My journal - 18 weeks - before&after pics

[Raven8264]

Ok guys, I'm starting a journal. I've lost 35+ pounds (went from 43inch waist to 36.5) and still have some bodyfat to get rid of. I've been working out pretty religiously for the last year and a half. Unfortunately it seems I'm a hard-gainer by a pretty big margin. I decided to go with a cycle and was amazed at the gains I made, but I screwed it up when I finished and lost quite a bit (test enan 500 / EQ 400 weeks 1-12). I finished when it started getting really cold and used proper PCT, but my motivation just sunk and I stopped working out. I think I just burned out from working out for so long without a break, but have no one to blame but myself for that one.

Anyway, I quit smoking a little over a month ago, ramped up my cardio (twice a day sometimes, though no more than 45min at a time) and feeling really good, and am ready to start my new cycle and get hardcore with it.

Here's what I'm going with:

Week1- Enan 500mg / 20mg DBol
Week2- Enan 750mg / 30mg DBol
Week3- Enan 750mg / 30mg DBol
Week4- Enan 750mg / 200mg Equipoise / 30mg DBol
Week5- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week6- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week7- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week8- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week9- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week10- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week11- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week12- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week13- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week14- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise
Week15- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise / 20mg DBol
Week16- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise / 30mg DBol
Week17- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise / 30mg DBol
Week18- Enan 750mg / 400mg Equipoise / 30mg DBol

I've seen a few people say that it's good to throw in DBol later in the cycle if you go longer than 14 weeks since you can reach a sticking point after that long, so I'm gona try that as well.

I don't even wanna guess my BF% so I won't try LOL. I ate tons of KFC since its packed to the brim with protein (j/k) but I'm gonna up my protein from about 230g ED to 350 ED.

Here's a look at my workout routine:

Mon - Biceps - Cardio (elliptical)
Tue - Chest/Tris - Cardio (treadmill)
Wed - Shoulders - Cardio (elliptical)
Thur - Back - Cardio (treadmill)
Fri - Legs
Sat - Rest - Cardio (light elliptical)
Sun - Rest

Typically I do 12-14 sets per bodypart for 8-10 reps - comes out to about an hour total each session.

I realize it's best to do cardio first thing in the morning, and I've tried it but just can't hack it. I'll stick with what I can tolerate which is after a workout while I'm still feeling really good.

I'll confess I haven't done legs since I figured the cardio worked them out enough. I now realize that was a mistake, and plan on hitting them hard to see if what everyone says about it being essential for overall gains is true. I have good genetics for calves (of all things) :aajack: , so I'll be focusing on quads and hams.



Anyway, I'm starting the Dbol tmw so I'm gonna relax and take it easy tonight, b/c tmw is day1!

[Raven8264]

.Edit.

[Raven8264]

BTW, I want to thank Swolecat for his thread about the flames. 99% of the guys on this board are cool as hell, but I was afraid of that 1% and it kept me from making this thread until I read what he had to say. I have a long way to go, but with you guy's support I think it'll really help with my motivation to keep going.

Hopefully you'll see an even bigger diff. between from before -> after pics than the beforebefore -> before ones :) *cross fingers*

Thanks again!

[Helldiver]

Hey bro, good job on getting motivated and focusing on a more healthy lifestyle. Quitting smoking, cardio and losing some weight are a great start and you've made some good progress. Just pre-letting you know that you are going to get flamed to some degree just because you really should have just focused on the above three things before the gear and even you mentioned that you slacked after pct. Keep motiviated but don't rely on the gear for it. Congratulations though on your progress.

[juicy_brucy]

don't let the "flamers" get to ya! They mean nothing, and are not constructive at all.
Good luck with this and I can't wait to see your progress.
Train hard.
Bruce

[Raven8264]

Thanks guys.

