My back has felt great since I’ve started back up. Nothing has been heavy yet though, so I guess we’ll see how it really is in a few months. I think as long as I keep up with mobility work and actually do abs then I shouldn’t run into any real issues.
12/30
Bench:
147.5x5
167.5x3
187.5x7
135x10,10,10,10,10
Chins:
BWx10,5,2
12/31
Front Squat:
165x5
187.5x3
210x3
INDST I really weinered out on the squats. Didn’t really want to be there today.
1/2
Press:
97.5x5
112.5x3
125x6
95x10
85x10,10
75x10,10
Chins:
BWx6,6,6,6,6,6,4
1/3
Deadlift:
202.5x5
230x3
257.5x10
Sumo DL:
225x10,10,10
Abs again:
3 sets leg raises
2x10 Pallov presses, both sides
My low back was in spasm and after one set of leg raises instantly felt better. That’s the motor recruitment thing I was talking about before. My low back takes over on all lifts with axial loading.
Diet update:
It’s been probably a year since I’ve noticed small chunks of hair falling out of the crown of my head and my face. I thought it was alopecia areata and the derm I went to agreed and gave me what seemed like 300 steroid injections all over my face and head. It kind of worked, I guess, and he wanted me to come back 2 more times to finish the job, but new spots would randomly pop up and I’m not about to spend 2-300 dollars on these shots every month or so.
Recently I’ve noticed a rash on my cheek that has flaky/itchy skin. Started out the size of a dime or so and I thought it was just sun/windburn. Turns out it’s probably seborrheic dermatitis. Closer inspection revealed 3 of these on my face and 1 on the crown of my head.
Whether it is sebhorrheic dermatitis or alopecia areata isn’t really that important. What is important is that both of these are chronic inflammatory disorders. I believe it is futile to attack skin disorders at the skin only and I will not resort to steroid use simply to prevent flareups. My gut, along with all the other males in my immediate family, is not the best. It’s about time I grow up and address these issues.
So, I’ve already cut eggs since that was the main food that I had increased in the years before the skin issues began. I am also cutting gluten and dairy. These are three of the more common food allergens and I’m hoping to find some relief of symptoms. I also bought some fragrance free soap and other products for my face and hair (can’t hurt).
So my new breakfast smoothie is:
banana
blueberries
Metamucil powder
flax seed powder
peanut butter (would prefer almond as PB is pro-inflammatory)
almond milk
kale
cream of rice (used to be oatmeal)
The smoothie ends up being about 500 calories and has a lot of anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory power. It might not hurt to throw some turmeric, ginger, or cinnamon in there.
tl;dr
Skin and hair problems = gut problems
Gluten, eggs, and dairy = common gut allergens
Less allergens antioxidant anti-inflammatory = healed gut = healed skin (hopefully)
Balding = whatever
Patchy balding, especially on face and eyebrows = no fun for anyone
I’m thinking of logging this progress on my youtube page and if successful I may expand my practice to help others deal with similar issues.
Are you shooting for any particular macros?
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No, I don’t care to count macros and calories. If I start getting fat I eat less and if I start to lose weight I eat more.
1/6
Press:
90x5
102.5x5
115x9
95x10,10
85x10
75x10,10
Chins:
8,6,6,6,6,4,2,2
Gym was PACKED. Had to do press instead of bench today because of it.
1/7
Front Squat:
150x5
172.5x5
197.5x7
Crossfit tomorrow so I stopped here.
1/8
1/9
Bench:
130x5
150x5
170x11
135x10,10,10,10,10
Facepulls:
3x10
Chins:
6,4
I changed the way I do these. Figured out today that excessive arching causes the shoulders to IR slightly putting stress on the anterior capsule and medial elbow.
Curls:
20sx8
25sx8,8,8
1/10
Deadlift:
185x5
210x5
240x5
TnG
240x8,8,8
I decided that since the weight it laughably low right now that I’d experiment a bit. All of my work sets are done overhand just with the required reps and performed dead stop. After that instead of BBB I’ll do mixed grip TnG at the top set for 3 sets of high reps, probably 6-20 depending on how I’m feeling. I actually might retest my max on deads.
Abs:
Hanging leg raises
Pallov presses
I’ve made an interesting observation. It seems there’s a middle child syndrome at gyms. The beginners and the huge dudes all go in and do their work, maybe talk a little bit, but for the most part do their work and leave. The guys who are moderately strong form these groups where they lift, but mostly bullshit just loud enough so they know everyone around them can hear what they’re talking about. It’s been like this at the last 3 gyms I’ve been to.
1/12
Crossfit:
10 lunges per leg
10 goblet squats 53 lbs (I think)
10 pushups
10 rounds took me 28 minutes and some seconds
This was very difficult but I think it was because I did deadlifts yesterday.
So why are you doing cross fit?
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[quote]theBird wrote:
So why are you doing cross fit?
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I’m meeting with the local gyms for marketing purposes. It looks really disingenuous going into the gyms when you don’t understand their culture. Actions speak louder than words in this case and gives me a great opportunity to introduce my face into these communities. Plus, I think I’m going to start going every Saturday for conditioning work since they have a free class.
Telling them I know how to fix a squat is one thing, but showing them my squat and giving pointers on theirs is another.
1/13
Front Squat:
162.5x3
185x3
207.5x4
Did a few squats to see how they feel. They didn’t feel good so the transition back to them is going to be fun. I might start doing my BBB work as squats.
1/14
Bench:
140x3
160x3
180x10
135x10,10,10,10,10
Pullups:
6,6,6,6,6,4
Curls, lateral raises, band pullaparts
1/16
Deads:
225x3,3
252.5x3
252.5x8,8,8 TnGMG
Leg raises
1/17
Press:
95x3
110x3
122.5x5