You may call me Fiend

[ArchAngel'73]

Solid progress in here. Good way to stay creative and continue to hit your goals of doing something daily. Motion is lotion, keep it moving.

Peak progress in those photos is definitely impressive! Strong mofo. I remember reading your tales from the fitness factory and enjoyed reading it. To bad the mods unstickied it.

That Deads and good morning supersets video was awesome.

Good luck on your Walmart pillaging. Hopefully you find some more weights.

I am concerned about inertia. I can get lazy really fast and the combination of lack of heavy weights, my undeniably aging body, and my propensity to eat too much can dig me into a rut I'd rather not get into.

Thank-you for the comments about the pics. The day I posted them I think I needed to remind myself what I once was and that I have the ability to get there again. I'm okay with the mods unstickying it...I haven't had the time nor the inclination to add more recently and they probably needed the room for more inane nonsensical threads.

In the GM and deadlift vid I was recovering from 2 slipped discs and a pinched sciatic nerve. That injury was less than a month old, and that is why my form sucked. lol
Thank-you.

No more weights to be found and I'm okay with that. I think I just hit my groove. Took way too long though.

How's self-isolating going? Something like this...

Nah man, I'm actually doing fine.
I play video games, there's always something to keep me entertained!

At first I was gonna tell you you had a really nize azz...then I saw that old pic of you and Flex...LOL

Have you heard from him? I hope he's okay. I love the Memory Lane pictures.

I keep meaning to ask if you're a Misfits fan.

So FLEX has a nicer ass than mine?!
wtf dude
it's all good, you can have him if he wants ya AND if you can get passed Ms. Lisa.
Jim and Lisa post on here occasionally and they have their own forum called ironsanctuary.com

No, never even knew their mascot name until well after I had created my 1st username on here.

Why Fiend_73?
The simple answer is because if I go without lifting after 3 days I get twitchy, like a dope fiend.

Now, if you want the long complicated answer you're gonna have to prove you've been reading my sh*t and ask outright.

All these blast from my past names makes me miss 2008. Very comforting to see you busting azz, Fiend

Chocochic
orca
momwith4boys
Baldywonkenobi
nucleararms
fitnessman
JTroster
-any of those ring a bell?

Good times Hoosier, we had good times her then.
Thanks for dropping by!

[ArchAngel'73]

April 18, 2020

Off

April 19, 2020

Chest

DB Flye
20x20x5

DB Press
20x20x5

DB Pullovers
20x20x5

-all exercises above done using couch cushions for a bench

standing DB Flye
12x20x4

[ArchAngel'73]

April 20, 2020

behind the back side DB Raise
20x10x3
20x20x3

seated DB Shoulder Press
20x20x3

standing DB Shoulder Press
12x20
15x20x3

front DB Raise
20x20x3

1 arm side DB Raise
6x50x3
-this was odd and felt lopsided, but I only have two 25 lb. plates

1 arm seated DB Shoulder Press
6x50x3

Jug Shrugs
25x3

[ArchAngel'73]

April 21, 2020

30 minutes Recumbant bike

Arms

straight arm DB Curl
20x10x3
10x20x3
6x40x3
2x50x3

standing 1 arm DB Extensions
20x10x3
10x20x3

band Curls
15
20x2

DB Kickbacks
10x20
6x50

Arm posing for the prolonged concentric contraction in the hope it will stave off some muscle catabolism.



For me, kickbacks have been one of the most useless exercises I've ever done but they just seem like the thing to do given the circumstances.
So I used a 50 to force it to work.

When in doubt, throw weight at it!
(not serious)

[ArchAngel'73]

Back

bent over DB Row
20x10x5
20x20x5
1 arm- 10x50x3

bent over Jug Rows
12x3

1 arm DB Row (knee braced on kitchen chair)
12x50x3
8x70x3

Jug Deads
10x4

Posing

Rear Lat Spread, Rear Double Bicep 3 sets of 20 seconds

Vacuums
3 sets of 12-15 seconds

Walking 20 minutes

[ArchAngel'73]

April 23, 2020

30 minutes Recumbant bike--more than doubled the intensity level of normal to stimulate some strength fibres in my legs.

