oatmeal69's 2nd cycle diary

[oatmeal69]

42 Y.O. 5'9", 170#, 12~%
Training weights and cardio off and on for 10 + years, going from fit to fat, to fit again.

Me, before I started training "seriously" in about 2002. I'm about 150-155 lbs. here
Safe to say about a year or so ago, at 195 pounds, I looked like an overweight under-fit 40-something couch-potato. I will NOT post pix, I don't want to scare any little ones.

AAS HISTORY:
1 previous cycle Test-E 14 wks. Tren-A 8 wks. AUG to mid NOV, 2011
PCT was Nolva, Clen and HCG via Swifto's advice postings.

Early DEC post cycle, 2011

My 1st CYCLE was 14 weeks of Test-E, with 8 weeks in the middle of Tren-A. My results (IMHO) were absolutely spectacular. Simply gaining or losing "weight" is relatively easy for me, but my ability to gain lean mass and lose BF was nearly impossible before, yet VASTLY increased and enhanced via AAS. My body weight stayed within 3-4 pounds, but I leaned up quite significantly, and added some super-HARD new muscle!
My diet was pretty good before 1st cycle, and I dialed it in with advice here right before I started. I had been training 5 days/wk. for 6 months prior and was close to my personal fitness best. Like I said, I kept my weight of 176-ish, but leaned up from about 18% - 20% BF to about 12-14% - SWEET!

Currently, FEB 8, 2012

I plan to lose another couple pounds before my new cycle. In PCT over the past couple months, I've lost about 6 pounds, but AFAIK, it's all been fat loss. I'm significantly leaner and more muscular than before, and as lean as I've been since my teens - yet 30 pounds heavier! My guess is that I'm about 12% BF currently. I almost feel like I'm 20 again physically.

My GOAL is LEAN mass with little or no fat gain. If I can put on 5-8 pounds of LBM, and keep or lower my BF%, (10% or less would be awesome!) I will consider this cycle successful. I will post pix, edit, and list progress/complications/adjustments here as I go along. I've found that keeping stats/diary is invaluable.
I've been training hard 6 days weekly through my PCT. The final 2 weeks before my new cycle, I will "De-Load" by reducing my weight lifting to just a few light sets per bodypart. I may even take the final week away from weight training all together. I will continue with my typical 30 minutes interval-cardio, post-workout always.

[oatmeal69]

Typical daily diet now:
2,000 CALORIES @ 40% CARB, 15% FAT 45% PROTEIN (225 gr. / day)

MEAL 1
SlimmerMe's Pancakes with SF syrup - 385 CAL, 5gr FAT, 55 gr. CARB., 33gr. PRO
MEAL 2
1/2 cup old fashioned oats - 150 CAL, 3gr FAT, 27 gr. CARB., 5gr. PRO
MEAL 3 (pre)
2 cups Lean Turkey Chili
with 1 cup brown rice, or pasta - 750 CAL, 17gr FAT, 75 gr. CARB., 62 gr. PRO
MEAL 4 (post)
Protein Shake - 200 CAL, 0gr FAT, 3 gr. CARB., 45gr. PRO
MEAL 5
1 chicken breast or piece of cod, grilled or boiled
2 cups green vegetable - spinach or broccoli - 230 CAL, 5gr FAT, 0 gr. CARB., 43 gr. PRO
MEAL 6
Protein Shake, or ice cream - 200 CAL, 0gr FAT, 3 gr. CARB., 45gr. PRO

On Cycle, I will increase calories (carbs and protein) by adding fat free milk to my shakes, and a carb like brown rice to meal 5. (EDIT: Now at 2,400 cal. Macros are the same.)
I will aim for about 2,400 cal/day, with no extra fat added. I will edit/adjust depending on what I see in the mirror and scale.

Shake Recipe - 1.25 scoop (about 40 grams) Species Nutrition Isolyze + 1 cup egg whites.

Pancake Recipe -1/4 cup egg whites, 4 oz. non-fat cottage cheese, 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats, 1-Tbsp. vanilla extract

My turkey chili recipe is mostly 95% lean turkey, a few tomatoes, some black beans and green peppers with spices.

[oatmeal69]

New Cycle
Started FEB 20

Test-E
1-14 weeks @ 300mg/wk.
(was at 600mg/wk. to start, but dropped to 300 in week 5)
Tren-E
2-13 weeks @ 300mg/wk.
HCG 250iu 2X/wk. once Tren is started to end of cycle.
Arimidex .25/day on cycle
-------------------------------------------------
- P.C.T. (starting 14 days after last injection) 4-6 weeks -
Tamoxifen 40/40, then 20 for remainder of PCT.
Clomid 100/100 then 50mg/ED -OR- Toremifene 120/120 then 60mg/ED to end.
Clenbuterol and Vitamins 'C', 'D' & 'E'

[SlimmerMe]

LOVE just LOVE MEAL ONE!

