Holyspokes' Comeback and then some

[Holyspokes]

I decided to make a log, because things are really getting hard in my life and I need something to help pull me along through and write everything down in.

Here's my background. I was a track and field athlete during High School.
400m 50.xx
600m 1:26
800m 2:00
1000m 2:38

At that time i weighed 150-155lbs. I was into working out, which we did just about everyday after practice, but didn't watch what I ate. I just ate ALOT.

Due to some very serious health problems my weight plummetted after High School. I got down very low, and after some recovery and diet i was able to get to 133lbs. I hated how i looked and felt. I felt like a weakling, had no strength. All of my endurance was gone as well. I decided to start bulking up and working out. It's been hard because i am not fully healthy yet, and still suffer from a few things that really hold me back.

I bought an adjustable weight bench, put it in my room, moved my bed out, and bought some adjustable free weights.

I've been at it for around 4 months now and i have gained 15lbs so far.


My goal is ambitious yet i have faith in myself:

February/March 2009 : 160lbs
April/May 2009 : Start swimming..a lot & maintain 160lbs
June/July 2009 :complete a marathon & sprint Triathlon & maintain 160lbs (eek..)
August - February 2010: maintain 160lbs and do my best to maintain cardiovascular fitness
2010: Complete an Ironman


I'm Naturally lean, so it will be hard to maintain my weight. If i don't get healthier i don't think i'll be able to do any of this, but i have high hopes. If anyone has any suggestions on my workouts feel free to chime in!

Pictures:
http://img33.picoodle.com/data/img33/3/8/29/t_profm_64e598f.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/8/29/f_profm_64e598f.jpg&srv=img33)

http://img34.picoodle.com/data/img34/3/8/29/t_body820001m_2291bbf.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/8/29/f_body820001m_2291bbf.jpg&srv=img34)

Here's what my split looks like:

Chest/Tri:
Flat Bench Press x 4
Flys x4
Incline Bench Press x4
Incline Flys x4
Decline Bench Press x4
Kickbacks x4
Narrow-grip Bench Press x4

Back/Bi:
Pullups x4
T-bar Rows w/ olympic bar x4
Bent Pullovers x4
Dumbbell Rows x4
Barbell Rows x4
Dumbbell Curls x3
21's x3

Delts/Traps:
Bent Laterals x4
Military press x4
Side Laterals x3
Arnold Press x4
Seated Shrugs x4
Uprights Rows x4
Barbell Shrugs x4

Lower body:
Squats x4
Leg Extensions x4
Squats x4
Leg Curls x4
Sumo Deadlift x4
Leg Curls x4
Leg Extensions x4

I've been feeling too much stress on my delts during my chest workout though, probably because of all the pressing. I need to change it up.

[Holyspokes]

8/29/08

I haven't been working out my calves because i can't at home which sucks, but as soon as school starts up i'll be using the school university Mon/Wed/Fri.

Yesterday was my "rest" day but i ended up riding 13 miles to work and then working (bike shop) for 10 hours.

Lower body:

Squats : 135x10, 145x8, 155x8, 165x8
Leg Extensions: 120x12, 125x12, 125x12, 125x12
Squats : 155x8, 165x8, 175x8, 185x8
Leg Curls: 60x12, 65x12, 70x12, 70x12
Sumo Deadlifts: 210x6, 230x6, 240x6, 250x6
Leg Curls: 65x12, 70x12, 70x12, 75x10
Leg Extensions: 130x12, 135x12, 140x12, 145x12

Workout time: 1 hour 8 minutes.

[DTrulez616]

Im in on this.

[Emma-Leigh]

I'm wondering if this journal is still going or if you have decided not to follow through?

Either way - Good luck with your goals. :)

As for workout suggestions - Drop your volume back. Esp on all your chest/ shoulder/ trap stuff... FAR too much and certainly overkill. Then consider something like an upper/ lower type split.

Honestly - If you find it hard to maintain your weight, and if you are are trying to gain more mass, the last thing you need is to do massive numbers of sets of things...

Simple things work - so something like:
Upper (vertical dominant stuff)
Lower (pull dominant stuff)
Upper (horizontal dominant stuff)
Lower (push dominant stuff)

Even alternating upper/ off/ lower/ off/ upper/ off/ lower/ off etc... would work very well.

Basically - these hit your muscle groups at a good frequency (once every 3-5 days) and allow you more rest - which increases your recovery to maximise your growth potential.

[Xhale12]

Subbed. Get this thing going bro!

[Holyspokes]

Hey guys, yeah sorry i've been soooo busy with school and discourage with my health issues that my enthusiasm has gone down the tube. I've been keeping at the workouts though. For the past 2 splits i've been doing a semi de-load i guess.

