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Yeah, getting sick like that is always massively irritating. Especially when I'm on a roll, gaining consistently. I wish there was some kind of augmentation for the immune system that I could get to make me totally immune to disease.

Tweaked my forearm at the gym the other day doing curls. I decided to do some curls because I finished early, but the thing I could do at the time was use this curl machine that is stack loaded, the handle is basically an ez-bar. I don't know how the stack translates to real weight but I had to go up to 220 lbs on the stack, which is almost the entire stack, to get to where I could only manage 10 reps. The next day, my left forearm feels significantly strained. The only injury I've ever gotten lifting was when doing DC and I messed up this forearm doing... you guessed it, stuff with the ez curl bar.
It doesn't feel too bad today, but no more ez curl bars, ever.
 
On the bright side, arms are just almost 18 inches when pumped right now, which doesn't mean a whole lot but previously the biggest they would get is 17.5 when pumped, so I take that as a good sign. I've noticed that on workout days, I get a lot more comments at work about how big my arms look, or people asking me what I eat as though I know some secret that they do not, guys constantly calling me "bro" when they come in, etc etc. So what I am doing must be working even if I don't see much progress myself in the mirror.
I was trying to sell cookies the other day to set an example and get my team motivated to sell them, and I kept telling people how much I liked them, how I eat them all the time, etc. The majority of the people I told this to refused to believe that I eat the cookies. They would say "there's no way you eat those and look like that" and things along those lines. I don't understand why either since I'm at like 16% bodyfat right now.
 
Totentanz said:
Tweaked my forearm at the gym the other day doing curls. I decided to do some curls because I finished early, but the thing I could do at the time was use this curl machine that is stack loaded, the handle is basically an ez-bar. I don't know how the stack translates to real weight but I had to go up to 220 lbs on the stack, which is almost the entire stack, to get to where I could only manage 10 reps. The next day, my left forearm feels significantly strained. The only injury I've ever gotten lifting was when doing DC and I messed up this forearm doing... you guessed it, stuff with the ez curl bar.
It doesn't feel too bad today, but no more ez curl bars, ever.
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Yeah, anything but supinated curls suck IMO. Straight barbell curls or supinated DB or machine curls are best for biceps.
I get tender brachioradialis from pronated Pulldowns, I may have to do some sort of supinated wide grip Pulldowns. The soreness is annoying, but goes away.
 
Totentanz said:
On the bright side, arms are just almost 18 inches when pumped right now, which doesn't mean a whole lot but previously the biggest they would get is 17.5 when pumped, so I take that as a good sign. I've noticed that on workout days, I get a lot more comments at work about how big my arms look, or people asking me what I eat as though I know some secret that they do not, guys constantly calling me "bro" when they come in, etc etc. So what I am doing must be working even if I don't see much progress myself in the mirror.
I was trying to sell cookies the other day to set an example and get my team motivated to sell them, and I kept telling people how much I liked them, how I eat them all the time, etc. The majority of the people I told this to refused to believe that I eat the cookies. They would say "there's no way you eat those and look like that" and things along those lines. I don't understand why either since I'm at like 16% bodyfat right now.
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Lol, people don't realize that a 250 pound muscular guy has to eat MORE cookies to maintain size, than a 250 pound fat guy.
 
Yeah it's kind of frustrating how little people understand about how the body works. They see me gorging myself on a massive one pound hamburger, a big plate of fries and they are like "dude, you giving up on staying in shape or something?" and I'm like "No, I worked out today and I need to get in 5000 calories. How do you suggest I do that?" I'm also getting annoyed at how many people are trying to be friends with me lately because somehow being buddies will transmogrify their physique into a duplicate of mine. It's awesome that what I'm doing now appears to be working due to people suddenly talking about my body constantly, but just talking to me isn't going to replace the years of hard work it took to get here. I purposefully wear my earbuds every time I go to the gym so people will leave me alone and let me do my workout, you'd think that would be a clear sign that I don't have time to talk.
I really just need a fully equipped gym in my own home. Perhaps in a few years when I'm making the big bucks.

