Evening Lifter BodyBlog

I feel great.  I did legs today.  The first steel w/o since surgery to put my hand back together.  I warmed up on the bike and then did five sets of leg press.  A bit awkward unracking both sides with the left hand.  I did 135 for 20, then 225 for 20, 315 for 12 and then 405 for 10..  I had no intention of going above 225 though once I sat in the sled and felt the steel, had to go for it.  Last set had aimed for 8 though at 8 was starting to rack and pushed out 2 more., Went on to three sets of lying leg curls, again graceful getting in position with one arm.  Last, did 3 sets of 20 leg press calf raises then 5 min on the bike/

It felt soooooooooooooooo good to hit it. Pumped all over. No set back with the hand.  I was able to isolate my right arm very well.  I hope to not be too sre.  I am anxios to get back full steam.  I am almost half way done with the 6 weeks out of working out while my hand heals.  Take care to all and thanks for reading.  May you have a Blessed new year.

It feels good to come back to my blog.  I have been out for a broken toe, GI big, URI, and the real deal was three fractures in my right hand and an avulsed ligament on 12/7.  I had surgery 12/9 and am on  a 6 week layoff from lifting.  I got a new exercise bike and did 20 minutes tonight with a thrill. I loved it and was ok with my right arm in a splint.  Felt GREAT!!!!!!!  I have been doing my hand  therapy three times per day and that is getting less painful.  I hope to actually do some pushing of the steel for legs soon, though have  a hard time isolating my right arm.

Appreciate my  lifting now more than ever and know it is a lifestyle not  a passing interest.   I cannot wait to get back. As some may know I have always felt grateful to be able to lift given a type of muscular dystrophy I have.  My disease is showing its ugly head in the absence of strength training.  I plan on making each rep and each workout the best it can be on my return.

Lastly, have been blessed with family time while out on short term disability.  I am enjoying this time with family!!!

Arms and shoulders tonight. Ten by ten dips alternating with cable curls with 4 - 0 - 2- - tempo. Barely finished with tummy staying down. Shoulders still sore from chest the other night so just did a few sets of shoulders. On call again tomorrow, so off to bed now.

20 days since the broken toe and an irritation of an old MCL tear of the left knee, 53 hrs of call followed by a 2 1/2 hr meeting and I still hit it. I have not been very consistent secondary to injury and illness the last three weeks though hit it tonight. I did leg press with the toes high and wide and this was ok with the toe. I went light after the weekend on call and on call again in less than 36 hrs. I did 225 for the first 6 sets of ten then to 245 for 8 and 9 and then 265 for set ten with 4-0-2-0 tempo alternating with leg curls at 45 for ten by ten. Did not bother the MCL which was a surprise. Finished with leg sled calf raises 245 for 3 sets of 20 alternating with leg raises on the tower. I had a great workout, though could have gone up on weight. We will see how doms is after a dry spell. three weeks without working legs. Off to bed now. Need sleep.

Yikes. It has been a rough week. I broke a toe last week and then the weekend had a GI bug and went down 7 lbs. I have been achy and weak since. Today though I visualized working out all day and did get to hit it. I switched legs for chest and back given the toe. I have not figured out what I will be able to do with the broken toe . It bugged me even doing IDBP and lat pulldowns tonight. I stuck to the ten sets of ten for both exercises. Barely made the tenth set and nausea from working out is definitely better than nausea from a GI bug.  It felt great to workout and I hope to put the weight back on. Today was the first day eating was back to almost normal. The tummy has not been feeling so well.  Thanks to Bando for the encouragement.

Any ideas for leg work with a broken 5 th toe is appreciated. I am going to try leg press with a high foot placement and if that does not work perhaps extensions and curls. I don’t think squats or lunges are in place. I am tempted to switch out the ten by ten and go with a lighter weight for two 50 rep sets. Any ideas???

I came down with a GI Bug friday middle of the night and went down 7 lbs yesterday. I had likely less than 500 calories total yest. I am feeling flat today. I am anxious to hit it again. The toe is feeling a bit better. Funny how perspective changes when everything hurts. Trying to not get caught up with thoughts of muscle breakdown. I hope to be back at it soon. I did what my kids never see me do and that was rest. I hardly moved yesterday.  I hope to post a workout soon. Take care.

