looking for a new place to grow

[sittinheavy]

Hey guys and gals, long time lurker here. I've been coming to this board for about a year and a half now. Never made an account due to most of the topics being over my head or not having any info to contribute, just absorbed as much info as I could.

A little background info on me.

24 years old
6'4" 213lbs 18%bf
been lifting 3 years
in the past 2 years went from 323lbs to 213lbs currently
measurements currently are
-chest 41"
-waist 43"
-bicep 14"
-forearm 11"
-neck 18.25"
been a c5 quadriplegic of nearly 6 years. Was in an auto accident that blew out my c5 vertebrae. basically paralyzed from the chest down with some muscle control to the mid torso. I have no wrist, fingers, or tricep control/function. I've had tendon transfers done on my posterior deltoid to assist with elbow extension.

My training schedule is 6 days a week currently. something along the lines of
monday- chest, bi's, cardio
tuesday- back day with emphasis on lats
wednesday- shoulders, bi's, cardio
thursday- back day with emphasis on traps
friday- endurance training- extended cardio, manual wheelchair propulsion, matt exercises
saturday- off
sunday- back day

diet for the past 2 years has been in a restricted state due to me cutting weight. calories are around 1200-1500 a day with a macro breakdown of roughly 120-150g protein, 40-80g of carbs, and at least 30g of good fats. this has given me a weightloss average of 5-8lbs per month.

my goals towards the future include hitting sub 14%bf by sept this year, competing in a few npc wheelchair body building competitions within the next 3-4 years, becoming a personal trainer within the next year for others with disabilities, and becoming an oly level quad rugby player within the next 8 years.

my expectations in joining this forum include developing a better lifting routine, working out better dieting techniques, supplement discussion, and coming to the dark side. this forum has one of the most mature member populations and more open discussion on some matters. hopefully some of you guys will teach me the ways to maximize my potential.

thanks for hearing me out. looking forward to more convo's. if you all have any kinds of question for me or about me, post up. nothing is off limits in my book.

[ChuckLee]

Welcome

[Ulter]

Wow! Nice work on taking the weight off. Your training schedule is admirable as well. You should start a training log too.

Thanks for coming. Welcome!

[Tweak]

Welcome!

If you're looking for advice on stuff, make sure that you post your questions in the training section. Sometimes people miss that new people are asking for advice in their introductory threads.

[Raina]

Wow! That's a great weight loss and it sounds like you're on track to keep improving. I'm very curious about your training and how you've had to modify things.

Welcome!!!

[bigdamray]

Welcome and I would like to see you start a training log as well!!

[Iron God]

Welcome to our board.

[MR. BMJ]

What an honor to have you as a member here at AF. Welcome to the site!

To tell you the truth, I think you can bring a lot of knowledge to the site here, just as much, if not more, than we can with our knowledge to you. This is gonna be Awesome. Great goals and positive determination my friend!

I agree with those above, you should start a training log if you have time to do so.

I can't wait to see you post more

BMJ

[sassy69]

Welcome & fantastic progress with some daunting challenges. I applaud your goals and absolutely encourage you to go after competition. I've seen the NPC Wheelchair Nationals a few times now in FL at the Sunshine State show in March (I think that's the name of the show) - I'm blown away every time. Those competitors are the true definition of an athlete.

Definitely post up a log -- this is such a great way to be accountable as well as great discussion w/ the board peeps!

Out of curiosity, how long have you been training w/ this split you outlined above? Is it working well? I was mainly curious because you are hitting many of the same muscle groups many times in a week and wondered if you encountered any muscle fatigue. Are you working with a trainer or you've developed a program that works for you?

[Caligula]

Congrats on your progress so far. I'm sure there is much more yet to come. Welcome!

[Hidngod]

Wow. Congrats on the weight loss. That's tremendous.
welcome to THE board.

[*Bunny*]

Originally Posted by MR. BMJ

What an honor to have you as a member here at AF. Welcome to the site!

To tell you the truth, I think you can bring a lot of knowledge to the site here, just as much, if not more, than we can with our knowledge to you. This is gonna be Awesome. Great goals and positive determination my friend!

I agree with those above, you should start a training log if you have time to do so.

I can't wait to see you post more

BMJ

^^

What he said!


Welcome to af!

[HULK1550]

Thats great man.

you put us all to shame.

