nadirmg

the dr. said it was probably a soft tissue injury. an x-ray showed that it wasn't a rotator cuff injury. but without an MRI he couldn't tell me just how bad it is. i decided to skip the expensive MRI.

all it's going to do is confirm that it's not a rotator cuff injury, and that it's some kind of ligament strain or soft tissue injury. and there's not much he can do about that.

so i guess i'm pretty much screwed until my shoulder is healed.

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Meal 1 - 6:30am
1 whole egg
5 egg whites
2 slices of toast
pb
multi-vitamin
2 fish oil pills

Meal 2 - 9:30am
1 scoop of whey
1 cup of sweet potato

Meal 3 - 12pm
.75cup of brown rice
.75cup of black beans
.25 cup of ff yogurt
.25 tomato
1 orange
.5cup of broccoli
2 fish oil pills

Meal 4 - 3:30 pm
1 can of tuna
.5cup of strawberries

Meal 5 (PWO shake) - 7pmish perhaps?
2 scoops of whey
.5cup of mixed berries
.5cup of yogurt
ice cubes

Meal 6 - 8pmish
5oz chicken breast
2cups iceberg lettuce
1/2 onion sauted with olive oil
.25cup of almonds
2 fish oil pills

Pre-Sleep Snack 10:30
.5cup CC
1tbs PB

Total: 2409 calories
F 65g - 25%
C 227g - 36%
P 226g - 39%

1 gallon of water throughout the day

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

the other half

looks like you are getting some great advice and knowledge, both on the lifting and the eating part. i personally have a hard time being really strict with the eating, which in part just slows down my progress on the lifting.
im such a dumbass sometime.

good luck and keep asking questions.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

nadirmg

yeah, i know what you mean. it really does take a lot of forethought (and $$$) to eat right. isn't it crazy that the HEALTHY stuff is expensive? i mean like fruit and veggies...sheesh..

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

spoke with the dr's office and my insurance today. looks like an MRI is gonna set me back at least $1300, which is simply not feasible. if i saved up for a couple months i could do it but just getting the MRI doesn't fix my shoulder...

yesterday was chest day. i don't even want to post my WO. i thought i was doing pretty well but gradually the pain in my shoulder started coming back and it hurt just to push myself up after doing a plank at the end of my WO. i mean, shit, it's been 2 months since the accident!!

i don't know how i'm going to do things if i can't even to simple BP and incline BP . i can't do deadlifts, good mornings and legs every day i go to the gym
that's just gonna leave me with a crazy-ass unbalanced body.

i'm trying to decide if i'll drop my calories and just do a ton of cardio and take several months off from lifting all together or keep doing legs and back 2x a week - because that's really all i can do that doesn't make my shoulder worse.

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

the other half

ya i have been in the grocery business for 23 years know, just started working in the produce dept 2 years ago. i hear all the time about how fucking expensive our produce has gotten. the funny thing is that most of the complaining comes from the people that have moved from calif. or ariz.
and dont realize that it cost alot of money to ship it all the way up north.
i guess thats why they build costcos and wall marts.

as far as finding cheap casien protien, i personally think that you get what you pay for. it is just a matter of finding who sells it the cheapest. we get most of our stuff online, not gnc or other stores.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

the other half

ouch that hurts, both the pocket book and the pain in your shoulder.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

Big G

Don't get down. Your shoulder will heal in time. It sounds like you fucked it up pretty good. You're going to have to work round it. There's no point being a pussy bitch, throwing your hands in the air and eating a big tub of ice-cream!

You have work to do!

You want to get rid of some of your body fat (not be one of those guys that just talks about doing that month after month after month) and your shoulder isn't stopping you there. So do that.

Additonally, make a list of exercises that you can do without pain. Break them apart into some kind-of workout. Jumble them togther into a full-body program (excl. shoulders) if you like.

Once your shoulder heels you can alter your workout plans to correct any apparent imbalance in your appearance (if there even is one by that point).

It's awful to get unjured and not be able to workout. I've been lucky with muscles, ligaments, tendons etc, but I did have renal failure and damned-near-black-you-out-from-pain headaches that turned out to be sodium deficiency related (danged all-natural diet - I salt my food nowadays).

