End of the game strategies

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Glycomann

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So about 18 months ago the wheels sort of fell off, literally. I was training hard, on a light cycle of this and that, grappling hard twice a week and lifting 4-5 days a week. I was still squatting fairly heavy and alternating in and out with deadlifts. Then I went into a hard throw when sparing and my calf blew out. After the calf healed up I could never do the grappling at any level anymore. My knees were just shot. the right one was so bad the leg would atrophy after 3-4 sessions of grappling. Then my back started to get worse. Dads and squats were just not possible over a couple plates. Then 225 blew out my back. So I have not squatted or done deads in 4 months.

I had an MRI on the back and there is mild to moderate degeneration in the lumbar spine. At this point I can't even do leg presses. So I fought against it. Tried a number of strategies that have worked in the past to get back to the squats and deads and I think the body is just finally getting too old to do some of the exceptional human stuff anymore. 55 was the wall me thinks.

So after trying physiotherapy and some BS meds, cycling GH and some anabolics, and a number of other strategic stuff I have come to a place where everything is going to be different at least for a while. Heavy stuff is out. Slow and controlled is in. Legs get work on cardio and other more athletic stuff like cardio machines, heavy bag work, some running, leg extensions, leg curls, calf work. I may have the right knee looked at at some point after the summer. I think I might have a bone spur or something. It was worked on 31 years ago so probably there is some chips and junk in there which is holding me back from even pushing the little stuff.

I took up yoga a month ago. Feels like my man card took a lit but all that stretching and holding those poses helped my felxibility in places I didn't know I was stiff. The back seems better too as in less pain. I don't think, at least at this point, it has cured anything but I hear a lot of stories that it is restorative over time. I am not built for yoga. My shoulders and arms are way to large to do some of that stuff. The best part is all the hot young women in yoga pants sweating 2 - 15 feet away.

So things have changes a lot in the last year and half. At the gym it seems I have dropped from the jacked crowd to the older guy crowd. I'm getting in there 3 days a week with 2 yoga days outside the gym. 1.5 years ago I was at the gym 4-5 days a week and hitting the dojo hard 2x a week. Huge change. I don't look the same. I have pictures from back then. I have a harder look in the face and body and my hands looked like mits from all the grip fighting. Now I look softer. It fucking blows. I am off AAS and GH and on a SARM and a little bit of SERM and a little aquirt of GHRP2 before bed most nights. I tried all the healing peptides and nothing gave me anything significant.

So that's it. I'll see where the chips fall over the next couple months. Maybe the decreased pounding in the weight room on top of yoga will give me some restoration. The way the back and knees are heavy squats and deads are out from here forward. I will probably do a light cycle at some point starting in the next couple months but I need flexibility mroe than mass right now to work the joints range of motion in this yoga stuff. I have an idea that it might stimulate stem cell activity which would be restorative. They live in the ends of your joints and tendons, which is where the stress is placed during these activities. I should probably stay as close to natural as possible to let hte natural process happen if it's there to happen. So probably not much happening as far as PEDs for at least a while.

So off AAS for 6 weeks today. My BP and pulse are great again. Outside of the joint issues I feel pretty healthy. Will get some blood work done soon enough probably in another 6 weeks to see where I'm at. Still haven't made up my mind if I will continue with a little bit of SARM/SERM combo for support along with GHRP. Probably will continue those unless the SERM starts effecting my eyes.

OK thats the end of the drivel. Any of you guys dealing with similar? Seems like this is a facts of life bit part I am playing here.
 
I definitely can relate. I had to give up flat bb bench AND squats around the same time back in 2001. RC would kill me when benching even with 135, and fucking my lumbar up for the umpteenth time during squats put me out of work for 16 months. I had to weigh the pros vs cons and said no more. As a dedicated hardcore iron pumper since 15, it was very mentally hard to give them up. But guess what? I am proof you CAN be big without them! I only wish my stubborn ass woulda figured that out 5 years earlier haha.

Step one is you gotta heal up. Don't do ANYTHING that causes pain. It will be hard, but train smart & you will get there. Once you do, say FUCK squats, deads and bench. You can be a beast via numerous other safer exercises. For me, mainstays have been leg press, hacks, smith front squats, bb, db & tbar rows, smith incline, bp machine, db presses. You will have to find the right ones for you. Hell if you have hammer machines you're all set - wish I did.

Good luck healing. Btw, I am never without some type of pain, but the key is working around it to keep it managable.
 
I had to stop doing certain exercises like bench, my shoulders get pretty bad.
 
I definitely can relate. I had to give up flat bb bench AND squats around the same time back in 2001. RC would kill me when benching even with 135, and fucking my lumbar up for the umpteenth time during squats put me out of work for 16 months. I had to weigh the pros vs cons and said no more. As a dedicated hardcore iron pumper since 15, it was very mentally hard to give them up. But guess what? I am proof you CAN be big without them! I only wish my stubborn ass woulda figured that out 5 years earlier haha.

