To keep it easy to find for others doing research or joining in late, all log posts will be updated here.
Day 1
Well day two of the cycle has commenced and day 1 (yesterday) was interesting to say the least. I took my first dose around 10 am and within a couple hours I felt a bit shaky. Not sure why but the feeling lasted a good hour or so. Around 4:45 I got to the gym and was nervous as to how I would do without a pre-workout given I haven't been off of one for about a year. I was indeed dragging quite a bit, but the workout was intense and I felt strong (It was chest and tri day). Immediately after the workout I took the second dose with no shakiness to follow. Dinner got botched by an outing that happened last night and I did not follow the guidelines for the "feast". However, caloric intake was about the same.
Day 3
As day 3 comes to an end the epistane is starting to take effect and I noticed the post-workout pump lasted much longer. Yesterday I just destroyed my back and biceps and today I felt like I could have went back and did it all over again. Today was a bit different than day one and two, I came home and had dinner at 6pm and did my workout after for 30 minutes (cardio) and then finished my "feast".
Diet has been spot on no deviations just eat'n the chicken and protein shakes!!
No side to speak of yet.
Day 4
Yesterday was pretty damn great!! Everything was spot on, no issues and even set a PR. Did bench yesterday and put up 255 for 6 reps, and I've never even got close to that. Intensity was pure awesome yesterday!! Shoulders went pretty well, I was a little disappointed with military, but after doing chest my front delts were definitely feeling the pressure. Next week I may try to do shoulders first just to make sure they get their fair share. Today is leg day and I'm a bit nervous because I've slacked the past few weeks on legs, so they may be a bit behind.
Day 5
Well just finished dinner, cheat meal (pizza) still came in under my calorie allotment for the feast meal and I will have the casein shake a little later. Leg day was okay.....5 sets of squats 4x315 followed by 3 sets of hack squats, 3 sets of leg extensions, 4 sets leg curls, and 4 sets of weighted calf raises on the smith machine. Whoever decided to put stairs outside my gym should be shot!!! All in all a good workout, I've had better, but good considering it's been a couple weeks, I can't complain.
Day 8
Today was damn good! Started with flat bench press and did a pyramid of 255x5/275x3/295x2......this means I've already passed my 1RM of 300. Then over to incline DB press and put up 3 sets of hundos (100's) for 5 reps. Never gotten close to that before so pretty stoked. Did a few other things then hit tri's and that was pretty solid as well. Great workout today, intensity was high and felt like I could've lifted for 5 hours. Weighed in this morning at 177 for a 2 pound gain after the first week.
So far so good!
Day 9
Killed back and bi’s yesterday.
T-Bar rows - 4 sets with 5x5 plates
One arm DB rows - 4 sets 5x100’s
Cable pull-downs (Wide) – 4 Sets 5x170
Weighed Pull-ups (45lb Plate) – 3 sets 3 reps
Preacher Curls – 3 Sets 4x127
Standing EZ Curls – 3 Sets 6x127
One armed DB Curls – 3 Sets 5x50 (1 up 3 Down timing)
Overhead Cable Curl – 3 Sets 5x60
Workout was solid, when I was finished I wanted to keep going, but didn’t want to OT. I feel pretty good today, but I have a good history of having DOMS so we’ll see how tomorrow is!?!?! 8-0
Diet was spot on have cheated much over the last couple weeks trying to stay lean!
Sides: None yet, although I have noticed that I am sleeping really hard. Sleeping through both my alarms and such.
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Day 10
Not much to report for yesterday…..active recovery…..workout for about 30 minutes doing some sprints, push-ups, crunches, squats with 30lb rope on my shoulders, burpies, shoulder ripples. The only thing I discovered is that my endurance is piss poor.
Diet was good, but I forgot to have my casein shake.
Experiencing some DOMS from the killer back workout on Tuesday today. Tonight’s W/O is Chest and shoulders.
Not much sides to speak of yet, still sleeping really hard, and I’ve been feeling a little lethargic the past few days.
Dose time while I’m on the 30 is 8 am, 3 pm, and 8 pm.
Day 11
Well yesterday was a pretty good day! Diet was spot on, no deviations. Destroyed my chest and shoulders yesterday and can barely move my arms without cramping my chest hahaha. It hurts so good!
Started with chest:
Pyramid up and down Bench Press:
4x275 2x298 1x315 3x275 6x225 – So yes for the first time ever I joined the 3 plate club!!! Pretty stoked!!
Did 3 more set of heavy DB fly but after that my chest was shot so I moved onto shoulders which had also seemed to take a toll from basically maxing on bench.
Shoulders:
Started with so isolated movements
3 sets Front DB Raises
3 Sets Lateral DB Raises
3 Set bent-over DB raises
Then Did one compound;
4 set of Smith Behind-the-Head Military Press of 5x185
I was shot………so in less than 2 weeks my max bench has gone up by 15 pounds!!!!!!
