White Fiberz: On the road to recovery and a PRO quality physique!

[WhiteFiberz]

I'm baaaaaack! this is gonna be long...


Background:
Hey everyone, the names Zak and I'm a competitive natural bodybuilder. I used to be a regular poster here, but when I started college in the fall of 2010 I stopped posting due to a really busy schedule. A bit of background history is that I started weightlifting when I was ~15 with the long term goal of competing as a natural bodybuilder. In 2010, at 17 years old, I finally decided to take the plunge and dieted for nearly 10 months with the help of 3DMJ (www.3dmusclejourney.com) and my main coach IFPA pro Alberto Nunez. At the OCB Natural Yankee Classic I took 1st in Juniors, 1st in Novice medium, and 1st in the Novice Overall. 2 weeks later at the OCB Presidential Cup I took 2nd in Juniors (to someone 6 years older than me who just won his IFPA pro card a few weeks ago!) and 4th in the Open Lightweights behind competitors who were 30+ years older than me!


For those interested in my 2010 contest prep journal which is loaded with pictures and food pr0n:http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...4325051&page=1

Natural Yankee Classic writeup & pics:http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post523918823

Presidential Cup Writeup & pics:http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post533919843


So what have I been up to since then?
Well after my shows I started college on a pre-med track focusing on Biology and Chemistry (most likely the majors I'll declare) and finished my freshman year up with a nice 4.0 GPA. After the 1st semester of my sophomore year I was unknowingly walking around with double pneumonia and wound up in the hospital. This infection caused my to develop a case of rhabdomyolosis (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001505/) 4 days later and my doctors weren't positive on what exactly caused it. Most likely has to do with the pneumonia weakening my immunity, overtraining, or a combination of the 2. The severity of the condition is gauged by the level of CPK enzymes in the blood, normal is <170 and mine were 110,000 A level higher than my doctors had ever seen before.

The rhabdo mainly affected my lower body such that I was unable to feel my legs (except for excruciating pain whenever I tried to use my muscles), unable to walk, and experienced some bad inflammation. The majority of the pain and swelling was concentrated in my left piriformis region, which still has a small patch of skin that I can't feel to this day. I was in the hospital for a total of 12 days during which they treated me with an aggressive saline IV to excrete the myoglobin without damaging my kidneys and pain killers to make the affliction tolerable. The condition can lead to permanent renal damage and/or failure so it was crucial that my blood enzymes were continuously monitored. I left the hospital barely being able to walk on my own and unable to put on my own socks. My doctors repeatedly told me how lucky I was to be alive and that could have died from both ailments. Huge eye opener on how precious our time on this earth really is. I saw a physical therapist 3x/week for a few weeks to work on getting my strength, ROM, and flexibility back. Within a week I was back in the gym, but only doing very light work.

Before the incident I was the biggest and leanest I had ever been at 185lbs and at a point I was at a very lean 175lbs. Idr my lifts exactly bc I don't have my old journals, but I remember deadlifting ~415x15, benching 220 x 2, and squatting a little over 400 (lost a lot focusing on deads). I left the hospital at roughly 180lbs, having lost a substantial amount of lbm and at the same time increasing my bf%. This was due to the combination of being extremely sedentary, not being able to lift for weeks, poor diet, and of course the rhabdomyolosis eating away at my hard earned muscle My physique went from impressive for my age to skinny fat.

So it has been almost 3 months since being released and in that time I definitely experienced some ups and downs. There were periods where I was depressed due to a drastic decrease in strength, loss of lbm, and withdrawing from school before the Spring semester because I missed too many classes/labs. This caused me to be pretty inconsistent with my diet and training at the beginning, but I've been back on my grind again and killing it!


So what's the plan?
I'm still not close to the strength I had prior to the hospitalization, but it's definitely on the horizon and I'm hoping I'll gain it back faster than it took previously. I'm sitting at a soft 195.0lbs and I'm dieting until I get to a bf% that I'm comfortable with before I start a really long slow gaining phase. I'm confident I can add size back while losing bodyfat due to the circumstances. After I get back to pre-injury strength levels I plan on adding as much size and strength as I can while completing college and setting up my future. As far as competing, that's not a concern at this time due to the recent events, but in 2-4 years I'll start my next season where I aim to win an overall class and become a natural pro. The sport of natural bodybuilding is a big part of my life and I'm grateful in being part of a community as incredible as this one. Throughout my time being involved in the sub-culture I've made amazing friends, both in real life and some other competitors I have yet to meet in person. Additionally, being a part of Team 3DMJ is something I'm truly proud of. The pros that founded the company are doing all that they can to spread research based information in an attempt to aid other competitors. Since forming the company they've done a tremendous amount for the progression of the sport, finally driving it out of the dark ages.


