A Rebirth...kinda.

Hi all

Used to be on here quite a bit many years ago, but cant remember my old email to be honest.

So, a rebirth kinda. So a bit of background.
I am 37, 1.73cm (so about 5'8-5'9ish) and i weigh around 123 currently fasted state in the morning.

I have always been a biggish guy, in matric I was about 100, but fit as a fiddle, played provincial rugby, and was in weightlifting training for a hopeful shot at the olympics, and was being trained by an olympic coach at the time.

The weightlifting fell by the wayside when i was in my 3rd or so year of varsity as studies got a bit more hectic, I continued to train however and play rugby.

When i started working things kinda fell to the wayside as time become a big issue, and to be honest the new found independence of making some of my own dosh and partying was just something I chased. I stopped training for about 2 years or so, and started back up. I was about 125 at this stage or so and got down to about 110 i think.

It was up and down for a few years, and I then became pretty serious again, took up powerlifting, strongman(competed locally and overseas) and got up to about 135kg.

Then the injuries came, then my 2 kids, work took over, and I have become pretty sedentary for close on 7 years. My last attempt to get back on the horse was about 2 years ago, which was halted due to a major foot operation(on both feet) followed by pulmonary embolism, then covid!

So I am back at this point where I got to get back on the horse properly, I recently had my gallbladder removed and took that opportunity to get my diet back in check. In the month since the removal I am down about 4.5kilos, with no training as I have been waiting for the go ahead from the doc to start physical exercise again.

So, This is kinda going to be a journey I'd like to share, and to be honest, I kind of feel like I have lost touch with the knowledge a bit (from when I was training and dieting)

So this is the plan
Once i get the go ahead, ease back into the gym focusing on pure compound movements for about a month.
After the month I will throw in some isolation movements in after my compound lifts on that training session. 20 minutes of Incline walking to close off each session.

Current Calorie deficit is between 300 and 700 calories a day with a macro target of
Protein - 223
Carbs - 223
Fat - 49

Carbs all from whole type foods, Brown rice, Wholewheat pasta (where possible) low gi Bread, nuts etc.
Protein all from eggs, chicken, tuna,lean beef mince, steak.

A sample day would be
Breakfast
- Black Coffee
-30g Raw Almonds
- 200g Greek Yoghurt
-15g Honey

or
- black coffee
- 3 x eggs
- 1 or 2 slices of the Sasko Low GI wholewheat bread (toasted)

Lunch
- 6 x provitas
- 100 - 150g Fat free Cottage cheese
- 4 slices of deli ham

or
- 100g brown rice
- 150 - 200g chicken breast

dinner
- 100g brown rice
- 200g chicken breast

or swap out the chicken breast for steak, fish, or mince
or swap out the brown rice for some pasta or some mixed veggies

Snacks
almonds
fat free cottage cheese

Will be adding in a protein shake for the morning and a protein shake for after training once I can train again. Will also be supplementing with BCAA's

Supplements
Vitamin d3 5000ius a day
Multivitamin
BCAA's

I am considering once I feel like I am back on the horse to speak and the muscle memory is returning nicely about throwing in some MK677 and Rad140 or MHR along with the MK677. I do have previous cycle experience but I really dont want to go back to pinning etc.

Aim
Get to about 105 and just be healthy with a decent amount of lean mass.I dont see myself competing again.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. I will potentially take some pics as a starting point.

Ok, so first off, at 123 you are going to number 1 have some issues with insulin resistance and sensitivity. So adding mk677 to this is going to add massive water weight as well as affect insulin sensitivity ALOT. I used 5mg of mk677 last night for sleep and when I went to bed blood glucose was at 4.1 , when I woke up, over 5. I am currently prepping for a show and my fasted numbers haven't been that high so number 1 no mk677.

Number 2 get some bloods done before you start anything:
Thyroid(tsh t3 and t4) hb1ac , fasted insulin and glucose, full blood count, and testosterone panel. If your hb1ac is high, you most likely going to Have high shbg which will mean your free test will be out of whack, so adding in Mhr and rad140 is going to suppress test levels even more and going to fuck with free test to estrogen ratios.

Good chance that estrogen levels will be high due to having higher amounts of body fat. Once you get those bloods back you may actually prefer going on a TRT dose of testosterone for better results..

