Cylon357's Super Cool Covid 2020 Weight loss comp log!

[Cylon357]

Man, this week has genuinely shat on my head. But it's over now.

I was feeling a bit over trained / burnt out this week, so i just continued the deload and will pick things back up tomorrow (Sunday). I did get in a Squat + Bench workout on Wednesday, but that was all I did - Squat and Bench. Similar to 531 "I ain't doing sh!t". I was just totally burned this week and wasn't feeling it. I did get a 2 mile weighted walk in Thursday, 40lb vest in about 34 minutes. I can do that faster, but had my thinking cap on.

Anyhow, tomorrow I start back with the 4 workout per week plan, plus one more day of LISS. Gotta clean up the diet to finish this Covid comp with any real progress. Now on THAT (the cleaning up the diet), you can wish me luck!

[Cylon357]

People often mistake being old and fat with being unhealthy. While I would rather be young and thin, I can take some comfort in the fact that my BP numbers look like this regularly.

[Cylon357]

It turns out, yard work was the word of the day yesterday (Sunday). That also involved getting up on the roof and blowing out the gutters. We have Oak trees in our neighborhood and October is one of their shedding months. Acorns and leaves oh my. And since this is Florida, it was hotter than hades on the roof. Did some work on the rack (see below) and then hit the shower. That's OK, I got to see the best NFL matchup of single win teams as my Chargers beat the Jaguars. Both teams inconsistent but made things exciting.

Anyhow, workouts begin in earnest and I DO mean in earnest tonight. Yesterday, in addition to the yard work I mentioned, I moved two of the weight hangers on my rack from their position higher up on the rack to down low like the other two. When they were higher, they interfered with my squats sometimes. Tonights workout will be squats super setted with pullups (among other things) so I'm looking forward to that.

Oh, The Wife and I also voted yesterday. If you are in the US and can vote, maybe you should. I don't care WHO you vote for, just that you do. It's your call, though, I can respect the right to abstain.

[SampsonandDelilah]

Chargers fan huh? I won’t hold that against you, especially because my Broncos are abysmal.

I do LOVE Austen Eckler though. He’s a Northern Colorado boy and from my neck of the woods. Went from a D3 school to a starting RB in the NFL...what’s not to love?!

Keep grinding brother!!

[Cylon357]

Chargers fan huh? I won’t hold that against you, especially because my Broncos are abysmal.

I do LOVE Austen Eckler though. He’s a Northern Colorado boy and from my neck of the woods. Went from a D3 school to a starting RB in the NFL...what’s not to love?!

Keep grinding brother!!

I'm trying!

I have followed the Chargers since the days of Dan Fouts and Air Coryell. Been a lot of abysmal years for us Bolts fans, too. We have that rookie QB now, Herbert, that is doing well. Is he the next Manning Brady Brees Mahomes or Wilson? I can only hope. And we have Bosa and Ingram aka the Terrible Twosome on D.... Maybe not this year, but lets see what 2021 and 2022 bring.

[KittyO1]

It turns out, yard work was the word of the day yesterday (Sunday). That also involved getting up on the roof and blowing out the gutters. We have Oak trees in our neighborhood and October is one of their shedding months. Acorns and leaves oh my. And since this is Florida, it was hotter than hades on the roof. Did some work on the rack (see below) and then hit the shower. That's OK, I got to see the best NFL matchup of single win teams as my Chargers beat the Jaguars. Both teams inconsistent but made things exciting.

Anyhow, workouts begin in earnest and I DO mean in earnest tonight. Yesterday, in addition to the yard work I mentioned, I moved two of the weight hangers on my rack from their position higher up on the rack to down low like the other two. When they were higher, they interfered with my squats sometimes. Tonights workout will be squats super setted with pullups (among other things) so I'm looking forward to that.

Oh, The Wife and I also voted yesterday. If you are in the US and can vote, maybe you should. I don't care WHO you vote for, just that you do. It's your call, though, I can respect the right to abstain.

I feel ya...The acorns, leaves, and beach nuts have covered most of my neighborhood! Lol We have weather from the hurricane bringing in a lot of rain and wind so it’s only going to get worse!

[Cylon357]

'Roids, man. Goddang 'roids.

Mine have been giving me so much sh!t the last two weeks, I had to take it easy last week AGAIN.

