Let's See if I Can't Get it Right this Time...

[TheChosenOne]

Now now BigGreen dont get all huffy puffy on me. I still read your journal every time i get that annoying email indicating you have run off at the mouth again.


I am definetly following this journal though to see your successes/failures in preparation for my own cutting phase. Even if no one replies to this entire journal it is still beneficial to have for yourself. I really wish that I had access to my previous cycle thread to check the progress.
Also don't be so sure that your girlfriend won't be accepting of AAS. I was under the impression my g/f would be adamently against such, however, upon informing her a bit about the benefits she too changed her stance. If she is an open minded person she will realize she knows nothing about AAS and therefore can't pass ignorant judgement. I can empathize with you sneaking in shots while showering as I too had to do the same before finally informing her of my use.
Best of luck and keep us updated.

[Dude-Man]

Oh man. So fitness modelling eh? Harvard law student didn't sound pretentious enough, so you had too add fitness model to it.

Big green, the harvard law student/fitness model. With a title like that you'd have to beat the ladies off you.

Now that i'm done making fun of you, i figured that i'll say much of my respect goes to you for your dedication. It seems like you've got everything in order and are working toward an attainable goal, the very recipe for success.

As for planning my first cycle, this may seem somewhat arrogant, but i don't think only one compound is going to be the route for me. I'm thinking that i'll probably run longer esters but maintain every other day injections, and run two compounds, one of course being testosterone, and possibly a third in anavar for an oral.

The second compound however leaves me ponderous. Possibly deca? my shoulder hasn't been the same since a dislocation a few years ago. Maybe i can find solace in it's lubricative and collagen stimulating properties? Maybe EQ, to obtain leaner gains and keep the suspicion away. Instead possibly a long estered version of masteron that red star is coming out with soon. Fina is out of the question, as i want my first cycle to be as side effect free as possible. Maybe i'll even splurge and get some primo. Who knows.

I figured i'd run typical first cycle doses, 500 mg/week for the test, and 400 mg/week for my second compound. Var, if chosen, i'll run the last 8 weeks at 30 mg/day. .25 mg arimidex, and 10 mg nolva all the way through, and pheedno's pct should keep the boobs off me.

I'm looking forward to this, but i'm also a tad reluctant. I know i'm shorter, (5'9) which makes it's somewhat easier to look like i've got a decent amount of muscle, but i'm really proud of what i've accomplished naturally, and I'm worried that i'll wonder how much farther i could've gone.

At the same time however, I know that i will have nothing to regret once the cycle is underway, and i gain like i never have before, and never could've imagined.

I guess we'll see how it goes.

[Austex]

Also don't be so sure that your girlfriend won't be accepting of AAS. I was under the impression my g/f would be adamently against such, however, upon informing her a bit about the benefits she too changed her stance. If she is an open minded person she will realize she knows nothing about AAS and therefore can't pass ignorant judgement. I can empathize with you sneaking in shots while showering as I too had to do the same before finally informing her of my use.
Best of luck and keep us updated.

I agree. Not only that BigG, but you and I know that a big percent of success comes from your mental well being. If you care for this person I could see possible problems when the going gets tough. I can only stress that it is important to be mentally stable when going in to this. Also who knows, she may even be a good supportive figure...tell her about your goals and what they mean to you personally.

[BigGreen]

Well, it's **** good to see that those viewing it are "in the know". While I'd like it to serve as a wealth of info for newbies or gear virgins in the grand scheme of things, for my own purposes, i'd much rather have a select four or five people who know their stuff browsing consistently, giving feedback, and engaging in meaningful discussion. Speaking of which, as soon as I get the chance, i'll be posting an 'end of week two' update, as well as tossing out some finalized ideas with regards to clen, fina (ordering friday) and just how long I plan to run this thing. I also hope to toss around some ideas on the next cycle as well. We'll see.

By the way, still LOVIN ed injections.

[BigGreen]

I am definetly following this journal though to see your successes/failures in preparation for my own cutting phase.

