Dude, Where's My Bar?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Over 35 Lifter
1

It’s in my garage actually but I won’t be using it for a couple of months because it’s too darn cold here! Until then, kettlebells, it is!

Time to resume my jacked status and banish all of my pregnancy weight gain for good!

My history is a little of everything, really. Jack of all trades, master of none. Having stepped into a gym as a teenager, I was never a stranger to it although I don’t think I really began training until about 5-6 years ago when I discovered compound lifts and powerlifting. During that time I, more or less, followed a WS4SB’s type workout with one of the four big lifts followed by some hypertrophy work.

Then, it happened. lol The two pink stripes came. Three months ago (to this day) I gave birth to the little cutie in my hub. She is honestly the joy of my life, however, having babies at 38…my body is slowly wanting to get back to its previous weight but it’s much slower than I ever could have anticipated. It’s been very discouraging, actually.

At 3 weeks post-partum, I had a gigantic setback when I began to hemorrhage and the treatment was rather unpleasant and I really lost no weight aside from a few pounds during that entire month. No lifting either during that month. No time to feel sorry for myself though. It sucked but time to move on and get it done.

A few things that I must work around:

osteoarthritis in hips and knees
hypoglycemia (which is getting better with diet changes)
hormone issues - low everything right now
last but not least - time!

Current plan of action:

KB complexes every other day (until it’s warmer and then power rack and sled)
cardio on days I’m not doing complexes
Magnificent Mobility every day
foam roll every day

Supplements:

Brain Candy
MAG-10
B complex, C, D, E, fish oil, probiotics, digestive enzymes

Hypoglycemia had been a big issue for me during pregnancy but I’m finding that I have a pretty good hold on it now. I have completely overhauled my diet. I’m up at 6:30 and have Brain Candy and then MAG-10 until lunch time. No dairy or wheat; my daughter is intolerant of milk protein and allergic to wheat.

The rest of the day I’m eating lots of protein, veggies, some rice and the odd piece of fruit. During workouts, MAG-10. I also really like a MAG-10 before bed and find it helps tremendously with soreness. The diet is still a work in progress but I know this is where the bulk of my results will come from.

Eventually I will post a pic or two. I’m not hideous or anything but I’m still at the point where seeing myself in a mirror brings tears to my eyes. That was a little melodramatic, wasn’t it? lol Well, it’s sad but true. Honestly, I want to totally rock Chris Colucci’s next check-in thread.

Anyhow, here I am!

TL;DR

Hi, I’m new here. I am banged up and want to lose weight and be jacked again.

Also, contrary to popular belief, I have a totally awesome sense of humor and there will be hilarity in here. It’s the only way that I stay sane.

And hopefully Powerpuff and Alpha F find me.

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Sweet. Good to have you posting in here, it might class the joint up a little.

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[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Sweet. Good to have you posting in here, it might class the joint up a little. [/quote]

Hi jjackkrash! You know, I still watch that Postpartum Maya video that you posted.

Glad to have you here, for sure.

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The babies

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Bigger kids

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My current favorites, thanks to my ever supportive hubby.

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[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
Honestly, I want to totally rock Chris Colucci’s next check-in thread.[/quote]

… Or you’re just in time. Either way. :slight_smile:

Really very sorry to hear about your issues. It’s been 3 months already though? Geez, time flies when you hear about people having babies on the Internet.

All the best.

8

[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
osteoarthritis in hips and knees
hypoglycemia (which is getting better with diet changes)
hormone issues - low everything right now
[/quote]

:frowning:

squats and milk?

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[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
Honestly, I want to totally rock Chris Colucci’s next check-in thread.[/quote]

… Or you’re just in time. Either way. :slight_smile:

Really very sorry to hear about your issues. It’s been 3 months already though? Geez, time flies when you hear about people having babies on the Internet.

All the best.[/quote]

You must have bionic hearing or something. lol The next thread. You can even call me out if I chicken out, promise. :slight_smile:

Oh, it’s alright. Most of it was self-inflicted anyhow. I’m not out of commission yet.

Thank you and time does indeed fly!