As for your diet. You need to stick with a set calorie plan and hit those macros perfectly. Having a 700-300 deficit is like saying I want to see if I can get the best fuel economy but you keep on changing speed for 100 to 150 instead of just cruising at 120.

At this stage I would have your carbs in and around your workout times as in pre, intra and post workout carbs, the rest of the day you Having protein fat and veggies. I would keep your fat intake at 30% of calories, protein at 2.5g per kg, and carbs in the balance. If you are having 200g of carbs a day, 50g need to be from veggies(10g of fiber per 1000kcal daily min) and then the other 150 pre, intra post workout.

Stay away from processed carb sources for now : dump provitas, deli ham, bread. Only time I would suggest processed carbs is post workout with whey protein untill your body fat is lower.

Step count, at this stage I would start on 8000 steps a day, with a set 500kcal deficit, get on to Glucophage 500mg before bed and get a glucose monitor to see where your fasted blood glucose is.

Sorry for the hijack

Empire wrote: Stay away from processed carb sources for now : dump provitas, deli ham, bread. Only time I would suggest processed carbs is post workout with whey protein untill your body fat is lower.

Wait, provitas are bad? Deli ham too? Well that makes a big change to my diet.. gah

Obelix wrote: Sorry for the hijack

Empire wrote: Stay away from processed carb sources for now : dump provitas, deli ham, bread. Only time I would suggest processed carbs is post workout with whey protein untill your body fat is lower.

Wait, provitas are bad? Deli ham too? Well that makes a big change to my diet.. gah

If you look at a protein source and a carb source and there is a massive list of ingredients, they generally need to be last selection. As you know, getting 30g of carbs from provitas or 30g of carbs from potato, there is going to be a massive difference in food volume, and when hunger is higher then you are going want to switch to better food sources.

You and I work together, that's a different scenario, the issue also comes in, provitas are easy to eat a few extra when you are hungry and they are conveniently available in the cupboard. So when things get harder and harder when dieting goes on, extra food is going to be easily at hand.you are a different case, as we have a set lifestyle plan, this is someone new to the game and needs to make better choices, yours are more about long term compliance.

Thanks Empire.

I actually have had extensive blood panels done recently, and all were well within norms, except the high red blood cell count which has been linked to my sleep apnea. My cholestrol is in normal ranges, my HBA1C is as follows
HBA1C (NGSP/DCCT) Blood - 4.6%
HBA1C-IFCC (MMOL/MOL) 27mmol/mol
Estimated average Glucose - 4.7mmol/L

S-TSH levels were 1.14iIU/ml (wish there were higher obviously but still within the normal range)


As for the diet, will stick to the brown rice, and mixed veg for afternoon and evening. Oats will be for the mornings.

Just waiting for the all clear to get back into the gym.

Ok so there are still more tests you need to do.

You need to check more than tsh, as that makes no reference to t3 and t4 levels.

No testosterone panel done either or e2 for that matter

Rather go in and get more done and look at the whole picture than just a little part of it bud.

Fully understand.

Will check with the doc if they have any further results.

If they dont, then I will look to schedule some additional tests.

However until then I must carry on as status quo.

I've been a little sick with what appears to be laryngitis the last 2 days or so, hoping it clears up by next week when i can get back into the gym.

So eating has been going well, no hunger, no cravings, feeling good (except for the laryngitis type throat that is on the way out)

Down a further 1.3kilos, and majority of it is definitely from my abdomen region.

Cant wait to get back into the gym.

awesome work man

k, so today was first day back in the gym after the go ahead from the surgeon, and the doc.

Challenging to say the least.
First thing I realised is how I need to get my feet accustomed to carrying more than bodyweight again. Since my foot ops they havent carried any other weight other than mine. So there was some pain and tightness.

Figured I'd start the journey again with a Legs session. Disappointing but I guess its silly to think i'd go back in and squat anything near to what i used to do. Just hits you hard when you doing less than half what you used to achieve.

So session was as follows

no weight warmup for 21 reps
60kgs for 12
100 for 10
120 for 8 x 3
60kgs for 12

Leg Curls
4 x 12 @ 45kgs

Leg Extensions
4 x 12 @ 45kgs

Legs felt like moms spaghetti at this point, and decided since its the first day officially back in the gym for 5 years I should ease back into it.

