ElrondHubbard Clawing My Way Back

[thehobbes]

Blasting those pull ups! I know the food choices are still limited but mac n cheese and ice cream sounds epic. Giving me cravings over here. HNNGGG Kraft mac, just grab the entire pot and a fork, and devour it like an animal.

[fali1991]

Some fairly good news on the feeding front. I saw a specialist yesterday to try to get to the root of my swallowing issues. She ran an endoscope through my nostril to just above my throat opening to get some views of my swallowing mechanism. Then she gave me liquids of varying viscosity, finally some applesauce and a small cookie.

The result is that, contrary to my belief, and the sensation in my throat, I don't have an actual physical obstruction blocking my swallowing. There is some mucus there that tends to capture food, as I thought, but its not the major obstacle. The real problem is simply that the radiation damage to my tongue and throat muscles left them weak, and unable to squeeze food into my eso****us properly. It's a vicious circle, because inability to swallow means I need to use a feeding tube, not practicing at swallowing means my throat muscles atrophy from lack of use rather than healing.

I'm going to need some treatment, consisting of electrical stimulation of the proper regions, but mostly I just need to practice swallowing. She emphasized that it's going to be a gradual process, but she also assured me that my tissues are fundamentally sound. She said that my radiologist and the technicians actually did a very good job of avoiding major damage to my throat tissues, and making sure that the radiation was focused primarily on the tumor.

So essentially, it's just another challenge not completely unlike the challenge of strengthening weak muscles through exercise. Sounds like something I can do.

In the meantime, I had a pretty decent workout last night. A little progress on the pushups, pullups, and calf raises. Nothing spectacular, but I prefer steady and incremental anyway. And the weights increased as they should, with no indication that I'm approaching a stall.

First session of week 11.

Squats:
57x5
71x5
85x5
99x5
113x5

Bench Press:
63x5
79x5
94x5
109x5
125x5

BB Row:
63x5
79x5
94x5
109x5
125x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
46x5
55x5
64x5
73x5

Accessories:

Pullups, 10+9+9+8, 36 total, added one to the third set and one to the total, they were feeling pretty secure.
Calf Raises, 36x55+36x55, added 10 lbs to the dumbell dropped the total reps a bit, but still increased the overall wight moved.
Pushups, 39+38+37, 114 total. So close! Definitely felt the need to work on the form, the last few reps always get a bit shaky.

Cancer? I thought OT’s are supposed to have complete control over the mest universe. Maybe you need to go back to target two to continue your research.






Not srs

[ElrondHubbard]

Blasting those pull ups! I know the food choices are still limited but mac n cheese and ice cream sounds epic. Giving me cravings over here. HNNGGG Kraft mac, just grab the entire pot and a fork, and devour it like an animal.

Haven't even tried the Kraft stuff yet. I went straight to Knorr's Pasta Sides. Only the best for me! Cooks in 7 minutes!

[ElrondHubbard]

Cancer? I thought OT’s are supposed to have complete control over the mest universe. Maybe you need to go back to target two to continue your research.






Not srs

Heh. My screen name does not mean what some interpret it to mean. But it's ok. I'm just trying to piss off Tom Cruise.

[ElrondHubbard]

Week 14, began Friday, last week before a two-week layoff and reset. It was a funny session, the scripts were hitting on me hard and heavy, and I had a deep reluctance to even try to go through with the accessories. Something in me was looking for every excuse in the book to just quit early and not even bother with the pushups or pullups. Fortunately, I got through it, and while I didn't gain anything on them, I didn't lose anything either. It's also funny that Friday, after two days of rest, I expect is when I should be able to show a gain in capacity, but it doesn't usually work out that way.

The weights, of course, progressed nicely, just like the spreadsheet said they should. The last sets did feel pretty heavy, though.

Squat:
61x5
76x5
92x5
107x5
122x5

Bench Press:
67x5
84x5
101x5
117x5
134x5

BB Row:
67x5
84x5
10x 5
117x5
134x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
49x5
59x5
69x5
79x5

Accessories:
Pullups, 12+11+10+10, 43 total, same as Tuesday
Calf Raises, 55 lb dumbell one leg at a time, 55x48+55x48
Pushups, 40+40+40, 120 total, still the hardest thing I do, and the one that the reluctance hits me the worst on. But I also think it's giving me great results on my overall chest.

[loggerboots]

Push-ups are underrated. You can develop nice chest and tricep just via push-ups, not to mention the solid core workout you get with a long set of push-ups. It’s all I did for years when I was young and had more development than a lot guys who lifted. They just get very hard and painful when you get into the high reps, but you know that!

