Well, I Went And Done It, Gunny...

[Gunny]

Exactly... I was wondering if you did squats. I guess you found one exercise I CAN'T do on the gym... the "clean and jerk." I did do some of that way back when, when I was working out at the base gyms. But I'm going to spend a few weeks just building strength, getting used to it again. I don't need to rip anything trying to lift more than I should.

I have the leg curl right in front on the gym, but like on my other old gym I'll use the curl and row bar hooked to the front bottom cable and put a bunch of weight on, because the legs just take it, and do toe ups too. The only part of the leg I couldn't work on with the old gym was the back, but this gym has that soft band that I can hook onto the curl cable in front and do back leg curls. I might even be able to just hook my leg behind the pad in front of the seat and do a reverse leg curl... I'll have to try it. Either way, I spend a whole session working just legs.

Yeah, I do squats A-hole to the ground ones. From years of having beat up knees and ankles and doing squats only to parallel, it's a bitch doing a squat clean because my mind may be saying "we're bottoming out on this clean" but my legs and back are saying "my ass you are" Once I put enough weight on it defaults automatically to a power clean.

So I throw in a few sets of front squats after my cleans; I'll do back squats usually after I bench; and, I will overhead squat when I do snatches because there's not much choice in the matter. I do so much squatting just doing the lifts, that it doesn't take much. Back squats and deadlifts I do about once a weak.

I also walk/run just under 3 miles every day.

And the hardest workout of all: chase a 16 months old little boy around the house all day

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Yeah, I do squats A-hole to the ground ones. From years of having beat up knees and ankles and doing squats only to parallel, it's a bitch doing a squat clean because my mind may be saying "we're bottoming out on this clean" but my legs and back are saying "my ass you are" Once I put enough weight on it defaults automatically to a power clean.

So I throw in a few sets of front squats after my cleans; I'll do back squats usually after I bench; and, I will overhead squat when I do snatches because there's not much choice in the matter. I do so much squatting just doing the lifts, that it doesn't take much. Back squats and deadlifts I do about once a weak.

I also walk/run just under 3 miles every day.

And the hardest workout of all: chase a 16 months old little boy around the house all day

Ya got me here, bro... what's the difference between a front and back squat?

I don't run at all. I do a mile or so on the treadmill and and could run on that... maybe I should. Been just starting back on that too. I was really getting out of shape. Enough so to inspire me to buy that damn gym. I hate feeling soft and out of shape... just ain't me, and getting older is no excuse...

[Gunny]

Ya got me here, bro... what's the difference between a front and back squat?

I don't run at all. I do a mile or so on the treadmill and and could run on that... maybe I should. Been just starting back on that too. I was really getting out of shape. Enough so to inspire me to buy that damn gym. I hate feeling soft and out of shape... just ain't me, and getting older is no excuse...

Back squat - what most people consider a squat. Bar on the back of your shoulders and squat down.

Front squat - hold the bar like you are going to military/front press it and squat down.

The balance between the two is completely different. The back squat uses the entire legs and back. The front squat pretty much isolates the quads. Everybody likes back squats more because you can lift a lot more weight. Especially when most people who don't know what they're doing usually won't go past parallel to the floor if even that.

I'm beyond the ego thing. It took everything I had at the time to do 10 squats with no weight and holding onto the arms into a chair just to get out of the hospital. I could at one time half-squat 405 with the best of them. Which amounts to being able to hold up 405 and squat down about 3-4 inches which means it amounts to not much at all. I wouldn't even consider touching that much weight now

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Back squat - what most people consider a squat. Bar on the back of your shoulders and squat down.

Front squat - hold the bar like you are going to military/front press it and squat down.

The balance between the two is completely different. The back squat uses the entire legs and back. The front squat pretty much isolates the quads. Everybody likes back squats more because you can lift a lot more weight. Especially when most people who don't know what they're doing usually won't go past parallel to the floor if even that.

I'm beyond the ego thing. It took everything I had at the time to do 10 squats with no weight and holding onto the arms into a chair just to get out of the hospital. I could at one time half-squat 405 with the best of them. Which amounts to being able to hold up 405 and squat down about 3-4 inches which means it amounts to not much at all. I wouldn't even consider touching that much weight now

Aaaaah yes... makes a lot of sense... I never knew that about squats. I can see the difference big time.

I never lifted anything over 400 lbs in my life. I thought I was bad ass in the military when I finally benched 275. Good Lord have those days gone... maaaaan. Sucks getting old, but you can slow that process down with exercise.

Sounds like you had it pretty bad after that stroke, man. Damn bummer for sure. Hope you get it all back. I have some serious muscle atrophy in my right triceps. I have a thin little strip that still works. The VA told me after they did the discectomy on my cervical spine for crushed nerves that I'd get 95% of that back. Well... no... I didn't. I've put my TENS unit on the muscle thinking it would HAVE to make it jump even if my nerves won't but nope, nothing, but I'm going to see if I can't wake that fucker up. I'm going to start concentrating on working on just that. Imagine if you lay your right forearm across the top of your head, and then your triceps can't lift it off... well that's me. I hate it. I want a fucking miracle. I'm going to see if by some way in hell I can build what is left up to do more. My chest muscles actually take the place of the triceps doing bench presses, but bench presses actually are a chest exercise anyway but still...

[Gunny]

Aaaaah yes... makes a lot of sense... I never knew that about squats. I can see the difference big time.

I never lifted anything over 400 lbs in my life. I thought I was bad ass in the military when I finally benched 275. Good Lord have those days gone... maaaaan. Sucks getting old, but you can slow that process down with exercise.