I like how you used the terms 'successes' AND 'failures'. I certainly have no illusions of getting this "right on the money" the first time around and already I've done a few things at least slightly wrong.

For example, it was likely slightly irresponsible, or at least unwise, for me to go into this cycle without a concrete plan as to what *exact* fat burners and fat burning methods I'll use in addition to if and when I'll introduce fina (i will for sure now, but going in I wasn't certain). This sort of, adjusting on the fly may not be the best idea I've ever had, but it actually *does* have its merits: namely that the cycle is not set in stone and I can adjust accordingly based on biofeedback and the mirror.

[BigGreen]

END OF WEEK TWO UPDATE

There were two substantial decisions made this week with regards to my cycle. One was to introduce nolva as an anti-e given that I began to (at least initially) bloat a bit more than I thought prop would yield in terms of bloat, the other was to for certain utilize fina at the beginning of week three and carrying it out for 6 weeks @50mg/day to start. If sides are *extremely* tolerable and results decent, i'll entertain the idea of upping to 75mg/day, but plan on keeping it @ the lower dose if at all possible/desirable and save a higher dose of fina for my conservative/clean bulker (should i elect to run one) with either tren acetate or the enanthate version should it come down in price somewhat.

With regards to overall progress, the irony here is that I finally (after 14 days of poking myself in the muscles with a sharp object) feel as though I'm back to where I was, physically and aesthetically speaking, the day before I began the cycle. I'm gauging this in what might be a simplistic manner, but it's a tried and true method of gauging fat loss for me: appearance and visibility of specific veins which show themselves without fail at very specific stages of fat loss and have EVERY time I've dropped bf. Those in the lower abdominal region which were poking through before I began the cycle have finally returned, as have more than a few others which seem to indicate I'm back where i started. TIME TO MOVE FORWARD NOW. That being said, I have to get 'before' pics up ASAP as to give an accurate impression of the cycle's success and failures. Because of the problems delineated back on page one (at least I think i went over them) the pics might be of ****ty quality...i'll see what i can do.

[BigGreen]

Quick note on the mental state....

Okay, you *know* you're busting your ass and staying dedicated diet wise, when you're looking forward to your cheat day so you can have a bowl of granola cereal most people would consider too low in sugar, taste, or 'extras' to eat on anything but doctor's orders (and it's sold only in the health food aisles of supermarkets). On top of that, I *really* want to get my hands on a peanut butter balance bar and an apple...BAD. I mean, seriously, who in the hell besides the members of this and similar boards consider a "cheat food" a product or products that the overwhelming majority of American society would not only consider a health food, but consider a food choice of only the most involved health enthusiast.

Don't get me wrong, there's a certain satisfaction in knowing that foods my friends, relatives, co-workers etc pride themselves on eating (even if it is between a pizza and sausage mcmuffin) as making a step towards a healthy lifestyle are "off limits" to me...

[Austex]

into this cycle without a concrete plan as to what *exact* fat burners and fat burning methods I'll use in addition

Are you taking EFA's? If so, how many g's per day and how do you dose? I'm somewhat interested for personal reference also

[Austex]

Forgot to add.... I'll normally take about 3 g's with every other meal or so. Sometimes I'll throw in extra flax with the EFA blend. I'm starting to wonder if I should be taking ALOT more with my whole meals.

[Austex]

No, I do mean EFA's.

[TheChosenOne]

BigGreen I recommend you ending your fina before you end your test. I have no experience doing this but my rationale is this: Fina shuts you down hard. Therefore if you end Fina earlier than you do your test you give your body more time to readjust its androgenic levels while still having high anabolic levels. My logic would think that this would allow you to retain more gains through PCT. I believe if I go with Fina again that i will run it in this manner.

[BigGreen]

Are you taking EFA's? If so, how many g's per day and how do you dose? I'm somewhat interested for personal reference also

I'll get back to you on this, as I'm taking flax....same exact amount daily at the same exact time each day, but i've become such a machine on this diet (*NO* variations whatsoever aside from cheat days) that I long ago forgot what amounted to what and only eat what I'm scheduled to eat. I do, of course, plan on crunching numbers should fat loss stall, muscle wasting occur, or (GASP!!) any combination of the two seem to be unfolding.

