Middle Aged Fattie + Anavar= ?

[40plusnewbie]

Just a quick note before I do my workout:

When I woke up this morning I went into the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror (I've been doing that a lot lately lol) with my shirt off and I got scared because of how much my muscles grew from yesterday! I started worring like 'if I keep growing at this rate everyone I know is gonna know I'm on steroids' and then I started thinking about lowering the daily dosage I've been taking.

So I guess the double doses in my shakes are producing mo' muscle and I'm gonna continue to do double shakes until I start to see bloat/fat (hopefully not on this cycle lol).

After calming down I decided to just drop the clen and T3 for now and save it for when I"m done with the var or something. I haven't taken either in like 6 days or something anyway plus the combo was kinda makin me feel a little sick running them both at the same time.

[ghettoboyd]

anytime you have success with bbing peeps automaticly assume your on roids cus most cant fathom all the hard work and dedication it takes to get good results.its easyer for them to assume than to ask you what your doing to get the results your getting.thay dont really want to know cus it just makes them realize how pathetic and lazy thay really are.

[40plusnewbie]

Whew, all done. 4 sets traps, 4 sets shoulders. Stomach vacuum 20 minutes later tonight.

[40plusnewbie]

anytime you have success with bbing peeps automaticly assume your on roids cus most cant fathom all the hard work and dedication it takes to get good results.its easyer for them to assume than to ask you what your doing to get the results your getting.thay dont really want to know cus it just makes them realize how pathetic and lazy thay really are.

Yeah, I hear ya. Later in the day today I was remembering how much I have changed my diet, how clean I am eating every day and thinking as I was driving to work "yeah, those guys are right.... it is 80% diet"

[40plusnewbie]

Wt this am 232.5 lbs.

I think the double casein shake is a bit much in the evening so I"m going cut that back to 1 1/2 scoops, I wasn't that hungry this am. I'm also going to work on trying to cut out my ritualistic am cup of black coffee with 4 sweet n low as that interferes with my appetite as well and I would prefer to get myself alert and ready for the day with exercise.

It felt pretty good a couple days ago when I had my shirt off in the bathroom and my wife was in there and her eyes widened and she turned her head sideways and was looking at my mid section. I wasn't sure what was up so I asked her what she was looking at and she said "your stomach" (as in she could see the beginnings of emerging muscle development under my fat).

It's also great to be able to give her a good long energetic pounding now that I have endurance from the cardio and have lost more weight too, plus gained strength.

It was also awseome last night when I was pounding her and I looked down and saw my baby DSM doll dangling in her face lol haha

[ray0414]

funniest thing about this thread has got to be the baby DSM doll lol. u got any new pix?

[ray0414]

nevermind they were on page 3

[40plusnewbie]

nevermind they were on page 3

I'll post more at like the 1 month mark from those updated pic's.

On the plus side I'm working with muscles that haven't been trained hardly at all so the boost with the var is surely adding to what I could do naturally.

The downside is that I don't have my diet dialed in (although I think the foods I am eating are excellent and very clean) and my workouts are on the weak side since my muscles are 40yrs old and haven't been trained at all in my life- with brief exceptions when I had no clue diet had anything to do with it, I thought by lifing the muscles were supposed to grow.

I'm hoping that in addition to getting at a minimum satisfactory results from my cycle given my staring point my log will be living proof that one does not necessairilly have to wait 2+ years and have 14% bf or below to run a successful cycle (as long as diet is in check and cardio work is solid).

I think running test e and dbol at my starting point would be a nightmare but I think var is benefitting me. I've adjusted to the dose mentally and am comfortable with it. Depending on how things develop I might up my dose 1/2 to 3/4 way through the cycle.

I did 1/2 hr cardio this am and was planning on doing 50 min this evening as my bi's are still a little sore (it would be a bi's, tri's, and forearm day, with possible lower abs too) but I burnt the hell out of my forearms cooking lobsters in a large pressure cooker. I was a dumbass and instead of just keeping the top on loosely I tightened it up. Well 7-8 min later I hear some wierd noise and go to the kitchen. There is a friggin geiser of steam and boiling water shooting 5 feet in the air out of the little release valve. I cant open the pressure cooker so I take it off the burner and grab a rag and pot holder. Still had trouble so I grabbed the handle of the lid with one hand and the handle of the pot with the other and pushed so the lid would move towards unlocking. Then all of a sudden... BAM! The friggin lid exploded off the top of the pot along with 3/4 of the boiling water in there, one of the lobsters shot out of the pot like a rocket too. I was standing there stunned looking at the mess and the boiling water all over the walls and floor thinking wtf? Then like 20 seconds later I realized my forearms started to burn. Ran them under cold water for 20 minutes and put frozen veggie packs on them for like 1 hour. Still pain up the ass. The only worse pain I have felt in my life was an abscess tooth.

Those lobsters got their revenge on me and I learned a valuble lesson: Don't open pressure cookers under pressure! My arms are still killing me. Like extreme pain. Not crying but really really bad.

Don't do that.

My cycle is a work in progress and I'm starting it at a time that 98% of bro's start in with the beginning of their natty training and learning about diet. But I'm 40 and don't need to wait 5 years to get the body I want if I can get it safely in 3. I know diet is key my my food menu is really, really tight. Just learning to tweak carb/fat/pro ratio's per meal and per day as I go based on how I feel and what the mirror is telling me.

And keep in mind I started at 295 back in January and dropped to 250 with diet alone. I consider myself an exception to the standard rote advice to newbies. And if I get lax/lazy and start mowing on pizza, which I don't plan on doing, it was waived in my facet the other day and I brought it to my bro in law, what have I lost? The upside is great and the downside is minimal IMO.

