a_welch503 WORKOUT JOURNAL

[.V.]

Hey ya'll - thanks for the support.

I don't know much about the hormones or the treatment for this particular issue, but by the time we are through I will. The throid thing is confusing - because I have signs and symptoms of hypo and hyper - but you can't have both. That means it's getting mixed signals from my pituitary. Personally, since I seem to have trouble gaining weight lately, I don't think t3 or t4 will be in order. The reason for it being temporary is also confusing to me - probably just her "playing" me to get me to be compliant. I'm probably the worst patient any doc has ever had. I should have been hospitalized last week but refused. I go on meds and if I don't feel I'm getting the therapeutic value I expect from them...I stop them.

I told her, "I've got something wrong I can't seem to fix with food". She said, "we'll fix it with meds then". When she started talking about HRT and thyroid therapy I asked, "isn't that sh*t for life" and started losing interest really quickly. She said, "not necessarily, it depends on the cause of your problem and when that's sorted out you may not have to have lifetime therapy". She went through a long list of thyroid meds and ended with, "this may just be temporary".

However, it all depends on blood tests confirming one another. One more blood draw coming up this friday.

Either way, if I feel normal in a month or two again - I'll be quite happy. However, I've sandbagged long enough. Time to hit the gym and do what I can. So it means longer workouts with lower weights - then that's what it will have to be for a while.

[.V.]

Oh yeah, the oil. I keep a bottle of bertoli's extra light tasting, cold pressed olive oil at home and in my locker at work. It goes better with a cutting diet with more protein and higher fat - makes it easier.

However, with the low fat foods I'm choosing for now to make room for more rice and potatoes - it makes a nice between meal fill in to get my fat intake up there a little over 20%. Doesn't take much either. Two tablespoons a day with 12 fish oil caps does the trick. As the cals go up, I'll increase the amount of oil.

Doc said that increasing the healthy fats this way is actually a very good thing. I won't repeat exactly how and what she said, but it was in reference to taking olive oil in a spoon with fish oil being difficult - but good.

[Maxgain]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Hey ya'll - thanks for the support.

I don't know much about the hormones or the treatment for this particular issue, but by the time we are through I will.

I would advise you to check out the mens health section at
http://forum.mesomorphosis.com/
well informed, 3 drs there 2 of which can be regarded as the top in America for hypogonadal issues
and http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ for the thyroid you will learn an awful lot from these it is best to know what is going on which im sure you want to.
Any questions dont hesitate to pm me.
Regards
Maxgain

[.V.]

Hey Thanks!!!

I'll check them out. Plus she gave me some reading assignments.

I was a bit blank when she was telling me what all we would be doing. She said, since I'm the A&P instructor that was a bit dissappointing. However, my knowledge is general most of the time. Then during the musculoskeletal system - I'm a musculoskeletal expert 'cuz I study first. During endocrinology, I'm an endocrinology expert - again 'cuz I study first. However, between semesters, I forget some of the specific details...besides, I only teach part time.

[.V.]

07-26-2006

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Flat Bench............135x2x8
DB Bench..............40x3x10
MP.....................95x8,7
Shrug................205x3x10
Upright Row...........95x2x10
Rear Delt Row.........95x2x10
Skull Crusher.....85x9,6/75x8
Tricep Pushdown........70x2x8

Not a bad workout - for a 12 year old girl. Not what I had planned for me though. Seems I've lost a bit more than I thought during my time off.

Today during shrugs (with only 205 on the bar) I was doing a set behind my back and just as the bar pulled above the coccyx, I felt the hip "pop" again. Some stretching and I was able to stand upright again. Had a choice to make - rest and heal (tried that - didn't work)...or work through it. I gritted my teeth and worked through it. I feel OK for now after doing that.

Next time - same little weights, more sets/more reps on everything. Did all I could today.

[tim_mcf]

Hey, at least you're doing it. Don't sweat the lower than usual weights, you'll get it back.

[.V.]

07-27-2006

Back/Biceps
Deadlift.........105x10
.................135x10
.................155x10
.................175x10
.................195x10
Bent Over Row.....95x10
.................105x10
...............135x2x10
Pullups..........25x8,7
BB Curl.........95x2x10
DB Curl.........40x2x10

Comments
Wow, the time off really did some damage. During deadlifts, when I got to 175 I felt my hip creaking and popping between the sacrum and pelvis. At 195 - the weight started out easy (for a while), but I was afraid to push it and cause an injury. 10 reps was all I could get.