[BigGreen]

BigGreen I recommend you ending your fina before you end your test. I have no experience doing this but my rationale is this: Fina shuts you down hard. Therefore if you end Fina earlier than you do your test you give your body more time to readjust its androgenic levels while still having high anabolic levels. My logic would think that this would allow you to retain more gains through PCT. I believe if I go with Fina again that i will run it in this manner.

I agree...i'm pretty sure I'm doing a poor job at conveying my thoughts in an *organized* manner. THe ideas are all there in my head, but as I glance over the journal, they seem very random and sporadic, which is why i hope to be a bit more consistent (the 'end of week' updates are an example...and i may reduce the journal simply to end of week updates with specific and non-deviating subjects addressed each week and the only other postings being answers to questions or emergency situations that warrant attention).

At any rate, now that I've more or less finalized the AAS aspect of the cycle, it looks like this when I take a step back from it all:
test prop @100mg/day weeks 1-12
tren acetate @50mg/day weeks 5-10

This takes care of three critical things for me with regards to my use of tren:
1. As you mention, i'll have 14 days (may extend it to 21) to 'come down' from the tren while the prop is still running through my system...something that *should* ease recovery from something as harsh as fina.
2. By the time I introduce fina in week five, I should have an excellent idea of how I'm "handling" the prop - in terms of sides, benefits, intangibles, etc etc. This way, there will be no mistaking those effects brought on by the fina, whereas had I started them both at inception, I could never really be certain what benefits and/or drawbacks were associated with each compound.
3. I'm hoping that by week five I'll be **** close to where I want to be bodyfat-wise (keep in mind i started dieting naturally four to five weeks - six to seven, loosely speaking - prior to beginning the cycle) and at the point at which I introduce fina, there might be a good possibility that I can utilize some of its 'bulking effects' to add a little more mass during the final run than if i were to use it before ever attaining the desired (or **** close to) bodyfat level. We'll see about this one.

[BigGreen]

SOLICITING OPINIONS!!!

Okay, so I can already tell I'm starting to 'adjust/adapt' to the ECA stack (no rush like there was the first week, sleeping well again, etc, etc...all the tell tale signs) and would like to keep fat burning at optimum levels by rotating it in and out with some other compound to avoid adaptation of either. Clen is the obvious choice, as it's almost universally associated with a rotating cycle in combination with ECA.....I remain, however, uncertain about clen for reasons I'll get into tomorrow, and believe i have touched on above. Most OTC fatburners being simply scaled down versions of ECA, it would make no sense to rotate in one of those. The next logical thing would be to simply undertake a two weeks on-two weeks off run of ECA. The downside to this is i crash big time when stopping the ECA stack and would prefer to avoid this.

My options then become:
A. keep running the ECA throughout (would prefer not)
B. Go the clen/eca rotation route (still an option)
C. alternate ECA with yohimbe or a similar 'fat burner' that works through a different mechanism than ECA
D. Undertake a 40-60 day T3 run during the time when the fina AND prop coincide and the chance for catabolism is at its lowest.

Any thoughts? Feedback? Something I missed?

[Austex]

SOLICITING OPINIONS!!!
Any thoughts? Feedback? Something I missed?

Have you thought about green tea/l-carnitine? Green tea for a different source of caffeine and the l-carnitine for a fat mobilizer. Just an idea. Or you could go with a pro-thyroid, although I personally shy away from thyroid products.

[Dude-Man]

I like options C and D.

I'm sad you didn't respond to my post.

[BigGreen]

I'm sad you didn't respond to my post.

I'll get right on that....after my desperately needed nap......

