No guts , no glory

[Herukano]

Well i will start this of with good intentions and hopefully update it once a week , or maybe every session depending on how it goes.

3 years ago i was hospitalised with ulcerative colitis , it was non responsive to drugs , so after 3 weeks of steroids & biologics the consultant told me that it was time to remove my large intestine . This was open abdomen surgery , and left me with a temporary (could have been permanent depending on diagnosis) ileostomy for 1 year and a massive scar straight down my front. 12 months later i was cut open , again open abdomen surgery , where they stitched part of my small instestine into a pouch to enable a more "normal" life. This is the log of my attempt to build a body that has let me down badly and rebuild some self belief after spending 2.5 years with a weak and soft body that i was too scared to show in public.

I have did Starting Strength and was making good progress but i was suffering with constant pains in my right glute/piriformis region from squats and running , as a recovery preventative i slowed the program down and moved it to more rep progression. Also i have been suffering with pouchitis which was getting worse and worse , so the doc prescribed me with Prednisolone for 6 weeks , this robbed me of 30% across all my lifts almost instantly , and since then has been a steady decline every single session (so depressing). Last week the numbers started reversing and this log marks the start of what i hope is the reversal.

Alternating A - B workouts

Tuesday 17/12/2013- Weight 75Kg

Squat - 90Kg - 8 - 8 - 8
Bench - 77Kg - 8 - 8 - 7
Rows - 71.5Kg 9 -9 -9
Lat Raise - 14kg - 9 -9 -8
Chins - BW - 9 -9 -7
EzBCurls 34kg - 10 -10 -10

Thursday 19/12/2013 - Weight 75.1Kg

Squat - 92.5Kg - 6 - 6 - 6
Military Press - 47Kg - 8 - 7 - 7
Rows - 71.5Kg 10 -10 -8
CGBP - 62.5kg - 11 -11 -5
Skull Crushers - 25kg - 12 -12 -12
EzBCurls 34kg - 10 -10 -10
Pull Ups - Bw - 10 - 6 -5

Looking forward to Sat morning

[ricktbaker]

Wow! Sounds like you've been through a lot, but you sound very determined to turn things around! Wish you the best in your progress!

[Herukano]

Wow! Sounds like you've been through a lot, but you sound very determined to turn things around! Wish you the best in your progress!

Thanks man It was a rough couple of years ! Still could be worse

Weight 75kg@ 7:30am

Soundtrack: Enter Shiraki ," take to the skies" followed by 50 cent : "Curtis" at full volume on my headphones and I could still hear the 2 dudes doing incline bench screaming during each rep ! They musta been proper loud

Squats 92.5kg - 7-7-7
Bench 77.5kg 8-8-5+4
Rows 72.5kg 10-10-10
Lat raise 14kg 9-9-9
Chins 9-9-9
Ezbar curls 27.5kg + olyezbar? 11-11-11
Back extensions 15kg -20-20-22
Incline curls 14kg 10-10-10

Bench sucked as I had a crap nights sleep + straight after squats and I'm always wasted for a good 30minutes post squat

Need to eat more , but its difficult as the more I eat the more I seat on the toilet seat

[Herukano]

well last night was pretty crappy , up 4 times , i guess the inflammation in my pouch is coming back now im off the corticosteroids

Up @ 5:30 , weight 75.1 , walk the dog , porridge and PB , drive to work so i can hit the iron @7am

Soundtrack: Machine Head "Burning Red" , Less than Jake "losers kings and things we dont understand"

Christmas eve
Squat - 92.5Kg - 8-8-8 (last few reps on each set was messy , maintaining back angle was hard , will repeat this next session till form is good)
Military Press - 47Kg - 8 - 8 - 5+1+4
Rows - 71.5Kg 11 -11 -9
CGBP - 62.5kg - 11 -11 -8
Skull Crushers - 26kg - 10 -10 -10
Pull Ups - Bw - 9 -5 -5
Incline curls 14kg - 9 -7 -5

Pushed pretty hard this morning , felt sick and shakey afterwards , 2nd breakfast sorted that out though

[Herukano]

Not a great day today very lethargic before I even started - shoulda had a double espresso !

