**Marcus's HIT Dungeon**

[Sfla80]

Ok, going to get horizontal for a bit. Hopefully, will feel a bit more energetic later or at least be able.to fake it. Everyyone have a good one.
Sfla, I hope y'all are hunkered down tight with plenty of supplies, etc. We're starting to get the edge of some light breezes already in Upstate SC, so.this is a big @ss storm.
If anyone else is in Fla. or the southern part of the E. coast, please be careful!

We did alot of work getting ready and nothing really.lol. typical south Florida summer lol.

How close r u to the coast ag???

U see this thing is gonna make a uturn and come back and hit us again???

Wife's family's house in Jacksonville got hit hard I know damage but unsure how much yet. And their sons house is on intercostal and we haven't heard from them.

[Bodacious]

Damn I hope you guys are safe!!!

[Sfla80]

I hope ag is out of the cone BOD.

I'm glad to hear ur dad is doing better. and I see u r training when you can.

Did u decide on continuing the cycle?

[BG]

Yes, it may still go away you need to stay positive. Just try and stay calm because it definitely get's exacerbated by stress/anxiety. My father has a difficult time finding a happy medium between the ringing and anxiety meds because they help but effect his memory.

Ive been taking NyQuil Z to sleep at night, no way I would sleep with out it. I was thinking anxiety meds also for on the weeks so I could sleep longer, the Z doesn't last long and once I wake that is it. Thanks, I'm trying to hang in there, last night for some reason my bp was high and I had head throb with the ringing, it was brutal nearly broke me.

[BG]

How on earth do you touch your own lats? Can't come close to the damn things...

I put my elbow against the wall and push with my back scrubber

[Proximal]

Good luck / be safe guys!

[almostgone]

We did alot of work getting ready and nothing really.lol. typical south Florida summer lol.

How close r u to the coast ag???

U see this thing is gonna make a uturn and come back and hit us again???

Wife's family's house in Jacksonville got hit hard I know damage but unsure how much yet. And their sons house is on intercostal and we haven't heard from them.

I'm over close to N. Ga., but you can feel the change in the air and we have a constant little breeze going. You can feel the heaviness in the air however. You know how it feels down your way when the storm is a few days away, but you can tell the change in the way the air feels and the animals are acting.
I'm praying that it doesn't hang a U turn and ram back into you. I got an email from an old friend of mine that works down @ Mayport and he said the place was a mess. He didn't evacuate, knowing him he is holed up somewhere daring the storm to find him
He said Jax and Orange Park looked like it had been through hell.


Edit: You know if you hadn't planned ahead this would've been right on top of you.

[almostgone]

Ive been taking NyQuil Z to sleep at night, no way I would sleep with out it. I was thinking anxiety meds also for on the weeks so I could sleep longer, the Z doesn't last long and once I wake that is it. Thanks, I'm trying to hang in there, last night for some reason my bp was high and I had head throb with the ringing, it was brutal nearly broke me.

An occasional benzo can do wonders for sleep, buddy. If you don't any on hand, maybe a Flexeril? It's a bitch because when your sleep is crap, you don't feel well, it fvcks with your BP, which tears your nerves up, and then the cycle starts again with your sleep being crap.
Basically turns into a self sustaining shit storm.
Hope you get some relief ASAP.

[DocToxin8]

Hi folks!
This thread is so big it's kinda intimidating to make a first post.
Furthermore I don't really train HIT now. My shoulder injury seems to have been fixed so I'll probably go back to the two part;
1) lifting heavy with longer breaks
2) then up the reps with shorter breaks
(I usually train only one muscle group each time)

About sleep;
You probably know all the tricks but here's a few;
Melatonin : mild
Theanine with melatonin; still mild, but little better and helps your immune system
Anti histamines; in the US you can get diphenhydramine, no?
Other sedative antihistamines could be used as well, all have hangover possibility. You also get used to the effects fast.
Z drugs: zolpidem is great, but it's half life of 2 hours means that you'll wake up if you have worse sleep problems than just falling asleep
Zopiclone lasts longer, and got a higher addictive potential too.
Benzo; clonazepam are one of the more muscle relaxing ones, there are lots of others though. But look at their muscle relaxant properties, it often goes hand in hand with its hypnotic ability. Oxazepam is pretty useless for sleep, but good for anxiety.

Best option would be the Z drugs when you really have a hard time, then go with theanine + melatonin the rest (all) of the time.

Best of luck.

