My Journey, From Untrained at Death's Door to Back in the Gym and Much More

[gradeaphysique]

Did some quick posing today. Front double is one of my two weakest poses along with front lat spread. It shows why I consider my arms as one of the body parts I need to improve greatly. I have some long arms and I need thickness in that area. My triceps are doing great, I can see it in the back double. I have found my bread and butter exercise for triceps in the dumbbell skull crusher (single arm.)

My biceps are yet to fulfill muscle memory. In comparison to my tricep training, I can see clear markers as to why my biceps are not going as well. My bread and butter bicep exercises are the classic straight bar curl and a hammer curl, I'm at about the max weight I used to use when I regularly trained for both. I am content with that as I have crisper form, better contraction and I am lighter then I was back in my regular training days. The issue I've had with my bicep training is I've found my ability to progress has been a bit stagnant in the past month. For one, my biceps have been incredibly tight and it has me cautious on straight bar curls (last thing I need is a bicep tear.) I spent almost two hours foam rolling and stretching on my day off yesterday and will start implementing some bicep mobility work along with some self care towards my knees prior to each training session. I suspect my tendon and muscle in the biceps area is taxed as I have spent a ton of time caring and raising my two year old daughter and lugging her around has put a lot of stress on the muscle.

Overall I am not too worried about my bicep training in comparison to my tricep training as I prioritize triceps for obvious reasons. I also feel the triceps may have a much higher ceiling in terms of what I can do with them in training compared to biceps.

I am considering a two week "mini" cut (I dislike the common buzz word terms thrown around but, it will be exactly that.) I am going on a short 4-5 day vacation where training wont really be accessible and I'm ok with that. I have been working hard in the gym and a four day rest will do me wonders. It will also suit me to be in a caloric deficit and keep eating simple while I am away. The thought is to start a pretty aggressive deficit tomorrow and maintain that diet for two weeks. Being that I have not put on much fat at all since I started pushing calories and have filled out in the areas I desired, I know my metabolism is working well. I am confident I can shed a great deal of the body fat on me in two weeks and I can then slowly add in calories without putting much back on. This process from March (my beginning of training) is truly a recomp.

I will update and elaborate further on my decision to mini cut along with my weekly update tomorrow.

 

[gradeaphysique]

 

[gradeaphysique]

Weekly Average Calories & Macros (8/15/2022)

Calories = Approx. 3294

Protein = 148

Carbs = 432

Fat = 100


Weekly Average Blood Glucose (Fasted) (8/15/2022)

150mg/dl


Blood Pressure on the Day (8/15/2022)

115/80 Pulse = 88

 

[gradeaphysique]

Alright! A few big changes in ways of progression to share. I am going to be in a bit of a fat loss phase for the next two weeks. I wouldn't call it a caloric deficit as my calories will still be relatively moderate but will be at about 500 calories less than what I've been averaging the past month plus.

Few simple principles of this two weeks will be

• Fasted cardio (beginning at 15 minutes on a stepper)
• Approx. 30 min walking post meals (split up through the day.) Maybe pre meal at times depending on my blood sugar.
• As I've been doing now, majority of carbs will be consumed peri-workout but at a higher percentage (to hit my former carb intake I would eat meals with moderate carbs through the day as my macros called for.)
• 15 minutes of steady state cardio post workout
• Low or close to zero carb days as I allow my blood sugar to stabilize to the new lower carb intake (I say close to zero as it can be very difficult to have zero carb days when needing to correct hypoglycemia.)
• Ideally as my blood sugar stabilizes due to changes in insulin intake and usage, I would like to do an aggressively low carb diet for most days with 1-2 refeeds on weak body part days.
• I have installed my CGM last night which is a BIG change for me. I have been testing my glucose manually from the beginning of my diagnosis to now (10 years.) I am happy about the progression and the ability to see trends and what direction my blood glucose is going will help me tremendously.

 

[gradeaphysique]

 

[gradeaphysique]

So I've been gone for a month now and will briefly explain what's been going on. Upon my attempted "mini cut", I went on a week vacation to visit family. I had started dieting about a week prior to that vacation. Dropping my carbs the way I did, immediately caused issue regulating my blood sugar. First week was full of hypos, all throughout my days. To correct these hypos, my diet was quickly not to adherence. I continued to diet, adjusted my insulin dosages and my sugar begins running high, way too high for my liking and way to high for me to feel well. This disruption in my sugar levels, drained my energy like no other. Unfortunately this week deload off from the gym through vacation did not serve as a refresher. I felt horrible. Towards the end of the week of vacation, I realized trying to hit these specific macros I set for my diet was not going to work in the setting. I stopped counting macros and just took it easy, no pigging out, just stopped tracking and tried to regulate my sugar.