What? Cylon, I thought you just did Clomid and maybe some peps here and there? Have you joined us??

Oh, no I don't mean steroids. I mean hemorrhoids. I've been cursed with these jokers for years. About the past month or so, they have been REAL BAD. Like, bad enough where I'm talking to the doc in a couple of weeks about surgery. And I HATE surgery.

Butt (see what I did there) with all that said, this week has started off good. I had a good squat day yesterday and this morning did fasted LISS cardio (1.5 to 2 mile walk). And 'Lefty and Dapper Dan' aren't giving me near as much grief as they had been, so that's good. I have some Ipamorelin/ModGRF blend and Frag both from Peptide Sciences that I want to run soon. I was hoping to start this week, but if I'm going to have surgery, I'm thinking about holding off until after that to help heal.

This getting old stuff is for the birds. I guess it beats the alternative though!

[Cylon357]

Chargers fan huh? I won’t hold that against you, especially because my Broncos are abysmal.

I do LOVE Austen Eckler though. He’s a Northern Colorado boy and from my neck of the woods. Went from a D3 school to a starting RB in the NFL...what’s not to love?!

Keep grinding brother!!

Many thanks BTW for not bragging about how awesomely the Broncos came back on the Chargers. We couldn't watch the game, but I saw the score at the half and was like cool!

Then Monday I checked the final. And there was a great expletive spoken.

[Cylon357]

Good bench workout last night, made better by a couple of things.

First, I have discovered that for dips, If I lean the top part of my body forward, and bring my knees towards my chest (kind of like doing knee raises), my chest gets BLASTED. I like it. I like it a LOT. I'm going to hurt tomorrow, but dang, I like that feeling of getting good, clean work in on a muscle group.

Second, over the past several months, I have been accumulating bits and pieces of an on the cheap pulley system for my rack. I got to put it to use last night, for both one arm cable flyes and tricep pushdowns. Both exercis

♫ Don't tell my tri's, my achey breaky tri's ♫

What the hell was that!?!? Billy Ray Cyrus?? Where in the hell did that come from??

Anyhow, both exercises went well, and I have a slightly longer cable on order to do low rows, etc. I'm looking forward to really being able to get things done. It looks a little rigged up, but it works and was one HELL of a lot less expensive than any dedicated equipment right now.

[wango]

Good bench workout last night, made better by a couple of things.

First, I have discovered that for dips, If I lean the top part of my body forward, and bring my knees towards my chest (kind of like doing knee raises), my chest gets BLASTED. I like it. I like it a LOT. I'm going to hurt tomorrow, but dang, I like that feeling of getting good, clean work in on a muscle group.

Second, over the past several months, I have been accumulating bits and pieces of an on the cheap pulley system for my rack. I got to put it to use last night, for both one arm cable flyes and tricep pushdowns. Both exercis

♫ Don't tell my tri's, my achey breaky tri's ♫

What the hell was that!?!? Billy Ray Cyrus?? Where in the hell did that come from??

Anyhow, both exercises went well, and I have a slightly longer cable on order to do low rows, etc. I'm looking forward to really being able to get things done. It looks a little rigged up, but it works and was one HELL of a lot less expensive than any dedicated equipment right now.

Nice set-up!

I’m not a Charger’s fan, but watch their games now to see that QB. Holy cow does that kid have potential.

Rookie of the year? Potentially, but if they were winning.

[Cylon357]

Nice set-up!

I’m not a Charger’s fan, but watch their games now to see that QB. Holy cow does that kid have potential.

Rookie of the year? Potentially, but if they were winning.

He does look good. But the last time they were REALLY good they had a running back with the initials LT. If they can get their running game a little stronger, then we get to see what the kid can do in the pocket. Still, after many years with Rivers, it is nice to have a QB that can seriously scramble.

[Cylon357]

Last week started out good, but fizzled out. Those damn 'roids causing me issues.

This week, however, has been good so far. I've changed the program slightly to focus on more cutting, with a couple of days of weights, a day of dedicated LISS, and two days of non weight bearing HIIT.

I did the jog on treadmill, heavy bag, climber combo. Only two rounds of each for a total of 18 working minutes, but with intervals in all 3 exercises, I was beat. Plus I did a brisk mile to warm up and a slightly slower mile to cool down, so I got the work in.