[BigGreen]

Wow....took my first full-on "day off" today (or at least as much of one as I can live with - still hitting my injection and sticking to that, but for the first day in literally about two months, I haven't seen the inside of a gym). So there was no a.m. cardio, no afternoon workout and, by god, I believe I really, really needed it. Mentally and physically. Mentally, it lets me know I'm still dedicated, since I was *still* itching to go all day despite it being my first day off in a loooong time (normally, if I'm wearing myself out, I simply do NOT want the 'off' day to end). Physically, not getting up early and having to commute to the gym, hit up a treadmill, drive home, etc, etc really gave my body a nice break. I was able to wake up, kickstart the day with a protein/carb mix for the first time in a while (still VERY clean) and then head back to bed for a much needed, and deserved, nap a few hours later. I now feel nice and refreshed and ready to go for tomorrow, where I'll be hitting up the a.m. cardio AND the p.m. workout eagerly, to say the least.

[BigGreen]

Oh man. So fitness modelling eh? Harvard law student didn't sound pretentious enough, so you had too add fitness model to it.

You know it... Actually, truth be told, and I imagine you and several others have run into this, it's a very odd contradiction (at least as people like to neatly view things) that you mold yourself into when you simultaneously dedicate yourself in a big way to something mental (academics in my case) and something physical (this whole "shibang" here). At Dartmouth, I often shocked people when I told them I wasn't on the football team, and when the guy who was bench pressing more than "the townies" set the curve or standard on an exam, it didn't sit well with many people. In law school, I have a suspicion that I'll be one of the few harvard fellas punishing myself with deadlifts and measuring out some whey and dextrose in between contracts and con law lectures.

As for planning my first cycle, this may seem somewhat arrogant, but i don't think only one compound is going to be the route for me. I'm thinking that i'll probably run longer esters but maintain every other day injections, and run two compounds, one of course being testosterone, and possibly a third in anavar for an oral.

I completely agree with you. Had my first cycle not been tainted by fake test, it would have been in a similar vein as the one you lay out. I firmly belive there are "newbies" and there are newbies with the former being a group that are newbie by virtue of their not having used AAS alone....and their knowledge being on par with several vets. While this doesn't change us physiologically, it does, in my opinion, indicate that this person can safely and effectively run a more efficient first cycle with the two or three compounds as opposed to the one.

I'm looking forward to this, but i'm also a tad reluctant. I know i'm shorter, (5'9) which makes it's somewhat easier to look like i've got a decent amount of muscle, but i'm really proud of what i've accomplished naturally, and I'm worried that i'll wonder how much farther i could've gone.

I would argue that not a single steroid user in the history of this sport/undertaking actually reached their full-on genetic potential before using; not one. For that to occur it would mean that *every* single factor (both those we can influence and those we can not) would have to not only align, but do so for a prolonged period....simply not possible. Now, some may get 99-point "something" of the way there, but i refuse to believe anyone EVER reaches a point where they could not naturally do one minute thing to improve their physique - even if it took a decade for a .001% improvement.

That being said, I'd be concerned if someone didn't at least acknowledge and confront that issue before their first run. In my mind, it would indicate a mentality possessed by someone not *quite* ready to undertake a self-prescribed course of drugs. This is a commonality I've found with many AR members and users outside of this board who have been successful in their endeavors: they not only acknowledged, but struggled on at least some level with the notion of whether or not they owed it to themselves to take it a tad bit further naturally first....the decision to use AAS may have been easy or difficult, but what was there was that sense of obligation to oneself regarding that very issue. Just something I"ve picked up on.

[BigGreen]

MORE ORGANIZED UPDATES

After reflecting on a plan to make this journal a bit more "user friendly", I've decided that my weekly updates are now going to be divided into sections, where I'll make comments for the week with regards to each section ("workouts", "diet", "the cycle", "progress", and "looking ahead"). I will of course, be making other posts as necessary, but after reviewing this thing the other night, it became clear that I needed to get it a bit more organized. Thought it's not an end-of-week update, I figured I'd take it for a test drive now.

Workouts: I will remain faithful to a Doggcrapp style workout, though I have my concerns as to whether one's first run at this style of high-intensity training should come while cutting. Again, as stressed in posts above, strength is making leaps and bounds in some bodyparts (to the degree it can ONLY be attributable to AAS) but actually declining in others. I have my suspicions as to why this is and I'll certainly get into it at my end of the week update should the trend continue.

