UGH!! C. diff is a B!TCH!!! I’m so sorry. Do they have you on a probiotic too? If not, that would be a good move - put some of those good gut bugs back.
I hope those antibiotics have you feeling better quickly and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you diet-wise in the event that that’s rough for a while.
FEEL BETTER SOON!!!
Yikes, feel better soon! Your program ideas sound reasonable to me.
Sounds totally doallble to me, especially if you break this down into 3 x 6 week programs. Do something hard with lots of volume more 6 weeks like super squats or building the monolith and you will get bigger.
Come off that and move to some thing this is more strength focused for 6 weeks and you will deff be stronger and then polish it all off with 6 weeks where you attack fat like a berserker and there you have it. Tick tick tick - good luck
Thanks for the program recommendation, ChickLit! I’ve read it once but need to revisit it. The deadlifting day is doable at my gym, and I’ll re-read the other days to see if I can make them work. This could fulfill @simo74’s recommendation for a 6-week mass program.
Thank you very much, @QuadQueen!! I was on antibiotics for 10 days, and I’m feeling a whole lot better. At this point, it doesn’t look like C diff, thank God! I started on probiotics shortly before the antibiotics, but I’d be grateful for any dietary recommendations you’re willing to share!
Based on what I’ve read, I’m taking an Align probiotic pill once each day, eating plain Greek yogurt, kefir, or Activa yogurt nearly every day, and avoiding cruciferous veggies and beans. I’m all ears (well, eyes in this case 
) for advice.
Thank you, Bagsy! I’m feeling better - not best, but definitely improving - and started mild exercising again today.
I appreciate your advice! Your idea of three, six-week blocks is a very logical and methodical approach to achieving my goals. Starting today, I’m returning to exercise and will ramp back to full intensity this month. If I do three six-week programs with a week deload between each, that bring me to New Year, which seems like a good way to periodize training for the rest of the year.
If you read it and watch the video some of the exercises differ. I did the ones on the videos. All except the jump deadlifts. Never quite got that part of the plan.
Happy to hear you are feeling better!
7-9-22, Saturday
Swimming
If you can commit to 3 x 6 weeks with those focuses then I am very excited for you. Tagging in @TrainForPain @T3hPwnisher and @wiseman83 as they may have some good ideas about the 3 phases. 1. Get big. 2 gets stronger 3 get leaner.
Any thoughts guys ??
For me 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 actually go together. Getting bigger is what makes us stronger, but we can always use “get stronger” to mean an intensification phase, which means that calories can drop and we can get lean. If we wanted to break it down into 3 phases, I’d actually support
Phase 1: Get fit
Phase 2: Get Big
Phase 3: Get strong and lean
Use the first phase to just smash conditioning and set up the body to be able to crush everything leading up.
I can see how they will work together. Any thoughts on simple training plans that support those phases ?
Thanks for joining in, I appreciate your insight.
That order will fit better with my current headspace. In the summer, my appetite decreases and I naturally incline to being outside, rucking and swimming. Last summer, I discovered squats and deadlifts effectively strengthen my rucking muscles, so a couple-few lifting days will complement the cardio and provide conditioning work.
For further information, because of my injury history, I’ve learned I can deadlift twice each week (in June, I did conventional for low reps one day and trap bar for higher reps another) but I have to be particular about squatting.
One session a week is good, but two isn’t always better. Split squats are a great addition to my training, and I need unilateral leg work to counterbalance the effects of a crushed leg (less ankle mobility, using hips to compensate for lack of motion, altered gait, favoring the non-painful leg.) Sled pushing and farmer walks with dumbbells are also very good for me.
My elbows still have extreme tendonitis, but I finally got a referral to an Ortho and hope to get cortisone injections soon. Until then, pullups and decline, incline, and barbell overhead presses are off the table. Conversely, dumbbell OHP, pushups, dips, and various chest press and pulldown machines feel good.
Thanks for the tag and in such great company @simo74. At great personal credibility risk, I’ll diverge slightly from @T3hPwnisher. If we’re talking just big, strong and lean, I think diet plays the role. If we’re taking getting specifically conditioned for an event, then I do think you narrow down into that final SPP phase where it’s intensification and conditioning. So, for our returning hero with 18 weeks, and jacked and tan as the goal, I might split my phases up more around approach (but we’re still just touching weights to get bigger/ stronger):
High frequency, relatively high volume. This is going to be your PPL twice a week or something similar. You could even do a bodypart specialization where you do legs 3x a week for two weeks, then repeat with push, then pull. Here I’d be touching weights 6x weekly, because we want to get back in the groove, eating a lot to start getting our weight up, and not going maximally and crushing myself. Bonus: the frequency makes you feel pumped all the time so you stay motivated! Make sure you’re at least walking during this phase, but the rucks and all that are great too. I wouldn’t go crazy on the more intense stuff, yet, because your legs are likely to stay sore.
