ElrondHubbard Clawing My Way Back

[ElrondHubbard]

Congratulations on your recovery. A very sincere congratulations.

Thank you sir. Much appreciated!

[ElrondHubbard]

And I bought some large diameter washers (just a little over 2" ID of course) that weigh 0.5# each. And if you really want to "micro" load, I even have a couple lengths of 2" SCH40 PVC pipe that's ~3-4" IIRC that are 0.25 lbs each.

I had to bump this post from earlier because of the washer suggestion. I took it to heart. This property we bought was a fixer-upper, and there was literally tons of junk left behind by the previous owner, including some plumbing hardware and some big ol' washers. So, I didn't have to buy anything, just took a food scale and mixed and matched items until I got a combination of exactly 8 ounces. And voila! I have my microplates!

I can now follow the calculated progression more precisely, which makes planning out my program more straightforward. Thanks for the suggestion, Payton!

[RT1957]

I had to bump this post from earlier because of the washer suggestion. I took it to heart. This property we bought was a fixer-upper, and there was literally tons of junk left behind by the previous owner, including some plumbing hardware and some big ol' washers. So, I didn't have to buy anything, just took a food scale and mixed and matched items until I got a combination of exactly 8 ounces. And voila! I have my microplates!

I can now follow the calculated progression more precisely, which makes planning out my program more straightforward. Thanks for the suggestion, Payton!

OK but how much does that plastic tie weigh in.......Jus kiddin...I love your methodology....

[ElrondHubbard]

OK but how much does that plastic tie weigh in.......Jus kiddin...I love your methodology....

Just wait until I start weighing every drop of spittle I drool out during a lift.

With some of us, OCD is an art form!

[Payton1221]

I can now follow the calculated progression more precisely, which makes planning out my program more straightforward. Thanks for the suggestion, Payton!

YW. Now you can live out the old adage yard by yard, life is hard, but inch by inch (or 1/4 lb by 1/4 lb ), life's a cinch.

[ElrondHubbard]

Hope everyone is having a fun Labor Day and not wasting their time on this forum! Lots of outdoor stuff to do today!

Last night was the midpoint of week 8. The weights went just fine, I'm following the progressions as programmed, and it seems, well, not effortless, but certainly no straining involved. The accessories... straining involved. I actually backslid a bit on the pullups, I'm not sure why. I had managed 9 Friday, but only 8 last night. I was able to keep my totals the same by adding a rep to my third set, but the whole session just didn't feel as strong as it had previously. On pushups, I added a rep to my middle set, but again, it was a big struggle. Could have been all the yard work in the heat I was doing during the day, I'm starting to prepare the winter garden.

Squats:
52x5
66x5
79x5
79x5

Incline Press:
59x5
70x5
82x5
94x5

Deadlift:
107x5
128x5
150x5
171x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
44x5
51x5
60x5
60x5

Accessories:

Pullups, 8+7+7+6, 28 total. Added a rep to the third set, but lost one on the first.
Pushups, 36+35+32, 103 total. Added one to the middle set.

I'm pretty much flying through the weight sets, btw, resting for only as long as it takes to change plates or move the bar or bench. I think I'm taking too long between accessory sets, though. After each one I feel spent, and it takes a few minutes to recover enough to try the next one.

[RT1957]

Good work just keep coming back...Pull-Up's are an ever evolving exercise....if you gained a few LBs that could effect rep numbers....

[thehobbes]

Sometimes pull ups go back and forth for me too. No biggie if you're going between 8-9, it's not like you were able to do 5 and now you can only get 1, it's all good.

[ElrondHubbard]

Tuesday night was the end of week 8. It felt pretty good. I still didn't get back to nine pullups, but I got two sets in a row of eight, and added one to my totals. So like you said, Hammy, it's all good. I added a couple to my pushups as well, and the weights themselves felt completely manageable. I still feel like I'm going in the right direction, and it feels good.