Diet/Training
Over the past several years I've devoted a lot of my free time to learning as much information applying to the sport as possible. I take a scientific approach to setting up both my diet and training, and am constantly keeping up with current research that pertains to these topics.

A few weeks ago I switched to the overnight shift at work (11pm-7am) which has caused my sleep schedule to become sporadic. I'm sure my enery expenditure has changed with the switch so I'll be using my bodybugg to gather some data and adjust my macros accordingly to lose 1-2lbs a week. Currently macros are: 210p/240c/50f 6 days a week and 1 refeed a week at 200p/500c/45f.

In an attempt to get used to the mechanics of the compound movements and gain strength as fast as possible I'm on Iron Addict's "A simple power based routine". I'm really fond of it for beginners due to its simplicity and a balance of volume, intensity, and frequency that allows for consistent progression. (Link: http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9746). Cardio is 3 LISS/MISS sessions a week at ~450kcal.

With all that said I'm really excited to start logging again and get back to my all time best..and then some! I'd like to think of myself as someone who is always willing to help out others and always trying to gain more knowledge that will help me reach my goals. I'd like this log to become one in which people can discuss all aspects of the sport, grow from one another, and talk about the current events in the world of Natural bodybuilding


TL;DR:
I'm a competitive natural bodybuilder who used to log here, but developed rhabdomyolosis which causes the breakdown of muscle tissue and carries the risk of renal failure. Almost died, left the hospital hardly being able to walk, and the condition caused my body composition to change dramatically for the worst. My strength dropped significantly and almost 3 months later I'm still not where I was prior to the incident. I'm running a basic strength routine aiming to match and then exceed my former lifts. Additionally, I'm dieting to get to a bodyfat% that I'm comfortable with psychologically before starting a very prolonged gaining phase. Long term goal is improve as an amateur bodybuilder allowing me to attain a natural pro card.

[jpfaherty]

In buddy! Glad you're doing better.

DO WORK!

[ErickStevens]

In.

[B-Neva]

<3!

[FrmrHoss]

In too... I remember your log back in that day and you made tremendous strips over that prep. Sorry to hear you had to go through that but glad you're back and on the road to recovery.

[Bnizzle163]

Glad you're back, dude. You know I'll be following fo sho!

[WhiteFiberz]

I only had ~30 minutes to lift today before the gym closed so I worked really fast and just aimed to get the compounds in w/ at least 1/2 of the regularly scheduled sets...not to happy that I had such a restricted time, but I made lemonade.

Squats
235 x 5 (2 sets) +10lbs from last week

DB RDL's
110 x 10 (2 sets) +10lbs from last week

Bent over BB Row
195 x 6 (2 sets) +10lbs from last week

Cardio: 30 minutes LISS earlier in the day

Notes:
-Squats felt the best they have since I've been out. The depth was far below parallel and I was much more flexible/loose.
-The past 2 weeks my lifts are going up ~10lbs a week and I believe that this will continue or pick up a little bit more as I get used to the movements again.

[GHOSTN]

In!

[chuckles_345]

Subbed! Looking forward to following along.

[Devils]

I remember your logs from a while ago, sorry to hear you've been unwell. Hope you get back to where you were and better. Good luck

[Loctus]

whoop in for this

edit: wow that hospital stuff must've sucked. Good thing you didn't kneel over and die. Life, srs biznizz.

[foodpr0n]

ohhhh sht, lurk mode activated.

[store]

In on first page! Hope all is well and stays that way man. I remember you from wayyyy back when. Motivational mother trucker! That's what you are.

[bigryan03]

Need I say... IN

[ehlisl]

In Zak man!

[wrkoutfrq]

i remember your writup from the presidential cup you were PEELED. thats an unbelievable amount of setbacks to go through. i've got a female friend who just got hospitalized for rhabdo, nasty stuff... i'll be following along here for sure

[Shazriki]

In on this bro, very informative opening write up and I hope your recovery goes along as fast as humanly possible.

[WhiteFiberz]

In buddy! Glad you're doing better.

DO WORK!

Glad you're back, dude. You know I'll be following fo sho!