As for the cutting down the sets emma, your definitely right. I've always felt that i didn't really get anything out of the workouts until i did a lot of sets, just because i didn't feel exhausted enough. But the past week and 1/2 i've cut the sets, not really to the point of a de-load, but less volume and i feel my body is reacting well. The only problem is, i'm just not eating enough!! it's hard when i commute to college and bring a lot of my own food, b/c i have no meal plan.

ANYWAY, you guy's got me motivated to start the log again, here's what i did yesterday:


Back/Bi @ University Gym

4x Widegrip Pullups 14,14,14,16
4x Straight arm Pulldown 12,12,10,10
4x T-bar Rows 12,12,10,10
4x Lat Pulldowns 12,12,10,10
4x Preacher Curls 12,10,10,10

No cardio except commuting back and forth (15 min each way on bike)

[DTrulez616]

Hey guys, yeah sorry i've been soooo busy with school and discourage with my health issues that my enthusiasm has gone down the tube. I've been keeping at the workouts though. For the past 2 splits i've been doing a semi de-load i guess.

As for the cutting down the sets emma, your definitely right. I've always felt that i didn't really get anything out of the workouts until i did a lot of sets, just because i didn't feel exhausted enough. But the past week and 1/2 i've cut the sets, not really to the point of a de-load, but less volume and i feel my body is reacting well. The only problem is, i'm just not eating enough!! it's hard when i commute to college and bring a lot of my own food, b/c i have no meal plan.

ANYWAY, you guy's got me motivated to start the log again, here's what i did yesterday:


Back/Bi @ University Gym

4x Widegrip Pullups 14,14,14,16
4x Straight arm Pulldown 12,12,10,10
4x T-bar Rows 12,12,10,10
4x Lat Pulldowns 12,12,10,10
4x Preacher Curls 12,10,10,10

No cardio except commuting back and forth (15 min each way on bike)

Yeah, I have the same problem with not feeling tired during the workouts but what you should do is increase the weight. Even though you'll be doing less reps, you'll be more tired at the end of a set. Same thing with not being able to eat enough. School, Cross Country, Lifting, and Guitar leave me with little time during the day. Its great to see you started this up again.

[Emma-Leigh]

As for the cutting down the sets emma, your definitely right. I've always felt that i didn't really get anything out of the workouts until i did a lot of sets, just because i didn't feel exhausted enough. But the past week and 1/2 i've cut the sets, not really to the point of a de-load, but less volume and i feel my body is reacting well.
Good to see you have cut back a bit (and that things are going better because of it)...

And exhaustion, although 'fun', is generally not a productive thing when it comes to weights. Inducing moderate fatigue, yes, that is helpful... but working yourself into the ground each training session is a bad idea...

;)


The only problem is, i'm just not eating enough!! it's hard when i commute to college and bring a lot of my own food, b/c i have no meal plan. Completely understand the difficulty in taking meals everywhere!
Hmmm... what about MRPs or something like that? Although less ideal than eating your food... if you need to get cals in, it is an easy option?

Or what about taking a tin of nuts/ trail mix or other calorie dense goodies to college to leave in your locker? That way you can easily grab a whole heap when you are there and not have to lug it with you all the time?


Back/Bi @ University Gym

4x Widegrip Pullups 14,14,14,16
4x Straight arm Pulldown 12,12,10,10
4x T-bar Rows 12,12,10,10
4x Lat Pulldowns 12,12,10,10
4x Preacher Curls 12,10,10,10

No cardio except commuting back and forth (15 min each way on bike)
Any reason you stick above 10..? Have you thought about dropping the reps a little or was this just the way it fell today?

[Holyspokes]

Completely understand the difficulty in taking meals everywhere!
Hmmm... what about MRPs or something like that? Although less ideal than eating your food... if you need to get cals in, it is an easy option?

Or what about taking a tin of nuts/ trail mix or other calorie dense goodies to college to leave in your locker? That way you can easily grab a whole heap when you are there and not have to lug it with you all the time?


Well, i don't have a locker to leave stuff in. If i did, that'd be a really good option. I feel really good a higher-fat, lower-carb diet (like 35% carbs,40% fats), so i'm just gonna be adding some extra oil to the rice i take to school, or extra pb in my oats.


Any reason you stick above 10..? Have you thought about dropping the reps a little or was this just the way it fell today?

I don't usually stick to above 10 really. I start off at 12 and add weight for just about each set usually dropping the reps by 2 each time. So i'll do 12,10,10,8. With squats/deadlifts i only do 6-8 reps.

