where do i go from here

[hunter1980]

hi guys, new member looking for advice

as you can see from the pic im carrying over 20% BF which i plan on reducing to 15% within a month

the question is do i start on the gear?
i train reasonably well and am fairly strong however i am seriousley injury prone, currently have chronic tennis elbow and im training through the pain (had the cortisone shots etc, not working)
i reckon the fact i train alone contributes to my injuries however as most of my mates are layabouts, that isnt gonna change anytime soon

i guess im hoping the gear will help make my body stronger and help me become more balanced, im not really doing it to get much bigger. am i crazy thinking this?

also i know i havent reached my peak naturally by a long way but my reasoning is, with the injuries and training alone, im never gonna get there. any opinions of experienced guys greatly appreciated;

thanks

[MACHINE5150]

stats??
age/weight/hieght/years training

You looking to cut or bulk up?

[gbrice75]

Hi, and welcome to the board.

I would most definitely recommend against gear at 20% bodyfat; you run greater risk of sides. I ran a cycle at 15% and even that was high, for me. But 20% is high for anybody and I wouldn't do it.

Aside from that reasoning, as you said yourself, you haven't reached your natural potential. Gear isn't the answer for you, proper diet and nutrition is number one, then training and cardio. I'd suggest you get over to the diet section, post up your current diet and let us help you tweak it.

PS - 20% - 15% in 1 month is kind of unrealistic, honestly. I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment. It may be possible, but not without losing a ton of LBM. I can see somewhat of a base under the bodyfat in your pic, but not enough to warrant losing any just to cut bodyfat.

Go with a slow cut or body recomp and you'll be happier in the end, IMO.

[bigboomer]

Id say cut but down some more fat and do some more research before you think of starting..You have muscle under than fat, you look pretty big already. If you were to cut down naturally youd look damn big dude!!You do realize when you cycle you with be lifting a lot heavier..Injury prone+more weight=injury..just my opinion but go check out the diet dection and get your diet in checkfirst and foremost

[hunter1980]

thanks for the replies, im currently 205 pounds and 5ft 11. the pic was from a month ago and had my body fat measured yesterday at 17% so getting there......ive trained pure cardio due to the tendonitis.

as i mentioned my main reason for thinkin about it is purely to give my body a stronger platform and balance to help get over the injuries. im 29 and have trained pretty much for 8 years, 2 years ago i was in pretty good shape but again, a knee ligament injury put me out of action.
having researched this forum i realise i need to cut another 5% which i will do over the next 3 months.........but will steriods do anything to prevent further injury (by strenghtening my body in a way i cant do myself)

thanks

[sprinter911]

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis ) is not fun at all. I had it for about 4 months. It's very painful and takes a long time to heal properly. Any aggravation and you're back to square one. If you're getting cortisone shots then you're beyond the first stage. You're going to need to lay off the curls for a while. Especially hammer curls or curls with your hands in the prone position. You should be ok if you do the entire curl with your palms in the supine position throughout the movement.

That being said, I agree with bigboomer and gbrice. You should definitely look to lower your bf% prior to starting with gear. You're going to be more prone to sides. I also recommend you educate yourself via the educational threads in the forum. I'm sure everyone will tell you to do your research before thinking about gear.

As far is injuries go...if you're injury prone, you should put in alot more time training properly. Gear is going to increase your muscle strength very quickly. Much more quickly than your connective tissue develops. If you're already injury prone, you may be putting yourself at greater risk to cause serious injuries to your ligaments. I hope this helps you out. It might not be the answer you were looking for but it's better that you asked the questions before just jumping into gear.

--Sprint

[hunter1980]

dude i appreciate any input as i know nothing lol
the tennis elbow has been here for 14 months, i take the shot and have a few weeks of bliss b4 it returns, hence the deteriation in my physique.
i dont really have the desire to get bigger, i guess im just clutching at straws to end my injury hell.......my thinking was the more muscle i put around the tendons/ ligaments, the more i could protect them from injury........im sure u guys appreciate the phscyological impact of being unable to train,

the frustrating thing ive been to phsios/ personal trainers to try to see if i have bad form but they all agree i have near perfect form, they put it down to over exubrance........even tho im warmed up my body still isnt ready for the effort i push with..............in reality i think they are as clueless as to why i get injured as i am lol

[MACHINE5150]

I know deca is good for your joints.. something to do with the cortisol or whatever.. But having a sore joint is completley different than having an injured joint.

[sprinter911]

No problem. I didn't have to do any PT for my tennis elbow. I was good with the anti inflams. I feel your pain though. It really sucks. Twisting the top of a jar is excruciating. The proximal portion of the extensor tendon is easy to injure and very slow to recover. Are you doing any leg, chest, shoulder work? I'd stay away from curls, shrugs, lateral and front raises but I had no problem with pushing movements and obviously not legs. You can still train around the injury.

--Sprint

[sprinter911]

I know deca is good for your joints.. something to do with the cortisol or whatever.. But having a sore joint is completley different than having an injured joint.

You're right on that. Some gear makes you retain water more than others. Deca is one of them. It definitly provides a cushion for your joints but that's more beneficial for cartilage than ligaments. If you already have an injured tendon that's not going to help out much. Rest is key or you'll exacerbate the condition and it could become chronic.

--Sprint

[gbrice75]

thanks for the replies, im currently 205 pounds and 5ft 11. the pic was from a month ago and had my body fat measured yesterday at 17% so getting there......ive trained pure cardio due to the tendonitis.

as i mentioned my main reason for thinkin about it is purely to give my body a stronger platform and balance to help get over the injuries. im 29 and have trained pretty much for 8 years, 2 years ago i was in pretty good shape but again, a knee ligament injury put me out of action.
having researched this forum i realise i need to cut another 5% which i will do over the next 3 months.........but will steriods do anything to prevent further injury (by strenghtening my body in a way i cant do myself)

thanks

Regardless of bodyfat, I still don't think gear is your answer. Making your body stronger 'artificially' is the wrong mindset, IMO. If anything, you should work on strengthening your weak points naturally - i.e. making them work on their own will help strengthen them. Just my .02

[TRT2010]

hope u reach your goals man.

[hunter1980]

thanks for the honesty

sprinter ive pretty much trained the whole 14 months, like u say curls and biceps have had to be eliminated from my work out which is now based around benching and squatting. i think its pretty much surgery for me now when i decide to rest it again, i tried 4 weeks total rest earlier this year and it improved zilch. the weird thing is it doesnt really hurt much as i train, only in the aftermath or when ive had a couple of days off

ive realised getting where i want to get naturally just isnt gonna happen anytime soon so i think im gonna shed the body fat then see where im at with the view to start stacking. ill be back for more advice then.

really appreciate the input dudes, thanks

[oldschoolfitness]

hey bro about the same age as you and i never had weight lifting type injuries until i started to cycle and it didn't take but a couple cycles and i had tennis elbow and a inflamed shoulder all of those came after the cycle from lifting heavy and not proper warm-ups. just a couple of things to keep in mind when you start setting your new goals. good luck bro and welcome to the board