Originally Posted by Mags

Hey guys, im not so sure if this should be in this forum or the diet one, but here it is anyway. I was weighing in at about 196 lbs when i left uni and competed at about 182 lbs last october.

I read on here that diet, training and recovery time should be the first things you sort out to ensure they are as effective and as effiecient as possible before using gear to push that bit further. I had paid attention to adequate protein consumption hence why i did actually put on some size since I began training, but never looked at my diet that closely. I have since put my calories up to roughly 4500 daily (300g protein a day). It comprises of nearly all clean and complex carbs (except post training) except for the odd flapjack and bagel these i use just to tip me into the 4500 mark.

In about five to six months, with creatine, a high cal diet and training harder than Id ever thought possible, I weighed in at about 224 lbs. Obviously I was now carrying abit of fat, but I still had a fairly good six pack/visable abs, so it wasn't like i'd become a fat fucker. Id made great gains in my lifts and I could physically see my arms, chest, back and my legs to name a few were now bigger and thicker. Most of the guys i train with who are on gear and compete believed me to be on gear but i have never touched it. I was simply amazed at what just a supercharged nutritious diet had enabled me to do.

Thing is I can't squeeze much more food into my day as Im already eating 7-8 small meals a day. Im no longer at the job I was that enabled me to eat every few hours or so either. Im maintaining weight and size and am still getting stronger in my lifts, but you can guess that I've hit a plateau with the growing.

Thing is im thinking after six years of training I've gone from 154lbs to 224lbs and Ive tried alternating training techniques, altered my diet, pretty much most of the things people do in order to progress in size. Most of them have worked too, but now at 24, I think it may be time to use AS in order to keep growing. The big thing now though is, if i've already been on a 4500 cal diet a day, will this be enough to spur growth when on gear, or will I have to up the calorie intake and if so by how much roughly?

Damn this is a long assed post, sorry. Cheers though guys for any input.

Originally Posted by Mags

Cheers tough.

Are you saying I should stick with 4500 cals a day in order to keep growing as I thought this amount boosted me up to 224lbs but seems to hold me at that weight. Are you saying that adding MORE cals per day will help me edge on alittle more growth?

As with the topic of gear, if 4500 is holding me at 224, will it or will it not, be enough to help grow and maintain whatever I would gain when on gear?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Mags

So basically hold off the gear and just up my cals some more until I max out and cant fit anymore in?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Tough Old Man

Only up the calories if your gaining size and not a lot of B/F. If 4500 is still putting size on you with little fat then keep it there. If you find your not gaining anymore size then up your cal's 200 at a time until it stops. Once the gains stop and you find the only way to add additional size is by gaining fat also, then look into a cycle of Test @ 500 mgs each week for 8-12 weeks.