I’ve been in the game for a very long time (20+ years), so I’ve been able to see a variety of ups and downs due to various factors (diet/supplementation/injuries/illness/etc), but right now I’m experiencing something unprecedented and I wanted to see if anyone has advice.
In the last month or so, I’ve noticed an approximately 30% strength decrease across the board (back squat, front squat, deadlift, barbell rows, dumbbell rows, bench press, overhead press). I keep meticulous notes of my workouts so I can confidently say this. I’ve never seen anything like this before. My diet and supplementation has been consistent. I haven’t felt sick. My libido feels the same. I’ve dropped maybe 5-10lbs of mass, but at my size that’s only about 4-5%, so it’s the systemic strength loss that’s the real kicker here. If it was in one specific movement or muscle group I could see it being a muscle/joint/limb issue, but this is whole body.
Obviously, I’m going to see a doctor, but I don’t even know what type of doctor I should make an appointment with first. Any and all advice is much appreciated. Thank you.
It may sounds strange, but i know that EVERY TIME that my weight goes/went below 200lbs i lose/lost a bunch of strenght. I will do for exemple 315x12rep of squat at 201lbs one week, and the next week at 199.5 i’ll struggle to do 5 reps. And it’s not due to food since i don’t really recover the strength before going back to 200lbs+. I thought before that it was maybe due to the weight setting thing, 200lbs would be the lowest point of the setting.
I know, i don’t really help with that, but that’s my 2cents.
Energy in work/life has been pretty constant. While I haven’t been tested for COVID, I’ve had my temperature checked constantly and never had it be high and haven’t had any respiratory symptoms (or any symptoms at all, for that matter).
Interestingly I had a physical a few months ago and the basic bloodwork from that all came back normal, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t check anything hormonal or really anything outside the basic blood count and metabolic panel.
I’m in my mid to late 30s. My worry is that it definitely might be serious, but whatever it is, I’d rather know than not know. I got bloodwork done and should get results in the next couple days. I’ll definitely keep you all updated. I appreciate everyone’s input.
The weight loss wasn’t exactly intentional, but I wasn’t trying to keep it steady or gain weight either. Basically, I was restricting carbs more than normal, walking more than normal(due to the shutdown), and lifting less than normal (also due to the shutdown), so I see the weight loss as a byproduct of that.
Blood/urine test results came back this morning. Estradiol and Free test were both high(total test was normal). SHBG, FSH, LH were all low. Thyroid markers and Prolactin were normal. Urine color was called abnormal (amber), and its WBC and Leukocyte Esterase were both labeled abnormal. Any insights are much appreciated. Thank you.