a while and I’m happy wit the results; I’m down to a lean and muscular 175 lbs. My exercise plan has helped too, since i have to train light I can train more frequently.
My current workout plan:
Day 1:
weighted crunches and wood choppers
Squat machine - I usually do 5 sets of 5 at 300 lbs or so
Flat Bench - usually 10 - 15 reps at 225 (never more than 225…)
O.H.P. (when able) - sets of 15-20 with 95 lbs, any more kills my right shoulder
Pressdowns - just to get a good pump
Day 2 (usually run in a 5 round circuit, 10 reps on each exercise):
weighted crunches and wood choppers
Leg press - 400 lbs or so
T-bar rows - 180 lbs
Pulldowns - 125 lbs (left shoulder limited)
barbell rows - 225 lbs
pullovers - 50 lbs (on a cable)
Day 3:
weighted crunches and wood choppers
Zercher squat - 10 sets up and 10 sets down in the style of C.T. Fletcher’s 200 rep set, but with 5’s instead of 10’s, (starting with an empty bar) 135 lbs max (right shoulder limited)
bench machine - 10 sets up and 10 sets down “”
bent laterals - 25 lbs, superset with bench machine
diamond pushups for a pump
Day 4(run in a circiut):
weighted crunches and wood choppers
sumo deads - 10 reps at 225
chins - 10 reps (shoulder limited)
dumbell rows - 10 reps at 135 (I can go nuts with these, so I do 
)
leg raises
If I’m feeling froggy I’ll sometimes do the CalStrength death march for a posterior chain pump.
Back from the dead!
Between my last update and now I dieted down to 168lbs then slowly built back up to 175 again.
I followed a 5/3/1 style split for a looong time with bodyweight only assistance exercises.
My strength is holding steady at:
Box squat = 315 for 5 reps
Trap bar deadlift = 425
Flat Bench = 225 for 19 reps or 275 for 6 reps
I recently switched to a split that hits everything twice within 7 days, once heavy and once light:
Chest/Shoulders - heavy
Back/Biceps - light
Legs - heavy
(rest if needed)
Chest/Shoulders - light
Back/Biceps - heavy
Legs - light
I hit abs and jump rope every day.
I’m caring less and less about the amount of weight lifted and more about how I look and feel.
1 Like
Welcome back!
Thanks
Leg day!
Did some abs, calf raises, leg curls and EMOM box squats with 315 for 20 minutes.
1 Like
Welcome back Jed! Hope you start login again .
I too took some time to heal some nagging injuries and I’m glad I did. Still kinda using the model I chose to do so while gaing strength back using 5/3/1 currently.
I gained a ton of weight and am now on a cut. I weighed 260, most ever, and yesterday I weighed 237. 225 is my current goal. Ttys
Thanks, glad to be back!
Good job on cutting back down!
The day after Leg day I a light chest and shoulders workout.
The day after that I did a heavy back workout, deads, rows, etc., then ended it with 100 pullups and tore off a couple of callouses. lol
Today I did some light leg work. I’m going to rest tomorrow then hit chest and shoulders and start the cycle over again.
Did some heavy chest and shoulders yesterday followed by pummeling the heavy bag.
This morning I hit back and shoulders…because apparently I’m a program hopper. lol
Today two of the other jackasses I lift with suggested we all do 100 pullups. Why the hell not!
There were three of us and the only rest we got was waiting for the other two to finish their sets.
One guy did 100, one guy did 102 and I did 140 because I did more per set and kept going until we all hit 100.
Friggin lat PUMP!
Then I did some light chest work.