First Cycle Journal

[Thirsty]

Do you think the shoulders were protesting due to back to back work? Yesterday was shoulder heavy too, right? Smith machine overhead press may help. I like to superset closed grip presses and skull crushers to really get a great tricep pump. Maybe switch that in and give the shoulders a rest day?

[noarch]

Do you think the shoulders were protesting due to back to back work? Yesterday was shoulder heavy too, right? Smith machine overhead press may help. I like to superset closed grip presses and skull crushers to really get a great tricep pump. Maybe switch that in and give the shoulders a rest day?

Hmmm didn't think about that. My shoulders are dodgy in general, so I chalked it up to having them in that disadvantaged position while trying to work my tris.

Might try underhand push downs....triceps are tough for me because of my shoulders....can't do dips, can't do heavy close grip bench, etc.

[Thirsty]

I used to lift with a guy with a bad shoulder... He would do skull crushers and tricep presses on the decline bench to avoid just that disadvantaged position you speak of. Those and "diamond" push ups (hands together, elbows out) seemed to work for him. Your mileage may vary.

[noarch]

ABS CALVES CARDIO 2

Calf press 4x15
Captains chair leg raises 3x15
Side crunches 3x10

30 minutes on the elliptical with the arms

[Thirsty]

How are things going brother?

[noarch]

How are things going brother?

Tough few days...airplanes, hotels and hospitals.

Dad came through surgery fine and is recovering well (tough stock). Sitting in waiting rooms with my mom though, and eating in terrible chain restaurants. Haven't found a gym, but haven't really had time to look either.

Forget how good we have it on the coasts compared to the middle of the country....access to good healthy food, activities, outdoors. Always forget how many overweight, unhappy looking people there are in some of these places. Not everyone of course, but I can't imagine trying to live a healthy life here.....must be even harder.

Back to California tomorrow!

[Rooroo]

Tough few days...airplanes, hotels and hospitals.

Dad came through surgery fine and is recovering well (tough stock). Sitting in waiting rooms with my mom though, and eating in terrible chain restaurants. Haven't found a gym, but haven't really had time to look either.

Forget how good we have it on the coasts compared to the middle of the country....access to good healthy food, activities, outdoors. Always forget how many overweight, unhappy looking people there are in some of these places. Not everyone of course, but I can't imagine trying to live a healthy life here.....must be even harder.

Back to California tomorrow!

Hang in there bro :) glad your father is recovering [emoji111]
Good son you are :) I'm sure it was reassuring to mom having you there by her side while dad was in surgery .

[Thirsty]

Good to hear! Glad everything turned out ok.


Forget how good we have it on the coasts compared to the middle of the country....access to good healthy food, activities, outdoors. Always forget how many overweight, unhappy looking people there are in some of these places. Not everyone of course, but I can't imagine trying to live a healthy life here.....must be even harder.

I hear ya there, family is from Indiana, a whole different world back there. Kinda crazy to see so many out of shape people back here where it's so easy!

[studmuffin]

Glad your dad is doing well.

[noarch]

Thanks guys. Exhausted but ready to be home and to get back into the routine!

[kubes]

Glad to hear your dad is doing well brother

[noarch]

Thanks Kubes.

Capping off a fun few days with a hotel fire alarm at 10:45 pm.

[noarch]

Back home finally! Dad's out of ICU and doing great, and I can't wait to get into the gym tomorrow for my annual thanksgiving preemptive strike cardio session.

[studmuffin]

Always good to be home Brother.

[noarch]

Finally back on the horse with a chest and back workout...first one since traveling and overdoing thanksgiving! Feels good to get a little pump going, and I only lost 1.5 lbs during this whole crazy week!

[kubes]

Finally back on the horse with a chest and back workout...first one since traveling and overdoing thanksgiving! Feels good to get a little pump going, and I only lost 1.5 lbs during this whole crazy week!

Nice brother. Your body will like the rest and be ready to grow!

[noarch]

Leg day. Ow....

[kubes]

Leg day. Ow....

