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Becoming the Iron Lion

Haven't checked my blood sugar since I lowered food a few weeks back.

Still excellent. This is about an hour after my last meal of the day with carbs (80g) in it.
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Montego said:
Today was a shit day....

One of my dogs has been acting weird. Hasn't been wanting to eat for almost 2 weeks unless we add stuff to his food like chicken or egg. He's alsob been lethargic and not moving much.

Took him to the vet today and they think he most likely has cancer. His white blood cell count was 516 and the high end of normal is 17. His temp was 103.2 and 102 is usually normal for dogs.

Fucking gutted. He's an older dog, 11, and being a pitbull/Ridgeback mix he's considered a senior.

We would have to send him to a pet hospital for them to run tests to see exactly what it is and then, who knows if they could even do anything for him and, were talking thousands of dollars when he doesn't have a lot of years ahead of him statistically speaking.......

The vet gave us some steroids and an appetite stimulant to give you him to hopefully make him feel better and we will just wait and see what happensb but, it's not looking good.

We gave him the meds and he's eating again and up and moving around, looks like he feels fine but, he's wobbly and kinda just pacing around a lot.

I feel like a shit dog dad but, I gotta do what's best for the family first and the financial situation right now is aimed at kids going to college and building a house next year.

Hopefully we'll get a good amount of time with my buddy before he crosses the rainbow bridge and he's getting cheeseburgers ever day.
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Been thru it multiple times, kept one alive for a couple years with chemo treatments. It sucks is an understatement
 
Tresto said:
Beautiful dog. Wishing him a few more happy and pain free years
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Ty. He's a handsome guy, always gets compliments when we go somewhere.

He's my first dog since I've been out on my own. I had been in apartments until my wife and I got our first house back in 2015. I had been wanting a wiener dog for YEARS and since we now had a yard I was on a mission to have a new friend.

We went to a random pet adoption one day at PetSmart and there he was. He DEFINITELY wasn't a wiener dog but, he was absolutely beautiful, calm and came right up to me and my wife to get love.

We took him home right then after a few hundred bucks in toys and treats

My wife still jokes with me about my "wiener dog".

He actually became more of my wife's dog over the years and they just have a special calm bond together.

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Back from vacation y'day.

When we got back we took our doggo to have him put to sleep. It was time, we were hoping he would hang on long enough for us to get back and, being the good boy he was, he did.

We knew the entire vacation this was probably going to happen so it put a black cloud over the trip and it wasn't a great time. We had some fun but, our minds were occupied obviously.

Our other dog is taking it pretty hard. We brought home the blanket we took Red in so he could smell it, apparently dogs can smell when another dog passes, and he's been laying on it whining since we got back.

It sucks but, it was the right thing to do.

Went and trained a little bit today but just wasn't feeling it. Between the stress and eating like shit on vacation it just wasn't there.

Going back out of town tonight to a clients show tomorrow. It's his first one and it's close so since we could make it I'll be there to help him through all the stuff.

That's it for today! Hopefully I'll be back on track Sunday lol.
 
Went to support the kid I've been helping for his first show y'day.

Show went well. He was the only teen so he obviously won his class.

I thought he had registered for novice, but he didn't because he didn't have the money. I told him I would have paid his damn entry fee but, oh well.

He got a good dose of conditioning reality check because this was a pretty decent size show and, there were some guys in excellent shape in bodybuilding at least. I didn't watch anything past him and, he was on first after all the bodybuilding classes so I left as soon as he was done both times.

I had told him quite a few times I didn't think he was ready, but, he was close enough to not look foolish for a teenager. I don't believe there wasn't some cheating on the diet going on anymore though, just little things like seeing opened candy in the room and so on. His fiance was the with him though so, maybe it was her.

Either way, it was an ok time, there were some killers in open and I enjoyed watching.

I did sleep a LOT y'day between his times up and I woke up today with a sore throat and some inflamed tonsils so I think I'm fighting something off at the very least.

Spent the day doing stuff I needed to get done outside though so that helped me feel better. Mowed, trimmed a big crape myrtle, replaced the headlight bulbs in my car (giant pain in the ass), sprayed the house for insects, grocery shop, took down the electric fence, walked the doggo, gave him a bath and that's about it.