[almostgone]

Welcome to the Marcus's HIT Dungeon! . Before I say too much I'll just say that the 2 conditions you posted above about a period of lifting heavy followed by a period of higher volume is basically what most of us do here.
When things are going well, I generally go 4-6 weeks of HIT using beyond failure techniques, then I will follow that with a couple of weeks utilizing a couple of straight sets of slightly higher volume. On the weeks of slightly higher volume, I go to failure, but not beyond.
Most of the lifters in here have injuries of some sort and do our best to work around them. Very few people.can go 8 weeks or more of actual all out HIT without some form of a pull back. The body, CNS, and mental toll is just too much.
If you can, at least skim through the thread because there is loads of good info, video clips, and just basic stories of dealing with life while still doing what we can to lift.

[DocToxin8]

Thank you very much for the welcome!
I'm sure there's lots of good info here, but it's buried within 1034 pages at the moment, it would take a long time just to click through it, not least reading it.
But I'll open a random page now and then and see if I find some gold.

I would imagine going all out HIT for the entire workout, every workout, would wear me out to the point of needing a break quite fast.
It's one thing going HIT when training biceps triceps,
quite another to do it when training legs f.ex.

With my shoulder injury I've actually done stuff a little HIT'ier,
cause I've been using light weights inn all press excersizes.
(I don't think it really qualifies though)
But an example of a chest routine would be;
8-12 reps at decline benchpress (stopped regular and incline with bar)
but lifting so slow on the negative that I reached failure still.
having quite short breaks (aiming for 30sec but often somewhat more)
between sets.
Maybe do 1 or 2 more press excersizes, with dumbells, the same way.
Then do cable cross overs and up the reps, still trying to keep short breaks.

I found that with this approach I could exhaust my pecs without much strain.

But I wouldn't call it HIT, due to the fact that in some excersizes (like incline dumbbell press) I had to go so slow and light I didn't really reach failure.
(Or said more correct ; I didn't want to reach failure in those excersizes that could cause pain)

Now I'm thinking of doing some real HIT though,
as my shoulder seems better but I still don't want to use a lot of weight,
and shorter interval time would be one way to do this.
Any thoughts on this?

[almostgone]

Steaming some bok choy, leeks, celery, carrots, and chicken for a few meals. Really am hooked on it right now. I've switched off of the low sodium soy sauce and am using coconut aminos instead right now. My body just doesn't tolerate sodium ever since the heart problems and we never/very rarely add any salt to our food. The coconut aminos just aren't quite the same, but I have found one soy sauce that is only 145mg per Tbsp, and have got it on order.
My T is almost below lower range, but I see the Dr. Tuesday, so hopefully we can work up a better dosage or plan then. I will admit I have taken a little of something with a fairly short half life since I just had labs 2 weeks ago and I actually feel like heading to the shop this evening!
Slept like a dead man and watching a movie with the wife and the beast right now.LOL, I just don't tolerate working much over 50 hours anymore so I guess I needed the rest?

[marcus300]

Thank you very much for the welcome!
I'm sure there's lots of good info here, but it's buried within 1034 pages at the moment, it would take a long time just to click through it, not least reading it.
But I'll open a random page now and then and see if I find some gold.

?

There are some re-posts around page 1000 but if you start at the start there is a lot of content and worth reading if your into HIT or are going to go down this route.

[marcus300]

Really busy at the moment so cant catch up, will be free from Monday so will do some reading

[DocToxin8]

Sounds good!
Problem with salt is that they add it to everything.
You buy some microwave lasagna, look at the macros and think,
"that's not bad at all!"
The you just realize you've downed 5grams salt in one 600kcal meal.

50 hours? No wonder your ticker has been a little upset.
That's way to much work man!

[almostgone]

Thank you very much for the welcome!
I'm sure there's lots of good info here, but it's buried within 1034 pages at the moment, it would take a long time just to click through it, not least reading it.
But I'll open a random page now and then and see if I find some gold.

I would imagine going all out HIT for the entire workout, every workout, would wear me out to the point of needing a break quite fast.
It's one thing going HIT when training biceps triceps,
quite another to do it when training legs f.ex.

With my shoulder injury I've actually done stuff a little HIT'ier,
cause I've been using light weights inn all press excersizes.
(I don't think it really qualifies though)
But an example of a chest routine would be;
8-12 reps at decline benchpress (stopped regular and incline with bar)
but lifting so slow on the negative that I reached failure still.
having quite short breaks (aiming for 30sec but often somewhat more)
between sets.
Maybe do 1 or 2 more press excersizes, with dumbells, the same way.
Then do cable cross overs and up the reps, still trying to keep short breaks.

I found that with this approach I could exhaust my pecs without much strain.