I was all set to work out tonight though I think I broke a toe. I had set up to workout and tested the back with a set of 20 rep squats with just the bar and the back was fine. I was going to do week 5 GVT leg day and loaded weights and then went in to put the kids to bed. My 4 yr old decided to throw a fit that we didn’t tuck his blankets around him after he told us not to. I went back into his room and in the dark nailed bat mobile toy with my right foot. I think I broke my 5 th digit yet again. I have broke the little toes so many times that I know what it is like. There is swelling and bruising and point tenderness. I am so bummed. I have been so consistent and now a set back. I was all psyched to work out tonight and now am limping to get around. I am bummed. Trying to remember it could be worse though I have made such progress with the ten by ten i don’t want to lose it. Sorry to whine though seriously bummed. 12 hr day in front of me tomorrow makes it a little daunting .

I had a busy day though was able to free up 1 hr and 4 minutes to hit arms and shoulders. I did 10 by 10 dips alternating with incline hammer curls this week at 27 1/2 lbs.  Again 4-0-2-0 killer tempo.  I then did DB seated shoulder press  for 4 sets of ten alternating with rear laterals for three sets of ten. Felt great. I have noticed a steady increase in weights and a decrease in the stress of getting ten sets in. I have added to incline curls each week though may have to stay at 27 1/2 lb DBs for a week. It was a barely in good form however for the tenth rep on the tenth set.

Have a good week. No call for me so hopefully no troubles with the workout times. Back is a lot better though still has a catching point if I am not cautious.

My back went out over the weekend. Sore all the time though with the right range of motion, I am frozen and have to go through a terrible pain to get to full extension to be upright. Today was the best out of the last four days. I stretched at work all day and did not lift any 200 pound kids onto the exam table. My mood has gotten progressively worse this week not working out so I just had to.

I did chest and back. Incline DB press 4-0-2-0 tempo for ten sets of ten at 521/2 this week heading to 55 next week.  I alternated with lat pull downs with same tempo at ten sets of ten at 95 lbs. Went easy given the back. I want to get some bands so that I can do assisted pullups on my new tower for ten sets of ten until I can hit it unassisted. Best so far is 5 sets of 6 -7 reps. Goals are good.   I finished with flat flyes at 40 lbs for three sets of ten alternating with seated rows at 110 for  three sets of ten. The workout was great.

I am up 4 lbs so far. Calories are off today with a  hectic schedule so we will see in a few days whether we keep it or not.  The back is all warm and a bit tight right now. I hope I can get up in the am.

Take care and hit it.

I started week four of German Volume Training today. I tried my new hack squat set up and loved it. I have focused on the medial quads and can now say I have a tear drop. The outer quads loved the attention today. I did 135 for the ten sets of ten at a 4- 0-2-0 tempo, again this tempo can make a light weight seem heavy by the 5 th set. I alternated with DBSLDL with35 lbs each arm for ten sets of ten. My back has been acting up so went easy. It hit the hammies good and the back is fair. It is better than last night though has had the catch a few times that takes the breath away. Moving with caution. I then did calf raises on the sled set up for hacks. I took the platform normally used for leg press and hooked it over the hack squat platform for a 2 1/2 inch toe raise.  That was awesome. Hit the calves in a different way than when I do them on the leg press. I alternated with leg raises. 90 sec rests on legs and 60 sec rests on calves and abs. Feels good. I cannot believe I am already in week 4 and somehow it has truly been 3 calendar weeks to now. So I am happy with my ability to stay consistent despite a crappy work schedule lately with call nights.

I am up to 182lbs so a total of 3 lbs in 3 weeks. The abs are starting to show so I know this is lean mass. Feels great. I have not seen steady gains like this with prior efforts. I look forward to cycling to this from time to time to plateau bust. I am thrilled as my diet has been compromised by my schedule making it less than complete for a bulk. Happy as can be. Have a great week.