Rebuild This Somewhat Broken Body

I’m in for the new log. I wish I could give you some good advice, but I know jack shit about bodybuilding-style training. So I guess I’ll advise you to steer clear of getting shot in the stomach with a cannon on stage at Lollapalooza. It’s just not worth it.

Just keep slaying it!

[quote]panzerfaust wrote:

[quote]staystrong wrote:
Squats and deadlifts are not essential, or sometimes even the best choice, for building muscle. Due to injuries and surgeries I can’t do them, which was hard to accept at first because those have always been my best lifts and I honestly enjoy them.

Alternatives for legs are leg presses (2 leg or 1 leg), lunges (either DB or smith lunges, which are my favorite), leg curls, RDL’s, leg extensions. Leg press and lunges may not be in the cards for you, but the weight is significantly lower for lunges so maybe it works. Doing leg curls, RDL’s, leg extensions and then smith lunges would be a good set up for example to still hit the legs hard while working to reduce the weight on your back.

Pre-fatiguing works well like ActivitiesGuy was pointing out. Make it a goal to get the most amount of work from your muscle while using the lowest weight. Organize your exercise selection in a way that maximizes this (i.e. do the bigger, heavier compounds and lifts later in the workout when the target muscle is already tired).

Using higher reps also helps lighten the weight you’re using.

Also, avoiding locking out or pausing fatigues the muscle more, causing you to have to use lighter weight yet still beating up the muscle.[/quote]

Thanks for the input man. You’re right, there is more than one way to skin a cat… or a leg in this case.

I leg pressed last week on both a flat and 45d press and found as long as I consciously avoided tensing my core, it was just fine.

Current plan is:
Leg extension
Leg Curl
45d Leg Press (feet positioned high to target hammys)
Flat Leg Press (feet position low to target quads)
Calves

I’d never considered Smith Lunges (I assume the same thing as Smith Split Squats?) but I will give them a whirl on legs day and see how they go.

I really like the idea of this pre-fatiguing and started using it today with humbling results, but I felt like I got more use out of my muscles than the same workout last week.

Cheers![/quote]

Yeah smith lunges are just split squats. For some reason I have it in my head smith lunges is the right way to name them but I think I might actually be wrong.

Either way, a good exercise. I do all reps for one leg then switch, avoid lockout. One thing to note if you do it this way and don’t take a rest between legs (in the same set) is you may become pretty winded fast. But they work to hit the legs without having a lot of weight on your back.

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]panzerfaust wrote:
Pre-exhausting went really well and I think it’ll be a good tool for me. I think I will need to replace the unilateral triceps kickbacks as the setup for them really strained my core. May need to swap them out for lying kickbacks.
[/quote]
Think DB skullcrushers would work to fill that niche? Kinda similar to lying kickbacks I guess.[/quote]

Actually yeah good point, I will just do those. Lying kickbacks always struck me as being a little awkward.


As an aside, I think I will need to keep some kind of pullups in my routine or I have no real way to target the lats.
Lateral pulldown may be possible at the gym, but I’m only going on legs day so that kind of mucks things up.
I will ponder more but thinking close neutral grip chins would be easier on the core than wide grip overhand.

[quote]staystrong wrote:

[quote]panzerfaust wrote:

[quote]staystrong wrote:
Squats and deadlifts are not essential, or sometimes even the best choice, for building muscle. Due to injuries and surgeries I can’t do them, which was hard to accept at first because those have always been my best lifts and I honestly enjoy them.

Alternatives for legs are leg presses (2 leg or 1 leg), lunges (either DB or smith lunges, which are my favorite), leg curls, RDL’s, leg extensions. Leg press and lunges may not be in the cards for you, but the weight is significantly lower for lunges so maybe it works. Doing leg curls, RDL’s, leg extensions and then smith lunges would be a good set up for example to still hit the legs hard while working to reduce the weight on your back.

Pre-fatiguing works well like ActivitiesGuy was pointing out. Make it a goal to get the most amount of work from your muscle while using the lowest weight. Organize your exercise selection in a way that maximizes this (i.e. do the bigger, heavier compounds and lifts later in the workout when the target muscle is already tired).

Using higher reps also helps lighten the weight you’re using.

Also, avoiding locking out or pausing fatigues the muscle more, causing you to have to use lighter weight yet still beating up the muscle.[/quote]

Thanks for the input man. You’re right, there is more than one way to skin a cat… or a leg in this case.

I leg pressed last week on both a flat and 45d press and found as long as I consciously avoided tensing my core, it was just fine.

Current plan is:
Leg extension
Leg Curl
45d Leg Press (feet positioned high to target hammys)
Flat Leg Press (feet position low to target quads)
Calves

I’d never considered Smith Lunges (I assume the same thing as Smith Split Squats?) but I will give them a whirl on legs day and see how they go.

I really like the idea of this pre-fatiguing and started using it today with humbling results, but I felt like I got more use out of my muscles than the same workout last week.

Cheers![/quote]

Yeah smith lunges are just split squats. For some reason I have it in my head smith lunges is the right way to name them but I think I might actually be wrong.