Pre-workout meal
21grams whey
50g oats
25g honey
1 x animal pak
4000iu vit d3
1000mg flaxseed oil

Post workout
21 grams whey and 21 gram casein
250ml low fat milk

Post workout meal will be
150g chicken breast
100g wholegrain rice

I am hitting my macros perfectly with my diet the last 2 weeks, feel more energised.
Tomorrow is titty day :lol:

ok i would change your warm up style and you will go up in weight. for sure.

bar 10 reps
add 40 8 reps
add 20 6 reps
add 20 3 reps
add 10 1 rep
that's your warm up done at 110kgs.
you should hit 130-140 quite easily after that, and i would come down 20% in weight from there to say 105-110 for a set of 12 to 15. you are too light on your back off set.

leg curls 2 sets of 12-15 reps at 45, come down 20% to 35 for 15-20.
same with leg extensions.

why are there no carbs in your post workout meal?

"
At this stage I would have your carbs in and around your workout times as in pre, intra, and post-workout carbs, the rest of the day you Have protein fat, and veggies. I would keep your fat intake at 30% of calories, protein at 2.5g per kg, and carbs in the balance. If you have 200g of carbs a day, 50g need to be from veggies(10g of fiber per 1000kcal daily min) and then the other 150 pre, intra post-workout."

from posts above. there is need for carbs during and post training in my opinion.

Thanks Empire. Yea trying to just ease into it, managing some of the injuries I have had to make sure they are strong enough for when I really kick on.

Woke up today and was great to feel stiff and muscle pain from yesterday, I honestly missed it. A bit of a sadist yes.

Today was chest, again a stark reminder of how far i've fallen. But Getting back up and making a change is what really counts. I have hope that the muscle memory from my strongman days will start to kick in after a few weeks.

Started with incline bench
bar - 12 reps
60kg - 10 reps
100kg 8 reps x 3
60kg to failure 6 reps
40kg to failure 8 reps

Dumbbell Pullover
20kgs - 12 reps x 4 (last set only managed 8

Then a superset of seated chest press and flyes
45kg chest press 4 sets of 12 reps
18kg flyes 4 sets of 12 reps

Pre workout meal
21g whey 21g casein in low fat milk
50g oats
25g honey
animal pak
4000iu Vitd3
1g Flaxseed oil

Post workout - Getting more whey and BCAA's today
200g chicken breast
100g brown rice
7g BCAA's

The no carbs yesterday in postworkout was a bit of a mistake, will throw oats into a shake from now on.

My daily macro targets have shifted a bit to accommodate the training.

240g protein
240g carbs (veggies only in the evening, rest of the time brown rice or oats)
50g fat

Let me know if that split seems right.

Body has been incredibly stiff, no surprise though.

Back days have always been one of my best days, and i was pleasantly surprised from todays efforts.

After warming up and getting majority of the stiffness numbed, I opened with deadlifts

For back I am using my old powerlifting programming to get the strength up as quickly as possible and then build up the repetitions in cycles of 2 weeks.

For deadlifts I dont bounce or keep holding the weight after a rep, I do a complete reset to ensure my setup is correct on each pull. It also takes momentum out the movement and eradicates any "cheating" on the lift.

60kg x 1 x 3 sets
80kg x 1 x 2 sets
100 x 1 x 2 sets
120 x 1 x 2 sets
140 x 1 x 2 sets
160 x 1 x 2 sets
180 x 1 x 2 sets

I stopped there but definitely felt like i could have gone to 200kg. From a lost strength perspective on deadlift, it seems i have lost just less than half of my PB.

This was followed by bent over barbell rows
60kg x 12 x 4 sets

Seated Hammer strength row
30kgs x 12 x 4 (each side)

Pre workout
30g whey
50g oats
250ml fat free milk
animal pak
4000iu Vit D3

Post workout
50g whey
300ml fat free milk
50g oats

Post workout meal
200g chicken breast
100g Pasta

rest of meals will fall in line as per the macros.

Today was a good day

So I figure i'm gonna update once a week as opposed to daily.

