If ever you do, let’s hope peptides work some good magic that you wouldn’t need TRT!
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I don’t think I need TRT, but I bet I could find a doctor willing to prescribe it. It seems that some of them prefer to keep their patients in the high-normal range. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I’m not sure that I need to seek treatment to go from medium-normal to high-normal.
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10.4.19
My son’s daycare closed today so I took the day off. Since I got released to full duty, I go back to my normal schedule tomorrow. I’ll work this weekend and have MTW off. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to relax and enjoy my morning. I plan to go to the Y around 10.
The bad news is that one managed to strain a muscle in my back. I can’t tell which one, but it’s annoying. I first noticed it while running Wednesday morning. It quickly went away and I didn’t notice it again during my training. It came back that evening and has been h hanging around since. Fingers crossed that it won’t ruin my training today.
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Congrats on your release to full training!! Hopefully the back strain subsides ASAP and stays subsisted.
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@Voxel asked me this question today and I wanted to share my response. I’ve always been open here and maybe someone will get some use out of my experience.
Do you think the T-ransformation Challenge caused you to have an eating disorder?
I wouldn’t say that it left me with an eating disorder, but I definitely cut more than I ever have in the past. The summer between my Junior and Senior year of high school is when I experienced my newbie gains (2002). I gained 18 to 20 220 lbs and significantly filled out my frame. I entered my senior year of high school at 6 foot 5 and 220 plus pounds.
220 became my new base line. I grew to 240 + pounds the next year at college. I mostly maintained that weight until I had shoulder surgery the following year. I tried to continue working out during my recovery but I kind of fell into a mini depression and lost a bunch of weight. I dropped down to about 213 or 215. I gained back my weight and I’ve only allowed myself to drop back to that range once (until now). The shoulder surgery was in October of 2004 and the next time I saw the scale with those numbers was spring of 2016. That last drop was during a bathroom remodel and I mostly survived on beer. I promptly gained weight when I finished and got back to the gym.
I write all that to give you some perspective on how my brain works. I have always thought that anything under 220 was skinny for me. When I started the T-ransformation challenge, I thought I was going to cut down to 225. I hit the number on the scale but didn’t look the way I thought I would so I kept going. I received encouragement from others on the Forum to keep going. I can’t say that their motivation is a bad thing, but it might have started to lead me down a bad path.
I have always wanted to have abs, but it hasn’t ran my life. I have natural phases throughout the year where I slack off a bit and add some fat to my stomach and then I correct it. The challenge drove me to a new place. I was almost 20 pounds lighter than I thought I would be. I think I became a little obsessed with being borderline shredded. I think my Avatar Photo on the site is the best I’ve ever looked in terms of being lean and defined. That picture suddenly became my new base line. Until recently, I’ve been trying to maintain that look and failing. I found myself punishing myself for gaining two pounds in a day. I won’t say that I have an eating disorder, but I definitely have a messed up perspective of myself right now.
As you can see, I’m trying to correct that by just letting go a little bit. I still have a little anxiety because I know I’ve eaten above maintenance darn near every day since I put the scales away. My abs are getting blurry and my love handles have grown. My wife even got the scale back out and put it in my bathroom because it has the best surface that is out of the walking path. It’s tempting to step on it but I keep fighting the urge. My goal is to wait till the end of the year to step on a scale again. If I decide to take a peptide or some other substance to help with injury healing or body comp then I will have to get on the scale and take measurements to get a new base line. That and a doctor’s appointment will be the only reasons I weigh myself again in 2019. I need to go back to my college routes and just lift weights and live life.
I don’t have the genetics to be big and shredded. It seems that I can be bigger and a little softer or lean. The former is more enjoyable and my performance in the gym is better. I can’t really think of an argument to choose the latter anymore.
I will probably copy and paste this on my log for others to read. I get the feeling that there are people who feel the same way I do and maybe it will help them stay healthy and sane.
You can look around the site and see lots of people who are big, muscular, and strong. We all admire their physique and strength; however, they don’t have shredded abs. Think about that. We (or at least I) admire their physique and they don’t have shredded abs.