Go ahead and post more, i bet you can help most of us out with a lot of things. A lot of them may not have anything to do with lifting weights, but things that are even more important like determination and a strong strong mind. Most of us could probably learn a lot from you.


Just curious, and you can already start to help, i always was under the impression that a quadrapalegic (sp?) was paralyzed more or less from the neck down which would obviously make workouts impossible, but you have found a way. and most likely my impression is wrong.

[Big Sky Guy]

Congrats on the great progress!

And welcome!

[sittinheavy]

just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the compliments and welcomes. i will definitely be starting a journal here.

Originally Posted by Raina

Wow! That's a great weight loss and it sounds like you're on track to keep improving. I'm very curious about your training and how you've had to modify things.

Welcome!!!

i use several pieces of equipment that i use in my routines. first off all my exercises are either done with an uppertone(wheelchair accessible multi-station machine), dumb bells, ankle weights, adjustable cable/pulley weights, hammer strength dip press, or a vitaglide(wheelchair accessible push-pull cardio machine).

now in order to use these machines i use various accessories for certain movements. these include
-grizzly adjustable ankle cuffs
- grizzly ankle straps
- hypertrophyllc haulin hooks
- various lengths of chain with s-hooks or caribeener clips

some of my movements have been modified also. take for instance a low row. a low row should typically be done sitting at a 90* angle with a pulling motion towards your belly button. my pulling motion is the same, but to eliminate my weak lower back from the exercise i tilt my power chair back to roughly a 30* angle and raise the pulley up some. this still puts me at a 90* angle to the pulley but i have gravity keeping me seated and not being pulled forward. another example would be any kind of pressing movement on the cable/pulley weights. in order to isolate my anterior deltoid or pecs i push the weight from the elbow vs the wrist/palm due to no triceps.

Originally Posted by sassy69

Welcome & fantastic progress with some daunting challenges. I applaud your goals and absolutely encourage you to go after competition. I've seen the NPC Wheelchair Nationals a few times now in FL at the Sunshine State show in March (I think that's the name of the show) - I'm blown away every time. Those competitors are the true definition of an athlete.

Definitely post up a log -- this is such a great way to be accountable as well as great discussion w/ the board peeps!

Out of curiosity, how long have you been training w/ this split you outlined above? Is it working well? I was mainly curious because you are hitting many of the same muscle groups many times in a week and wondered if you encountered any muscle fatigue. Are you working with a trainer or you've developed a program that works for you?

i understand where you are coming from and currently still worry about it. when i go in on my back days i usually focus on going heavy and hard on 1 muscle group with the rest of the exercises being medium to easy weight. lets say i'm focusing on lats that day. i'll go in and do my lat exercises at 70-80% of my 1rep max for 3-4 sets of 8-12, with the rest of my exercises at like 50% of my 1 rep max but the same sets and reps. i do this mainly to burn calories just because i don't burn much sitting around all day, lol. i've been doing this style of training for about 6-8 months and have been pleased with it, but i'm positive it could be improved upon. i really don't have issues with fatigue as long as i stay focused and have a protein shake on hand.

alot of my routine was developed and modified by myself. i've gathered and built it reading forums, talking to other bodybuilders, and bouncing ideas off my therapist.

Originally Posted by HULK1550

Thats great man.

you put us all to shame.

Go ahead and post more, i bet you can help most of us out with a lot of things. A lot of them may not have anything to do with lifting weights, but things that are even more important like determination and a strong strong mind. Most of us could probably learn a lot from you.


Just curious, and you can already start to help, i always was under the impression that a quadrapalegic (sp?) was paralyzed more or less from the neck down which would obviously make workouts impossible, but you have found a way. and most likely my impression is wrong.

quads have some type of paralysis of all four limbs, doesn't always mean full paralysis. i know many walking quads and para's. i've even met some para's that have full control of their legs but none in their arms. with all spinal cord injuries nobody is the same. you can take two c5 quads and each one will have different muscles that work, even though they are the same level of injury.

[T-Cake]

WELCOME welcome welcome to AF.

I am simply blown away by your story. The weight loss ALONE is astounding -- holy crap! The perseverance you have just... wow, gave me chills. Just wow. I'm so stoked you are here, and I too would LOVE to see a training and diet log from you, absolutely!!!

Geez, what took you so long to get here?!?!?!
<