After smashing back yesterday I some real concerns around stiffness for today and tomorrow.However it is not as bad as i thought it would be....so far that is.

Today was shoulders. It was a bit busy this morning so was trying to jump in between someone else using the lone squat rack, I eventually had to move to the smith machine.

Started with barbell strict presses

40 x 12 x 2 sets
60 x 8 x 3 sets

Smith press
70kgs x 10 x 3 sets
40kgs x 12-15 x 4 sets

Seated side raises supersetted with bent over db flyes
8kg side raises x 15 x 4 sets
12kg bent over db flyes x 15 x 4 sets

pre workout
30g whey
250ml fat free milk
half a green apple
1 banana
animal pak
vitamin d3 5000iu
1000mg flaxseed oil

post workout shake
40g whey
200ml fat free milk
200g fat free yoghurt
half a green apple

post workout meal
100g wholegrain brown rice
200g chicken breast

Ok so the main concern I have is you doing alot of sets, how many of these sets are close to failure? The reason I ask if I do a Smith machine press, I'm going all out for the first 2 sets, and if I hit failure at 10 reps, there is no way in hell I'm going to get My 2nd set to 10 again, probably 8. So you probably leaving s good few reps in reserve, which isn't going to be optimum. Also strict press and dumbell press and Smith machine press is all hitting the same part of the shoulders. You would only need to do 1 press movement in the 8-12 rep range if you leaving 1-2 reps in the tank, then move on to 2-3 sets of side raises in the 12-15 rep range 1-2 in the tank, maybe 1-2 sets of a cable upright row to shoulder height , 2 sets, then 2 sets of rear delts to cap off the shoulders. Remember all pressing motion are anterior delt based, and if you are doing any kind of Incline chest press motions you are hitting those delts, already so you don't need alot of sets there.

Hey Empire.

Probably the last of the working sets and then the drop set/s. Each exercise is definitely till either complete failure or just about failure.

100% on the pressing, i just had to move to the smith machine because i couldn't go between the other guys sets anymore by the squat rack. But in general on pressing days 1 large compound pressing movement, but I would also do a more isolated pressing movement like a Z press. For example a cycling of compound presses week by week

week 1 - strict press
week 2 - push press and a z press
week 3 - clean and press

while each is primarily the anterior deltoid, the push press is also strong on the triceps, the z press doesnt allow any "cheating" and taxes your core simultaneously as there is no real support.

I target the 8 - 10 rep range as thats kinda where in the past I saw the best development, when not trying a 1RM cycle.The training will definitely adjust to a lower rep range once I've gotten the foundation, and movements back and I do a 1RM programme for a month, then I cycle back to more volume x rep/set base.

I am interested to hear your thoughts on the above, as I am obviously all ears, but also going off my prior successful training regimen for powerlifting and strongman(minus the implements)

Cheers and thanks

Things have been going quite well. Havent been losing much weight, but there is definitely a body recomp going on. I am losing quite a bit around my midsection and filling out again nicely where it counts.

Weights have been increasing nicely, as has total volume per workout.

Muscle memory is definitely starting to come back as lifts are increasing, cardio has been increasing.

Diet has been pretty much on point, hitting all the macros. There was one occasion however where i went over quite a bit, but no damage done to say.

highlights since the last update
db shoulder presses repping at 40kgs, will bump up to 45 or 50s next week
deadlift (3rd deadlift in 4 or 5 years?) 200kg x 3 will go up next week on this too

all in all, very happy.

I will be adding some cardarine and yohimbine to my supplementation next week.

I will be eyeing to go on a course early next year, just dont think theres enough time with all the things coming up rest of this year, but will suss it out.

Stavros wrote:
highlights since the last update
db shoulder presses repping at 40kgs, will bump up to 45 or 50s next week
deadlift (3rd deadlift in 4 or 5 years?) 200kg x 3 will go up next week on this too

Well done, dont get injured.

Thanks Oupa.

I am being very aware of any niggles. I decided to skip deads this week and went for pure isolation exercises. Will go back to compound movements next week.

Real glad to be back in the gym, and just generally feeling great again.

Workouts are going well, started some cardarine on monday 10mg a day. Havent got any yohimbine yet, will look at it next week.

but steady going, and all good.