Cardinal

Good Qtn =D

The way I am going about it is just to try to mimic the idea of a max effort bench or squat/dl (where a lockout is possible) by setting a predetermined ROM such as having biceps perpendicular to forearms. If I get that far with a given weight I count it. I keep adding weight until I miss and can't get the right ROM. Making sure to strain like hell as required. Still following the typical westside strategy of 2-4 max effort lifts in the 90 percent range.

I really want to increase limit strength in weighted pullups/chins. So I am giving that a max effort day all by itself for the time being.

Cardinal

October 10, 2004

CGBP
180x5
180x2x6

Left at least one rep in the tank on each of these as my shoulder was cramping slightly.

HS Dips
285x9 (failed on 10)
285x8
285x7

250 didn't feel heavy enough last week, so I bumped the weight back up to my previous high while on cycle in August. Haven't lost or gained any strength in this movement.

Skull Crushers
70x2x10

Pulldown Abs
95x20
95x15
95x15
95x11
+1 set Rainbows

I got more reps here. Just pushed it a little harder than last time and took an extra 30 seconds or so between sets.

DB Bench
70'sx9,9,8

Curls
55'sx8, sloppy as all hell but no weaker

Notes

I was able to test strength capacity in this workout to see where I compared to ending my last cycle. Virtually the same on all lifts. So pct was a complete success in that regard. I didn't however gain limit strength, just endurance strength and useful training experience (intangibles, I basically have a program that is working for me now whether I am on or off androgens). My conclusion is that the super high volume for the first four weeks was a less than optimal way to train if I wanted to get stronger in pct. Just didn't really happen. But given that it takes much less to maintain strength/muscle than it does to build it in the first place, I thus didn't lose anything off my best effort. Other things were done correctl and standardly(nolva, super high protein and high calories, decent rest). Given that I am now actually periodizing my routine to a large extent, I expect not to stall out toward the end of my next cycle and possibly to get slightly better strength accretion while on this time around. My cycle is planned out I just have to enter it into the database over at Anabolic Minds for critique. I may frontload a little 4AD transdermal as I am getting a bit antsy begin the bulk officially.

Did a ton of reading last night and this morning about DC dieting and training protocols. I have to say for those that haven't read cycles on pennies, I suggest giving it a look over. DC's ideas are very original imo and he has quite the record of success. Less bullshit and more muscle seems to be tone I get from reading it all. Good chance I will start to apply some of his dieting ideas like very high protien intake now so long as my body can tolerate it and I avoid hypoglycemia which is dangerous for me. Bring on the meat!

Cardinal

October 12, 2004

Box Squats (wide stance, 11" box, below || )
175x3x8 (+10 lb, -1 rep)

SLDL (down to lower shin)
225x10
275x3x6

Shrugs (poor ROM this time after deadlifts)
375x4
315x2x8

HS High Rows
200x12
200x11
200x10

Curls
55x7

Notes

Stronger.

I am officially going back to bulking today. Bromo experiment is over. Next androgen cycle M1T/4AD to commence within the next day or so likely. All ancillaries needed onhand.

Just the thought of bulking and eating a lot seems to have had a positive impact on strength levels. Let the fun begin.

Cardinal

October 14, 2004

Bodyweight Taken While at gym: 200.5 lbs
ME Incline
115x8
135x4
155x3
185x1
205x1
215x1
225x0*
*Stalled about 4 inches off chest
Incline Bench
175x3x5
DB Overhead Press
65x6
60x10
60x8
DB Bench
70x10
70x2x9
Flies
45x2x9
JM Presses
135x9 (-1 rep)
135x7 (-1 rep)
Pulldown Abs
95lbsx22
95lbsx16
Hip Flexors/Groin started hurting again, so I switched to crunches
Crunches
3 sets (2 w/25lb plate)

Notes

You'll have to excuse the pure bodybuilding movements. Westside journal or not, I am going to be doing some direct hypertrophy work given that I know I can add some appreciable muscle now. Mood was very good today and I felt stable under the weight. Squeezed out an extra rep on several movements and left a tad bit in the tank on incline and ab work. Definitely stronger today.

Diet on target. Minimum 400g protein. All whole foods until my casein order arrives. For those interested, I took a fair amount of time and planned out a detailed bulking cycle that I will be concurrently logging at anabolicminds. The link follows. Brief summary? M1T(10mg/ED)/4AD(300mg/ED Trans). 4 week cycle planned + pct. Adjustments made as necessary.

