Grunt11's Training Log

I haven’t posted here in a while because I’ve been lazy and not been working out very diligently. I was planning this post to be about my goals for this year but I’m holding off to re-look at them to make sure they will work. However, I did have sort of a pleasant surprise today.

I hadn’t put on a pair of jeans since I started cutting a few weeks ago, which unfortunately has also been hit-and-miss. So colour me surprised when I put on my fat pants to go out for Christmas and I was swimming in them. Pants (34” waist) which were getting a little tight around the belly a few weeks ago had a good two inches to spare. I confirmed this with the tape measurer. I’ve mentioned before that just to maintain my body weight above about 150 I need to force feed the calories which is why I usually drink 3 shakes a day plus pre/post workout and meals. So while I’ve been feeling like I was becoming a fat pig over the last couple weeks snaking and eating all the time I was actually losing fat. Just goes to show how much of an under-eater I really am.

Goal to follow.
 
34 inch waist jeans are fat pants for you?

I know what you mean about being an under-eater though. I lose weight if I don't consciously ensure I am eating enough too. It sucks but I guess we are better off than those people who get obese if they do not track calories.
 
Yeah I’m not a big guy by any means. To put it in perspective when I joined the Marine Corps at 20-21 years old I was 5’6 at 113 lbs. I had to buy my pants in the boys department. Up until I started HST I only wore a 28” waist. That went up to the 30-32 range while bulking and cutting using HST. When I started powerlifting I went up to the 32-34 inch range because of the extra core work I’ve been doing.

So far as I can tell I haven’t lost any muscle while being sort of aimless while cutting. A couple weeks back I was in Hawaii and some Canadian Girls having a bachelorette party came and sat with us. They had given the bachelorette a list of tasks to accomplish one of which was getting her picture taken with a “muscle man” at the beach. When she ran around to my side of the table and put her arm around me for the picture I popped out a biceps pose and both of my buddies facing me from the other side of the table simultaneously exclaimed “Wow!”, and I was dead cold no pump and probably dehydrated. Things like that remind me that I’m my own worst critic.

Since powerlifting I’ve felt I’ve gotten smaller however over the last year I’ve heard periodic comments like “where’d those pythons come from,” “look at those guns,” “man you’re jacked,” so clearly HST has worked for me.

I think you’re right that it’s better to be an under-eater than the reverse. While cramming food down can be a hassle especially when it’s over 100F, it beats the crap out of dieting.
 
With a smaller waist like that, you must have a good v-taper. A smaller waist makes you look bigger overall too. I know what you mean about being your own worst critic though, I think that's a perpetual thing. You'll never think you look as good as everyone else does.
 
You’re right about the waist. Ever since the first time I lifted and got up to a wopping 135 lbs. I had to start wearing athletic cut suits since the pants that came with regular cut couldn’t be taken in far enough to fit my waist.

Yep I almost always feel like I look like crap but just last year at thanksgiving I overheard my aunt comment to one of my female cousins I never look any older but just keep looking the same. Until recently when I started getting some gray hair I’ve had people thinking I was in my mid to late 30s when I was 50. Funny thing is I do think I look better now than ever before. Previously I was just too skinny. Just today an old friend from 15 years ago sent me a picture of me and I’m shocked at how boney and unhealthy my face looked despite actually having been in great cardio shape back then. I would like to get my body fat back down to around 10% again but I actually prefer the way my face looks now somewhere between 15-20%. Once I figure I’ve peaked in muscle gains I think I will likely settle on somewhere around 15% BF.
 
Yeah, it's crazy when you see old pictures of yourself because the changes come so gradual that you don't really notice how different you've gotten. My plan is similar to yours, once I'm satisfied with growth, try to settle down at a consistent bodyfat percentage. I like the way I feel in the 15% area. I have fat cheeks though so 15% makes my face look fatter than my body is, which sucks.

You know, being active is one of the key things to staying younger for longer. My dad is almost 60 and he is in the same boat. People think he's only in his 40s.
 
We're so often our own toughest critics because we are interested in lifting and therefore tend to get to see what many of the most genetically gifted, chemically assisted lifters look like and what they've have accomplished. The average member of the populace hasn't got a clue or finds them too freaky, so anyone that looks more recognisably human and 'trained' is impressive to them.