Get those wheels pumped to the max

[noarch]

Operation Six Pack is in effect! 20 minutes elliptical + 20 minutes treadmill + 20 minutes stationary bike.

[kubes]

Operation Six Pack is in effect! 20 minutes elliptical + 20 minutes treadmill + 20 minutes stationary bike.

Right after lifting?

[noarch]

Nahhhh. Starting back on the weights tomorrow.

[Thirsty]

Nice work brother!

[noarch]

First "official" week if trying to lean out before cycle #2. Fell off the wagon for a couple of meals, and got smacked with a day full of meetings, so I'm still getting my legs under me when it comes to keeping to a strict diet. Lost 2 lbs from Monday to Sunday, and 0.2% bf, but that all sounds like margin of error.

Giving it another week to see if I can start to see things trending in the right direction.

That said, I'm getting into my hour of morning cardio, and I feel like I'm running hot (especially at night), so hopefully that's my metabolism ramping up...

[kubes]

You can jump right back on that wagon bro. Keep some easy things around to eat in a pinch. Those quest protein bars have saved me so many times ;)

[noarch]

Yeah...just didn't have myself planned out, and next thing you by you know I'm on the road in meeting after meeting. Bad planning. Trying to be more rigorous about my diet....want those abs to pop out!

[kubes]

Yeah...just didn't have myself planned out, and next thing you by you know I'm on the road in meeting after meeting. Bad planning. Trying to be more rigorous about my diet....want those abs to pop out!

You know what to do. Just take some extra time when your shopping to get some easy to prepare food. Rice cakes ezekiel bread jerky protein shakes quest bars etc are just a few easy things to keep around in a pinch

[noarch]

You know what to do. Just take some extra time when your shopping to get some easy to prepare food. Rice cakes ezekiel bread jerky protein shakes quest bars etc are just a few easy things to keep around in a pinch

Yup totally...just didn't do it!

[Thirsty]

Don't sweat it, you will get in the habit soon.

[noarch]

Don't sweat it, you will get in the habit soon.

Hey Thirsty, when you were leaning out did you find yourself getting hot? Like feverish almost?

[Thirsty]

When I first started doing regular fasted cardio, yes. Got my metabolism rocking, would sweat through my shirt driving to work after the gym. Felt sick to my stomach, hard to get breakfast down. Give it two weeks and everything will settle down.

[noarch]

When I first started doing regular fasted cardio, yes. Got my metabolism rocking, would sweat through my shirt driving to work after the gym. Felt sick to my stomach, hard to get breakfast down. Give it two weeks and everything will settle down.

Ok. I've been getting hot at night. Face flushed, have to sleep on top of the covers, etc. but it only comes on around 8 or 9. I got hit with hot flashes around this time while I was on pct, and it almost feels like that. Weird.

[Thirsty]

Yeah, nothing like that.
I'm thinking menopause...

[noarch]

Yeah, nothing like that.
I'm thinking menopause...

Well menopause sucks, then.

[Thirsty]

Any improvement in your unfortunate condition?

[noarch]

Getting worse. I'm banking on it being too few carbs, not enough sleep, and work stress. 2015 is kicking my ass.

[Thirsty]

Yikes... How many carbs are you getting in?

[noarch]

By my math, 170-175g every day. Total calories at 2300 or so and I'm hungry all the time. And my weight doesn't seem to be budging....this has always been the problem for me. I can adjust my calories up, and I don't gain, adjust down and I don't lose. My body's very stubborn. Maybe I cut the food back too far too fast.

Plus, waking up before dawn for an hour of cardio, and not sleeping well because of work stuff and whatever fever this is that I've been getting. Took off halfway through leg day today....too weak, and couldn't deal with the crowd.

I'm due up for my "off cycle" blood work, so maybe something's up there. I had hot flashes during PCT while on Clomid, and this feels vaguely similar. Maybe it's just stress though.






Yikes... How many carbs are you getting in?

[Thirsty]

Bloods will be interesting... I've never experienced those sides due to low carbs alone.

[noarch]

I haven't either. I've had the cloudy brain feeling, and the weak in the gym feeling before. But I honestly don't know where this feverish feeling is coming from.