But I wouldn't call it HIT, due to the fact that in some excersizes (like incline dumbbell press) I had to go so slow and light I didn't really reach failure.
(Or said more correct ; I didn't want to reach failure in those excersizes that could cause pain)

Now I'm thinking of doing some real HIT though,
as my shoulder seems better but I still don't want to use a lot of weight,
and shorter interval time would be one way to do this.
Any thoughts on this?

One would be to go to page 41 and look at Marcus's 5 way split he has posted there. It gives a quick overview of how he approaches a lift mentally and walks you through it. However, I still would encourage you to read the thread when you can.
As far as the shoulder, I always start a shoulder or chest lift by doing higher rep Cuban rotations with a very light plate. Say 5 or 10 pounds to get the blood flowing. Also, I like.to stretch my shoulders by cupping one hand over the end of a broomstick and with the other hand, grab the handle towards the sweeping end and use it to push the hand that is over the end of the broomstick up and to the rear.
Also, I love to.work with dumbbells for shoulders or chest. It allows my shoulders to track independent of each other and is much more comfortable ( I have one shoulder that gives me grief).
As far as working your shoulders more intensely, I would try going with a weight that I hit failure @ 8-10 reps, but I would incorporate slow 5 count negatives. Keep your rest periods very short. Consider super setting d'bell presses with side laterals. Those are just a couple of quick thoughts
Your delts look good though, judging by your avatar.

[almostgone]

Another thing, I would consider is a good roller. I use a rumble roller and also a baseball to dig deep into the muscle and break down the scar tissue and get some blood flowing.
Recently, Marcus had been doing some ART and lots of stretching and has regained some ROM and is experiencing less discomfort. Look through some of his posts over the last month or so and he has gone into a bit of detail on that.
Also, one of the regulars in here, Proximal, is a great resource for dealing with injuries.
Hope some of that is helpful.

[almostgone]

Sounds good!
Problem with salt is that they add it to everything.
You buy some microwave lasagna, look at the macros and think,
"that's not bad at all!"
The you just realize you've downed 5grams salt in one 600kcal meal.

50 hours? No wonder your ticker has been a little upset.
That's way to much work man!

LOL, no prepared food for me. We cook fresh, although I do have a weakness for the occasional pizza. On my last CMP, my sodium was towards the bottom end of the range and my potassium is just in range. That is with my taking 20mEq of Kor-Con (script potassium supplement) b.I.d. /2 times day.
I'm on Maxzide as part of my treatment for heart failure and I blame the low potassium on the diuretic.

[almostgone]

Really busy at the moment so cant catch up, will be free from Monday so will do some reading

Morning, Marcus. Try to have a good weekend!

[marcus300]

Morning, Marcus. Try to have a good weekend!

Will do. Plan to have a relaxing one

[Mr.BB]

Morning guys!

Partially HIT shoulders&triceps yesterday evening, gym bro wanted to train with me, ended up doing too much volume, and everytime I skip a week muscles tend to lower glycogen storage. By the end of triceps they were totally flat, you know the feeling when you reach 5-6 reps and you feel the muscle is empty?
Still very flat this morning, breakfast is down, need to get 2 more meals in before hitting legs later.

Anyone knows wheres Nach?

[DocToxin8]

Back / lats training yesterday, took some progress pics as things are improving a little.
I know the pics are bad, but they give a rough estimate.
One is unflexed and the other is flexed (although a terrible pose), and I since i trained back not chest its kinda lame.
But it does show how my delts look now somewhat, i feel they've shrunk.
Also, since im bulking, body fat is also very high, and I havent used any E2 Control so there's water.

Thinking of doing a log over this blast, if you can call it a blast when total AAS intake is way less than 1G a week.

But I'm on my way folks!
Thanks for the welcome again,
I hope to post some new pics in 3 weeks that will show some improvement.

Edit:
I see now I was a little rash.
This might not be the thread to post my progress pics,
and I apologize if I came of as a self centered dick.
(I am self centered, but hopefully not a dick)

And again, I'm very glad for all input on where to find some info in this thread. Thx and have a great time everyone!

[RaginCajun]

We did alot of work getting ready and nothing really.lol. typical south Florida summer lol. How close r u to the coast ag??? U see this thing is gonna make a uturn and come back and hit us again??? Wife's family's house in Jacksonville got hit hard I know damage but unsure how much yet. And their sons house is on intercostal and we haven't heard from them.

Glad to hear that y'all are safe bud

[kelkel]

Pics look great doc! And this "is" the place to post progress pics. We all do.

Welcome to "the" forum.

[NACH3]

Morning guys!

