There and Back Again: A HOB's Tale

[genetic freak]

On counting reps. If you do progressive overload training, which I think most of the advanced and pro guys do, you have to count reps or you really never know when to go up in weight. Granted, you don't set your goal at a certain number and stop there. The number of reps is what you performed last time and you need to beat that number. For example, if I hit 11 reps last time I am trying to get 12 reps this time or at least 11 reps with better form, slower tempo, better mind/muscle connection, etc...

 

[HOB_Fly2023]

On counting reps. If you do progressive overload training, which I think most of the advanced and pro guys do, you have to count reps or you really never know when to go up in weight. Granted, you don't set your goal at a certain number and stop there. The number of reps is what you performed last time and you need to beat that number. For example, if I hit 11 reps last time I am trying to get 12 reps this time or at least 11 reps with better form, slower tempo, better mind/muscle connection, etc...

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. I haven't looked too much into progressive overload, but the more I read, the more I'm intrigued. That may be the way I make my next evolution of growth. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. You're like a walking encyclopedia.

 

[Kluso]

While I appreciate the compliment, let's not insult the guy!

He is actually lean, I am just naturally vascular. LOL

Lol. Don’t worry I’m not that lean anymore. But Beef is right. Look awesome in the pics man! How long do u think it will take to get back to that from where u are now? And if you don’t mind me asking how old are you? Would guess around same as me, mid to late 40s? Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask, what’s your sign next. Lmao. I already know you guys! And welcome to TID. Will be fallowing!

 

[HOB_Fly2023]

Lol. Don’t worry I’m not that lean anymore. But Beef is right. Look awesome in the pics man! How long do u think it will take to get back to that from where u are now? And if you don’t mind me asking how old are you? Would guess around same as me, mid to late 40s? Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask, what’s your sign next. Lmao. I already know you guys! And welcome to TID. Will be fallowing!

Thank you, sir! I'm 36. Been on TRT for about a decade. I'm hoping to be back in full form by the end of June with the help of my old friends Decky and Ana D. Rol. Looking to hit the dating pool and the literal pool again soon with my body in its best form ever! Muscle memory is kicking in nicely and the addition of being able to finally work my legs is helping with GH production. My legs are already filling out and my hunger is through the roof.

How's your progress with goals going this year?

 

[HOB_Fly2023]

Working The Ol' Kickin' Sticks
Hit legs for the 3rd time. It felt great and I am getting stronger. My legs are already swelling up and I can feel my hamstrings in the shower for the first time in 10 years. I felt like I could have kept going, but decided to not go too far and risk injury or inflammation. Walking down the stairs was rough upon exiting the gym.

I feel like the added GH release from working my legs has made my hunger go through the roof.

Squats
-Warm-up with bar
-135 x 10 reps
-155 x 10 reps
-165 x 10 reps

Standing calf raises (Leg press machine)
- 180 x as many as I could do
-200 x as many as I could do
-220 x as many as I could do

Seated calf raises (sitting on a bench with 2 dumbbells on my knees)
-120 x as many as I could do
-120 x as many as I could do
-120 x to full burn out

Leg curls on machine
-70 x 10 reps
-80 x 10 reps
-90 x 10 reps

Front squats (Smith machine)
-50 (2-25lb plates) x 10 reps
-50 (2-25lb plates) x 10 reps

Body weight lunges to burn out

 

[Kluso]

Thank you, sir! I'm 36. Been on TRT for about a decade. I'm hoping to be back in full form by the end of June with the help of my old friends Decky and Ana D. Rol. Looking to hit the dating pool and the literal pool again soon with my body in its best form ever! Muscle memory is kicking in nicely and the addition of being able to finally work my legs is helping with GH production. My legs are already filling out and my hunger is through the roof.

How's your progress with goals going this year?

Fuck. Now who’s getting insulted. Lol. Sorry, young buck! As far as guessing age pictures make it hard to tell with no face. But sweet man. Yeah, I have back problems myself. Recently tweaked it out again thinking I could do some light weight pendulum squats real deep. Cause my back had been feeling great. Not only is my back hurting now but my left knee too. Eventually I will learn. Lol. Couple years ago I had bad sciatica on my left side from some bulging disks. You shouldn’t have any problems getting with the ladies or dudes (Whatever floats your boat.) looking like that brother. I would get in some trouble if I was single these days. Best shape of my life. Man, I wanted to do a competition this fall. Would be my first but my ab wall is separated just above my bellybutton and have a hernia I need to get fixed first. Not only for esthetic reasons but I’m in pain at times too now. I just came off a bulk and back on trt. Made some progress but my legs still need work also. Gonna get hernia fixed and go from there. It’s fun getting old. Lol.

