Ash's Journal

[Growth]

I was reading up about voltaren to try to find if it was in any way catabolic, i was reading that people often use it for tendonitus, for exercises like db preachers and skullcrushers, quite a few swore that they couldnt do skullcrushers etc without it. The thing is though it will only mask the pain, you will still be doing damage, but perhaps if your on a joint formula then a temporary pain reliver may be the answer.

[Varven]

32kg shoulder press is awesome man... i struggle for reps at 29kgs !

Hope your short break ahead helps with the recovery.

[ExpensiveUrine]

When's Ash comin' back?

I miss having that hidden user lurking in the background.

[jono]

ash where is thou

[Ash]

Howzit guys

I'm in deepest darkest Africa, visiting friends and family. Havent seen a gym in 3 weeks, so I'm looking forward to getting stuck in when I get back next week.

Hope you're all keeping up the training, my net access has been sporadic to say the least, so I havent been checking the journals.

[Ash]

I finally had something resembling a workout today as my back has eased up enough that I could put some effort into the movements. I did train a bit last week but I wasn't really able to push particularly hard.

Between the 4 weeks off and the back, I am pretty weak on most of my lifts but it won't take me long to get back into things.

I'm going to go hard out for a while to get the mass back up and boost my metabolism and then I'm probably going to try a keto diet based on whey, flax oil and Metamucil. I can't be bothered to spend ages cutting, so I'll try something new and see what happens.

I didn't bother logging anything today - did chest, delts and triceps though.

The gym got a preacher curl and a tricep machine while I was gone - again I think the designers of this gear need less hallucinogenics and more basic ergonomics and simple design. :grin:

[jono]

haha nice machines man :roll: :grin:

good to have you back

[Pseudonym]

Oooh... separate weight stacks for each side... nice! =P~

[ExpensiveUrine]

Welcome back Ash.

Take it easy on training and work around/rehab your injuries.

BTW, does that keto diet have a name?

[Ash]

Welcome back Ash.

Take it easy on training and work around/rehab your injuries.

BTW, does that keto diet have a name?

Thanks - I'll be methodical about the rehab, as usual

The diet is the Fat-Fast from T-Nation.com.

[Ash]

haha nice machines man :roll: :grin:

good to have you back

Cheers Jono

[Ash]

I need to boost my metabolism and crank up some of the mass I've lost in the course of a month of lousy eating and no real training - so I'm going back to DC style rest paused sets and plenty of good food.

The diet can wait for a month or so - I'll get much better results then.

Today was Chest, Delts, Tris - still using a lot of machines and higher reps until my back is sorted.

Machine chest press

85 x 17 RP

Hammer shoulder press

50 x 13 RP

Hammer tricep extension

50lbs x 25 RP

I really misjudged this set in terms of the weight, I'll add weight next time and try for a rep range closer to 15.

I'm very weak at the moment compared to a few months ago but the strength will reappear in a hurry if I eat right.

[jono]

good to see you back into things ash

[deegee]

nice to see you back posting in your journal again

[Ash]

good to see you back into things ash

nice to see you back posting in your journal again

Thanks guys

Back, bis, forearms today.

Parallel grip pulldowns

78 x 17 RP

Vertical grip machine rows

55 x 16 RP

DB rear lateral raises

15 x 10

15 x 10

Hammer preacher curls

40 x 9

40 x 9

Standing DB wrist curls

25 x 10

25 x 9

I did some light calf work as well - just easing my back into things.

[Ash]

Here's a real dumbass gym story:

I tried to do chest, delts and tris on Sunday morning but I was dumb enough to attempt it on nothing more than a protein shake with a small amount of carbs in it. The last big meal I had eaten was about 18 hours before the workout.

The result wasn't pretty - I got through my chest sets but I started feeling a bit light headed during my delt warm-up sets. This feeling got worse and my vision started to fade, so I thought I would end the workout at that point, grab some sugar water and head home for some real food.