Will go train tomorrow unless I have to work first shift. Gotta get back into the swing a bit, get the vacation water off and refocus on getting big.
 
Trained pull today.

GD it's getting hot.

Just threw the kitchen sink at it. Logged the lifts but just needed a baseline.

4 sets of pulldowns
4 sets of linear rows
4 sets of 1 arm cable rows
4 sets of chest supported rows
2 sets of assisted pullups

Everything to failure. First 3 sets failing before 12 reps, last set was a "backoff" past 12.

I'll get back to my lower volume training soon enough but I wanted to just go and crush the back. Mission accomplished.
 
So, "bodybuilding" update.

Back in April I noticed a "dent" in my left quad. No pain, no bruising but it was very noticable. This was also the leg with the worse knee and, around the time I noticed the dent, the knee pain went away..... Thought a tear would have alleviate any pressure from tightness in the quad and helped in that regard....

I sent a picture and video to some people I respect and the consensus was the rec fem probably detached from the knee. That would have explained the lack of bruising since there wouldn't have been any blood vessels ruptured and, less strain on the knee from the quad being tight.

Since then I haven't really trained legs much. Just some high rep stuff with lighter weights to keep the legs somewhat active. I never got it checked, just figured since it wasn't hurting it would just atrophy away and that would be that.

Well, after 2 months the "dent" is gone. I had it in my head that competing was over with the injury but, that MIGHT not be the case.......

Went through the motions today, first leg session in probably 2 weeks, just to get the first bit of soreness out of the way.

4 sets of adductors and knee extension
3 sets of single leg press
3 sets of hip hacks
3 sets of split squats

Took about 30 minutes. Nothing was heavy but I pushed reps to just shy of failure every set.

We will see how things go in the coming weeks..... Started increasing food since I've been back from vacation a bit so, training will follow suit as long as I don't die from heat exhaustion.

Pics of the "dent". .
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Chest and delts today.

Rolling along on the same path as previously. Higher Volume and good reps. Actually enjoying the freedom of not logging even though I prefer to log. I'm just kinda bored with training in general lately though.

Pec Deck 4 sets
DB laterals 4 Sets
Incline Smith 3 sets
Cable laterals 4 sets
Nautilus neutral grip chest press 4 sets
Rear delt cable laterals 4 sets

That's it. Pump achieved. Cramps in the chest.

Had all you can eat sushi tonight at a new spot for date night with the wife. $26 and I ate just enough. I didn't get my usual plain sushi, got the fancy ones packed with tons of fat but, they were exceptional.

This place has all you can eat hibachi, sushi, appetizers and dessert wrapped up into one. Definitely worth the cost but, if you don't finish your sushi, it's 50 cents a piece they charge extra.
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Pull today.

Fried junk sushi wasn't a great idea Friday btw felt like I had just finished it all day yesterday, shit hung around in my gut for ages but, damn it was good. Next time we do the standard stuff, nothing fried or covered in bullshit.

Pull was good. Threw in some biceps as well.

Back to dialing in the contractions and "squeezing the stretch". This is the trickiest part of training for me, since I've lived in progressive overload log book land for years, and it's added the majority of my size, I do tend to lose that deep contraction when the weights get very heavy. This is just a good time to reset since I'm playing with volume currently.

The session -

4 sets of Hammer front pull-down
3 sets chest supported t bar
3 sets chest supported mid row
3 sets Rodgers 3 way row
2 sets DB shrugs

Like 12 sets of bicep stuff

Back was blown up. Crazy pump today
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Bigjape34 said:
What have you made with it so far bud?
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Just the one I ate today

1 core power vanilla protein shake (the 42g protein one)
1/4tsp xantham gum
1/4tsp salt
3g vanilla bean paste
20g Monk fruit sweetener
1 piece of cookie dough

The entire pint is -

350 calories
42p
8f
27c

If I had not used the cookie dough it would have been

42p
10c
3.5f

Was awesome. Texture and taste were exactly like ice cream. I've had a few if those protein ice creams and they aren't even close to being this good. The cookie dough was just a mix in, didn't do much to the flavor just added some goodies.

I'll make a mcflurry tomorrow with far free fairlife milk instead of the shake and the rest of the ingredients plus 3 Oreos.