Forearm is all better. No more ez bars ever again, until I forget and try using one again. Rowed the entire stack on the seated row machine for 3 sets of 5 today, going to have to probably switch to just using that one for metabolic work eventually. Almost to the full stack on the pulldowns too so I guess weighted chins are in my future. Which means I have to buy a new belt. Up to 265 for 3 sets of 5 on incline bench. Thinking of attempting a 1 rep max on it soon. Might start squatting or deadlifting again some time soon as well.
 
Take the good with the bad.

I would think all you really need is:

-Squat cage
-Bench/Incline Bench
-Power Tower
-Bars & DBs
-250kg weights
 
T-man said:
Great progress. I predict 330 1RM on incline bench.
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I'm reckoning that a 300# incline bench would be rather awesome, especially in your case as I know you've never rated your pressing power compared to your other lifts.
 
Totentanz said:
Forearm is all better. No more ez bars ever again, until I forget and try using one again. Rowed the entire stack on the seated row machine for 3 sets of 5 today, going to have to probably switch to just using that one for metabolic work eventually. Almost to the full stack on the pulldowns too so I guess weighted chins are in my future. Which means I have to buy a new belt. Up to 265 for 3 sets of 5 on incline bench. Thinking of attempting a 1 rep max on it soon. Might start squatting or deadlifting again some time soon as well.
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Good news. That seemed like a speedy forearm recovery. I still can't do regular chins (supinated grip) without twinges a good two months or more after I pulled something close to my elbow joint, so I'm not doing them any more. Pull-ups or parallel-grip chins only. It doesn't feel great doing straight bar curls either but I find that EZ-bar curls are less of a problem because my hands aren't fully supinated. They're about half-way between a regular curl and a hammer curl. I'm not bothered about the curls but it's a pain about the chins as I always felt very strong through the top half of the movement. I think negatives might actually be ok as I could relax a bit before hitting the dead hang position. Might try some once I've progressed my pull-ups a bit more.

Do you ever do parallel-grip pulldowns? If so, are you stronger with a parallel-grip than with a pronated-grip pulldown?
 
I have not done parallel grip pulldowns, but I'm pretty sure they have a handle I can put on to try it out. Might be worth a shot. Yeah the forearm was lucky, it was mostly just strained a little last week but it felt like a precursor to the crap I went through before with it, so I didn't lift Monday and gave it a rest.

I am hopeful of breaking 300 on the incline bench press. I haven't flat benched in a long while, not sure how the strength carry over to that might be. Only thing that might hold me back is my lack of a spotter. I don't really like the guys at the gym and don't trust most of them to spot me. So I'll be conservative. It's a bummer that one of my friends (a skinny guy who was a powerlifter in high school and is strong for only being 150-160 or so) didn't end up joining my gym. I was hoping to have a decent occasional workout partner. I never push as hard on bench when I don't have a spot, and I can't bench in their power rack because the safety bar holes are spread too far apart for me.

Alex: I actually have almost all of that, just not enough weight and no DBs as I never got around to going back to the guy I bought the equipment from to purchase his set of DBs. I used to have DB handles to load my plates on but gave them away a few years ago. Weight-wise, I can't remember what all I have out in the garage, but I think it's only around 400 lbs or so, so not really enough to do a lot of squatting or deadlifting unless I stick to high rep stuff, and I hate high rep stuff. The problem right now is that I have no room and I need the garage for my vehicles. In december when I relocate for my upcoming promotion, I am going to try to get a place with some space for lifting, preferrably in the basement so I don't have to worry about ruining the floor. I do miss the convenience of my own gym at home. Going out to a commercial gym used to be somewhat motivating at my old gym, as there were a fair amount of decent lifters there amongst the rabble, but at this gym, I seem to be the only serious lifter and there are like nine times as much rabble as at the old one. Like seriously, I've never seen anyone there aside from me bring a notebook to the gym to log workouts. There must be some, but they are never there when I am there. Only skinny guys destroying themselves when I arrive each day and still trying their best to commit suicide by gym when I leave.

Last time I was there, I overhead these two guys who didn't know my ipod was paused talking **** about me and the fact that I was using so much weight. Like apparently it's cool to be weak now and not be able to lift much, I guess? If you lift heavy enough to be effective, you're showing off? They used the steroid word too of course, cause anyone bigger than you is always on steroids. I guess they may have been upset that used their top set that they left the stack pinned at to do my warmup for seated rows? I don't know.