Diet: I'm remaining an absolute machine with regard to my diet. No missed meals, no unauthorized foods or cheats and I'm quite pleased with how it's working out. My biggest doubt came in my post-cardio meal no longer containing carbs on the collective advice of Daman, Swole and Farmer (if i recall correctly...my apologies if not). Thus far, however, it has worked out wonderfully, as has my steadfast insistence on weight-training days (three per week) also representing a rather dramatic influx of carbs (more than doubling from non-workout days).

The Cycle: See above posts, as the cycle itself right now is going very well with the main concern being the occassional ****ty injection that hampers workout. The cycle, and this is what I referenced above, will soon be growing to include a six week run of tren.

Progress: As mentioned above, after some bloat that came on stronger than I'd anticipated, I just now after about two weeks feel as though I'm back where i started. Should be fun from here on in.

Looking Forward: Now that I feel i'm back at square one with the bloat under control, I'm really looking for the next three weeks or so before I introduce the fina to represent a big jump in progress. It's my hope to have the next week bring about some noticeable changes in vascularity and definition, as well as a possible turn-around to this "strength loss in certain muscle groups" mystery.

[Dude-Man]

I'm really interested in seeing how you're going to take to the fina. Even bigger bri, who seems to be basically unresponsive to most roids (although possibly/probably a consequence of his diet and training) had amazing gains on it.

[BigGreen]

I'm really interested in seeing how you're going to take to the fina. Even bigger bri, who seems to be basically unresponsive to most roids (although possibly/probably a consequence of his diet and training) had amazing gains on it.

Yeah, I can NOT wait....I had amazing gains for what was an eq only cycle, and now that I have some real test and it's finally starting to "do it's thing", i think it's safe to say I respond pretty well to these compounds (i mean, dbol put some serious strength gains on me in a hurry as well). All of which makes me ridiculously eager to see what the tren does to me/for me.

[BigGreen]

IT HAS BEGUN....

Well, I may look back on this day as a landmark day for the 'ol 'kick-in' of the test. Woke up with insane morning wood (not too unusual for me for some reason) that, while it normally goes away by the time I'm up and moving around, simply refused to diminish in any way, shape or form for a good half hour. On top of that, simply washing my hair after my workout today had my shoulders so pumped and tight that I thought I was gonna tear some skin

So, yeah, it's definitely kicking in now and good lord, I can not wait to see what the the next 10-11 weeks bring!!!

[BigGreen]

On Pictures:

I assume a good amount of you poked into this thread with an elevated interest seeing that little paper clip on the title indicating a pic or other attachment had been posted. My ex having gotten the digital camera in the breakup, I need to use my roommate's camera which doesn't come "home" until tomorrow....so tuesday evening at the latest I will have some limited pics up (as many quality pics as i can get snapping them by myself).

In the meantime, however, I'm posting what my ideal accomplishment would one day be. I have no illusions of looking like this at the end of this go around - but do believe I can get decently close (relatively speaking) and that it is a realistic goal for me in the long term(albeit an ambitious one....though i've always aimed very high and succeeded). I know I'll never be freaky big or look like a bodybuilder while in street clothes, and, though some may say i'm simply pulling 'sour grapes', that's not what I want. This picture below (which most of you will no doubt recognize immediately) is where I hope to be.

[Austex]

IT HAS BEGUN....
Woke up with insane morning wood

Ah yes, there is nothing better than knowing you have more than enough testosterone in your blood! LOL, time to take a visit to the GF's house eh? My guess is by the time you read this you'll have already taken care of business.

[BigGreen]

Ah yes, there is nothing better than knowing you have more than enough testosterone in your blood! LOL, time to take a visit to the GF's house eh? My guess is by the time you read this you'll have already taken care of business.

Oh, i've taken care of business alright, but with the girlfriend over 100 miles away for the summer, it was - sadly - a solitary endeavor.