It will be 3 rounds next week because, evidently, there is something broken in my head.

[Cylon357]

Man, this week has been garbage. I'm just posting to say 'We will not let 2020 win'

Back at it tomorrow in earnest. I've been mixing up the program a little, kind of trying to decide where I want to go and what I want to do. Will post more later.

[SampsonandDelilah]

'Roids, man. Goddang 'roids.

Mine have been giving me so much sh!t the last two weeks, I had to take it easy last week AGAIN.

What? Cylon, I thought you just did Clomid and maybe some peps here and there? Have you joined us??

Oh, no I don't mean steroids. I mean hemorrhoids. I've been cursed with these jokers for years. About the past month or so, they have been REAL BAD. Like, bad enough where I'm talking to the doc in a couple of weeks about surgery. And I HATE surgery.

Butt (see what I did there) with all that said, this week has started off good. I had a good squat day yesterday and this morning did fasted LISS cardio (1.5 to 2 mile walk). And 'Lefty and Dapper Dan' aren't giving me near as much grief as they had been, so that's good. I have some Ipamorelin/ModGRF blend and Frag both from Peptide Sciences that I want to run soon. I was hoping to start this week, but if I'm going to have surgery, I'm thinking about holding off until after that to help heal.

This getting old stuff is for the birds. I guess it beats the alternative though!

If you haven’t, please get them looked at Cylon. Not being an alarmist at all, but that’s where I was in February and it turned out they weren’t roids, they were tumors. I’m sure yours are not, but in good conscience I need to say something. As I said, not being an alarmist, just sharing my stuff.

Keep up the awesome work

[Cylon357]

If you haven’t, please get them looked at Cylon. Not being an alarmist at all, but that’s where I was in February and it turned out they weren’t roids, they were tumors. I’m sure yours are not, but in good conscience I need to say something. As I said, not being an alarmist, just sharing my stuff.

Keep up the awesome work

I do appreciate it, brother, especially knowing where you have been.

I have an appointment to get them checked by the gastroenterologist in early December, but I'm almost certain that it is a hemi thing. This same doc did my colonoscopy a couple of years ago and was like 'yeah, I saw you have some old hemorrhoids. We can take care of that whenever you want or just wait.' I could provide more graphic details about being relatively sure they are hemis, but this is a family friendly site (HAHA) and besides, nobody wants to hear about my ass. NOBODY. (It's ok, I've come to terms with it.) Well, I take that back. The gastroenterologist seems to enjoy discussing it, but I think that is because he sees 'new margarita machine', not because I have an overly noteworthy butthole.

Still, better safe than sorry, especially with 2020 being how it is.

[SampsonandDelilah]

Just happy you have something scheduled....

[Cylon357]

So, I've been in a funk over the past couple of weeks. I seem to be coming out of it now. The hemi pain was causing part of it, but I also started playing with my meds.

I recently got my hands on some Enclomiphene from ExpressPCT and from Peptides Warehouse (yes, I know). Doing the math, I worked my weekly dosage out to somewhere near 50mg to be roughly the same as my 75mg Clomid. I ran that for about 3 weeks.

Either that dose isn't right or Enclomiphene doesn't work for me. I put two and two together and a few days ago, upped the dose and switched back to Clomid. Feeling better now. Looking forward to workout tomorrow!

Hemis are still a pain in the butt, literally, but I've added 2g of MSM per week to see if it helps. I've read a few accounts of people that have had relief with MSM and one guy that claims it totally resolved them. A bit of a stretch but if it can keep me out of surgery, I'm willing to give it a shot.

[wango]

So, I've been in a funk over the past couple of weeks. I seem to be coming out of it now. The hemi pain was causing part of it, but I also started playing with my meds.

I recently got my hands on some Enclomiphene from ExpressPCT and from Peptides Warehouse (yes, I know). Doing the math, I worked my weekly dosage out to somewhere near 50mg to be roughly the same as my 75mg Clomid. I ran that for about 3 weeks.

Either that dose isn't right or Enclomiphene doesn't work for me. I put two and two together and a few days ago, upped the dose and switched back to Clomid. Feeling better now. Looking forward to workout tomorrow!