 

[HOB_Fly2023]

Fuck. Now who’s getting insulted. Lol. Sorry, young buck! As far as guessing age pictures make it hard to tell with no face. But sweet man. Yeah, I have back problems myself. Recently tweaked it out again thinking I could do some light weight pendulum squats real deep. Cause my back had been feeling great. Not only is my back hurting now but my left knee too. Eventually I will learn. Lol. Couple years ago I had bad sciatica on my left side from some bulging disks. You shouldn’t have any problems getting with the ladies or dudes (Whatever floats your boat.) looking like that brother. I would get in some trouble if I was single these days. Best shape of my life. Man, I wanted to do a competition this fall. Would be my first but my ab wall is separated just above my bellybutton and have a hernia I need to get fixed first. Not only for esthetic reasons but I’m in pain at times too now. I just came off a bulk and back on trt. Made some progress but my legs still need work also. Gonna get hernia fixed and go from there. It’s fun getting old. Lol.

That sucks about the back and knee. Do you have a PT that you work with? They can show you some simple ways to work yourself away from inflammation. I recommend dry-needling, too. Many times we get into a vicious cycle of inflammation where the inflammation itself prolongs the inflammation, if that makes sense. The electrical impulses from the needles relax the muscles that are always tightened up and allow the inflammation to go down, which can often lead to the problem going away. It worked wonders on my upper back and traps. The needles are seriously the size of a strand of hair and you don't even feel them until they add the electricity.

I had an umbilical hernia that I had repaired and it kind of unrepaired itself literally as soon as I made my last payment to the hospital. It only gives me trouble now and then, and I have to manually reduce it. It's not near as bad as it was before the repair.

 

[Kluso]

That sucks about the back and knee. Do you have a PT that you work with? They can show you some simple ways to work yourself away from inflammation. I recommend dry-needling, too. Many times we get into a vicious cycle of inflammation where the inflammation itself prolongs the inflammation, if that makes sense. The electrical impulses from the needles relax the muscles that are always tightened up and allow the inflammation to go down, which can often lead to the problem going away. It worked wonders on my upper back and traps. The needles are seriously the size of a strand of hair and you don't even feel them until they add the electricity.

I had an umbilical hernia that I had repaired and it kind of unrepaired itself literally as soon as I made my last payment to the hospital. It only gives me trouble now and then, and I have to manually reduce it. It's not near as bad as it was before the repair.

Not currently. I had a PT when I had the sciatica. But never any needling. Have to look into that.

Yeah, kinda same deal with my hernia. It was small and had no pain but looked like I had a second bellybutton just above my real one. Like a big “outy” above my normal “inny” bellybutton. Got it fixed by the wrong Dr for sure. He was a bump and lump specialist. Lol. I originally went to him for this lump on my lower back that he diagnosed as a fatty patch basically. It seemed to appear when my back started hurting before the sciatica started but my primary care physician wasn’t sure what it was. But when I was at the specialist I showed him my hernia also and he said he could fix it. I didn’t know any better. The first thing I noticed after the surgery was he cut me and gave me a scar right where the hernia was instead of cutting near my bellybutton so there wouldn’t be a noticeable scar. It really pissed me off considering the whole reason I got it fixed was because of how it looked and had no pain. He originally said before the surgery that he should be able to just stitch it up with a few stitches. Then I find out when he got in there it was actually two small hernias next to each other so he put a mesh in. Ok, whatever. Why couldn’t you stitch them up? May have prevented my issue now! So after the surgery, I fallowed all his instructions on when to start lifting anything over 20lbs or whatever and when I could start lifting at the gym again. Well, probably three months after the surgery I notice a bump sticking up where the hernia was. I push on it and it’s hard. Like it’s the mesh pushing up against my skin. At least it’s smaller than the original hernia bump. But then I notice it itches and sometimes like a prick pain every once in awhile. I’m pissed at this point but it’s still better than before the surgery so I let it go. Well, now two years later I guess, last summer I cut down to like 8% bf and notice my lower abs aren’t close together anymore and about a month or so ago I was laying in my bed lifting myself up with my shirt off and noticed a huge bump sticking up between those lower abs. So I pushed on it with my fingers and knew exactly what it was. I can stick one maybe two fingers down inside and feel the side of my ab muscles. It’s crazy and I’m in a good amount of pain now too. Hurts mild to a lot every day. It’s weird because it doesn’t stick out unless I’m laying on my back and flexing my abs. And sometimes I have to lay over equipment I’m working on at work and it hurts a lot when I have to do that. I think that fucker not only didn’t fix my hernia but made it worse somehow. At min he didn’t install the mesh properly. Which probably lead to my ab wall ripping apart more. I bet if he had stitched it closed like he originally said I wouldn’t be here. I kinda want to talk to new Dr if I should pursue a malpractice suit but also don’t want to scare him into not wanting to do the surgery thinking I’m overreacting. So now I am trying to figure out what Dr to get the surgery from because they will need to stitch my ab wall back together too so my abs look right. Dusty Hanshaw on Think Big Bodybuilding Podcast mentioned using a plastic surgery for a similar hernia surgery he had or someone he knew (maybe Scott Stevenson) because a plastic surgeon cares about how it’s gonna look. But I’m wondering if my insurance will cover a plastic surgeon even though it’s medically needed. I’m in pain and it affects my job. So if anyone has any suggestions on what Dr I should use so my insurance will cover most of it I would really appreciate it.