Partially HIT shoulders&triceps yesterday evening, gym bro wanted to train with me, ended up doing too much volume, and everytime I skip a week muscles tend to lower glycogen storage. By the end of triceps they were totally flat, you know the feeling when you reach 5-6 reps and you feel the muscle is empty?
Still very flat this morning, breakfast is down, need to get 2 more meals in before hitting legs later.

Anyone knows wheres Nach?

What's up Fellas!

Just down with a cold - doing some work around the house etc

Will have some time this w/e I'll catch up guys - hope all is well and
@ Sfla glad to hear buddy! AG I hope youse are out of the worst by now?

Have a kickass day Biatches!

[Sfla80]

Arms this morning

Close grip bench 3w 1f 1w (225) dd

DB over head (French press 2f 1w (95 pb) dd

Vbar pd 2w dd

Single arm reverse pd 2w

(Need a tri routine that doesn't involve cables. I foresee this being an issue)

Standing db curls 1f 2w slow negatives

Short straight bar 2w dd

Bent over single arm curls 2w

Preacher single arms 2w (only one plate Cuz)

[kelkel]

Back and Shoulders yesterday:

Front pulldowns: 2 heavy, reps around 10-12
Smith spyder rows: 2 heavier than normal 8-10 reps with rp's
Low cables: 2 sets, moderate weight (still heavy) 10-12 reps, quick pace
Dumbell rows (2 at a time): 2 sets, relatively heavy
Shrugs: 2 sets heavy, rp on last.

Smith front press: 2 sets, 8-10 reps. Narrower grip on these past few months. Like the feel of it.
Laterals: 2 sets with drop on last. These are not cheat starting from the side of thigh
Front raises: 2 sets
Rear delts over bench: 2 sets heavy

Great workout. Feeling it today. Lower back a bit sore from Wednesday's squats. Due to hamstring tightness so trying to stretch a bit today. Hate stretching.

[Sfla80]

Back and Shoulders yesterday:

Front pulldowns: 2 heavy, reps around 10-12
Smith spyder rows: 2 heavier than normal 8-10 reps with rp's
Low cables: 2 sets, moderate weight (still heavy) 10-12 reps, quick pace
Dumbell rows (2 at a time): 2 sets, relatively heavy
Shrugs: 2 sets heavy, rp on last.

Smith front press: 2 sets, 8-10 reps. Narrower grip on these past few months. Like the feel of it.
Laterals: 2 sets with drop on last. These are not cheat starting from the side of thigh
Front raises: 2 sets
Rear delts over bench: 2 sets heavy

Great workout. Feeling it today. Lower back a bit sore from Wednesday's squats. Due to hamstring tightness so trying to stretch a bit today. Hate stretching.

Smith front press. When u say narrow grip....how for or should I say where r ur hand placements?

[numbere]

Ive been taking NyQuil Z to sleep at night, no way I would sleep with out it. I was thinking anxiety meds also for on the weeks so I could sleep longer, the Z doesn't last long and once I wake that is it. Thanks, I'm trying to hang in there, last night for some reason my bp was high and I had head throb with the ringing, it was brutal nearly broke me.

I understand how difficult it is to cope with tinnitus but I strongly suggest you stay away from anxiety meds. They literally ruined my dad's life over the past few years. I had to spend the last few days with my dad in a geriatric mental ward because his psychiatrist tried a previously scripted anxiety medication at a different dose.

It's well documented that the older you get (no offense lol) the more anxiety meds destroy your memory and sense of self.

...

No gym time for the last two days:/

Great to read everyone survived the hurricane and is doing well!

[numbere]

BTW, does anyone have an accurate half life value for TNE in grape seed oil?

I don't know an exact figure but it should be absorbed more slowly than MCT oil. Not sure that it would be enough to make any real difference.

How are you using the TNE?

Edit: Sorry, I had my figures reversed. Based on viscosities alone grape seed should be absorbed more quickly than MCT.

[kelkel]

Smith front press. When u say narrow grip....how for or should I say where r ur hand placements?

Well, if a normal grip would be where your upper arms are horizontal to the floor, forearms perpendicular thus elbows are at 90 degrees. I just grip in a couple more inches. Odd for me at least but it feels good.

[kelkel]

[QUOTE=numbere;7220141]It's well documented that the older you get (no offense lol) the more anxiety meds destroy your memory and sense of self./QUOTE]


Great. More to look forward to if I ever break out of my teens.

[Proximal]

Hey all. Just finished watching the cubbies, can't get to sleep just yet.

Great back workout this afternoon, planning on biceps tomorrow.