Squats:
52x5
66x5
79x5
92x5
107x4
79x9

Bench Press:
58x5
72x5
87x5
101x5
119x4
87x9

BB Row:
58x5
72x5
87x5
101x5
119x4
87x9

Overhead Press:
44x5
44x5
51x5
60x5
70x5 Program called for 4 at this weight, but I got distracted by the calculus tutorial!
51x9

Accessories:

Pullups, 8+8+7+6, 29 total, increase of one from my previous workout.
Calf Raises, 34*45 + 34*45, added 2 on each set. Unlike the other two accessories, I don't try to to to failure. Each set consist of working each leg separately while holding a 45lb dumbell in my free hand.
Pushups, 37+35+34, 106 total. Added one to the first set and two to the last. I was beat, but psyched!

Friday starts week 9, and hopefully another increment of progress.

[DocJekyll]

Great work. Keep rolling with it!

[ElrondHubbard]

Started week 9 last night, this is the last week on the canned Madcow spreadsheet, so I have to plug in my own percentages beyond this point. My maximum lifts have increased by about 22% since the beginning of the program, and about 13% above my tested maximal capability then. The workout was mostly good. I finally got back to 9 reps on my first pullup set, and added 1 to my totals. Pushups didn't make any progress, but in hindsight that's not too surprising since last Tuesday's workout added more than I anticipated. The highs and lows seem to average out fairly consistently.

Squats:
54x5
67x5
81x5
94x5
107x5

Bench Press:
59x5
74x5
89x5
104x5
119x5

BB Row:
59x5
74x5
89x5
104x5
119x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
44x5
52x5
61x5
70x5

Accessories:

Pullups, 9+8+7+6, 30 total.
Calf Raises, 45*36+45*36, one leg at a time.
Pushups, 37+35+34, same as last time. Was hoping to add one, but couldn't quite pull it off.

[mirroroferised]

Rolling along just fine in here I see

[thehobbes]

Started week 9 last night, this is the last week on the canned Madcow spreadsheet, so I have to plug in my own percentages beyond this point. My maximum lifts have increased by about 22% since the beginning of the program, and about 13% above my tested maximal capability then.

Nice, keep up the awesome progress! Yep it is all good indeed.

How goes the diet? I remember a couple weeks back you saying it was a little slow going to get back to the normal food routine. I hope that's going well for you and you're soon back to eating all the delicious foods.

[ElrondHubbard]

Nice, keep up the awesome progress! Yep it is all good indeed.

How goes the diet? I remember a couple weeks back you saying it was a little slow going to get back to the normal food routine. I hope that's going well for you and you're soon back to eating all the delicious foods.

I'm eating a bowl of ice cream as I type this! It's more than a little slow, it's VERY slow. There is still a constriction of scar tissue over the opening of my throat, it's generating a fairly persistent plug of mucus that leads to occasional coughing/choking fits, and my salivary glands are not working at all yet. So ice cream I can handle, soft moist stuff like scrambled eggs I can handle, as long as I have milk to wash them down with, and I successfully got a slice of watermelon down the other day. Things ARE improving, but it still might be a couple of months or more before I can get rid of this annoying feeding tube.

The good news is that none of this is interfering with my nutrition or my daily activities. I'm in a caloric excess, with plenty of protein, fiber, fats, carbs, and micronutrients. Because of the smoothies, I'm getting more green leafy vegetables than I've ever gotten before in my life, and I think they agree with me.

The worst part is I can't eat socially, nobody wants to subjected to the sight of a tube feeding in a restaurant. And of course, there's all those big, fat, greasy, juicy heart-killing hamburgers that I dream of, they're still in the misty future. But they better watch out, because I'll be coming to get 'em!

[ElrondHubbard]

Midpoint of week 9 Sunday night! A good workout, my shoulders felt a little sore for the first time afterwards, most likely due to the deadlifts. They still aren't much to write home about, and neither are the other lifts, but they're all increasing on schedule, and it feels good to lift them. I made a little progress on the pullups and pushups as well, and as usual, I was totally spent at the end of it.

Weight (Sunday Morning) 162 lbs, Body Fat ~14%. Eventually I'd like to maintain at about 13%, and I'm trying not to get above 15%.

Squats:
54x5
67x5
81x5
81x5

Incline Bench
60x5
72x5
84x5
96x5

Deadlifts:
110x5
132x5
153x5
175x5

Overhead Press
44x5
44x5
52x5
61x5
61x5

Accessories

Pullups, 9+8+7+7, 31 reps total, an increase of 1 from the previous workout, got 9 reps two workouts in a row.
Pushups, 38+36+34, 108 reps total, an increase of 2 from before, still feels like I'm on the verge of failure for about the last ten!