Anyway... buck up... truck on... give that shoulder the rest to needs and work around it. It will heel. Get advice on rehab. Maybe just swimming a couple of times a week for the next few months on top of a full-fledged cardio/weight fat-burning program would be just the ticket.

Something anyway.

Goal...... DL:500lb, Sqt:400lb, Bnch:300lb
Current.. DL:375lb, Sqt:335lb, Bnch:260lb
Weight: 197lb (up 36lb), bf=15%ish
Age:35 Training since 11/06 journal

nadirmg

Back in November I hurt my shoulder AGAIN at the gym. Apparently I was too over-eager after my initial rotator stress injury and didn’t give it enough time to heal properly. I decided I just needed some time off because it drove me insane to go to the gym and still not be able to workout the way I wanted to. Since then it’s been 3 months and I’ve been rehabbing my shoulder. It rarely hurts anymore when I do normal things anymore and can even roll over in bed without wincing in pain! Sweet!

Fortunately over the holidays and my birthday I haven’t gained serious weight. Over the past 3 weeks I’ve gotten back on my diet. My goal is to shed the extra fat I’ve got (down to 10% for starters) and increase my muscle mass, strength, and endurance.

Diet:
Right now I’m at 136lb and I’m 5’5” tall. I’m trying to get 1.5g of protein per lb of myself. I’m aiming for at least 200g of protein a day and trying to keep my fats percentages at 25% or less. Generally I’ve been running about fat-20ish%, carb 30ish% and protein 50ish%. But it’s not something I strictly adhere to. As long as I’m getting my 200g minimum grams of protein a day I can fudge a little on the other places. Pretty much anything that’s processed I don’t eat with the exception of 1-2 slices of WW bread a day, FF CC, reduced fat string-cheese, and natural PB.

I’ve been logging my meals and you can check it out in my signature. Any ideas of ways to increase protein and fibrous veggies are moooore than welcome.

Workout:
I’m spending most of my time working on my back and legs, which I’ve always neglected for the most part. I’ll continue rehabbing my shoulder and add in some arm things as I go starting out with low weight and high reps. Fortunately I can do bench presses and cable flys without any discomfort, but I’m keeping the weight low. I REFUSE to jack my shoulder up again and have to sit another 3 months out all because I got in a rush

I’m in my second week of working out again and it’s great to be sore everyday. I missed the pain sooooo much. Legs, back, chest… HURT! From now on I’ll be posting my workout notes in a general manner. Right now I'm not emphasizing major gains in muscle mass or strength. My short-term goal is just to get back into a routine (which involves working out at 5:45am) find a good rhythm and NOT screw my left shoulder up again. Hopefully by summer time I’ll have shed some fat, increased my LBM, and will be able to do full body workouts again.

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Saturday 02.23.08 - Chest/Triceps

Warmup:
Crunches w/swiss ball
3x20
2X20 (side to side
Leg Raises (laying down on bench)
20x - w/o hands stabilizing
20x - half w/o hands stabilizing
20x - need hands the whole time
Back Extension
20x - 3 sets of left, right and straight back extensions

Chest:
Bench Press
15x60lb
15x80lb
15x90lb
15x80lb
I don't know what the deal is. This gay gym I go to, planet fitness, doesn't have REAL bench presses. They have these machines with bench press bars that slide up and down vertical bars. The secondary and tertiary muscles don't really get a workout and I'm not actually pushing as much weight as I load up... @##$@! ...I digress..

Standing fly pulldowns (w/cables)
15x30 on each cable
15x30 on each cable
15x25 on each cable

Standing cable flys
15x25 on each cable
15x25 on each cable
15x25 on each cable

Tricep push downs (w/straight bar)
15x40
15x40
15x40

Tricep push downs (single arm)
15x20
15x20
15x20

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Sunday 02.24.08 - Legs

Crunches w/swiss ball
3x20 - straight
2x20 - left to right

Decline crunches
2x20 with superset of left-to-right X10

Let Extension - where you hang from your elbows at a 90-degree angle
3x20

Leg Press
10x180
10x270
10x330
10x270

Calf raises on leg press machine
20x180
20x180
20x180

Squats - Guys were hogging the squat bar, so I had to use the gay chest press machine instead
10xbar+90
10xbar+110
10xbar+120
8xbar+90 Muscles totally gave out. Next time I'll get 4 sets of 10 though.

Lunges w/15lb dumbbells
2x20

And I was spent.