In terms of muscle growth though, doesn't rep range not really matter?

Either way, i'm just about to make breakyfast and head out the door. Today's a nice rest day. I'll do abs/calves though at my school.

[Emma-Leigh]

Well, i don't have a locker to leave stuff in. If i did, that'd be a really good option. I feel really good a higher-fat, lower-carb diet (like 35% carbs,40% fats), so i'm just gonna be adding some extra oil to the rice i take to school, or extra pb in my oats.
Sounds good. Keeping it simple is what works best.... [plus, can't go wrong with pb! :p ]


I don't usually stick to above 10 really. I start off at 12 and add weight for just about each set usually dropping the reps by 2 each time. So i'll do 12,10,10,8. With squats/deadlifts i only do 6-8 reps.

In terms of muscle growth though, doesn't rep range not really matter?
It does... No, it is not the complete picture... but the intensity at which you lift (% 1 RM max) certainly does effect the % of muscle fibres activated during the exercise/ and the type of changes that occur to those muscle fibres as a result.

The rep range you are lifting at is fine - but it was just something to think about if you wanted to switch things up a little...

:)

[Holyspokes]

Today was a rest day, commuting to school, I did some ab work in the morning before class. My favorite ab exercise is using the cables with my knees on the ground. It's one of the only exercises i can get my lower abs burning. But i forgot 2 of the meals i had sitting in the refrigerator of brown rice/chix breast/olive oil/veges.... so i got a foot long chicken breast sub from Subway... still low on cals though.

Yesterday was Delts/Traps:

3x Bent over laterals
4x Military Press
4x Arnold Press
4x Upright Rows
5x Barbell Shrugs

I'm going to start putting in the weights and reps when i get a chance, but i'm pretty busy right now.

Tomorrow is legs, and i don't have class (woo hoo!) But i need to get blood work done in the morning first thing. Hopefully it doesn't effect my workout.

I used to hate leg day, now i love it! <3 Squats & Deadlifts.

[Xhale12]

Today was a rest day, commuting to school, I did some ab work in the morning before class. My favorite ab exercise is using the cables with my knees on the ground. It's one of the only exercises i can get my lower abs burning. But i forgot 2 of the meals i had sitting in the refrigerator of brown rice/chix breast/olive oil/veges.... so i got a foot long chicken breast sub from Subway... still low on cals though.

Yesterday was Delts/Traps:

3x Bent over laterals
4x Military Press
4x Arnold Press
4x Upright Rows
5x Barbell Shrugs

I'm going to start putting in the weights and reps when i get a chance, but i'm pretty busy right now.

Tomorrow is legs, and i don't have class (woo hoo!) But i need to get blood work done in the morning first thing. Hopefully it doesn't effect my workout.

I used to hate leg day, now i love it! <3 Squats & Deadlifts.
Sounds like a good day. Good luck tomorrow with the legs. Hit em HARD.

[Holyspokes]

Blood work this morning @ 8AM

Pre-workout breakfast of 3/4c oats, banana, 2 eggs, 1/2c egg whites @ 8:45am

Legs @ 9:45am

4x Leg Extensions 120x12, 130x12, 130x12, 130x12
5x Squats 155x8, 165x8, 175x8, 185x8, 190x8
5x Leg Curls 65x12, 75x12, 75x12, 80x10, 80x10
4x Deadlifts 215x6, 255x6, 255x6, 255x6
4x Jump squats x28,x28,x28,x28

Postworkout @ 10:45am 1 scoop whey w/ Baked russet potato

Felt good today despite the bloodwork in the morning, I didn't loose TOO much blood. I bumped up the weight on the leg extensions from last time and added the jump squats instead of 3 more sets of leg extensions @ 130.

I would increase the weight on the squats a bit more and lower the reps, but I workout at home most of the time and I have this set up:
http://www.busybody.com/busybody/PRODIMG/HF4970_large.jpg
So If I start to fail i'm kind of screwed.

With the deadlifts I accidentally added too much weight, but just went with it and finished out the rest of the sets, haha.

In about 20 min i'll be having my PPWO of 1.5c oats and some PB!

[Holyspokes]

So today at work(coaching xc) we were in the weight room and i figured why not stack some weight on the bench and see what i can do, because i never have anyone to spot me at my house. I did 215x6 first time, and then went to 225x4. I was pretty happy with that, considering 4-5 months ago i was struggling getting 10 reps out of 135lbs.

[Holyspokes]

Haven't updated lately, I've been working a lot and studying for a Chem test tomorrow.