"Picking Rice"
1 minutes hold x 3

DB Squats
20x20x5

bodyweight calf Raises on stairs
20x5
-and one of my neighbours needs to go up the stairs and I'm forced to interrupt my set. This is sacrilege!
I glared hardcore at him while he was wearing his face mask and I was sweating like a whore in church.

Jug Walks down the hallway, there and back
x2
-these can be a bit of a b*tch

DB Still leg dead lifts
12x20x3
12x10x3


Vacuums
15 sec. x3

Walking
10 minutes Recumbant bike

Quads, calves, and hamstring posing.

[ArchAngel'73]

April 24 and 25, 2020


I know I lost track of the date some place in my logs.
So to make it easy I'll say I did nothing for 2 days even though I probably did something on 1 of them.

[ArchAngel'73]

April 26, 2020

Chest

incline DB Press
30x10x5
20x20x5

push ups
12x3

If I lean the couch cushions on the couch I have an incline bench!
I decided it would be pretty f'ing dumb to do DB presses using one 50 and that was asking for an injury.
And that would leave bloody push ups to be the heaviest exercise I can do.

The light bulb is slowly clicking on in my head as to how to make these workouts more effective.

[ArchAngel'73]

30 Recumbant bike

To express my malcontent as being used as cannon fodder for my provincial health care system employer, I made an arrangement to not be expected to go to work for a week.

[Athena]

April 26, 2020

Chest

incline DB Press
30x10x5
20x20x5

push ups
12x3

If I lean the couch cushions on the couch I have an incline bench!
I decided it would be pretty f'ing dumb to do DB presses using one 50 and that was asking for an injury.
And that would leave bloody push ups to be the heaviest exercise I can do.

The light bulb is slowly clicking on in my head as to how to make these workouts more effective.

Decline pushups? Feet up on a chair?

Good to see you again!

[ArchAngel'73]

April 28, 2020

front and side Delts, a little traps

behind the back side DB Raise
20x10x5
20x20x5

front DB Raise
20x20x3

standing DB Press
20x20x5

standing 1 arm DB Press
6x50
8x50x5
-I wonked on the 1st set, looked back at the log and realized I was letting myself get b*tched slapped by a 50 lb. DB and the reps should be improving not staying the same!
Since my neighbours have been so noisy lately I decided it was time for me to get more vocal in my lifting and yelled/growled every rep and would have made a complate ass of myself if anybody was actually around.
But I got the reps and 2 more sets, so it worked.

Jug Shrugs
20x5
-I've come to enjoy these

Walking 40 minutes



Okay dudes and dudettes...my apologies for my temporary abscence. I've been enjoying self isolation a little too much.


My quest for buying more weights failed. Still out of stock and I'm okay with that.
So dissapointed with no weights I forgot to buy a scale, that's for next trip to Walmart.


So I think my modus operendi is to pre-exhaust the sh*t out of a muscle group using more and more reps and sets and THEN lift the heaviest thing I have available in an exercise for that body part.

Chest- push ups (f*ck me, but my desire to keep muscle out weighs my dislike for this exercise)
side Delts- standing 1 arm DB presses, max weight for 1 DB I have is 70 lbs.
Bi's- DB Curls, no problemo here
Tri's- push ups with narrow hand spacing (just thought of this as typing)
Back- 1 arm DB rows, bent over or braced, can use 1 arm for 70 lbs.
Legs- I think my best bet is my Recumbant bike with the difficulty level increasing to max. The other exercises just seem like stretching or extra general "work".
Calves- stair calf raises

This was unexpectedly cathartic to plan this sh*t out as typing.
Thanks journal readers! (srs)

[Athena]

some of you may know me, some of you may not. I see no need to tell you who i feel i am nor my life story, after all we are only on our 1st date and i wouldn’t wanna come across as all needy ‘n sh*t.
I’m here to lose a lot of fat, get my physical health back, and to not be what i loathed when i was younger…an old guy telling stories of the glory days who can’t back sh*t up now.
As i did in 2007, i’m here to make myself better. Plain and simple.

i've meesed youuuu!!

