Associate Member
Well. Shoulders appear to be responding a little bit. Although not gaining weight and shoulders looking bigger doesn’t add up. I’m am just happy they are finally looking like I might go to the gym. Still don’t look big in a shirt though 😒. Also a pic of a solid last meal. 300g jasmine rice, 7oz 90/10, 150g sea salt brined mushrooms, 160g brussel sprouts.
Associate Member
That's the only food fast food chain from Ontario that I miss since I moved to work in Dubai! These Mother fuckers have everything here except for goddamn Harvey's...Originally Posted by DeeCee112
Every time I go back for vacay I tend to visit Harvey's every other day lol.
With all this wendeys talk and the absence of Harvey's, I have a strong feeling ill be eating wendeys later on today lmao
Associate Member
Yay, I am up a pound and a half. Somehow I think I am leaner. Getting some serious vein gains on the side of my pecs, front of shoulders and arms. I’ll take it thank you!
Anabolic Member
Jacked city brother. Looking great! Would be great if you could say how long into the cycle you are with each pic update. Did you make any changes to your diet?
Me, I'm still looking the same basically, except more vascular. Traps seem a little bigger, but I never needed traps. No weight gained.
Junior Member
Melon your arm vascularity is insane! 100% mirrin. Hope to be there one day. Great work, keep it up, you're motivating me!
Associate Member
Thanks guys. I am in my 9th week. I will probably stay at 600mg for 16 weeks. I just gave blood and my bp is solid as a rock. Might even bump to 750 and keep on with EQ as well.
Associate Member
An extra 200g of rice and 20 extra grams of oats were added to my daily diet.
Senior Member
God damn dude! Boulder shoulders!
Associate Member
In the 10th week. I seem to have plateaued at a 3-4 pound gain since starting. I have some more fluff on my stomach and back handles and abs arent as visible. Not sure if it’s water retention or fat. Strange thing is the softer my midsection gets the more vascular my upper body gets. Strange things happening here. Chest and arm measurements are the same as when I started the cycle. Quads have grown an inch, calves about a half inch. Here are pics from today.
Changed Man
looking awesome!
You are set up for this
Associate Member
Update. 12 weeks and 2 days in. Test is at 750mg and eq at 600mg. My weight fluctuated a little but I seem to be around my starting weight in the am. My coach is a little irritated with me as he thinks I am not eating all the food I am supposed to but I am. He said there is no way I am eating 4300 calories a day and pumping 1.2 grams of gear i to my body and just not growing. I do pretty much look the same as when I started just softer in the middle and a little more vascular elsewhere. My job is not really active. Is there something wrong with me? My sleep pattern isn’t the best. I average about 6 hours a night but it seems to be a light sleep. Wake up here and there to piss etc. could poor sleep literally rob my body of putting any type of weight on at all regardless of tons of food, solid training and drugs? I also don’t understand weighing the same but looking softer......
Anabolic Member
I quit my cycle 2 months in because I wasn’t seeing any changes and I was feeling extremely lethargic. My hemoglobin was high when I went to donate. Now I feel more like myself. I noticed the same thing during my first cycle, that by the 2 month mark I just wasn’t feeling good anymore. Pains in my legs, almost like little blood clots or something. I don’t know, but I’m going to try just raising my test dosage here and there from now on, maybe add in a compound if I feel like it. I’m not a good responder to gear, which is weird because I’m genetically a big guy. Before my first cycle I was 250, around 17% bf. now I’m 240, slightly leaner. After 2 cycles. Wooohoo no progress.
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your gear may be weak , under dosed, fake .. or you may be a non responder (not very common). A first cycle like this should easily put you at about 15 pounds or more of gain especially with that amount of cals.
the fact that your getting softer is something that happens to natty's when they try to bulk.. when enhanced and on enough gear your likely to gain weight and get harder and fuller at the same time, not softer.
something seems off
as a last resort here I'd go with a different source and try running an oral like Dbol, Anadrol or Superdrol, and see if that blows you up. you should respond quick if its legit
Staff ~ HRT Optimization Specialist
Probably a gap in the diet or fake gear or maybe mismatched expectations.
Not enough carbs = no muscle growth. Protein means nothing if you are carb depleted. At your size I would expect an easy 600-700grams of carbs required on cycle per day.
I no longer check my inbox. If you PM me I will not reply.
Associate Member
This is so frustrating for me especially since I haven't even come close to my genetic potential yet. I am still that lanky 6’2 190 pound guy and yet I put so much effort into not looking like that. Maybe I should find a different focus in my life.
Associate Member
OP earlier In thread posted labs iirc and they had supra-physiological test levels. That leaves training, food, and sleep. Training wise from your pictures (excellent physique) you appear to know how to train. You did however mention lifting sessions going for 2 hours. Are you still training daily this long? If so that could somewhat account for needing so much calories. Sleep wise definitely less than ideal, but that hindering any weight gain is strange.
Has strength and lifts continued to increase?