Maybe I just need a vacation.

I have a morning meeting tomorrow so I have to skip the morning cardio...will be interesting if that affects anything.

[kubes]

Maybe you are catching a cold :(

[noarch]

Cable upright rows with a rope attachment today to wrap up shoulders....been a long time since I got that kind of burn. Looks like a new one to add to my regular repertoire!

[noarch]

Second week of my so-called "cut/prime" and my weight hasn't budged. Guess it's time to start stripping out carbs and cutting calories back even further.

[Thirsty]

Maybe one thing at a time? Keep calories same, and decrease carbs?

[noarch]

Maybe one thing at a time? Keep calories same, and decrease carbs?

Replacing the carbs I cut with protein?

[Thirsty]

I had good success keeping protein at 50% and replacing carbs with healthy fats. Avocados, nuts... Also found that a little extra fiber and making sure I hit my water consumption goals helped me through those sticky spots.

[noarch]

Ok that makes sense. Protein at 50%....probably fats at 30, carbs at 20?

[Thirsty]

That's what my body responds best to. I have two people making great progress carb cycling too. Not the mode I'm in at the moment, but you may find it useful.

[noarch]

That's what my body responds best to. I have two people making great progress carb cycling too. Not the mode I'm in at the moment, but you may find it useful.

Yeah I was planning on reading up on that some today

[noarch]

Ack! Just discovered a formula error in my big diet planning spreadsheet! So I've been eating more calories than I thought!! D'oh!

[Thirsty]

Did you miss a decimal? Are all the 40.5 calorie donuts now 405 calories?

[noarch]

Something like that. Transferring data from a meal page (dinner) to the main totals page. Somehow the total calories for dinner went from 472 to 70 (was referring to the wrong cell)!!

(That said, though, I guess I'm pretty clear on where my maintenance level is, since the scale's not moving!)

[Thirsty]

Perfect! So drop it 500, keeping the ratios the same, and run it for a week or two and reevaluate.

[noarch]

Interestingly, I'm looking through some Lyle McDonald diet stuff and he starts off assuming maintenance at 15cals/lb of bodyweight (178x15=2670), and fat loss at 20% less (2136). I did the math, and those numbers line up exactly with what I thought I was eating. I thought I was eating 2210, but was actually eating 2612.

The one things all these diet plans don't account for: user stupidity!

[noarch]

OK, "off cycle" lab work is back....Test=517 and Estradiol=25. Cholesterol is high as it always is....weird thing is a low alkaline phosphatase number, and a high RDW number...a little research and both of those can be due to iron deficiencies and anemia. I wonder if that's why I've been feeling so sluggish....maybe add in some beef to my diet or something....

[noarch]

Things seem to be moving in the right direction....16.3% on January 4 to 15.0% today. Only lost 1.5 lbs though, so lean mass is going up and body fat is going down. Good news.

[kubes]

Things seem to be moving in the right direction....16.3% on January 4 to 15.0% today. Only lost 1.5 lbs though, so lean mass is going up and body fat is going down. Good news.

Nice brother... The hard work is paying off! Job well done

[noarch]

Nice brother... The hard work is paying off! Job well done

Thanks man. Hoping the fat loss will accelerate now that I've seemed to have gotten it figured out. Gonna slowly start pulling carbs out little by little each week until my cycle starts in March.

[kubes]

Thanks man. Hoping the fat loss will accelerate now that I've seemed to gotten it figured out. Gonna slowly start pulling carbs out little by little each week until my cycle starts in March.

The more muscle you put on the more fat you burn ;)

[noarch]

It's definitely working....I'm down only 2-3 lbs since the first of the year, but I've taken an inch off my waist!

Heading out of town for the weekend....hope I don't kill my momentum!!

[noarch]

So much for a healthy cut before my cycle.....just got walloped with food poisoning. I think I've been able to eat a total of 15 saltines since Tuesday. This sucks.

[kubes]

So much for a healthy cut before my cycle.....just got walloped with food poisoning. I think I've been able to eat a total of 15 saltines since Tuesday. This sucks.