[ArchAngel'73]

Decline pushups? Feet up on a chair?

Good to see you again!

I'm still adapting to doing regular push ups that aren't sloppy. When I've mastered those I can move onto decline ones, I hear you and that would allow me to lift "more " weight.
Good to see you too! You were a member even before I was.

[Marius_Ursus]

Right on! What is it about growling and screaming that gets the iron moving? I wonder if it's some kind of nervous system feedback...triggering adrenaline or something?

I do know if you start out breathing through your mouth, you get tired faster because your brain can't tell the difference between exertion and panic.

Pre-exhausting is what I did all winter because all I had in the house were light kettlebells and bands, so I did loads of inverted rows on my son's Gym1 ring attachments and push ups before I started working with the bands and/or kettlebells. It worked pretty well when it warmed up enough to start lifting in the garage again. I didn't lose too much over the long, cold months.

[Athena]

Right on! What is it about growling and screaming that gets the iron moving? I wonder if it's some kind of nervous system feedback...triggering adrenaline or something?

I was once told by someone that he didn't believe you had to make noise when you worked hard and that it was all just a sign of the person's need for attention. I told him he probably lifted like a girl. (I know that's wrong...but I did it!!)

I do know if you start out breathing through your mouth, you get tired faster because your brain can't tell the difference between exertion and panic.

Hadn't heard of this. All I know is I don't get enough air in through my suffering sinuses, so I do express myself when lifting. Some of the language isn't ladylike.

Fiend, just keep plugging away. I'm working my way down to the floor again for pushups. Trying to focus on strengthening different sections of the pecs little by little, so it's bench pushups and modified pushups for now. One day, soon, I'll be back up to full-body power pushups (with a clap) like the good ol' days.

Keep up the fight,
Athi

[shaneinga]

It sounds like you are finding and making progress where you can. Couch cushions for a bench wins best use of household item this week.

Good on you for keeping the neighbors in line. Keep fighting the good fight!

[ArchAngel'73]

i've meesed youuuu!! :

lol
If I remind you of kimsquit there's a reason for that. I like the way he posted and his no bullsh*t approach, so I adopted his style to my own.

Right on! What is it about growling and screaming that gets the iron moving? I wonder if it's some kind of nervous system feedback...triggering adrenaline or something?

I do know if you start out breathing through your mouth, you get tired faster because your brain can't tell the difference between exertion and panic.

Pre-exhausting is what I did all winter because all I had in the house were light kettlebells and bands, so I did loads of inverted rows on my son's Gym1 ring attachments and push ups before I started working with the bands and/or kettlebells. It worked pretty well when it warmed up enough to start lifting in the garage again. I didn't lose too much over the long, cold months.

I only grunt in the gym to out grunt the weaklings that are loudly grunting normally. Kinda to show 'em their role in the wild iron kingdom.
That day I grunted loudly to let my neighbours know that I can make noise too, and much earlier in the morning. (apartment living)

I think even though we might not be able to do what we used to, we can still make progress in other areas that will slow the loss of muscle tissue that responds to heavier lifting. I live in Canada, I'm well acquainted with the cold and find things just get worse if one doesn't exercise. Good on you for not giving up in that department.

I was once told by someone that he didn't believe you had to make noise when you worked hard and that it was all just a sign of the person's need for attention. I told him he probably lifted like a girl. (I know that's wrong...but I did it!!)



Hadn't heard of this. All I know is I don't get enough air in through my suffering sinuses, so I do express myself when lifting. Some of the language isn't ladylike.