I can see a real improvement. Lookin' good. Real real good. Keep it up Oatmeal.

[stpete]

Congrats on your progress! Your diet is still lacking. That needs to be tweaked before anything else.

Toy your PCT and Cycle: First, i would recommend that you go w/test/deca and drop the tren for now. You should have a couple more cycles under your belt before trying that bad boy. And why lower the test dosage in week 15? Why even run the 15th week? If you're dead set on the tren(and you can run deca this way too) start it at week 1 and stop at week 12.
And don't start PCT till 14 days after last injection. And keep HCG usage during cycle and not w/PCT.

Good Luck

[oatmeal69]

Slimmer - I know, right? It's my saving grace, and they're nutritionally complete!
I'm working on making the ice cream recipe I sent more palatable too. Has to do with the right ratio of 1/2 & 1/2 to eggs, and the addition of gelatin...

[oatmeal69]

StPete -
Great thoughts, thanks for your input!
Can you please elaborate on diet? I've been tweaking and working with that a boatload over the last 6 months. It's now really getting me results (for a change) whether I'm cycling or not.
Edited my post - I didn't include that I'd used Tren-A for 4 weeks (wk. 8-12) with that cycle. I experienced some light sides, easily controlled. Overall it was a major positive for me. I will say I'm glad I waited until I'm in my 40's though. That stuff could wreck a younger guy.
Deca - Hmm... Don't like the guys I've seen who look like bloated whales on that stuff. Now that I've leaned up so much, I'm very self-conscious about that. I realize it's milder, but my experience with Tren was a big positive, so I will stick with that.
PCT - Yep, forgot the 14-day wait. I will edit...

[oatmeal69]

Oh, and I dropped the 15th week. I thought I read somewhere (maybe Swifto's posts??) about tapering it for a week while you finish out your HCG or something...

[oatmeal69]

Training Routine FEB 2012

Day 1 - Chest
Flat bench dumbell press
Incline machine press
Flyes/pec-dec
Decline machine press

Day 2 - Legs
Hack squats
Leg extensions
Smith squats
Standing calf raise
Lunges

Day 3 - Arms
Narrow grip preacher curl
Machine skull crushers
Wide grip machine curls
Seated tricep extension

Day 4 - Back
Deadlifts
Pull-ups 50 reps
Lat pull-downs - narrow grip to chest
T-bar rows
Rows

Day 5 - Shoulders
Arnold press
Upright rows
Seated front delt. press
Machine rear delt. flies

Day 6 - OFF, or cardio only

Day 7 OFF

• Each day is ended with 30 min. interval cardio on elliptical.
  
• I will move body parts around (legs usually) if I feel I haven't had enough rest, and I take my days off on different days too.
• I've been using this routine for about 3 months now. I will keep with it for my cycle. I may up the volume if I'm feeling it. Right now in my PCT, I'm just hanging in there with lighter weights and 4 sets per excercise.
• I may add some HIT on some days if I can find a non-idiot spotter/friend to help with forced negatives, etc.
• Each muscle gets a warm-up set 10-12 reps at roughly 60% work weight.
• 4 work sets per excercise (unless noted) 3rd and 4th set is usually to failure, or I will add another set.
• Perfect form and even, methodical movement. I often imagine being one of those oil well pumps out in an oil field. They have perfect form - no throwing weight around!
• Failure range is 8-12 reps during work sets. Failure occurs when I can't keep the weight moving using perfect form.

[BrownGirl]

Everyone loves Slimmer's pancakes huh? Those are awesome for sure. Oh and when you perfect the icecream recipe please let me know! I'd love to have some icecream.

PS: Keep up the good work! I love that you're a stickler on perfect form. I'm trying to work on that myself...

[SlimmerMe]

Slimmer - I know, right? It's my saving grace, MINE TOO! and they're nutritionally complete! YOU BET THEY ARE!
I'm working on making the ice cream recipe I sent more palatable too. Has to do with the right ratio of 1/2 & 1/2 to eggs, and the addition of gelatin...

looking forward to this perfection.....dreaming......

Everyone loves Slimmer's pancakes huh? Those are awesome for sure. Oh and when you perfect the icecream recipe please let me know! I'd love to have some icecream.

PS: Keep up the good work! I love that you're a stickler on perfect form. I'm trying to work on that myself...

Sure looks that way doesn't it Bgirl!

[oatmeal69]

Everyone loves Slimmer's pancakes huh? Those are awesome for sure.

Couldn't do this without 'em!

Oh and when you perfect the icecream recipe please let me know! I'd love to have some icecream.