It’s funny when you can see positive things in other people but fail to apply them to yourself.
I hope that answered your question. It’s definitely a longer response then you probably anticipated. But that’s pretty common for me.
J
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Full Body
This felt like one of my old sessions and I loved it. I’ve missed these.
WARM UP (10:28)
2 Lap dynamic warm-up + 3 laps of run the straightaway, walk the curve
DEADLIFT (SS BAND Y RAISE)
245 x 5 x 5 sets
SUPERSET
Lat Pull Down 165 x 8 x 3
Cable Lat Raise Left Arm 30 x 8, 8, 5+10 partials
Cable Lat Raise Right Arm 10 x 8 x 3 sets
SUPERSET
Hammer Incline 90 x 12, 110 x 12 x 2
T Bar Row 115 x 8 x 3
SUPERSET
SA Cable Curl 21s 30 x 10F/10T/10B x 2
_SA Cable Rev Press Down 21s 40 x 10F/10B/10T, 40 x 8F/8B/8T
Lifting Time: 53 min
CONDITIONING
Elliptical 2:1 Interval, L8/i8:L16/i16, 23 min, 2.42 miles, 321 calories
Notes
OHP feels absolutely horrible! Won’t be doing that one for awhile. Shoulder felt good on incline press. I’m still weak on lat raises despite doing them for awhile now. Used slow eccentrics on my right arm. My PT suggested it to help with scapular depression. I also did a few pull ups. Good session. Training is so much more enjoyable when I’m not rushing.
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The reason I brought it up was you mention of setting the scales aside, as I could relate but I suppose we should respect those with genuine disorders properly and conceivably refer to our behaviour as borderline tendencies towards something that ceeded being healthy.
I personally appreciate the background.
You did, and continue to look, fantastic.
I can relate
It was a loaded question, so I set my expectations for “no reply” and this is above and beyond that for sure. I’m happy that you shared your thoughts with us, and with me.
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Barbell? Or DB?
Both. I think I can manage a close grip where my arms go in front of my body but I prefer to go wide to emphasize my lateral delts. I tried it with an empty bar today and it was quite painful.
I’m just widely assuming out of my expertise but with a surgery like the one you had wouldn’t it be preferable to train unilaterally for quite some time?
How do landmine presses (single arm) work for you?
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Thank you for this post J, it’s a sentiment I’ve been feeling a lot lately as well, put far more eloquently.
I lift/exercise first and foremost for my health, mostly mental but also physical. In fantasy land, that means I can aim to look like a cover star, but in the real world we all know I won’t get there without making sacrifices I’m not prepared to make. I’ll put an extended version of this in my log, don’t need to derail your too much.
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Yes and no. Initially, I thought I’d only do unilateral stuff, but now I’m thinking of most stable to least stable. Using machines seems to be a good place to start for pressing. Chest press has been good so far so I should probably try the machine OHP.
Glad you liked it!
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We just got a bunch of rain in New Mexico. Has fall finally arrived there? I had to work out last night in sweats and a long sleeved T-shirt.
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It appears that it has. The high is in the 60s today. I think the wind will be in the single digits which is unheard of here and it’ll only be partly cloudy. I hope it sticks around and doesn’t slip right into winter.
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I agree, I like to savor the fall transition. Plus, I reckon y’all get a lot colder winters than we do in Albuquerque, so here’s to hoping for a long, happy autumn.
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99 for the high today here. Cold front is supposed to be here overnight. Let’s hope this one makes it.
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10.6.19
Lower
SQUAT
245 x 3 x 3 sets
DEADLIFT
275 x 3 x 3 sets
RFESS
95 x 5 ea x 3 sets
33 minutes which isn’t good news for Wednesday when I do 5 sets of each. Did a bunch of Y raise type stuff between sets of squats. Squats still feel like I’m using double the weight on the bar. It’s the opposite of fake weights.
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Good grief, weather is so unpredictable any more. It’s supposed to radically drop at least 15* more next week for us. What’s your favorite weather and season?
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Extra-real weights ftw. I’m happy to see you’re able to squat and deadlift without pain!
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