Sounds like you had it pretty bad after that stroke, man. Damn bummer for sure. Hope you get it all back. I have some serious muscle atrophy in my right triceps. I have a thin little strip that still works. The VA told me after they did the discectomy on my cervical spine for crushed nerves that I'd get 95% of that back. Well... no... I didn't. I've put my TENS unit on the muscle thinking it would HAVE to make it jump even if my nerves won't but nope, nothing, but I'm going to see if I can't wake that fucker up. I'm going to start concentrating on working on just that. Imagine if you lay your right forearm across the top of your head, and then your triceps can't lift it off... well that's me. I hate it. I want a fucking miracle. I'm going to see if by some way in hell I can build what is left up to do more. My chest muscles actually take the place of the triceps doing bench presses, but bench presses actually are a chest exercise anyway but still...

Sort of. I was on life support with what basically amounts to a tube running through my back ribs to a dialysis machine sucking the crap out of my lung. I had an infection that had gotten WAY out of hand. The stroke was a result of me coming our of the anesthesia when I wasn't supposed to and yanking the incabation tube out of my mouth. I had no oxygen to my brain for a couple of minutes and flatlined. THAT caused the stroke. In hindsight, they screwed up with their damned anesthesia.

At any rate I was a total mess. I still have some damage I just have to live with but it could be a lot worse. The oddest/weirdest/f-d-up-est thing IS from the stroke. I see people every day but don't remember them. vision is just fine. i know people by what house they come out of/where I see them, but if they walk up to me out of place, I have no clue who they are. I just don't remember faces if I don't see them every day. It's kind of like being high all the time I know it's offended a few of the neighbors but whatever.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Sort of. I was on life support with what basically amounts to a tube running through my back ribs to a dialysis machine sucking the crap out of my lung. I had an infection that had gotten WAY out of hand. The stroke was a result of me coming our of the anesthesia when I wasn't supposed to and yanking the incabation tube out of my mouth. I had no oxygen to my brain for a couple of minutes and flatlined. THAT caused the stroke. In hindsight, they screwed up with their damned anesthesia.

At any rate I was a total mess. I still have some damage I just have to live with but it could be a lot worse. The oddest/weirdest/f-d-up-est thing IS from the stroke. I see people every day but don't remember them. vision is just fine. i know people by what house they come out of/where I see them, but if they walk up to me out of place, I have no clue who they are. I just don't remember faces if I don't see them every day. It's kind of like being high all the time I know it's offended a few of the neighbors but whatever.

Dang brother... I had no idea it was that bad. I apologize for being an asshole here or there and not being more understanding. I won't slip up on that again.

Ya know, have you ever tried hypnotism to see if there's parts of your brain you could wake up like that? You remember that show "Ghost Mine?" If you do, remember the hot little red head, Kristen Luman? Well she's a licensed hypnotherapist, and believe it or not I've had several sessions with her. I contacted her through her facebook and then we get together online, skype or whatever, and she's good. I like what she does. They say the more intelligent you are the easier you are to hypnotize. To tell you the truth, I don't know if I was ever hypnotized by her, but that is what she does, but you do remember everything. She doesn't give you any post hypnotic suggestions that you won't remember anything. But she can help with pain, which is why I contacted her, and whatever else, all kinds of things. She might be able to help you, man. Just a thought. Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool. Don't laugh until you've tried it, bro... all bull shit aside.

http://www.kristenluman.com/

[Gunny]

Dang brother... I had no idea it was that bad. I apologize for being an asshole here or there and not being more understanding. I won't slip up on that again.

Ya know, have you ever tried hypnotism to see if there's parts of your brain you could wake up like that? You remember that show "Ghost Mine?" If you do, remember the hot little red head, Kristen Luman? Well she's a licensed hypnotherapist, and believe it or not I've had several sessions with her. I contacted her through her facebook and then we get together online, skype or whatever, and she's good. I like what she does. They say the more intelligent you are the easier you are to hypnotize. To tell you the truth, I don't know if I was ever hypnotized by her, but that is what she does, but you do remember everything. She doesn't give you any post hypnotic suggestions that you won't remember anything. But she can help with pain, which is why I contacted her, and whatever else, all kinds of things. She might be able to help you, man. Just a thought. Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool. Don't laugh until you've tried it, bro... all bull shit aside.

http://www.kristenluman.com/

I don't look at it that way, and there is nothing to apologize for. This may be hard to comprehend given the way I come off, but I am an eternal optimist, and I try to lean something from everything and everyone. God gave me these gifts and when I started taking them for granted/squandering them, he took them away and told me to deal with it or throw in the towel. I had to start over from scratch. Walking, balance -- a lot of simple things we take for granted every day. I was always cock-strong, could go all day, and could analyze anything. So I figure I just got knocked off my perch to teach me a lesson. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away and no matter how good I was or thought I was, I wasn't THAT good. Someone else is the final authority.

I hardly have the worst or most problems of people on this board. I know of at least 4 bad tickers. I never have gotten the actual story on how Kathianne blew out her shoulder but apparently then had to rebuild it with an erector set. Jimbob's always beating himself up for not be perfect. Darin apparently has to hide out from women like he was one of the Beatles in the 60s. Ask him

I just have some pain in the ass physical limitations mostly. The memory thing is WAY down on the low end of priorities. My long-term memory is fine. The short term thing apparently coincides with the part of my brain the stroke affected so it's just something to deal with. I laugh at myself a lot. I'll go downstairs to do something and forget why I went downstairs Ask a question I just asked 5 minutes ago. I gave up trying to go to the store without a list long ago.

I could completely wire a restaurant without the Code book because I could do that before, but my daughter has to help me fill out simple forms. So it's a short term thing.

I get to see my grandkids every day, for better or worse I could be in a LOT worse place in life than I am.