Real Power Can't Be Given

Cardinal

October 15, 2004

Bodyweight: 201.5(+1lb)
Blood Pressure PW/O: 123/65

Max Effort HS Pulldown
250x3
270x1
300x1
320x0 (couldn't finish w/right arm)
290x2x3(failed on 3rd rep)
Pullups/Neutral Chins
201.5x2x6
201.5x7
201.5x6
HS Pulldowns
230x6
210x9
Curls
50x8
45x9
Forearms
8 sets
COC Grippers
3 sets, best effort 12 right hand, 10 left hand #1 gripper.

Notes

Got my order of calcium caseinate in from Trueprotein. Fast and efficient. Mike is faster however! Just ordered some 4AD two days ago and crap, it already on my doorstep this morning. Beat the protein order which was much earlier. Talk about speed.

Maybe I just have a weird taster, but the casein tastes fine to me. Chalky when taken completely plain, but fine and not that much worse than milk isolate (which I really like the taste of).

M1T is already proving a pleasant appetite suppressant again! I am sitting here at 8pm with no cravings. Pure bliss. I ran out of Nicotine today and am going to hold off on buying more for the time being. Save a little dough.

Cardinal

October 16, 2004

Bodyweight: 205(+3.5lbs)
Blood Pressure P W/O: 129/70

ME Box Squat
135x5
185x1
215x1
235x1
245x1 (bad form, had to use plates as a box)
Squats
205x9
205x9
205x8
205x7
205x6
GoodMornings
175x2x5
Back Extensions
45x8
35x11
35x9
35x10
Calf Work
To be done tonight

Notes

The back extensions rocked. I focused on using hams/glutes some on the movement as well and it worked. ME boxsquat was fubar however. Someone made off with the low plyobox I used last week. I figured I would just pile up 45's to the right height. Ended up being a little low making it tougher than planned. When I sat on it, I realized the plates definitely weren't smooth. Managed to get up with 245 on my back, but it was ugly and I didn't go for another set. Turned beat red, form completely broke down.

I then wisely switched to back squatting which felt great. I was going to try out pullthroughs on the lat machine, but given my luck on the day decided against it. Something about standing with hands between legs doing hip thrusting movements wouldn't have been so appealing to onlookers methinks.

In contrast to yesterday, appetite went through the roof today. 4AD kicking in full force. I definitely overate on calories somewhat. Gonna switch around some foods to create a slightly more bland diet. First substitution is easy, plain casein in place of chicken. Easy enough as I have already eat all the chicken I cooked for week

Cardinal

Day 4
October 17, 2004

Bodyweight: 211 (+6 lbs)
Blood Pressure P W/O: 125/67*

HS Dips
290x3x8(felt solid)
CGBP
180x5
JM Press
135x2x10
135x9
Laterals
35x8(-2 off best)
EZ Bar Triceps
70x2x10(no change)
DB Bench
70x8
70x2x9
Pulldown Abs
95x30 (+8 could have kept going)
95x26 (easy, hip flexors gave out)
Weighted Crunches
25x2x18
25x15
25x14

Notes

Casein supplementation is working well today. Not only does it seem to provide superior long-term and short term appetite suppression, but also more consistent insulin levels. I had a few larger meals (600+ kcals) and didn't get hypoglycemic from the protein like I would have eating regular meat for example.

P-funk

Why do you check your blood pressure? Do you have blood pressure problems? And that "P" before w/o, does that mean pre workout or post workout?

http://pwtraining.blogspot.com/.....come and see what is on my mind!

http://ivonneberkowitz.blogspot.com/....check out Ivonne's new blog!

Optimum Sports Performance

"In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts there are few."
-Buddha's Little Instruction Book

Cardinal

I don't have blood pressure problems at all thankfully. I am checking it post-workout. I figure if it is elevated, that will be the best time to notice it. I am recording it for the time being to see if the 10mg M1T/ED elevates it. I started on hawthorn about 7 days before my cycle at about 1.5g/day. I want to provide feedback on the androgens I am taking with as much detail as possible and have a record of it. Since I am keeping a dual log, here and at anabolicminds, I cut and paste workouts to keep from double typing. Hence why I am including daily bodyweight and bp measures.