May I ask you two questions since they’re up your alley? Taking into consideration about the arthritis in my knee, if I were doing a turkish getup and afterwards had pain in my left knee (meniscus area), is that a common area to hurt if your form is bad? I’m trying to determine if my form is indeed terrible or if I should axe that movement. Also, when doing snatches, is it uncommon to pull an erector? It’s only on the right side and I’m pretty sure that’s what is causing it.

You really deserve have your own spill and thanks for readily answering questions, with a sense of humor to boot.

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[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
osteoarthritis in hips and knees
hypoglycemia (which is getting better with diet changes)
hormone issues - low everything right now
[/quote]

:frowning:

squats and milk?[/quote]

I wish. Now I am the queen of front squats and quarter squats…but I like them. Don’t be sad for me though. I will get there again. Just no maxing out every session anymore. lol

Oh, I guess I should have posted those before.

BP 135
SQUAT 200-something? It’s been a while.
DL 225x2
OHP 90
FRONT SQUAT 175x5
PIN PRESS 185
PULLS FROM BELOW KNEE 285

That’s not really my goal anymore though. Not if I don’t want to end up in a body cast anyhow. lol

11

Welcome to old folks home.

Always listen to bulldog and PeteS never Edgy

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[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
You must have bionic hearing or something. lol The next thread. You can even call me out if I chicken out, promise. :)[/quote]
My slightly oversized ears were burning. No problem. And okay, fair enough. Quoted and noted.

I don’t usually like to do injury (or technique reviews) online. They’re too tough to do in words only or in limited pics/video. But I’ll give it a go.

With the get-up, certainly if you have current knee issues, they can flare up on an exercise that has you doing a full lunge (or squat, depending on technique) from the bottom up. Even if your technique is spot-on, with limited weight and controlled movements, it’s such a big movement that it works all joints through their full ROM.

If you want to include it, I’d thoroughly warm-up beforehand, including some lower body mobility drills. For example:

With the snatch, again, you probably know the answer. To way, way, way-oversimplify the movement, it’s a deadlift-to-extreme upright row. If you can strain an erector during a DL, you can strain it on a snatch. I wouldn’t say it’s “common” but it’s not unimaginable. If your technique is off (starting with too much back, uneven grip, overextend on the drop/catch, etc.), then for sure it could be a problem.

It could also be as simple as driving too much through one leg which throws the whole chain out of whack. Kind of a newbie issue, but if you’re a newbie to an exercise, it’s worth paying attention to. The other “easy” answer could be your posterior chain not being used to an explosive stimulus, and your right erector being the specific weak link. Even if you did speed deads in previous training, snatches are another animal and need to be worked up to, volume and intensity-wise.

Yeah so, hope that helped a bit. Basically, yes, sorry, but you can still keep hurting things. Follow the Wendler Maxim: Start low, progress slow. There’s no rush. Seriously.

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[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
having babies at 38…my body is slowly wanting to get back to its previous weight but it’s much slower than I ever could have anticipated. It’s been very discouraging, actually. [/quote]

This is probably your biggest challenge. When your hormones are in charge, that means you are not and progress will be as the hormonal state allows you to progress but you can stay active to prevent a very painful return.
Even in the absence of progress DO stay active. The progress in this instance is not allowing regress.
Building up from 0 is better than coming back from -1. [quote]

At 3 weeks post-partum, I had a gigantic setback when I began to hemorrhage and the treatment was rather unpleasant [/quote]

So sorry to hear.
I am glad it is over and you are out of it.
Did the treatment involve shutting down pituitary or any other hormonal interference? [quote]

A few things that I must work around:

osteoarthritis in hips and knees
hypoglycemia (which is getting better with diet changes)
hormone issues - low everything right now

[/quote]

I have no experience with hypoglycemia or osteoarthritis ( except for some joint pain on my right hand after some drastic hormonal treatment which shut down my pituitary and I suspect is related to that ) but if you want we can look a little closer at your hormonal history:

Were you on bc before? if yes, how long and are you back on it or planing to return to it?
Are you currently breast feeding, if not, why not?

What was your blood work like before the pregnancy and during? Any complications?

