Indigo_Alpha's 8 weeks to power

[Indigo_Alpha]

Hey all, this is my first workout after many months. For the past 18 months I have been on an intense cleansing diet to cure systemic candidiasis, consisting of eating only green leafy vegetables. The cleanse has reached diminshing returns and I feel I can get optimal health faster by returning to a balanced diet and excercise regimen.

This cleanse was extremely difficult and built my willpower to a superhuman apex. However, the extreme carb deprevation made it impossible to maintain lean muscle mass and eliminated all possibility of excercise save for stretching and walking. So at day one of my excercise program, at 6'2'' and 135 lbs I am starting from SCRATCH - bare with me!

With that being said, my body system and joints are more healthy than ever before, and I am HUNGRY as hell and passionate about gaining strenth, endurance, mass, capillarization, and getting RIPPED. My enthusiasm has sky rocketed after the last 18 months and I WILL reach my health and fitness goals NO MATTER WHAT. My first main goal is to break 158 lbs, which is the heaviest i've ever weighed.
My second goal is to break 165 lbs, which is the heaviest my Dad has ever weighed. My third goal is to break 215, which is what my brother who has stolen all the family genetics weighs.

Day 1:

7/8/09:

20 Hindu squats
20 standing hip extensions
20 wide squats

30 2leg calf raises

neck bridge 8 sec
front bridge from knees 5 sec
wide pushup iso hold from knees 15 sec
tricep pushup hold from knees 12 sec
Dead hang from bar 13 sec

12 lateral raise with 5lb
12 bent over lateral with 5lb

This was all I could take as my entire body was shaking. Interesting to note that iso's always come before the full movement can be done; as if they are nature's fastest path to strength gaining. In this case, they were all I could do lol!

Stay tuned.

[Indigo_Alpha]

Friday:

I muscled up into a pushup. It seems my nervous system is waking up after a long rest.

Pushups: 1, 2, 4 (max).
HIll "sprints" x 3 ( legs turned to jelly)
More bridging, squatting, bar hanging etc.

Sat:

KB Bottoms up press with a 8 kg for 8,10,10 reps.
Did 10 hindu squats and 2 pushups every 45 minutes for my 8 hour work day. Pretty baked. Managed to do a 2 single door pullups.


Sun:

KB press for 12 reps (1 set)
Same routine as sat except started day off with bridging, and did 12 to 15 hindus for 5 sets throughout the day and 3 pushups instead of 2.

Mon morning:

found a good grip for pushups and managed to do 3 sets of 5.
Bar hanging for 15 seconds was easy.

Stay tuned :eat:

[Indigo_Alpha]

Tue 7/14

bent over lateral raises 2 x 25 with 5lbs. 50 wide width squats

1 set every hour for 8 hours of 20 hindu squats, 12 reverse flies with bands, 17 gripper squeezes and 14 finger band extensions (white band).

wed 7/15

pullups and chins 1,1,1,1,1
9kg press 15, 13, 13, 12

hill "sprints" x4 (getting more speed now)
Calf raises 30,35,30

Stay tuned!

[Indigo_Alpha]

Wed night:

Bridging ~ 15 sec, reverse bridge from knees~ 15 sec, tricep pushup from knees iso ~ 15 sec, pullup iso's ~30 sec x 3

7/16 Rest

7/17 Friday: Day 10

Bent over later raises with 5lb DB x 30, 30, 21
Med grip Pushups x 9, 8, 7

Legs are baked from the sprints; will rest them till tomorrow.

Body weight: 144lbs

Stay tuned!

[Indigo_Alpha]

Friday 17th Mid day:

chins x2, pullup x1, chin x1, pullup x1

Leaning Tricep pushup x 8,7,6,4

Arms were toast after this, and got first "pump" in my arms in a long while.

[Indigo_Alpha]

7/18 saturday:

Did 6 sets once every hour of 25 hindu squats, 30 standing hip extensions, 15 band reverse flies, 22 grip squeezes, 35 calf raises, 20 white band finger extensions, and 3 DSR's biceps and triceps.

7/19 Sunday

Entire body is sore, with fever like symptoms and a headache. My stomach is also soar from eating way too much. I will cut my calories by about 800 a day :shame: (yes, I grossly misused my heightened insulin sensitivity which is why I gained 10 lbs in 10 days). I'm gonna try listening to my body to see how much excercise is ideal for rapid progress, as this is definitely overtraining.

[PowerHank]

Interesting set of circumstances. Most of us try to lose weight. And you're trying to put it on.

I'd like to know your age. Would help give us a better perspective of where you're coming from.

Looking forward to some great progress.

Thanks for the posts,

Hank

[Indigo_Alpha]

Haha NP Hank; I'm glad there are peers to read my posts. I have been keeping up with your royal court log and have found it inspiring as well.