Cardinal

For those interested, according to most recent lipid profile and metabolic panel taken October 7, 2004, here is my current state of health. Liver still functioning =D

Values in green represent range of normalcy. Ast and Alt both slightly elevated. My results highlighted in blue. Rather happy with the HDL, LDL, VLDL and Triglyceride numbers (unless I am misinterpreting)

A/G Ratio 1.4 1.1-2.5
Albumin, Serum 4.2 3.5-5.5 g/dL
Alkaline Phosphatase, Serum 78 25-150 IU/L

ALT (SGPT) 43 0-40 IU/L
AST (SGOT) 52 0-40 IU/L

Bilirubin, Total 0.5 0.1-1.2 mg/dL
BUN 30 5-26 mg/dL
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 19 8-27

Calcium, Serum 9.6 8.5-10.6 mg/dL
Chloride, Serum 105 96-109 mmol/L

Cholesterol, Total 95 100-199 mg/dL
Creatinine, Serum1.6 0.5-1.5 mg/dL
Estimated CHD Risk < 0.5 0.0-1.0 times avg.
GGT 12 0-65 IU/L
Globulin, Total 3.0 1.5-4.5 g/dL
Glucose, Serum 75 65-99 mg/dL

HDL Cholesterol 52 40-59 mg/dL
Iron, Serum 141 40-155 ug/dL
LDH 191 100-250 IU/L

LDL Cholesterol Calc 37 0-99 mg/dL

Phosphorus, Serum 3.4 2.5-4.5 mg/dL
Potassium, Serum 5.1 3.5-5.5 mmol/L
Protein, Total, Serum 7.2 6.0-8.5 g/dL
Sodium, Serum 136 135-148 mmol/L

T. Chol/HDL Ratio 1.8 0.0-5.0 ratio units
Triglycerides 31 0-149 mg/dL

Uric Acid, Serum 4.0 2.4-8.2 mg/dL
VLDL Cholesterol Cal 6 5-40 mg/dL

Cardinal

Day 6
October 19, 2004

Bodyweight: 212(+1 lb)
BP: 117/56

SLDL (mid-shin) 5x5
225x5
275x5
305x5
325x5
340x5
Timed Holds
315x2 sets
High Rows
220x3x6
Curls
55x7 (-1 off best)
GM's
175x2x5
DB Rows
110'sx7(4 off best)
Forearms
45x2sets(22left/19right)
40x2x13(+1rep)
Calves
295x12
295x13
#1 COC Grippers
Best effort 18 right hand, 14 lefthand, gain of 6 reps right

Notes

*Strength gains kicked in yesterday, day 5 of cycle. Got 6 more reps than expected with the grippers. Today, the deads felt light.

*Had to make an adjustment to training. Couldn't train box squats or any type of quad workout today due to excess joint pain. It is a new pain on the front of both knee caps. Unfortunately I think it is due to box squatting. Usually my left knee never gives me shit. New plan is to revert back to regular squatting until I resolve form issue with knees.

*Put in another order from TP for calcium caseinate. I am experimenting with slightly higher protein dosages/meal and so far using casein I haven't had a hypoglycemic reaction. I have noticed a very slight increase in drowsiness a time or two but nothing major like I used to get with whey.

*Mirror showing bloated pig with 39" waist. I love bulking. Gotta get back to eating...

Cardinal

Haven't updated this in awhile. Tough keeping 2 journals at once. My cycle is going well. Hit 221 lbs up from 200 at start ten days ago. At least half of it if not more is water and bloat. Strength gains have kicked in nicely from the M1T as have all the wonderful side effects. Hit 245x5 on squats today. 10 lb PR.

I have had to modify my training considerably in response to the androgens. I am sticking to the same 5 day schedule but have had to alter quite a few variables and it is morphing into something distinctly different from westside. Still haven't added DE work and am planning to hold off on that probably for the duration of my cycle.

I have been overeating quite a bit. Probably hitting 4500-5000 kcals/day. Fat intake has been quite low as planned. Protein minimum 500grams/day, rest oatmeal at 60kcals/cup. Still able to overeat handily even with the modest appetite suppression from M1T. Largest waist measure to date is 39.25 inches. All the bloat can really wreak some havok psychologically not knowing how much is water and how much is fat tissue.

Sometimes the best way to find out just what something like M1T can do on a bulker is to push the limits somewhat and see firsthand. For all the side effects that come with it, it makes little sense to me to get less than maximal muscle tissue when I know what steps need to be taken to drive bodyweight up. I have never had a problem gaining weight and this cycle is no exception. Hoping for good partitioning this time around.