Do you have recent blood work numbers including LH and FSH and DHEA-S? And how is T3 and T4 free and total?

14

[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:

Taking into consideration about the arthritis in my knee, if I were doing a turkish getup and afterwards had pain in my left knee (meniscus area), is that a common area to hurt if your form is bad? I’m trying to determine if my form is indeed terrible or if I should axe that movement. [/quote]

I would avoid any twisting and complex movements due to the excess weight and the blood loss and the stress and the changes from the pregnancy.

And specially if your hormones are low: your body could be in a fragile state just from that.

I would keep it simple, steady and purposeful.

You can add power and complexity after your hormones are at least in the normal range.

15

That’s a very interesting thread. I’ll be watching. Entering my experimental KB week today, 2 hands anyhow on the program, maybe sth. For you as well?

However I would consider building up core, abs strength, or however you like to call it. We’re 3 month ahead with the child, so I’m a bit familiar with this topic, secondhand. No need to hurry. 3 month in is still a wink.

16

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Welcome to old folks home.

Always listen to bulldog and PeteS never Edgy [/quote]

haha Will do and thanks. No worries about Edgy, he asked me to post a picture once and now he doesn’t talk to me. I had no idea he was so anti-gun.

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[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
You must have bionic hearing or something. lol The next thread. You can even call me out if I chicken out, promise. :)[/quote]
My slightly oversized ears were burning. No problem. And okay, fair enough. Quoted and noted.

I don’t usually like to do injury (or technique reviews) online. They’re too tough to do in words only or in limited pics/video. But I’ll give it a go.

With the get-up, certainly if you have current knee issues, they can flare up on an exercise that has you doing a full lunge (or squat, depending on technique) from the bottom up. Even if your technique is spot-on, with limited weight and controlled movements, it’s such a big movement that it works all joints through their full ROM.

If you want to include it, I’d thoroughly warm-up beforehand, including some lower body mobility drills. For example:

With the snatch, again, you probably know the answer. To way, way, way-oversimplify the movement, it’s a deadlift-to-extreme upright row. If you can strain an erector during a DL, you can strain it on a snatch. I wouldn’t say it’s “common” but it’s not unimaginable. If your technique is off (starting with too much back, uneven grip, overextend on the drop/catch, etc.), then for sure it could be a problem.

It could also be as simple as driving too much through one leg which throws the whole chain out of whack. Kind of a newbie issue, but if you’re a newbie to an exercise, it’s worth paying attention to. The other “easy” answer could be your posterior chain not being used to an explosive stimulus, and your right erector being the specific weak link. Even if you did speed deads in previous training, snatches are another animal and need to be worked up to, volume and intensity-wise.

Yeah so, hope that helped a bit. Basically, yes, sorry, but you can still keep hurting things. Follow the Wendler Maxim: Start low, progress slow. There’s no rush. Seriously.[/quote]

Thanks for understanding. Body image has long been an issue for me and now that has just been compounded. However, I’ve committed myself to the next check in thread so I guess I had better deal with it in a hurry.

Thanks so much for the links (you always go so over-and-above what I would ever expect, advice-wise) and, the good news is, everything in the first link you posted, I’m already doing with the exception of the x-band walks which I used to do and will incorporate again. The assessments in the second link, I’m going to try those when my husband gets home tonight so he can watch the little one. Curiosity is overwhelming me to see how well I will fair with those.

Point taken about the get-ups. Perhaps it’s best if I put those on the back burner for a while until I can rebuild my foundation a little bit first. I’m not entirely sure if it’s a movement I will be able to add in down the road or not but at this point, the pain is kind of counter-productive since it’s preventing me from not only doing other lifts and movements but just general things you’d do throughout the day. Time will tell for this one.

The snatches though, I REALLY like those and am going to figure out what the issue is there. They are a lot of fun and I’d have done them years ago had I know how much so. I think you’re probably right on with the weak posterior chain and starting with too much back - that is something I want to do naturally with my deadlifts too.

Slow and steady, you’re right, as usual. Thanks for the suggestions and articles and everything else. I’m excited to try those assessments later on today.

18

[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Welcome to old folks home.

