[fmoncas]

Another update

Its been a good 4 weeks since I updated my log…..Well a lot of things have happened. First I was having a hard time gaining weight even when eating between 400-500 grams of carbs. I was kind of disappointed so I started eating more (no calorie count) just eat as much as I could…I was cheating with my meals too in an desperate attempt to make the scale move….and the results “I got sick” I had stomach cramps, gas and regular visits to the restroom…..not very pleasant as you can see!...i started to get very disappointed….i knew that I was doing something wrong but what?? So after thinking a lot about the subject and realized that maybe the problem was poor digestion!! It really made sense because I have been suffering from minor but annoying stomach problems lately from all the food that I had to consume frequently. Anyway I decided to decrease my meals from 7 to 5 and keep the same macros...my idea was to have more time in between the meals to allow proper digestion. And IT WORKED!!! I noticed that I was eating with hunger again (before I had to force my self to eat sometimes) my portions were bigger but that was not a big problem..after the first week I went from 215.6 to 217…and a week after I am weighting about 218.2 lbs. …

On the other hand I went finally to check my delt-chest pain with the doctor…I had MRIs and X-rays Done! The good news is that there is no tear and the separation between the bones in fine….the bad news is that I maybe suffering from tendonitis……I will take more fish oil and ice the area for 2 weeks, I have been training around the pain and its has decreased a lot. Hopefully I will recover but I don’t think that I will go heavy with chest again…its not worth the risk and there is always more than one way to make the muscles grow

Take care guys!

[Julio]

thanks for the update bro, i was getting worried where you was at. hope everything goes well for you.

[Blitzkrieg]

Great news man, luckily it wasn't a tear. Keep us updated.

[cmart315]

Glad to see an update. I was actually just thinking about this thread the other day and wondered if you had left forever.
I'm glad to hear you were able to resolve the gaining issue, this is something I have always wondered myself but was too afraid to try. Going down to 5 larger meals rather then the 7 smaller ones. I think I read somewhere that Layne actually does this? Are you still taking in the 400-500 carbs while doing this? Also glad to hear you don't have a tear, but thats rough about the tendinitis. A buddy of mine at the gym had that in his shoulder, I know he does not enjoy it.

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by julio40

thanks for the update bro, i was getting worried where you was at. hope everything goes well for you.

No..Thank YOU!! bro for reading and for the encouragement

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg

Great news man, luckily it wasn't a tear. Keep us updated.

thanks my friend...i feel a great relief now that i know that is not a tear...now that i know the problem i will try adress it to keep improving...thanks once again

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by cmart315

Glad to see an update. I was actually just thinking about this thread the other day and wondered if you had left forever.
I'm glad to hear you were able to resolve the gaining issue, this is something I have always wondered myself but was too afraid to try. Going down to 5 larger meals rather then the 7 smaller ones. I think I read somewhere that Layne actually does this? Are you still taking in the 400-500 carbs while doing this? Also glad to hear you don't have a tear, but thats rough about the tendinitis. A buddy of mine at the gym had that in his shoulder, I know he does not enjoy it.

You should try it bro1…eating less frequently have helped me to eat with hunger and that’s a good sign that the body is asking for food and for instance it will be absorbed more efficiently….something else that I am doing is taking 5-7 grams of BCAA in between meals 1to2 and 2to3 because they are spread more time apart. …..Concerning to your question the objective is to eat the same food but divided in 5 meals instead of 7….for instance I am eating like 100g of carbs per meal….(still eating 500g pre day)
On the other hand…this tendonitis sucks…but I have been training like that for the last year…. its annoying and I will try to find the right combination of exercise and sets to keep improving without making it worse…..i will try to research on the subject to see how I can approach it better. I have managed to do incline bench press with 225 with no significant pain…and I don’t think I will go heavier than this again….my goal is to focus on my form. ….wish me luck !! ...lets keep working hard

[cmart315]

Originally Posted by fmoncas

You should try it bro1…eating less frequently have helped me to eat with hunger and that’s a good sign that the body is asking for food and for instance it will be absorbed more efficiently….something else that I am doing is taking 5-7 grams of BCAA in between meals 1to2 and 2to3 because they are spread more time apart. …..Concerning to your question the objective is to eat the same food but divided in 5 meals instead of 7….for instance I am eating like 100g of carbs per meal….(still eating 500g pre day)
On the other hand…this tendonitis sucks…but I have been training like that for the last year…. its annoying and I will try to find the right combination of exercise and sets to keep improving without making it worse…..i will try to research on the subject to see how I can approach it better. I have managed to do incline bench press with 225 with no significant pain…and I don’t think I will go heavier than this again….my goal is to focus on my form. ….wish me luck !! ...lets keep working hard

Yea that definitely sounds interesting trying it that way. Might just have to try it out sometime. It's always a good read to see how things are going with you, and ofcourse as always best of luck!