Just to clarify, I didn't rely on that previous cycle to do everything I've done up to this point. As I mentioned I've been doing this for about 1 1/2 years now. It's just the smoking I quit recently. I joined up here back in 2003 and took my time doing a lot of research on everything (diet, workouts, etc..) and decided on doing a cycle after losing much of my weight. Sure enough I responded like a weed, but got lazy since it got real cold here and my "summer fixation" was over.

That won't happen again, and I mentally scold myself for that every time I think about it. But the motivation's still definitely with me. I'm never going back to the way I got again. Honestly I have to scroll down past those initial pics on this thread now b/c I hate seeing them, it's so hard to believe that was me. But I gotta keep it real so I never lose sight of where I came from (which is why I didn't sugar-coat anything and was honest about the stuff I might get flamed for, too).

This board has been a huge inspiration for me, and not just on gear. Such a vast pool of knowledge...I couldn't even tell ya how many dozens (hundreds?) of hours I've put in here. I still remember the first thread I read way back when, Buylongterm's transformation. Wow.

Anyway, day 1 was today. Bis are sore (barbell, hammer and isolation) and did 40 mins on elliptical about an hour after so I'm feeling good.

Appreciate the comments, guys, means a lot!

[dirtyvegas]

bro you look great . the pics remind me of a before and after commercial, that i just done wanna believe. goodjob

[beyonddriven]

great progress so far keep us posted. At some point for optimal results you really should switch the time of day you do cardio. I know you allready addressed that but it will really make a difference. Good luck bro

[jmt]

Wow. I lost a similar amount of weight at one point in my life. Great job. Don't you just love the way you feel now?

[onlyatest]

very good improvement. stick with it.

[STRANGE]

Lookin good keep up the good work.

[Adam Bomb]

Any updates on your progress... Biceps looking bigger yet?

[Hackamaniac]

That is a drastic improvement looking good bro keep it up.

[Raven8264]

My supplements were late arriving and I wasn't able to start when I had planned. I did have Dbol available and started that about 2 weeks ago (didn't want to start it too soon before everything else was avail.). The rest of the supps are in-hand now and started a few days ago. I've been faithful in working out, though, regardless.

I hate the bloated feeling and look and am already noticing it. It's really not that bad but mentally it takes me back to how I was. I know it's necessary, though, and I'm using .5mg of Arimidex ed to help keep it down. Strength has already gone up and is very noticeable.

I've decided to switch # of reps per set, too, to get a better range of higher/lower reps. On upper body I'll be focusing on doing 4 sets per exercise with reps being 12/10/8/6 as opposed to going for 8 every time. I've already noticed a difference, and get a much better pump that way, too. Weight is reduced a little to start since I'm going with higher reps, but I keep my form strict so mentally it doesn't bother me too much.

I LOVE drop sets. And I HATE drop sets LOL. I'm making myself incorporate them each workout now. I only do it on my last set of my last exercise b/c it's so taxing on the body. I'm actually combining drop sets and rest/pause together. For example, 4th set of sit-down isolation curls:

35lbs - 6 reps (don't laugh!)
pause - 5-7 secs
25lbs - 4 reps
pause - 5-7 secs
20lbs - 3 reps
pause - 5-7 secs
15lbs - 3 reps

When I'm done my shirt is soaked and it feels like hell, but man does it feel great when I'm done.

So moving the time-table forward, the new end date will be Feb. 18th. Still planning on posting pics at the 10-week mark, then again at the end.

I look so stupid doing the most-muscular b/c I'm still nothing compared to some of you guys, but hey, I need a reference for a before-shot comparison when I'm done, so it had to be done LOL.

Thanks again on the replies. And yes, JMT, I feel fantastic :)

[dellio]

damn mang...u look fvckin great...do u wax?

shit im still in aww about the before and the before befores

[Lavinco]

huge difference. I say keep it up. If you would have posted your before pics without your after, you would have been everyones target. Everyone would have tried to talk you out of using juice and especially the dbol. dbol is pretty much for bulking and is used mainly for people that have maxed out their gains and it is a great kickstart while you would patiently wait for the Test E to kick in after about a month or so.

anyways, looking good and stick with it!