Weight 75.3kg@ 7:30am

Soundtrack : Guns'n'Roses "appetite for destruction" & bullet for my valentine "scream aim fire"

Squat 92.5 8-8-7 (dumped bar coming out of hole on 8) gonna add 2.5kg on Sunday and see how it goes
Bench 77.5kg 8-8-8
Rows 72.5 11-11-10
Lat raise 10kg 12-12-10+2
Chins 8-8-6+2
Curls 28kg +olyezbar? 10-10-10

[Herukano]

Weight 75.3kg @7:30am - walk the dog then PB porridge for brekkie + double espresso

Gym had music on so loud it was impossible to hear my music properly so soundtrack was shocking today , I even heard so solid crew /shudder

Squat - 95kg 6-6-6 (concentrated on form, and seems to have paid off apart for a few reps on the last set where my hips came up slightly previous but not enough to worry about)
Military Press - 47Kg - 8 - 8 - 7+1
Rows - 72.5kg 11-11-11
CGBP - 62.5kg - 11 -11 -9+2
Skull Crushers - 22.5kg+olyezbar 11-11-11
Pull Ups - Bw - 8-6-6
Incline curls 12kg - 10-10-7
Back extensions 15kg -20-20-21

[Herukano]

Missed updating on Tuesday will put both up today , decided over christmas i am going to continue my bulk until end of march then cut until i go on holiday Mid june , then maintain till August with a 6 month bulk following that , Jpouch permitting .


Tuesday: Weight @7:45am 76.6Kg ... WTF a 1.3Kg gain in 2 days ?!?! Didnt even eat that much

Squat 95 7-6-7 = Dumped bar coming out of hole on 2nd set as i got stuck about 4 inches up still managed to get the 3rd set which is weird
Bench 80kg 6-6-6
Rows 75Kg 6-6-6
Lat raise 12kg 10-10-10
Chins 8-6-6
Curls 28kg +olyezbar? 11-11-6
Incline Curls 12 10-10-10

Thursday: Weight @5:30am 76.6Kg
Squat - 95kg 8-8-8 1st set was horrible form wise but 2nd and 3rd were pretty good , i have sacrificed going deep in order to stop butt winking , i was told that parallel was far enough for low bar ?
Military Press - 47Kg - 8 - 8 - 7 no improvement
Rows - 75Kg 7-7-7
CGBP - 62.5kg - 11 -11 -8 - slight regression
Skull Crushers - 23KG +4KgEz Bar 12-12-10
Pull Ups - Bw - 8-6-6
Incline curls 12.5kg - 10-7-7

All in all a pretty good work out today , felt a bit nauseous afterwards which is a good sign to me .

[Vegmaster]

Wow, great numbers. Especially considering your history. Repped.

Any reason why you aren't including Deadlifts in your workouts?

[Herukano]

Wow, great numbers. Especially considering your history. Repped.

Any reason why you aren't including Deadlifts in your workouts?

Thanks man , appreciated , were almost identical numbers !

I dont include Deadlift at the moment just because i dont feel safe and every single time it starts to get semi heavy it aggravates my piriformis/glute medius immensely and stops me jogging and squatting. My intention is to bring it back slowly starting in February and build up slowly from 60kg with a rep progression similar to my squats , hoping the slower progression will stop the pain.

[Herukano]

Saturday morning , fighting the head **** that is putting on weight .... I know it's necessary and keep telling myself I will drop it starting April 1st

Weight 76.6kg - this weight appears to be stable , bloody wierd how it went up so much in 2 days !

Walked dog , PB + banana porridge then off to the gym

Soundtrack : Dr. Dre "chronic 2001"

Squats 97.5kg 6-6-6 furk that felt heavy
Bench 80kg 7-7-5 (cocked up and did 2 sets of 7@70kg before cos my maths sucked)
Rows 75kg 8-8-8
Lat raise 12kg 11-10-7
Chins 8-8-6
Curls 27.5kg+olyezbar? 11-10-9
Back extension 20kg 20-20-19 (Jesus these kicked my arse so hard)
Inline curls 12kg 10-10-10

All in all a good workout , really enjoyed my 5 eggs on wholemeal for lunch

[jonnyboy44]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Shame tom hear about the colitis especially in such a young guy. My mums was diagnosed with the same years ago and I know when it flares up how debilitating it can be. Stick at it and I know you will see the benifits to your health especially with the healthy diet.