Always listen to bulldog and PeteS never Edgy [/quote]

haha Will do and thanks. No worries about Edgy, he asked me to post a picture once and now he doesn’t talk to me. I had no idea he was so anti-gun.[/quote]
He is from Cali, you know they are all tree hugging hippies out there.

19

[quote]Alpha F wrote:

[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
having babies at 38…my body is slowly wanting to get back to its previous weight but it’s much slower than I ever could have anticipated. It’s been very discouraging, actually. [/quote]

This is probably your biggest challenge. When your hormones are in charge, that means you are not and progress will be as the hormonal state allows you to progress but you can stay active to prevent a very painful return.
Even in the absence of progress DO stay active. The progress in this instance is not allowing regress.
Building up from 0 is better than coming back from -1. [quote]

At 3 weeks post-partum, I had a gigantic setback when I began to hemorrhage and the treatment was rather unpleasant [/quote]

So sorry to hear.
I am glad it is over and you are out of it.
Did the treatment involve shutting down pituitary or any other hormonal interference? [quote]

A few things that I must work around:

osteoarthritis in hips and knees
hypoglycemia (which is getting better with diet changes)
hormone issues - low everything right now

[/quote]

I have no experience with hypoglycemia or osteoarthritis ( except for some joint pain on my right hand after some drastic hormonal treatment which shut down my pituitary and I suspect is related to that ) but if you want we can look a little closer at your hormonal history:

Were you on bc before? if yes, how long and are you back on it or planing to return to it?
Are you currently breast feeding, if not, why not?

What was your blood work like before the pregnancy and during? Any complications?

Do you have recent blood work numbers including LH and FSH and DHEA-S? And how is T3 and T4 free and total?

[/quote]

Hi Alpha. :slight_smile:

That’s just it. I don’t feel in charge at all. My body is not doing what my will wants it to. Staying active is the name of the game now.

note that guys or anyone with a weak stomach may not want to read this

Thank you for that. The treatment was me taking a drug called methylergonovine for three days. It gives you contractions again and by the third day, you feel like you’re in full-blown labor again. All the while, you’re hemorrhaging. The midwife missed part of the placenta and your body tries to purge it. It was easily the most awful thing I have experienced. Other than that, I have no idea how it affected me, hormonally or otherwise.

okay, finished gross part

Sorry about your hand; I’ve never heard of that happening before. How odd. Do you think that it’s permanent?

BC, yes, almost 10 years and I will never touch the stuff again. Yes, I am nursing and will continue that. That is why I can’t use progesterone now. Blood work was just the routine stuff they run for pregnancy but no trouble. How I know that mt hormones are screwed up is because of a biopsy I had a couple of years ago. While in Canada, I had pushed doctors to test me and they refused.

The biopsy showed my progesterone and estrogen “were so low they could almost give it no measure”. That is what the doctor told me. I asked him for the values and he would not give them to me. He only offered me a prescription or surgery and I told him what he could do with both. I would like to have tests done here though and will hopefully soon. Any ideas? I know you aren’t a stranger to all of this.

Thank you for your advice about lifting also. You are correct that I need to be careful and take it slow. Especially with twisting.

20

[quote]Avocadoshake wrote:
That’s a very interesting thread. I’ll be watching. Entering my experimental KB week today, 2 hands anyhow on the program, maybe sth. For you as well?

However I would consider building up core, abs strength, or however you like to call it. We’re 3 month ahead with the child, so I’m a bit familiar with this topic, secondhand. No need to hurry. 3 month in is still a wink.[/quote]

Hi Avocadoshake. :slight_smile: This is probably painfully obvious but what is sth? :s I will probably feel stupid when I find out.

I saw your log and you seem to be doing well with your kettlebells. You’re ready for bigger ones this month!

Oh boy, ab and core strength are a must - It feels like I don’t have any anymore. Getting there…the back is the weak link here.

Congratulations on your new addition. :slight_smile: It’s nice to have someone to compare notes with.

Okay, I will be quiet now and post workout later this afternoon, in full. My apologies, people. At times I can be long-winded and end up with more of a blog than a log.