I hope you get better soon brother! Rest up

[noarch]

Thanks bro. There's no worse feeling.

[noarch]

F*ck. food poisoning resulted in a loss of 9 lbs since Tuesday.

Crazy.

[noarch]

Smaller today than I was when I started my first cycle last summer.......sigh

[kubes]

Smaller today than I was when I started my first cycle last summer.......sigh

It will come right back as soon as you are eating again

[noarch]

I hope so Kubes. I wanted to be depleted before starting my next cycle, but this isn't what I had in mind!

[kubes]

I hope so Kubes. I wanted to be depleted before starting my next cycle, but this isn't what I had in mind!

You are just flat from the lack of food. You will puff right back up when you start eating again

[noarch]

Officially back to normal after the worst food poisoning ever, followed by dehydration and other nastiness. Took this week off from the gym entirely, waiting to get some strength back. Starting back up tomorrow with my normal morning cardio and weigh-in. I had lost 9 lbs and the bottom of the food poisoning, so we'll see where I am when I weigh in tomorrow. Looking forward to getting my workouts and diet back on track (no more pre-made food from Whole Foods after this little attack).

Order placed for cycle #2 on 3/1. Hopefully start it up on 3/15. Woo hoooo!

[fairdinkydi]

Farked that u out for awhile but good too hear all good bro. So what's your next cycle gunna b?

[noarch]

Farked that u out for awhile but good too hear all good bro. So what's your next cycle gunna b?

Sustanon + NPP + Anavar. With a little test prop kicker at the beginning, and switching to prop again at the end.

[kubes]

Sustanon + NPP + Anavar. With a little test prop kicker at the beginning, and switching to prop again at the end.

I think you will like that cycle. Npp has become one of my favorite compounds for sure. Why sust instead of test e or c?

[noarch]

I think you will like that cycle. Npp has become one of my favorite compounds for sure. Why sust instead of test e or c?

I'm excited about it, Kubes....

Two reasons for the Sust:

1) I'm gonna be experimenting with injection frequency, and I think the shorter esters in the Sust might pair up with the NPP a bit better when it comes to pinning schedule. But I may be wrong on that....I'm starting out with an E3D schedule, which seems a little fast for the Sust by about a day, and a little slow for the NPP by about a day. But I wanna see how it feels, and then adjust if I need to.

2) This is only my second cycle, and I ran enanthate for the first one, so I wanna try something a little different just to get my feet wet and see if I develop my own preference. Toward the last third of my test e cycle I got really waterlogged (fat ankles, had to not tie my shoes because my feet were swollen, stuff like that), and I hear guys say that Sust is a bit "drier." Primarily running it just to see if I can feel the difference or not.

[noarch]

Ugh. Low self esteem day at the gym today. Felt weak and small and had to get outta there. Been a while since I had that feeling. Grr.

[kubes]

Ugh. Low self esteem day at the gym today. Felt weak and small and had to get outta there. Been a while since I had that feeling. Grr.

Drink some caffeine and get after it brother

[kubes]

I'm excited about it, Kubes....

Two reasons for the Sust:

1) I'm gonna be experimenting with injection frequency, and I think the shorter esters in the Sust might pair up with the NPP a bit better when it comes to pinning schedule. But I may be wrong on that....I'm starting out with an E3D schedule, which seems a little fast for the Sust by about a day, and a little slow for the NPP by about a day. But I wanna see how it feels, and then adjust if I need to.

2) This is only my second cycle, and I ran enanthate for the first one, so I wanna try something a little different just to get my feet wet and see if I develop my own preference. Toward the last third of my test e cycle I got really waterlogged (fat ankles, had to not tie my shoes because my feet were swollen, stuff like that), and I hear guys say that Sust is a bit "drier." Primarily running it just to see if I can feel the difference or not.

You need to pin the npp at least oed brother

[noarch]

Bodyfat down from 16.1% in December to 12.8% today. Order placed for some fresh gear this afternoon....hugeness to follow, soon!