I'm 24, and have pretty much always been lanky, even when I lifted weights in highschool. I dislocated both shoulders numerous times when young until the ligaments were perma-stretched. With the advent of heavy wide grip benching, curling, behind the neck pullups, and practically ZERO external rotation work, my shoulders were seriously messed up. Nothing is worse than the feeling of having loose ligaments!

However, I chose not to be a victim anymore and underwent years of tendon stretching and energy work to undo some of the damage. So, for me to do a full lockout press above my head, for example, is a major, major accomplishment. To be able to do pushups, dips, and tricep work without dislocation would be a genuine miracle of healing, and is something I am striving for. At the time being, I will work within my range of motion until I get more external rotator support.

Yesterdays workout: 7/21

Turns out I did have a fever, and after 2 full days of sleep I feel a bit better.

9KG KB press 16,10,10 each arms (full vertical lockout) shoulders felt prefatigued.
2 x pullups, 3 x chins, 2 x pullups, 3 x chins. Felt like I had a lot more in the bank!
20x 5lbs lateral raises: motion felt good and connected thruout entire range.

Stay tuned!

P.S.:
I'm very pleased to announce that the candida continues to die despite my high carb consumption, most likely due to all the raw garlic i;ve been eating :freaked-out:

[Indigo_Alpha]

On top of the fever I got diarhhea for two days, whick really took a lot out of me (no pun intended).

7/25
Hill sprints x 5, had to really motivate myself to do these. Feeling more power from my glutes and balls stopped clapping.

7/26

pushups x 10, 12, 11
reverse flies 5 lbs 25, 20 , 20

7/27

hindu squats 40 straight. slowed down at around 25 and basically did rest-pause up to 40. Had more in the bank but my legs were shaking.
calf raises x 40 reps

7/28
pullups x 4, chins x4, pullups x 3, chins x 2.
leaning tricep pushups x 12, 12, 12, 9

[Indigo_Alpha]

Wed 7/29 Beach work, swimming, active recovery etc, 2 chins, legs raises x6, 5, 4,
parallel bar pushups x 7, 6, 8

Thurs 7/30 ??? memory loss



Friday 7/31:
50 hindu's straight, legs were shaking but im starting to incorporate more glutes into the movement, so they seem easier.
20 rear leg raises with 4lbs
20 semi-rear leg raises with 4lbs
pushups x 8,8,8 (still tired from wed and thurs)
bent over laterals with 10 lbs x 12, 12, 10

Sat 8/1:

9kg press x20,16, 20, 16
Chinups x5, pullups x3, chins x 5, pullups x 1, 1, chins x 3 (nearest to failure I've gone yet). (done on wrapped towel)

I'm finally starting to feel like I can "work out". Today begins the first of 12 weeks on my goal to weigh 160lbs by Oct 24th.
Stay tuned!

[Indigo_Alpha]

My weight is oscillating between 144 and 150; a lot of the gain has been fat so I will cut down the amount of ice cream and sugar I've been eating. My plan is to gain 16 lbs by oct 24, at least 10 of it lean muscle mass, so that means I gotta gain about 1 lb every 5 days... It's time to step up the volume and intensity of my workouts.

Hindu squats x 60. Legs were jelly after 25 or so and the last few reps felt something like approaching failure... truly a strange stress these squats induce.

1 legged calf raises x 10, 10, 10
2 legged raises x 40

Considering doing some upper body later today... well see.

Stay tuned!

[Indigo_Alpha]

Mon 8/3

60 hindus
calf raise 1 leg x10,10,10
2 leg calf raise x40

Afternoon workout

Dips x4, 4, 3, 3, 3
pullupsx 5, chinsx 6, pullups x 3, chins x3, pullups x2

Bodyweight 149 ..most of it fat... too much ice cream perhaps? :)

Stay tuned!

[Indigo_Alpha]

wow, friday already. Yesterday was a rest, and wednesday I did 5 or 6 hill sprints and 30 hindu squats... Tuesday I did bent over laterals with 10lbs for 3 sets of 20, and pushups x 10,12,12. Will step it up very soon.

[Indigo_Alpha]

pullups x 6 chinsx 6 pullups x 3
pushups with feet on bench x 12, 10,10

Seems like im plateauing... I will increase the volume and decrease the reps for a couple workouts and then see my new rep performance.

[Indigo_Alpha]

wed 8/12

chins x3 for 7 sets: total volume 21
pushups 10,8,8,8,7,5,4

[Indigo_Alpha]

sun 8/15

Pullups x 7, chins x 7, pullups x 4, chins x 5, chins x 4 Total 27
Pushups x 15, 16 Total 31

[Indigo_Alpha]

End of 8 weeks of training:

Pullup max 10 with 1 rep left in the bank
Pushup and squat max unknown
Weight 153 lbs

time for another 8 weeks!

the end

[Indigo_Alpha]

Well, perhaps it was delayed adaptation but a couple weeks ago I did 15 chins with some left in the bank. I'm back on the candida diet for a few weeks and will resume training afterward.

10/1/09

15 chins