I appreciate any and all feedback, even if I disagree and argue with it. It's not personal. I really do appreciate all input. I'm here to learn and improve. I realize I'm taking a non traditional approach but I don't want to wait until age 50 to get the body I desire. And my current food choices are probably more tight than 80% of the bro's on here if not more.

[40plusnewbie]

funniest thing about this thread has got to be the baby DSM doll lol.

Maybe I'll auction him off on ebay with before and after pic's of myself and give the doll the credit lol

But I think it will make a nice memento for myself on this journey to build my body and improve my health...

[40plusnewbie]

Have been out of commission since the kitchen accident, 2nd degree burns on my forearms and now the blisters are broke and gone and lots of raw skin is exposed so I gotta have some stuff on the effected area's and keep it all covered with gauze and tape. So I can't pick up weights since that accident. I did cardio the next morning but stayed home from work today to get the burns taken care of, get large gauze, antibiotic creme, etc.

Will be back to cardio Sunday as my schedule is way too busy from now to then. Hopefully the burns start to heal over soon so I can use my dumbbells. Right now the back of my arm looks like a case of road rash...

[Strategus]

Thanks 40plus for being so conscientious with keeping up the log, even despite the Attack of the Lobsters.

OUCH!!!!!!

Get better soon and please be careful while cooking crustacean cuisine!!

Just for you from the '80's B-52's! Remember this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UqKRGW6_rw

[40plusnewbie]

Thanks 40plus for being so conscientious with keeping up the log, even despite the Attack of the Lobsters.

OUCH!!!!!!

Get better soon and please be careful while cooking crustacean cuisine!!

Just for you from the '80's B-52's! Remember this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UqKRGW6_rw

lol, thanks for the smiles and laughs bro! I feel very disappointed in myself, as well as my cycle pic results are not going to be as good as they could have been without the accident.

I was an idiot for locking the pressure cooker, the only reason I did it was b/c the pressure cooker is sooo huge it wasn't re-boiling with the lobsters in there and I was under some time pressure to get them cooked before I had to go pick up my wife.. and once they were in there I wanted to finnish.

I was acutally very, very lucky none of the steam or boiling water hit my face or I would have for sure have had to go to the ER. Face burns are really serious.

But with dumbells I use my hands and forarms for basically every exercise.

My diet is still good, but since I don't have my macro's down maybe I should have dropped total consumptoin by a cpl hundred cal's/day. I am working tonight and have Sunday off, I'm gonna do my cardio then and possibly pickup the dumbbells to do my bi's tri's and forearms and see how things go. One arm is pretty bad, the other didn't get it bad, there is only a small patch.

[DSM4Life]

holla 40

[NightPhantom]

Been following your log 40. Wish you a speedy recovery.

[40plusnewbie]

One of my arms is pretty f'ed up. Just the skin but it was a pretty bad 2nd degree burn. My stubborn ass didn't go to the dr and just today I picked up the correct bandages to be using as I was putting gauze over the wound after applying an antibiotic creme with some pain relief ingredient in it.... and then the next morning when I'd take off the bandage to clean it and shower..... some of it would be stuck to the wound where it had begun to heal... so I'd have to rip that off.

Now I have some other type of gauze that you put over burns, it's wet on one side that goes next to the burn, and then you put gauze over that, so the wound can heal and when changing the dressing I won't damage the healing process.

Very lucky this didn't happen to my face!

Anyway I got back on the horse today and did 30min cardio adding in spurts of v. fast peddling as I"m not taking T3 anymore so I can do HIIT cardio. This afternoon I worked lower abs and upper abs and had a double shake.

Unfortunately the wound hurts when I lift stuff up in that hand, even something like a 10lb backpack. If I wasn't using anavar that I capped myself I would likely stop my cycle but it isn't costing me much at all so I"m gonna stay on. I'll just have to focus on cardio and ab work and see how the wound heals. One arm caught it bad, the other not so bad. That side has a weird discoloration in a weird shape, I've seen something like this on ppl before and thought it was some f'ed up birthmark or something. I hope it fades in time b/c the one on one arm covers like 1/2 of the backside of my forearm.

My abs are feeling good post workout. My mind ain't right thou... feelin' kinda depressed. Before this accident I was feelin so good and positive so it kinda sucks. Plus I wanted to be able to have solid pic's to put up over the next cpl months but I can't touch any weights now (except to pick up a dumbbell to put on my chest for ab work, or a lighter one held behind my head).

The worst part is that I lost that charged feeling, being psyched about lifting weights and seeing the progress. I wasn't sure but I thought it might have been the anavar running through my veins making me feel that way, now I know it wasn't. It was me and feeling good about improving myself. I'm just gonna have to do my best to feel good about the cardio (don't really like doin it lol) and the ab work. The var is helpin when I do somach vacuum b/c of the strength gains and that it's basically like an isometric exercise.

[40plusnewbie]

Maybe me being burned is a sign from God that I am supposed to go places with steroid usage. After all Anavar is something that is used to treat burn victims and I already had it running through my veins prior to being burned.

The new bandaging process is working well with noticible improvment to the open wound area from yesterday. Hopin to get back to weights soon! It was making me feel soooo good to lift and see my progress plus the endorphines it produces.

Had a crappy eating day today, only like 4 meals. No bad food but off my routine. Also skipped both cardio and working my obliques. I just did my stomach vacuum (I can suck it in pretty good now, once the layer of fat comes off my stomach I'll be able to suck it in wicked far.

Gotta do obliques tomorrow with heavier weight and cardio 40min. Also I have noticed the recovery time is much quicker, my abs didn't really feel it the next day whereas a cpl weeks ago they were killing me for like 3-4 days.

[Strategus]

Hey 40plus -

Hope you're recovering and feeling better today. Today and yesterday I had a couple of days where I had to run errands, pay bills, and that sort of thing.