[Austex]

Oh, i've taken care of business alright, but with the girlfriend over 100 miles away for the summer, it was - sadly - a solitary endeavor.

hahaha...you do what you gotta do

[BigGreen]

Well, after a bit of delay, here's what I'm starting with. I can't help but feel a slight twinge of dissapointment as I look at these pictures. I'm not unhappy, per se, but I expected to see a tiny bit more from my morning cardio and diligent training right now. Hopefully, this prop will kick in full swing shortly and the fina will give me a kick in the ass to get things in gear. NOOO idea what bf% we're talking about here...i'm guessing 13 even?? Give or take?

Anyway, I'll give my own critique and then you guys give yours if you would (i'll also post this up in the pics forum).

*a nice small waist for someone six feet tall and some change and having gone as heavy as the 260's in the past.
*Serratus always seem to "pop" even when I'm not too lean...
*I've always liked my shoulders
*HORRIBLE, disgusting biceps
*chest is coming along, but still a weak spot.
*VERY high lats which I'm killing myself trying to get to fill out.

Keep in mind these pics were self-taken in a ****ty mirror (three way split) that's pretty dirty as you can tell....not my fault, the cleaning lady took time off because her parents are *supposedly* dying....i don't believe her.

[Austex]

Looking good bro. I'd say you're under 13% BF. Shoulders are well on their way, lats look good too...try to get someone to take a pic of a back double bicep. Your chest does need some size. Do you incorporate decline/incline into your training? Looks like you do decline but your upper pecs could use the extra attention. Overall, in 10 weeks you'll be shredded. How about them legs?

[BigGreen]

Your chest does need some size. Do you incorporate decline/incline into your training?

Ironically, the only chest exercises I do are of the incline variety. Using DC style training right now, my three rotating exercises are: 1. incline press, 2. slight incline press and 3. Hammer Strength Incline Press....this has been the norm for the last six months or so (meaning incline *dominating* the exercise selection).

How about them legs?

I tried to figure out how to take a good shot of them and will figure something out. They're the only bodypart of mine i actually like, so it's not as though I'm reluctant to show them.

Oh, and with regards to the back double bicep, i'm hoping to find someone to take one, as I feel it's my best "pose" far and away.

[Austex]

Hmm...maybe the lighting, but it sure looks like your lower chest is more developed.

[BigGreen]

Hmm...maybe the lighting, but it sure looks like your lower chest is more developed.

Oh no, you're definitely right...my lower chest is much more developed, which is frustrating as hell because I bust the hell out of my upper chest trying to get it to catch up.

[Dude-Man]

The camera doesn't have a timer? That's how i take all my pics. I think you've got nice shape to your biceps, mine are too long, wide, flat. You've got a decent peak, and good seperation. Their size leaves something to be desired, but you've got a nice canvas to paint on.

I know you like your delts, and we don't really have good pictures to judge them, but if you beef up your front delts, it can make your upper chest appear bigger, it's certainly had that effect for me. I've also found that Heavy incline dumbell flies has added a substantial amount of mass to my upper pecs, which was surprising, but pleasant.

Looking forward to the back and leg pics.

[Austex]

Oh no, you're definitely right...my lower chest is much more developed, which is frustrating as hell because I bust the hell out of my upper chest trying to get it to catch up.

Have you tried doing heavy sets with low reps for a few weeks?

[Dude-Man]

Hey BG. Just letting you know my cycle is off. I was really looking forward to running at the same time as you. Two days ago i hurt my back and they think it's a herniated/ruptured disc. I've got an MRI today to rule those out. I'll keep you posted.

[Austex]

Hey BG. Just letting you know my cycle is off. I was really looking forward to running at the same time as you. Two days ago i hurt my back and they think it's a herniated/ruptured disc. I've got an MRI today to rule those out. I'll keep you posted.

Sorry to hear that bro. Best of luck to you.

