Idle thoughts by Pinnacle

[Pinnacle]

Idle thoughts by Mean Mr. Pinnacle



I'd first like to state that this post is entirely opinion-based. However, some things I might state throughout this post could very well have scientific backing. This post isn't about debate, nor to entice debate. What method is right/wrong ect. It's simply the ramblings of a madman

Discipline:
When I use this word in posts telling members they lack that of, I'm amazed at how defensive, pissed off, offensive they get. Sometimes the truth hurts, as I know that all to well, myself.
The reason most members of this board fail to achieve desired results is simply the lack of discipline. I see it posted thread after thread. Guys come on here stating he and his buddy are running the exact same cycle, but "I'm not getting the results he is". "How come?" That is a rather simple answer. DISCIPLINE (lack of). Your buddy wants it more than you do. He's following the nutritional plan, training his ass off, and getting plenty of rest. All the while you're out partying with fat Mary on Friday night sucking down Pizza and beer when you should be home in bed, or at least home eating a nutritious meal with fat Mary. Lord knows she could probably use it too. Now it's true, this guys buddy could possibly have better genetics, but for the novice (Like most on this board), two individuals with the same cycle experience, training style ect, should have rather the same ending results (on average).
The vast majority of members on this board are using anabolic steroids to simply enhance their physiques. Whether it be to attract women ( or men in some cases) , or to just feel better about themselves within their own skin. That's fine. I'm all for that. I'd much
rather see a young man (or woman) use anabolics to alter their physique for the better. As opposed to sitting at home by themselves depressed about how they look, and wind up on antidepressants, which are merely a band-aid on a cut that requires stitches. No matter the reason, if you make a decision to use anabolic steroids, you must also make a personal
commitment to self discipline while running the compounds/drugs. They are not some magical drug that you take and all of a sudden you get huge, ripped,cut,or whatever your preferential slang may be .It requires DISCIPLINE! Discipline to show up at the gym on scheduled training sessions. Discipline to follow a strict diet. Discipline to say "NO" to your friends on Friday night when they want you to go out drinking at a club til the early hours of the morning. DISCIPLINE!! GET IT? This simple word will either make or break your cycle, and furthermore anything you try to achieve in life.

Nutrition:

The next major melt down among most members of this board. Some either eat far to much, or far to little. My observation is far to little. How hard is it to eat 6 meals every day? IT'S EASY! You've made a decision/commitment to use anabolic steroids ,but lack the discipline(there's that ugly word again) to make time throughout your day to eat every 2-3 hours, boggles my mind. I mean really how hard is it to spend an hour or so in the evening preparing, and portioning out your meals in plastic containers for the following day? You have the time to piss away on the internet, right? Then I suggest you cut back on that time and make time for something far more important. It's called NUTRITION.A rather vital component to ones cycle, as well as life in general. Also, allow me to address those that say" All that food is expensive, I can't afford to eat like that every day". Well, you have no business using drugs(anabolic steroids) if you can't afford adequate nutrition to yield results.
I also love the guys that use "bulking cycles" as an all out excuse to eat anything, and everything in sight. I see it not only on this board, but in the gym as well. Let me tell you something. Pizza doesn't build muscle, it builds fat deposits. How many times have you read a post where someone states they put on 35 pounds within a cycle? Sure they put on 35 pounds,25 of which was fat. And by the time they cut all that fat off, they'd have yielded maybe 7 pounds of muscle from the cycle, when all said and done. Not that 7 pounds isn't bad, They just didn't have to put themselves through the misery of dieting in the fIrst place if their bulk diet was clean. Ever run into one of your buddies while you were out and about that had mozzarella cheese hanging from his chin, and pizza sauce smeared all over his face? You ask him what's up with the shit allover his face and his reply is "I'm bulking". I could go on and on with this topic.........