Totally agree about finding a suit to fit 'off the peg.' Pretty much impossible, even with mix-and-match jackets and trousers. That alone should tell us that we aren't quite so 'average' anymore! :)
 
Totentanz said:
34 inch waist jeans are fat pants for you?

I know what you mean about being an under-eater though. I lose weight if I don't consciously ensure I am eating enough too. It sucks but I guess we are better off than those people who get obese if they do not track calories.
Click to expand...

I'm one and it sucks bigtime.
 
lol said:
Totally agree about finding a suit to fit 'off the peg.' Pretty much impossible, even with mix-and-match jackets and trousers. That alone should tell us that we aren't quite so 'average' anymore!
Click to expand...
Interesting pearl of wisdom, it’s been staring me in the face for most of my life but I never thought about it that way. My perspective was always that I was just too skinny.

tot said:
I have fat cheeks though so 15% makes my face look fatter than my body is, which sucks.
Click to expand...
At 15% I carry a little more BF in my belly than I care for but too much lower and my face starts looking sunk in. I totally agree about staying active. The only drawback to that for me is having grown up in AZ and spent most of my life in the tropics (years of surfing) my skin has taken a beating and is now starting to show it more. It’s one of the reasons I think I look better with a fuller face.

T-man said:
I'm one and it sucks bigtime.
Click to expand...

I’d say you represent most of the country, it seems around here we have an inordinate number of naturally skinny guys. Maybe that’s why we ended up using HST.
 
I do think that's what attracted a lot of us to HST. I think I've seen a lot more skinny guys trying to get big than bigger guys trying to slim down. In fact, I can recall about 5 or 6 bigger guys who wanted to slim down right off hand, and the number of smaller dudes trying to get bigger I cannot remember. Dozens.

But that's the thing. Those bigger guys might have more fat than they want, but they can build mass easier too. They can do any moronic routine and make decent progress, they just have a hard time getting cut up. Us naturally skinny guys can cut like it's nothing but putting on mass is a little more challenging... unless you do it intelligently through a system like HST. It's funny because speaking for myself, I've made better progress than most people I know, and bulking is a struggle. I chalk it up to them working out like idiots.

The fact that you've made such progress at your age with low T levels I think says a lot about HST. It also says a lot about your resolve too, and I think that's an advantage (sort of) that we naturally small guys have. We hunger for progress more, it makes us more determined, and of course we never seem to feel satisfied with how far we have progressed, which drives us to continue progressing. People keep telling me that I have to slow down some day, well I use you as one of my examples - a guy I know online who is 20 years older than me is still doing it, making progress and is healthy, so why should I slow down?
 
tot said:
It's funny because speaking for myself, I've made better progress than most people I know, and bulking is a struggle. I chalk it up to them working out like idiots.
Click to expand...
Boy I used to be one of those idiots too. Previously I went through phases of following other peoples routines which just didn’t work and then jumped on the HIT/Hardgainers bandwagon (now I know was probably the worst routine for me) until I finally found this site.

tot said:
The fact that you've made such progress at your age with low T levels I think says a lot about HST. It also says a lot about your resolve too, and I think that's an advantage (sort of) that we naturally small guys have. We hunger for progress more, it makes us more determined, and of course we never seem to feel satisfied with how far we have progressed, which drives us to continue progressing. People keep telling me that I have to slow down some day, well I use you as one of my examples - a guy I know online who is 20 years older than me is still doing it, making progress and is healthy, so why should I slow down?
Click to expand...
I agree my progress does say a hell of a lot about HST especially since I started doing it at much more of a disadvantage than previous routines when I was younger. The Endo at the clinic was shocked that I could maintain the workout routine I was doing with a free test level of 60. I told him that the only time during the day that I didn’t feel like crap was during and a few hours after my workout.

I think you’re right about the hunger and IMO it’s an inner hunger were we mostly need to challenge ourselves, as at the end of the day I can really give a crap what most people (who are usually uniformed think). I feel most of post our results because it is nice to share success with people who appreciate what it takes to make it there because they’ve been there or are presently doing it.

