Got in my PM workout of Tabata burpee chins w/Bear complexes during the 10s. Still a gasser. Got in my daily work too, and I have a really awesome workout idea for tomorrow. We’ll see how it pans out.
CHAOS IS THE PLAN
About that: 2 months ago I was diagnosed with low testosterone. How low? My doc’s exact words were “These are numbers we expect to see in someone that has been chemically castrated”. As a follow up he said “If you had walked in with 800 test and the rest of these numbers where they are, we’d just say you were on steroids and lying about it, but your numbers are BIZARRE”.
A few points.
1: I do everything extreme, to include getting hurt and sick.
2: Oh my god, seriously, f–k everyone who has ever said I was genetically gifted or blessed. Double f–k everyone who ever accused me of secretly being on the juice. Triple f–k everyone that has ever tried to blame their lack of success on low testosterone: try having 36 as your free test (no, NOT 360. Thirty six).
Because I AM more trouble than I am worth. And literally nothing will stop me.
This week, I found out I have a normal functioning pituitary gland and got cleared for treatment. Does this mean I am no longer natural and will be enhanced? I genuinely do not care. I will soon be healthy again.
…and just imagine how screwed everyone else will be? Ya’ll have been dealing with me on my worst days.
Oh I am so F$@&@ing excited. I’ve wondered this thought about you before actually, based solely on how little you sleep, and figured that you must just be one of those people who can keep firing without the sleep. If you have low test, and still have done all that you’ve done, then everyone better watch the F out for you with even normal test levels!
Edit: I have hopped on Reddit like 3x in my life, and twice were to look up posts you had mentioned. That being said, I am 1000% confident you will cause meltdowns if you repost your exact post over there lol
@TrainForPain Thanks man! Pretty much all my numbers were tanked, minus prolactin, which was normal. I’m a medical marvel, haha.
@atlas13 Great to have you in my corner man. And I may soon be willing to be unshy about the matter on reddit as well, haha. It’s been hard biting my tongue everyone tries to blame their lack of results on low test and I find out they have literally 10x as much as me.
Idk how everyone hops to that so quickly. Really makes me appreciate the “football weight room” mentality to lifting. If a dudes big and strong, it’s cause he worked like an animal. Small and skinny? Work harder and eat more. Absolutely no one questioned that at 16, and ya know what, pretty much the whole team could bench at least 225 for a couple reps. Not amazing lifts by any means, but a damn sight farther than a lot of the people I see bemoaning their poor genetics
@SvenG Thanks man! Been great having you in my corner.
@atlas13 People just love to blame things “out of their control”, which, in itself, is funny, considering so often we can improve hormones by doing things like eating well, exercising regularly, and improving lifestyle. OR, just working stupidly hard to compensate, haha.
AM WORKOUT
CHAOS IS THE PLAN Week 4, Workout 3
Neutral Grip Powerlifting Meet
EMOM
300lb SSB squat
200lb swiss bar bench
400lb high handle trap bar pull
For 45 rounds
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
CONDITIONING/ASSISTANCE
EMOM rounds of putting plates away as fast as possible, buy in each minute with some chins until 50 reached, then knock out 50 pull aparts, 25 pushdowns, curls and 20 standing ab wheels
Notes:
This was awesome. Perfect level of fatigue generation, solid challenge, held my interest and made time pass at a good rate. Only real downside is the trap bar tore the hell out of my hands. Wouldn’t be shy about running it again with the gloves I wore for the KB challenge. My right hip was buggy coming into it, which made the trap bar the most challenging portion of it, despite the short ROM.
The set up is strategic: all these variations are far less technical than their straight bar components, which meant I could move MUCH faster between lifts because the set-up time was shaved away. I still had to strategize though and shave off seconds where I could. The bench is where most of the money is made: if I’m willing to go flat back and minimal leg drive I can just blitz through it. Walkout on the squat was also a place to save time. I was averaging about 20 seconds of rest between rounds.
Nice round numbers on the lifts, for no other particular reason, but a 900lb total EMOM is also pretty cool. 1000 would, of course, be more awesome, but I am clearly “done” at the 45 minute mark.
Filler work at the end there. I’m working late today, so fair chance I won’t be able to get in my usual 3-5 minute conditioning blast, but somehow I’ll manage.
With any luck, today will be day 1 of testosterone treatment. I finished up reading “Super Squats” last night, and it dawned on me I’ll be running the program WHILE getting my levels back to normal. Things may get real wild.
For my 2 pennies worth (not that you asked, of course) it just means you’re on a level playing field. I started TRT a couple of years ago and don’t think of myself as anything but natural, I’m getting a medically accepted dose and not cheating that so it just means I’m getting a bump to a natural level.
@zeptrey It was definitely a relief. My doctor is so confused by me, haha.
@aholding88 Appreciate you chiming in. It really is just a total non-entity to me. I’ve demonstrated just what I can do with “2 balls tied behind my back”. If, from this point on, the world wants to call me not natural, that’s fine. I never cared one way or the other about it, I just wasn’t going to break the law to get jacked, haha.
That’s some crazy news, but it’s just plain awesome what you can still achieve. As usual, you’re an inspiration, dude.
This makes no sense to me. My dad’s a bricklayer, and I spent the past few weekends working a side job with him and some other local guys. Almost all of them had a cigarette dangling from their mouth their entire day, and half of them were at work at 8am after being out at the bars till 2 am. None of them eat healthy, and they work what is, in my opinion, one of the most physically demanding construction-field jobs. Slinging around 30+ pound block and 80lb bags of cement all day (without dropping the cigarette!), day after day. I would assume that based on their unhealthy lifestyles that they’d have low T (I really have no idea what normal T is anyway), but I never heard any of them crying about being able to keep up at work without 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, constant hydration, and 48 hours in between each muscle being used. They’re probably not healthy, but when I see people do things like come on here asking how they can possibly continue to train because they just started their construction job, it just makes me think of what you always say. Get to yes! To paraphrase Nike, just (f**king) do it!
Always appreciate you stopping by dude. There is definitely a missing element currently. Don’t get me wrong: we are setting up young adults for failure with the way we are structuring their childhoods currently, but it’s never too late to take ownership and improve our current situation with what we have.
My dude, I do not feel you and I have the sort of relationship where this conversation would be appropriate. I would very much appreciate if you would discontinue this dialog.
Are you sure it’s not 790 ng/dL? Normal free testosterone is above 240 ng/dL for men and above 15 ng/dL for women. That would mean you would have ~5% of the free testosterone of a woman at the lower limit. For reference, mine is 806 ng/dL (never used TRT or any steroids) and I’m older than you. No way I have >1000x higher free testosterone than you.
Wanna get this logged so I have a record copy somewhere, but I think I have a solid enough way forward for running SS.
DAY A
Axle strict press
Weighted dip/axle row superset
Squat/pull over
Axle SLDL
Poundstone curls
DAY B
DB bench (possibly incline)/weighted chins superset
BtN Press
Squat/pull over
Kroc row
Axle shrugs against bands
DAILY
Reverse hypers
GHRs
Abs
Pull aparts
Pushdowns
Neck work
Conditioning will be ad hoc as usual. I think this will be solid.
EDIT: Forgot to reply to you @round2lifting but appreciate you swinging by and the support you’ve offered. It’s amazing how things can feel like they’re going “alright” but what’s under the hood shows otherwise. A lot can be overcome with hard work, but maybe now, instead of overcoming, it can be moving forward.
@mr.v3lv3t Appreciate that dude! It’s going to be a good time.