Hemis are still a pain in the butt, literally, but I've added 2g of MSM per week to see if it helps. I've read a few accounts of people that have had relief with MSM and one guy that claims it totally resolved them. A bit of a stretch but if it can keep me out of surgery, I'm willing to give it a shot.

Best of luck with the pain. Amazing how some things can just crush you because of the discomfort.

[Cylon357]

Good squat workout tonight. Feeling much better after getting back on the proper dose of Clomid. I'll speak to that in more detail elsewhere.

Took it easy to get back to it and not anger the 'Evil Spirits of Planet Hema-Roid' but still got the work in. I'll ease back in and see how things go over the next several days, then kick it back into high (well, high-er) gear next week.

[KittyO1]

Glad you’re feeling better!

[Cylon357]

Best of luck with the pain. Amazing how some things can just crush you because of the discomfort.

Glad you’re feeling better!

Thanks y'all! I'm dealing with it... Total first world problem, all in all. High fiber diet definitely helps.

[Cylon357]

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

I had a good squat workout Monday, and a good bench workout Tuesday. I had Wednesday off this week, but today it is back.

Note that I had 'back', not 'deadlift'. I'm taking deads out for a little while (well, at least for this week). They will be back at some point, cause I just can't help myself. Anyhow, I'm planning on focusing on lat width and overall density for the next little while. It should be 'fun'.

Definitely feeling better now that I got my doses back in line. Hemis are still an issue, but it is amazing what getting fiber in the diet can do for that. They are getting looked at in a couple of weeks, but I dang and I mean DANG sure don't want another surgery. But maybe, if that is what it needs.

Have a great day!

[wango]

Glad you’re having some improvement in pain; go fiber!

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Cylon357]

Good back workout yesterday. It was kind of weird not setting up for deadlifts but my body didn't seem to mind. They will be back in at some point, just probably not once a week with squats in the same week. Well, unless the day comes that I decide to ditch the Clomid as HRT and go on the needle. Not that the needle is magic, but at that point, HELLO OTHER COMPOUNDS!

Anyhow, I did close grip pull downs to warm up, then did some wide grip chins, adding 25 pounds for my middle set. I only got 5 reps on that but could feel and see the lats swelling. Moved on to single arm pulldowns, face pulls and seated rows. Added in some calf work and bicep curls to round out the weights. 1 mile walk to warm up and 1 more to cool down. I'm learning Italian right now and the walk is the perfect time to listen to the lessons. Yes, that does mean I walk around the neighborhood speaking broken Italian to no one, but the neighbors are used to it from when I was learning Spanish.

As a total side note (well ok as a even larger side note), when I first started learning Spanish, sometimes I sounded Italian. Not like good Italian but like Mario from Mario Cart Italian. I wonder if I will sound Spanish while learning Italian? Not good Spanish mind you, but like Speedy Gonzalez Spanish.

Yes, this is how my brain works. You think it's hard to read? Try living it. Or possibly even more... entertaining? worse?, try living WITH it. The Wife is a very patient lady. She HAS broken me, by and large, of the habit of randomly singing Slayer's 'Angel of Death' in my Kermit the Frog voice at full volume, but it still happens on occasion.

Anyhow, lats are feeling a little achey this morning and I'm calling that a very good thing.

[Cylon357]

Good news, bad news.

First the bad: the hemis are still acting up some. Heavy lifting seems to aggravate them but high fiber diet seems to be helping. Appointment coming up soon, lets see what the surgeon says.

C'mon man, who am I kidding?? The surgeon is gonna say "Let's cut 'em out! I got a kid going to college!" Well, he won't say that last part, but we know he is thinking it. A fish gotta swim, a surgeon gotta cut.

Good news is that my HIIT'ish routine with the treadmill, heavy bag and climber does NOT aggravate the hemis. In fact, even my knee is behaving. I did three rounds tonight (27 total work minutes, maybe took 33 to complete) and the knee is just saying "hey, how you doin', big guy? Me, I'm not too bad."

In other words, my knee, which this time last year was hurting so bad I couldn't go up and down stairs without crazy pain, feels fine after a workout that put it through its paces. I did use the tight knee sleeves but did not use and don't feel the need to use diclofenac tonight. This is good.

[KittyO1]

Definitely have some positives! That’s good! Maybe you’ll get lucky enough the surgeon will say wait? Who knows. Haha

[Cylon357]

Definitely have some positives! That’s good! Maybe you’ll get lucky enough the surgeon will say wait? Who knows. Haha

Some days, I would be like "come get 'em, doc!"

