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  1. #101
    Super Moderator Feedback Score 0 burlyman30's Avatar
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    Re: Burly's Mechabol Experiment

    OK... tonight was my last workout night on Mecha, as I am taking the weekend off from the gym. I have enough Mecha for one more day, so tomorrow I will finish it up and be done.

    Scale had me at 187.5 today

    Light workout today, but got a great pump in my last and pretty good in my rear traps. I used the cable crossover machine to play with different angles while experimenting with face pulls.

    I used very light weight, as I just wanted to get a feel for an exercise that I have never done before. I could feel both my rear traps and my rear delts in this exercise, so my shoulders were more tired than usual and the following delt workout was significantly lighter than usual (but still equal exhaustion and pump).

    Yesterday's workout was light/med chest and arms, but I went very light and high reps on bis because I had gone heavy on back two nights before and just wanted to pump blood into the muscle vs beating it up again.

    Tris were a different story. After the chest session earlier in the week, I had gone light on tris. So this week I decided to pile on some weight. Each week I have increased tri strength since starting Mecha and this week was no exception. I went up another 25 lbs.

    My strength has increased 20-25 lbs a week for 4 weeks in a row. I had to add a 45 and a 25 lb plate to the stack for my push downs. Pretty wild for me, especially considering that strength only increased on tris and lats during this time.
    Last edited by burlyman30; 04-26-2014 at 01:31 PM.
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  2. #102
    Super Moderator Feedback Score 0 burlyman30's Avatar
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    Re: Burly's Mechabol Experiment

    Quote Originally Posted by Sperwer View Post
    Since the Meadow's version is not a vertical pull but more of a slight high/low horizontal one I find it a whole lot more comfortable shoulder-wise:

    Face pulls - YouTube

    "The purpose of today's training is to defeat yesterday's understanding."




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    I had not had an opportunity to watch this video until just now, after my workout. Interestingly enough, the form, arching of the back, and the cable angle was identical to what I did tonight. The only difference was that I was standing. And that John Meadows is huge.
    All advice given is for entertainment value only. And it's free. Take it for what it's worth.

  3. #103
    SwoleSource Member Feedback Score 0 AndroMinded's Avatar
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    Seems like an effective Mechabol Experiment if you ask me

    That must feel great throwing on them extra plates every week.
    Take Initiative... Better Yourself.
    The slack hand impoverishes, but the hand of the diligent enriches.-- Proverbs 10:4

  4. #104
    A 1k Club Member Feedback Score 0 VayneZ's Avatar
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    How are you feeling today Burly? This is your 3rd day off correct?

  5. #105
    Super Moderator Feedback Score 0 burlyman30's Avatar
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    Re: Burly's Mechabol Experiment

    Quote Originally Posted by VayneZ View Post
    How are you feeling today Burly? This is your 3rd day off correct?
    Had a small bout of bad luck. My last day on mecha was Saturday and on Sunday night I either ate something that didn't agree with me or I got a short lived virus and was unable to eat for about 20 hours. I started getting muscle cramps because of that, regardless of my level of fluid intake which was above normal. I was finally able to eat dinner, though only a small one. The next day (Tuesday) my stomach was a little tentative, though much improved, and I kept my meals small.

    I've been working long hours lately, and have nod been able to get to the gym until tonight. Today was exhausting and I worked about 13 hours. But I forced myself to go. No way was I going to push much weight, so I went light, high reps, and just for a pump.

    Weighed 184 tonight. That is probably a combo of losing water retention and possible dehydration issues, as my carbs were lowish and my fluids were too low for the heat we had today.
    All advice given is for entertainment value only. And it's free. Take it for what it's worth.

  6. #106
    A 1k Club Member Feedback Score 0 VayneZ's Avatar
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    Bro, you're a fighter. Just going through the 30 year-change thread and reading how you go through all these crazy health adversities, and to see you keep your head up and keep punching is really inspiring man.

    How do you look overall today? Since you're back down to 184, did you notice less water retention in your frame, more definition?

  7. #107
    Super Moderator Feedback Score 0 burlyman30's Avatar
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    Re: Burly's Mechabol Experiment

    Quote Originally Posted by VayneZ View Post
    Bro, you're a fighter. Just going through the 30 year-change thread and reading how you go through all these crazy health adversities, and to see you keep your head up and keep punching is really inspiring man.

    How do you look overall today? Since you're back down to 184, did you notice less water retention in your frame, more definition?
    To paraphrase Rocky Balboa, "its not about how hard you get hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done."