Friday: Chest/Tri

4x Flat Bench press: 165x12, 175x10, 185x8, 190x8
4x Flys: 50x10, 50x10, 50x10, 50x10
4x Decline Bench Press: 145x12, 160x10, 170x8, 170x7
3x Kickbacks: 30x14, 35x14, 35x14
4x Close grip Bench Press: 115x12, 125x10, 125x10, 130x7

Saturday: Back/Bi (I love back day)

4x Pullups: 18,20,20,15 :(
4x T-bars: 105x12, 115x12, 120x12, 125x12
4x Dum Rows: 65x12, 70x12, 70x12, 70x12
4x Chinups: 18,17.15,14
3x 29's w/ olympic bar +20lbs

I really under ate on saturday cause i had a job. I made myself a shake with oats/pb/whey, but i didn't add enough water and could only manage to drink about 1/2 of it.. I didn't get to bed until about 2am after I ate some more.

Today: Traps/Delts

3x Bent laterals: 20x16, 20x16, 20x16
4x Military Press: 105x12, 115x10, 120x9, 120x8
4x Arnold Press: 45x12, 47.5x10, 47.5x10, 47.5x10
4x Upright Rows: 110x12, 115x12, 120x10, 120x10
6x Barbell Shrugs: 225x16, 255x16, 275x14, 275x14, 280x12, 280x12

I wanted to take my dog mountain biking today, but I only slept from 2am-6am (I have a lot of sleeping issues, i'll get into them later) So i feel like crap today. I may just end up riding my bike to the park with my dog and studying there so she can get some exercise.

[Emma-Leigh]

So today at work(coaching xc) we were in the weight room and i figured why not stack some weight on the bench and see what i can do, because i never have anyone to spot me at my house. I did 215x6 first time, and then went to 225x4. I was pretty happy with that, considering 4-5 months ago i was struggling getting 10 reps out of 135lbs.
Congrats on the BP. Dang - very big improvement there!

What are you studying at uni?

[Holyspokes]

Congrats on the BP. Dang - very big improvement there!

What are you studying at uni?

Thanks! I was going to major in Athletic training, but quickly found out that wasn't for me, as my interest in the human body and how nutrition effected athletic performance and general health grew.

So i decided i want to major in Nutrition, with an emphasis on sports if possible. But my current university doesn't have a nutrition major, so I'm going to be transferring for either next semester or for my Junior year. I have a lot of basic classes down that I would need to take anyway my first year or two.

Right now i'm really just looking at Colorado State University, and James Madison VA.

[zacBEAST]

Subbed man! Do work!

[Holyspokes]

Subbed man! Do work!

Thanks man. You've made some amazing progress, congrats!

[zacBEAST]

Thanks man. You've made some amazing progress, congrats!

Thanks man, being consistent over a long period of time is starting to pay off!

[Holyspokes]

Yesterday was legs day/sleep apnea center follow up/work... so it was ONE HELL OF A DAY.

I always like to get my workouts done in the morning, if I waited I'd have no juice for them later. I'd rather be dead for work then exhausted for my workout!

Either way, it was awesome! I set some new (workout) records. I haven't really gone for max in any of these.

4x Leg Extensions:120x12, 130x12, 130x12, 130x12
5x Squats: 155x8, 165x8, 175x8, 185x8, 195x8
5x Leg Curls: 65x12, 75x12, 75x12, 80x10, 80x10
5x Deadlifts: 215x6, 255x6, 255x6, 255x6, 260x7
4x Jump Squats: x28,x28,x28,x28

I kind of just started doing the jump squats... they're fun and i like ending my workout with them. By the last few jumps of the last set I feel like I'm gonna collapse. It's fun.

Today at my university's gym I did a chest/tri workout for 50 minutes. I don't have anything recorded but I mixed it up and used dumbbells for the presses, and did some tricep pulldowns instead of kickbacks. I also did calves/abs in the morning.


I may as well explain my health problems, sense things are (somewhat) looking up.

Starting around February this year, i started developing sleep problems. I thought it was over training or something (i was training ALOT to compete in road biking) So i took a week off and then followed it up with a very reduced work-load. It did nothing. I waited about 2 months of crappy broken up sleep (waking up 2hrs in, then every half to three quarters hour later, So like 8 times during the night) before i went to the doctor. He ordered up some blood work..

My blood work showed my testosterone <100 (whatever unit they use) when it should be somewhere from 300-900 (I think). The hormones that your body makes to tell your body to make testosterone were also VERY low. Long story short I'm on Androgel right now (testosterone gel) so that my testosterone levels are at a normal level (around 600 at this point, still pretty low for a male my age, especially considering I went through puberty before anyone else in my grade, IF that's even an indicator of t levels..)

