GK photo wrote:
yeah, you just see those stupid discs of steel and go, "i will dominate you." not always the case.

i'm going back saturday, but will be adopting a more sane approach.

Where's the glory in that?

DOUGLASFOTOS wrote:
<-----Look at my Port you Portly People. lol   There be some inspiration.

my inspiration for the year.  Damn my gym is so crowded.

Koryn wrote:
I had a shoulder surgery last July, and have only just now been able to start working out again within the past couple months. I lost almost 10 pounds of lean tissue, in just a few months of only being able to walk or use low-impact cardio equipment for exercise. When you're 5 feet tall and lose that amount of muscle, your body doesn't really feel like it belongs to you anymore.

The first chest workout I did post-operation was about a month ago. The next morning, my muscles were actually sore to the touch. It hurt to put on a shirt. I wasn't used to that level of muscle soreness after so long out of the gym, so I had to adapt to living with it all over again. Day in and day out.

It's also crazy, because I can still pick up 45 pound weight plates with my left arm, but the right arm (the side I had the surgery on) I can only carry about 10-15 pounds or the joint shakes and I get muscle spasms in the anterior deltoid, right underneath where one of the incisions was done.

I just got hired for a full time at a local gym, but the people I'll be working with are very new to exercise and just need basic demos and written programs. I'm grateful for that, because it will be a year from now (maybe two) before I'm actually strong and in *good* shape again - or at least the sort of shape I was in before the sports injury started to get in my way. There will be a pretty serious limit to the intensity of (upper body) exercise I'll be able to do, probably for another 6-9 months.

I did legs yesterday, and even though I've been able to train legs some since the surgery, I lost a huge amount of muscle in my legs too (everywhere really) - so just walking up and down stairs today feels like I'm getting punched in the ass with a pair of rusty scissors.

take it very slow with the shoulder rehab. you can seriously fuck it up, long term, if you overdo it. but you know that.

i mainly just do the big three...squats, bench press and dead lifts. and some power cleans/rows mixed in occasionally. no vanity lifting for me (curls, skullcrushers, etc). they are really all i need. i just have to ease back into it. everything feels better today. the good sore.

i'm going to wait until saturday to "hit 'em" again. this time, i'll be a little more realistic in my goals.

GK photo wrote:

take it very slow with the shoulder rehab. you can seriously fuck it up, long term, if you overdo it. but you know that.

i mainly just do the big three...squats, bench press and dead lifts. and some power cleans/rows mixed in occasionally. no vanity lifting for me (curls, skullcrushers, etc). they are really all i need. i just have to ease back into it. everything feels better today. the good sore.

i'm going to wait until saturday to "hit 'em" again. this time, i'll be a little more realistic in my goals.

I was in an immobilizer for a month, then had three months of rehab with a therapist. The surgeon gave me clearance to begin "rebuilding lost muscle" in November and I was bad off. As in, I couldn't move 5 pounds with my right arm. When I first got out of the immobilizer, my muscles were so atrophied, I couldn't even lift the weight of my own arm.

I was given permission to go back to regular workouts and go back to work training other people "after the holidays." I followed all orders and have done it all by the book. I had excessive scarring in the joint, so getting full mobility back has been a bitch.

I don't really think anyone needs to train biceps, or abs (with crunches and machines), unless you just want to. Those muscles are trained indirectly through doing compound lifts with good form. All workouts should, ideally, serve to train your core. I do think every person can benefit from doing Pilates. It makes you mindful of your low back and teaches control of the lower abs and glutes. It's no surprise to me that the women I've trained who have solid backgrounds in Pilates have AMAZING deadlifts. They get beautiful power in their deadlifts and can bulk up their booties really fast, while others struggle to get shapely backsides. The Pilates is what does it, because you know how to fire the big lifts from the glutes and core.

It feels so damned good to be back in the gym again, and given that I'm about to start working in one again, it feels like "going back home" after wandering alone in the desert for a couple years. But, I think the best part is being able to smash in the calories and carbs again. As we speak, I'm working my way through about 2 pounds of food...for the third time today. Nomnomnom...

Koryn wrote:
It feels so damned good to be back in the gym again, and given that I'm about to start working in one again, it feels like "going back home" after wandering alone in the desert for a couple years. But, I think the best part is being able to smash in the calories and carbs again. As we speak, I'm working my way through about 2 pounds of food...for the third time today. Nomnomnom...

haha...good for you. enjoy the carbo loading.

and i agree about the vanity exercises (abs, curls, triceps, etc). most people have six pack abs. they're just hiding under a layer of pizza dough and ice cream.

i'll have to look into the pilates stuff. if it would help increase the squat/dead lift capabilities, i'm all for it. thanks for the tip.

Jerry Nemeth wrote:
I'm going to do some logging on my land in the spring.  This will keep me fit.   

you mean like this stuff? you and jj watt?

GK photo wrote:

haha...good for you. enjoy the carbo loading.

and i agree about the vanity exercises (abs, curls, triceps, etc). most people have six pack abs. they're just hiding under a layer of pizza dough and ice cream.

i'll have to look into the pilates stuff. if it would help increase the squat/dead lift capabilities, i'm all for it. thanks for the tip.


you mean like this stuff? you and jj watt?

That's log rolling.  I'm going to cut down big trees.

Jerry Nemeth wrote:

That's log rolling.  I'm going to cut down big trees.

you going to do it paul bunyan style, or cheat with a chainsaw? good for you. sounds like good exercise.

GK photo wrote:
you going to do it paul bunyan style, or cheat with a chainsaw? good for you. sounds like good exercise.

Using a chainsaw is not cheating.  It is still hard work!  Try it sometime.   





The clearing where the van is parked was once full of trees.

Jerry Nemeth wrote:
Using a chainsaw is not cheating.  It is still hard work!  Try it sometime.   

oh, i use one all the time, but it's for cutting down 6x12 posts, not trees. there are no trees left in so cal to chop down. not legally, anyway.

GK photo wrote:

oh, i use one all the time, but it's for cutting down 6x12 posts, not trees. there are no trees left in so cal to chop down. not legally, anyway.

That is easy!