Fiend, just keep plugging away. I'm working my way down to the floor again for pushups. Trying to focus on strengthening different sections of the pecs little by little, so it's bench pushups and modified pushups for now. One day, soon, I'll be back up to full-body power pushups (with a clap) like the good ol' days.

Keep up the fight,
Athi

From where I'm from being called a mouth breather is an insult so I made it a practice to breath through my nose at all times.
I also never got into the grunting., groaning, and yelling stuff as to me that signified a complete loss of control, and I am always in control, especially at the gym.
I like to count in German during my reps when things get intense, like Arnold and Franco did.
My one bad habit at the gym is that when I'm lifting heavy I LOVE to re-rack the weights LOUDLY. I will never drop them, but I love the clang, and I love no one can lift heavier than me at my gym and I love even more to let them know that.

btw, you're funny!

It sounds like you are finding and making progress where you can. Couch cushions for a bench wins best use of household item this week.

Good on you for keeping the neighbors in line. Keep fighting the good fight!

I did not receive the monetary reward for this achievement.
If I did, maybe I could afford a new bench on the black fitness market and not use my furniture as a weight bench.

Thank-you. And hats off to you sensing the sh*t was gonna hit the fan and getting your home gym and exercise routine going before many of us even thought about it.
I was still in shock from my gym closing and you had this stuff figured out in advance. I admire smart people.

[ArchAngel'73]

Arms
standing 1 arm behind the neck DB extension
20x10x5
12x20x5

2 hand DB behind the neck extension
10x50x5

push up for Tri's
8 reps for 3 sets


standing straight arm DB Curl
20x10x5
12x20x5

1 arm DB Curl
6x40x5

band curls
25 reps x 4 sets

[ArchAngel'73]

April 30, May 1- 4

5 days of 45 minutes on the Recumbant bike

I felt cardio more productive during this time. My heart beat faster for longer and I liked sweating profusely.
It was like showering while working, and still end up being smelly.

[ArchAngel'73]

A.M -40 minutes Recumbant bike


P.M-Chest
couch cushion incline DB Flye
20x10x5
20x20x5

couch cushion incline DB Press
20x20x5

Push Ups
12 reps x 5 sets

[ArchAngel'73]

May 6, 2020

A.M - 30 minutes Recumbant bike

P.M -side Delts
behind the back side DB Raise
40x10, 30x10x2
20x20x3

standing DB Press
20x20x3

standing 1 arm DB Press
8x50x3

Jug Shrugs
25 reps x3 sets

[ArchAngel'73]

A.M - 30 minutes Recumbant bike

P.M - Arms
straight arm DB Curl
30x10x3

1 arm straight DB Curl
15x20x3
3x50x3

Jug Curls
3 sets x 6 reps

standing behind the neck 1 arm DB extension
20x20, 15x20x3

seated behind the neck DB extension (2 arm)
12x50x1
15x50x3


Recapping;
-bought a scale, from March 16 to May 7, 2020 I have lost a little over 20 lbs. I'm going to guess 1/2 of that is muscle tissue even though that is unlikely. The other 1/2 water, and whatever isn't one of those 2 options must be fat.
-my week away from work was a training nightmare but a cardio windfall. I just did not want to lift my pathetic weights as cardio felt more difficult than lifting.
-I see while typing this my workouts are progressing at a steady pace with either volume or "heavier" weights and I tend not to have the same workout twice, which is just how it should be imo.
-my form on "Gawd damn push ups" and the mind muscle connection has increased exponentially, but I sill f'ing hate them
-when I literally returned to the front lines (my work) another light bulb went off in my head and told me to have 2 workouts/day, 1 cardio and 1 weights. That has been a successful three day run so far and it is working. I'm finding "exercising" from home takes a lot more time than in the gym.
-the last few week I have been having "gym flashbacks" where I vividly day dream about lifting at the gym...I can see the machine/station, remember what each increment of weight feels like, feel the reps burning, know what every portion of the rep feels like and yet its like a damn mirage in the desert disappearing when I reach out for it. I find it really f'ing strange and comforting at the same time. After every one of these episodes I tell myself I've been out of the gym longer than we have left to return to the gym and surely to God a break is in sight within 2 months.
or so I hope.

