Mid-Cycle Doldrums (repost)
So, where did I screw up?
I'm at the end of week five of my first cycle. I'm 46 years old, started at 230 lbs @ 5'10" at ~20% BF, been lifting for six years. My cycle consists of 400 mg of EQ/week, 500 mg of test. enanthate/week, and 50 mg/day of Reforvit-B (d-bol) tabs for the first four weeks. The EQ is Ttokkyo, the test. is Tornel T-200. I dart myself twice a week, Sunday morning and Wednesday morning. I have Nolvadex on hand in case of gyno (no symptoms so far...) and Clomid for after cycle recovery.
For the first week I didn't feel much except for the flush from all the B-12 in the Ref-B tabs, but felt reasonably strong in the gym and gained ten pounds (of water?) right off the bat. Week two saw the d-bol kick in, amazing upper body pumps, good motivation in the gym. Week three and the d-bol bloat set in, a tendency towards cramping, and loss of flexibility. By week four I had so much upper body stiffness that I could barely get my arms back far enough to hold the bar on my shoulder when squatting.
I was also injury-prone. On the first day of week two, leg day, I did something to my lower back while squatting, probably a momentary lapse in form or a distraction of some sort. I didn't feel it when it happened, but by the end of my workout I could barely walk, the dull pain in my lumbar region hurt so bad. It's taken three weeks for me to recover from that apparent lower back strain, with a lot of help from soaking in a steaming hot bathtub. I also pulled something in my neck when trying to hoist up the dumbbells before a set of seated dumbbell shoulder presses that week, which has since healed.
After the end of week four I discontinued the Ref-B tabs, and the bloat has subsided and my flexibility is returning.
But my weight is stalled at 245 lbs.
I keep hoping for that famous EQ hunger to kick in, but it hasn't happened. Eating has become a chore. I feel like Mr. Creosote from "The Meaning of Life," it would only take one more wafer thin mint to make me explode. I am never hungry. Heck, even as I write this I'm avoiding a grilled chicken breast that's getting cold in my kitchen.
Here's a sample of my daily food intake:
Breakfast:
4-egg omelette with 4 strips of bacon and some grated cheddar
Apres workout:
a banana and an EAS protein bar (25g protein) eaten in my car before I leave the gym parking lot
Lunch:
whatever I can throw together in the kitchen at work -- maybe a grilled chicken breast, or a couple of cheeseburger patties, or a big plate of tacos (at least six) w/shredded beef, or usually a big taco salad with about a half pound of shredded beef
Late afternoon snack:
Protein shake -- 2 scoops of Optimum Whey chocolate w/ an egg
Dinner:
a steak or a chicken breast, w/ baked potato or salad or steamed asparagus
Late night snack:
another Protein shake.
Disappointed with the results from that diet, I have, over the weeks, upped the omelette to five eggs and five strips of bacon, and then this week upped it again to six and six. I also started adding two eggs to the protein shakes, and this week upped it again to three eggs, and I've started making the shakes with 2 cups of 1% milk instead of water. This week I also added a half-cup serving of oatmeal to the breakfast, which doesn't make it any easier to choke down all of that six-egg omelette.
I allow myself two cheat meals per week -- pizza for dinner on Friday night, and pork fried rice from the neighborhood Chinese take-out for Sunday lunch. For the first couple of weeks I had a tendency to skip breakfast on non-workout days, but I've nipped that bad habit right in the bud.
Due to the back pain, I discontinued the morning walks on non-workout days, because I could go for only about half a mile before I had to sit down and stretch. It felt as though every step was winding up my lower back like a watch spring. Today was the first day I've been able to complete the 3.5 mile "one lap of Hillcrest" walk in several weeks.
My results in the gym have been mixed. My big lifts are only up a modest amount, but I've made miraculous increases on some "assistance" lifts. Bench, squat, and bent over BB row are only up about 20 pounds each, but I've added a whopping fifty pounds to my incline press (BB), with strong improvements on DB flies, low cable rows, and other secondary lifts. I've avoided deadlifts and SL deads due to the aforementioned back problem, but I think I'm ready to resume deadlifting this week or next.
I see some improved size across my chest and back and shoulders, offset by a similar increase in the size of my gut. This week my testicles finally flew south for the winter, but it's sort of a relief to have those guys go on vacation for a while. Apart from the sides from the d-bol that I reported above, and one ugly "third eye" zit on my upper chest, I haven't felt anything "kick in" so to speak, although I've had some large mood swings this week. Hair loss is not an issue, I have no male-pattern baldness at all, even at age 46. I haven't experienced any prostate symptoms either. I'm still waiting for that EQ hunger though.
My goals are pretty vague. I don't consider myself to be either a bodybuilder or a powerlifter. I don't have any particular desire to ever drop below 12-15% BF, and I doubt that I have the character to ever get to the point where I could compete in regional Masters PL meets. I guess I'm just a "bigorexic," what I care about is seeing increased numbers in the gym and on the cloth tape measure. I had hoped to get my arms to approach 19", and chest 50", on this cycle; they're presently 18 1/4" and 49".
Somehow I've got to salvage this rather mediocre cycle. I figger it's all down to not enough food, but I feel like I'm already choking down all I can stomach without puking.
Any suggestions will be much appreciated.
--dnb