Sorry for the way long post man! Shit. Lol. I have been meaning to start a thread about it but since it came up, why not. Maybe you have some helpful input.

 

[HOB_Fly2023]

It's been about 2 months since my last picture update. Getting slowly back on track. I took about 10 days off earlier this month to recover from a wrist injury. I just like taking 7-10 days off now and then because I feel like it helps me break plateaus, and I always come back stronger. Probably sitting at 16-18% bodyfat and feeling dad-bod-ish at the moment.

Not quite ready to reveal the leg progress yet, but my chest is coming back to its old form, and my shoulders are following closely behind. Arms still need more work, but I'm happy with the progress I've made in 2 months.

 

[HOB_Fly2023]

Not currently. I had a PT when I had the sciatica. But never any needling. Have to look into that.

Yeah, kinda same deal with my hernia. It was small and had no pain but looked like I had a second bellybutton just above my real one. Like a big “outy” above my normal “inny” bellybutton. Got it fixed by the wrong Dr for sure. He was a bump and lump specialist. Lol. I originally went to him for this lump on my lower back that he diagnosed as a fatty patch basically. It seemed to appear when my back started hurting before the sciatica started but my primary care physician wasn’t sure what it was. But when I was at the specialist I showed him my hernia also and he said he could fix it. I didn’t know any better. The first thing I noticed after the surgery was he cut me and gave me a scar right where the hernia was instead of cutting near my bellybutton so there wouldn’t be a noticeable scar. It really pissed me off considering the whole reason I got it fixed was because of how it looked and had no pain. He originally said before the surgery that he should be able to just stitch it up with a few stitches. Then I find out when he got in there it was actually two small hernias next to each other so he put a mesh in. Ok, whatever. Why couldn’t you stitch them up? May have prevented my issue now! So after the surgery, I fallowed all his instructions on when to start lifting anything over 20lbs or whatever and when I could start lifting at the gym again. Well, probably three months after the surgery I notice a bump sticking up where the hernia was. I push on it and it’s hard. Like it’s the mesh pushing up against my skin. At least it’s smaller than the original hernia bump. But then I notice it itches and sometimes like a prick pain every once in awhile. I’m pissed at this point but it’s still better than before the surgery so I let it go. Well, now two years later I guess, last summer I cut down to like 8% bf and notice my lower abs aren’t close together anymore and about a month or so ago I was laying in my bed lifting myself up with my shirt off and noticed a huge bump sticking up between those lower abs. So I pushed on it with my fingers and knew exactly what it was. I can stick one maybe two fingers down inside and feel the side of my ab muscles. It’s crazy and I’m in a good amount of pain now too. Hurts mild to a lot every day. It’s weird because it doesn’t stick out unless I’m laying on my back and flexing my abs. And sometimes I have to lay over equipment I’m working on at work and it hurts a lot when I have to do that. I think that fucker not only didn’t fix my hernia but made it worse somehow. At min he didn’t install the mesh properly. Which probably lead to my ab wall ripping apart more. I bet if he had stitched it closed like he originally said I wouldn’t be here. I kinda want to talk to new Dr if I should pursue a malpractice suit but also don’t want to scare him into not wanting to do the surgery thinking I’m overreacting. So now I am trying to figure out what Dr to get the surgery from because they will need to stitch my ab wall back together too so my abs look right. Dusty Hanshaw on Think Big Bodybuilding Podcast mentioned using a plastic surgery for a similar hernia surgery he had or someone he knew (maybe Scott Stevenson) because a plastic surgeon cares about how it’s gonna look. But I’m wondering if my insurance will cover a plastic surgeon even though it’s medically needed. I’m in pain and it affects my job. So if anyone has any suggestions on what Dr I should use so my insurance will cover most of it I would really appreciate it.

Sorry for the way long post man! Shit. Lol. I have been meaning to start a thread about it but since it came up, why not. Maybe you have some helpful input.

Kluso, I just saw this reply. The hernia thing sucks. I can definitely see where mine was, and it still bothers me a few times a year, but overall, it has gotten better. I find that if I bend over and my belt buckle hits it just right, it feels just like the old days, pre-surgery. I can see mine when I lie down on my back too, but I've just accepted my body's asymmetry and all of its weirdness at this point. Leg press really seems to irritate it, so I've cut that out completely. Core work has seemed to fill in the gap with muscle, so I think I will focus on that this summer and see if it helps.

 

[Kluso]

Kluso, I just saw this reply. The hernia thing sucks. I can definitely see where mine was, and it still bothers me a few times a year, but overall, it has gotten better. I find that if I bend over and my belt buckle hits it just right, it feels just like the old days, pre-surgery. I can see mine when I lie down on my back too, but I've just accepted my body's asymmetry and all of its weirdness at this point. Leg press really seems to irritate it, so I've cut that out completely. Core work has seemed to fill in the gap with muscle, so I think I will focus on that this summer and see if it helps.

Thanks! Might try that. (Work on my core)