It's

240 cal
26c
4f
25p
 
Did some legs today. Nothing much, just enough to not shrink.

4 sets of hypers and extension
4 sets of Nautilus glute drive
4 sets of hip press
4 sets of extensions

Really enjoying my knees not bothering me in everyday life lately so I'm just hesitant to push it. I'll get there at some point but, not yet.
 
Chest and shoulders.

Got up and to the gym early, for me, today. Still 90° but it wasn't 98 at least lol.

4 sets of cable flys and DB laterals (warm upish)
4 sets of matrix chest press and cable laterals
4 sets of neutral grip press and rear delt DB laterals
4 sets of cable press and front laterals

45 minutes. Today was the first day I was kinda bored just "doing stuff". I've been waiting on that feeling as I've just trained to train lately. Tells me I'm probably ready to start "pushing" again.

I'll see how I feel after the next session but, it might be time to go back to normal.
 
Pull y'day.

Another session where I was looking for "more". We're on the way. Figured out a new "que" that helped me get and keep the lats engaged and it turned my back up more then I think it's ever been. Biceps were actually really good as well, probably some of the best sets I've had since surgery.

Today was terrible though. Went into work at 5 this morning and I was absolutely ravenous all day.

I went hypo 4-5 times during the shift and had all 5 of the meals I took eaten by noon with 5 hours left to go.....I pack one extra meal just in case and thank God I did today. I still raided the damn vending machine though around 2 because I was on the verge of passing out. 2 of those tuna salad and cracker things and 4 packs of peanut butter crackers held me over till I got home..... That shit alone was around 1200 calories.

Got home had another chicken and rice and pint of ninja ice cream.

Now it's almost 11 and I'm so hungry I'm nauseous..... I've probably had 7k calories today and I feel like I could eat another 7k.

I'm not real sure why I had the hypo episodes today. I fight reactive hypoglycemia pretty often post training and occasionally some days but, never this much during a day..... Gonna keep an eye on it, because it's a bit concerning
 
Legs today.

The giant amount of shit food gave me a hell of a pump today at least lol.

Leg training is pretty dialed in for what I can do without destroying my knees for a few days. Left quad is feeling fine but there's some nerve damage or something there since there's zero separation when I flex it, unlike the right which I could probably hold a credit card between the muscle bellies when I flex that one. It's strange, it gets a good pump and I can feel it during training there's just no separation..... Dusty told me back in 2020 he though it has nerve damage and even after a lot of PT it just doesn't quiet act the same as the right.

Good session though -

4 sets adductors/knee extension (working warm up)
4 sets high close leg press/hypers
4 sets hacks/single leg curls
4 sets split squats/knee extensions

Since I can't crush the weights the damn volume will have to work out. Hopefully the hack doesn't mess with me tomorrow, it's been a trigger for the knee usually.
 
Push stuff.

Rolling along. The lower carb day y'day was rough but needed. Had a few lbs of bloat come off so I'm sitting around 240 again. Will probably drop another couple lbs in the coming days still.

4 sets of cable fly/DB later working warm up
4 sets plate loaded ches press/underhanded tricep extension
4 sets hammer wide chest press/press downs
4 sets nautilus neutral grip chest press/DB front raise
4 sets single arm extensions

On to the next one!
 
Wore out today.

Got called in yesterday and wasn't expecting it. Didn't sleep long enough then had to work 5p-5a. Was a rough shift physically on top of being tired.

Got home and didn't fall asleep until 8-9, I can't remember, then I was up at 10..... Couldn't get back to sleep so I ate and went to train. 10-11 is just when my body is trained to wake up after all those years working straight nights.

Pull way really good though. Logged this session and I'll try to start progressing the high volume approach for a bit ..... Just something different that hopefully helps me avoid breaking anything else on my body.

Ques for back are working extremely well and the connection I had last week was repeated, I'll just have to make sure I keep the focus when I increase the weights.

Biceps were super set with everything besides my last 4 sets.

4*Diverging pull-down
4*Rodgers row
4*prime upper back row
4*dual cable row
2*viz deads

Legs tomorrow unless I work in the morning.
 
Legs y'day.

Torched them.