[Herukano]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Shame tom hear about the colitis especially in such a young guy. My mums was diagnosed with the same years ago and I know when it flares up how debilitating it can be. Stick at it and I know you will see the benifits to your health especially with the healthy diet.

Cheers mate colitis sucks pretty bad , still onwards and upwards !

[Herukano]

Thought I'd document the stretching routine I use pre workout and the stretching routine for the evenings

Pre workout

Start of with a 2 minute body weight atg squat with elbows pushing outward to stretch hips

Next up its the reverse pidgeon with twist to stretch hips , specifically targeting piriformis


Then onto shoulder mobility where I follow this routine
http://www.dieselcrew.com/5-minute-s...ehab-exercises


Evenings

Lacrosse ball , mayofacial release of glutes like this


Reverse pidgeon again

Quad and hip stretch - started at 4 mins for each side for first 2 weeks now maintaining @1:30mins


Hamstring stretch


Band pull aparts

[Herukano]

Morning Went jogging yesterday @5:30am with the dog and spent all of yesterday stuck on a Lax ball as i could feel that piriformis region enflaming , still feels ok today

Tuesday 7/1/2013


Weight @5:30am 76.7Kg (weird how this weight thing works , i reckon one day soon it will jump again)

Walk dog , PB porridge , fish oil (just started for pouchitis and joint care) , glass of milk , double espresso

Sound Track , System of a Down "system of a down" followed by sum 41 "underclass hero"

Squats 97.5Kg 7-7-7 - god damn that was heavy as F!"£ , quite chuffed - last time i was at this weight i was using 7 minute rests for 5 reps now im at 3 minute rests for 7
Military 47.5Kg 8-8-8 Yay movement finally , will add some weight now , gonna have to micro load though - will need to buy some plates today in time for gym on saturday.]
Rows 75Kg 8-8-6 yup that got hard
CGBP 55-11-8-9 dont know WTF is going on here , im concerned the bench i use @ work does not have wide enough rests for bar that i am forced into using an unnatural grip
Skull Crushers 23+4KgEzbar 12-12-10 feels easy as hell for first set then last set is super hard
Pull ups 8-7-5 not getting any better at these , were much easier when i was lighter - might swap these for Deadlifts soon ?
Incline urls 10-9-8

All in all a good workout , i do find that i dont seem to progress on all excercises every session mostly its a few forward and a few stuck - anyone else get stuck like this ?

[Herukano]

Weight 76.6 .... no clue how my weight hasnt gone up ! scales are the devil.

So in the afternoon on tuesday i played around with squat stances , while vid'n from the front to track my knees , turns out that my inside foot outside shoulder was the best position for knee stability - so pretty wide , however this wrecked my hamstrings as they were not used to that position and i was doing 75% of my working sets - Crazy Doms in Hamstrings on weds , was walking like a cowboy lol and this morning i still was sore as **** !

Soundtrack: Middle Class Rut "MCRut" and Obie Trice "Cheers"

figured i havent explained my rests so here goes
Squats are always 3mins between sets other than warm ups which i do from bar only up in 10Kg steps with no real rest.
everything else is 90 seconds.

Squats 97.5kg 8-5-8 : oh god these hurt so much as soon as i had any stretch in my hamstrings i felt like i was going to collapse , hence being a bitch on set 2 ! vid shows fair depth, not great but fair
Bench 80kg 7-7-5: no improvement but number 5 felt better than last time
Rows 75kg- 9-9-9 Back appears to be my best recovering body part , expecting it to surpass my bench soon enough , is that weird ?
Lat Raise -12kg 11-11-7
Chin Ups 8-8-8

Had to stop there as had ran out of time as i was taking too long after squats due to being a pussy about the pain in my legs - have to roll them later as they are going to be ruined !

Edit Went back at lunch and finished

Ezcurls 28kg+4Kg Bar 11-11-11
Incline Curls 12.5Kg 10-7-8

[Herukano]

Sat 11/2/2014

Weighed in @ 77.5kg ! My weight just does jumps it seems no gradual increase ....

Walked dog , PB porridge

Soundtrack: Metallica "Black album"

Squat 100kg 6-6-6 depth was good , back angle was ok - still suffering with butt wink.. Have to fix this this before it hurts me . But yay 2 plates
Military 50kg 6-6-6
Rows 75kg 10-9-8 heavy as hell
CGBP 62.5 11-11-11 reaching the end of this weights rep progression
Skull Crushers olyezbar +25kg 8-8-8
Pull-ups 8-8-8
Back extension 25kg 20-18-12 wiped me out again , this one if tough

I know I said I would start deadlifting in feb but I think I will start this week.

[Herukano]

Tues 14/1/2013

Pretty good nights sleep , was out by 9pm ! only got up 3 times , so bonus

Weighed in @76.8kg @5:30am , i ate way too little on monday due to being on the road so prolly down a bit on what i should have been at - will see on thursday

Soundtrack = nothing , lost an earbud for my BT headphones suckage

7am
Squat 100Kg 7-6-4 crapola that was hard work , my left glute (piriformis i think) is tight as **** ,and giving some small pains during the day, though so was not able to push due to fear of it breaking
Bench 80Kg 7-7-7
Rows 75 10-10-7
Lat Raise 12.5kg 11-11-8
Chins 8-8-8


@lunch
Ezcurls 28kg+bar@4kg
Incline curls 10-8-9

Oh due to left glute enflaming , Deads are on hold again

[jonnyboy44]

Tues 14/1/2013

Pretty good nights sleep , was out by 9pm ! only got up 3 times , so bonus

Weighed in @76.8kg @5:30am , i ate way too little on monday due to being on the road so prolly down a bit on what i should have been at - will see on thursday

Soundtrack = nothing , lost an earbud for my BT headphones suckage

7am
Squat 100Kg 7-6-4 crapola that was hard work , my left glute (piriformis i think) is tight as **** ,and giving some small pains during the day, though so was not able to push due to fear of it breaking
Bench 80Kg 7-7-7
Rows 75 10-10-7
Lat Raise 12.5kg 11-11-8
Chins 8-8-8
@lunch
Ezcurls 28kg+bar@4kg
Incline curls 10-8-9

Oh due to left glute enflaming , Deads are on hold again

100k squats no mean feat and at 7am Respect to anyone who trains early.

[Vegmaster]

Bowing down to two plate squats!

[Herukano]

Cheers guys quite happy myself !

[Herukano]

Thursday

Crap nights sleep , up 5 times , and bang awake at 4:30am

Weight @5:30am 77.1Kg

walk dog , PB porridge to be @gym for 7am

Squats 100kg 7-7-7
MP 50kg 7-6-4
Rows 75kg 10-10-8
CGBP 62.5kg 12-9-7
SC 29kg 9-9-11
Pull Ups 8-8-8

forgot my phone so no music or videos for form checking , so no idea how that went , super paranoid about a slight twinge in my lower left ab - hope its just a muscle injury and nothing more sinister , i am a risk due to having so much abdominal surgery , will give it a week or two before heading to the docs.

[Herukano]

will start this off by saying this is my last entry for a week as i am taking a de-load week , not planned but i need to see if this ab injury will heal up ,*Fingers crossed*, I have a doc appointment booked for Wednesday to check it - I fear a hernia Doesnt hurt when lifting , but has been nagging feeling when my foot plants when walking 7 can feel it when i put a bit of tension on my abs getting up , very localised to a spot very close to where one of the drain tubes was for my last surgery.. incisional hernia is risky just there

Saturday Weight 78Kg

Squat 100Kg 8-7-8 2nd set was heavy as hell and i couldnt get out of the hole
Bench 80Kg 8-8-6
Rows 75Kg 10-10-9
Deads 75Kg 10-8-8
Pull ups 8-8-8

Proper worried about this discomfort , i really could do without the set back ..