[wango]

I completely forgot about the straining with deads and squats. Those certainly don’t help.

[Cylon357]

Good overhead press workout for me yesterday, which was a good way to cap off a rather crappy but not horrible week.

BTW, this has ceased to be a Covid 2020 weight loss log, and has become just more of a general log. That is probably obvious...

Anyhow, I'm starting a dedicated program next week, similar to my original plan. I have an eval for possible surgery coming up and that may keep me from adding some of the peptides I have on hand, like Frag191 and Ipamorelin / ModGrf. If I'm going to need surgery, I would like to save AT LEAST the Ipamorelin / ModGRF until after that to help heal things. I may go ahead and start the Frag now or in the next week or so.

I also have on hand what may be the among the last of the injectable Thymosin Labs TB-500/BPC-157 7/3mg blend. I bought 4 vials about a month ago, and have 3 left over. They no longer seem to sell injectables. This makes me sad (well, OK disappointed) because they seemed like a legit vendor. They do still seem to sell oral products, but I've read that oral TB-500 is almost useless. Still, they have a good oral BPC-157 that I have used and an oral MK-677 / BPC-157 blend. I haven't used it, and probably won't because I get all Michelin Man from MK, though I would suspect it is a legit product.

[Cylon357]

Dang, meant to add, I also have some Ostarine on hand, both from Rat's Army and Umbrella Labs. I'm thinking about running it at 5 to 10 mg per day with my HRT Clomid. I've read a few accounts of people avoiding shutdown with that combo. I will likely either up the clomid slightly or add in low dose (5mg per day) Nolvadex if I do that. The nolvadex would serve two purposes: regular SERM duties and possible evaluation of effects on BPH. We will see how that works out.

[Cylon357]

So, I made a thing.

I had some leftover 2x8 sitting around (actually in the weight room) that I was using as a block for calf work. It seemed a little unstable, just a bit 'flippy', if you will. If I were on the edge doing weighted calf work, sometimes the other side would raise up and run the risk of flipping over. Bad news.

It turns out, I also had a 2x4 that 'came with the house'. Seriously, when we moved in 6 years ago or so, someone left a 2x4. Not a scrap piece mind you, but like a 12 foot 2x4. At least I think it came with the house. I can't imagine why I would have had AND moved with us a 12 foot long 2x4.

At any rate, it is now 8 feet long. I took two 2 foot sections out of it and attached it to the 2x8 as seen below. This allows me to move the center of mass over the center of the 2x8 so it doesn't flip. This is a little tall for me, though, so I will probably take one of the 2x4s off. This gives me an OK stretch but adds stability so it's a net win.

[Cylon357]

Good squat workout tonight. Kept it simple with Squats, chinups, leg curls, calf work (see below) and both regular and reverse hyperextensions. Followed that up with two rounds of 3 minutes on the treadmill followed by 15 kettle bell swings. Yeah, there you are, you naughty kettle bells! You knew I couldn't stay away.

Anyhow, I used the calf block for the first time tonight. As expected, I had to remove one of the 2x4s to shorten the height a bit. It helped but was still a little awkward. Felt good, though and I'm sure I will get the hang of it. Still, when standing on the 2x4, with my heel resting on the 2x8 and the floor a little, it was stable as hell.

[wango]

Good squat workout tonight. Kept it simple with Squats, chinups, leg curls, calf work (see below) and both regular and reverse hyperextensions. Followed that up with two rounds of 3 minutes on the treadmill followed by 15 kettle bell swings. Yeah, there you are, you naughty kettle bells! You knew I couldn't stay away.

Anyhow, I used the calf block for the first time tonight. As expected, I had to remove one of the 2x4s to shorten the height a bit. It helped but was still a little awkward. Felt good, though and I'm sure I will get the hang of it. Still, when standing on the 2x4, with my heel resting on the 2x8 and the floor a little, it was stable as hell.

I think that I hit my calves when I have to reach up to the top cabinets of the kitchen to get s*&%t for her.

[Cylon357]

Good bench workout today. Did bench press, dips, shoulder raise tri-set (front, side, rear), then skull crushers and db curls to round out the weights.