I’ve gotten that crap about slowing down from people so it’s nice to have examples like your father to point to and say see you can stay active and look at what it does for you. Ever since I joined the Marine Corps and started running a lot I realized that most people spend their time making excuses for why they can’t do something rather than rising to the challenge.

In the Marine Corps you didn’t get called out for failing so much as for quitting. The first hump (forced march) I did after recovering from a broken leg I did a face plant (passed out cold) coming up the back side of Horno Canyon at Camp Pendleton. When I came too with the First Sergeant pouring water on my face the guys standing around me were cheering, saying that it was a perfect 10 since I didn’t do anything to break my fall, just face first into the dirt. In other words they knew I didn’t quit but kept going until my body said no.

The sad thing is just too many people don’t listen. I’ve had quite a few guys at work ask me what I’ve done to make so much progress so fast but when I tell them it mostly falls on deaf ears and they just keep doing some bizarre routine they got from someone. About the only thing any of them every seriously tried was myo-reps but I think even that was a fad for them as they’ve found some latest and greatest workout from somewhere.

The other big possibly the biggest problem I see around me relates to your post on goals. Most of the people I know working out have no real goals. I know that because when they ask my advice the first thing I ask them is what are their goals and only one has ever had something specific, wanting to get a particular fitness test run time. I watched him run made several recommendations and a couple months later he was over half a minute faster than he had wanted. I find that most people don’t really want advice but just for you to validate what they already believe, that they can’t run, can’t lose weight, can’t get bigger, can’t get stronger, etc.
 
I figured it was about time to update my log since I actually have been working out consistently just nothing exciting. Still not ready to post goals yet though since I want to get them right and not just wing it. I may not post them until after I take the fitness test next weekend depending on where I am.

Well for the last Three weeks I’ve been working out every day without a break. My routine has been the following:

Incline Bench
Lat Pulls (to sternum)
Shrugs (leaning slightly forward)
Lateral Raises (again leaning slightly forward but not much)

Every other day I add in:
Triceps Bar Curls
Triceps Bar Overhead Triceps Extensions

Everything except the Shrugs are done with myo-reps. I started at a weight giving me about 15 reps on the activation set and then trying to hit +5 +5 +5 if I got 14-15 on the activation set or +4 +4 +4 if I only got to 13. I haven’t drop down to 12 rep activation sets yet. I’ve only been incrementing the weight every other day since I’m working out every 24 hours.

I’m hitting the protein hard at about 35g every 3 hours which is about 280g/day at a bodyweight right now of 183-184 which is about 1.5g/lb. I’ve gained 3-4 lbs. over the last 3 weeks which is right on target with what I’ve been shooting for.

I’ve also been doing 1.5 mile runs (well waddles more like it) usually every other day but sometimes every day and finally starting to notice some progress. Today I finally maintained a 10 min/mile pace without feeling like I was having a heart attack. Geez I used to be able to maintain that pace indefinitely at a BW of 145 with about 15lbs. of kit.

Once the fitness test is done I will go back to Squatting and Deadlifting again, however probably not jump back into a powerlifting routine until I finish bulking so the Squats and Deadlifts will also be HST style linear progression for a while. I’m following the adage that sometimes you have to take a step backwards to take two steps forwards so muscle building is the priority right now.

Once I hit the 85% of my 1RM range on the major power lifts I will probably start doing dynamic effort work again to prep for more powerlifting. I should be able to manage that without screwing up anything with RBE.

My muscles quickly started looking fuller when I started eating to bulk and doing a more bodybuilding centric routine. One coworker who competes in bodybuilding asked if I’m doing a cycle.

My endo upped my testosterone to 170mg/week and increased the AI by half since at 160mg/week my total test was still only 420 and my estrogen was up. He is looking to get me somewhere in the 600-800 range one week out from my weekly shot.

