a_welch503 WORKOUT JOURNAL

[kungfu74]

Not a bad workout at all!!! i would say if you can get 5 reps w/ that weight, than use it again and try to get another rep or two next time you do it! very respectiable welch!!! as far as the rest is concerned it really depend upon your main goal. resting for 2-3 minutes between sets is completely acceptable if your lifting weight that is heavy for you... just keep up the good work!

[.V.]

05-09-2004

Today's cardio day. Good cardio time on the cardio glide. The 20 minutes was much easier today, no chest pain, not as much shortness of breath. Listening to Ozzy and matching my pace to the beat helps the time go by quicker. There was a thunder storm today so I was afraid to start my run on the dam because of the lightning. Started at the recreation park (the turn around point - exactly 2 miles from the start of the dam). Still got my 4 miles. Because there was no hill at the 1/2 mile point, I was able to run a whole mile today. I've never ran that far before, but I guess it don't count as much because it was mostly flat with a little downhill. Next time I'll go back to my usual place - I MEAN TO BEAT THAT HILL, I HATE THE HILL AND I WILL DEFEAT IT.

[Jimma]

Man you are a ****ing champion. My cousin has MS, she's about 25 and it makes her blind every now and then. Luckily for her she's naturally skinny, but I still always feel sorry for her. She was really pretty and stuff before she got diagnosed and I think it causes difficulties for her having children. I am so impressed with your dedication and determination. I'd say you motivate everyone on this forum to put in more effort at the gym. Great stuff, and excellent progress. I'd be so happy if I could put on weight as fast as you're gaining it - I weigh about 60kg, and I'm trying to put on muscle like you are.

[.V.]

Missed the 5-10 lifting day. Too much fatigue and weakness. On 5-11, had to work. Skipped the AM cardio session that day because of the previous fatigue and weakness. Had to work a 24 hour shift and needed to save energy for that. Sometimes they can be killer. It wasn't too bad after all. Things got quiet about 02:00 hrs and I got about 6 hours of sleep.

05-12-2004

Went home rested another 2 hours. Did lifting workout.
Pull ups 4x6. Weighted crunches 4x6 - 26 lb. Push ups - 4x20. Leg raises 4x20. Military press 3x6 then 1x5 - 81.2 lb. Squats/Calf raise 3x12 - 116 lb. Deadlift Shrug 3x12 - 116 lb. Upright row 4x6 - 81.2 lb. Bent Over row 4x6 - 100 lb. Bench Press 4x6 - 106 lb. Bicep Curl 4x6 - 26 lb. Tricep extension 4x6 - 20 lb.

Tried weighted crunches today for the first time. I think they will work if I get the feeling for doing them right. I felt awkward and I think I looked like a flopping fish trying to do them. I will give them a try for a few weeks and see how it works out. I can always go back to the abrollers if they don't work out.

Able to add 6 lb to bench press. New goal - add 6 lbs to bent over row. The biceps and triceps are not close to ready to add weight to them yet. They are getting easier, but 6 reps is all I can get. And the last one on the last set is just that that THE LAST ONE. I wonder if I added a 5 minute rest period after arms then did BB curls and skull crushers if it would help me get stronger arms so I will be able to do more with them - or if that would be overdoing it.

If anyone reads this and wants to given input on arm exercises, The Bicep exercise I do is concentration curls and the tricep exercise is well, I'm not sure what it's real name is. I call it a tricep extension. It is the one where you lie flat on your back hold the dumbell up in one hand like the top of a bench press, bring the weight down slowly to touch the side of your head, then extend it back up straight to the starting point. It is a good way to get the negative because if you lower it too fast, you will break your head.

[.V.]

05-13-04

Cardio day - increased to 25 minutes on cardioglide. Will increase to 30 minutes next time. Only made it to the 2nd park bench on the way up that hill today. But, I did add another mile to my walk so my total distance running and walking was 5 miles.

I hope I have something left for lifting tomorrow. I'm off to bed for about 8 hours tonight so I believe I will be in good shape tomorrow.

[.V.]

05-14-2004

Today's workout:

pull ups 4x6. weighted crunches 4x6 - 32 lb. push ups 4x20. leg raises 4x20. military press 3x6 then 1x5.5 - 81.2 lb. squat / calf raise 3x12 - 120 lb. deadlift / shrug 3x12 - 120 lb. upright row 4x6 -82.6 lb. bent over row 4x6 - 106 lb. bench press 3x8 1x4 - 106 lb. bicep curl 4x6 - 26 lb. Tricep ext. 4x6 - 20 lb.