Diet:

I rambled my ass off in the above segment, but never actually touched on my thoughts pertaining to nutrition, and proper dietary practices.
Lets start with the bulk type protocol.
Bulking doesn't mean to just put on weight, nor is it an excuse to have a sloppy diet. To me, bulking means you are in a growth phase trying to put on lean, quality muscle while minimizing amounts of body fat. You don't have to be any type of genius, nor a rocket scientist to pull this off. Quite simply you ramp your caloric intake on a weekly basis with clean, nutritious foods. How hard is that? Say your caloric maintenance level is 3000 calories. When the anabolics you're using start to kick in, you start to increase your caloric intake on a daily basis. For example I'll say 250 calories. The following week you'd add another 250 calories to your daily caloric intake. And so on. By following a nutritional plan similar to this, you'll put on minimal amounts of body fat throughout the cycle. If you fInd you're putting on to much fat. Don't fret. You are in a learning stage in regards to your body. So take notes throughout the entire cycle as to what you ate on a daily basis. If what you ate made you feel bloated. Get your body fat checked on a weekly basis to determine the actual amount of muscle/fat you acquired that week. From there you can start to tweak your diet, if needed. Instead of reducing calories, I suggest you start cardio. Yes, cardio. It's not just for cutting phases. It used in bulking cycles to allow an individual to eat far above maintenance levels and keep body fat to a bare minimum. I do almost as much cardio while in a mass phase, as I do heading into a contest prep cycle. Cardio guys. I can't stress that enough. Just like training and nutrition, cardio should be part of your daily regimen as well.





Let me ramble a little bit about cutting. I don't mean getting shredded for a contest/competition. Just getting down to a respectable 7-8 % BF from a sloppy 12-14 % BF. This is going to raise some eyebrows as to what I'm about to say.
I, Pinnacle, am ANTI PRO/F A T DIET.I think it's a poor choice, road to take ,for shedding unwanted body fat. I'll take two males with the same type physique, metabolic rate, body fat-muscle tissue ratios and have one follow a pro/fat diet for 12 weeks, while the other follows a clean, simple diet that consists of moderate, very low glycemic carbs (sweet potato/regular potato) with each meal(6).Now the pro/fat guy can do all the cardio his little heart desires. The guy eating the carbs with every meal will do cardio 45-60 minutes in the morning upon wakening. ( excluding leg day) and 45-60 minutes of cardio again late night approximately 3 hours after last meal.(this too, excluding leg day). Now all the while throughout the 12 weeks the carb guy will never once go below maintenance level. At the end of 12 weeks I assure you the guy eating moderate amounts oflow glycemic carbs will be LEANER, fuller, retain far more muscle, and have a greater mental focus about himself. And generally look damn healthy. Now the pro/fat guy will look flat ,not nearly as vascular, most likely have a lesser mental focus. Did I mention he most likely won't be as lean either? I've experimented with the pro/fat diet. As well as many, many of my BBing peers/friends. We all came to the same conclusion .Some of the top names in sports nutrition agree that pro/fat dieting for BBers is rather a poor choice to partake in. I'm not about to argue with Dr. Di Pasquale, Chris Aceto,nor Milos Sarcev. You care to debate pro/fat dieting? I suggest you contact one/all three ofthem on their respective websites. For I am stating my opinion solely. Not looking for debate. If you've done well and were happy in the past using a pro/fat diet. Then by all means continue to utilize it. To each is own.......
For myself, the most effective way to get cut is to simply cycle my carbs throughout the week. I'll have high carb days (with low protein intake).Other days I'll have moderate amounts of carbs, and others very low amounts of carbs. By using this method it keeps my body guessing, and not allowing it to get used to any particular amount of calories. Hence the reason I don't get any plateaus while cutting. I consistently loose body fat on a weekly basis.
Another thing I want to touch on briefly is choice of carbs.I mentioned very low glycemic carbs above. Like that of sweet potato/regular potato. Those are basically the only carb sources I use in my nutritional plan. There are several studies around that show men (athletes) who ate only sweet potato/regular potato with each and every meal ended the 10-12 week study/studies considerably leaner than the other group who ate rice, brown rice, pasta, and bread for sources of carbohydrates. Reason being the slow trickle of carbohydrates to the blood stream resulting in even insulin levels throughout the day. It's a pretty well known fact that the human body hasn't acclimated itself to certain carb sources, like that of grains(flour).Another thing the human body hasn't acclimated to is whey protein. You'd be surprised at what little amount of whey protein the body utilizes after consuming say 23 grams. This is something the supplement giants don't really want the average person to find out. They have the average 23 grams per serving there for a reason simply because they too know the body can't and doesn't want to absorb fast acting protein like that of whey. The human body likes to work. And digestion is one of the things our bodies love to do. The slow trickle of carbohydrates, and amino acids throughout the blood stream is how our bodies are designed to work.