I’ve already started to adopt some of my plans for this year even though I haven’t articulated my goals. One thing is to focus my heaviest eating and exercise volume on Thursday or Friday through Sunday since I get my weekly shot on Thursday and am trying to take advantage of the post shot test boost. I’m estimating my free test level is much higher within 24 hours after my. This is actually based on getting a blood test from the Air Force doc the day after I got a test shot. He freaked out because my total Test was 1400 and free Test about 320. I had to explain to him not only did I have a shot the previous day but also just prior to the shot had to give 500ml of blood because my red cell count was too high and my plasma volume hadn’t full recovered so not only was my test level up from the shot but I had less blood to dilute it in.

Another advantage of timing my hardest workouts for Friday-Sunday is that except for drill weekend I have every Friday to Sunday off meaning less wasted energy working and more to put toward recover. Plus when I do decide to cut I can do UD2 reaping the most benefits I can from the Tension and Power workouts.
 
I also meant to mention that I bought some more equipment yesterday. I was shopping and any time I’m near Play-it-Again-Sports (a mostly used sporting goods store if you don’t know them) and for once they had some used Olympic Bars. The new ones run about $80 USD but they sell the used ones for $40 so I grabbed both. I also picked up 4 x 45s, 2 x 35s, 2 x 25s, 4 x 5s. I was getting close to needing more weight but mainly I got the bars and weights so I could leave some things set up all the time making transitioning between exercises or super-setting easier.

I won’t be leaving weights on the bar in the rack so they won’t bend but at least now I can leave one bar always set up for Deadlifts which has always been the biggest pain to switch to and from.

They actually had some bumper plates this time but I resisted since I need to focus and mixing in Oly lifting will just be too much of a distraction. I already have enough pads that if I want to mix in some cleans at some point to help my Deadlift I can just use the pads for putting the weight down.
 
grunt11 said:
They actually had some bumper plates this time but I resisted since I need to focus and mixing in Oly lifting will just be too much of a distraction. I already have enough pads that if I want to mix in some cleans at some point to help my Deadlift I can just use the pads for putting the weight down.
Click to expand...

Shame on you! :)

But actually, there are lots of bumper plates out there that are dodgy. Always worth checking the make and then Googling to see how others have got on with theirs. Many cheaper bumpers just don't last that long. Even the solid rubber ones can be troublesome: the steel centre inserts can come loose and drop out or the rubber itself splits.

All the best with your upcoming fitness test and then I look forward to seeing your goals posted. :cool:
 
Always enjoy reading your training log, Grunt. Always inspiring. Sounds like you are continuing to make great progress; you're still adding good weight with lighter loads and lots of protein.

Also great to see that you are continuing to get your T-levels sorted. Really cool that your doctor is thoroughly working with you in this area. Many doctors around where I live won't even discuss "low testosterone" as a possibility. It seems like male hormone replacement therapy is an area of medicine that hasn't properly advanced yet. A friend of mine is 36 and his T-level was in the 70s. His first doctor just told him, "that's just part of getting older," and "Sorry, I'm not going to prescribe you "legal steroids"." Seems like pure ignorance... It took him some serious "doctor shopping" until he found someone who agreed to provide him the treatment that he needed. Silly. Imagine a doctor nowadays telling a woman beginning menapause, "sorry, that's just part of getting older... try to not let those hot flashes, irritability, and inability to sleep bother you too much."
 
Thanks for the positive comments, always appreciated. I hope people get something out of my log it seems to get plenty of hits so I know someone is reading it. If even a few people can learn something it’s worth it but it also serves as a virtual workout partner in that it keeps me honest and focused about my workouts since I know people are looking at it.

My regular doc was actually a douche about my T-level being low pretty much the same as your friend, perhaps even worse in that he wanted to put me on anti-depressants since he said I was really just suffering from depression. Yeah, depressed T-levels jack***. Note this is the same guy who was pissed I put on 40lbs. lifting and thought I should go back to running.

Luckily (well on purpose) I chose a PPO healthcare provider rather than an HMO so I don’t need a referral to go see a specialist. I didn’t want to doctor shop since like your friend’s experience I’ve heard it can be a pain to find someone who follows more up-to-date protocols than 200mg every 2 weeks without and AI (which is what I believe the physician’s desk reference still proscribes).

