It's been exactly two months since I came back from being sick in LA, so I will log an update here, looking at what I've done since I was put on medication to fix me up, and then refocus my goals for the next couple of months.
I finally finished tapering off of Prednisone. For those who don't know, it is a corticosteroid and when you take it for more than a few days your adrenal glands stop producing your body's normal supply. It is not the same as anabolic steroids; does not promote muscle growth. I was taking 60mg, and the body normally produces 5-20mg a day (different sources have given different amounts on the net, i'm not sure how much exactly the average is). If you just stop suddenly your body can go into adrenal crisis and you can die or really damage your organs.
Being on the stuff is horrible, I had terrible acne (worse than I ever had during puberty), including some on my back and chest, and a fat puffy face. I was embarrassed to show my face in public. My hands would sometimes clamp up like lobster claws in this weird cramp. That part was really weird. It gave me a huge appetite too. After 2 weeks on 60mg I tapered by 10mg/week until i got to 30mg, then by 5mg/week until I was at 10mg, then by 2.5mg/week until I was at 0. Some people even have to decline by 1mg/week once they get down to 7.5-5mg, and some are never able to completely come off the stuff.
Each time I decreased the dose I would get painful aches in my knees, shoulders and back for the first few days. Common Prednisone withdrawal symptoms. This past week, after completely quitting the medicine, I've been experiencing bad joint and muscle pains, and fatigue. Every time I get up from lying or sitting down I have pain in my hips/glutes and I walk around all stiff like an 80 year old man for a couple minutes. These aches seem to be diminishing as time passes, but they are lasting longer than the ones while I was tapering. I am also always really tired and have trouble getting to sleep at normal hours. Whatever though, as long as I'm off that shit I will withstand the pain for another couple weeks, it's worth it.
It's also been hard to adjust to eating a normal, healthy diet since I was easily eating 7,000+ calories a day. It was unrealistic for me to think I could keep my bodyfat % down while gaining mass, especially while still taking the Prednisone which was putting my appetite on overdrive. I weigh 169lbs right now, up from 137lbs -- 30lbs gained in 8 weeks is not too shabby. My strength in all the lifts is now higher than ever, though I never tested PR's before or after being sick. I'd like to continue getting stronger but I want my weight to stay closer to 155 or 160 for boxing purposes. Having achieved a satisfactory place with regards to strength and weight, I've been picking the boxing back up the past couple of weeks.
My focuses for the next few weeks will be conditioning, and boxing skills, and if I can fit it in there, continued increases in all the lifts. I want to get my conditioning to a higher level than before I got sick. I never was able to pick up running to the extent that I should have for boxing due to various injuries. I still have about 4-6 training sessions paid for, which I will use with my previous trainer's trainer. Previous trainer said it was better to continue training with this new guy since he's actually a trainer and my previous trainer was really just a fighter coming off two golden gloves wins, but no real experience training fighters.
Goals, to achieve by November 15th:
Weigh 160lbs
Strength & Conditioning
Get up to running 4 miles, 3x a week
5x8xBW pull-ups
5x5x200 squat, deadlift
5x5x125 OH press
Boxing
Pick up training with new trainer
Re-develop combos and balance while punching
Be able to shadow box 1 round with strict form, high-ish intensity, with defense/evasion incorporated after every attack (bob, weave, spin-outs, and evasive footwork)
Same as above, but on the heavy bag
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