But this evening I had a really good w/o. Normally, I just go and do my own thing, but sometimes the dynamic "happens" in the gym where you feel that you really gotta give it your best. I'm not a real social person, but when one sees other folks giving 110% in the weight room --- there's that little "voice" telling oneself to do the same...

[Strategus]

P.S. Have you had any indigestion, headaches or trouble sleeping with the anavar? I've never taken it but I've heard of these as possible side effects.

[40plusnewbie]

P.S. Have you had any indigestion, headaches or trouble sleeping with the anavar? I've never taken it but I've heard of these as possible side effects.

No indigestion, no headaches (I get them from high doses of creatine), and I have had minor trouble sleeping but it was from the clen I was on and now from the burns... when the salve kinda dries out and the edge of the wound by the bandaid rubs against the sheets. Quickly back to sleep though.

Another negative downturn, actually two.

1. My motivation is much less. I could write a few paragraphs speculating what it is connected to but the bottom line is it is much less.

2. I learned last night that regular bike riding is one of the factors that can interfere with a mans ability to procreate. Me and my wife have been trying for more than a few months and I felt I needed to tell her about this discovery and stop the stationary bike cardio. To compensate I'm eating even smaller and more frequent meals and mostly all proteins and fats, little carbs... with occasionals carb bursts. But it is def going to slow down my mid section wt. loss.

I like the anavar, at least for me. I can see why ppl who are mid level to advanced body builders wouldn't be interested or consider it a waste, especially considering the cost of the pharm pills. I still think it's a great substance for me to start on, much better than test e given my bf.

Since I don't belong to a gym I cant do the eliptical machine or treadmill, I cant job b/c I have asthma, and walking isn't gonna cut it for what i want to accomplish. So I'm dropping cals and trying to eat like 9 meals/day.

I friggin blew off my obliques today. I came home tired and didn't push myself, I pussed out. Keeping in routine seems to be key for me. My diet has stayed really clean but my workouts need improvement. And now my cardio plan is shot to hell until my wife get pregnant or I join a gym after the winter.

I don't want to go back to the clen and/or T3 right now, I'm saving that. Also saving the pgcl.

I'll post a cpl pic's of me sucking in my stomach via stomach vacuum in a cpl days, not awseome or anything cuz I got a fairly think layer of fat around my mid section still but I can pull it in quite far. It's pretty cool. I think it's gonna really help me get ab definition if I can continue to drop bf and build abs/obliques.

I think I will be back to weights in a week, taking it day by day.

I also started talking the tongkat ali 50x estract like 10 caps/day b/c I noticed a little limp dick with the wife the other night. Not sure if it was from the distracting pain from the burn or b/c of the var, but in any event I've got like 10 or 20 grams of the long acting viagra, whatever it's called, on it's way to me!

This has been such a shock to me. Last week I was looking in the mirror in the am after a workout the day before and a double helping of protein and carb slam and was seeing the difference in my muscles in like 15 hours and thinking "shit, if this keeps up eveyone is gonna know I'm on steroids" now I'm despondent and lazy, eating well, but unmotivated.

Any and all feedback and critizism is very welcome.

[Strategus]

Hello 40plus -

Short/medium term, my motivation level has been GREAT. I had another good w/o today focusing on back with a few sets of deadlifts, rows, low rows, close-grip lat pulldowns and a couple other little things thrown in. I wake up soooo refreshed after a good w/o. If I haven't worked out in a few days, I can tell the difference.

Longer term I'm really worried about the economy and opportunities for the future.

Re: the cardio - I'm not a runner, either. Just not built for running. Never have been LOL. (short legs and mom was stocky which is great for weight training but lousy for running...).

Have you ever considered or do you have the time for, l-o-n-g walks maybe on the weekends?

A couple of years ago, I regularly did 10-km walks and also trained for/walked a marathon LOL. I hit a plateau doing the walking (before I started lifting), but it worked rather well for a while. I really enjoyed the walks, too. I hope to do some this fall - I'm not much for the treadmill but I love outdoor walking/hiking.

If I remember, you're near a beach. Several years ago, I went to a "walking festival" near Perdido FL. One of the walks involved walking on the beach. I had walked 10 or maybe 15 km before that one, so I was a little bit tired and then I plowed through sand!!!! Now, that is a workout!!!!! If you wanna burn calories and work calves, a perfect way to do it is to walk through the loose sand at the beach!!!

If you're interested, I can post more info about the walks I did. They're with clubs here:

http://www.ava.org/

They do a thing where you go on a walk and you get a stamp in a record book. Accumulating the stamps can be a good motivator.

I think you're doing the right thing continuing w/the anavar by itself. Just make sure you're consistent w/activity.

Hope your arm continues to heal!

[40plusnewbie]

Thanks for the advice about walking but I work like 70hrs/wk so time is an issue for me. Jumping rope might be an option. I did that for a short while years ago and it seems like a decent cardio workout. What do you guys think about that for cardio????

Today I worked my obliques. I did 4 sets each side holding two 8lb dumbbells behind my ear with the hand of the side I was working while lying on my side with legs bent (forget the name of the exercise). My bad arm didn't hurt during the exercising and I cut back my PWO shake to 1 1/4 scoop carb slam and used 2+ scoops whey. Then I fell asleep for a nap as I sometimes do at these times. Upon waking I felt pain at the injury site, not bad but def worse than typical. I'll cleanse and rebandage before bed tonight so I'll get a look to see if there is any physical damage caused by gripping the 2 8lb dumbbells with that hand while doing side crunches. Hope not.

[AdamGH]

just imo. but if you do work your stomach dont do anything weighted. just do high rep sets like 50 reps or more per set or something. what happens, least for me and seems some others, is your stomach muscles get thicker. So now your stomach will stick out even further cause the muscle underneath is building and the fat on top. i imagine on steroids this will be more noticeable(the stomach muscle thickening).