Almost got 4x6 on the mil press today. Made it almost all the way up on the last rep but couldn't fully extend. I think I will get it next time. Tried to go 4x8 on bench press to see if I was ready it increase the weight on it. Not quite there yet. Mabey next time, but not without someone home to spot for me. I ended up with the bar on my chest and couldn't get it off for a while.

[.V.]

05-16-2004

Got a good 8 1/2 hours sleep last night. Woke up tired anyway. This MS fatigue really blows. Sat around drinking coffee trying to get the energy to work out. Tried a cola too then realized that diet rite has no caffeine. Oh well. About 0945 decided to hit it anyway. Had to use extra rest time between sets. But, I made it no matter how bad I felt. Because I know it will pay off to do it anyway and not sit on my butt and become a big fatload again. Like someone on this site said, "no excuses, just get off your butt and do it".

Here is what I did:

Pull ups 4x6 (clean this time, chin cleared the top of the bar on each one). Weighted crunches 4x6 - 32 lb. Push ups 4x20. Leg raises 4x20. Military press 4x6 - 81.2 lb. Squat/calf raise 4x12 - 120 lb. Deadlift/shrug 4x12 - 120 lb. Upright row 4x6 - 82.6 lb. Bent over row 4x6 - 106 lb. Bench press - 4x8 106 lb. Bicep curls 4x6 - 26 lb. Tricep extensions - 4x6 - 20 lb.

I'm still not sure about the crunches, I still feel awkward, but I will try them for a while longer as long as I don't feel abs getting weaker. I noticed the upright row, that I had the same number of weights on the bar as I had for the military press, yet writing down different numbers. Recalculated the weight. The upright row has really only been 81.2 lb. for the last 3 lifting days. So I took off an 8 pounder from each side and put on an 8.8 pounder on each side. Now I really am getting 82.6. I forgot on the squats and deads how many I was supposed to do. I did 4 sets instead of 3. Wow, what a sore lower back.

Goal for 5-18-2004 add 4 lb to bench press.

Oh, I almost forgot. Calculated my % body fat today. It is 19%. That is down from 63%. only 9% and 13 pounds of fat to go. Then mabey I can add back 30 or 40 pounds of muscle??? Or even 10 or so??? Body Mass index is 24.8 That is down from <37 (that was as high as my chart went and I used to exceed it.) Well that is it for today.

[.V.]

05-24-2004

I haven't been here since the 16th of may. Nothing to put down. That damn shot caused a muscle spasm in my lower back. I was stupid and on the 18th thought I would work through it. not a good idea. I havn't been able to lift since. Felt better on 5-20 and tried to do back and legs. Pull ups went well. Then did one set of 6 squats. Big mistake. I couldn't even bend over to put the weight down. Took the next 4 days off. Today is the 4th day. I feel better just a little tight. NO MORE shots in the lower back. Tomorrow I'm going to work just chest shoulders. Then the next day arms and abs. The next day off. Then I should be ready to get my back and legs again. I guess I will have to reduce my weight after being off for over a week.

[.V.]

05-26-2004

Today I was finally able to lift again. This is arms and abs day on my new schedule. Standing BB Curls 4x6 - 71.2 lb. Skull Crushers 4x6 -46.6 lb. Concentration Curls 4x6 - 26 lb. One arm Tricep Extension 4x6 - 20 lb.

Did not do abs today. The back is still too painful to do even one leg lift. Tried it, did not work.

I am surprised that my arms were not a lot weaker after not lifting for 10 days. They actually seemed a little bit stronger. I got a really good pump going. By the end of my arm workout, my sleeves were stretched tight. That has never happened before. To bad that after I rest they will go back to normal.

[.V.]

Not able to do legs/back, chest/shoulders days. The lower back is still not right. It still spasms when I do anything that uses it.

05-30-2004
Arm day:

BB curls 4x6 - 71.2 lb, Skull crushers 4x6 - 49.2 lb, DB curls 4x6 - 32 lb, Weighted crunches 4x6 - 32 lb.

Leg lifts - not able to do any, back still too bad.

I finally got it on the crunches, 5 seconds up, hold for a slow count to five, then 5 seconds down. The hardest abdominal session I've ever had.