Next time, same weight on everything, more sets. Probably next week I'll add preacher curls for biceps and tate press for triceps. While I can't go heavy, I may as well do a lot of stuff.

Three days back and everything is quite sore. I'm looking forward to resting it all tomorrow and then hitting legs again the next day. I may have to start using a belt for squats and deads until I get my hammys caught up to my quads though. They are so small they look deformed by comparison...time to fix that.

[gymgirl]

gald to see you are back at it! :

[.V.]

07-29-2006

Legs
Squat..............160x2x10
Lunge...............BWx3x10
SLDL...............160x2x10
GHR.................BWx3x10
Good Morning........95x3x10
Calf Raise.........225x3x15
Cable Crunch.......100x3x10
Decline Crunch.....100x3x10

Comments
Workout felt good today. Yep the weight is down and the reps are up. However, I'm still doing what used to be my 1RM for sets of 10...I don't want to forget that I'm still stronger than I used to be.

Orders from doc - eat enough. 3600 calories/day minimum, adding 250/day each week until I feel good (or 25 calories/lb of BW, whichever comes first). BMI says I'm overweight, but the body fat says I'm too low. Going up to 10-15%. I thought I was at 13% from the tape, but apparently the tape doesn't account for the saggy loose skin from being a former 300 pounder. What I've been calling fat wasn't. Veins don't show through fat layers and striations aren't visible on the deltoids with a high body fat percentage. Test therapy will begin monday, I'm supposed to feel normal again in about a month. Apparently my endocrine system isn't working right because I haven't been eating enough. Hopefully, hormone therapy will only be temporary when I fix the things I've done wrong to mess myself up. All I really did wrong was miscalculate LBM thinking my BF was higher than it was. Feeding only the LBM (somebody else's) left me in a deficit since I had more than I thought I did. The powerlifters were right after all. "Boy, you've got to eat."

Next time - more sets on Squat/SLDL. Depending on how I feel, maybe more weight on the rest.

[.V.]

07-30-2006

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

Flat Bench......135x10,10,9
DB Bench.........45x10,10,8
MP................95x10,9,9
Shrug..............205x3x10
Upright Row.........95x3x10
Rear Delt Row.......95x3x10
Skull Crusher.......75x3x10
Tricep Pushdown.....70x3x10
Tate Press..........20x3x10

Comments
Today was better than last time. Got more sets, improved reps. Increase weight on shrug and Tate press next time. Increase reps on bench work and MP next time. Repeat the rest to improve quality of each rep.

I had forgotten how much I like the Tate press. I'll just have to be careful not to dump the dumbell on my chest and break ribs again like I did a couple of years ago.

[.V.]

07-31-2006

Back/Biceps
Deadlift............115x10
....................135x10
....................155x10
....................175x10
..................195x2x10
Hyperextension.....BWx3x10
BOR..................75x10
.....................95x10
....................115x10
..................135x3x10
Pullups.............25x3x8
BB Curl..............45x10
.....................65x10
.....................85x10
...................95x3x10
DB Curl............40x3x10
Preacher Curl.......50x7,5
......................40x8

Comments
So I can't go heavy...I can still make it intense. Had to get a protein shake and banana to make it through today. I like hyperextensions but had to as usual make some kind of way to rig them up. Old bench, pelvis on the edge, torso over the floor, kid sitting on my legs. I really feel the spinal erectors right now, but it's the good kind of sore, not the injured kind.

[Firehawk]

Thats alot of deads...

[.V.]

Yeah, it's a lot...at least they are light. I'm doing recovery workouts for a little while to get over this SI thing. I'm dropping two warmup sets next time and adding one working set. After that, I'll see about dropping the volume and going a little heavier, just not heavy enough to get injured right now.

[Firehawk]

As silly as this may sound, if you are interested in getting into equipment to move bigger numbers, it really is safer for you and you don't get as beat up from raw lifting. Just something to think about. I know you mentioned this on another board.

[.V.]

I'm interested in safety. First, I'm looking for a belt. I've got to get this SI issue resolved safely first. From there - we'll see where it goes. No ego issues about pushing or pulling bigger numbers really, just want to get stronger, bigger, and have less likelihood of injury and pain.

Definitely interested in things that will improve safety yet still - every pound I move - I want it to be mine - even if it is a sub-200lb deadlift.