[40plusnewbie]

My wound is slowly healing which is good, some of the red raw deep skin has begun to get more layers of skin over it so some is changing to pink in color and at the edges it's changing to white. Still pain though, not bad, but can't be gripping dumbbells with that hand yet.

After I learned of the short term interference in a man's ability to procreate if they are cycling regularly, and subsequently stopping the stationary bike cardio, I have done jack in that area.

I tried to compensate by reducing cal's, increasing meal frequency but then yesterday f'ed up big time. My wife kept telling me she has been craving cheesecake for the past 2 days (she hates sweets). I told her "OK but I"m not having any" and I was solid in my reserve. Then later she was still talking about it and getting a piece for her sister too and then saying "buying a whole small cheesecake would be more cost effective as 1 slice costs 7 bucks or whatever.... and I friggin snapped and decided to eat cheesecake. I probably had the equivalent of 1 single slice. Bad, bad, bad! Not trying to blame the wife, it's 100% on me what goes in my mouth, but if anyone remembers last summer I was almost 300lbs and used to eat like a total pig every day, carbs up the ass and fatty type fast foods mostly but sometimes sweets too.

I have also been eating more healty fats since the stop in cardio and really dropped down the carbs and noticed a drop in wt but I have since upped my total cal intake and think I've been taking too much healthy fats (almonds) which is something I need to address.

I've continued to meticulously log everything I eat, the times, etc as well as the workouts I do (which I know are pathetic in intensity and weight compared to everyone else here but I'm at where I'm at and intent on improving).

This afternoon I did ab work. 4 sets of lower abs (just leg raises/holding legs slightly off the floor, etc while trying to concentrate and put the load on my lower abs. (I"m getting better at doing that with lower abs, obliques, and upper abs rather than having other muscles do the work). With lower abs though mine are so pathetic. Plus my thighs are weak so I couldn't do as much as I wanted as my very upper thighs right by my groin burned/gave out before my lower abs.

I also did 4 sets of upper abs on my exercise ball. I increased the wt, keeping a 30lb dumbell on my chest for all 4 sets and increasing the reps from the past which I felt good about.

One of my main goals, if not my primary goal at this point is ab development. I will be pleased if I develop bulky muscular ab muscles and they are overgrown compared to the rest of my bodies muscles. I'm also doing stomach vacuum exercises which will help to cut around my abs to help their overall look once the bf is a lot lower. I can already see a fairly decent indent where my lower abs above the waist meet with the fat obliques by the love handle area of the body. I want a friggin armadillow ab look where my abs are thick and bulky and stick out while keeping my waist reasonably slim (and low bf of course). I don't want bulky lower obliques.

So I wanted to keep it real and let ppl know what's up (re: the cheese cake and no cardio for like the past week). I wish i didn't work so much so I could do walking, when i was 19 I used to power walk 24 miles like 4 days/wk one summer (with a break at the beach for like 6 hrs at the 12 mile mark).

I"m hoping I can bite the bullet and buy a jumprope tomorrow as I'm taking most of the day off whereas I usually work 10hrs on Sundays. Maybe stair stepping is also an option. At one point in my past I did that while holding dumbbells above my shoulders.

Bottom line is I"m in this for the long term. I"m doing the best I can which is 1000% better than I had been doing for the past 15 years.

My bp has elevated a bit, yesteday it was 115/65 where it had been like 107/68 prior to starting the var. Haven't checked my cholesterol but I did receive one of the 2 cholesterol meds I ordered. Not worred about that at the moment b/c I though I was around 200 but learned I was 136 prior to starting my cycle. Nevertheless I might start taking a small dose starting in a cpl weeks, not sure yet.

Any suggestions for cardio besides jumping rope and stair stepping? I can't jog cuz of asthma and can't walk cuz I don't have the time to devote to it. More importantly, do you guys think those forms of cardio are reasonable fat/cal burners for me????

Thanks for reading and I also appreciate the support I've been getting here in this thread and also through pm's. I owe a debt to the bro's here on this site for the wealth of info they provide and the powers of example you all set for me!!!!

Thank you all for helping to give me the motivation to begin this journey. I am truely and humbly very greatful for this board and everyone here who contributes info and advice in all the various sub forums. This site is awseome!!!

[Strategus]

Hey 40plus -

Good to hear the arm is healing! Your BP looks great!

Jumping rope and/or doing stairs are good for cardio.

What I mainly wanted to recommend is to do lots of whole-body exercises e.g. compound exercises. It's really hard to get a set of washboard abs without also doing A LOT of work everywhere else - legs, shoulders, back, arms, shoulders...

Compound lifts like squats and deadlifts release growth hormone which stimulates muscle growth "everywhere." Once your arm is recovered to hold the dumbbells, go for some squats, presses, and so on.

The abs are usually the last muscles to really "show" - which is why they're the "big deal" for people who are cutting down for contests or whatever.

What I've noticed from ~1.5 y lifting (natural - female) is a reduction in waistline and a change in shoulders/arms along with strength increases. Abs...haven't happened yet, although they're getting stronger. I do work them, but it's usually toward the end of a w/o where I do some compound lifts first.

Don't mean to disappoint.

It's just that when someone lifts, there is soooo much demand by the body to add muscle in big places like legs, arms, back etc. that the relatively small ab muscles take a while to become noticeable. It's similar with the triceps vs. biceps. The triceps, which are bigger than the biceps, will get noticeably bigger more rapidly than the biceps, at least from my experience.

Another thing you can do is, if you are doing stairs for cardio, put a weight inside a backpack. It turns a pure cardio session into a leg w/o also. I don't recommend this while jumping rope of course. However, carrying some weight around can make a walk or stairs session more effective. And, it can make walking more time-effective. And, it's a good way to cut bf, too.

Best wishes!

[40plusnewbie]

Hey 40plus -

Good to hear the arm is healing! Your BP looks great!