Either way, a good exercise. I do all reps for one leg then switch, avoid lockout. One thing to note if you do it this way and don’t take a rest between legs (in the same set) is you may become pretty winded fast. But they work to hit the legs without having a lot of weight on your back.[/quote]

Haha sweet as, was just checking you weren’t talking about reverse smith lunges, which I also saw on google.

[quote]panzerfaust wrote:

As an aside, I think I will need to keep some kind of pullups in my routine or I have no real way to target the lats.
Lateral pulldown may be possible at the gym, but I’m only going on legs day so that kind of mucks things up.
I will ponder more but thinking close neutral grip chins would be easier on the core than wide grip overhand.[/quote]

How about some kind of rack chins or pull ups? I’m thinking if your feet are elevated you’ll be putting less strain through your core. So prob not with the added barbell like this video!! but maybe you could add a weighted backpack as well as working on higher reps?? I dunno you’d have to play around and see how this felt?

Good call!

I just googled Rack Chins and found this thread:

One of the repeated comments is they take the emphasis off the arms and core, and allow one to focus more on the lats. Exactly what I am after - will try.

No probs, I was also just thinking if you want to pre exhaust your lats training at home you could do straight arm pulldowns with bands, which you could even do seated with your chest against an upright bench to make sure you weren’t having to tense up your core. I saw these & thought they could easily be done seated like that:

The other movement you could try is doing a side-on pulldown, so a shoulder adduction with a band. I couldn’t find a video of this but I know this guy does these towwrds the end of this video at about 3:40.

Cheers man, some more good ideas. I have bands here so I may give those a whirl. I thought I was out of options for lats but it seems I was wrong

Week 3 Day 1
27/08/14

DB Fly
20, 18, 14, 14 x 12.5kg pair

Dip
6, 8, 8

Bench
5 x 60kg
5 x 70
5 x 75
3 x 80
3 x 80

DB Hammer Curl
11, 10, 8 x 17.5kg pair

BB Curl
5 x 30kg
5 x 30
5 x 30
5 x 30

DB Incline Curl
12,12, 12 x 12.5kg pair

Pre-fatiguing again humbled me haha, but I felt like I got a good workout without frying myself. Replaced chins with Incline Curls to try and ease the core load.

Week 3 Day 2
28/08/14

DB Row
12, 12, 12 x 22.5kg pair

DB Back Fly
15, 15, 14, 13 x 12.5kg pair

DB Prone Trap Raise
12, 12, 12 x 5kg pair

CS Barbell Row
10 x 50kg
8 x 55
7 x 60
6 x 60

Rack Chins
10, 9, 8

Enjoyed this workout, and it helped ease my mind which has been in anxiety overload today. Prone Trap Raises and Rack Chins were the new exercises I tried and both of them were awesome. So thanks for all the suggestions in here.

Panzer, just wanted to say hello. I followed your last log, but don’t think I ever commented. It’s great you’re finding ways to train around your injury.

I do have a lat training suggestion. I tried some dumbbell pullovers recently and found them pretty effective for lat work. If you do them lying on a bench there is minimal core involvement. You could probably use them as a pre-exhaust movement before the rack chins if you wanted.

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Panzer, just wanted to say hello. I followed your last log, but don’t think I ever commented. It’s great you’re finding ways to train around your injury.

I do have a lat training suggestion. I tried some dumbbell pullovers recently and found them pretty effective for lat work. If you do them lying on a bench there is minimal core involvement. You could probably use them as a pre-exhaust movement before the rack chins if you wanted.[/quote]

Hi there, thanks for stopping by :). Lifting helps keep my mind relaxed and will keep my immune system strong, so it’s not an option to quit really.

Good idea about the bench DB pullovers actually! I’ll add them to my little list of things to try out.

Cheers!

Week 3 Day 3
30/08/14

DB Lat Raise
10, 10, 10, 10 x 12.5kg pair

Arnold Press
12, 11, 10 x 12.5kg

OHP
5 x 35kg
5 x 40
5 x 45
3 x 50

DB Skull Crusher
14, 12, 8 x 12.5kg pair

Dip
8, 8, 6

Close Grip Bench
12 x 50kg
9 x 55
8 x 60

Good workout. Starting to get more comfortable with the pre-fatigue deal.


On other topics, physically I am recovering from the chemo quite fast. My energy levels are far better and I no longer require naps. I worked 4 full days this week, though I wasn’t overly productive.

Downside, I’ve discovered my emotions / mind were seriously suppressed during treatment, and since stopping the pills I feel like everything has come flooding back. Been having panic attacks at 4, 5 in the morning, and at work. Along with loads of sadness and regret during the day.

My counsellor did warn me this is a common occurrence with people coming off chemo, as when you’re taking the drugs you have a strong focus and you’re too fucked up to really feel much. I’ve been using deep breathing and mindfulness techniques to combat this stuff but it’s still been a really tough week.

Guess I am learning you can’t just bounce straight back from something as extreme as cancer and chemo. But it’s all good, I’ll get it together over time I am certain.