I'm not saying by any means to strictly eat sweet potato/regular potato. They should however be the foundation for carbohydrate sources. Brown rice is OK, but many people tend to hold water after consuming brown rice. Pasta should be viewed as a treat, not part of your daily nutritional plan.

Suppliments :

OVERKILL! !NO explode, nitrix, and all these other "snake oil" products the supplement giants offer you with the promise(written by very talented writers) oflooking like Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler ,are simply a waste of your hard earned dollar.
Although, I personally am not a fan of creatine. There is legitimate research out there that shows supplementing with creatine (in all it's various forms) is effective to some degree. I don't use whey protein anymore either. I mentioned one ofthe reasons above. Others are it bloats me. Gives me gas, and to be quite honest I find it somewhat a waste of calories. I prefer food, solid food. Post workout I immediately supplement with liquid amino acids.5 grams of Arginine,5 grams of Leucine. Then head home immediately and consume a solid meal. Usually with 15-20 minutes after training. Right before I have my PWO meal, I supplement with 10 grams of glutamine. Now, I do use a special blend of proteins( in form of shakes) throughout the night. I usually have two. I usually get up twice throughout the night to relieve myself, and during those times I take a minute and consume a shake. The shakes consist of caseins( several forms ),soy, egg albumen, ***** 3-6-9 fatty acids.
I'll give a brief description of Arginine and Leucine for those not familiar with it, and the role it plays within our body.

Arginine:
This amino acid is the main ingredient in most nitric oxide (NO) products. That's because it's readily converted to nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide(NO) causes blood vessels to relax and increase in diameter( dilate) ,allowing more blood flow through them and to muscle fibers. The greater the blood flow, the more blood glucose, amino acids, and oxygen to muscle cells.
5 grams in the morning
5 grams before training
5 grams PWO
5 grams before bed

Leucine:
Ofthe three branch-chain amino acids. this is by far the most critical because it has the unique ability to trigger protein synthesis. It enters muscle cells and turns on key biochemical processes that result in more muscle protein, which equates to more muscle size. Leucine also decreases muscle break down. Leucine in muscle cells is broken down and used for energy during exercise. Having low leucine levels could possibly lead to
decreased muscle size and stunted muscle growth processes. Supplementing with additional leucine prior to work out will spare stores within and provide additional quantities to get protein synthesis buzzing.
I suggest:
5 grams in the morning
5 grams mid afternoon
5 grams pre workout
5 grams PWO




Training:
I'm not going to get into this. It takes years and years to fmd what training style works for an individual. I suggest you try/experiment with as many styles as you can. Take notes. Keep journals and determine over time which yielded the best results for YOU.

Finally......... ..

Anabolic Steroids:
I bet many of you have been waiting for me to comment on this topic, huh? With a board this size, I'll keep my ramblings short in this segment. There are a lot of members on this board using anabolics for various reasons. There are drugs I've personally deemed useless to me as a bodybuilder .But for someone else with other goals in mind, the drugs I rendered useless, might very well be priceless to that individual. Primo,for example. I wouldn't pay 2 cents for 100 gallons of that drug. But for a guy like Jayhova, someone giving him 100 gallons would be equivalent to hitting the lottery.
I will say two things. . . . . ..