[sonar1234]

OMG you a lost so much gut size its incredible, really good results.

I posted my pics in the rehab i got some fat to lose has well, man if i could find a good source and fix the back pain i could sure use some great before after change like yours.

Amazing work bro

[PunkOff]

amazing transformation, keep up the hard work, i know you can see the size differences, incredible motivation to keep itup

[Raven8264]

Thanks guys. Ok now I'm not so self-conscious, I guess it's just imagining where I want to be all the time that I'm never satisfied. But that's a good thing I guess, as long as I'm smart about how I go about it.

No I don't wax, heh. Just clippers. Don't even use a razor. Guess you can't tell that from the pics. I'm hairy as hell if I don't. :)

I read some tips in a mag (can't remember if it was Flex or MD) about chest workouts, how someone couldn't get development in their chest no matter how many exercises they did. He then realized he was over-working his delts b/c of his form, which he thought was fine up to that point.

I always feel my chest working, but decided to use the advice to see if it made a difference, and man did it. This may be basic knowledge, but I had never run across it until now, so I'll share just in case anyone might benefit.

1- When pressing, always make sure your upper arms (above the elbow) are perpendicular (90 degree angle) to your body. You have a tendency doing presses to want to rotate your upper arms forward to your sides (I see many people do it this way) and this starts working your delts more and takes away from chest and triceps. Stay conscious of this and keep those upper arms sticking straight out, making a cross shape with your upper body.

2- You also have a tendency to move your shoulders up as you bring the bar/DBs up. I had been doing this, and this also puts the work into the delts. To change this, before you even grab the bar, make a small arch in the very upper back and squeeze your shoulder blades together as much as you can (feels weird at first), then grab the bar and try to keep that position, which keeps your chest sticking up and your shoulders back. You'll notice that by doing this, you can't raise the bar up as high as you could before, b/c your shoulders are below the chest and your reach is affected. This is how it should be, so keep it that way throughout. If you feel your upper back lying flat again, bring the bar down, re-do your positioning, and keep going.

The difference was night and day. My chest was noticeably more sore and my tris were actually sore for the first time doing chest (I only felt that when doing tris separately before that). Many may already know this, but I didn't and wanted to share it, so give it a shot if you haven't already.

Kinda depressing to know my form wasn't near what it shoulda been, but at least now I know, and the timing couldn't have been better :)

[Lavinco]

No I don't wax, heh. Just clippers. Don't even use a razor. Guess you can't tell that from the pics. I'm hairy as hell if I don't. :)


I have to use clippers too. If I shave I get razor bumps and ingrown hairs from hell. My hair is too course to shave.

[tt2323]

I see what your saying about the 90degree angle, but just for reference your best power comes with around a 45 degree angle to your body(powerlifting book) I think most just use the form that they can do the most weight..If you wanna build a chest still with the dumbells

[Narkissos]

New pics...me wantum

[Raven8264]

Bah, I'm only a month in so far (read above), so it'll be a bit before I hit the 10 week mark :)

Feeling great though and I can really feel it kicking in. Kept my new form on chest and it still feels like I'm working it more this way. I see your point, though, tt2323. I did have to reduce the weight a little, but my front delts aren't near as sore, either. I'm definitely using both the bar and DBs, btw.

Trying my best to eat clean..brown rice, chicken, cashews, turkey, oatmeal, protein shakes, etc..but even hording that stuff down it's tough to get enough calories in (trying to aim for 4500-5000). I find myself eating small amounts of junk (candie bar here, muffin there) to make up for it. Is this normal for most during cycle? It's easy to eat clean when you do a lot of cardio and aren't trying to bulk, but man this is killin' me LOL.