Jumping rope and/or doing stairs are good for cardio.

What I mainly wanted to recommend is to do lots of whole-body exercises e.g. compound exercises. It's really hard to get a set of washboard abs without also doing A LOT of work everywhere else - legs, shoulders, back, arms, shoulders...

Compound lifts like squats and deadlifts release growth hormone which stimulates muscle growth "everywhere." Once your arm is recovered to hold the dumbbells, go for some squats, presses, and so on.

The abs are usually the last muscles to really "show" - which is why they're the "big deal" for people who are cutting down for contests or whatever.

What I've noticed from ~1.5 y lifting (natural - female) is a reduction in waistline and a change in shoulders/arms along with strength increases. Abs...haven't happened yet, although they're getting stronger. I do work them, but it's usually toward the end of a w/o where I do some compound lifts first.

Don't mean to disappoint.

It's just that when someone lifts, there is soooo much demand by the body to add muscle in big places like legs, arms, back etc. that the relatively small ab muscles take a while to become noticeable. It's similar with the triceps vs. biceps. The triceps, which are bigger than the biceps, will get noticeably bigger more rapidly than the biceps, at least from my experience.

Another thing you can do is, if you are doing stairs for cardio, put a weight inside a backpack. It turns a pure cardio session into a leg w/o also. I don't recommend this while jumping rope of course. However, carrying some weight around can make a walk or stairs session more effective. And, it can make walking more time-effective. And, it's a good way to cut bf, too.

Best wishes!

No disappointment at all. Your feedback is very helpful. I hadn't thought of the weight in a backpack, that's a great idea! I have done walking and stair stepping in the past holding dumbbells above my shoulders and walking carrying weights in a gym bag (neither of which I can do at the moment) but a weight in a backpack would work perfectly!

And I"m in it for the long term, so while this recent setback is a disappointment I still have that visual image in my mind of what I want my body to look like and am determined to get there.

I was interested in weight lifting for the first time at the age of 12 but had no idea of the connection between diet and lifting, didn't get muscle growth, and subsequently gave up. Same thing again at age 16 or so. Now I know the formula. And I don't care if I have a layer of fat over my ab muscles, I'm still gonna work them with heavy weights so that when I do finally get to that low bf I'll have a real eye catching mid section.

And thanks to your post I remembered that I haven't done my 20 minutes of stomach vacuum this evening like I had planned on doing. Time to do that right now!

Thanks again!

[Strategus]

Great! Glad the idea was helpful!

I'm staring right now at the backpack (with a weight in it). The weight actually came from a junkyard and it says that it's lonely so I guess I should take it for a walk tomorrow (my silly sense of humor).

[40plusnewbie]

Great! Glad the idea was helpful!

I'm staring right now at the backpack (with a weight in it). The weight actually came from a junkyard and it says that it's lonely so I guess I should take it for a walk tomorrow (my silly sense of humor).

Do you do the stomach vacuum exercise? If not I think you might be surprised by the difference it can make in defining ones mid-section.

[Strategus]

Hello 40plus -

I will try doing stomach vacuums. I did a few, and they _do_ exercise muscles different from what crunches or leg raises do.

Hope you're doing well today. I had a good day and w/o.

[40plusnewbie]

Update:

First the bad news. After a week of doing nothing because of the arm burns I was jonzing to do some weight lifting so did some heavy work on my abs (for me) on 10/25 as reported above. I did 4 sets with a 30lb. dumbbell sitting very high on my chest and leaned wayy back on the exercise ball during each rep, extending my back much further than anyone does when they do reps on the floor or an incline bench. Additionally, I also did more reps in each set than I did during the last time I worked my abs. More than that, the last time I worked my abs I only used an 8lb. dumbbell held behind my head.

I was very pleased with that workout and in fact my abs didn't even really hurt the next day, only very very minorly.

But... during that evening I started to notice mild back pain. And then the morning of the 2nd day after it was apparent I had a back injury. I stayed home from work that day and the next, constantly applying heat... and taking advil which didn't really help at all. Dr. said it was likely a muscle strain.

In all likelyhood this type of injury would not have been avoided even if I was not taking anavar, and it was one of the main reasons I don't want to join a gym until I am an good shape. I push myself too hard considering I"m over 40 and out of shape, and around a gym full of people I would have a tendency to do that much much more. Dr. said no exercise until completely healed. So I'm laid up for additional time!

Now some good and bad news:

The burns are healy great! and it doesn't look like I"m going to have big weird scars on my forearms as they have eventually turned pink which looks like they will turn white after that and blend right in wiht my normal skin tone (minus the tan). I stopped bandaging the bad arm yesterday and just applying the antibiotic creme to the wound. The back muscle strain is also healing.

My eating has also been off, eatling less meals and not having the proportions of protein,fat, and carbs I would like, and especially missing meals.

I also had 2 really f'ed up eating sessions during the past week. One was when I got locked out of my house for a cpl hours with my arm all bandaged up and some heat cream all smeared on my back and i needed to pick my wife up (who had keys) in like 1 1/2 hrs. So I wound up going to burger king and getting a large meal of garbage and some shake with some cookies and other real bad fatty crap in it and eating it all.

Then last night my wife brought home lots of small pieces of cake from her job party for her sisters and I opened that shit and downed like 6 pieces in 4 minutes. Then later that night I was at the place with mad junk food I had been resisting all of it recently and ate mad candy there from halloween.

Now the good news:

I hadn't been tracking my wt. closely, I was 233lbs several days ago, maybe more than a week ago, the last time I weighed myself. I had also noticed up until a few days ago that I had put a little more fat on my mid section, the muscular development was less noticible....but... I got another substance a few days ago and have been using it recently, don't know if I can say the name of it but it used to be used in bodybuilding back when I was a kid/teenager. It reportedly increases GH in the body, some stuff I have read say it produces rapid surges in GH in the body.