[.V.]

6-01-04

Finally able to do legs and back again. My back still has a knot in the sacroilleal region, but the pain is minimal. I thought I would try it with lighter weights so I went down to 100 lb. for today. I can work myself back up to higher weight quicker by doing something than overdoing it right off the bat and ending up flat on my back again.

Today's workout:
Pull ups 4x6, Squats 4x6 - 100 lb. Deadlifts 4x6 - 100 lb. Calf raises 4x6 - 100 lb. Bent over row 4x7 - 100 lb.

A little stiff after the workout, but no severe pain. I think this muscle spasm thing is about over with. Next time, I will increase the weight a little.

[.V.]

06-02-04

I'm back at it pretty good, it feels like. My back still hurts from before, and it is extra sore from yesterday's workout. But, the soreness will go away, and I believe that the knot in the muscle will eventually leave if I keep using good form and don't do anything wrong to cause injury.

Today's workout:

Mil press 3x6 then 1x8 - 81.2 lb.
Upright row 3x6 then 1x8 - 82.6 lb.
Shrugs 3x6 then 1x8 - 120 lb.
Bench press 3x6 then 1x8 - 110 lb.
Push ups 2x20 then 1x16 then 1x14 with body weight. This was with total failure, falling face into floor on the last two sets.

I am suprised that with so much time off, I only came back weaker with the push ups. I was stronger in everything today than I was before. I will know in 4 days if it is for real or not when I hit chest and shoulders again.

Goal for 6-6: Increase mil press to 85.2 lb. Increase upright row to 88.6 lbs. Increase shrug to 126 lbs. Increase bench to 116 lbs.

I have gotten extra strict on my diet because I look a little softer than I did 2 wks ago. Plenty of red meat and chicken, still eating 2 whole eggs each am. My carbs, I am restricting to only very high fiber vegetables. I noticed I have slipped and ate tastier, more sugary veggies in the previous week, such as sweet peas. I still did not gain fat, but what little definition I had was disappearing. I have seen some tiny bit of improvement in the last 5 days.

[.V.]

6-14-04

Well, I was wrong. I thought I was ready to start again. I Did legs/back, chest/shoulders on 6-1 and 6-2. I should not have done this during an attack causing muscle spasms especially with this medication that worsens muscle spams. What a catch 22. The medicine will eventually reduct the frequency and severity of attacks. But, If it gets into muscle, it causes muscle spasms. I don't have that much fat left to inject into. And one of my MS symptoms is muscle spasms anyway. I foolishly thought I could work through the MS pain, and ended up not able to work out for the last 12 days at all - except for on arm day. I did My arm/ab workout on 6-3, 6-7, and 6-11.

I was supposed to wait until I was pain free for 7 days before hitting the legs/back or chest/shoulders again. I had 2 good pain free days. Just a little constant discomfort, but not real pain. I could not stand it anymore, I feel flabby, soft, and weak without my lifting. Other people say they cannot see any difference, but I can see it and feel it. So, I hit the weights again today and did chest/shoulders.

I cannot believe how much strength I have lost in only 12 days. Of course MS takes your strength away, and the weights give it back. But, it is sad to lose all of my progress that quickly. Here is what I did today:

6-14 Chest/Shoulders workout-

Military press 4x6 - 65.2 lb. Upright row 4x6 - 71.2 lb. Bench Press 4x6 - 92.4 lb. Shrugs 4x6 - 100 lb.

I was ready to increase all these weights 2 weeks ago. But instead I have had to reduce them to this. Oh well, time to start over and build back up.

[SurfinAmy]

Hey Welch, first time I read your journal and I have to say I really admire your drive and determination. What an inspiration! I don't really understand MS at all. One time I searched around on-line for info on it because I had met someone with it, but it seemed so confusing, didn't really understand it too much?
I think you are right to continue exercising, lifting, cardio, doing what you can, when you can.
I get very frustrated with doctors and sometimes feel that they just throw drugs at you and never get any real answers.
Seems to me you are taking the reins into your own hands.....WAY TO GO!!! I feel so proud of you right about now....
KEEP AT IT, ya, if it doesn't flex you have to carry it
-Amy

[.V.]

Thanks for the encouragement SurfinAmy, we've all got to keep doing it, or what did we bother starting for. It's been a bad month for lifting, but I'm back at it now, Soon, I'll be back up to where I was at the end of may.