1). I feel some people use far too many compounds within their cycles. I was once guilty of this as well when I first started out. Experience/wisdom over the years has taught me less is more. Drug-wise, not dose-wise

2). I think many are far to cautious when dosing drugs. Don't get me wrong. I understand safety and experimentation all to well. But come on...50 mgs winny EOD?WTF is that going to do? Same goes for Fina/Tren.. .50 mgs EOD? Take your time and do the required research. Ask via PM, very experienced guys their personal thoughts on doses ect ect.OH..btw.. .research takes time. Lots of time. I don't mean signing up on the board and right away start a thread asking which drugs to use on your first cycle. Then doing the cycle one month later. The smart, patient guys read and research for at least a year before they partake in their first cycle. And guess what? You never see those guys posting threads with cycles gone awry. I wonder why that is?



That is all....I'm done....

~Pinnacle~

[BADASS323]

excellent read!!!

[IBdmfkr]

Thanks for taking the time Pinn... much appreciated.

[ianchov]

As always - AWESOME!


BUMP!

[shortie]

You mean, I am gonna have to work out and eat right?To heck with that, I was wanting a silver bullet.......


Good read Pinn.

[vitor]

Greate Post!!! (Exept the Primo part, LOL...) Nah, a very informativ Read...

[goose]

Let me ask you this SIR,

Do you ever run 3 compounds at the same time?

Great read big pinn....

[Booz]

glad you have taken the time out from your busy schedule to write this..................hopefully some members will read this and understand that it is "not" all about gear usage...
great read Pinn..

[IBdmfkr]

You didn't mention time of day you do cardio on a bulking phase..
I was guessing in the morning on non-training days?

[Pinnacle]

Let me ask you this SIR,

Do you ever run 3 compounds at the same time?

....

Certainly I have..I don't run 3 or more compounds nowadays though...plus you need to define "compound" for me.You consider HGH a compound or basically just a hormone?If you say HGH is a compound,then I'm shit out of luck


~Pinnacle~

[Pinnacle]

I was guessing in the morning on non-training days?

Very similar to that of a cutting phase.Cardio AM on a daily basis(excluding leg day)..and if need a mild late PM session as well.I don't feel 2-3 cardio session per week is adequate when consuming massive amounts of calories in the hopes of aquiring new muscle mass.I'm a firm believer in staying lean year round.When I say lean,I mean under 10 % BF.

~Pinnacle~

[vitor]

I think all, anybody needs to run as far as steroids goes, is 1 drug that binds to the AR-recepter, 1 drug that binds to the non-AR meditaded, and then Testosterone as a base.

Many people run a bunch of diffrent steroids, which will compete for the same recepters, like Deca , Eq and Tren in the same cycle, and thats pretty pointless IMO. To create a stronger cycle you can yust increase the dosages on the drugs at hand, imho.

[IBdmfkr]

While I got you here B I'm gonna pick your brain.. lol

How many calories over Maintainance do you recommend on a "clean-bulk"?

Also, would you eat before or after your evening cardio?

[goose]

Certainly I have..I don't run 3 or more compounds nowadays though...plus you need to define "compound" for me.You consider HGH a compound or basically just a hormone?If you say HGH is a compound,then I'm shit out of luck


~Pinnacle~

You know what I meant

I mean your mate anthony roberts is a true Believer in just 2 compounds at the same time,when you start to have more than two drugs they start to compete against each other,I agree with you choose two and hit them so hard, Substituting and introducing new drugs is another thing.Also cycles longer than 8 weeks suck.

[WEBB]

WOW...glad you took the time to write that out for everyone....it answered a lot of questions and simplified a lot of things also....sticky????

[C_Bino]

Thanks for taking the time Pinn, we know you are busy these days. Excellent read, glad that you touched on all aspects of bodybuilding/weight training, as the sport itself requires a wholistic approach, which many people seem to forget these days with readily accesible AAS, and lack of education/knowledge.
I think you really nailed it with this post, I especially agree with:

I'm not going to get into this. It takes years and years to fmd what training style works for an individual. I suggest you try/experiment with as many styles as you can. Take notes. Keep journals and determine over time which yielded the best results for YOU.

Not only pertaining to training, but you make an extremely important remark about the vast differences in each individuals response to diet/training and AAS. Too many times people will ask "what cycle's do you run" and then follow it to a T. Although it is important (imo) to have a "mentor" or trainer that you look up to to help you along and show you the ropes, too many times people are too scared to experiment on their own and do what will yeild THEIR body the best results.