I was feeling well enough to do stomach vacuum this morning which was nice. Then later today I decided to take a good look at my mid section in the mirror to see the damage I had done with the burger king and cake/candy episodes.... and my friggin mid section is MORE CUT and defined than it was last week, and I"m pretty sure moreso than 2 weeks ago TOO!!!!

That pounch below the belly button that is very hard to get rid of even for ppl with lower bf is SMALLER!!!!

I had to go back to the mirror like 3 times to keep looking to make sure lol

I weighed myself and I'm still 233lbs as of this afternoon.

So... either anavar IS magic beans, or the new substance is giving me awseome fat loss results, or it's a combo of the anavar and the other substance. Keep in mind I have done NO CARDIO in the past 2 weeks!

Sorry to be so cryptic about the substance but this might even have to be deleted if mods know what I"m talking about even though I'm not saying specifically. I WILL NOT discuss it in PM'S so please don't ask.

I still can't believe that I mowed down on some burger king crap, including a shake that was prob 2k cals or more alone and then mad candy and cake WITH FROSTING a few days later and I have FAT LOSS!!!!! including the notorious paunch below the belly button (it's not gone but def smaller).

[Strategus]

But... during that evening I started to notice mild back pain. And then the morning of the 2nd day after it was apparent I had a back injury. I stayed home from work that day and the next, constantly applying heat... and taking advil which didn't really help at all. Dr. said it was likely a muscle strain.

Are you sure that you're not just experiencing sore spinal erector muscles?

When I first started lifting, I had really noticeable lower back soreness and some in one of the glutes. It was really noticeable upon waking and not so bad once I started moving around. It got kinda bad last summer and I limped around for about a week. Got some rest and it eventually went away.

I had no idea WHAT was going on because I was actually at a job that required lifting i.e. frequent bending and rowing motions and also sometimes pushing a heavy pallet jack. I looked up the problem on Google and that's how I found stuff about bodybuilding LOL.

The thing with the spinal erectors is that they are small muscles in the lower back. When one does deadlifts or even abs, the spinal erectors get worked and in new lifters, they are often slower to catch up than the big muscles like thighs, glutes etc. I still get soreness for several days in the lower back after doing D/L's or squats even when the glutes and thigh recover.

For right now, get lots of rest, do non-weighted stretches, and eat lots of protein. I found that stretching helps a lot in the morning and before a w/o.

I think the problem will go away but right now it's annoying. Your body is furiously building muscle in the lower back and it's gonna look good! in a few months LOL.

P.S. Plz stay away from Burger King!! I can't stand the smell of that place (even though I cheat on Mexican food all the time).

[40plusnewbie]

The muscle strain is in the upper back on the left side, right below the rear shoulder bone or whatever it's called.

I do get some minor lower back pain here and there but that's taken care of with streaching alone and I never even feel the need to take advil or anything for that.

[Strategus]

Hey 40plus -

Ow - sounds kinda painful/unbalanced. How's it feeling today?

[DSM4Life]

I been biting my tongue for a while but let me get it out.
This is the exact reason why I said in the beginning that this cycle was “a waste of time.” I mean I feel sorry for what has happened but as far as the injuries and such (bad eating) IMO it’s due to your inexperience. You were again, IMO 100% not ready for this cycle (BF% and training experience). I totally praise you for keeping a good journal and sharing everything but the more I read the more of a “mess” you sound like.

But to each their own. Not trying to put you down but maybe pointing this out as a learning experience for people.

Good luck.

[40plusnewbie]

I been biting my tongue for a while but let me get it out.
This is the exact reason why I said in the beginning that this cycle was “a waste of time.” I mean I feel sorry for what has happened but as far as the injuries and such (bad eating) IMO it’s due to your inexperience. You were again, IMO 100% not ready for this cycle (BF% and training experience). I totally praise you for keeping a good journal and sharing everything but the more I read the more of a “mess” you sound like.

But to each their own. Not trying to put you down but maybe pointing this out as a learning experience for people.

Good luck.

Well it's not like I"m gonna wind up WORSE than I would have without the anavar usage, and with my anavar connection my daily dosage costs less than a cup of coffee.

So DSM, riddle me this: Where is the big loss even if I make minimal to no progress?

I worked my lower abs and obliques yesterday and then today picked up the dumbbells as my arm burn is sufficiently healed...the back isn't 100%, more like 95% but I went kinda light when working my upper and mid abs so I wouldn't aggravate the upper back too much. Also worked biceps and triceps. Felt good to see and feel the muscle pumps again.

Also switched up my diet now that I'm back in action with the weights to very high protein, v. low carbs (just carb slam PWO), low fat. That along with my new adjunct substance should get some fat off me quick then I'll modify again in like a week or so.

2 weeks off the weights and the drop in strength was def noticed. While I was injured for the past 2 wks I dropped my var dose to 26-39mg/day instead of the 52mg I had been taking prior. I moved back up to 52mg/day today.

Very, very busy with work. 70+ hr weeks for the next few weeks, haven't picked up a backpack yet but I'll be working with weights daily unless muscle recovery is an issue. Maybe not through the rest of the cycle but as a means to jumpstart along with my temp keto diet changeup.

[DSM4Life]

Well it's not like I"m gonna wind up WORSE than I would have without the anavar usage, and with my anavar connection my daily dosage costs less than a cup of coffee.

Money/cost should't be a reason to start a cycle. Even if i was able to get test for free i wouldn't be on a cycle right now cause im not ready at the moment.

So DSM, riddle me this: Where is the big loss even if I make minimal to no progress?

So you are taking a steroid, risking side effects and getting "zero to know gains" and you need to ask me what the loss is ? Are you kidding ?