I just recently did a sleep study to rule out sleep apena, which came back negative. I did get an MRI of my pituitary which showed a small cyst on it. Both my doctors don't think that is the cause of my problems, but I strongly believe it is. So tomorrow I am going to Sloan Kettering in Manhattan to get some uber experts opinions. I hope I can get surgery and get this cyst removed, and it'll fix things.

I HATE being on this Androgel crap, and my sleep is no better than it was 6 months ago. I feel like I'm never fully recovered because my body never has more than 2.5-3hrs straight sleep.

All in all, I'm happier with my body than I ever have been, which in my opinion is because I've been working my ass OFF and devoting a lot of effort into gaining weight and sticking to my diet. I know my Test levels aren't high at all (moderate at best) so i know it's not because of the gel which makes me happy.

I look forward to what I am able to do and the improvements I can make when i can actually sleep!

Now I am going to go eat ~6 tblsps of peaunt butter and hit the sack (for a while at least...:/)

[Emma-Leigh]

4x Leg Extensions:120x12, 130x12, 130x12, 130x12
5x Squats: 155x8, 165x8, 175x8, 185x8, 195x8
5x Leg Curls: 65x12, 75x12, 75x12, 80x10, 80x10
5x Deadlifts: 215x6, 255x6, 255x6, 255x6, 260x7
4x Jump Squats: x28,x28,x28,x28
?? query (just tell me to piss of if you don't like questions)....
Why do you pre-exhaust your quads before squats? /Hams before deads?
What are you trying to achieve [that is - what are your goals]?
And how do you find squats and deads in the same workout? how does your lower back hold up during deads?


Starting around February this year, i started developing sleep problems. I thought it was over training or something (i was training ALOT to compete in road biking) So i took a week off and then followed it up with a very reduced work-load. It did nothing. I waited about 2 months of crappy broken up sleep (waking up 2hrs in, then every half to three quarters hour later, So like 8 times during the night) before i went to the doctor. He ordered up some blood work..
[just a quick note - sometimes it takes a few weeks of rest to correct overtraining related phenomenon (and sometimes it takes a few months.... so one week of 'reduced' workload, if it WAS related, is likely not to do much to improve the situation]... ;)


My blood work showed my testosterone <100 (whatever unit they use) when it should be somewhere from 300-900 (I think). The hormones that your body makes to tell your body to make testosterone were also VERY low. Long story short I'm on Androgel right now (testosterone gel) so that my testosterone levels are at a normal level (around 600 at this point, still pretty low for a male my age, especially considering I went through puberty before anyone else in my grade, IF that's even an indicator of t levels...

Firstly/ quickly - sleep disturbance is due to LOTS of things... and in your age/ with your lifestyle some of the things that are common:
- depression/ anxiety/ social reasons
- drugs/ medication/ alcohol
- body fat/ over training/ hormones

Just to name a few.... [there are other things, but they are much less common].

Hmmm.... So, bringing it together with this t issue I would look into low BF %/ low leptin (so called 'hypothalamic reasons')...

If your BF has been consistantly low for a while now, it could be at least CONTRIBUTING to what is going on.... As is seen in females, when BF decreases/ in the face of consistant low energy intake, the hypothalamus goes into 'preservation' mode. And it shuts off the hormone that tells the pituatory to make LH/ FSH... So - when this happens females stop cycling (which is how females know things are 'out of whack)..... The same happens for blokes (these are the same hormones that act on the testis to tell them to make T) but it usually takes other things for these issues to come to light (as low FSH/ LH doesn't really have any 'direct' signs like in the female... so it is less descript that make people aware of it).


I did get an MRI of my pituitary which showed a small cyst on it. Both my doctors don't think that is the cause of my problems, but I strongly believe it is. So tomorrow I am going to Sloan Kettering in Manhattan to get some uber experts opinions. I hope I can get surgery and get this cyst removed, and it'll fix things.
Hmmm.... So is it an adenoma?
Are all your other pituatory hormones ok? [thyroid tests all normal? What about prolactin?... Cortisol/ ACTH? Growth hormone?] If all these are normal it decreases the likelihood that it is the pituatory.... It doesn't rule it out completely... but it makes it less likely....

Another way you could distinguish is if you get GnRH tested as well as FSH/ LH? See - GnRH tells the pituatory to work. so if it is HIGH it is the pituatory that is likely the cause. If it is LOW then the hypothalamus is at fault....

But I would be interested in what the doc has to say... good luck - I hope he finds the problem!!

[Holyspokes]

Wow emma thanks for that post, i'm going to check my bloodwork in a second with a couple of the things you've said.