After that, I worked the bag for 3 minutes, followed by push ups (10 reps), then the remainder of a minute before working the bag again. I did two rounds of this today because I was pressed for time.

Still, at the end of workout, my upper body was nicely swollen (though that is relative). It was a very good day.

[Cylon357]

I've skipped a few days of updates. Deal with it, peeps! :P
Just kidding. But also kind of not.

Anyhow, I had a good routine last night of treadmill jogging, working the heavy bag, and the rowing machine. 3 minutes each, 3 rounds total for 27 working minutes. Took more time off the clock, as I try to move as quickly as I can between exercises (less than 1 minute). Grab a drink of water, put on / take off the gloves and then good to go.

Oh snap, almost forgot. I took my first shot of Frag 176-191 from Peptide Sciences today (like 30 minutes ago). Since I have never used Frag before, I kept the first dose at 100mcg, then will titrate up from there as tolerated.

Quick question for those with experience with Frag: cloudy or clear? I've seen various sources that say one or the other, but wanted trusted input. I may also post this question in the appropriate sub.

[Cylon357]

Had a good squat workout tonight, but the hemis are acting up.

I did like 5 working sets of squats, two with a narrow stance. I think that shifts the focus to the outer quad.
Leg curls and calf work.
Hyper extensions and reverse hypers.

That was actually it for the weight part of the workout.

Then came the HIIT...

3 minutes on the treadmill
5 pullups
15 kettlebell swings
rest 1 minute, maybe 15 seconds between exercises for transition and water.

3 Rounds and I was like "♫In the time of chimpanzees, I was a monkey♫"
or at least that is kind of how it felt. Huffin', puffin' and sweatin', Jack! Whoooo!

Yoga stretches for 15 minutes or so to cool down and limber up.

Life is good!

[Cylon357]

BTW, the hemis are annoying but mostly under control with a higher fiber diet. I had to move my appointment (doc shifted it actually) to Jan 11, so I will find out there what the score really is. At this point, I'm likely going to be like 'doc, take these bitches out!'

We'll see how that goes.

Life is still good though!

[wango]

BTW, the hemis are annoying but mostly under control with a higher fiber diet. I had to move my appointment (doc shifted it actually) to Jan 11, so I will find out there what the score really is. At this point, I'm likely going to be like 'doc, take these bitches out!'

We'll see how that goes.

Life is still good though!

Go fiber!

[KittyO1]

Had a good squat workout tonight, but the hemis are acting up.

I did like 5 working sets of squats, two with a narrow stance. I think that shifts the focus to the outer quad.
Leg curls and calf work.
Hyper extensions and reverse hypers.

That was actually it for the weight part of the workout.

Then came the HIIT...

3 minutes on the treadmill
5 pullups
15 kettlebell swings
rest 1 minute, maybe 15 seconds between exercises for transition and water.

3 Rounds and I was like "♫In the time of chimpanzees, I was a monkey♫"
or at least that is kind of how it felt. Huffin', puffin' and sweatin', Jack! Whoooo!

Yoga stretches for 15 minutes or so to cool down and limber up.

Life is good!

Looks like a fun and killer workout!!!

At this point, I'm likely going to be like 'doc, take these bitches out!'

That made me LOL

[Cylon357]

Had a good bench workout last night.

The number of the week is 5, as in 5 work sets.
I did barbell bench, working up to two sets at my top weight, then coming back down doing a couple of wide grip sets, finishing with a regular grip rep out set.

Moved on to 3 sets of 10 pushups with raised handles, then one arm cable crossover with my rigged up pulley system. Granted, it isn't really a 'crossover' doing one arm at a time... Anyhow, then on to tricep pushdowns and that was it for the main weight workout.

Instead of going HIIT this time, I went for more of a giant set finisher. My goal was to do 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 with chinups, dips, and front raises. So something like:
7 reps chins
7 reps dips
7 reps raises
rest 30 seconds
6 reps chins
6 reps dips
etc

until the final round would have be just 1 rep of each.

I did not make it that far. The chinups where the limiting factor. I got like 7-5-3-1 on those and just did 7-6-5-4 on the other exercises, though I did add bicep curls (because I forgot to do them earlier). Anyhow, this was an interesting experience. I will likely drop the chins next time and see if I can't complete the full giant set.