    Update on my knee situation. Xrays showed that nothing was bone-on-bone, so cartilage is intact. I was sent to an orthopedic specialist in physical therapy and it appears I have mountains upon mountains of scar tissue built up in my hips, quads, and hams and that has cause some severe inflexibility. The result of this is that when I bend at the knee it pulls the tendon below the knee as tight as a bowstring, causing both tendinitis and a patella that rides a bit "high" on the track.

    My muscles feel like pea gravel when he does a deep tissue rub with a "remodeling implement". Doing lots of foam roller work to break up the adhesions and stretching to elongate the muscular range of motion among other things. I'm doing what I can to improve my condition, so I'm working hard to do my part.

    On the water retention you asked about...
    I can see a reduction in both intra and extracellular fluid retention. My calves look significantly more defined, but hard to notice elsewhere. I'll post again in a few days about this.
    All advice given is for entertainment value only. And it's free. Take it for what it's worth.

  8. #108
    A 1k Club Member Feedback Score 0 VayneZ's Avatar
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    Burly, why and how did all these injuries happen to you? I don't believe in luck or no luck... but man... for someone who's not even in his mid 40's yet, that's a LOT of physical issues. Like the Rocky quote! And I admire you for fighting through and doing all you can to improve and prevail.

  9. #109
    Super Moderator Feedback Score 0 burlyman30's Avatar
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    Re: Burly's Mechabol Experiment

    Quote Originally Posted by VayneZ View Post
    Burly, why and how did all these injuries happen to you? I don't believe in luck or no luck... but man... for someone who's not even in his mid 40's yet, that's a LOT of physical issues. Like the Rocky quote! And I admire you for fighting through and doing all you can to improve and prevail.
    Scar tissue build up was apparently caused by years of heavy intense training. Same with shoulders after multiple strains and partial tears. Their mobility is much worse than my leg/hip area and is always knocking on the door of the next injury.

    I think the problem has been compounded by my lack of PT after many of these injuries, and allowing them to heal naturally without additional therapeutic assistance.

    At 44, I am still dealing with injuries that happened when I was 19 (rotator cuff) and then finding interesting ways to create new ones (quad tear about 2 years ago).

    I think it also has to do with the fact that my body was never meant to hold mass. I am ectomorphic naturally. I started this journey weighing only 95 lbs. I have tiny bones and joints that were never meant to push a lot of weight in the gym or carry a lot of weight on my frame. My natural "set point" bodyweight is still 145-155lbs, so at around 180ish I'm fighting Mother Nature.

    Could I give it all up and have less physical issues? Probably. When I took my ten year hiatus from the gym, I had few injuries occur. But the gym is not only a physical, but also a mental sanctuary for me. It was a magical place for me at age 14, and 30 years later I still enjoy it more than any other hobby I've ever tried.
    Last edited by burlyman30; 05-01-2014 at 05:24 PM.
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  10. #110
    Established Member Feedback Score 0 Sperwer's Avatar
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    Burly's Mechabol Experiment

    Quote Originally Posted by burlyman30 View Post

    I think the problem has been compounded by my lack of PT after many of these injuries, and allowing them to heal naturally without additional therapeutic assistance.

    At 44, I am still dealing with injuries that happened when I was 19 (rotator cuff) and then finding interesting ways to create new ones (quad tear about 2 years ago).
    .
    It's not too late to do the PT, my friend. I've been going twice a week since the beginning of the year. I've noticed dramatic improvements in shoulder, thoracic and hip mobility - the areas where I have serious tissue damage/scars as a result of accidents/wounds that I also did not properly rehab at the time. This has improved my lifting and is really apparent during my new swim training routine ( i will be doing a triathlon in late October). I can do 30 laps now (about ½ mile) without feeling like i need bionic shoulder replacement surgery, actually use my legs for propulsion instead of a pull sled and roll enough to be able to breathe bilaterally in the slipstream without having to lift my head out of the water. My shoulders have moved about 2 inches back from forward rounding to a nearly neutral position.

    The big trick is to find a truly competent therapist. I've been lucky in the regard, esp since the couple with whom i work both lift and swim. Do yourself a favor and look into it. Unlike some other things, It only gets harder with age - trust me on this - i call it my biweekly humbling experience


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    Last edited by Sperwer; 05-02-2014 at 09:26 PM.
    "The purpose of today's training is to defeat yesterday's understanding."

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