In any case, I suspect I’m preaching to the choir seeing the heavy calisthenics component to your workouts. Your pull-ups are especially impressive to me, coming at the end of the workouts as they do.

Do you have microload plates? Guessing so based on the odd numbers you come up with on your weights!

[thehobbes]

Solid compounds all around up there!

Heh. My screen name does not mean what some interpret it to mean. But it's ok. I'm just trying to piss off Tom Cruise.

Legit thought that was your actual name. Googled it now and holy ham, I KNEW it sounded vaguely familiar to something, couldn't quite figure it out. LMAO

[ElrondHubbard]

Push-ups are underrated. You can develop nice chest and tricep just via push-ups, not to mention the solid core workout you get with a long set of push-ups. It’s all I did for years when I was young and had more development than a lot guys who lifted. They just get very hard and painful when you get into the high reps, but you know that!

In any case, I suspect I’m preaching to the choir seeing the heavy calisthenics component to your workouts. Your pull-ups are especially impressive to me, coming at the end of the workouts as they do.

Do you have microload plates? Guessing so based on the odd numbers you come up with on your weights!

Not exactly micro-plates. Just washers and plumbing fixtures on zip ties weighed on a food scale.

I did wash the scale afterwards...

I agree about pushups and pullups. I've seen a lot of posts on this forum that tend to dismiss them, or at least pushups. Maybe its an individual thing. It's a popular belief that any exercise that you can do 40 reps with will not build muscle size. May be true if that's all you do. But if you combine it with weight exercises in the 5-10 rep range, then those muscles really end up blasted. Last night afterwards I felt like my muscles were on an extra layer outside my skin. Weird feeling. But not a bad one.

[ElrondHubbard]

Solid compounds all around up there!

Legit thought that was your actual name. Googled it now and holy ham, I KNEW it sounded vaguely familiar to something, couldn't quite figure it out. LMAO

Oddly, I never thought Hammy was your real name!

I'm Dave, nice to meet you. But these sites are filled with Daves. Elrond Hubbard was originally just the name of my Toyota RAV 4, for some rather strange and idiosyncratic reasons. (We call our Hyundai "Professor McGonagall"). When I joined this site I was casting about for something catchy, and that seemed to fill the bill.

[DocJekyll]

Way to muscle through that last workout!

What is the reasoning for taking 2 weeks off? I may have missed it. Just curious.

[RT1957]

EH those numbers are rising nicely...keep at it....do you deload for 2 weeks??

[ElrondHubbard]

Way to muscle through that last workout!

What is the reasoning for taking 2 weeks off? I may have missed it. Just curious.

I'll be taking a 10-day trip to Louisiana to visit family, particularly my mother, who unfortunately has very little time, and very little mind, remaining. She doesn't remember much, but she remember's that I'll be there, and I'm going to spend as much time as possible with her. I don't anticipate being able to do much more than some light exercise while I'm there.
Previous experience tells me that I tend to lose gains rather quickly when I take off any more than one or two sessions, so a reset when I get back is a foregone conclusion.

[thehobbes]

^^^I hope you have as nice a time as possible with the fam, considering the circumstances, always helps to have everybody together during times like that.

Oddly, I never thought Hammy was your real name!

I'm Dave, nice to meet you. But these sites are filled with Daves. Elrond Hubbard was originally just the name of my Toyota RAV 4, for some rather strange and idiosyncratic reasons. (We call our Hyundai "Professor McGonagall"). When I joined this site I was casting about for something catchy, and that seemed to fill the bill.

LMAO! Same here, know lots of Daves, gets confusing.

[ElrondHubbard]

Looking back on Sunday night, now, the midpoint of week 14. Light on volume, heavy only because it includes deadlifts. Creeping up on 200 lbs, it's a shame I have to back off before I reach it. Slight improvement on pushups, holding steady on pullups.

Weight: 163.5lbs
Bodyfat: ~13%

Squat:
61x5
76x5
92x5
92x5

Incline Bench:
68x5
82x5
95x5
109x5

Deadlift:
125x5
150x5
173x5
198x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
49x5
59x5
69x5
69x5

Accessories:
Pullups, 12+11+10+10, 43 total. I was hoping to add a rep somewhere in the mix, but it just wasn't going to happen tonight.
Pushups, 41+40+40, 121 total. Added 1 to the first, maintained on the subsequent sets even though I slightly reduced the rest period. Still, not really a pretty sight.