[DocToxin8]

No training yesterday (it's night now), went to a physio friend and spent the evening. He's worked on my r.shoulder couple of days ago, especially hammering the infraspinatus muscle. Now we had time so both shoulders were worked on, and "active" pec stretching (I resist while he stretch the arm/muscle, then let go so it's stretched further and then resist, let go and let it stretch further, and so on.)
Also did a basic massage of the traps, and another trigger point treatment of the diaphragm. All tension just fly away and it's so much easier to breathe.

I'm sore, those treatments are like a training session in that they make me so tired, last treatment I slept all the next day (from like 1730 to 0800).
I also feel the muscles are hammered. It's like they've been chewed on, but in a good way. Hopefully I can train everything now as long as I don't go heavy right away but build it up over 3 weeks.
(I know, I can't hardly believe a 4 month shoulder pain can be fixed so fast, but
My so far it's been almost miraculous.)

Later today I'm either gonna do legs or shoulders or both, thinking it might be wise to keep the shoulder workout somewhat mild this close to treatment, but I'll wait and see what feels natural.
In any case, I'm happy that those issues seem to go away now soon,
although I can't believe the treatment is that effective before I can do presses at normal weight. I'll let you know how it goes.

Doing some shoulder press with lateral raises as super sets would be heavenly,
thanks for the tip.

Good to hear u Americans are safe from that crazy weather btw.

Have a nice night or day everyone, I need a couple of more hours of zZz's before I start the day.

[almostgone]

I don't know an exact figure but it should be absorbed more slowly than MCT oil. Not sure that it would be enough to make any real difference.

How are you using the TNE?

Edit: Sorry, I had my figures reversed. Based on viscosities alone grape seed should be absorbed more quickly than MCT.

Thanks, Numbere. I thought the GSO would absorb faster, but was unsure of the actual half life. I opted for something different just to keep me from totally dragging. Dr. appointment is Tuesday and I believe I have tonight off of work, so I will rest a bit more.

[numbere]

Doing some shoulder press with lateral raises as super sets would be heavenly,
thanks for the tip.

Shoulder injuries are odd when considering what movements cause pain. How did you injure your shoulder?

By far my favorite shoulder SS is shoulder press with either DB or BB upright rows. That is if you're looking for mass over conditioning.

Thanks, Numbere. I thought the GSO would absorb faster, but was unsure of the actual half life. I opted for something different just to keep me from totally dragging. Dr. appointment is Tuesday and I believe I have tonight off of work, so I will rest a bit more.

Are you using the TNE as a supplementation to your TRT regimen or as a pre workout?

[almostgone]

Shoulder injuries are odd when considering what movements cause pain. How did you injure your shoulder?

By far my favorite shoulder SS is shoulder press with either DB or BB upright rows. That is if you're looking for mass over conditioning.



Are you using the TNE as a supplementation to your TRT regimen or as a pre workout?

I had planned to use it just to tide me over for a day or two until I see the Dr. since my T is almost out of range. My current protocol is 100mg Depo-test/week. Instead I opted.for 20 mg of var since I just had labs 1.5 weeks ago.
I have my appointment Tuesday, but have been really dragging for the last month or so. It's time for an adjustment in dosage or perhaps switch to Aveed. I would prefer to tweak my cyp dosage since the more frequent injections seem to be helping to keeping my hematocrit levels down. However, I have no objections with trying Aveed, which is something she and I have discussed before.

[almostgone]

Eating a BIG salad made of lettuce, broccoli, a little spinach, alfalfa sprouts, a handful of pumpkin seeds, a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese, and a tablespoon of watered down Greek yogurt dressing.
Halloween is the wife's favorite time of year, so I guess we will be watching a "slasher movie" here in a bit.

[numbere]

I had planned to use it just to tide me over for a day or two until I see the Dr. since my T is almost out of range. My current protocol is 100mg Depo-test/week. Instead I opted.for 20 mg of var since I just had labs 1.5 weeks ago.
I have my appointment Tuesday, but have been really dragging for the last month or so. It's time for an adjustment in dosage or perhaps switch to Aveed. I would prefer to tweak my cyp dosage since the more frequent injections seem to be helping to keeping my hematocrit levels down. However, I have no objections with trying Aveed, which is something she and I have discussed before.

My bad I thought your last bw came back with favorable results. Eh var or TNE as long as it helps make you feel normal and doesn't effect your blood counts too much. Injecting once every 10 weeks sounds much more attractive than twice per week.

[almostgone]

My bad I thought your last bw came back with favorable results. Eh var or TNE as long as it helps make you feel normal and doesn't effect your blood counts too much. Injecting once every 10 weeks sounds much more attractive than twice per week.

You recall correctly, Numbere. My BW 3 months ago was good. My BW this past week was crap as far as hormone levels. It's just time for an adjustment of some sort.