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Ok, so I'm still trying to figure out what my routine is going to be. I'm aiming for 3-4 days at the gym a week. I'm sticking to my diet like crazy right now. But one day during the weekend I'm easing up and, while I don't go nuts, I allow myself to eat some yummy munchings and crunchings.

Feeling a good bit of healthy soreness. I missed it so!

Also, I'm refuse to let myself step on the scale for a couple weeks. I know when I started I was 136. That's what I weighed in at 10 years ago too. But now I'm trying to put on some muscle weight - I know it's not just going to jump on me, so I'm just gonna keep working out, eating right, and I'll let the muscle develop at it's pace.

After all, I'm still rehabbing my shoulder and if I get to hasty I'll just set myself back again.

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Anyone got some tips/links for me? I'd like to spend more time working on my legs and I'm sick of just doing squats. I'd like want to really strengthen my legs as a whole but it just seems like I'm not making any progress on adding weights.

Am I not eating enough? Maybe I'm not pushing myself enough? Help?

My meals are in a link in my signature. Should I start posting a rough draft of my meals in along with my w/o plan as well?

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

the other half

good to have you back.

"if you squat, the muscles will come"
i dont think i would venture away from them, they are one of the 3 major movements that will produce the mass that you are looking to put on.

just find different ways of increasing your weights. lower rep range, then try step outs, they will get you comfortable with the heavier weight.
i found that the knees dealt with the weight better than my back did.
it felt really heavy standing there, but once i squated, it was easier than i thought it would be.
and if you dont have a lifting partner try and find one. they can give the spotting that is needed, plus the positive mental bust.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

nadirmg

thanks, it's good to be back! yea, i need to find a lifting buddy. shouldn't be too hard, the guys that lift in the morning are pretty cool and serious about lifting.

but what are step outs? are they kind of like lunges with the barbell across your shoulders?

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

the other half

sorry, i was just reading my post and i kind of jumped from one thing to another.

step outs are just that, you load the bar with a heavier weight than you can squat, and just unrack it and stand there for 15 seconds with it on your traps and then step back in and rack it. it will get you used to the weight and break the mental block. i would just put an extra 10 pounds on the first time and work up alittle from that.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

nadirmg

Wednesday - 02.27.08 - Legs

Decline crunches
40x
40x
20x

Squats - This is the most I've attempted before! Was never really sure how much I'd be able to handle. Will increase in later workouts.
100x10
140x10
150x10 - Holy crap I could feel my glutes screaming!
140x10

Leg Curl
100x10
100x10
100x10
100x10

Leg Extension - wiped out after the squats...
90x10
90x10
90x10
90x10

Calf press - Super setted with below bb lunges
90x20
90x20
90x15

BB lunges - 20lb dumbbells
20x
20x
20x

Hip Abductors (both machines)
90x20
90x20
90x20
90x20

Great leg day! Oddly I found myself thinking, 'I was able to do this much??' on some of the exercises. Feel like I'm making some progress

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

the other half

keep it going big guy. now use that mind frame everyday and you will be suprised at how the pr's will start coming.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

StanUk

Nice looking squats man

nadirmg

thanks! i'm hoping to get two 45s on each side in the next month or so!

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Rest day!

Meals today

Meal 1 - 1 whole egg, 3 whites, oatmeal, 1/4c ff milk, whey
Meal 2 - 1/2 can of green beens, whey, 1 string cheese
Meal 3 - spinich, boiled boneless skinnless chcien breast, 1 sm apple, 1c broccoli
Meal 4 - Whey, 12 baby carrots
Meal 5 - Tuna Salad
Meal 6 - Veggie soup, Turkey, mozz cheese, FF mayo, 2 slice WW bread
Pre-Bed Meal - 1/2c CC, 1 TBSP Nat PB

Inside of my legs feel a little tight. Other than that no soreness after my crazy-ass hard leg day yesterday?? I thought for sure my legs would be killing me all over. I guess that means I can up the weight, decrease reps, and start upping the reps slowly!

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

JailHouse

Are you trying to bulk or cut? I'm eating more than that on a cut. Also canned veggies are no good, go for the frozen ones.

