Reach out if you need anything dude. You’ve got a lot of folks in your corner.
@T3hPwnisher thanks Pwn, it’s always nice to see you drop by. I had a pretty nasty fever and cold sweats for about a week and I’m being forced to taper off some of the medicine I’ve been taking for 2+ years as prescribed. It’s definitely going to be rough but I’ll get through it.
In other news, training has been decent. Hovering around 188 consistently.
Yesterday
Squats
375 lb. for 5 sets of 3 reps (these were hard)
Bench
215 for 5 sets of 3 reps (not difficult)
Press
150 x 3 x 3 (was tired after bench)
Lots and lots of chin-ups
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Update: still training, can’t be bothered to post here because I’m lazy. Will check back once I’ve gotten considerably stronger or hit a new PR
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First set of 375 from yesterday
Moving pretty fast, weight has been holding steady at 190.
I’ve been doing full-body twice a week with good results so far. Going to stay on track with this program and see how far I get
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I finally did something noteworthy
Pulled 455 last week. Ramping up for a 500 pull by the end of the year. Back feels great and I have a proper coach now. Lots of accessory work, paused leg extensions and paused squats. Nowadays, I walk around at 185 and would like to stay at this weight. After I get a 500 pull and 435-440 squat I will take a step back and focus on boxing again.
I wanted to go for 465 initially but undershot as a safe bet. I tried 465 right after this and didn’t have the energy for another heavy single.
Next time I go for a top single it will be 470-475.
430
455
Body comp right now:
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More updates
Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 2
365 x 1
385 x 1
405 x 8 – bar was slippery even with chalk. Thought about rushing the set and remembered it’s a miracle I’m able to DL again (didn’t push my luck, took my time with a reset).
385 x 4
385 x 4
Weighted 45-degree back extension
45 x 8 (paused)
70 x 2 x 8 (paused)
Paused RDL
295 x 8
295 x 8
Paused Hip Thrust
275 x 10
265 x 2 x 10
Seated Calf Raise
135 x 2 x 15
115 x 2 x 15
BW 183
So I have a good coach now. Here’s a look at my programming from this week:
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405x8, f**k me you got strong. Nah, that’s not right: you’ve always been strong. But now you’re moving the weights that reflect just how strong you are.
I was thinking about you the other day on the drive home from work. I had a feeling you were still out there getting after it. Good to see dude.
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Thanks Pwn! Looking crazy yourself. I finally bit the bullet and paid for a coach, I think that was the difference.
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More from this week – lots of bench reps, yada yada yada. Pause squatted 315 for 3 sets of 6 too. Best bench doubles were 215 x 2 and 225 x 2. Here’s what I really care about.
Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 2
405 x 1 – moved super fast
435 x 4
415 x 3, failed last rep, did 405 x 1 immediately
395 x 4
385 x 4
2 second paused RDL
305 x 8
295 x 8
Back Extension
3 paused sets of 8 with 45 pounds
Hip Thrust
- whatever
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Okay, new PR
Pulled 440 x 4 today
Back down sets
405 x 4
405 x 4
405 x 4
RDL Paused
245 x 8
275 x 8
Hip Thrust
275 x 3 x 10
Back extension pause at the top & weighted
2 x 8 with 70 lb.
1 x 8 with 90 lb.
Weighing 185 lb. right now
My legs and the top of my knees are bruised to hell, I also somehow popped a blood vessel in my right arm
I’m knocking on 500’s door
someone talk me out of “TRT” 
I’m walking around in the mid 600s - low 700s and wonder how much stronger I’d be walking around at 1000 - 1200 (more energy, better gains/recovery, etc).
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Dude, I would give anything to NOT be dependent on this drug for the rest of my life. You’re in a good direction right now: don’t add amateur endocrinology into the equation.
Great pull: keep it up!
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Likely not that much stronger (you’re going from the high end of average to the higher end of physiological normal/ just outside) and now you’re walking around at 150 without the drug. Doesn’t seem like a great trade-off to me. What kind of additional income/ quality of life would a little edge potentially bring you?
@T3hPwnisher @TrainForPain I’d never actually consider TRT if my hormones weren’t already artificially dampened by psych meds. Right now, my prolactin/progesterone are fairly high and I was thinking TRT would be a “band-aid” for the libido, energy and fatigue issues I currently deal with. I also have Cabergoline on hand (friend of a friend), but I haven’t gotten up the nerve to take it because I’m worried about the side effects.
That’s not a below normal total?
I thought you wanted us to talk you out of it?
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My T could be better, not sure if it would matter much, but I was hoping higher testosterone levels would offset my other imbalances.
Good to see you around, man.
I have little of value to add, but would be wary of adding TRT into the mix. At your (our) age, plus with your own personal history, I’d would focus on being as healthy as possible for several years minimum before adding in any extra hormonal/chemical manipulation.
What’re you up to these days? School, work? Relationships? (Family, friends, romantic.) Things going okay?
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Agree with all of the above. Finish learning who you are as an adult before tampering unnecessarily with your physiology.
Glad to see you.
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Hi everyone, thanks for providing a bit more perspective on my latest hare-brained idea. I don’t necessarily need more testosterone, because I’m at clinically normal totals. But, my SHBG is high and a lot of the herbs/supplements that can be used to “optimize” my hormone profile come with extreme mental and physical side effects. Boron? Panic attack. Tongkat Ali? Walking around in a rage. P5P? Panic attack. Lol. It is what it is though. Can’t exactly change my current situation.
Going to gear up and break 500 before the year’s out
Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 3
365, 405 x 1
445 x 4 – PR
405 x 4
395 x 4
385 x 4
Back Extensions Paused
60 lb. x 8
50 lb. x 2 x 8
Hip Thrust Paused at bottom and top (Machine)
280 x 2 x 10
300 x 10
Wanted to load hip thrusts as much as possible. Back can’t handle all the volume from my regularly scheduled RDLs. I think I already have 500-505 in the bag. Now I have to catch @strongmanbrett and work my way up to 600 something.
How the fuck did that kid get so strong so fast? Haven’t seen him in a minute but he’s a monster and the person I compare myself against. Whenever I’m getting ready to hit a big set, I tell myself Brett did this when he was 16 so it can’t be that heavy.
To be fair, I was ready to hit 485 - 500 in March of 2022, and then I got that lower back injury that sidelined me for close to a year.
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I’m still enrolled in school, working my ass off as a copywriter, haven’t spoken to my family in a while. I live alone and things are going well on paper but I am under a lot of pressure and don’t know how to handle it. Between school and work I put in 70-hour weeks on a regular basis and it’s destroying my health but I have no other choice if I want to keep what I have.
Robert Downey Jr. said of overcoming his addiction, “what I’ve learned is that I can’t starve the bad dog. I have to feed the good dog.”
So you can’t eliminate pressures, but can you add something in to help with relaxation? Meditation has an enormous body of research to support its efficacy in building your relaxation response, which can then be used to counter stressors. Meditation, ideally, teaches you to take a deep breath and let tension go, even when not actively meditating.
What do you need to do to bring small joys to yourself? For example:
1 Like