In!

Subbed! Looking forward to following along.

I remember your logs from a while ago, sorry to hear you've been unwell. Hope you get back to where you were and better. Good luck

Need I say... IN

Thanks for following!

whoop in for this

edit: wow that hospital stuff must've sucked. Good thing you didn't kneel over and die. Life, srs biznizz.

Nah bro almost dying is fun and all, but almost dying TWICE..now that's a party.

In on first page! Hope all is well and stays that way man. I remember you from wayyyy back when. Motivational mother trucker! That's what you are.

I remember you too don't worry lol. Thanks though, appreciate it.

In Zak man!

uh oh! I guess I gotta get my 500 dead back if I'm gonna beat you one day

ohhhh sht, lurk mode activated.

whodafukareu?

In.

maybe I'll bring the food Pr0n back since I've got a stove..

<3!

<3

i remember your writup from the presidential cup you were PEELED. thats an unbelievable amount of setbacks to go through. i've got a female friend who just got hospitalized for rhabdo, nasty stuff... i'll be following along here for sure

Thanks man, I could've lost more fat for sure, but I had to stop dieting because 2 weeks later I had to start college. Looking back on my past season I think I was poop lol. Need so much more size and conditioning. Do you compete too? How did your friend get rhabdo? I assume overtraining since that's the most common reason. How's she doing with her recovery? It's funny I never heard of it until I got it and then there were two other people on my floor of the hospital with it!

[WhiteFiberz]

So today I did a quick jog for 5 min then a fast walk for 35 minutes as I waited for the gym to open. I also thought I would start adding the increases from last week so that you guys could see how my recovery is going in terms of strength gains.

Bench Press

I did something new here today that Lyle wrote about here http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...om-part-2.html
Basically, take you working weight, but only do 1 rep. The idea is that after feeling the weight of that single, the working sets will feel lighter. Honestly I definitely felt a difference! something to try for sure!

45 x 10
45 x 10
95 x 6
135 x 5
185 x 1
185 x 5 (3 sets) +2 reps from last week

Incline DB Bench
65 x 10 +2 reps from last week
70 x 8 (3 sets) +5lbs from last week

Machine Shoulder Press
I use this bc overhead pressing really irritates my shoulder which has had some issues over the years. BIG increases

160 x 8 +10lbs from last week
170 x 8 +20lbs from last week
180 x 8 +30lbs from last week

Skull Crushers
70 x 10 (3 sets) Wasn't able to get 10 every set last week

Cable Crunches

Notes:
-I'm happy with the increases, a 30lb jump is really nice especially when it was really hard 30lbs lighter

-I REALLLLYYYY hope there's some legitamacy to "muscle memory," however, I feel like it's only neuromuscular facilitation unfortunately sadface.jpg

[WoopItsKevin]

Hopefully that muscle memory is legit, like you said, but either way it's great that you're back at it and still able to train for a pro card.

Glad to hear you're doin better and recovering...very inspirational stuff in here!

[wrkoutfrq]

Thanks man, I could've lost more fat for sure, but I had to stop dieting because 2 weeks later I had to start college. Looking back on my past season I think I was poop lol. Need so much more size and conditioning. Do you compete too? How did your friend get rhabdo? I assume overtraining since that's the most common reason. How's she doing with her recovery? It's funny I never heard of it until I got it and then there were two other people on my floor of the hospital with it!

I haven't competed yet, but it's in teh plan in the future lol... i've had my own set of medical issues that i needed to get sorted out, and now it's grow time for a while before i feel comfortable getting in some trunks

she got rhabdo from under-eating/eating disorder then trying to do 5 days if HIIT on top of lifting 5 days a week... she ignored the initial symptoms like fatigue, weakness, tender muscles etc. until her urine turned black. she's doing a little better now but she has some mental problems that she needs to get sorted out... it's only been 3 days and she went to an MMA gym for a workout yesterday. so yeah she def. has some things to figure out first. i'd heard of it before because my sis was at risk for it from being thrown riding horses. never happened, but still

[Willgetnice]

Damn brah that's some recovery, count me in for your journey

[RHK89]

IN DIS!!!

[StaticZ]

Oh hai there Zak.

I did something new here today that Lyle wrote about here http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...om-part-2.html
Basically, take you working weight, but only do 1 rep. The idea is that after feeling the weight of that single, the working sets will feel lighter. Honestly I definitely felt a difference! something to try for sure!