[Payton1221]

. . . ice cream I can handle, soft moist stuff like scrambled eggs I can handle, as long as I have milk to wash them down with, and I successfully got a slice of watermelon down the other day.

Not sure if you like salmon or not, but I have a salmon patty that I fix that's very easy (after you debone/deskin it from the can) and has the consistency that's almost like mashed potatoes. I take the can and divide the meat into two bowls (one for today and one for tomorrow or the day after). I don't add these ingredients with the second bowl until I'm ready to cook it, but the ingredients are chopped onions (lots!), Cajun spice to taste, two egg whites, and 7g of breadcrumbs. I have a piston/cylinder gadget that makes a perfect patty (and it's a hyooge pattie too!!!), but the patty needs to be handled with extreme care if you want it to remain a patty

I'll normally make the patty on the edge of our kitchen island and them with the spatula move it into a lightly oiled pan that's already hot. Cook for about 2.5 minutes, flip and cook for another 2.5 minutes and you're done . . . you're really just heating it as it has been cooked before canning. If you want a sauce/gravy to go with it, strain the juice from the can before you debone/deskin it into a small sauce pan, add about the same volume of water, stir in 1 tbs of seasoned flour and parsley and bring to a boil.

Delicious, ~49g of protein & ~450 cals (IIRC), and a good amount of omega 3's!

Great job on the pull-ups. At 9 pull-ups and your age, you're now in the elite category

[ElrondHubbard]

Not sure if you like salmon or not, but I have a salmon patty that I fix that's very easy (after you debone/deskin it from the can) and has the consistency that's almost like mashed potatoes. I take the can and divide the meat into two bowls (one for today and one for tomorrow or the day after). I don't add these ingredients with the second bowl until I'm ready to cook it, but the ingredients are chopped onions (lots!), Cajun spice to taste, two egg whites, and 7g of breadcrumbs. I have a piston/cylinder gadget that makes a perfect patty (and it's a hyooge pattie too!!!), but the patty needs to be handled with extreme care if you want it to remain a patty

I'll normally make the patty on the edge of our kitchen island and them with the spatula move it into a lightly oiled pan that's already hot. Cook for about 2.5 minutes, flip and cook for another 2.5 minutes and you're done . . . you're really just heating it as it has been cooked before canning. If you want a sauce/gravy to go with it, strain the juice from the can before you debone/deskin it into a small sauce pan, add about the same volume of water, stir in 1 tbs of seasoned flour and parsley and bring to a boil.

Delicious, ~49g of protein & ~450 cals (IIRC), and a good amount of omega 3's!

That sounds delicious! My wife likes to get the frozen uncooked salmon from the supermarket, but it's still a bit too firm for me (maybe I should let it thaw out first!). I might be almost ready for a softer fish like cod or whiting, but she doesn't care for those. It's been forever since I've tried canned salmon, I've always been a tuna sandwich guy. This coming weekend I'll try a chicken noodle soup. I made an attempt about 6 weeks ago and couldn't manage it, now I think I can.

Great job on the pull-ups. At 9 pull-ups and your age, you're now in the elite category

REALLY???? I sure don't feel like it! My best was 18 two years ago, then I gained some weight and was at 15 last year at the time of my diagnosis. My goal is 20. That would make me an elitist!

[thehobbes]

I'm eating a bowl of ice cream as I type this! It's more than a little slow, it's VERY slow. There is still a constriction of scar tissue over the opening of my throat, it's generating a fairly persistent plug of mucus that leads to occasional coughing/choking fits, and my salivary glands are not working at all yet. So ice cream I can handle, soft moist stuff like scrambled eggs I can handle, as long as I have milk to wash them down with, and I successfully got a slice of watermelon down the other day. Things ARE improving, but it still might be a couple of months or more before I can get rid of this annoying feeding tube.

The good news is that none of this is interfering with my nutrition or my daily activities. I'm in a caloric excess, with plenty of protein, fiber, fats, carbs, and micronutrients. Because of the smoothies, I'm getting more green leafy vegetables than I've ever gotten before in my life, and I think they agree with me.