I shower twice a day (when I get up and after workout or cardio) and my skin is still clean all over except for back, which I'm really noticing as far as acne buildup (even with tanning), yuck. Guess I need to put in some overtime with one of those back-scrubber things. :wg:

[Raven8264]

Arm day yesterday. I talked about in another post how I had to stop using barbell arm curls b/c it made me forearms hurt really bad (now they're fine since I stopped..even used the EZ curl bar). It sucked, though, b/c it was my favorite exercise out of all body parts and missed it.

I decided to switch out an exercise and do them again. Wow, I missed all that weight and the pump I got. I could still feel it the next day. My arms feel fine, so I'm gonna try either doing them every other arm workout or every 3rd. Hopefully that'll be far enough apart to not aggravate the previous problem.

[Narkissos]

Arm day yesterday. I talked about in another post how I had to stop using barbell arm curls b/c it made me forearms hurt really bad (now they're fine since I stopped..even used the EZ curl bar). It sucked, though, b/c it was my favorite exercise out of all body parts and missed it.

I decided to switch out an exercise and do them again. Wow, I missed all that weight and the pump I got. I could still feel it the next day. My arms feel fine, so I'm gonna try either doing them every other arm workout or every 3rd. Hopefully that'll be far enough apart to not aggravate the previous problem.

When're you gonna start a workout log?

I've got one in the workout forum.

It'd be a great addition to your cycle log...and i'm sure it'd help some members out.

:thumbsup:

~Nark

[LB55blitz]

Nice work on your weightloss bro, but you're way too small to be juicing. Could get results just as good with a great diet and training routine IMO.

[V5RED]

Nice work on your weightloss bro, but you're way too small to be juicing. Could get results just as good with a great diet and training routine IMO.
bump

[JiGGaMaN]

Nice work on your weightloss bro, but you're way too small to be juicing. Could get results just as good with a great diet and training routine IMO.

i was thinking the same thing, but you live and you learn. either way thats quite an improvement and im sure it wasnt ezzz

[oldman]

Now maybe I missed it but in your first post you had a hell of a cycle planned out.. did you actually go with this? I read a few posts down that you did not have all your supplements so I don't know if you meant "supplements" or juice?

You did a good job getting rid of that belly.

Well keep us up to date on how things are progressing and post more pics so we can see how you are doing.

Good job.. keep pushing.

[LatinoPR]

Great job Bro...great job...!

[Narkissos]

Bump for updates

[Raven8264]

Feeling great, though the bulking part is still killing me. Getting easier though, seems my body is being trained to get used to it (eating all that food). The weights I've been using have gone up so much since starting that I'm getting paranoid about injuries since I know joints can't keep up near at the same rate as the muscle gain. Just being very careful with form since the last thing I want is an injured shoulder or something.

People are already noticing and have commented, but not in a suspicious way..yet. More along the lines of "wow, you been working out more or something?" LOL Luckily it's cold so it's easier to cover up.

29th will be the 10-week mark, so I'll be getting pics rdy then. Don't like the bloat and my stomach getting to where it is now. Been busting my ass with weights but I'll admit I've gotten lazy on the cardio. That's changed as of a few days ago, going back to my 45min on elliptical and keeping my heart rate about 70%. Don't wanna go too hard and start losing or diminishing my gains too much, but I've got some work to do in that area.

[Raven8264]

Oh..yeah by supps I meant the stuff for cycle. So I got started a little late. All good now, though!

[Raven8264]

Just another update.

Weights still going up. I hit 300lbs for my first time on bench, a big milestone for me and I was high off it the whole day.

My right wrist has been messing with me a bit. I stopped doing barbell curls which helped a ton, but the preacher curls have slowly caught up with me I think. Nothing bad, but the wrist always aches for a couple days after my bicep workout. I'm gonna switch preachers with standing alternate db curls and see how that goes.

Being consistent with the tanning has really helped on the back acne, so that's working fine now.