[Herukano]

Welp stomache issues seem to have subsided - feel a bit of a plank for going to the doctor now !

Little update on my training since my deload week

tuesday 28/1/14
Squat 100Kg 5-5-3
bench 80Kg 6-6-5
rows 75Kg 8-8-7
Deads 80Kg 8-8-8

Thursday 30/1/14
Squat warm up then pain in quad during ascent so stopped @90kg
Military press 50Kg 6-4-3
Rows 75Kg 8-8-8
CGBP 62.5Kg 10-10-10
SC 25Kg+4kg bar 10-10-10
Pull ups 8-8-5

Saturday 1/2/14

Squat 100Kg 6-6-6
Bench 80Kg 6-6-6(just completed last rep on last set)
Rows 75Kg 9-9-9
Pull ups 8-7-7
Deads 85Kg 8-8-8 (already feel my right glute having a fit)

Today Tuesday 4/2/14

Weight 77.9Kg - Solid nights sleep only got up 3x

PB porridge , walk the dog , drive to the gym for 7am

sound track was System of a down "system of a down" - found an old ipod dock , so no need for headphones !

Squat 100Kg 7-7-7
MP 50Kg 6-6-6
Rows 75Kg 10-10-8
CGBP 62.5Kg 11-11-5
SC 25Kg+4kb 11-11-11
Deads 67.5Kg x 5 , 77.5Kg x5 , 90Kg x 5

will go back later for pull ups and curls - suspect i will be spending alot of time on the Lax ball today

[Herukano]

Thursday morning , slept well , up 3 times in the night , but in bed by 9:30pm and had been napping on the sofa with the dog for an hour before that !

Up@5:30am , walk dog , pb porridge - decided to change things up a bit , going to deadlift saturdays and tuesday , and add in front squats to thursdays

Weight 78.5Kg - soundtrack: Enter shikari "Common Dreads" and This is Menace "The Scene is Dead"

Squats 102.5kg x 6 , 100Kg -5-7 (looking forward to 3 sets of 102.5 on saturday)
Walkout with 110Kg for 30secs - damn that felt heavy
Bench 80Kg -7-7-5
Rows 75Kg 10-10-10
Front Squats 57.5Kg 5-5-5 (going to work up slowly with these)
10 mins on LAX ball working the hip/glute

will go back and hit , pull ups + curls later.

[Herukano]

Ever get the feeling that your body just doesnt like trying to get fitter , and in fact is purposefully trying to stop you ?

Spent monday and tuesday in absolute pieces due to a trapped nerve or something in my butt ! christ almighty did it hurt , and i mean hurt ! I woke up from surgery with my stomache split from groin to diaphram , the epidural had moved and i had 0 pain relief , that hurt .. this trapped nerve was on par pain wise when the muscle that was trapping it fired... OUCH !!!!


anyways enough of being a pussy.

Tuesday

Squats : no ****ing chance
Bench 80Kg 7-7-7
Rows 75Kg 11-11-10
Pull ups 5-5-6

Thursday
weight 78.5Kg
Soundtrack: Pullde of mudd & Rage against the machine

Squat 105Kg * 5 , 102.5Kg -6-6
MP 50Kg 7-7-5
Rows 77.5Kg
CGBP 62.5Kg 11-11-9
SC 25Kg +4Kg bar 12-12-12

gonna spend the whole night on my LAX ball

[Herukano]

Saturday

good session in the gym hit some good (for me) numbers , quite chuffed:

Squat 105Kg 6-6-6
Bench 80Kg 8-8-8
Row 77.5Kg 7-7-7
Deads 80Kg-5 90Kg-5 100Kg-5


Tuesday : weight 79.5Kg

Squat 107.5Kg - 5 , 105Kg -6 -5
OHP 50Kg 7-7-7
Rows 77.5Kg 8-8-8
CGBP 62.5Kg 11-11-11
SC 27.5Kg 8-8-8
Deads 85Kg-5 95Kg-5 105Kg-5

Was fun , still gonna be a LAX afternoon