Again just a great read. And for all of you Canadians (not sure on the situation in the U.S) it's a true shame that L-Arginine and its derivatives are now banned.

[MatrixGuy]

WOW. Great post Pinn.

[BOBBY D]

nice to see & read the truth, & say it like it is.. thanks pinn

[ManWhore]

Great post

[Mesomorphyl]

Hey pinn... long time no see. Good rant.

[majorpecs]

that sucks about the whey, I use ALOT of whey protein supplementation

[Pinnacle]

How many calories over Maintainance do you recommend on a "clean-bulk"?

Also, would you eat before or after your evening cardio?

I can't answer your first question.That is an individual thing.Dependent on many,many factors.


I'll answer your second question.
I wait 3 hrs after my last evening meal before doing PM cardio.Then I hit the sack,but like I stated earlier,I use a few shakes throughout the night.Whether I'm in a mass phase,or cutting phase.I can stay quite lean on a mass phase by implimenting cardio into my daily routine.I can't stress that enough.It takes extremely hard work to try an acquire a pro-like physique,or even a physique that of top athletes.You have to really want it..and that's where discipline once again, comes into play.

~Pinnacle~

[WEBB]

why are you so MEAN??????? Damn you for telling the truth, i didnt wanna hear that

[AleX-69]

Well pin you know we had some agruments in the past, but I have to admit that this was a REALLY great post!! I'd even say make this one a sticky... I think most people can learn a lot from what you've wrote right there!

For me it took several years to figure out some of the things your are saying.. Other things (potato>brown rice>pasta or the things about whey protein) i hear for the first time and i am certainly willing to try to replace my rice and pasta on carb load days with potatos to see the diffrence..

RG

[Pinnacle]

For me it took several years to figure out some of the things your are saying..
RG

It takes years for any of us to learn things about this sport.I wrote this thread in hopes of inspiring a few,just a few members into following a path it took many of us years to learn.


~Pinnacle~

[FranKieC]

Great post!

[BG]

Feel better now??

[BajanBastard]

That was an excellent read, but 2 cents for 100 gallons of primo is way too expensive if you ask me.

[1buffsob]

Awesome read Pinn. You're advice does not fall on deaf ears, despite what you may think.

1buffsob

BTW, I have also gone against the pro/fat way of cutting. Sweet potatoe in every meal, and said goodbye to the whey. Never had better results.

[G-1000]

Right on brother.

[biglouie250]

good read.... but 12-14%bf doesnt look sloppy lol!

[chest6]

Good read. I agree with you about high carb rather than high unsat. fats...I just got done experimenting with 3-4 tbspn flax ed along with mayo with the tuna and natty pb and lowered carbs to 50-70g on nonworkout days and that just made my fatloss stall and made me lose strength..

[taiboxa]

i like to pull heavy chains behind me and flip tractor tires

[Liftnainez]

EXCELLENT READ PINN!!!! Very true informative stuff that everybody should read and understand.. great stuff brotha!!!

[Seattle Junk]

i like to pull heavy chains behind me and flip tractor tires

Ya, strongemen don't have to worry about bf%, just strength....



Good post daddy Pinn. I'll have to execute some brotelligence on some unknowinglies.

[diezell]

awesome post pinnacle, i see alot of the same stuff going on around the board, im sure you could go on another 3 pages ranting too

[Bigmax]

Hey pinn how much $$$$ do we owe you for that seminar????No this is coming staraight from the heart man......THANKX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[goose]

We Want More.............we Want More Pinn............

[taiboxa]

Ya, strongemen don't have to worry about bf%, just strength....



Good post daddy Pinn. I'll have to execute some brotelligence on some unknowinglies.

Bullshit... trust me.. a strong man.. same LBM but one who is 3-5% lighter will usually have greater endurance +stamina which is crucial when ur dragging a boat

[fLgAtOr]

I'm so pissed and offended that you think my 15% is from a lack of discipline!

...just playin'...

Thank you for the inspiration sir.

fL