Could I already of maxed out my "noob gains" and might I be ready ?

[p74]

(Not sure if this is the right place to post this and I realise this is potentially a silly question, so bare with me folks).

A little about myself first......

Back in 2008 and at a very fat 196lb (at 70" tall) I decided to change my ways and get fit and healthy.
After (approx) a couple of years of healthy eating and excessive (no exaggeration) exercise, I got myself down to 150lb and 10%bf.
My training back then consisted of both lots of cardio and recreational (metabolic) weight lifting with no real goal other than generally "being fit and looking good"
I maintained this for some time until deciding (18 months ago) that I wanted more muscle.
I'm well aware that I'm still a "novice" and I'm still learning etc, but since the change I am now 182lb and 18%bf, meaning that I have gained 14lb of lean tissue over the last 18 months.

The obvious problem I have is that I have no idea of how much muscle I initially gained between 2008-2011 and in total I've been training for 5 years.

Thoughts / Advice ?
- could I possibly of already gained all my "natural" muscle and could I be ready for "the next step" ?.

(Note: I'm 40 next year)

Thanks in advance

(Lift stats)

B press - 260lb (5 reps)
Squat - 450lb (5 reps)
OH press - 145lb (8 reps)
Lat pull down - 270lb (12 reps)

[austinite]

Welcome p74,

l love this post. First of all, congrats on your new lifestyle and achieving a healthy state. Be very proud as the majority are too lazy to even make the decision to become healthy. Pat yourself on the back.

While you might not realize it, your diet changes and consistency are what led to this growth. This is an entirely rare situation where someone changes diets for the betterment of muscle tissue gain without really breaking down macronutrients/calories, etc... One thing I live by is, if it's not broken, don't fix it.

Now, the chances of you maxing your genetic potential is about as close to zero as possible. Does that mean you're not ready to cycle and reach those limits? Absolutely not. Nothing wrong with getting an edge, it's why we're all here for the most part. You obviously have patients as you havent jumped on the wagon (or is it off the wagon?) just yet. Most folks, and I'm sure you've seen this... will say things to the effect of "I started training last month and I want to do a cycle". That level of impatience is worrisome and troublesome.

I'm curious to know how tall you are. It's the only statistic missing from your post. Depending on your height, you very well may be ready. If you're 6'2", I'd say 182 lbs is too light and continue with your regimen. Under 6 foot would be just fine. However, body fat has increased just slightly over what I would recommend for cycling steroids. I prefer that you wait until you drop your body fat down to 16 or less so that you can avoid amplified side effects while on cycle, including but not limited to high blood pressure and excessive aromatization, which both would lead to a host of complications.

Once you cycle, you will experience a burst of strength. This is commonly underestimated as folks begin to lift heavier and heavier. It's entirely important to pace yourself during these bursts because chances are, your connective tissue (Tendons/ligaments) are not strong enough for such impact. This quickly leads to injury and hinders further progress.

I'd like to share a thread with you in hopes that it would shed some light on both; needs and wants for a cycle.

http://forums.steroid.com/anabolic-s...rst-cycle.html

Best of luck to you and enjoy your stay. Have a powerful day.

[p74]

Thanks for that austinite.
I have now edited my post.

- 70" tall (5f 10)

I'll take the time to reduce my bf% while studying indepth

Cheers

[austinite]

Good call. You're almost there.

[Zodiac85]

Maybe you've seen this already, but this chart is interesting:

Weightlifting Performance Standards

Obviously, everyone is different so don't read to much into it. Just interesting. Congrats on a big squat at 182lbs!

[p74]

Thanks - and no, I was not aware of this chart.
That is interesting.
Given that I've been lifting for some time now, I assume I've just developed (fairly) good neuro muscular efficiency.

No doubt my lift stats will be much less after my cut

[Mp859]

Maybe you've seen this already, but this chart is interesting:

Weightlifting Performance Standards

Obviously, everyone is different so don't read to much into it. Just interesting. Congrats on a big squat at 182lbs!

That is a vey accurate chart. Never seen that before nice add to the thread

[Juced_porkchop]

Welcome to the forum.
You can always tweek diet, supps and training for gains. Congrats on going this far on your own!
There is no need of AAS, but if its something you want to do then its your choice.
I would ask this, have you had your testosterone levels checked recently?
if they are now in decline ( 40yrs) then it could be that that may be holding you back or making things harder, assuming diet and training are on point.

I would check hormones and by that i mean testosterone levels and thyroid function.

[austinite]

Welcome to the forum.
You can always tweet diet, supps and training for gains. Congrats on going this far on your own. There is not need of AAS, but if its something you want to do then its your choice.
I would ask this, have you had your testosterone levels checked recently?
if they are now in decline ( 40yrs) then it could be that that may be holding you back or making things harder, assuming diet and training are on point.

I would check hormones and by that i mean testosterone levels and thyroid function.

LOL! It's stuck in my head too now.

[Juced_porkchop]

LOL! It's stuck in my head too now.

HAHAHA I caught that and was changing it as you posted! lol :-/