Anyway I found this place through a coworker. It’s actually an “anti-aging” clinic (read business designed to get money out of insurance companies). However, they do know what they are doing and follow fairly up-to-date protocols. I get a weekly injection and take an AI to manage the estrogen. They also have me take HGC on an 8 week on 8 week off cycle. I could easily get Test-Cyp on my own if that’s all I wanted but I’d rather have people who know what they are doing monitor me and hell I pay for the insurance anyway so I might as well use it. ;) Not to mention even when the Air Force doc saw my natural T-level was 60 he said I needed HRT and that with my low level injections not Androgel was the way to go. Both he and the doc at the clinic used the same reasoning as you, that they do this for women so why not men.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it here but besides the obvious benefit of being able to grow more muscle now that I have T-levels getting closer to normal the real benefit is quality of life. With a T-level of 60 I was miserable. I consistently couldn’t make it through the workday due to exhaustion. I was more moody than the worst girlfriend I’d ever had on her period. And I’d lost a lot of my confidence and “alpha-ness” though I still played the part out of habit I didn’t feel it, it was just an act. Since starting HRT I feel great and I’m back to being me both psychologically and behaviorally again, pissy crap and the people who behave that way just don’t even register anymore.

The bad part for me was that I took so long to figure out what was happening. I didn’t even realize anything was wrong because my general level of fitness was so high it masked many of the symptoms. Add to that the Marine mentality to just power though things and not look for excuses and I spent way too much time being miserable than I ever should have.
 
Wow, G11. I'm so glad that you are feeling more like you again; it had to have been horrible being caught in the throws of everything. The big positive here is that you found an answer after setting aside your pride and doing what you needed to, to be you again. That's an amazing lesson for anyone reading your log to take away. Thank you, sir.
 
grunt11 said:
Thanks for the positive comments, always appreciated. I hope people get something out of my log it seems to get plenty of hits so I know someone is reading it. If even a few people can learn something it’s worth it but it also serves as a virtual workout partner in that it keeps me honest and focused about my workouts since I know people are looking at it.

My regular doc was actually a douche about my T-level being low pretty much the same as your friend, perhaps even worse in that he wanted to put me on anti-depressants since he said I was really just suffering from depression. Yeah, depressed T-levels jack***. Note this is the same guy who was pissed I put on 40lbs. lifting and thought I should go back to running.

Luckily (well on purpose) I chose a PPO healthcare provider rather than an HMO so I don’t need a referral to go see a specialist. I didn’t want to doctor shop since like your friend’s experience I’ve heard it can be a pain to find someone who follows more up-to-date protocols than 200mg every 2 weeks without and AI (which is what I believe the physician’s desk reference still proscribes).

Anyway I found this place through a coworker. It’s actually an “anti-aging” clinic (read business designed to get money out of insurance companies). However, they do know what they are doing and follow fairly up-to-date protocols. I get a weekly injection and take an AI to manage the estrogen. They also have me take HGC on an 8 week on 8 week off cycle. I could easily get Test-Cyp on my own if that’s all I wanted but I’d rather have people who know what they are doing monitor me and hell I pay for the insurance anyway so I might as well use it. ;) Not to mention even when the Air Force doc saw my natural T-level was 60 he said I needed HRT and that with my low level injections not Androgel was the way to go. Both he and the doc at the clinic used the same reasoning as you, that they do this for women so why not men.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it here but besides the obvious benefit of being able to grow more muscle now that I have T-levels getting closer to normal the real benefit is quality of life. With a T-level of 60 I was miserable. I consistently couldn’t make it through the workday due to exhaustion. I was more moody than the worst girlfriend I’d ever had on her period. And I’d lost a lot of my confidence and “alpha-ness” though I still played the part out of habit I didn’t feel it, it was just an act. Since starting HRT I feel great and I’m back to being me both psychologically and behaviorally again, pissy crap and the people who behave that way just don’t even register anymore.

The bad part for me was that I took so long to figure out what was happening. I didn’t even realize anything was wrong because my general level of fitness was so high it masked many of the symptoms. Add to that the Marine mentality to just power though things and not look for excuses and I spent way too much time being miserable than I ever should have.
Click to expand...

interesting how T-levels can affect someone that much.
 
Testosterone affects pretty much every part of a man's life. If your T-levels are out of wack, it will likely cause a snowball effect in many other areas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top