I think I got it, I'm still trying to figure out how to keep it sorta soft when you freeze it - that's what the gelatin's for... I think.

PS: Keep up the good work! I love that you're a stickler on perfect form. I'm trying to work on that myself...

I remember watching a few documentaries a while ago, and it struck me that these HUGE guys were using weights which really didn't seem that huge. Took me forever to realize that they are masters at focusing just the right amount of weight exactly how it needs to be. You see these guys in the gym all the time who're obsessed with heaving big weights around, but I think it's counter-productive. VERY macho looking though.

[oatmeal69]

I think today will be my last regular workout for about a week until I start my next cycle. I've been reading a lot about the "De-Load" thing, and it makes sense. I will keep up with cardio as always, but take a nice 1-2 week break on my muscles to get them primed to grow!

[oatmeal69]

Supplements
- in addition to protein shake listed in "diet"

Multi-Vitamin
BCAA's
Fish Oil

I will also use Creatine.
I've never noticed much if anything with it, but I've only ever used it while training naturally. I'm hoping I will notice more while using wih AAS, or I will stop after 4 weeks.

[oatmeal69]

I wonder... Should I schedule my doses every 3 days for REAL - i.e. every 72 hours, which would result in 3 doses in one calendar week, and two doses the other. OR, just do it in twice weekly doses - i.e. every two, then every three days.

[oatmeal69]

Now I'm down to 166-168 LBS. but don't notice any additional fat loss. At this point I feel I'm just dropping muscle, as my strength gains from last cycle are diminishing as well.
Start pinning tomorrow.
Still a bit of acne from PCT, but I move back to SoCal June 1, and don't want to wait longer. Where I'm going there is no gym, so a proper workout besides cardio while in PCT is in doubt. I will try to find a neighbor with weights though.

[oatmeal69]

I hate scales. I know we fluctuate in weight day by day, and hour by hour and that it's best to track a mean rather than one weigh in. The last few days on the gym's scale which is one of those old school Dr's office types has been 164-165 LBS. Post workout. My home scale which has a LOT of variation depending on how and where you stand on it seems to be at about 165-167 in the A.M. upon waking. My best guess is that I am at 165 pounds, which was/is my goal before this cycle begins today. Curiously, my weight loss has accelerated over the last 2 weeks, as I have eased my weight training as a "De-Load" prior to my cycle. Today I will also resume heavy training as my schedule indicates. My 30 minute cardio post weights will remain the same.
So, right on track, I will pin Test-E @ 250 mg this morning.

[SlimmerMe]

On track is the way to go. Consistency.

[oatmeal69]

Me at start of cycle.
165 LBS, 12% (est.) BF.

[oatmeal69]

Having pinned yesterday, i noticed a few things, some may be coincidence.
First off, my thigh is ON FIRE, it hurts bad! I think this is good though, it tells me the stuff is probably good, and my muscles aren't used to it anymore. Maybe I have my "receptors" primed and ready too.
Secondly, I noticed my heart rate was up on my cardio-workout, and also that I seemed to have more drive. It's only one workout though, so who knows, maybe it was just a good one.
I've also decided to keep on with not doing any weight lifting for the rest of this week as well, making it a total of two weeks on my "de-load" theory thing. I want to get my system feeling the test first and then really blast some fresh muscle.
Lastly, I feel as though I'm coming down with a cold. Slight body ache & sensitivity - enough to take two Ibuprofen tonight. I'm guessing this has to do with my first injection. Again, evidence it's good.

[aspen2cody]

Nice thread Oatmeal, good luck with your goals. It will be intresting to follow you thru this cycle. I have al lot in common with you in that I am working on cutting some fat for summer while on 500mg of test bi-weekly. Also our workout schedule is very similiar. Keep up the posts and document your results it will be a gread read.

[oatmeal69]

Thanks aspen. I'm going to try to log really well here. At my age I'll forget half of this stuff by the time I'm ready to do another cycle after this, which would be around September if I do proper PCT and recovery.

Body ache and soreness is gone, 2nd shot was much better. Third shot this AM and I start "blasting" muscle tomorrow. I've just been doing cardio this past week. Already gained a couple pounds on average, which I'm guessing is water, etc. from the AAS

[buster12]

Nice thread oatmeal69 im running similar cycle with great effects
Only criticism is the diet tweak that and everything sweet, keep up the good work and hope you achieve your goals

My cycle
3ml of each weekly
1.5 ml twice a week
750 test e total weekly
450 tri tren total weekly
finish off with Winny last 4 weeks

Im a few years older than you 5" 6" 225 lbs and Im still trying to grow bigger before I hit 50

Good luck with your progress

[oatmeal69]

... the diet tweak that and everything sweet ...