[fmoncas]

Since I now know what the problem is with my chest-delt pain I can now try to find the answer to my problem……I haven’t been wasting my time and I already did my research. I came up with the following plan to try to improve the healing of my tendon. I will start today with this protocol

1)Eccentric Training: Current research suggests that eccentric weight training can help improve the healing rate of tendonitis

2)Stretch: 5 min before a chest workout and in between sets

3)Vit E (400iu) : has been found to increase the activity of fibroblasts, leading to increased collagen fibrils and synthesis, which seems to speed up the regeneration and increase the regenerative capacity of tendons.

4)Vitamin C (1000mg) is critical to the repair of injuries. It speeds cellular growth and repair and is important in the production of collagen, which the body uses to create connective tissue.

5)Nitric Oxide: NO) also appears to play a role in tendon healing and inhibition of NO synthesis impairs tendon healing.Supplementing with arginine, the amino acid that the body uses to form NO, may be useful in tendon healing. The use of a NO delivery system (glyceryl trinitrate patches) applied over the area of maximal tenderness was tested in three clinical trials for the treatment of tendinopathies and was found to significantly reduce pain and increase range of motion and strength.

6)Ice for five to 10 minutes to decrease swelling and pain

7) Increase my fish oil suplementation to 10g/day

I am already taking 1500mg of glucosamine so i will keep taking this supplement....On the other hand, the pain is low now but annoying and hopefully with this protocol i will be able to do recover my tendon strenght. My training will focus around the exercises that causes less pain such as the incline bench press, dips and some presses. (No flyes for me).

Later guys

[Demon Knight]

Hey fmoncas, good to see you back! Weight going up dude, well done!

I know the paid of tendinitis. I had it for a while on my elbow. No matter how much I rested it, it always came back.

I think I've gotten rid of it now though. I fought off my tendinitis by doing auxiliary exercises (finger extension with rubber band, rubber ball squeeze, wrist extensions, wrist rotations with dumbbells). Within a few weeks, the pain had gone!

Google some shoulder tendinitis/recovery exercises and stay on light weights for upper body for a few weeks. You'll be back on track in no time.

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by Demon Knight

Hey fmoncas, good to see you back! Weight going up dude, well done!

I know the paid of tendinitis. I had it for a while on my elbow. No matter how much I rested it, it always came back.

I think I've gotten rid of it now though. I fought off my tendinitis by doing auxiliary exercises (finger extension with rubber band, rubber ball squeeze, wrist extensions, wrist rotations with dumbbells). Within a few weeks, the pain had gone!

Google some shoulder tendinitis/recovery exercises and stay on light weights for upper body for a few weeks. You'll be back on track in no time.

hey brother!! nice to see you around here....thanks for the tips, they will be very helpful in my recovery...thanks...concerning to my weight its still going up...i weighted my self friday and i was 219.5....i was very happy and i believe that decreasing the meals from 7 to 5 was a good move. i will keep it as long as i get results from it.

take care bro and once again thanks for the tips

[fmoncas]

Alright guys…another update....i have been very busy with my job and the workouts but this is my progress so far.
Concerning to my weight ….not much have changed since last time.. I am about 220 lbs right now. Anyway it’s been more than two months since I started bulking and I believe it’s time to cut again. I am stuck at this weight and I need a change,,,,so a 3-4 week diet will be the best option. i wanted to reach 225 but i dont think its worth it to gain more fat.

On the other hand I am still fighting my chest tendonitis…..but I think its getting better…..i am using light weights and low intensity. The funny thing is that it doesn’t bother me when I workout my delts so I am hitting them hard.

Here are some updated pics…..i am feeling fat!!

Later guys

[fmoncas]

a few more from the gym:

Damn...those glute hams raises are hard....my legs are really sore!!

[Zack]

looking good man. i'm definitely impressed! when's the next comp?