Adductors and extensions

Single leg hip press

Hip hacks

Seated leg curls

Single leg hacks

Everything is sore today.

Push today

Nautilus press

Incline hammer

Neutral grip press

Flys

Lots of laterals and a little triceps
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Rest day today, much needed.

Think I slept around 14 hours total. From 9pm-645am then fell back asleep at 9am till 2pm when I had to get ready for work. My left leg was so sore last night i had to keep it kinda bent so it didn't bother me.

Working tonight then when I get up I'll train pull.

Weight slowly climbing. Very controlled. The Ninja creami is awesome.
 
Pull today.

Started back to logging my sessions.

The volume will stay high until it's hindering my recovery but, the focus is back to getting strong with perfect reps again.

Today was "Pull A"

Lat pulldowns 4 sets
Premiere Linear Row 4 sets
Single arm cable row 4 sets
Chest supported row 4 sets
Assisted pullups 2 sets

Biceps were thrown in as super sets. Around 12 working sets and they're fried.

Didn't break any records but, it was a really good session. Felt good to write in my book again, now I need to keep the discipline on execution and stay focused.
 
Legs y'day.

Sore as hell today. Hopefully after next session this will be a thing of the past. It didn't effect my sleep but, I'm moving pretty slow lol.

Adductors and extension 4 sets of working warm up

Leg press and hyper 4 sets

Hacks 4 sets

Split squats and sissy squats 4 sets

Extensions 3 sets

Crazy pumps. Lots of burn.

Logged the sets and we'll improve next time around.

Felt pretty good on the hack. Just need to be cautious I don't start getting the knee issues there.
 
Push day.

Wrist was bothering me a bit .. it seems it there's any angle on the machines handles, the lateral pressure is what is causing the issue. I noticed this at work as well with some things I do.

Same thing with DB laterals, when I try to turn the pinky up it'll bother me after. I can work around this with cuffs or cutting the ROM down a touch though.

The pressing will be the main issue, all of the decline/incline/wide grip hammer stuff has a slant. I've got flat, one plate loaded machine and the Smith I can work with. I can also just jack the seat up and down and make that work.

No real warmup today, it was 95° and I just wanted to get into it.

Incline Hammer/DB laterals 4 sets
Decline hammer/DB Rear Laterals 4 sets
Body Master Flat/Tricep extension 4 sets
Basix Pec Deck/Abs 4 sets.

Logged this today but I'm going to scrap most of it next time.

Haven't trained abs in like 5 years. Guess I'll train them a while. Sessions are short enough so it'll work in there.
 
Pull.

Good day. Wrist didn't give issues as it normally doesn't on pull.

Beat the book on every set but, didn't need to sacrifice any form. The later sets are where the tank empties since I haven't trained with this much volume in years but, it seems to be improving rather well.

Diverging pull-down 4 sets
Rodgers row 4 sets
Matrix neutral grip row 4 sets
Dual cable row 4 sets

Biceps sprinkled in. Abs at the end only 4 sets.

I'm hoping the lower back will stop giving me the twinge I had for a couple weeks so I can put some kind of pull into the session. It's a new thing so I have avoided anything to aggravate it but, that linear row does bother me a little when I initially pick up the sled.

Doesn't bother me any other time training but, after sessions or work, I can feel it a bit.
 
Been steady at it.

My last leg session was fucking awesome. I could feel the quads all the way into my hip on every set of every movement. I tossed in the pendulum squat for the first time in ages, only put 1 plate on there since it was the last exercise, I was gassed and I don't need my knees acting up and it felt decent. Needless to say I was hobbling the next 2 days.

Push and pull were y'day and today. The push session was just fair. Felt like I missed something because the feeling from the previous sessions in terms of connection wasn't there. Still got some good work in though.

Pull today was solid. Still riding the high volume wave but, as I've progressed the log book I've noticed I'm back to resting longer between sets and the gym sessions are stretching out over an hour and a half compared to right at an hour as before.

Just need to find a happy medium..... Part of the longer rests is from the super sets. My biceps on pull day and triceps on push day don't feel ready for the next pull or push set so I'm waiting a bit longer. Don't want my sets ending early from limb fatigue. I'll probably save the limbs till the very end and see if that shirts shortens things a bit.
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