Step one is you gotta heal up. Don't do ANYTHING that causes pain. It will be hard, but train smart & you will get there. Once you do, say FUCK squats, deads and bench. You can be a beast via numerous other safer exercises. For me, mainstays have been leg press, hacks, smith front squats, bb, db & tbar rows, smith incline, bp machine, db presses. You will have to find the right ones for you. Hell if you have hammer machines you're all set - wish I did.

Good luck healing. Btw, I am never without some type of pain, but the key is working around it to keep it managable.

Thanks
 
I don't know how I missed this thread!
Damn bro, sorry to hear about those injuries. That is definitely one way to go off the rails!

Have you ever considered simply switching to body weight type training? I did, and it's made all the difference. Like you, I'm on the mats a lot. Ever since going to body weight training, supplemented with things like kettlebells, rings, parallettes, steel mace, and a Bulgarian Bag; I've never felt better. And stretching about 20 minutes x 3 per week, then everything is good to go.

And recall, I got my back snapped in half last July. That's when I made the jump to bodyweight stuff. And I've never felt better. In fact, it's a lot easier to move on the mats. BJJ and Judo is easier than ever because now the strength is across every plane of movement. Cardio and conditioning is on point. The kb, mace, and Bulgarian Bag have done so much to strength my joint tendons that it's crazy.

I put this link in another thread; but I think it bears repeating here.
It's a link to one of my Dropbox folders; and it has two outstanding stretching routine videos. Take a look and give it a try. It'll supplement that Yoga. BTW, the man card is safe in going to Yoga. That stuff can be rough!


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r5tptcz6pu0i9n1/AAC5JNSkyCPFlfAWixq7y4MTa?dl=0

Give it a couple minutes from point of this posting. I just put the videos up. So if they're not up now, come back and try again.
 
It'll supplement that Yoga. BTW, the man card is safe in going to Yoga. That stuff can be rough!

Yeah, I am just gonna take your word on that one Choke. Richard Simmons claims to have a man card.
 
I don't know how I missed this thread!
Damn bro, sorry to hear about those injuries. That is definitely one way to go off the rails!

Have you ever considered simply switching to body weight type training? I did, and it's made all the difference. Like you, I'm on the mats a lot. Ever since going to body weight training, supplemented with things like kettlebells, rings, parallettes, steel mace, and a Bulgarian Bag; I've never felt better. And stretching about 20 minutes x 3 per week, then everything is good to go.

And recall, I got my back snapped in half last July. That's when I made the jump to bodyweight stuff. And I've never felt better. In fact, it's a lot easier to move on the mats. BJJ and Judo is easier than ever because now the strength is across every plane of movement. Cardio and conditioning is on point. The kb, mace, and Bulgarian Bag have done so much to strength my joint tendons that it's crazy.

I put this link in another thread; but I think it bears repeating here.
It's a link to one of my Dropbox folders; and it has two outstanding stretching routine videos. Take a look and give it a try. It'll supplement that Yoga. BTW, the man card is safe in going to Yoga. That stuff can be rough!


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r5tptcz6pu0i9n1/AAC5JNSkyCPFlfAWixq7y4MTa?dl=0

Give it a couple minutes from point of this posting. I just put the videos up. So if they're not up now, come back and try again.
Thanks Choke. It would be great if I could grapple again. You will laugh but I started doing yoga a month ago just after opening this thread and it helped a lot. Right now I am in Italy working and not training much which has given me a break. I think I'm off AAS for 11 weeksat this point or maybe it's 12.
 
Stopping back into this thread. I did manage to squat and do rack pulls all summer. I did some biking in the hills and a lot of stepmill. By the end of summer I needed a break. No grappling unfortunately. Still having knee issues but now it's the left one. I did light squats and leg presses yeserday and have some lower back tightness after doing shoulders and arms today on top of leg work yesterday. Again I'm off AAS for about 11-12 weeks just on 100 mg/w TRT. Just quit all caffiene drinks and trying to get more healthy. Diet as usual is 90% clean but the 10% shit is not helping. Time to tighten it down for a few weeksand try to limit damage in the holidays. Doc appt in a couple of weeks. Hoping everything is good.
 
Coming of Tren I had a little enlightenment about aging today. I grabbed a 75lb piece of equipment out of the back of my truck and instantly thought. "When did 75lbs get that heavy?"

Getting older is still better than the option bro. And we still look better than 3/4 of the 20 and 30 somethings. I don't know how some of these young guys attract a women walking around with their sloppy guts hanging over their belts. I don't care how much you make, sloppy fat is gross.
 
Sure sucks when it's no longer a matter of will and good gear. I can say most 50 and over bbers (guys who trained hard in their day) that I know focus on upper body and staying lean. They may throw in leg extensions and curls to keep some shape. It's seams all the heavy lifting just takes its toll of shoulders, hips and knees. Nonetheless, once they have settled with that they enjoy the gym again.

