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Thread: Negative Response to either GOMAD or HLM -- help appreciated

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    1

    Default Negative Response to either GOMAD or HLM -- help appreciated

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    Greetings,

    The short end of my situation is as follows:

    40 yrs old at 5'9 -- I am experiencing high resting heart rates (80-90 bpm when my averages are in the 50-60s) all day long, HARD hitting heart beats, breathing that is becoming increasingly labored, high BMP during sleep, and some constipation after 4 weeks of HLM and 3 weeks of GOMAD. My HRV is in the 50s-70s with odd spikes in the 130s-180s when it is typically averages around 80-120s.

    Long end of my situation:

    Sustained a severe concussion in late 2018 and after specialized treatment in June 2020 (thank you Cognitive FX!), my post-concussion syndrome finally was resolved. Before my concussion, I did a SS NLP program and ended with a 330 squat, 395 DL, 165 press, 240ish bench, and 155 PC. My weight went from 175 to 215. Id say I had about an average response to the training. After 1.5 years in concussion hell, I completely lost my strength base and dropped down to about 170-175. When I was released back into life in June 2020, I began the SS NLP program again but I hit way more speed bumps this time. Gaining weight was extremely difficult while losing weight was incredibility easy. I struggled to gain any pounds, but my lifts steadily went up. At then end of my SS NLP, which was only 2 months long before I ran out of strength, my lifts were:

    305 squat
    365 deadlift
    140 press
    195 bench
    182 lbs

    The issues I were having was that I was literally running out of strength, not recovery. I was struggling across the board with being strong enough to push the bar. Worked my way up to 3000-3500 calories in that time. The upper body stalled very quick while the leg work was still progressing. The squat was the last lift to stall out. So, after some haggling the bar and micro loading I had to swallow the facts that I really didnt have the strength to push out, but i was close enough to my previous NLP numbers that I was ok with going into HLM programming. First week of September, I started my HLM and so far, its going very well. My strength is increasing as my suspicions could be correct in that I needed more volume to push my strength base. However, still eating 3000-3500 but my weight is not going up. I was on a low saturated fat diet but keep everything else high. I always kept my total fat count under 80g. Stuck at 182 lbs while lifts were getting stronger. Thus I decided to GOMAD because being over 200 lbs is when I noticed real strength gains on my first NLP.

    Three weeks into GOMAD (and yes I was drinking 3/4 to a gallon a day) and Im only at 190lbs which im sure is low but that's all I got. Upped my calories to 3500-4000 at 250g protein and 350-400g carbs (if I can get more so be it). I eat probably the cleanest in my life -- no soda, no fast food, no grease, no fried, or no high fat. However I got liberal with the saturated fats because of how much milk I was in-taking, which was my main source of saturated fats. Then out of nowhere for the last few weeks my heart is hitting like a hammer in my chest, shorter breaths (feels like low-key asthma), mild fatigue, high resting BMP for me (typically in high 50s-low 70s but now in the 80s-90s), walking around I can get into the low 100s for no reason whatsoever. Some constipation and now, some ED which is rarely an issue for me. My HRV is now in the 50s-70s with these huge spikes in the 130-180s then crashing down to 50-70, where most of the time its 80-120. My overnight BMP has gone from 50s to 70-74 average BMP all night during this time which isnt good whatsoever. My blood pressure is super good (112-117 over 56-72), no anxiety, no nausea, no headaches, no stomach pain/discomfort and my weight is stabilizing at 188-191 lbs which is amazing for me. Also the lifts are going up. So I am getting some serious mixed signals.

    To round out the data, I had a yearly check up in August with my doctor plus blood work with everything coming out in normal ranges including cholesterol, kidney function, etc. I do not take any pre-works, no creatine (non-responder), but take b-vitamins, omega-3, vit-c --> all of which I took before this episode.

    So my question: Is my body having a hard time processing the GOMAD? Is the HLM program throwing me around because I jumped into a more voluminous program overnight? Combo of both? Maybe something else? The reason Im asking is that after looking on the web and also the forums, im not seeing GOMAD effecting the cardiovascular system. However, i do know that if the gut is not liking what Im putting in it, that could cause a series of issues. I dont want to drop my caloric intake because I am afraid I will start losing weight again. The GOMAD was a super cheap and efficient way to get solid calories in my body. If I cant GOMAD, is there something else I can do beside chew all day? I really am making progress back into a fit life and I want to keep moving forward.

    HLM: Designed it from Andy Baker's youtube video and also PPST

    Monday -- Heavy Squat 5x5 Incline Bench 5x5, Light Deadlift 3x5
    Wed -- Light Squat (90% Mon) 5x5, OHP 5x5, Rack Pull x5
    Friday -- Medium Squat (95% Monday) 4x5, Heavy Bench 5x5, SLDL 5x5

    3500-4000 cal daily
    250 protein
    350-425g carbs
    188-191 lbs
    40 yrs old
    5'9

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    4,610

    Default

    Your weight gain is appropriate in that time frame and I don't think GOMAD is necessarily causing you cardiovascular problems. Have you had this checked out? It could very well be unrelated. Also, you don't need all of that pulling work and i'd probably drop the squat day in the middle.

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