You think you know, but you have NO idea (blatant MTV diary ripoff)

[BASK8KACE]

Great info, bro. Thanks for writing all this out.

Bump.

xxample

[BIG TEXAN]

Ok, BG. I was just making sure you didn't fall off the face of the earth. Good luck on finding a job. Anything looking interesting yet?

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by BIG TEXAN
Ok, BG. I was just making sure you didn't fall off the face of the earth. Good luck on finding a job. Anything looking interesting yet?

Paywise, yes, plenty looks interesting. At each interview, however, I find it harder and harder to get myself interested for anything that isn't going to involve some form of teaching. I love working with people and participating in that whole sharing of knowledge thing. It's what drew me to personal training as well as tutoring. I guess what I really want to do is teach high school, but I never had that inclination until very recently, so I didn't undertake any of the necessary education courses to become a certified teacher. And don't get me started on teacher unions and this whole certification issue. Technically, Bill Gates isn't qualified to teach Computer Science to grade schoolers (or high schoolers) in Mass or NH, where I'm looking. Some of the individuals having written the narratives that many college English courses examine are technically unqualified to teach high school English under the curent set up! I just can't grasp the fact that corporations responsible to stockholders and boards far more reactionary than any school board have long since grasped the fact that a creative writing or psychology major can make a phenomenal financial analyst because they are incredible critical thinkers and quick on their feet while schools, who scream "teacher shortage!" can't look past the lack of a few education courses to see a highly qualified candidate. Of course, as individuals coming out or our nation's colleges with education degrees *consistently* (and with statistical significance) possess the lowest GPA's in courses that ALL students college-wide are required to take, I can't help but think many of our nation's public schools are scared to death of hiring candidates that may expose the weaknesses of such a system by actually succeeding without having taken theories of learning 101. Now I'm ranting.

[BIG TEXAN]

Well, if you want to teach so badly, quit your whining and move to Texas! That's right, here in Texas as long as you have a certain amount of college dreits you can teach high school while in the process of getting your teaching certification. I'm looking into it as I would love to teach history and coach. As for a job or career, money is nice but don't let that lead you in your desicion(spelling). I for one would rather get up day after day to a job I love and enjoy and that "may" pay little instead of forcing myself day in and day out to go to a job I hate and am miserable at. I've seen to many friends do this and after years of establishing themselves in that chosen business to switch careers midlife and start new in their 30-40's which is very dificullt. Hell I'm 25 and in the process of switching careers and having a family is making it that much more dificult. Good luck to you on your quest.

[BigGreen]

Well, after much thought and consideration, I've elected to up the dosage by 50% to what, according to QV, would be 750mgs/week, though I sincerely believe it to be closer to 400-500 based on everything I've heard, otherwise I would never dream of making such a decision. The next week or so, I'm hoping, will at the very least allow me to arrive at some conclusions as to whether this was the right decision to make.

Furthermore, this whole issue has me more than a little soured on the whole AAS scene. While I realize full well that a singular experience in ANYTHING should not be taken to represent the totality, this has in many ways been a bit of a tough pill to swallow. After agonizing over this decision for a LONG time, to run into this issue somewhat devalues all that I've done and had done to travel this road in some odd way. While money is not a big issue for me as a result of my dad's will (though the crafty old man did set it up in such a way that we'll never be able to live the easy life off of it, but rather will be "subsidized" the rest of our lives), the money I dropped on this cycle, not to mention the mental agony of making the decision, could have been put to far better use. At present, I am seriously reconsidering whether I will undertake a second cycle.

On the brighter side, I am beginning to make progress in the biceps, as a few new stretch marks empirically confirm. I've begun utilizing bands in my bicep work, as I'm one of those trainers that, once I get the weight moving on curls, there's rarely, if ever failure after that point. Thus, the bottom portion of the lift is my weak link, and it may be the fact that I have comparatively small biceps as a result of the last 80% or so never really having been trained with any real tenacity. What I do is set a heavy dumbbell in front of the curling station, and loop the band under the dumbbell and around the center of the bar....an phenomenal bicep workout. I've also been doing the same for preacher curls.

The lats are also starting to come out, but I attribute that more to the "pump effect" than to anything else. As a result of the increased pumps (especially during the dbol stage) I was able to really "feel" what it was like to truly work the lats from ribcage to spine while doing any rowing exercise and have really been "pinning" those elbows for a nice peak contraction and it really shows, in my opinion.

I have just a few more weeks of bulking, though this has been a *very* clean bulk so the transition from a bulk to a cut is going to be somewhat easier than I had thought previously. Vascularity is starting to come along nicely and I feel that I'm back on the right track having bumped the dosage up a little bit.

*on a non AAS related front, I went to a cookout yesterday where two very interesting things occurred:
1. There were several people there who hadn't seem me since high school (remember, i weighed about 165 at graduation) and were literally shocked to see my 100 pounds heavier...it was one of the coolest things ever. Of course, the AAS helped a bit, but even if they had seen me a day before my cycle even started, they would have been amazed.
2. I also ran into a friend who was always a naturally muscular guy...and still is, but times ten! I HATE guys like this. He drinks like a fish, smokes like a fiend, and eats like total shit, but looks amazing. You hear about these people and wonder if they actually exist, but, oh yes, the definitely do! Not to demean anyone on the board, but he looks better than all but the most seasoned of trainers on this board and, while he works his ass off in the gym, he gets wasted every thursday, friday and saturday to the point of passing out, and he eats two or three times a day. I'm not joking when I say that if he actually started training and eating right there would not be a doubt in my mind that he could walk onto the olympia stage one day. That pisses me off in a lot of ways.

[BigGreen]

END OF WEEK EIGHT
Start Weight: 241
End of Week One: 250
End of Week Two: 253
End of Week Three: 256
End of Week Four: 258
End of Week Five: 260
End of Week Six: 260
End of Week Seven: 258
Current Weight: 257

Still somewhat perplexed as to why my weight has stagnated. Is it conceivable that some of the dbol water weight stuck around for two weeks after the dbol itself was stopped? If that's the case, that may very well explain the stagnation at week five and perhaps a bit of the dip after the fact. It does not, however, explain (in my estimation) why the last two weeks (the start of that period more than two full weeks removed from the last dbol administration) have seen a slight drop. As mentioned above, the discussion on this board, as well as bolex, meso and one or two others concerning my batch have me believing it is underdosed and I've upped accordingly. I'm hoping to snag some ICN's to finish off with. I am still debating between winny and fina...with fina starting to come out on top for the final phase of the cycle.

More updates to follow as my home office isn't air conditioned and it's hot as hell here (by NE standards)

[Huge Presser]

First off, realize that this is just slightly over 1% of your bodyweight that you are losing. It is certainly no big deal. Go by and mirror and you might see better muscle seperation as it is possible that the dbol water stuck around longer then expected. I would certainly not worry about this... give the new dosage some time to kick in and in a week you will be back in the 260's for sure.

HP

[BigGreen]

Well, as per my upping the dose, injections are now on a M-W-F split, with eq going into the quads along with the test and test going alone on Wednesdays. Today, being Wednesday, I took a cc of test and decided to go for the calf. I just finished up. Actually getting the needle in was certainly more painful than the quads....today and tomorrow morning will tell whether I end up with that lingering soreness of the calves everyone seems to talk about. I truly hope I don't, as I'd like to use tren , but can't seem myself injecting anywhere that doesn't allow for the use of both hands.

[bermich]

I havent actually read this thread but since it keeps getting bumped up and has the most views out of all the threads, I just wanted to be a part of it.

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by bermich
I havent actually read this thread but since it keeps getting bumped up and has the most views out of all the threads, I just wanted to be a part of it.

That may be the wisest move you've ever made. I'm not going to lie to you my friend, there is a deep and internal struggle for power within the deep and dark foundations of that which you call "AR". Some battles are fought on middle earth, some in the heavens and others in galaxies far, far away. Rest assured, however, that this battle is being waged in the members' cycle results section.

I'm quite possibly retarded.

[BIG TEXAN]

Originally posted by BigGreen
I'm quite possibly retarded.

You've got my vote!

[Huge Presser]

Originally posted by BigGreen
That may be the wisest move you've ever made. I'm not going to lie to you my friend, there is a deep and internal struggle for power within the deep and dark foundations of that which you call "AR". Some battles are fought on middle earth, some in the heavens and others in galaxies far, far away. Rest assured, however, that this battle is being waged in the members' cycle results section.

I'm quite possibly retarded.

[bermich]

Quite possibly?? Its all about riding that little yellow bus home from school when you were a kid isnt it

[majorpecs]

Originally posted by BigGreen
That may be the wisest move you've ever made. I'm not going to lie to you my friend, there is a deep and internal struggle for power within the deep and dark foundations of that which you call "AR". Some battles are fought on middle earth, some in the heavens and others in galaxies far, far away. Rest assured, however, that this battle is being waged in the members' cycle results section.

I'm quite possibly retarded.

But the fact of the matter is...my thread is the longest and won't be beat by either BigGreen or BigTexan...and I second the motion about you being retarded

[Huge Presser]

Originally posted by majorpecs
But the fact of the matter is...my thread is the longest and won't be beat by either BigGreen or BigTexan...and I second the motion about you being retarded

No major you're right, it won't be beat by BigGreen or Big Texan, it will be beaten by myself... seeing that I will continue to post responses to my own thread until I HAVE CONQUERED ABOVE ALL THREADS ON THIS ENTIRE FORUM!!!

Peace,

HP

[majorpecs]

Originally posted by Huge Presser

No major you're right, it won't be beat by BigGreen or Big Texan, it will be beaten by myself... seeing that I will continue to post responses to my own thread until I HAVE CONQUERED ABOVE ALL THREADS ON THIS ENTIRE FORUM!!!

Peace,

HP

I'll shoot your ass when you get too close...

[Huge Presser]

Originally posted by majorpecs
I'll shoot your ass when you get too close...

That won't work either my friend... the bullets will bounce off my chest !!!

And sorry for ruining your thread Big Green . But where's today's update?


HP

[majorpecs]

BigGreen...we will continue to hijack your thread with useless bantering until you update it Seriously, I hope it's still going good bro!!

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by majorpecs
BigGreen...we will continue to hijack your thread with useless bantering until you update it Seriously, I hope it's still going good bro!!

First, please allow me to get this out of the way:

OWWOWWWWOWOWOWOWOWOWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW WW!!!!!! ooooooooooooowwwwwwwwww!!

Okay, about the calf shot that seemed so innocuous after I did it, I went to sleep that night, woke up in the middle of the night to hit the bathroom, stepped out of bed and simply collapsed because by right calf, at least at the moment, didn't exist. It was one throbbing mess of pain and stiffness unable to take a step and, as a result, my entire body went crashing to the ground and somewhere at the end of that journey to the bedroom floor I chipped a tooth. Since my dentist is in my hometown, I had to go home and I've stayed home since, which I why I wasn't on until today when i had time to hook up the laptop. It still hurts, worse than my first quad shot did by about six hundred times, but, oddly enough, i'll probaby hit the calves again, since the pain in the quads seemed to subside after that first shot. What the hell is the cause of that first shot pain? It happened in both my quads and now my right calf.

BTW, my tooth is fixed, but the jaw is still sore to. Not a good experience.

[BIG TEXAN]

BG I apologize.... I have accused you of sabotoging(spelling) Major and I. See, first major has his thread and breaks his leg. Next I have my thread and I mangle my thumb. So I put 2 and 2 together. Who here at AR has something against Texans..... YOU! So I figured you were hiding away in your new england home with your voo-doo magic making all these bad things happen. Well reading about your tooth has shot this theory all to hell. Now I believe AR's members cycle results forum to just be haunted and cursed, so to all of you keeping journals...... BEWARE! BEWARE!!!!!!!



Oh, I hope ya get better and I plan on hitting the calves again with fina.

[David B.]

Originally posted by BIG TEXAN
BG I apologize.... I have accused you of sabotoging(spelling) Major and I. See, first major has his thread and breaks his leg. Next I have my thread and I mangle my thumb. So I put 2 and 2 together. Who here at AR has something against Texans..... YOU! So I figured you were hiding away in your new england home with your voo-doo magic making all these bad things happen. Well reading about your tooth has shot this theory all to hell. Now I believe AR's members cycle results forum to just be haunted and cursed, so to all of you keeping journals...... BEWARE! BEWARE!!!!!!!

It's not just Texans.

http://www.anabolicreview.com/vbulle...629#post530629

Although I do live in a state that border's TX...

--dave

[BigGreen]

Well, a brief update is likely in order. My tooth is fixed, and if that's the worst of my AAS experiences, then I guess I'll count my blessings. While I can't yet render a definitive answer with regards to whether it's purely pyschological or not, upping the dose at the very least has me "feeling" like i'm on AAS now, which is a welcome change because I truly hadn't felt this way since the "dbol days".

Still, I can't help but feel somewhat "robbed" and whether I do a second cycle or not will likely be determined by the fact that I want one real good one under my belt. The beginning goal at the cycle's inception was to see 270. I didn't think that was outlandish, particularly given that my 241 starting point was about 7-10 pounds below where I'd steadily held in the two months leading up to the cycle. Given that, i was essentially asking for 20 pounds...not a TON, but certainly ambitious. I still hope to hit that 270 mark nonetheless, whether that means extending the cycle as a whole, or simply reducing the cutting portion and lengthening the bulking. We'll see. For the first time in a while, though, i'm very much looking forward to my end-of-the-week update on tuesday.

[aanold]

Good to hear that upping the dosage got you back on track BG. This thread is rockin. Can't wait to see your final pics.

[BigGreen]

END OF WEEK NINE
Start Weight: 241
End of Week One: 250
End of Week Two: 253
End of Week Three: 256
End of Week Four: 258
End of Week Five: 260
End of Week Six: 260
End of Week Seven: 258
End of Week Eight: 257
Current Weight: 259

Well, I'll keep this brief, as I'm dead tired. First off, I'm ecstatic to see teh downward trend in weight gain being reversed, something likely attributable to the upping of the dosage, imo. I'm still slightly optimistic abouta decent run at 270 if I hold off on the cutting phase a bit longer...depending on how I gain in the coming two weeks I'll be forced to make that decision.

Workouts are getting better as I feel more psychologically "in the ring" again, so to speak. The diet has been absurdly clean, and I haven't had a cheat meal, let alone a cheat day in some time. Fourth of July will be a cheat day to be sure, but I won't be touching beer or any alcohol. I'll try to keep it as clean as possible by bringing my own whole wheat buns to the cookout and going with burgers and whole wheat buns. Hell, maybe i'll even make a healthy wholewheat pasta salad. I'm already beginning the ambitious planning of my next cycle (hell, my next two) as I feel empowered by this thing being back on track. Of course, to avoid some of the uncertainties and let downs I experienced this go around with regards to quality of gear I plan on dropping some coin and going with a high quality cycle. I'm determined to go with ICN Galeinkas despite what that may do to my wallet. Unless they're absurdly priced to the point of being laughable, i'm willing to spend some more for quality in this instance. Anyway, this was supposed to be brief, so below I'm going to throw out the cycle ideas. This one ends in september, so I'm either going to run a comparably short bulker as soon as time clears in the winter, then a short cutter for late summer as well or run another long one (i'm still a fan of the theory behind these) that would end me at a point where I might peak in late july.

The ideas:
Scenario A: (separate bulker and cutter)
12 week bulker consisting of test enan @500mg/week and tren enan@ a yet-to-be-determined dosage (I'm waiting to hear how our members react to this compound) as the base. I believe I could get away with 500mg/week on the test for a second cycle (any thoughts?) and may substitute the classic deca for the tren enan if I don't feel comfortable with that. I was a big fan of dbol 's effectiveness as a kicker, and will likely repeat that. This would be followed ASAP (within reason, of course) by a pure cutter 8 weeks in duration. I'd leave out eq, as I don't know how anyone can cut with that stuff given it leaves me STARVING 24-7. It'd probably be a relatively simple prop/fina/winny...with the fina being of the tren acetate variety and the winny going only the last four or five weeks.

Scenario B: (combined)
for this I'd go 18, maybe even 20 weeks. It'd essentially be the same cycle I'm in the midst of now with a few modifications. Those modifications may include, but are not limited to (felt obligated to include that) toying with the idea of prop as a kicker in lieu of dbol, or perhaps fina at the beginning. I'm also toying with the idea of masteron ...but nothing special.

[BigGreen]

A quick thought that has been criss-crossing my mind is the use of insulin in a later cycle. I've read up on it intensely, and firmly believe it is safe if used correctly and intelligently (in addition to letting someone real close to you in on the use in the event things should go very wrong). It's still a very, very long ways off if in fact i do utilize it (and that's a big if), but i'm wondering, for those following this thread, how many of you have considered it? What are your general thoughts. I never, ever want to get fancy in my cycles, and will likely stick to a simple stack of test and another compound for the rest of my days (eq or deca more likely than not). For cutting I may look at masteron . But winny and fina really make up the remainder of what I'd ever consider (though GH, somewhere out the there..way out far, is tempting as shit). Anyway, just curious.

[Huge Presser]

Congrats my friend, glad to see you reversing the trend! I myself was ectastic after starting the fina, as I've already gained 2 lbs, considering after the dbol my weight was fluctuating under 160 for 8 weeks.
Have you chosen to go with the fina or winny? I went with the fina as I want to make a run at 170 (while you are making a run at 100 pounds more lol) seeing that gaining weight with winny appears to be a hard task. Let's get an update on that.
Also, how are your lifts coming along? Are you making improvements in your squat?
Peace,
HP

[BigGreen]

Are you making improvements in your squat?
Peace,
HP

To be honest, I've been very, very wary with regards to forcing my lifts. I've felt pretty damn "banged up" of late...ankles, knees and hips, even a bit of the ol' elbows seem all to be just a little more "creaky" than they should be. So, to be completely honest, I'm backing off on trying to make any big progress on my lifts as I've always had a fairly good instinct for the onset of injuries that has allowed me to stay fairly injury free over the years, or, at the very least, having known a few days before hand that I should've backed off before an actual injury hit.

[BigGreen]

And by serious problems I mean beyond the normal range of what you guys might consider my day-to-day exhibited problems (which are serious to be sure...in their own way). This fourth of july weekend was very much demonstrative of some very conflicting issues regarding my progress. Friday was a family bbq and saturday was a friends bbq. At both, I was so very well behaved diet wise that it is almost absurd. Not a single beer at either party...in fact, not a single drink other than water. I brought chicken breasts to each to grill up, and, throughout the last 72 hours or so, my only real transgressions were hitting a couple of hamburgers on white buns and having a piece of pie for dessert at one of the get-togethers...not too shabby given my surroundings and the fact I'm still bulking, so it would have been easy to rationalize away some bad eats.

At the first party, a number of aunts and uncles who hadn't seen me since xmas were blown away by how much more muscular i look. The few relatives I hadn't seen in almost two years were astonished to the point of actually poking me in disbelief! At the second party, a handful of girls I hadn't seen in a few months or so commented that they couldn't even get their arms all the way around my shoulders anymore when they hugged me! All of this had me on cloud nine, but the interesting part was yet to come.

Both bbq's were held at their respective locations for some very cool reasons. The family one because of the amazing pool my aunt and uncle put in last summer, my buddy's because he held it at his parents' beach house. Both days were sunny, in the 90's and, in short, perfect beach/pool weather. Yet, in both instances, I was literally terrified by the simple idea of taking off my shirt, and, to make a long-ass story short, didn't so much as get down to a t-shirt in either situation, let alone go shortless. At each party there was little to no question i was the most muscular guy overall at the place (there were bigger guys and there were guys with less bodyfat, but I was one of the few someone would look at and know with certainty the gym was an everyday part of my life, if I'm honest and objective with the situation). However, at each party I was so ashamed of either not living up to their expectations or my own, that I made some pretty lame excuses for not being able to swim, sunbathe, or otherwise frolic in the summer weather. This prompted me to think back over this summer thus far, and, while I've been to the beach SEVERAL times, I've yet to take my shirt off in public. This was common back when I first started lifting seriously, and I think the same mental thing is occurring again. Given the mental anxiety of making the decision to use AAS, i've once again raised the bar for what I expect myself to be just as I was starting to get comfortable enough with my body previously.

Fortunately, I'm starting the leaning portion of my cycle in about seven days, and that will hopefully alleviate some of these concerns. Additionally, i'd be kidding myself and lying to you guys if I didn't state that this has me more than a little concerned regarding what my psychological addiction to AAS may turn out to be.

[daem]

Additionally, i'd be kidding myself and lying to you guys if I didn't state that this has me more than a little concerned regarding what my psychological addiction to AAS may turn out to be.

I think it is awful early to make that kind of a call. You are still in your first cycle and approaching a great next month with tightening up, so focus on making the most out of your workout and leaning out without having cumbersome thoughts like that run through your head.

as far as physchological addiction is concerned, the feelings on cycle are unparalleled with sex drive and performance, putting on slabs of new muscle and being able to train as much as you can.

i feel invincible for the most part and that can have unfavorable repercussions down the line in important areas.

i have never felt like i am addicted in the purest form of the word, but more very disposed to bettering myself and pushing myself to the limits.
i can't train as intense as i want when off gear because i would either be injured or just beat my body into the ground. as long as i still recognize why i juice and have not achieved my goals yet i feel there is no reason to keep myself from getting there.

[BigGreen]

END OF WEEK TEN
Start Weight: 241
End of Week One: 250
End of Week Two: 253
End of Week Three: 256
End of Week Four: 258
End of Week Five: 260
End of Week Six: 260
End of Week Seven: 258
End of Week Eight: 257
End of Week Nine: 259
Current Weight: 259

Well, I officially begin easing into my cutting phase tomorrow, which I'm actually looking forward to. If I had to grade the bulking phase of my cycle, I'd give it a C-, maybe a straight C. On my end, there was a spell where the disgusting heat and humidity made it tough to eat, but that was really my only shortcoming to be frank. I trained very intelligently and ate reasonably clean for a bulking phase, never hitting pizza, fastfood, or any similar vices that normally find their way to my table during a bulking phase about once per week. My only real cheat over the past ten weeks was my girlfriend's birthday, when I had some strawberry shortcake (made with whole wheat flour though). I skipped graduation parties, festivities and many a cookout/bbq for this cause...having had a total of about two beers during the past seventy days (not that I normally indulge in beer, but to not have had a single weekend where I even worked a buzz is, I believe, indicative of my dedication here). I feel that all of my efforts were fairly derailed, however, by the fact that I believe I've essentially done an eq only cycle for a good chunk of these ten weeks. I can't begin to express (re-express, actually) the utter shock and dissapointment of dropping weight during my first cycle where the intention was to gain...at one point I spent two days at 264, but then took a big dive downwards. There was about one 10 day period or so were I felt like i was "on test", but otherwise nothing.

On the brighter side, I'll be switching ASAP to Research Tech gear in hopes of having the cutting portion turn out for the best. I think things will go fairly well and you guys will be impressed. I'm considering posting pics of the halfway point, so keep your eyes peeled.

[BIG TEXAN]

Um, can we say SLACKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok now BG, I've been cuting you some slack being from New England and all (have to treat them the same as children ya know) but it's been almost a week now. Enough with the social club playing cricket. It's time to get this thread moving along. Don't make me come up there!!!!!! Seriously BG, something up that has ya occupied?

[Huge Presser]

Shit Big T it was only 3 days !!!... cut the guy some slack he's been busy cutting, I guess.

BG lets get an update brotha.....

-HP

[BigGreen]

Shit Big T it was only 3 days !!!... cut the guy some slack he's been busy cutting, I guess.

BG lets get an update brotha.....

-HP

Yeah, cut me a little slack. The country club was running a charity golf, croquet, sailing AND yachting (yes, there is a HUGE difference between yachting and sailing, and I pity those who have not indulged in that fine difference between the two) event, so I was most busy.

Seriously, I had a wedding this weekend way the hell out on the cape, and anyone from this area knows that a weekend on the cape involves leaving on early in the week unless you relish the idea of taking an hour to cross the bourne bridge....so I've been VERY busy between the actual wedding and traveling to and from. And yes, I just ended a sentence with a preposition...sue me.

As far as updates go, HugePresser is correct, I've spent this time over the past week transitioning into a cutting phase, and no matter how carefully I plan these transitions or how gradually I ease into them, my body ALWAYS fights back for the first ten days or so and I feel just "BLAH". That is most certainly the case at present, as I've already taken two naps today, and it's not quite noon yet. With regards to strategies surrounding my cutting, I'm undertaking one major deviation from that which I've done in the past (besides the whole "natural" thing), that being that I'll keep my workouts largely the same throughout my cutting. In the past, I've immediately transitioned into a cutting phase by popping up the reps on ALL exercises, cutting back on the volume per workout but upping the frequency overall, and, while still utilizing free weights, changing the machine/free weight ratio to about 40/60 or so. This go around, I'm going to dance with who got me there, hoping that the AAS gives me some leeway with regards to muscle wasting or overtraining while cutting and I'll be keeping my current routine. Reps will be slightly bumped up in the sense that I'll be limiting my 2-4 rep sets that occassionally find their way into my training, but otherwise, my split will remain the same (about a 70/30) ratio of free weights to machines. Really, the only thing that will cause me to rethink this strategy is the introduction of winny in a few weeks should the joint pain turn out to be as bad as some have indicated.

All for now.

[BIG TEXAN]

Ok, I'll let ya slide on this one. If you need any help or advice on the dieting just give me a holler bro and I'll help ya out as much as I can. I know what ya mean about feeling "blah". I've been stuck like that for 2 weeks now.

[BigGreen]

I know I'm slacking again. My big end of the week update was supposed to be yesterday, but i've been fairly busy. I promise I'll get to it either tonight or tomorrow AM.

[BigGreen]

END OF WEEK ELEVEN
Start Weight: 241
End of Week One: 250
End of Week Two: 253
End of Week Three: 256
End of Week Four: 258
End of Week Five: 260
End of Week Six: 260
End of Week Seven: 258
End of Week Eight: 257
End of Week Nine: 259
End of Week Ten: 259
Current Weight: 255

Well, this time, the drop in weight was not only expected, but desired. This is the real test of the cycle, partly because (barring test results to the contrary, but I don't see how it's possible to turn out any other way than expected) the mass accumulation phase was somewhat compromised by very suspect doses, but also because I always tended to add weight much easier than I was able to take it off without losing a good chunk of muscle in the process. While I'm by no means rushing the leaning phase or starving myself in the hopes that the AAS will preserve my LBM, I am hoping that the presence of the drugs allows me to approach this diet with an increased chance of retaining LBM as compared to past attempts. Also, as I believe I've mentioned, I will NOT be taking my traditional approach of leaning that in the past has entailed switching to a predominantly cable and machine based workout, with reps being bumped through the roof. Essentially, I'm going to "dance with who brung me here", to quote some old-school basketball coach. I suspect that part of the reason my leaning attempts in the past were met with unsatisfactory results had a lot to do with the workouts themselves, as opposed to the diet. I'm going to continue to hit the weights hard this time around under the belief that it's also been a lack of muscle stimulation in the past that led to lackluster results. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes, but right now, after some initial lethargy, I'm actually feeling pretty fine.

[sigrabbit]

I agree with your theory on maintaining your training routine throughout your cutting phase. If we think about it, your body has to respond to intense muscle use by preserving that source of energy for the elevated demands, so it should draw energy from more desireable sources such as bodyfat. My thoughts are similar to yours I guess.

[BigGreen]

I haven't been posting nearly as much as I "should be" on this thread (or the board as a whole for that matter) as the LSAT prep is literally devouring my time right now. It's the major reason I've elected to take the summer off, so I'm trying to be diligent as hell. I'll try to be "better" in the coming weeks, as A) I can't be letting BigTexan's and/or Huge Presser's journals run away with this thing and B) I've heard that with my general absence, the Texans are walking around like they own the joint.

On a more journal related note, i've switched over to RT products for the remainder of the cycle. I have every reason to believe that'll go well. I'll keep ya'll posted on that, in addition to laying out my post cycle plans....i'm planning on (after a nice recovery period) getting back to basics and essentially doing nothing but deads, squats, bench presses, cleans, rows, military presses, close-grips, pull-ups and chin-ups for 2-3 months.

[johnsomebody]

Hey BG, I know how you feel about that questionable test -I'd intended to run it at only 300mg/wk but eventually hit 800 week six. After that kicked in was the only time I really felt like I was "on gear" as I'd expected. I had to drop it to 700mg/wk for the next two weeks because I was running out and when the Prop my source promised never showed up, had to end it there.

Huck Finn over at EF recommends running EQ past test to retain gains, so iit may not be a bad thing as long-term gains are all I'm interested in.

I even found an Abstract that says test added no gains to an anabolic cycle -" CONCLUSIONS: The use of anabolic steroids increases the lean muscular mass. The inclusion of testosterone did not increase the lean muscular mass."

http://anabolicreview.com/vbulletin/...threadid=58630

[BigGreen]

My proposed workout schedule following cycle. Again, for those who haven't read this from the beginning, I'm a FIRM believe not only in cycles of comparably longer length, but those that end in a leaning phase and begin with a mass accumulation. One substantial reason for ending with a cutting phase is so that I might take advantage of the rebound effect that occurs when one attempts to gain mass after a cutting phase. As such, going right from a cycle to a bulking regimen may seem to some a bit much, but I believe it's the best way to prod your natural balance back into full gear. Anyway, with a week or so of recovery under my belt after the cycle's end in about six weeks, I plan on hitting the following basic workout. I'm getting back to the basics and going for some pure size...screw symmetry and screw the pump for now. If I'm where I expect to be post-cycle, i think i'll finally be at a point in my development where i can bulk up without needing to throw on lots of fat to get there. Anyway, the breakdown is a MWF one, with Monday being "Push Day", Wednesday "Leg Day" and Friday "Pull Day". I know this seems to go against my constant preaching that you shouldn't have a "leg day" in your routine, but rather, separate workouts for calves, hams and quads...but that largely applies to workouts that insist on insanely broken up splits with a separate day for bis, a separate day for traps, yet one day for "LEGS"..that's what I don't like. Plus, this is a major part of my philosophy that you need MAJOR overhauls every three months or so in your training split.

MONDAY - Push Day
*Bench Press: (true pyramid) 12-8-6-2-6-8-12
*Military Press: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
*Close Grip Bench: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
*Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 6-10 reps

WEDNESDAY - Leg Day
*Squats - (true pyramid) 15-12-8-4-8-12-15
*Leg Press - 3 sets of 6-10 reps
*Glute/Ham Raises - 3 sets of 4-8 reps
*Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 3 sets of 8-12 reps
*Box Step-Ups - 3 sets of 10-15 reps
*Selected Calf Exercise - 3 sets of 12-15 reps

FRIDAY - Pull Day
*Deadlifts - (true pyramid) 12-8-5-2-5-8-12
*Pull-Ups - 3 sets of however many reps I can manage at that time
*Chinups - 3 sets of same rep restrictions
*Barbell Rows - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
*Good Mornings - 3 sets of 10-12 reps