This is funny. Whenever I do cardio right after a workout at the gym (with machines on certain workouts that I don't have at home) my throat and mouth get so freakin' dry I can't even swallow and hurts like hell. Been putting up with this for forever, b/c even drinking water during only helps for a minute or two (and yes I'm well hydrated before starting). Someone told me a trick is to chew gum and it keeps your throat from doing that. I tried it a few days ago and it works! LOL As weird as it sounds, I feel like I have more energy to go even longer because I'm not so distracted from my throat killing me the whole time.

I'm feeling great but still working on the stomach/bloat. I'm gonna hold off on pics (yeah I know, "boo!" LOL) for a while longer. The size increase is very noticeable but I wanna get my bf% down as much as I can first. Now I'm just going for making my after pics as dramatic as possible, so don't worry, motivation's not gone and still busting my ass in the gym and in what I'm eating. My New Year's resolution will be to just keep doing what I'm doing and stay consistent with my cardio now that I'm doing it again.

More updates as they happen.

[Milky87]

no pics, bummer. Good work losing your gut. How long did that take you?

[Wayne3]

less posting about bench amounts. more post of pictures, we wanna see dude otherwise it not help, for all we know its all bg % ?

[crash187ct]

simple amazing, gj!

[ShnouzedUp]

lets see some midway points...

[jon77]

keep up the hard work...

[Braveheart04]

Doing well my man!! Keep it up!!

[IronReload04]

dude, i really think you should not start the week off with bicepts and move bicepts to back day then do them after back. its not cool to do them on their own day especially the day before chest

my 2 cents

great job on the transformation.make those after pics bad ass

[Raven8264]

Sorry I haven't posted until now. I was on vacation for a little over 3 weeks and had to cut my cycle short just a tad, though not much.

I was hoping for a little bit more after seeing some of the transformation pics on here. I know everyone's body reacts differently and genes have a lot to do with it, too. All that cardio just got rid of my excess bloat and I'm only about an inch smaller in the waist than I was before I started this LOL.

No worries, I'm faithful on my PCT and I'll wait the right amount of time before giving it another go. And I'm keeping up on the weights and cardio and will keep doing so even off-cycle, it's a way of life for me now.

Down the road at some point I'll make another log. Thanks for all the support, guys!

[hardgainer12]

wow great job!

[CJN1717]

It looks like a completely different person. Great job.

[Growingpains]

You are an inspiration to us all!

Gp

[MartyMcFly]

That was an incredible change. Just 10 weeks right. You are doing 18 weeks right? You are going to be huge. Good luck with PCT. I hope you will keep everything you have gained.

[cnepp]

damn bro, thats quite a change! congrats!

[Raven8264]

Thanks, I appreciate that. I guess looking in the mirror everyday you don't notice as much as others, because I've gotten a lot of compliments. I just expected more, but hey. It was actually about 15 weeks since I had to cut it short because of my vacation. Bad timing. In a way I guess it's a good thing I'm not satisfied. That's the only way to stay motivated and keep going, right? Anyway, after a healthy break I'll start up again, and I'll keep you guys updated.

Thanks again.

[Streaker]

Nice work!

[IXISiDiuSIXI]

good job man, you look like you've worked very hard. Congrats :)

[pattymac931]

great job

[LOKITSC]

Great improvement! 300lb on the bench is a milestone! Not to flame but you probably could have waited a little on the gear. Anyway, good work. Sounds like you made some serious lifestyle changes :)

[bklyntrans]

Wow you have come along way what type of diet are you using.

[mmaximus25]

DAmn fine job,, good work dont ease up any,,, My saying to keep me going is what my dad use to tell me and my brother when it came time to "Dig in"

Play Time is Over, and Your either in or Out

[THE PAIN TRAIN]

any pics?

[PKMann51]

gotta give u props good job man. i am actually planning on running pretty much the same cycle in a little while:

1-14 test e 500mg/wk
1-14 eq 400 mg/wk
and 12-16 win 50mg/ed

anyways good job man