I worked my lower abs and obliques yesterday and then today picked up the dumbbells as my arm burn is sufficiently healed...the back isn't 100%, more like 95% but I went kinda light when working my upper and mid abs so I wouldn't aggravate the upper back too much. Also worked biceps and triceps. Felt good to see and feel the muscle pumps again.

Also switched up my diet now (umm about time) that I'm back in action with the weights to very high protein, v. low carbs (just carb slam PWO), low fat. That along with my new adjunct substance should get some fat off me quick then I'll modify again in like a week or so.


Again looking for the quick fix

2 weeks off the weights and the drop in strength was def noticed.
You were off for 2 weeks not two years, there shouldn't be a drop in strength
While I was injured for the past 2 wks I dropped my var dose to 26-39mg/day instead of the 52mg I had been taking prior. I moved back up to 52mg/day today.

Very, very busy with work. 70+ hr weeks for the next few weeks, haven't picked up a backpack yet but I'll be working with weights daily unless muscle recovery is an issue. Maybe not through the rest of the cycle but as a means to jumpstart along with my temp keto diet changeup.

So your changing your diet mid way through your cycle


Anyway i just want to state my opinion. You can take it however you want but maybe it will help you see things clearer down the road.

[40plusnewbie]

Dude, I respect where your coming from, OK? I never said that I expected optimal results from my choice to use anavar.

Would you begrudge a middle aged man with low testosterone for going on TRT without a dialed in diet and 2+ years of lifting experience if he also happened to want to lift weights?

Middle aged men with low or low-normal test levels benefit from (certain) steroid use regardless of whether or not they have a diet that is dialed in and regardless of whether or not they lift weights.

Anavar has been proven to decrease bf and increse lbm in middle aged men with low-normal test levels without any changes in diet or any working out.

I choose anavar b/c I didn't want to be shut down and because my test level isn't so low that I'm at the point where I'm willing to go on permanent HRT.

And while my lapses in eating crap food have been completely contrary to my goals, both short and long term, 10 months ago I weighed just shy of 300lbs and my cholesterol was 268. Through modifications in my diet I have not only lost 60+ lb's of fat in that time period, I have also reduced my cholesterol thorugh dietary changes alone from 268 to 136. Not an easy feat, in fact highly unusual.

Also, if you were to ignore the occasional garbage food slips that i have, my diet is probably more clean that 75% of the people on this site, if not more. Sure, I am still experimenting with pcf ratio's, etc but look how much progress i have made in the past 10 months. More progress healthwise than probably anyone else on this site.

So I happen to be taking anavar while also beginning an exercise regimin and weight lifting regimin, and while I am also continuing to tweak and improve my nutritional program. So what? What's wrong with that? Why do you see that as a BAD THING?

Why don't you post up a pic of yourself as you look today and I'll put up the one of myself from a few weeks ago. We can make our own little thread. Then in 6 months we can post updated pics. Then in 1 yr, 1.5yrs, 2yrs... We can compare our progress in shaping our bodies over time to compare. Maybe I'll turn back into a 300lb. fat piece of shizat. It's sure possible. But if you want to put some money down bro, u let me know. You use whatever you want.. food, steroids, peptides, get friggin implants... I could care less. I'm willing to bet that I will make more progress than you over the same time period.

And I'm also willing to bet than I've made a hell of a lot more progress than you have over the past year as well, and I have no idea of your age, stats, whatever.

There is only one direction I'm going in bro. In the past 2 or so weeks I've been hit with a major burn to my arms. People were shocked to learn I didn't go to the doctor, their jaws were dropping. People were directing me to go to the doctor/hospital 4-5 days after the friggin accident happened. Did I give up? No.

Back injury last week. Sure it can be attributed to my lack of experience but I stated right up front that this was likely to happen as I know myself and have a tendency to push too hard. It's one of the main reason's I don't belong to a gym yet. Judge it anyway you want. Did I let it stop me? No.

In fact both of those events were likely managed better health wise because I am currently taking anavar. I'm not sure about the back strain b/c I don't know enough about anavar and it's impact on injury recovery but anavar is used to treat burn victims so there's a benefit right there, unintended and unexpected, but a benefit nonetheless.

My cardio routine. Built myself up very quickly from doing nothing to doing 30-50min/day on a stationary bike. Then I learned how bikeriding interferes with a mans ability to procreate so there was another curveball thrown my way. Did I let it stop me? No. Did I deal with it ideally, very quickly adapting and using another cardio program, no. But considering I just friggin started working out for the first time in my life basically I think I'm handling this curveball pretty OK.

So let me know if you want to throw down and see who can make more progress over the next year or whatever bro. I'm doing pretty friggin good and am only going to keep doing better. There is no major risk to me using anavar, so if I make minimal to moderate progress so what? There's really no downside risk bro.

Again, I appreciated your input and agree it's less than ideal for me to be using anavar but so what? It was less than ideal for me to be living on burger king, pizza, and pasta for the past 5 years too. I'm pretty pleased with the progress I've made and continue to make. If you think you can do better than me in making progress with your health and body image than me then let me know and we can put some cash down.

[DSM4Life]

Man why did you have to type so much, my eyes

let ms grab a few things :

"Why don't you post up a pic of yourself as you look today and I'll put up the one of myself from a few weeks ago. We can make our own little thread. Then in 6 months we can post updated pics. Then in 1 yr, 1.5yrs, 2yrs... We can compare our progress in shaping our bodies over time to compare. Maybe I'll turn back into a 300lb. fat piece of shizat. It's sure possible. But if you want to put some money down bro, u let me know. You use whatever you want.. food, steroids, peptides, get friggin implants... I could care less. I'm willing to bet that I will make more progress than you over the same time period. "


I am in 12-14% BF, you are not so we can't compare progress. Its going to be much easier for you to lose BF since you are "overweight."