High intensity, lower frequency. Now we’ve built our weight room skill back up and we are bored with touching sub maximal weights all the time, so I’d switch it up and do either a lift-specific approach or a bodybuilder split (let’s be real: I’d do the bodypart split). What we’re doing now is pushing our sets, our main lifts should be close to technical failure and our assistance stuff needs to suck: drop sets, clusters, that kind of thing. We keep eating here, but by the last two weeks we need to start assessing how fat we are and slowing down if need be. In this phase, we can have a handful of hard conditioning sessions each week because we’re doing legs infrequently enough and we’ve already been back in the gym.
High volume, lower frequency. Now we’re big and strong, but too chubby. We’re going to go to either a bodypart split or PPL 4x a week. We want to be in the weight room 4x a week and I like pushing volume higher than intensity as calories get low - I feel like I can always suck up doing one more set, but I legit beat my joints up when I don’t have the nutrition. You can also push this to 5 or 6 days in the gym, and I usually do, but I think the rewards are very diminishing. Cardio/ conditioning has to matter more here: I would alternate longer sessions (maybe a ruck) with hard sessions (prowler or whatever crazy KB stuff folks do; for me it’s bike sprints). For diet, I think you can go pretty hard for 6 weeks. If you’re counting calories, I’d jump right in with BW x 10. If not, I’d split my daily carbs between training and dinner (so I can sleep). Key to this 6 weeks is to “care” more about just sticking to the plan and not get bummed by a crappy day.
Anyway, my $0.02.
Going off 5/3/1 paradigms, simple approach would be a BBB variant for Phase 2, PR sets or 5s pro for main (occasional jokers) with widowmakers for supplemental for Phase 3. For Phase 1, I’d think one of Brian Alsruhe’s programs would be a solid choice. Just something that forces you into conditioning. Or maybe something like the Base Building templates from Tactical Barbell II. 5/3/1 can also handle it, with the Beginner Prep School program. Lotta roads to Rome there.
Not to go off on a tangent, but
These always look amazing to me on paper (well, YouTube) and then I absolutely hate trying to run them in practice… which really just speaks to your point of
The time investment is what got me initially. Lotta set up time. Be good if I had a crew to run it with.
Yup! It’s a ton of setup and (in a shared gym) thinking about what equipment I can take and where to put it and all that. Thinking is my kryptonite in this game.
I am SO glad to hear that you’re feeling better and that it’s not looking like C. diff!!! That is such great news.
Okay, now for my spiel on probiotics and overall gut health - just remember, you asked for it… lol
Let’s start with probiotic supplements - so, here I recommend switching up your brand and the bacterial strains from month to month. The problem with taking one type for too long is that it can result in the overgrowth of that strain and the outcompeting of your natural and healthy gut flora - or SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). So, mix it up - Align this round, maybe Culturelle next time, and something different the next time.
I also recommend cycling your supplementation - 30 days on/30 days off. This lets your natural gut flora grow with no competition. If you’re having major gut issues, or have been on antibiotics - I would say go ahead and do a 3 month on cycle (rotating your probiotic type) and then start the 30 on/30 off schedule.
Next up, probiotics in foods - so these are fine but don’t count on getting all (or any) of the promised good bacteria. Bacterial strains are finicky - they need the perfect conditions to thrive and survive. Time, temperature changes, exposure to air/light, etc. all affect/kill off some of the “live and active” cultures. Don’t bank on these as your sole probiotic source.
Probiotcs get all the attention but prebiotics are super important. They are like probiotic seeds and/or fertilizer for existing flora. You don’t need a supplement to get these (they do have them, but save your $$) - just include foods with prebiotic fiber - bananas, garlic, onions, oats, apples, beans, cabbage… In your case, take it easy on the fiber overload until things calm down, but once they do - game on!!
There are also Synbiotic supplements which include both pre- and probiotics. I don’t typically tell folks to take these unless their diets are terrible (no veggies/fruits, no whole grains, no variety, etc.) but they are an option. For most folks a probiotic supplement and a healthy diet will get their gut flora “Bac” to its robust self and get their digestion on track again.
That was SUPER long - sorry about that - but I did warn ya! If there’s anything there that doesn’t make sense or if you have more questions, let me know. And definitely keep updating us on how things are going and how you’re feeling.