To answer some of your questions:

I used to do squats before leg extensions, but one time I switched it around and actually was able to lift more weight during squats after the leg extensions.

As for the Squats+Deadlifts in the same session, I often do Sumo-Deadlifts, which seem to work more of my legs, although I do sometimes do conventional as well. That is really my ONLY lower back exercise, other than using it for support during my squats.

As for the rest thing, I was on a reduced workload for a little more than a week, I was a little unclear. After that I did absolutely nothing for about a month, except ride my bike to get around town (easy spinning).

My BF% has always been low, maybe i'll get some fancy test done today that will tell me exactly what it is. But as long as it's above 4% isn't it okay?

All my other pituitary functions (Growth Hormone,Thyroid, Cortisol) are normal. I was supposed to get my GnRH tested with my last blood work but my endocrinologist never gave me a prescription for it.

[Emma-Leigh]

Not a problem.

With regards to your BF%.... ermmmm....
Less than 4% = death (there is a lower level of essential fat, such as that which coats your nerve cells, supports your major organs, and helps with other body functions). So unless you want to lose your capacity to think logically, link laterally, interact socially, reason and... well... live - you better want to have more than 4%!! ;)

But with regards to BF% and effects on your hypothalamus - it is variable as to when different people feel 'physiologically challanged' enough to shut down. And it is not just BF% that does it.... Other things are all related too:
- energy intake
- leptin
- energy output
and how 'threatened' your body feels... But usually figures of around 8-10% BF (in addition to adequate rest and food) are quoted for good restoration of function.

Basically - the long and short of the matter is that long term stress due to long term low BF%/ long term 'over-reaching' for your training = enough of a stress to shut things down...

And it may be sensible to look into correcting these things to see if you get relief of symptoms.

[Holyspokes]

I see. I was not trying to say that in any way do I want my BF to stay around 4%. I think i am at about 5-8% right now, I'm not really sure.

By the way Emma, i would never tell you to piss off. You've been nothing but helpful and kind. Even if you have something negative to say, I want to hear it.

I just got back from seeing the endocrinologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan. I really got nowhere, but i'm going to be making an appointment with the neurologist there to see what her opinion is on having the "cyst" (which is actually solid) removed. The problem is it's only 3mmx5mm in size, which is really small.

I feel like I'm just going to be stuck with this forever.

I should probably get a pair of skin fold calipers.. but don't know where to get any around me. Online maybe?

[Holyspokes]

I haven't been keeping up this at all, i've been so busy with school and work. I've been getting really stressed out over trying to get something done with my health issues and just making no progress.

I finally read the radiologist's report MYSELF and what I have is not really a cyst. Whatever it is, it's INSIDE my pituitary, very small, and solid. That makes me think even more that it is the cause, but to get surgery would mean removing part of my pituitary.. and the risks of surgery skyrocket from what I had originally thought. I've pretty much just settled on living with it and seeing what happens. I'm pretty fed up with dealing with doctors and getting no where. I've spent countless hours thinking/driving/waiting/talking because of these doctors and it a lot of it was just wasted time.

Either way, I'm up to 152lbs. The progress is slow because I'm not going nuts with the food, and I do a fair amount of cardio (because I enjoy it). I'm still just as lean as when I started and have gained about 15lbs. So I'd say that's pretty good. My strength gains have been awesome, recently I've had a lot of workout PR's.

On Thursday I had a rest day, but it was beautiful out and I was bored, so I went mountain biking with my dog for 50min. I didn't go hard at all but I felt great and did my first loop just a little slower than when I'm really kicking ass.

Yesterday I started to regret going mountain biking even though I took it easy because I was shot. My legs had no energy. I ended up doing my leg workout in the evening around 6pm, after a nap and getting some calories in my body I suddenly felt SUPER amped, and I had the most energy filled, kick-ass leg workout ever. Strange...

5x Squats: 165x8, 165x8, 175x8, 185x8, 200x8
4x Leg Extensions: 125x12, 130x12, 135x12, 140x12
5x Leg Curls: 75x12, 80x10, 85x10, 85x10, 90x7
5x Sumo Deadlifts: 225x6, 255x6, 255x6, 265x6, 265x5
4x Jump squats: x30,x30,x30,x30

I've seen more progress in my legs than anywhere else which I'm really happy about. I never really worked out my legs because I was always doing so much cardio involving my legs.


