No-Man's Land Offseason Log with ZK

[tripleOT]

Great update. Sounds like you are in the trades also. I know all about final inspections and the inspecters that can really ruin our day with stupid request. Uggggh, just sign us off and let us move on with the damn project!

 

[zacharykane]

I am indeed, PM for a construction company but somehow I ended up in the field managing projects as well. I tried like hell to avoid the family business but ended up in it anyways, the Greek genes to build things are too strong, lol. For real though, most inspectors seem to be pretty easy to deal with, but there's always that one that is on a permanent power trip and wants to extract their pound of flesh from the contractors...

Great update. Sounds like you are in the trades also. I know all about final inspections and the inspecters that can really ruin our day with stupid request. Uggggh, just sign us off and let us move on with the damn project!

 

[zacharykane]

Another pretty decent week of training under my belt. Had a few little minor strains to my right pec and left lat, but I'm also the strongest I've ever been and I think my body is still catching up in terms of being able to handle the loads it's under. Weight is very slowly creeping up, but I'm also still very consistently hungry and my digestion is working really well, so I'm not too upset that the weight is moving slowly upwards. I'd rather have small, consistent gains over the next 8-9 months of my offseason than throw a ton of food at me, lose my appetite and have everything else turn to shit....

Hoist preacher curl - 170 x 15, 10, 7
Reverse ez bar curl - 105 x 8, 6, 3
Seated leg curl - 210 x 10, 5, 3
Safety squat bar squats - 3pps x 4, 2pps x 8 (right hip is being all wonky)





Incline smith machine press - 320 x 3 (angry pec, weight was moving easily though)
Nautilus shoulder press - 430 x 10, 6, 3
V bar press downs (filler for close grip bench) - 99 x 15, 8, 6
Pronated mag grip pulldowns - 209 x 10 (lat angry too, wtf?)
Rack pulls - 565 x 12





Barbell curl - 100 x 10, 6, 3
Rope hammer curl - 77 x 10, 6, 4
Standing calf raises - 450 x 10 ( 3 sets)
Lying leg curl - full stack x 20, 12, 10
Leg press - 810 x 12, 6, 6

 

[zacharykane]

Time for another update!

I've figured doing batch workouts is a bit easier than doing daily. Overall things are heading in a positive direction and I'm close to the heaviest I've ever been but way leaner than the last time I got over 210. My body isn't really keeping up with my strength gains though, so I keep getting little tweaks here and there, mostly my right pec and left quad. The body is telling me to back off a bit but the brain doesn't want to....

Missing from these is two leg days with my training partners, my last one I was hack squatting 6 pps and a quarter and on my third rep (weight was moving easy) this trouble spot in my left quad popped again. I know it's just some adhesions breaking up since I've been getting a lot of work done on my quads to break up scar tissue, but still, hurt like hell afterwards and that ended me training quads.


Hoist flat press - 325 x 11, 7, 5
Cable upright rows - 110 x 12, 7, 5
Skull crushers - 95 x 12, 7, 4
Rack chins - 85 x 9, 6, 4
Cable rows - 253 x 8, 4, 3 (close sup mag grip)



Nautilus decline press - 230 x 6 ( pec not feeling right)
Hoist shoulder press - 278 x 15, 8, 6
Reverse grip press downs - 66 x 15, 10, 8
Close mag grip sup pulldowns - 253 x 8, 3, 2
Hoist row - 305 x 15, 8, 6


Hoist curl - 205 x 15, 9, 6
Hammer curl - 60 x 10, 6, 4



Nautilus incline press - 320 x 8, 6, 4
Nautilus shoulder press - 450 x 10, 5, 3
V bar press downs (filler for close grip bench) - 104.5 x 10, 6, 4
Pronated mag grip pulldowns - 231 x 8, 3, 2
Rack pulls - 585 x 4, belt and wraps gave out, 495 x 6



Hoist preacher curl - 180 x 15, 8, 5
Reverse ez bar curl - 115 x 8, 6, 4
Seated calf raises - 150 x 15 (drop set followed)
Hoist crunch - pyramid up, finished with full stack for 15
Shrugs - pyramid up,

 

[zacharykane]

Another batch update from the last couple of weeks. Weight is very very slowly moving up, strength is increasing every week, and all in all I'm feeling really good. Been having a few minor aches and pains as well as a few muscle strains, but this is also the strongest I've ever been. So when that happens I just have to back off a bit or work around the issue. The goal though is to just keep pressing forward. Weight is hovering between 212-214 depending on if it's a day following a training day or not. Really hoping to be a lean 220 by the time I start prep sometime in the summer.