I've been doing the same thing for many moons. I agree, it's worth trying.

Glad to see you're feeling better man. I can't imagine how difficult this all must have been. But you know you're that much stronger for having dealt with it.

[DieHards77]

Just found your new thread Zak, subscribed

[LoganCL]

IN! Let's get some nudes in here

[xKyle10]

In man, that is a crazy ass story glad to hear you are okay. There is definitely some merit in muscle memory as you will see. I had a surgery earlier this year and was out for 2 months, I'd say it took roughly 5-6 weeks to get the weight/lifts back to where they were. Those were some crazy deads you had before all the problems happened, good stuff. SPBR is a solid program to choose to get back to your working sets in a timely manner and recover the size you lost.

[WhiteFiberz]

Off to lift some deadweight!!!! oh on 3 hours of sleep in 2 days. Overnights le sigh

[WhiteFiberz]

Hopefully that muscle memory is legit, like you said, but either way it's great that you're back at it and still able to train for a pro card.

Glad to hear you're doin better and recovering...very inspirational stuff in here!

Thanks for the kind words.

I haven't competed yet, but it's in teh plan in the future lol... i've had my own set of medical issues that i needed to get sorted out, and now it's grow time for a while before i feel comfortable getting in some trunks

she got rhabdo from under-eating/eating disorder then trying to do 5 days if HIIT on top of lifting 5 days a week... she ignored the initial symptoms like fatigue, weakness, tender muscles etc. until her urine turned black. she's doing a little better now but she has some mental problems that she needs to get sorted out... it's only been 3 days and she went to an MMA gym for a workout yesterday. so yeah she def. has some things to figure out first. i'd heard of it before because my sis was at risk for it from being thrown riding horses. never happened, but still

Oh wow well I hope she's doing better. Was she in the hospital long? because after 2 weeks I walked(if I should even call it then) out of the hospital and was still in pain and had hardly any ROM except at the knee and ankle. I remember when I saw the coke colored piss haha...I was like:

Damn brah that's some recovery, count me in for your journey

IN DIS!!!

Thanks for following

Oh hai there Zak.




I've been doing the same thing for many moons. I agree, it's worth trying.

Glad to see you're feeling better man. I can't imagine how difficult this all must have been. But you know you're that much stronger for having dealt with it.

I thought I recognized that dream tan job Have you noticed if the benefit is that substantial, for instance if you don't do it would you not be able to handle the weight? For me I feel like there was definitely some placebo going on, too early to tell for me.

Just found your new thread Zak, subscribed

woo IFPA's original youngest pro!

IN! Let's get some nudes in here

Trust me, you don't want to see what I look like now haha. Maybe after I lose ~20 more lbs.

In man, that is a crazy ass story glad to hear you are okay. There is definitely some merit in muscle memory as you will see. I had a surgery earlier this year and was out for 2 months, I'd say it took roughly 5-6 weeks to get the weight/lifts back to where they were. Those were some crazy deads you had before all the problems happened, good stuff. SPBR is a solid program to choose to get back to your working sets in a timely manner and recover the size you lost.

Hey man long time no talk. How ya been and what was the surger for? That gives my reassurance. I also had an amazing workout today and am thinking that the strength gains are going to speed up now that I've gotten used to the mechanics of the lifts again.

[xKyle10]

Hey man long time no talk. How ya been and what was the surger for? That gives my reassurance. I also had an amazing workout today and am thinking that the strength gains are going to speed up now that I've gotten used to the mechanics of the lifts again.

Haha seriously it's been a while. Seems like you were really focusing hard on school before the surgery, really sucks you had to end it in the middle of a term but just a minor setback. Strength gains definitely will speed up, especially given where your lifts were at before. I found what worked for me was to slow the loading process. 5/3/1 has been working REALLY well but any program with enough frequency could work (SPBR is fairly similar IIRC). Pretty much just don't go balls to the wall and slowly up the volume and poundages on a weekly basis. Definitely was hard at first to leave so much in the tank but it's paying off now as I am 3 cycles deep and setting PRs in a deficit. Definitely is pretty cool to see yourself get fuller/regain size back while remaining the same level of BF%/dropping it a bit.

Also had jaw surgery. Basically when I got braces the 1st time in HS my orthodontist messed up my jaw growth with the technique and had needed it for a few years, had to make sure I was done growing and whatnot. Actually had to get braces again last Fall for the surgery as it's pretty extensive and just got them off today.