I wish you all the best,
Hawk
 
I was squatting Saturday night. I had all of the will, energy and intensity to push it hard. My knees and back just did not share what was in my head and heart. I pushed through a decent workout. I went up to a massive 245. I but i raise the intesnity by doing it really slow tempo, adding 4 sec pauses in the hole, and quarter reps coming out and shit like that.
 
I tried all the healing peptides and nothing gave me anything significant.

honestly i think issues like torn tissues.. bone spurs.. degenerative disc.. would not be helped by healing peptides.. to me those heal things faster that would eventually heal themselves if left to enough rest time. so your issues are beyond peptides

Maybe the decreased pounding in the weight room on top of yoga will give me some restoration. The way the back and knees are heavy squats and deads are out from here forward. I will probably do a light cycle at some point starting in the next couple months but I need flexibility mroe than mass right now to work the joints range of motion in this yoga stuff. I have an idea that it might stimulate stem cell activity which would be restorative.

imho... flexibility would help with day to day movement maybe... but injured bones, tissue , etc.. would probably only be healed by surgery (which could also make it worse).. look at Ronnie Coleman.. so flexible muscles would probably help put less stress on the joints, but not change the underlying issues or damage

i turned 50 recently... but i had started to dial back training poundages etc.. in fear of doing damage that i could end up regretting as i got older...

anyone who pushes their body towards its limits is risking what happened to Ronnie (maybe not as bad?).. so gotta weigh risk reward...
 
A friend of mine runs an MMA dojo. He's 41 and does Worlds just about every year. He's about 5'8" 175 shredded. He's a mess just like me only I'm 16 years down the line. He has had a bunch of surgeries, neck, knees etc. Colliflauwer ears. I did the same thing. Did nationals and some lower level international competitions and had a lot of fun and now a lot of stories. If you run it hard you're gonna get some dents. I don't have any regrets. Yeah the wheels kind of rattle adn I have a shimmy in the front end but a little grease and an oil change and I can still run fairly hard from time to time, just have to go smarter now. Not so much balls out and grappling is a vsions fading away. Maybe I can get abck and teach some and do some ground work. Thing is as soon as I get back on the mat I cant help but go balls out. That's fine with scrubs but whenthere are a few guys that compete at a higher level that's when I turn it up and then after a few sessions racked with pain for weeks. I just don't have the turn down volume button in the dojo. Finally I ahve it in the gym.

Anyhow, I had a lot of fun and maybe I have some fun days left at 57.
 
Ronnie Colman is a special case. He has no turn down button even after 10 back surgeries. I would guess if he had that button he would have been done with back surgeries after the first 1 or 2.
 
I just saw the king [Ronnie colman] very impressed by his life and commitment to a lifestyle he has loved and still loves despite his injuries from the battle to be the king. there must be a certain defiance of physics in his mind that keeps him going
 
I'm 50 and have been lifting for the 'pump' for many years now. My ego has been put to bed and lifting heavy no longer appeals to me. My workouts are centered around higher reps and pushing the blood into the muscle. Yes I still fight my rotator cuff but other than that I feel great in the gym and could care less what group I'm in. Anyone near my weight is welcome to comment in the gym but other than that, they shut the hell up.

BPP
 
Hey, let's check in on this thread...

Glyco, did you stick with the yoga? I'm curious, if you did, how things move and feel now.
 
Hey, let's check in on this thread...

Glyco, did you stick with the yoga? I'm curious, if you did, how things move and feel now.

I did it for 8 months and it fixed a lotto my problems. I incorporate some of the movements to my stretching regimen I do after workouts. It helped a lot. I'm back to doing free squats and rack pulls periodically now. I don't go up as high in weight as I use to but going higher in reps and listen to back, neck and knees to guide me.
 
Okay...
So...
Tell me where to start, then.

Do the gentle stuff first. Don't make it a competition. You're basically doing it like physiotherapy. The people might be fucking weirdos but you're there to fix your shit so get along I guess. Try to find a good place. If a form or position hurts then don't do it. Good places the instructor can Give you options. If they can't then get another studio or a class with a better instructor.
 
dammit i was afraid you'd say to go to a place...

There are a lot of good looking women in these places. If you are open to it might be a good place to find one or a few flexible women. The first month or so I was going I had just come back from Italy and brought in a bottle of wine a couple times for a little after class tasting. After that I had to fight them off. If life gives you lemons make lemonade like they say.
 
What I hear you saying is: I need to hit up a yoga studio next time I'm traveling without the mrs...
 
Interesting thread. I'm 53 and basically have been falling apart after 40 years of lifting (30 of it HEAVY). Back has always been flaky (Degen-disc's) but now with torn rotator, knee's no longer liking anything heavy or compressing (squats, leg-press) and now heart issues from horrible family history (dad dead at 47, bro at 47, grandpa at 42, 8 other uncles/aunts from Dads side dead before 50) I caught mine early I think. (Will know more soon, they drag out the medical, make me wait). "Come in if you think you're having a heart attack", gee, thanks fukk-wad's. A little depressing, light training keeps me out of full depression I think. To all the old iron guys/gals here, keep breathing defiance!!
 

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