Hoist flat press - 345 x 10, 6, 3
Cable upright rows - 115.5 x 10, 6, 4
Skull crushers - 115 x 10, 6, 3
Rack chins - 100 x 15, 7, 5
T-Bar Rows - 240 x 10, 5, 3

Barbell curl - 100 x 12, 6, 4
Rope hammer curl - 82.5 x 10, 6, 4
Standing calf raises - 450 x 10 ( 3 sets)
Lying leg curl - full stack x 20, 12, 10
Leg press - 810 x 12, 6, 6

Nautilus decline press - 320 x 8, 6, 5
Hoist shoulder press - 298 x 15, 10, 8
Reverse grip press downs - 71.5 x 15, 10, 8
Hoist pulldowns - 285 x 8, 6, 4
Hoist row - 325 x 15, 10, 10

Hoist curl - 225 x 15, 10, 7
Hammer curl - 65 x 10, 6, 4
Seated calf raises - 180 x 10 ( 2 sets)
Dumbbell stiff deads - 120 x 18
Leg press -


Nautilus incline press - 340 x 8, 5, 3
Nautilus shoulder press - 470 x 11, 6, 3
V bar press downs - 110 x 12, 7, 5
Pronated mag grip pulldowns - 236 x 8, 3, 2
Rack pulls - 585 x 8

Hoist preacher curl - 200 x 15, 8, 5
Reverse ez bar curl - 125 x 10, 6, 5
Toe presses - 5pps drop set
Nautilus leg curl - full stack x 30, 10, 5
Hoist leg press - pyramid to full stack, 25 reps

Hoist flat press - 345 x 12, 8, 6
Cable upright rows - 115.5 x 12, 8, 4
Skull crushers - 125 x 8, 4, 2
Rack chins - 115 x 11, 7, 5
T-Bar Rows - 200 x 6

 

[Delt123]

So what’s your verdict for DC training for muscle mass? Seems like you enjoy it!

I love the fact that you are doing the original split. I don’t see that often tbh. Props for that!

 

[tripleOT]

Any updates you can share with us? How is everything going ZK?

 

[zacharykane]

Soooo I kind of fell off the face of the planet once COVID hit. I was in Chicago at the time and made the decision to get the hell out of there before things got real bad and moved across the state. Honestly, wise decision considering what's happening in Chicago.

I continued with the DC split and eventually got up to a very learn 216-ish, then had to transition to training at home in the basement for several months. Progress was super slow due to lack of equipment, but I for sure maintained the muscle I had.

In September I was finally able to get back to a real gym, and was creeping up around the 220 mark, still very lean (clear abs, lines in my quads, tiny bit of striations in my glutes) and then I started getting sick. Appetite went to hell and I was having a real hard time keeping food down. This eventually led to me being in the hospital for several days with kidney failure and sepsis. I also managed to give myself an umbilical hernia from all the throwing up that happened. As a note, I was only on 500mg of test and 500mg EQ a week when this happened, no orals and not doing anything dumb. I lost about 10lbs, so I'm back around 205-ish, even leaner, but lost a bit of tissue as well.

I've been cleared for light activity, so I've been doing a push/pull/legs split, so 3 workouts a week with 4 rest days, and just doing straight sets of 10 reps. I've backed off the test for now too as I'm awaiting surgery to repair the hernia, so I'm basically just trying to maintain my body and sanity for the time being. Hopefully after surgery I won't be down too long, and I can get back to normal training and start working towards competing in late 2021.

As far as the issues I was having, turns out it was food allergies. So now my diet is 100% free of gluten, wheat, dairy, corn, and a few other random things I'm allergic to. Props to Dante Trudel for helping me figure some of this crap out as well, he reached out when I got out of the hospital, talked through the issues I was having and made some suggestions that turned out to be spot on whereas the doctors were just going on treating symptoms. So I owe that man a huge debt of gratitude, for the first time in years I don't feel like shit 80% of the time.