The worst part is I can't eat socially, nobody wants to subjected to the sight of a tube feeding in a restaurant. And of course, there's all those big, fat, greasy, juicy heart-killing hamburgers that I dream of, they're still in the misty future. But they better watch out, because I'll be coming to get 'em!

Oh wow, I can't even imagine. I gotta say you have such a great attitude and are very motivated. I see a lot of people complain and whine about much lesser problems and kind of give up and do the woe is me thing. You're in the gym putting in the work, progressing and getting better every day. Good on you OP, keep that positivity going! You're one tough dude, and hell yes I hope you get to destroy the most epic burger of all time very soon!

[ElrondHubbard]

Oh wow, I can't even imagine. I gotta say you have such a great attitude and are very motivated. I see a lot of people complain and whine about much lesser problems and kind of give up and do the woe is me thing. You're in the gym putting in the work, progressing and getting better every day. Good on you OP, keep that positivity going! You're one tough dude, and hell yes I hope you get to destroy the most epic burger of all time very soon!

Thanks so much for the kind words, Hammy, but in all honesty I'm not nearly so rugged as you're implying. Where I've been extremely fortunate is that throughout this whole ordeal I was never in any serious or long-lasting pain. I know other sufferers often end up in real agony, and those that make it through those conditions are the real heroic iron men and women to me. In fact I delayed seeing the doctor originally because I doubted at first that what I had was cancer. It was growing too slowly, and not at all tender or painful, completely unlike my preconceived ideas. It was only when it started randomly bleeding and threatening to block my airway that I really took it seriously. But even then, and later, through all the chemo and radiation and complications and hospitalizations, my perception was much more of inconvenience than real pain. Every doctor and nurse I interacted with was caring and very good at what they did, my wife and friends were there when I needed them, and even my employer accommodated, and continues to accommodate my needs. (Excessively, IMO, I'm a field guy who needs to be out in the field, but they still have me on light duty in the office, despite my protests!)
Anyway, I've had loads of support from a lot of amazingly good people, it's made my condition a lot easier than I ever would have thought, and the least I can do is to get and keep myself in the best condition I can so that they don't have to go through all that on my behalf again.

[RT1957]

Looks like all is moving along 1 washer at a time!! solid work EH....Keep comin back!

[ElrondHubbard]

Well, another week completed! Week #9 is in the bank, as of Tuesday night. They're starting to seem faster, which I guess makes it easier for them to be habitual.

I felt really weak last night, for whatever reason. The weights were fine, I never go to failure and I'm a long way from stalling. I'll be taking a couple of weeks off in late October for some travel, and I'll do a reset when I get back, but until then there's no danger of me stalling out. Where I felt weak was where I tend to do -- the pullups and pushups. I didn't think I'd even be able to finish them. As it was, I didn't surpass my maximums, but I was able to add reps to the totals, so it ended up better than I expected.

Squats:
54x5
67x5
81x5
94x5
110x4
81x9

Bench Press:
59x5
74x5
89x5
104x5
122x4
89x9

BB Row:
59x5
74x5
89x5
104x5
122x4
89x9

Overhead Press:
44x5
44x5
52x5
60x5
71x4
52x9

Accessories:

Pullups, 9+8+8+7, 32 total. Added a rep to the third set, but it was a struggle on every set.
Calf Raises, 38x45+38x45, added two reps to each set, not quite approaching failure.
Pushups, 38+37+35, 110 total, added 1 to both the second and third set. On the second set I really felt like I was about to run out of steam and collapse by 30, I don't know how I managed to get through it!

Week 10 starts Friday, and I'm looking forward to it!

[ElrondHubbard]

Friday night week 10 started, with another increment in the weight progression. It was a somewhat rough workout, I backslid a bit on the pushups, and I'm not sure why. Not the best sleep for the last couple of nights, and I was probably a couple of pounds heavier than usual due to a huge smoothie a couple of hours previously. The weights worked ok, but they felt a bit heavy. I'd hoped to add a rep to the pushup and pullup maximums, but I didn't get there. I did add a rep to my second pullp set, but my second set of pushups was a disaster. I recovered a little bit for the third set, but it was a bit of a disappointment overall.