At the end of the day I really think if adding mass was a goal it doesn’t matter what you are currently eating, it’s still not enough. If your approaching the end of your cycle I would really just start eating a lot more dense easy to consume calories. I mentioned maybe a double quarter pounder earlier, I don’t mean this as a cheat meal once a week. I would add something like this to your current consumption everyday. Just to see what effect it has. Especially if your nearing the end of cycle. Once you go back to trt/cruise you will likely lean out naturally.
Something else Gearheaded explained to me may also pertain to you. Guys that are on trt when they do run a cycle they often need substantially more gear or different compounds than test, as their bodies are already use to seeing exogenous test. I really feel that applied to myself.
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Associate Member
Thanks for the input guys. What would be a reasonable length to extend this cycle for. 16-20 weeks or should I reassess in a couple weeks after adding more food if nothing changes maybe drop back to trt and add in another compound.
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at this point if your feeling healthy and good then I'd go ahead and push the drugs a little more (add a compound, like a short ester or oral), and then push the food some more.
I totally agree with balance about getting a double quarter pound hamburger . not as a once per week 'cheat meal', but as a daily habit.
you could also increase your calorie surplus by lowering your training volume, but increasing the intensity. get more rest and sleep. and ditch any cardio for now.
if you have always been very slim and lean with a fast metabolism, then one trick to help you slow down your foods transit time and help you better absorb it (by slowing things down a bit) , is to set your meals and diet up so that each meal contains fats. this will help boost calories and also slow down transit time (can lead to better assimilation of nutrients).. sometimes guys with super fast metabolisms just go through foods like chicken and rice very very fast. adding fats to these meals will slow things down. also try switching your meat sources over to mainly red meat.
shut down is shut down.. at this point your already shut down (talking about HPTA). so really does not matter if you go ahead and extend the cycle and push for gains.
however, you mention "dropping back to TRT" .. if your on TRT then does not matter about HPTA shut down anyway and its a no brainier to extend this cycle at this point
Associate Member
Perfect! For the most part I feel pretty good for the exception of a little brain fog from poor sleep patterns and work stress. Other than that my numbers in the gym are climbing slowly. I pulled 365x10 on deads and 235x5 on bench. Those are my best numbers in the last 5 years. The programming that was written up for me seems pretty solid. I like that my heaviest low rep sets come first with lighter weight higher reps following. My workouts are down to a tad over an hour after adjusting my rest periods. I have bloodwork coming up so I will see where my numbers fall. I recently gave blood and my hemoglobin was 17.2 before donating so I would like to assume I shouldn’t have to worry about HCT before my next donation in 6 weeks. Thanks for your input and patience with me guys. ��
Associate Member
First pic is from Jan 2018 after I first cut. Weighed 183. Second pic is from today weighing 189. What terrible progress for a year and a half. Look no different except maybe a little less defined.
Anabolic Member
I went back and forth quickly between the pics and you look thicker all over in the second pic. I first saw it in your arm, then noticed your chest looking fuller. I know it’s not the results you want, but you honestly have a great physique already. Look at the old guy in the back with the wheelchair and imagine what he’d give to have your body. Shit, the majority of men (and some women) would like to look like you. You’re healthy and look great, enjoy it.
Associate Member
Just had my bi-annual bloodwork done. I am in my 13th week of 600mg cyp/600mg EQ and from the looks of it I am in perfect shape! May stay the course on this one for another few months. HCT seems to be manageable with donation every 8 weeks. Not sure on the estrogen test, perhaps a fellow member can decipher it for me. Doc said everything looks great otherwise. One strange thing. Before blasting when I was on a TRT dose my prolactin levels were in the high 20’s to low 30’s and there was concern of a prolactinoma. After blasting the past few months my prolactin is completely normal. My doc is stumped but he said thats great. Will that creep back up when I drop my dose to normal again and if so what causes this? All in all my body seems to react very well to gear health-wise (still waiting on those amazing gains though
Anabolic Member
Why does it say testosterone is >1009 when the upper limit is 1200?
Associate Member
I am unsure. I assume >1009 means that is the limit of the test. At least I hope....
Associate Member
RBC is outside range on low side which seems unusual on cycle, maybe someone here has some insight? How much time since your last donation and this lab report? Was donation a double red?
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Associate Member
Donation was normal whole blood. It was 30 days ago today.
Anabolic Member
@Balance - You're looking at the white blood cell count, not red. Red is within range, white is too low.
Meloncap, I would ask your doctor about the testosterone.
Associate Member
I called them today. The machine they use for testing only reads to 1009.