I'm going to make an effort to getting back on here and posting about my recovery and getting back into the swing of going for my pro card again at Nationals in 2021. Hopefully other people that have had issues with allergies, IBS, hernias, etc. can chime in and talk about what helped them get back on the path of health and bodybuilding as well!

Hope everyone else is doing great and has maintained some semblance of sanity throughout these last 6-7 months!

Any updates you can share with us? How is everything going ZK?

 

[mike036]

Soooo I kind of fell off the face of the planet once COVID hit. I was in Chicago at the time and made the decision to get the hell out of there before things got real bad and moved across the state. Honestly, wise decision considering what's happening in Chicago.

I continued with the DC split and eventually got up to a very learn 216-ish, then had to transition to training at home in the basement for several months. Progress was super slow due to lack of equipment, but I for sure maintained the muscle I had.

In September I was finally able to get back to a real gym, and was creeping up around the 220 mark, still very lean (clear abs, lines in my quads, tiny bit of striations in my glutes) and then I started getting sick. Appetite went to hell and I was having a real hard time keeping food down. This eventually led to me being in the hospital for several days with kidney failure and sepsis. I also managed to give myself an umbilical hernia from all the throwing up that happened. As a note, I was only on 500mg of test and 500mg EQ a week when this happened, no orals and not doing anything dumb. I lost about 10lbs, so I'm back around 205-ish, even leaner, but lost a bit of tissue as well.

I've been cleared for light activity, so I've been doing a push/pull/legs split, so 3 workouts a week with 4 rest days, and just doing straight sets of 10 reps. I've backed off the test for now too as I'm awaiting surgery to repair the hernia, so I'm basically just trying to maintain my body and sanity for the time being. Hopefully after surgery I won't be down too long, and I can get back to normal training and start working towards competing in late 2021.

As far as the issues I was having, turns out it was food allergies. So now my diet is 100% free of gluten, wheat, dairy, corn, and a few other random things I'm allergic to. Props to Dante Trudel for helping me figure some of this crap out as well, he reached out when I got out of the hospital, talked through the issues I was having and made some suggestions that turned out to be spot on whereas the doctors were just going on treating symptoms. So I owe that man a huge debt of gratitude, for the first time in years I don't feel like shit 80% of the time.

I'm going to make an effort to getting back on here and posting about my recovery and getting back into the swing of going for my pro card again at Nationals in 2021. Hopefully other people that have had issues with allergies, IBS, hernias, etc. can chime in and talk about what helped them get back on the path of health and bodybuilding as well!

Hope everyone else is doing great and has maintained some semblance of sanity throughout these last 6-7 months!

Good to see you posting again. So sorry to hear about the kidney failure. Crazy that food allergies would be so harsh on the kidneys. Glad you are doing better now, stay safe

 

[tripleOT]

Dang it man. Not the kind of update I was hoping for. Please take care of yourself, which it sounds like you are. Slow and steady wins the race. I would definitely be interested on hearing how you do from here out.

 

[zacharykane]

I appreciate that my friend!

Had umbilical hernia repair surgery on Thursday. They were able to do it robotically with the scope, so I should hopefully be back up to speed in 4-6 weeks time. Pretty damn sore today, but I'm trying to limit the painkillers they gave me. I decided pretty quickly I'd rather be uncomfortable and not constipated, than constipated and high as kite.

The plan for this whole next week is really just to take it easy and walk around as much as I can and keep eating well. Hopefully the week after Thanksgiving I can do a little more. The idea at this point is just to even try to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill. I also have a whole rehab/therapy plan in place from the Wifey who's a corrective exercise specialist, so going to spend some of this time out of the gym getting my body moving correctly again.

Once I'm able to start training again, I plan on going back to DC training. The current goal is to basically push January through early summer, do a qualifying show in the fall, then Nationals next year. Which was always kind of the original plan, just the whole health issues have thrown a little bit of a halt on the offseason portion.

I feel pretty confident now though that with my health issues sorted out and this hernia repaired that I can have a super productive rest of my offseason and hopefully get a top 5 at Nationals this next year.

Dang it man. Not the kind of update I was hoping for. Please take care of yourself, which it sounds like you are. Slow and steady wins the race. I would definitely be interested on hearing how you do from here out.

 

[VaginaBoob89]

This log was awesome. Bring is back, please. Need more detailed DC logs.