I managed to get a cup with some sugar and was headed for the change-room to get some water when it was suddenly "lights-out" and I hit the deck. :doh: I shoved my elbow through the wall on the way down and knocked my head pretty hard on the carpet but all in all I got lucky - I didn't do any real damage to myself and if I had gone out a few seconds later, I would have fallen on a tiled floor.

I was out for a short while and was woken by one of the personal trainers, who was a great help. After a few minutes, he got me into a chair to sit and recover. Not long after that, I passed out again and at that point, they decided to call St Johns in case I was having a real problem. Mark, the PT stayed with me for about 30 minutes until they arrived. (If anyone's looking for a GOOD PT in Tauranga, drop me a PM and I'll send you his details).

The ambulance guys found that my BP was a bit low, as was my blood sugar. They thought I should go with them to the hospital but I was feeling somewhat better after some sugary drinks, so after 30 minutes, I got my wife to collect my sorry ass from the gym and went home to eat and relax. I didn't really feel right until that night.

Basically I wasted a workout and a day because I didn't bother to eat properly before training.....it's a good thing jono doesn't know where I live, he might pop round to have a word with me about my eating habits :oops:

The chest workout was

Incline BB bench press

70 x 16 RP

I went in today to finish delts and tris (with a hell of a lot more carbs and protein in my system)

Smith military press

35 x 15 RP

Seated DB lateral raise

12 x 12

12 x 12

I've added in a couple of sets of these to finish off delts until I can get my presses back to a reasonable intensity.

Close grip bench press

70 x 15 RP

Everything is still light but I'm getting there.

[jono]

man that sounds bad ash. EAT i dont know HOW you could possbile not eat for that long. if i dont eat within 2.5hrs im pretty sure i would be in serious pain from not eating.

you right you dont know where you live!! i would force feed you beef and oats !! :grin: :grin:

[Pseudonym]

Glad to hear you're ok, Ash. Tall blokes have further to fall.

On a lighter note, that's a very pretty new avatar you're wearing.

[Growth]

Glad to hear you are alright Ash. I also had similar experiences when i was gonig to the gym on 0 carbs, you feel pretty light headed the whole time, i even felt very dizzy at one stage but i quickly sat down and i managed not to pass out.

Good on the PT for being so helpful.

Hope your workouts return to normal :grin:

[Ash]

Thanks for the concern guys - I won't do anything like that again.

Today's back, bis and forearms workout was reasonable although I am still taking it easy and limiting my movements until my back is sorted.

Hammer pulldowns

50 x 20 RP

Last time I was restpausing this movement, I was good for 65 x 18...got some way to go before I get back there :roll:

Incline bench DB rows

16 x 10

16 x 9

16 x 8

Trying something new here - it feels OK but I'll increase the weights slowly.

DB rear lateral raises

16 x 10

16 x 8

Hammer preachers

40 x 10

40 x 10

50 x 7

Standing DB wrist curls

22.5 x 10

25 x 10

I'm still adding more sets to movements where I can't really get in a proper rest paused set.

[jono]

it will take time to get back to where you used to be. but, just enjoy the training and you will be back there in no time

[deegee]

good work, hope you can get that back sorted out next year.

[Ash]

I did quads, hams and calves today. Not really worth logging anything in the journal because everything is so light. Once the weights and intensity get back to normal, I'll start keeping track.

Chest, delts and tris tomorrow - much more fun. :grin:

[jono]

I did quads, hams and calves today. Not really worth logging anything in the journal because everything is so light. Once the weights and intensity get back to normal, I'll start keeping track.

Chest, delts and tris tomorrow - much more fun. :grin:

leg training is fun too. actually id rather train legs than the groups you listed :grin:

[Ash]

leg training is fun too. actually id rather train legs than the groups you listed :grin:

Yeah me too believe it or not. I used to love training legs but these days it's more frustration than satisfaction....creaky old knees and all that. Still, things are improving. :grin: