Am I Ready For AS? (Pics+Stats+Diet+Workout)

[YrRndFit21]

I'm 21, almost 22. 6' tall, floating right now in between 185 and 190 lbs pretty lean, and 100% natural. I plan on competing next year in the physique class. Anyways, I've been plateauing for a while now. Protein is already high, and I attempted increasing my carbs, which worked for a little bit, but then I started putting on more fat than muscle. I'm naturally an ectomorph so it is hard enough to put on muscle as it is.
I was thinking about cycling sust.250 with something else but not sure what yet I know about cycle supports, pct and all that...any help would be great. I'm posting pics/diet below..

[YrRndFit21]

Ok I'm having trouble posting pics, but....

I use a basic progression training regimen with 8 weeks of 6-8 rep range sets, followed by 2 weeks of 12-15 rep range count, and then repeat.

This is a sample from my diet:
6:30 1 scoop whey, 1 medium banana

7:30 3 whole eggs, 3 egg whites, 1 tsp canola oil, 1 cup oats, 1 slice ezekiel bread, 1tbsp natural pb, 1/2 grapefruit

9:30 7oz albacore tuna(in water), 1 cup organic brown rice, 1 cup green beans, 15 almonds

12:00 1 scoop whey, 15 almonds

1:00 8oz chicken breast, 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup oats, 15 almonds

2:00 Jack3d (PW)

3:45 Universal Torrent (Post Wo)

5:00 6 oz beef, 1 ezekiel tortilla, 1/4 cup peppers, 1 tbsp salsa, 1/2 cup green beans, 1 cup whole grain cereal, 1/2 cup fat free milk

7:30 10oz turkey burger, 1 cup organic brown rice, 15 almonds, 1 cup broccoli

9-00 5oz chicken deli meat, 2 slices ezekiel bread, 1 slice provolone cheese, 15 almonds

10:00 1 1/2 cups fat free milk, 1 scoop serious mass weight gainer

[dec11]

imo you're too young at 21 considering the poss you could screw up your natural system

[BG]

How long have you been dieting like this before?

[rippedfromabove]

Thats a nice diet bro.. How can you not be making gains? maybe up the carbs abit, but aside from that it looks good...

[YrRndFit21]

imo you're too young at 21 considering the poss you could screw up your natural system

Doesn't the endocrine system stop maturing at about 21? And with all the correct supports and pct I feel like my natural system would turn out fine...I guess it's possible, but I feel like the chances of it happening are minimal, what specifically are you talking about?

[YrRndFit21]

How long have you been dieting like this before?

It's been similar to this since the beginning of the year with fluctuations here and there. I was doing less carbs though a little while back, but started eating more about 3-4 months ago...

[YrRndFit21]

Thats a nice diet bro.. How can you not be making gains? maybe up the carbs abit, but aside from that it looks good...

Not sure man, I was making muscle gains pretty steadily for a while, but they have REALLY slowed down...I'm eating about the maximum amount I can afford/fit into my schedule.

[gearbox]

Not sure man, I was making muscle gains pretty steadily for a while, but they have REALLY slowed down...I'm eating about the maximum amount I can afford/fit into my schedule.

that is a hard situation to be in cause you are still young...I wouldnt touch the stuff if i was you..not worth what can happen....

[nik1603]

U said u tried 6-8 rep range, have you thought of decreasing ur weight and doing closer to 12 reps, with each rep lasting 6-7 seconds? 5-6 sets of every exercise. Its helped plenty of guys i know get past plateaus

[Homer 8]

You seem pretty clued in and obviously doing your homework, to be honest I started myself at 21.

I see an awful lot of clowns at that age who mess themselves up and are uneducated about what they are doing.. Your obviously serious and dedicated wanting to compete next year..

If I was you id explore every other avenue fully then you will get the most from steds

[songdog]

Your endo system is developing thru the age of 24/25 in most people.Getting big is all about your diet.You say you cant afford to eat more.Well if you were to juice and did get bigger you would lose your new found gains beacuse you couldnt afford to feed them.But I wouldnt advise for you to cycle.Simply beacuse you could permently damage your endo system.Not fun when you are young and cant get a woodie or have no desire for sex.Stay nat bro your turn will come and you will be glad you did.

[-Ender-]

OP. you really seem to have your shit together, this is a good thing and refreshing to see.

However: please wait to cycle. You really are at your peak test levels right now and nothing is worth screwing that up.

Stay the course and hit the workout section for ideas to mix it up a bit and keep the gains rolling. This can help greatly.

For instance, work with a spotter and run sets increasing weight of 8reps, 6reps, 4reps, 2reps, then decrease weight for 6reps. with the assistance of the spotter; use weight that you will require assistance with the last two reps of each weight set. You're body WILL respond.

[YrRndFit21]

U said u tried 6-8 rep range, have you thought of decreasing ur weight and doing closer to 12 reps, with each rep lasting 6-7 seconds? 5-6 sets of every exercise. Its helped plenty of guys i know get past plateaus

I read somewhere that slow reps don't maximize muscle gains. I thought somewhere around a 2 second negative and 1 second positive is the most beneficial for most exercises. I also do two weeks of 12-15 rep ranges every eight weeks

You seem pretty clued in and obviously doing your homework, to be honest I started myself at 21.

I see an awful lot of clowns at that age who mess themselves up and are uneducated about what they are doing.. Your obviously serious and dedicated wanting to compete next year..

If I was you id explore every other avenue fully then you will get the most from steds

So how did you turn out after cycling at 21 if you don't mind me asking? Any libido or other serious health problems afterwards?

Your endo system is developing thru the age of 24/25 in most people.Getting big is all about your diet.You say you cant afford to eat more.Well if you were to juice and did get bigger you would lose your new found gains beacuse you couldnt afford to feed them.But I wouldnt advise for you to cycle.Simply beacuse you could permently damage your endo system.Not fun when you are young and cant get a woodie or have no desire for sex.Stay nat bro your turn will come and you will be glad you did.

I'm kind of speaking out of bro science, but once I build the new muscle fibers and keep my diet similar to what it is now(would probably lower carbs afterwards to get more shredded), wouldn't I still retain the size just from the muscle memory? I feel like muscle is easier to maintain than it is to put on...

OP. you really seem to have your shit together, this is a good thing and refreshing to see.

However: please wait to cycle. You really are at your peak test levels right now and nothing is worth screwing that up.

Stay the course and hit the workout section for ideas to mix it up a bit and keep the gains rolling. This can help greatly.

For instance, work with a spotter and run sets increasing weight of 8reps, 6reps, 4reps, 2reps, then decrease weight for 6reps. with the assistance of the spotter; use weight that you will require assistance with the last two reps of each weight set. You're body WILL respond.

I probably will wait, and change something in my workout before jumping into it, but anymore info is appreciated. Thanks for the input!

[songdog]

Plain and simple you dont feed it you will lose it.Lots of guys get big only to lose it.And everyone is different some have problems others dont.But do you want to roll the dice over some muscle that you will most likely lose in a year or two or have a normal sex life?

[nik1603]

[QUOTE="YrRndFit21"]
I read somewhere that slow reps don't maximize muscle gains. I thought somewhere around a 2 second negative and 1 second positive is the most beneficial for most exercises. I also do two weeks of 12-15 rep ranges every eight weeks

Slow reps do maximise muscle gains. 2 second negative and 1 second positive are the universally accepted times for a rep. But believe me if u double that time on both u WILL see growth

[BossMcBossBoss]

Doesn't the endocrine system stop maturing at about 21? And with all the correct supports and pct I feel like my natural system would turn out fine...I guess it's possible, but I feel like the chances of it happening are minimal, what specifically are you talking about?

Your test levels peak at about 25.

[YrRndFit21]

[QUOTE=nik1603;5835614]

I read somewhere that slow reps don't maximize muscle gains. I thought somewhere around a 2 second negative and 1 second positive is the most beneficial for most exercises. I also do two weeks of 12-15 rep ranges every eight weeks

Slow reps do maximise muscle gains. 2 second negative and 1 second positive are the universally accepted times for a rep. But believe me if u double that time on both u WILL see growth

How would you respond to this? "..the positive stroke should take you around 1 and a half to 2 seconds to complete! The controlled negative should be around 2 seconds for both categories of exercises...Moving the weight too slow (for i.e. a 3 second positive and a 4 second negative) won't allow you to use enough weight to fully break down the type 2 muscle fibers due to lactic acid build-up....Do not fall victim of using very slow reps to try and gain additional muscle size. This means avoiding the use of slow negatives, slow positives or both."
--Ronnie Rowland

[YrRndFit21]

Your test levels peak at about 25.

I heard levels start declining at 25. According to medicinenet.com they peak at age 20.

[YrRndFit21]

What do you guys thing about gh/igf-1 at my age?

[mirin_serratus]

i don't get why everyone is so quick to judge by age, 21 isn't that young and he seems to be pretty dedicated
let's be real, I knew a bunch of guys back in college who juiced and probably didn't event do PCT, no one had any apparent side effects, no one really lost their gains. there's probably hundreds of juicers at that age at every single college and if side effects were a serious issue you probably would have heard about it

[dec11]

i don't get why everyone is so quick to judge by age, 21 isn't that young and he seems to be pretty dedicated
let's be real, I knew a bunch of guys back in college who juiced and probably didn't event do PCT, no one had any apparent side effects, no one really lost their gains. there's probably hundreds of juicers at that age at every single college and if side effects were a serious issue you probably would have heard about it

you want me to dig you up afew threads on here with young guys needing help cos their dicks need scaffolding?

[UnderRated2010]

i don't get why everyone is so quick to judge by age, 21 isn't that young and he seems to be pretty dedicated
let's be real, I knew a bunch of guys back in college who juiced and probably didn't event do PCT, no one had any apparent side effects, no one really lost their gains. there's probably hundreds of juicers at that age at every single college and if side effects were a serious issue you probably would have heard about it

so ignorant...

[YrRndFit21]

you want me to dig you up afew threads on here with young guys needing help cos their dicks need scaffolding?

Can we just stick to the topic instead please?