"And I'm also willing to bet than I've made a hell of a lot more progress than you have over the past year as well, and I have no idea of your age, stats, whatever."

You have because you are more out of shape than i am. I keep myself in check so i stay around the same BF and weight.



I guess we all go about things differently. To me i just see you taking the easy way out. Why not lose all this BF naturally ? You said "i worked my way up to 30 mins of cardio," sorry but i could do 30 mins of cardio in my sleep. I am not saying your lazy but i am saying you have a lot of more NATURAL progress to make. Sure its easy with a little help but wouldn't you like to now you did all the work yourself ?


Example:
My first cycle: Was a huge mistake (likes yours). At the time i though i was doing really really well with my deadlifts and i really wanted to focus on progressing in this movement. ON the cycle my dead pull got to about 280-325lbs with a belt and straps. Came off cycle and that weight went down WTF right ?! well thats when i said F this cycle BS, i am going to see how far i can go on my own. Not only have i dropped the straps and belt but naturally (been YEARS since cycle) i have pulled my deads to over 400lbs with good form. I am pulling more now than i was on my cycle, what gives right ? I educated myself with years of lifting mistakes, diet mistakes, recover mistakes. Sure i could have taken the easy way out and did mutli cycles like most do but guess what, i would have never learned what i currently know.

[40plusnewbie]

I guess we all go about things differently. To me i just see you taking the easy way out.

Are people who drive cars to work instead of a horse and buggy taking the easy way out?

Are people who use computers to type up paperwork instead of using type writers taking the easy way out?

Are people who purchase bread that is already made, rather than making it at home themselves taking the easy way out?

Using shortcuts is a FRIGGIN BENEFIT. There are clear ADVANTAGES to using shortcuts in life and all smart people use shortcuts. Do you drive the 'long way' to places your going or do you use short cuts? lol

Why not lose all this BF naturally ? You said "i worked my way up to 30 mins of cardio," sorry but i could do 30 mins of cardio in my sleep. I am not saying your lazy but i am saying you have a lot of more NATURAL progress to make. Sure its easy with a little help but wouldn't you like to now you did all the work yourself ? .

Fvck NO! I lost close to 50lbs 'naturally' and got my cholesterol down from 268 to 136 naturally. Almost no one gets their cholesterold down like that naturally. And I did it in well under a year. So I can make kick ass natural progress, I don't need to continue to prove that to myself. I put no extra benefit on doing things the 'natural' way. NONE. I drive a car and use bridges to cross bodies of water, I don't get in a dingy and row across to do it the 'natural way'. I also use tripple blade razors and shaving cream to shave, I don't feel ashamed about it either. Do you use a sharpened rock, you know the 'natural' way?

Example:
My first cycle: Was a huge mistake (likes yours). At the time i though i was doing really really well with my deadlifts and i really wanted to focus on progressing in this movement. ON the cycle my dead pull got to about 280-325lbs with a belt and straps. Came off cycle and that weight went down WTF right ?! well thats when i said F this cycle BS, i am going to see how far i can go on my own. Not only have i dropped the straps and belt but naturally (been YEARS since cycle) i have pulled my deads to over 400lbs with good form. I am pulling more now than i was on my cycle, what gives right ? I educated myself with years of lifting mistakes, diet mistakes, recover mistakes. Sure i could have taken the easy way out and did mutli cycles like most do but guess what, i would have never learned what i currently know.

Congradulations. You place an extra benefit on making progress with increasing your strength and muscle development without the use of drugs. So your working towards your goals the way that makes sense for you. I'm not belitting you for being stupid for doing things the slow way. Your on a site called steroid.com. Why are you not on naturalbodybuilding.com?

p.s. Your forgetting, this is my SECOND cycle. My first cycle was a sweet 3-speed with a banana seat and a gear shifter on the bar in front of the seat. And it friggin RULED!!!!

[40plusnewbie]

Worked my shoulders and lats today. Felt good. Much easier to complete a faster workout on the anavar than without as I spend significantly less rest time between sets. Was tempted to do my obliques again today but it's only been one day of rest since the last time I did them. I dont' feel any soreness at all but think it's best to hold off for another day.

Quickly downed a PWO shake with 2 scoops whey and 2 scoops waxy maize. Resumed intake of creatine today, I completely stopped that as soon as the burn accident happened which put a stop to me lifting weights. The creatine went down in a bottle of water with a few tablespoons of milk thistle.

I've been working like a dog recently and under a lot of pressure. The one key factor that is still lacking is cardio. If I feel up to it I'm going to buy one tonight so I can throw a dumbbell in it and wear it while doing stair stepping.

I am tired today, quite possibly due to the very recent and significant (albeit temporary) change in my diet. The last time I went keto-esque I went through this for a few days until my body adjusted.

[40plusnewbie]

I been biting my tongue for a while but let me get it out.

I've been biting my tongue on this too but it's time to get it out. The real truth behind DSM thinking I shouldn't be on anavar was revealed to me shortly after I posted up my pictures when I started this thread.

You see, DSM has been pm'ing me constantly for the past several weeks telling me how sexy I looked in my 'before-before' picture on the beach when I was almost 300lbs. And when he saw the pic's of me with my shirt off and saw how hairy my body is he started sending me all these pm's telling me how he's a 'bear lover' (I looked it up, it's gay guys who are into fat hairy guys) and how he wants me to go back to the way I was, very fat and hairy.

So publicly he's saying one thing then he's been filling up my pm mailbox with links to these gay bears associations and stuff and telling me how much he drools over 'daddy bears' (fat hairly older men) and wants me fat and wants to worship my fat hairy body and stuff.

I'm sorry to expose the truth DSM but PLEASE stop telling me your fantasies about fat hairy older men. I'm totally cool with people being gay and have a couple friends who are gay but I'm not gonna turn gay and go back to being fat so you can worship my body no matter how much you beg me to do so!