One more workout before the break. Hope I can make it a good one.

[RT1957]

Looks good EH...enjoy that trip...anything you think you'll lose will be back within a week...doesn't take long....Eat good in LA...there sure is plenty of food there to keep the weight up and keep you strong!!

[ElrondHubbard]

Looks good EH...enjoy that trip...anything you think you'll lose will be back within a week...doesn't take long....Eat good in LA...there sure is plenty of food there to keep the weight up and keep you strong!!

Thanks, Ron. I think my first eating adventure on that trip will be an attempt at spaghetti and meatballs. I might be able to do that one. I'll have two of my daughters and a couple of grandkids with me on Saturday night. It'll be fantastic to actually be able to go to a restaurant and do a little social eating for a change. I've missed that.

[Marius_Ursus]

Good session, Elrond. The long view of backing off is a better gain when you return to it.

[ElrondHubbard]

Good session, Elrond. The long view of backing off is a better gain when you return to it.

Thanks, Tom. I'm very much looking forward to getting back into the groove. I haven't decided yet whether I'm just going to go back 4 weeks to the known weights from week 10, or if I should do another max 5rm test and start from that -10%, as I did to begin with. Either approach should end up with similar weights, in theory.

[ElrondHubbard]

Tuesday night was the end of week 14, my last workout before my break. I tried to make it count. The increases in the lifts went well, and I added a rep to the pullups also.

Squat:
61x5
76x5
92x5
107x5
125x4 Felt heavy, almost too hard, inexplicably.
92x9

Bench Press:
67x5
84x5
101x5
117x5
137x4 Felt light, almost too easy.
101x9

BB Row:
67x5
84x5
101x5
117x5
137x4
101x9

Overhead Press:
44x5
49x5
59x5
69x5
81x4
59x9

Accessories:
Pullups, 12+11+11+10, 44 total, added one to the third set, felt pretty strong.
Calf Raises, 55x50+55x50 -- feel ready to add weight, but we'll see how it fares when I return.
Pushups, 41+40+40, 121 total.

Now to start packing!

[Marius_Ursus]

"Almost too easy," he says...

Nice.

[thehobbes]

Awesome workout to wrap it up before the trip! Safe travels to you, and have a good time with that spaghetti dinner.

[ElrondHubbard]

"Almost too easy," he says...

Nice.

I just thought it was weird that my squats are feeling so much more difficult now than the bench presses are, when a year ago I was stalling on the bench at 207, but still making progress on the squats at 260. There seems to be a lot that I still don't understand. I obviously lost a lot more in my legs than I did my chest, I guess it'll take longer for them to come back.

[ElrondHubbard]

Awesome workout to wrap it up before the trip! Safe travels to you, and have a good time with that spaghetti dinner.

Thank you much, Ma'am, I certainly will!

[ElrondHubbard]

I got back home Sunday night, and on Tuesday did a "test workout" to see how much strength I'd lost being away from the bar for essentially two weeks. Fortunately, it wasn't as much as I'd expected. I tested my big 4, Bench, Squats, BB Rows, and OHP. I lost little to nothing on the bench and overhead press, and less than 10% on the squat and rows. I didn't test the deadlifts or incline bench, so for them I'll just back off by 4 weeks and build my way back up. I start week 17 tonight, skipping weeks 15 and 16. I'm going to add seated dumbbell shrugs as a new accessory, and if my pullups recover well, which I think they will, I'll soon be putting weights on those two workouts out of three. I'll stick to bodyweight pullups on Sundays.

It's been almost exactly a year since my diagnosis, and my workouts faded out after last December. I don't know how long it will take to get back to where I was a year ago today, but there's a good chance, at least in my mind, that not only will I get there, I might even get beyond it. I feel a lot of optimism right now.

The biggest development from my vacation is that I was able to get really adventurous with my diet, and attempt to eat things I wasn't sure I could handle yet. Some of those I still can't handle, but other things worked out surprisingly well. In fact, I'm now able to eat enough semi-solid food to maintain my weight and strength without tube feeding, and on my next doctor visit, which I think is next Friday, I'm going to see about getting this dang tube removed.

Still no saliva to speak of, but regular old whole milk has turned out to be a pretty good substitute at mealtimes. Things are all moving the right direction, and I'm euphoric. Big workout tonight!

And yes, the spaghetti and meatballs are now part of my repertoire, and lunch today is going to be from the buffet bar at a Whole Foods. Yesssss!!!!