Squats:
55x5++
69x5
83x5
96x5
110x5

Bench Press:
61x5
76x5
92x5
107x5
122x5

BB Row:
61x5
76x5
92x5
107x5
122x5

Overhead Press:
44x5
44x5
53x5
62x5
71x5

Accessories:

Pullups, 9+9+8+7, 33 total, added one from previously. I'd hoped to get 10 for the first set, but at least I was able to add one to the second.
Calf Raises, 45x40+45x40, added two reps on each set for each leg.
Pushups, 38+31+35, 104 total, first set was the same as for the last three nights, the second set was a disaster. Not sure why, but I just seemed to lose my strength early. The third set was a recovery, getting me back to where I had been on the previous workout, its not the progression I'd hoped for. Next workout is Sunday, should be a better one.

[thehobbes]

Awesome work those last couple workouts! That's a ton of volume with all the accessories added on there.

That's wonderful to hear you have so much support and positive people around you. And don't sell yourself short on the toughness thing, seriously. Keep on kicking ass in here!

[ElrondHubbard]

Awesome work those last couple workouts! That's a ton of volume with all the accessories added on there.

That's wonderful to hear you have so much support and positive people around you. And don't sell yourself short on the toughness thing, seriously. Keep on kicking ass in here!

Thanks, Hammy. I think volume is the key. Unfortunately, that's one of the concessions one must make to aging, as the recovery time increases, the capacity for volume declines. I have a continuing temptation to shift to a 4-day split on my schedule, but I'm pretty sure that 3 days will give me all the volume I can realistically handle. That said, I'm confident that I can add significantly more than what I'm doing now, I'm just going to have to add it gradually. AND, I have to re-learn how to warm up properly and to not overdo it. It's a bit of a tightrope. I have a big fear of injury, and I have another fear of wasting my time with exercises that won't do anything for me.

[ElrondHubbard]

Sunday night was midweek for week 10. It was a good workout. The weakness I'd felt Friday was not in evidence, and I made good progress on pullups, pushups, and the incline bench and deadlifts. Of course, it was a light day for squats and OHP, so total volume is always less on Sunday. I'm still not sleeping like I should, so I'm going to be getting to bed right after this post!

Weight, 162. Bodyfat ~15%

Squats:
55x5
69x5
83x5
83x5

Incline Bench
62x5
74x5
86x5
99x5

Deadlift:
112x5
135x5
157x5
180x5

Overhead Press:
44 x5
44 x5
53 x5
62 x5
62 x5


Accessories:
Pullups, 10+9+8+8, 35 total. Finally hit the 10 milestone! Felt pretty good, I also managed to add one to the final set for a total increase of two!
Pushups, 39+37+36, 112 total. It felt like a good recovery after my disastrous Friday. I added one to the first set and one to the last.

A little bit of soreness in my shoulders today, but its the good kind. My muscles feel well used.

[Marius_Ursus]

Good job with the miro-increments. Very precise.

[RT1957]

keeping it going EH....are you running a particular program??

[ElrondHubbard]

keeping it going EH....are you running a particular program??

It's a very slight modification of Madcow, the only things I've changed are to promote the overhead press from an accessory to a core lift, and add my own selection of accessories, which I'll be modifying more as I become more capable.
What I like about it is that the progression is moderate to slow, it's billed as an "intermediate" program, but I think it's also well suited to an older lifter of any experience level who can't recover or pile on the weights as quickly as when they were younger. I also like that the spreadsheet calculates your progress from your current capacity, and you can recalculate and reset your percentages and rate of increase as needed.

I was doing well on it before I was so rudely interrupted, and it felt natural to go back to it once my recovery allowed me to.

[ElrondHubbard]

Good job with the miro-increments. Very precise.

Thanks, Marius. The micro-increments are largely a result of the low weights I started with, and the need to take things slow. Once I get above 200 pounds on a lift, then it might be easier to just use 5-pound steps. It may also help once I inevitably stall, I'm hoping then I can sneak up on a poundage without telling my muscles about it!

[thehobbes]

Nice job hitting all those compounds with 5 reps across the board!

Yeah I agree after hitting around 200lbs on anything it's much easier to do jumps of 5lb. Then there's other stuff like push press and OHP where if there's so much as a slight breeze the lift gets thrown off.