In about 40 min I'll start my chest/tri workout. I think I'm gonna get some bagels afterwords and load up on the calories because I have to go to a wedding at 2pm-12am for work, and I rarely have a chance to eat (If they even feed us)

[Emma-Leigh]

Hey... good to see you still posting...! And VERY good to see you are still gaining weight and strength! :D

What sort of dog do you have that you can go mountain biking with it? That is awesome... I grew up on a property and I used to love heading out into the bush with the horses and dogs. I miss it a lot now I am in the city... :(

With regards to your pit. - Sorry to hear things are still 'pear shaped'. I can imagine you are getting very frustrated with getting the run around.

From what you have said - it sort of sounds like a non-functioning microadenoma [based on the size/ what you have indicated regarding your hormone levels so far?? Although, as I alluded to before - to make sure of this you would need to check all those other hormone levels].

In simple terms, what that means is a very small (less than 10mm) mass that is sitting in the gland but isn't secreting any hormones... [is that what the report said?? - or it would have been something along the lines of 'the mass is x mm in diameter and is consistant with the findings of a Pituitary microadenoma and would need to be correlated with clinical signs....'.... ]

And if that is the case - A few things you can read if you want to:
http://www.ohsupituitary.com/patients/pit.asp
http://www.emedicine.com/med/TOPIC2973.HTM
http://www.endotext.com/neuroendo/neuroendo11b/neuroendoframe11b.htm

[lots of info - it might be a bit overwhelming!]


Hope work wasn't too bad. :)

[Holyspokes]

What sort of dog do you have that you can go mountain biking with it? That is awesome... I grew up on a property and I used to love heading out into the bush with the horses and dogs. I miss it a lot now I am in the city... :(


I have a little dingo-like dog that I adopted. I think she's part dingo, part terrier or something like that. She's small but she loves to run.


From what you have said - it sort of sounds like a non-functioning microadenoma [based on the size/ what you have indicated regarding your hormone levels so far?? Although, as I alluded to before - to make sure of this you would need to check all those other hormone levels].

In simple terms, what that means is a very small (less than 10mm) mass that is sitting in the gland but isn't secreting any hormones... [is that what the report said?? - or it would have been something along the lines of 'the mass is x mm in diameter and is consistant with the findings of a Pituitary microadenoma and would need to be correlated with clinical signs....'.... ]



Yeah that's pretty much what the report said. It's not secreting anything. After seeing one of the best endocrinologists in the Tri-state area, and her not seeing anything that really stuck out, I'm pretty much just going to live with it for now.

Thanks for those links! I'll check em out.

I hate dealing with the Androgel, but i can live with it. But my sleep is horrible. Last night I got home at 1:30am from work, ate and got to bed by 2am. I got maybe 40minutes straight sleep and could not stand to be in bed after it got to be 7am, even though I have NOTHING to do..

Honestly, the only thing that ever makes me happy anymore is my dog and working out. Like I said I'm actually seeing progress with the weights. Yesterday was a chest workout and I had more PR's, and decided to swap in Dips.


I've stopped counting cals and keeping track of macros. I'm just going to eat and eat and make sure I get enough Protein and in the evening estimate where I am calorie-wise and see If i need to add more cals than I would other wise eat based on hunger.

Back/Bi workout later today, + studying for a test tommorow

[sharkbyte03]

Yesterday was legs day/sleep apnea center follow up/work... so it was ONE HELL OF A DAY.

I always like to get my workouts done in the morning, if I waited I'd have no juice for them later. I'd rather be dead for work then exhausted for my workout!

Either way, it was awesome! I set some new (workout) records. I haven't really gone for max in any of these.

4x Leg Extensions:120x12, 130x12, 130x12, 130x12
5x Squats: 155x8, 165x8, 175x8, 185x8, 195x8
5x Leg Curls: 65x12, 75x12, 75x12, 80x10, 80x10
5x Deadlifts: 215x6, 255x6, 255x6, 255x6, 260x7
4x Jump Squats: x28,x28,x28,x28

I kind of just started doing the jump squats... they're fun and i like ending my workout with them. By the last few jumps of the last set I feel like I'm gonna collapse. It's fun.

Today at my university's gym I did a chest/tri workout for 50 minutes. I don't have anything recorded but I mixed it up and used dumbbells for the presses, and did some tricep pulldowns instead of kickbacks. I also did calves/abs in the morning.


I may as well explain my health problems, sense things are (somewhat) looking up.

Starting around February this year, i started developing sleep problems. I thought it was over training or something (i was training ALOT to compete in road biking) So i took a week off and then followed it up with a very reduced work-load. It did nothing. I waited about 2 months of crappy broken up sleep (waking up 2hrs in, then every half to three quarters hour later, So like 8 times during the night) before i went to the doctor. He ordered up some blood work..