Associate Member
Pretty close to calling it quits. I dedicate way too much time obsessing and being strict to this endeavor. I have been the same fkin size for 2 years now with no real results except some vascularity which is going away now thanks to some added fat. In the past 2 years I have gone from 181 to 191. Starting sizes were arms at 15.5, chest 43” quads 21.5. Waist 32”. Current sizes are arms 15.5, chest 42”, quads 22” waist 35”. I have followed a strict diet and am currently eating 4400 calories daily. I have gained some strength. With my chest shrinking but looking softer and my arms staying the same size I’m gonna say the extra 10 pounds over the last couple years is 95% fat. Thinking about just hopping right on the tren train. Can’t not put muscle on with tren right.... IDK wtf is wrong with my body but I have never given up on anything when I really wanted it. I want so bad to rock some 18” guns and a nice thick chest and back with some thick wheels. As I have said before, I have seen others with half assed routines and diets grow like weeds. Just took my monthly measurements and got instantly infuriated. I just can’t figure it out. Injave been through 2 coaches now, the second saying he has never had a client not respond and he doesn’t know what is wrong with me. That I mist not be eating everything. I have also have heard that you can perform a movement correctly but if the mind muscle isn't there you will never every grow no matter if you’re progressing in weight or not. Not sure if there is truth to this. Sorry, rant over.
Changed Man
You have to give your all at the gym not go through the motions but you would have to have musular dystrophy to not grow with a good diet, gear, and training.
Don't get down. Just gotta push on. Change and adapt
Changed Man
You might be able to benefit greatly from a little mind adaptation.
I have hit slumps where I did not want to be at the gym or lifting.
Intensity is hard to find when you are doubting.
I did what I did with absolute hatred as a means of punishing myself. I would find a dark place and go till it hurt, then turn on the nitrous to kill the weakness. Its easy to lose that fire with time. My best routines I was fighting back tears and losing.
Increasing intensity, shortening rest periods, and teaching absolute failure is key.
Associate Member
What does your training routine look like?
Can't go wrong with going back to basics - squat, deadlift, chins, barbell rows, curls, shoulder press, barbell curl and skullcrushers.
Rinse and repeat 3 times a week with a cardio core day and 3 off days to grow or separate upper body/lower body with a cardio core day and only 2 days off and lots of sleep, rest and keep eating. Point is hitting the muscle groups more than once a week every week. You don't need 6 exercises and a week of rest just for pecs.
I've plateaued for years before as well you can fall into the same routines your body cut gets too used to. Switching from the arms / chest / back ect bro split and focusing on loading compound movement barbells with 5 to 10 pounds more every single week hitting 1 or 2 Rep maxes and then pyramid down blew me up.. With a little gear added in.
Senior Member
Op you might want to consider hiring GearHeaded if your real serious about breaking through this slump. He knows everything there is and if he can’t get you wheee you want to be then you probaly can’t get there...
Btw you look freakin awesome man. I know you’re not where you want to be but you are pretty jacked. I don’t think you need to get on Tren. I Think there’s much better pure anabolics.
Senior Member
Id be interested to see what your split looks like also. I do like the idea of hitting each body part more than once a week. I think that’s the way to go
Associate Member
This is the current routine that I am following. My strength is slowly increasing. I just feel that I shouldn’t be so bloated and watery by the end of a day of eating. I also think I am adding bodyfat too fast. Ill attach a pic from last month and one from last night along with my routine. There is only a 3 pound weight difference between the 2 pics. I should add that none of my other measurements have gone up. Arms, chest and quads (quads gained a half an inch) all the same size as 3 months ago at cycle start. The pic in shorts is from last month. Jean pic is last night. I should also add that I felt a lot better and seemed to stay leaner and harder looking on TRT levels of test. Being on 600mg the past 14 weeks I just feel kinda foggy and bloated all the time, especially in the last few weeks. All of my bloodwork came back great though so I am not sure what to do from here. I feel like I am going to ruin whatever physique I worked for if I don’t change something up.
Last edited by Meloncap78; 06-23-2019 at 12:30 AM.
Staff ~ HRT Optimization Specialist
Using napkin math you are not eating enough food based on an approximation of your TDEE. Don't know what your diet is but the food choices matter too. It's not just about what you eat, but what your body can absorb.
Training is all about mind to muscle connection. Arnold has a good speech about it on his "Blueprint to Cut" video on YouTube.
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Anabolic Member
Yeah it’s weird. When I was just getting into bodybuilding, my physique changed dramatically to where people asked if I was on steroids. Now after doing 2 months of nearly 1 gram a week of shit I literally look the same or worse as when I started the cycle. My diet when I was starting training was trash. I literally ate like 2 digiorno pizzas and a gallon of orange juice a day. And I grew like a weed. Now with a proper diet and more intelligent training, and a shit ton of steroids, I see no results. How in the fuckin hell Is that even possible? I get so pissed thinking about it.
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this is fairly common.. I've got a client I'm helping now thats been stuck at a plateau for a long while now and he is just not responding to androgen receptor based drugs. we've went from test and deca, to anadrol, to tren, etc. and not getting the response we were hoping for. just not growing from anabolic that work via the androgen receptor.
so what are we doing now .. need to try and grow apart from AR binding. time for insulin and HGH and other growth factors to initiate muscle building outside of the androgen receptor.
VET
Bro you look really good seriously I think you have set your expectations too high. Keep going you know this takes time. Not gonna get where you want to be in just a couple years. Stay strong man your progressing I wouldn’t give up just yet
Associate Member
Man I think it’s time to dial back the cals.......
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