[chrispghmuscle]

You look great at 220. Very impressive indeed. Good luck fmoncas.

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by ZackKnight

looking good man. i'm definitely impressed! when's the next comp?

thanks zack!!...i still have 5-6 months left this off-season. So i have plans to start my diet in january....so my next contest will be around april or may next year

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by chrispghmuscle

You look great at 220. Very impressive indeed. Good luck fmoncas.

thanks a lot bro

[chrispghmuscle]

Originally Posted by fmoncas

thanks a lot bro

No... thank you.. Your one of my inspirations bro

Chris

[cmart315]

Looking huge as usual bro! If thats what fat looks like, I need to get fat real fast haha. I'm anxious for you to compete again, that was quite the journey and I enjoyed following it here in the thread.

[Julio]

thats funny you said you feel fat lmao. man you look good i can wait till i see your results when you cut, your gonna be able to slice cheese with your skin lmao. its good to know your heeling up stay strong bro.

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by cmart315

Looking huge as usual bro! If thats what fat looks like, I need to get fat real fast haha. I'm anxious for you to compete again, that was quite the journey and I enjoyed following it here in the thread.

Thanks my friend!!! Its been a great ride for me….with a lot of ups and downs but I guess its part of the game….it’s incredible that my last contest was 1 year ago…and I am anxious about stepping onstage again…sometimes I feel really exited but sometimes I little worried that I may end up looking the same at my next contest….i am a slow gainer so I am trying to take all the time necessary to improve…my offseason this time will be 1.5 years….i am crossing my fingers that my ectomorphic nature allow me to put enough muscle to look full and symmetrical…because this time the goal is to get as shredded as possible…..hopefully I won’t end up looking like a pencil neck jajaj
Later bro!! thanks once again

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by julio40

thats funny you said you feel fat lmao. man you look good i can wait till i see your results when you cut, your gonna be able to slice cheese with your skin lmao. its good to know your heeling up stay strong bro.

thanks a lot julio!!

[wellbuiltcj]

Loving your posts fmoncas, i echo the thoughts of many of the replies... you certainly are organised!! I plan on doing somehting similar i am 12 weeks out from my first natural competition at 211 pounds, ill be taking photos every 3 weeks for you guys to see my progress and perhaps provide similar feedback. You doing an awsome job!! keep up the hard work... Aint nothing to it but to do it!

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by wellbuiltcj

Loving your posts fmoncas, i echo the thoughts of many of the replies... you certainly are organised!! I plan on doing somehting similar i am 12 weeks out from my first natural competition at 211 pounds, ill be taking photos every 3 weeks for you guys to see my progress and perhaps provide similar feedback. You doing an awsome job!! keep up the hard work... Aint nothing to it but to do it!

thanks my friend!! if i can help you with something during your contest prep let me know. my knowledge is limited but if there is something i can help or if you need a unbiased 3rd party to judge your pics or someting i will be glad to help.

best of luck on your contest!!

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by chrispghmuscle

No... thank you.. Your one of my inspirations bro

Chris

thanks for the kind words bro!!!

[fmoncas]

guys i have been training like crazy the las few weeks...to the point that is not funny the next day (i am a walking zombie at the office) but its part of the sacrifice that i have to make....i have been able to handle it and i will continue to do so..

today i had a great back workout...after my contest i realized that my back was one of the weakest points so during this offseason i have been blasting the back consistenly...always first in my workout and twice per week...also i have use a variety of exercises keeping progression every week (adding a rep or more weight)...hopefully it will pay of the next time i diet.

On the other hand i had the first nice and smooth chest workout....i didnt feel pain...just a litle disconfort...but i didnt push harder..i just focused on feeling the muscles work. I did incline bech for 3 sets with 3-2-1 Tempo (3 sec neg, 2 sec pause, 1 sec positive)..then i didn DB presses and finish with dips...simple workout but i was happy that my chest is getting better.

finally i took a few pics tonite....feeling stron but fat (221 lbs) i have been eating like crazy because this is the last week of bulking and i will start cutting next monday for the next 3-4 weeks before resuming my bulk in august..

later guys..keep training hard

[fmoncas]

a few more after my workout (221lbs) this is my heaviest weight ever

[Blitzkrieg]

Looking huge man, keep at it

[Zack]

what's ur bf% in those pics?

[fmoncas]

Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg

Looking huge man, keep at it

thanks bro!