Jailhouse Journal

nadirmg

well i'm not trying to cut... there's only 135lbs of me so...
and yea, you're right. i'm almost never getting above 2500 in a given day. usually low 2000's.

no canned veggies huh? thanks for the tip, jailhouse!
does that go for canned beans as well?

what should i increase food-wise? i'm getting complete protein sources in almost every meal... usually i get about 200g of protein a day. should i just eat larger portions? to tell you the truth i almost don't think i could eat more. i'd have to start lifting seriously to burn up the extra calories and with the should rehab slowly coming along i'm hesitant to up the weight (except for legs/back).

thoughts anyone? thanks!!
(and you can check out my food-log in my signature below)

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

JailHouse

Ya dude no caned veggies theres almost no nutritional value to them. Try steaming some frozen ones, they taste way better and are much better for you. Your protein intake is plenty you souled up your carbs to make up for the cals you need. Id try to get in at least 2500 cals a day.
I'm not an expert at all. If you want some good info search the user name "Jodi" shes knowledgeable about all of this. Have fun bulking, its the best part of BB.

Jailhouse Journal

nadirmg

just to be sure i understand you...

no canned black beans or garbanzo beans? kidney beans? pintos? all bad?

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

katt

I second the nix on the canned veges.. just because of the sodium and how long they have actually been on the shelf..

I do, however, use the canned beans. I get the lower sodium kind and rinse the hell out of them in the collinder

nadirmg

sweet, i was about to freak out if i had to cook all my beans!
good idea about rinsing 'em off. will definitely do that thanks katt!

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Saturday - 03.01.08 - lats/biceps

Crunches
20x - then i realized the gym was closing in 45min, so i got down to business with the rest of my w/o

Assisted Pull ups (70lbs help)
10x
10x
10x
10x
This is the first lat w/o i've done since i hurt my shoulder in Sept of last year. i'm easing into these since my shoulder joints carry a lot of the load.

Seat rows (wide grip)
60lb x 10
60lb x 10
60lb x 10
60lb x 10 - again light on the weights, hopefully my shoulder will get stronger soon

Single Dumbbell rows
20lb x 10
22.5lb x 10
25lb x 10
27.5lb x 10 - asked a guy in the gym about my form and he REALLY helped me out. i'd been doing them wrong the whole time until today...

Barbell rows
60lb x 10
70lb x 8
70lb x 6 - shoulder told me to stop here

Seated dumbbell hammer curls
20lb x 10
22.5 x 8
25lb x 6

Standing Bicep curls
30lb x 10
40lb x 8 ....blah

Gym was about the close and my arms (and shoulder) were fatigued. yea, you don't actually use your shoulder muscles extensively for lats/biceps but the joint still takes a lot of the load so i called it quits. all in all not too bad considering it was my first lat day in almost half a year

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

nadirmg

Sunday 03.02.08 - Cardio/Legs/Lower back


Cardio
rode my bike up to the gym approx. 1.5 miles. terrain uphill most of the way.

Crunches
30x
30x
30x

Leg raises
(laying down on bench - did not use arms to hold my upper body down to force my core to contract more)
20x
25x
25x

Squats - Smith machine
no warm-up set since i rode my bike. quads were already TIGHT and full of blood!
110lb x 10
130lb x 10 - PR
140lb x 4 - PR... but too much weight and my form was heinous
130lb x 8 - PR

Calf press
90lb x 20
100lb x 15 - PR
90lb x 20
by this time my legs were toast. i know i could have done more if i hadn't ridden my bike up to the gym. plus i had to ride back to my apartment..had to save some energy.

Dead lifts
105lb x 10 - usually i do 4 sets of 10 with this weight but i'm upping it now.
125lb x 10 - PR
135lb x 10 - PR
145lb x 10 - PR
145lb x 10 - PR - a fifth set!
had someone check my form and fortunately my back was straight. need to work on using my hammies too though... still, i'm amazed i was able to do that much all at 10 reps. guess i'm making progress.

Cardio
rode bike back home. first half was against the wind.

very pleased with today's w/o. weight increases and multiple PRs make me happy. wonder much could i have done if i hadn't done the bike?...
starting to see more muscle definition in my arms and legs. abs getting harder! summer is just a couple months off and i will be ready for it

w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5

JailHouse

Congrats on the PRs.
Me personally I dont like to do squats and deads on the same day. Its better to do them completely fresh so you can get the best results out of them.

Jailhouse Journal