Exodus Strength

I checked in to see the same thing. Hope all is well.

How is lifting and doctoring going?

Oh vey. Got buried there and still haven't quite dug myself out yet. My back went out end of March. Badly. As in couldn't walk the first day. Took some time off and it started to recover. With lots of prednisone. Fast forward to April. And then a patient coded and chest compressions did me in. I've been walking about half the time with a cane (embracing my inner Dr House). Initial rehab was a reclining bike and lots of prednisone. And some yoga in the form of sun salutations. Gained a shit ton of fat on the pred. Slowly graduated back to weights. Gave up bench for my shoulders. At least for now. Weights made me think I could forget about cardio again. And yoga. Bad dog! Bad!

At least I'm still working. Anywho.

Started lifting with my wife (yay!!!). And she even likes the garage better than the gym for weights (not really cardio equipment at home). We're lifting twice a week now. And Sunday mornings have really become a ritual. Since she squats, I started doing what she is squatting for the sake of ROM. I'm hoping it doesn't piss off my back.

Me
Pred dose - 5 mg/day
Resting HR 74
Squat - 65 x 3 x 5 reps
Press - 155 x 5 x 2 reps
SGDL - 165 x 5 x singles
DB curls

Lifting Mate for Life
Squat - 65 x 3 x 5 reps
Press - 47.5 x 3 x 5 reps
Deadlift - 135 x 1 x 5 reps

- She's about 60% towards her weight loss goal.
- Squats have improved DRASTICALLY. She started off with body weight squats. Now we're doing bigger jumps and she's turning into Beast Mode.
- She just recently graduated to One Wheel deads. Huge step. Started off with assistance stuff. Then SLDL. Now, the real deal.
- And press had been a struggle. I tried every cue and nothing. I finally said, fuck it. Get under the 45 pound bar. And she hit triples the first time and her form magically clicked. Now we're microloading and she's up to the 47.5 and cruising.
- she's gonna be stronger than me soon. She can already kick my butt on the eliptical.

Me
Pred dose - Had to take 20 mg today. We shall see what dose I ride at but it’s likely going to be 10.
Resting HR 73
Squat - 70 x 3 x 5 reps
Press - 135 x 3 x 6 reps
SGDL - 140 x 3 x 6 reps

Lifting Mate for Life
Squat - 70 x 3 x 5 reps
Press - 50 x 3 x 5 reps
Deadlift
- 135 x 1 x 5 reps
- 140 x single
- 145 x single
- 150 x single
- 155 x single

Good to see you back!

Glad to be back!

Thursday
Resting pulse - 74
Airdyne - 5 minutes

Saturday
Resting pulse - 77
Pred dose - 20 mg

Me
Sun salutations
Squats - 75 x 3s x 5r
Press - 147.5 x 4s x 3r
SGDL - 157.5 d 4s x 3r
DB Curls

Mate
Squats - 75 x 3s x 5r
Press - 52.5 x 3s x 5r
Dead -
135 x 5
145 x 3
155 x 2
165 x 1
175 x 1
DB curls
- she’s starting to form muskulls.

Sunday
Resting pulse - 76 (directly tied to pred dose)
Pred dose - 15 mg
Recline bike - 12 minutes

vanslix wrote: ↑Sun May 20, 2018 3:15 pm - she's gonna be stronger than me soon. She can already kick my butt on the eliptical.

This is where you sabotage her. Put her on Texas Method.

Glad you're back and lifting!!!

vanslix wrote: ↑Sat Oct 07, 2017 3:26 pm If you didn't follow my log in Egypt, here's the story. Nah, the story is too damned complicated.

TL:DR - my spinal colum, being fucked by congenital defects and a decade of football with concomitant injuries, causes me chronic pain which impedes my progress both in training and training to become a physician as a 42 year old geezling changing careers as a mid life crisis.

More recently I had a very bad pain spike so I stopped lifting altogether. And two things happened. My back hurt less. Yeah! But my shoulder (old football injury which ties into the thoracic spine) began hurting worse. Boo!

So I need to find some sort of compromise. Kind of like being buzzed. Not sober, but not drunk. The Middle Road.

Sooooo....I will begin experimenting a bit. Focus is NOT on strength, but reducing pain. Period. Whatever means gets me there is The Good Path. So how to do that? Some lifting. But also slowly increasing general fitness, GPP, whatever you want to call it. I want to be less sick, and more healthy. And focusing solely on strength has not gotten me there.

1.8.23
Got to add ankylosing spondylitis to my already fun back. And potentially a second autoimmune disease that me and my rheumatologist are working on. Frankly, I have enough diagnoses. Not sure I want to learn what the second may or may not be. Using a cane fairly frequently now due to pain. So time to get my shit together! Been working out inconsistently at best but slowly progressing. And put on a bunch of fat. Just kinda starting slow before I move back into my formal program.

Weight: not sure, need new batteries for my scale

Bench: 165 x 3 x 5r, recovered enough extension in my back to be able to get my feet off the bench and on the ground now! Progress!

Leg press: rack x 3 x 8r. These felt ok on my left hip. The true test of whether to add weight at next is how the joint feels over the next 1-3 days. Squats and dead’s are simply out of the question for a bit.

Pull-downs: 75 x 3 x 8r. I will do a chin up again!

Leg ext: 80x3x8r
Lex curl: 70x3x8r

Conditioning: shark circles in the gym in between sets.

True measure of recovery is if I need prednisone to make it through the next 3 12s for work.

Great to hear about back extension progress! Excited to follow your journey back to pull-ups!

hector wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:58 pm Great to hear about back extension progress! Excited to follow your journey back to pull-ups!

I figured that logging it here might help not so much as keep me honest as keep me engaged and dedicated.

1.17.23
Life and work got in the way so big gap.
Weight: 262.8 down to 246.2
Resting HR: 71
HR: 92-134. Interestingly, noted my pulse was highest during the walking in between sets. And it’s more of a stroll. Which tells me my capacity for work and recovery sucks donkey balls.

Bench: 175 x 3 x 5r

Leg press: 1 plate x 3 x 8r. Hip and back so-so. Noticed i had to consciously force my left hip to open up and keep my pelvis from tilting off the back. So I’m instinctively protecting the hip from external rotation. We will play it by ear on progress for this and when to move back to SGDL and light squats.

Pull-downs: 80 x 3 x 8r. I will do a chin up again!

Leg ext: skipped for time limits
Lex curl: skipped for time limits

Conditioning: shark circles in the gym in between sets