[shaneinga]

Good job sticking with it. Hopefully the mirage in the desert quickly materializes and the gym becomes a reality really soon. My gym sent a letter on April 30th saying they were opening, only to quickly follow it up on the following day with a sorry, nope we are not opening yet. Who knows when it is going to open but like you I can't imagine it being much more than a month or so away.

Congrats on the weight loss as well. Steady progress there.

I attribute my preparedness to believe it or not, Joe Rogan's podcast. LoL. He had a guy on there that worked under 5 presidents who was a Center for Disease control and process. This guy and what he was predicting freaked me out and made me realize how serious it COULD get. That was on a Monday, and I was only about a week ahead of everyone else. That week did make a difference though.

[ljimd]

Down 20 and consistent training, what's not to love?

This virus crap can't last forever. (I agree, pushups suck
but somehow they work.)

[ArchAngel'73]

Good job sticking with it. Hopefully the mirage in the desert quickly materializes and the gym becomes a reality really soon. My gym sent a letter on April 30th saying they were opening, only to quickly follow it up on the following day with a sorry, nope we are not opening yet. Who knows when it is going to open but like you I can't imagine it being much more than a month or so away.

Congrats on the weight loss as well. Steady progress there.

I attribute my preparedness to believe it or not, Joe Rogan's podcast. LoL. He had a guy on there that worked under 5 presidents who was a Center for Disease control and process. This guy and what he was predicting freaked me out and made me realize how serious it COULD get. That was on a Monday, and I was only about a week ahead of everyone else. That week did make a difference though.

I like Joe but don't have the patience to sit and watch an hour or more of podcasts. You did, and it paid off.
I really did not envision it affecting my obscure northern city that much, and it really hasn't. But the precautions of course affected everything.

Along with that weight loss is a significant amount of muscle though, and I worked a life time to get every ounce. At this point it is undeniable I am shrinking in muscle size, even being on TRT, Its that heavy weight stimulus that counts and its just not there like it was.

I had big plans when I started this journal and its very frustrating to just "hold on".

Down 20 and consistent training, what's not to love?

This virus crap can't last forever. (I agree, pushups suck
but somehow they work.)

I'll go with your positive attitude because lifting 20's just ain't cutting it for me lately.

And yes, the push ups are probably the best thing for me to do for chest and I am finding they "work", just not as good as 320 lbs. for reps on the HS incline bench machine, .
We have "phase 1" of re-opening my province now. Gyms should be last to open...and oddly I'm ok with that. Gives things a chance to wipe out the lazy phucks who just go there to talk anyways.
How you doing Larry?

[ArchAngel'73]

A.M
30 min Recumbant bike

I had a week off of work and on the weekend I was very unmotivated.

[ArchAngel'73]

May 11, 2020

My last day off of work and that break lit a fire under my azz.

A.M
30 Recumbant bike

P.M
Back

bent over DB Row
20x10x5
20x20x5

Jug Rows
12 reps for 1 set
15x5

Jug Deads
10x10
-I got to the 5th set and just said "f*ck it" and went for 10

[ArchAngel'73]

A.M
30 R bike

P.M
Chest

incline couch cushion DB Flye/DB Press -compound superset
20x10/20x10x5
12x20/12x20
15x20/15x20-tried to increase reps but got the sense I could not meet the set goal
12x20/12x20x3

Push Ups
12x3

[ArchAngel'73]

May 13, 2020

A.M
30 R. bike

P.M
Delts

behind the back side DB Raise
20x10x5
15x20x5

standing DB Press
20x20x5

front DB Raise
10x20x6

side DB Raise/front DB Raise
15x20x2

[ArchAngel'73]

A.M
30 min R.bike


all this wasted space, have an old amusing pic;