Thankfully I had a doctors appointment just a day or so from my return. I needed some good news and I got some. I felt like crap, my sugar was sporadic, my knees were KILLING me and my energy levels were lethargic to say the least. I got bloodwork done and I'm happy.

I'll post that below. I got a blood panel just a month prior, and everything was in range and looking great. This time I was getting my A1C tested as I had a video call with my endo a few days following. My A1C was the lowest it has been in my entire 11 years as a diabetic. I have never tested below 7.4 through my time as a diabetic. I am 9 months from leaving my job and focusing on recouping my health, it has paid dividends!

The great thing is that I had just started using a continuous glucose monitor (I am about 6 weeks in.) I was so against having anything on my body, as active as I am. This thing is AMAZING. I am able to avoid horrible hypos which I had suffered from daily, I can immediately correct high blood sugar and see trends. It is now virtually unnoticeable to me as well. I believe that by the time I start my contest prep I can have an A1C a non diabetic would be proud of, I'm shooting for 6 and below.

 

[gradeaphysique]

 

[gradeaphysique]

 

[gradeaphysique]

There is my A1C, Thyroid panel and total testosterone.

I asked for my testosterone to be checked as I was insanely lethargic and depressed in the past month. I suffer from depression chronically but, recently it was intense. Likely due to my diabetes being thrown out of whack. My test is not great but, It's the highest it's been from tests I've had through my early twenties. I can't draw much from just my total test, I will do a full hormone panel when I see my endo in person before years end or just do it on my own accord.

I didn't really miss a beat with the gym. I have changed gyms and had to change certain movements out due to that switch. No biggie. What had been a major issue is my knees. Wrecked. Not sure why. I never had knee issues. I don't want to automatically blame hack squats but they are the only new variable since I returned to training. They did my legs well but, I just couldn't continue them. After a while outside of the gym my legs had no mobility and my knees were feeling frail as ever. My new gym doesn't have a hack. I have been using a super squat that I just hit my stride in. It's starting to feel good. I have tried to keep barbell squats in but, they are still at a bare minimum. I think in the coming weeks I should be back to those at a higher level too.

My bp today was: 125/75 Pules: 85
My weight is approx.: 160-165lbs

I've yet to return to macro tracking, mainly because my budget has barely allowed me to get in adequate protein and my diet isn't as consistent as it was in the time leading to now. Thankfully I have been progressing in the gym and haven't seen detriment in performance, just not as tight aesthetically but that we'll be sorted as I get back to tracking tightly.

 

[gradeaphysique]

looking to get back to weekly progress updates within a couple weeks time. Stay tuned.

 

[gradeaphysique]

Not close to back on a regimine overall but, here's a brief progress update.

Considering I'm consuming maybe 100g protein a day, I'm not stressing the way things are going. I am progressing in the gym and maintaining my shape relative ofcourse to how my condition has been through my comeback.

I am pretty damn pleased with the addition of a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor.) I have been able to tightly control my sugar, sitting between 65-100 prior to most meals and fasted. Two hours post meals I am returning to about 120-150 with a downward trend but, not as consistently as I would like.

I am excited to have the luxury to completely dictate what I eat and my supplement routine (not enhanced, just health wise.) I feel my time back to this point has gotten me to learn a majority of best practices for diet, supps, rest and training. I am working on my finances and will be fully in it so soon.

 

[gradeaphysique]

I will post some posing pics taken just now. I took my bp following 15 mins posing.

BP: 120/78 Pulse: 85

 

[gradeaphysique]

 

[gradeaphysique]

 

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[gradeaphysique]

 

[gradeaphysique]

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[Push50]

Bro. You look like you have put in some size but also some extra fat. How much cardio are you currently incorporating into your workouts? I speak from experience here. It’s not all about the size if you want to look your best. I’m 5’6” currently 172-176. I struggle to push my weight up higher than 185. I have done it once but also ended at appx. 28-32% BF. Made my cut a miserable bitch. Increase your cardio now or pay latter.
This pic is from my last cut. This is April 10th - August 20th 2022. I came out of my bulk still seeing my abs and the just whittled away at the fat.
I don’t have all the answers but I’m here to help. I understand that you have a unique set of variables that you are dealing with but keep in mind that once you TRU let understand have to dial in your diet and insulin so that they can synergistically work together you will make great strides. Insulin by the way is one of the most anabolic hormones out there. Use it to your advantage.