[Cantplankwell]

I got back home Sunday night, and on Tuesday did a "test workout" to see how much strength I'd lost being away from the bar for essentially two weeks. Fortunately, it wasn't as much as I'd expected. I tested my big 4, Bench, Squats, BB Rows, and OHP. I lost little to nothing on the bench and overhead press, and less than 10% on the squat and rows. I didn't test the deadlifts or incline bench, so for them I'll just back off by 4 weeks and build my way back up. I start week 17 tonight, skipping weeks 15 and 16. I'm going to add seated dumbbell shrugs as a new accessory, and if my pullups recover well, which I think they will, I'll soon be putting weights on those two workouts out of three. I'll stick to bodyweight pullups on Sundays.

It's been almost exactly a year since my diagnosis, and my workouts faded out after last December. I don't know how long it will take to get back to where I was a year ago today, but there's a good chance, at least in my mind, that not only will I get there, I might even get beyond it. I feel a lot of optimism right now.

The biggest development from my vacation is that I was able to get really adventurous with my diet, and attempt to eat things I wasn't sure I could handle yet. Some of those I still can't handle, but other things worked out surprisingly well. In fact, I'm now able to eat enough semi-solid food to maintain my weight and strength without tube feeding, and on my next doctor visit, which I think is next Friday, I'm going to see about getting this dang tube removed.

Still no saliva to speak of, but regular old whole milk has turned out to be a pretty good substitute at mealtimes. Things are all moving the right direction, and I'm euphoric. Big workout tonight!

And yes, the spaghetti and meatballs are now part of my repertoire, and lunch today is going to be from the buffet bar at a Whole Foods. Yesssss!!!!

Awesome, glad to see things coming along nicely. Nothing like being able to stuff your face with reckless abandon !

[thehobbes]

Great news on the strength and diet - keep it rolling! Hell yes, get that tube out and feast like a king all day every day.

[ElrondHubbard]

Well, I'm officially back! I started week 17 tonight with a new baseline. As I mentioned earlier, I hadn't lost as much strength as I was expecting, so that's good. On the other hand, my conditioning has quickly gone to crap. I was gassed out by the end of the regular workout and had to take it easy on the accessories. I only did two sets each of lower reps. I'm sure that will come back soon. I did add the dumbell shoulder shrugs, so I'm getting set up to expand the volume when I can.

Squat:
58x5
72x5
87x5
101x5
116x5

Bench Press:
68x5
85x5
101x5
118x5
135x5

BB Row:
65x5
81x5
97x5
113x5
129x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
49x5
59x5
69x5
79x5

Accessories:
Pullups, 2 sets, 10 reps each, 20 total. Didn't go to failure, trying to play it safe.
Calf Raises, 2 sets, 55lb dumbell, 40 reps each leg.
Pushups, 2 sets, 32 reps each, 64 total. Played this one safe too, really feeling the fatigue by this point.
DB seated shrugs, 45 lb pps, 2 sets, 20 reps each, 40 total. Felt a bit clumsy, and a little sore in the traps today. This has potential, once I get it dialed in right.

I enjoy and appreciate the support, guys. Nice to be back in the swing of things!

[ElrondHubbard]

Already at the middle of week 17! Time flies. Flies in general are pretty bad this time of year.

It was a day of yardio, I changed oil in both cars, did some watering and some painting, and dug an anchor hole for a guy wire anchor. So I was a bit tired before the workout started.

I'm still a little behind on the accessories, the pullups and pushups are below where they were before my vacation. But at least I did the full sets this time. It was officially a "light" workout, but it did include deadlifts.

Squats:
58x5
72x5
87x5
87x5

Incline Bench:
63x5
76x5
88x5
101x5

Deadlift:
115x5
138x5
161x5
185x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
49x5
59x5
69x5
69x5

Accessories:
Pullups, 4 sets, 11+10+10+9, 40 total. Might take a week or two to get back to where I left off.
Pushups, 3 sets, 36+34+32, 102 total. Really hard, especially the last set. That's where I seem to have lost the most capacity. I'll get it back, though.

[Payton1221]

Bench Press:
137x4 Felt light, almost too easy

Missed this earlier. Are you collaring your weights and adding it to what I assume is one wheel per side?

[ElrondHubbard]

Missed this earlier. Are you collaring your weights and adding it to what I assume is one wheel per side?

Basically. 44 lb. bar, two 45lb plates, 0.5lb each spring clips, and two 1lb each hanging additions.
From whatever baseline I started from I go up in increments of 2.5% a week to the nearest whole number, even if it does look kind of weird.