My blood work showed my testosterone <100 (whatever unit they use) when it should be somewhere from 300-900 (I think). The hormones that your body makes to tell your body to make testosterone were also VERY low. Long story short I'm on Androgel right now (testosterone gel) so that my testosterone levels are at a normal level (around 600 at this point, still pretty low for a male my age, especially considering I went through puberty before anyone else in my grade, IF that's even an indicator of t levels..)

I just recently did a sleep study to rule out sleep apena, which came back negative. I did get an MRI of my pituitary which showed a small cyst on it. Both my doctors don't think that is the cause of my problems, but I strongly believe it is. So tomorrow I am going to Sloan Kettering in Manhattan to get some uber experts opinions. I hope I can get surgery and get this cyst removed, and it'll fix things.

I HATE being on this Androgel crap, and my sleep is no better than it was 6 months ago. I feel like I'm never fully recovered because my body never has more than 2.5-3hrs straight sleep.

All in all, I'm happier with my body than I ever have been, which in my opinion is because I've been working my ass OFF and devoting a lot of effort into gaining weight and sticking to my diet. I know my Test levels aren't high at all (moderate at best) so i know it's not because of the gel which makes me happy.

I look forward to what I am able to do and the improvements I can make when i can actually sleep!

Now I am going to go eat ~6 tblsps of peaunt butter and hit the sack (for a while at least...:/)


Are you on Testim or Androgel?
600 is not bad 600-700 is quite normal for guys in the early to mid 20's just depending on the lab scale.
5mg of androgel or Testim is normally the starting doses sometimes for androgel 2.5, but normally 5 mg is where one starts and if that does not work testim may be moved up to 10 and androgel to 7.5 then 10 is the maximum.
If you are already on 10MG then them levels are not real low, if you are on 5mg then you may go over on 10mg.

I can understand how you feel, if the testicles are normal and you do not suffer testicualr problems from steroids etc then perhaps HCG could ake them function again properly because if you have a small tumor it may inhibit LH levels to stimulate the testicles.

[Xhale12]

http://www.hdd.com.pt/images/994851189501349251.jpg

How you been spokes??

[Holyspokes]

Yesterday was a rest day, today was LEGZZZ

5x Squats : 165x8, 175x8, 185x8, 195x8, 205x5
4x Leg Extensions : 130x12, 135x12, 145x12, 145x12
5x Leg Curls : 75x12, 80x12, 85x10, 85x10, 90x8
5x Deadlifts : 225x6, 255x6, 255x6, 265x6, 270x6
4x "Jump squats" : x32,32,32,35


Doing the first set of deadlifts felt really awkward b/c I haven't been able to do them for the past week. I got another tattoo on my right forearm and I didn't want to use straps. Also leg day had fallen on days where I was at school, where It's not easy to get a hold of an Olympic bar.

BUT I did bust out that 270x6 which is a PB, as well as the squats. I did 205x8 at the school last leg workout, but I was using a squat rack and don't have that here at home and DID NOT want to kill myself...

Followed up my workout with some sushi (Will post pics later, cameras being dumb).. Gonna take the train to school in about an hour and go to a study/review session for chem for about 5 hours.... AYE!!

[Holyspokes]

I haven't been updating because well, I've been really really busy studying my ass off for a Chem test that was this past Tuesday, but it paid off. I got an 80 (class average 52). My lifts have still slowly been getting better, each workout it seems, although my weight hasn't changed because I haven't been eating enough. Bench pressing just seems to get easier and easier even though I bump up the weight each time. I've also been trying to hit my traps pretty hard and can see the results when doing Dumbbell Rows and T-bar rows.

What I am most happy with are my legs though. They've always been really skinny because of the amount of cardio I do. My squat keeps going up as well as my Deadlift.

Yesterday was off, did some abs/calves though at the school gym. Today was Legs and went like this:

5x Squats :165x8, 175x8, 185x8, 195x8, 205x8
4x Leg Extensions: 125x12, 130x12, 135x12, 140x12
5x Leg Curls: 80x12, 85xx10, 90x9, 90x8, 85x8
5x Sumo Deadlifts: 225x6, 255x6, 255x6, 265x6, 275x6
4x Jump Squats: x32,32,32,32


Other than that It was good. Parents went on vacation and I didn't have class today so it was a nice relaxing day. I went on a 15minute jog with my dog in the morning to get warmed up for the leg workout, but ended up spending another 40 minutes outside watching over the neighbors dogs and mine while they played "tag".

Cooked up some Black Bean and Beef Chili and had that post-workout along with some Whole-wheat - Rye Bread I also made. Was delicious! (But way too much fiber..)

[riotmute]

Great stuff, good luck on your goals!