But whatever, that's why I bring music with me. For what it is worth, this gym IS working for me, I'm making progress and that is what is important. I don't really care all that much that there are so many insecure douchebags there who assume that I'm a dick just because I am considerably larger than them. You know, if any one of them were to actually sack up and ask me about my training, I would do what I could to show them what they need to know to actually start making progress. But nope.
 
Insanity is defined as performing the same action repeatedly and expecting a different result.

This is those skinny guys at your gym.


Don't stress about it.

Or, drop a 50kg DB on a foot.

Either of those options is fine.
 
I've also considered just loudly belching or making other rude noises throughout my workout to keep them away but I'm not sure you'd be able to hear it over the loud grunting sounds, the crashing noises every time one of them hurls a DB at the floor or releases the leg press when it's loaded up with a couple hundred pounds instead of slowly guiding back to it's rest stop.

There are a small handful of intermediates there who are obviously early on in their training still, they are clearly making some progress although I never see them logging a workout (maybe they use an app on their phone?) and these guys are usually pretty respectful of other lifters and of the equipment. I just wish this gym was more strict with their rules. The last gym had spray bottles of sanitizer everywhere, towels so you could wipe down equipment after use, and if you didnt then you got in trouble. This gym has one spray bottle over by the treadmills. I have to wipe sweat off equipment before using it. The other day, someone had a three or four year old kid running around the weight area. That would never fly at my old gym. Of course the old gym had like three squat racks, three power racks and a deadlifting platform, so I guess that place was a little more intense than this one.
 
Admittedly, I have been rather grouchy lately. I think I need more sunlight. Being mostly Austrian, you'd think I wouldn't need as much sunlight, but my maternal grandfather was some sort of dark skinned ethnicity, not sure what, and I got my skintone from him. At family reunions each summer for my paternal side, I'm the only one who isn't bright white and covered in sunscreen. Only problem is that I get to be an ass during long winters and winter isn't quite over yet where I live.
 
If you're from Central Europe (ancestrally) there's probably something like a dozen different ethnic groups in your make up. You can thank Attila and Genghis for carving up Eastern Europe into a bloody mess and even 20th century crazies for adding to the mix.
 
Not only that but my maternal grandmother is scottish and on my father's side, his mother was austrian and native american, his father austrian, so realistically I've got a lot of contributors there. Still, none of the whiter people in my family get as angry during the winter as I do. I would almost be willing to give up my near immunity to sunlight in the summer to not suffer from lack of sunlight in the winter.
 
Any reason why you dont move south? I lived in the northeast growing up and HATED winters...9 years ago, I moved to Asheville, North Carolina and love it.
 
See the thing is... I like the cold. I actually have an issue where my body temp is higher than normal. I'm like a furnace. During the summer, I rarely wear more than shorts, it's just too hot otherwise. It has been suggested that I tan in the winter to alleviate my issues but I'm not sure if that actually works. Also concerned that even though I never get sun burn, I don't think that means I won't get skin cancer at some point.

Yes, I am basically screwed.
 
And yes, I realize that I am a weird guy. First the whole mutant bone structure, now an abnormal body temperature. And there is a lot more. I deviate from the norm in several areas. It sucks sometimes, but oh well. I didn't choose my genetics, I just have to learn to live with it.
 
Well it's only because of your mass. Anyone with as much mass as you is going to put off heat like a furnace. When I was a skinny teen, I was cold all the time, now that I've gained about 60 pounds since then, I also rarely get cold.

I still prefer warm sunny weather, hiking outdoors, swimming, etc. winter sucks.
 
Yeah, certainly gaining mass has exacerbated the problem but it's always been an issue. I've never owned a winter coat, for example. I wear hoodies in the winter time if it gets too cold, otherwise a long sleeve thermal shirt is more than enough. Long story short, moving south isn't an option as I would likely die. I enjoyed living in Alaska when I spent some months up there, it was nice. The only thing I don't like about winter is the lack of sunlight really.

Early morning workout in a half hour. Might try some DB Rows this time.
 
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