? ? ? ?

[oatmeal69]

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Energy Gained Through Food: 2466 cals
Energy Burnt Through Exercise: -403 cals
Net Energy: 2063 cals
Energy Budget: 2300 cals
End Result: 237 Calories under
Total Fat: 37.8 g
Total Carbs: 234.3 g
Total Protein: 264.7 g

Breakfast
1 1 batch of Oat/Cottage/Egg white pancakes

Snack
1.25 serving, 1/2 cup dry Quaker Oats, Old Fashioned

Lunch
1 cup, small shells Pasta
8 oz serving of Turkey Chili

Afternoon
1 Serving protein shake

Dinner
1 cup Rice: Brown
16 spears, Asparagus, cooked,
1 patty of Turkey/Oat Meatloaf

Evening
1 serving protein Ice Cream

[oatmeal69]

Strength is still pretty low from the cutting I did before starting my cycle last week. I can tell it's kicking in, although the enanthate takes longer than the propionate I did last cycle.
Most notably, I've gained 5-6 pounds on the scale. I can see a bit more fullness, but don't see much in the way of increased smoothness. I also feel like vascularity has just slightly increased. Wondering how much may be due to Creatine, and how much due to the test. I recall gaining a few pounds in days when I last used Creatine.

[oatmeal69]

Feeling some effects. Strength and motivation in gym has improved.
I've added a good 6-8 pounds, which isn't great, but largely unavoidable, and not a big deal anyway as it's just muscles filling out.
Starting A.I. (Arimidex) today, .25/mg/ED

[bikeral]

Hey oatmeal, looking good man.

[oatmeal69]

Thanks bikeral!
Chest today.
Thinking of incorporating lateral raises into my shoulder routine. I still don't feel the soreness next day there that lets me know I worked the muscle group good n' hard. I'm thinking isolation is key in shoulder exercises.

[bikeral]

I like to start out real heavy with smith machine shoulder press 4-6 sets after 2-3 warm up sets and stretching. This usually kills my shoulders. Then when I go to the Arnolds I am pre exhausted so I don't need to use as much weight. I always have trouble getting the heavy dumbbells up to my shoulders. I try to avoid the machine rear delt flies. Bent over rear delt rows and rear lateral raises get better results for the rear delts IMHO.
Good luck bro looking forward to seeing your final results.

[oatmeal69]

Went to do legs today, and saw my legs as I was putting shorts on. I'd SWEAR I see new thickness/development and definition from just one (really hardcore) session last week. Tren = pretty amazing stuff!

[oatmeal69]

Shoulders yesterday, and I really killed 'em. Switched out O.H. presses for lat raises and really felt it. Yet no soreness or fatigue today. Don't know what I'm doing wrong, I can never get them to hurt the next day anymore. Same with biceps.

[SlimmerMe]

Luv that you have YOU in your avatar.....

Keep up the good work~

[oatmeal69]

Luv that you have YOU in your avatar.....

I luv that about you as well!

[oatmeal69]

Dropped a bit of weight - maybe 2 lbs since starting A.I.

[oatmeal69]

Shoulders yesterday. Upped intensity (shorter rest between sets, about 1 minute) Kept rep range 8-12 range. I felt I'd burned 'em up pretty good by the time I was done, but after my cardio they felt like new again. Today - nada, no fatigue, soreness, etc. I am noticing slight size and strength increase already due to my cycle, I just feel like I should "feel" them more next day. Today is a rest day, but back tomorrow.

[oatmeal69]

Changed up my back workout a bit. I do fairly narrow grip pull-ups with some kipping action, so I switched to a wide grip lat-pulldown with strict form. I also started being less strict (more lower back movement) with my cable-row and am pulling it in lower to my stomach instead of toward my chest. My reasoning is that T-bar rows are already pretty isolated, and it's more of a high-pull.
I felt fatigued after the workout, but again DOMS is lacking. It's probably just that I'm now fully used to training, and the AAS. 3 weeks ago this same workout with less weight resulted in me not being able to lift my arms for days!

[oatmeal69]

GREAT arm workout yesterday. Increased weight and got some real intensity feeling tri's/bi's today.

Start HCG @ 250 i.u. twice weekly.

[oatmeal69]

I will be lowering my Test-E dose to 300 mg / week (125 mg per shot) starting with my next shot (which will be 1/2 what I'm doing now). Apparently, I don't need as much as I'm taking to keep me functioning normally.

[oatmeal69]

Definitely feeling the effects now. Strength just took a big jump, as well as overall hardness. Aggressiveness in the gym, and the "want" to be there has also greatly improved.
I haven't taken pictures, but I believe I'm seeing some growth too.
I REALLY wish I could drop some more fat at my midsection, but I do not want to under-eat.