Bright side, my daughter (12) is staying with me this weekend and we’ve had an awesome day. Went to the beach with my dog then took the kid shopping and chilling out tonight. Days like this make all the hard stuff 100% worthwhile.

Week 3 Day 4
01/09/14

Leg Extension
15 x 40kg
13 x 50
12 x 60
11 x 70
9 x 80

Seated Leg Curl
19 x 60kg
10 x 80
9 x 90
7 x 100

45 degree Leg Press (targeting hamstrings)
12 x 100kg
10 x 100
8,7,6 x 120

45 degree Leg Press (targeting quads)
12 x 80kg
10 x 80
8 x 80

Standing Calf Raise
15 x 80kg
12 x 100
10 x 110
10,10 x 120

DB Single Leg Calf Raise
15, 15, 15 x 30kg

I was weaker on the leg press this time around, perhaps because I was slowing all my reps down and focusing really hard on the target muscles. Either way, I left the gym feeling like I had a great workout… so all good!

I had a psychologically better day today. Felt far more relaxed than last week and didn’t have any panic attacks, which is always a bonus.

I’ve had a couple of days off as I am really struggling with insomnia and, subsequently, energy levels. I felt like I was going to pass out the other day just walking my dog.

I think the insomnia is related to withdrawals from all the drugs I was on. One in particular, Nozinan, is an anti-psychotic used to treat nausea by dulling the CNS. I used it the past 7 months every night to get to sleep, and taking it out of my system seems to have thrown me into chaos with no natural sleeping pattern. I’ve been prescribed zopiclone but honestly I am loathe to use much of that as I know it’s seriously addictive.

I went to the doctor yesterday to discuss other sleeping assist options and he gave me antidepressants haha… the fact is I am only depressed and anxious as I cannot sleep! So I am not intending to take those.

The oncology nurse’s suggestion was “oh no problem, just go back on the nozinan”… haha… these people just want me to be some kind of permanently medicated post-cancer pill freak, I am sure of it! Well fuck that, I intend to get back to living life on my own terms and under my own control.

I’ve started using guided audio meditations such as Deepak Chopra’s work to relax myself, and taking these couple of days off training to allow my body to rest and recover. Last night I used a quarter dose of zopiclone and got a decent sleep, hopefully the same tonight and then tomorrow I will attempt to sleep without any pills.

Bright side, my appetite is back! 3300 calories the last couple of days; easily enough to start gaining weight once I get my sleep under control.

Still plagued by anxiety and worry but I am determined to focus on the positives and get through this shit.

Happy lifting to all.

Keep it up, man! I’m sure that the withdrawal issues will iron themselves out with time. You’re a real inspiration around these parts, and it’s great to see your wonderful progress.

I’m certainly no expert, but I often have middle of the night insomnia - go to sleep fine but wake up at 3am and can’t get back to sleep. Melatonin helps me with this and has far fewer possible complications.

Yeh I second trying melatonin, its good at getting your body back into a natural sleep pattern & much better I think than the sound of those drugs.

[quote]kgildner wrote:
Keep it up, man! I’m sure that the withdrawal issues will iron themselves out with time. You’re a real inspiration around these parts, and it’s great to see your wonderful progress.[/quote]

Thanks bro. Yeah that is the bright side of withdrawals; they are a finite process and will not last forever.

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
I’m certainly no expert, but I often have middle of the night insomnia - go to sleep fine but wake up at 3am and can’t get back to sleep. Melatonin helps me with this and has far fewer possible complications.[/quote]

Yeah that is exactly what I have. I go to sleep fine but wake multiple times during the night until I eventually just don’t sleep again. My pharmacist said melatonin could be an option if the zopiclone just causes more problems. Cheers for the suggestion

[quote]Lift and Eat wrote:
Yeh I second trying melatonin, its good at getting your body back into a natural sleep pattern & much better I think than the sound of those drugs.[/quote]

Haha yeah pretty much anything is better than more drugs!

Week 4 Day 1
06/09/14

DB Fly
20, 18, 16, 14 x 12.5kg pair

Dip
8, 8, 8

Bench
5 x 50kg
5 x 60
5 x 70
3 x 80
3 x 80

DB Hammer Curl
15, 10, 10 x 12.5kg pair

BB Curl
5 x 30kg
5 x 30
5 x 30
5 x 30

NG Chin
10,8, 8

Good to get back into it after a few days of resting. I took a quarter zopiclone again last night and slept well - will be trying natural sleep this evening.

Kind of gutted to see my weight has dropped even more; I was only 78.7kg this morning, which really confuses me. I’ve been eating heaps the last few days (using MFP and logging over 3000 calories a day) and expected to see fairly rapid gains.

All I can think of is the adjustment back from chemo is playing all kinds of games with my body. Perhaps there was water retention or maybe my metabolism is spiking, who knows. I’ll wait a full week before weighing myself again just to keep it from bothering me on a daily basis. Hopefully with better rest and being back in the gym, I will start to see weight gain again.