[BigGreen]

Hey BG. Just letting you know my cycle is off. I was really looking forward to running at the same time as you. Two days ago i hurt my back and they think it's a herniated/ruptured disc. I've got an MRI today to rule those out. I'll keep you posted.

**** that's too bad...i was looking forward to comparing notes and such...

[BigGreen]

END OF WEEK THREE UPDATE

Workouts: In my last update, I mentioned a concern that I was seeing strength increases in some bodyparts, but a stagnation (and in one troubling instance, a decrease) in others. Having reflected on that, I think there are two reasons as to why this may not only be the case, but why I can live with it. 1. I keep forgetting sometimes that I'm cutting, and, even with the AAS, can't expect to see dramatic jumps in performance in that caloric state. Those that I do see are a nice bonus, but I can't get greedy. 2. As one becomes more "in-tune" with DC style training, I believe there is an initial regression in performance unless they are being weaned by the man himself or someone intimately familiar with the routine. As my negatives become TRUE 8-second negatives and the negatives are focused on the desired muscle group entirely and not merely on slowing the weight down at all costs, the muscles are taxed, much MUCH more. Those two things considered, I'm much more at ease with this little issue.

Also on the workout front, I'm walking around like Yoda from the last Star Wars installment. 99% of the time i'm limping around from the occassional shot-gone-bad or lingering soreness from HARD leg workouts (to say nothing of the small but noticeable "sluggishness" resulting from the diet) but when it comes time to workout, I stretch, take a few deep breaths and suddenly I'm absolutely rejuvenated and absolutely pound away.

Diet: The diet continues to be working quite well for me. Mentally, it's a bit tiring to be doing the same thing day in and day out at the same times, but I got used to it real fast. The diet is ideal in that I'm clearly dropping fat, but it rarely has me starving or even very hungry save for the occassional hunger pang immediately before a scheduled meal. I continue to go all out on cheat days, as my last one (yesterday as a matter of fact) had all the markings of a cheat day that benefitted, rather than hampered, my progress.

The Cycle: Tren is coming soon....other than that, the only real reportable issue is the persistent pain in the ass (literally) from glute injections which seem to "go bad" fairly regularly. It seems like once per rotational cycle, one of the glutes gives me serious lingering pain that puts a damper on the rest of my life, while quads, delts, pecs and even biceps continue to take the shots with relatively little post-injection soreness, pain or other issues. Otherwise, the only other big thing worth mentioning is that a particular "side" - rapidly increased body/facial hair growth is running absolutely *rampant* right now. I normally can get away with shaving only once or twice per week without looking at all "scruffy", but now I have to go EOD or risk turning into paul bunyon. Didn't see this one coming.

Progress: Having gotten myself back to ground zero last week, I'm seeing some improvements in vascularity this week and pumps are getting absurd to the point that washing me hair has my delts fried some mornings.

Looking Forward: The introduction of fina in the next 5-10 days (have some reasons for wanting to wait) is the 'next big thing' in this cycle and what I'm looking forward to the most. I seriously can NOT wait to see how I respond to this, even at "only" 50mg/day. I'm particularly interested in how I react as, if i do undertake a clean winter bulker, i'd very much like to include it not only for its strength benefits whilst bulking, but for its reputation for keeping fat accumulation somewhat "in check" during a bulk.

[AandF6969]

Im excited to see how your results turn out, BigGreen! Ill be doing a bulking cycle in about 2 months. DC training really intrigues me. I'm a volume trainer myself. How many exercises/sets do you do per day and does it keep you satisfied?

[Austex]

Also on the workout front, I'm walking around like Yoda from the last Star Wars installment

I stopped and mentally visualized seeing this in the gym...

I stretch, take a few deep breaths and suddenly I'm absolutely rejuvenated and absolutely pound away.

Strange I am feeling alot the same. My day rolls by, sore ass, sore shoulder, sore quad...get to the gym and it all goes away (for the time being).

Diet: The diet continues to be working quite well for me.

What does your diet split look like?

I seriously can NOT wait to see how I respond to this, even at "only" 50mg/day.

Me too, as I personally debate on whether or not to run tren in the near future