Physically: Weighed in dry this morning at 178 that’s a 3 pound increase over my starting weight. Noticed my abs where starting to show so hopefully I’ve gained a bit more muscle than that and am just dropping so body fat. Going to Arizona in 2 weeks and to prep I would like to do a quick cut to trim some of the fat. So I am thinking I will Cycle my carbs around my workouts and limit it to 75-100 grams a day, up my protein consumption considerably and Fat a little. So F/C/P – 25%/15%/60% – 72/100/390 (In grams)------Open to suggestions.
Sides: None really besides a little dehydration, have been drinking close to a gallon of water a day, but still waking up with cotton mouth in the morning. Slept good last night, still felt a little lethargic all day, but no back pumps or suppression, libido is good.
Day 14
I got legs in this weekend, was pretty busy and almost didn’t get a chance to do it, but I managed to get in last night around 9pm to bust out a quick workout. Nothing spectacular just enough to get them worked and feel like I did something.
Diet was pretty spot on and today I start a new diet for 2 weeks cutting carbs except for around my workouts. This morning I already had my Chicken and a small amount of broccoli for breakfast. Then for lunch its lean ground beef with peas.
Feeling pretty good I feel like the physical sensation is starting to kick in. I feel like I am leaning out, and my muscles in my back, arms, and chest look and feel denser. Hoping over the next 2 weeks I can lean out a bit before I head off to Arizona.
Sides: Still feeling lethargic and sometimes even cloudy. Not sure why?? Yesterday I was at Rite Aid and checked my blood pressure and it was pretty normal for me 121/67 with a HBR of 63. Still no acne, atrophy, or gyno to speak of.
Day 15
Yesterday was Chest and Tri, chest has been blowing my mind this cycle with some serious new gains. Yesterday I did 195 as a working set for 4 with the 4th forced. Put up 110’s for 5 on incline DB press, tri’s kicked ass as well.
First day with this 2 week low carb diet and it went well. I had an English muffin 45 minutes before the workout and that seemed to be sufficient to allow me the strength I needed to get through the workout. Then ate dinner (Chicken and Broccoli w/ almonds) when I got home followed up with a small casein shake before bed. However, I realized I did not eat enough yesterday so I will be adding more protein and fat sources to the diet like chicken and eggs to get the calories up to where they need to be.
Sides: Nothing new to speak of.
Still doing the 30 mg for this week and then on to 40 mg next week for two weeks. Weighed in this morning at 177 still, but did a BF% measurement last night and it went down a percent from my starting point, meaning I’ve gained nearly 4 pounds of lean mass since starting the cycle 2 weeks ago. Also noticed my arms looked a bit bigger and took a measurement and they showed 0.5” increase in size (16.5” flexed) I will post before and after photos when this is all done. Also noticed chest was looking thicker, but didn’t get a measurement.
Day 16
Today was back and bi’s. Went really well, felt strong, my arms were pretty pumped when I finished and the pump last through into the next day. Diet was spot on to add some extra protein and fat to the diet I just shoveled 6 eggs in during dinner. Surprisingly on the low carb diet I am feeling pretty good, not noticing much of any loss in energy or strength.
Sides: Nothing new.
I am amending my PCT, instead of lean Xtreme I am going to run Erase.
Day 17
Today luckily fell on my off day so I celebrated our nation’s independence with no gym, and didn’t cheat too bad on my diet. Weighed in this morning at 178, which puts me at a 3 pound gain thus far. Today is chest and shoulders. I’ve been seeing some pretty good gains with the 30 mg a day I can’t wait till next week to bump up to 40. Had a guy at the gym that I actually look up in the gym asking me what I was doing because he’s noticed the gains I’ve been making. I told him about epi and he asked me to print out the program I was doing. Hahaha
Day 18, 19 and 21
Weight: 179 lbs (+4 lbs)
Day 18 (Friday) was supposed to be leg day, but I didn’t get it in because my daughter got out of the hospital early Friday night. Saturday morning I took every one to the high school track and I did sets of sprints for about 20 minutes followed by 20 minutes of stairs. Later that night I did some pushup, air squats, and crunches followed by 45 minutes on the tread at 3.5 mph with 10% incline. Had lots of energy and my legs were pretty ruined the next day. Haha
Yesterday (Day 21) was chest and triceps and also the start of my first week at 40 mgs. It was pretty damn sweet, I got 3 pills in before my workout at 4:45 and killed my chest and triceps.
Bench Press: 225x10, 275x5, 295x3, 325x1 (new PR)
Incline DB Press: 90x8x3 (Could of done more but didn’t have a spot)
DB Flies: 40x8x3
Triceps were
Behind the Head Inc. Tri Ext.: 110x5x3
Tri Cable Ext: 100x8x3 (single pulley)
One Armed Tri Cable Ext superset with Bar Dips 3 sets.
2 hours later I did 45 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5 mph 10% incline.
Diet: Been struggling, the low carb kicked my ass and I felt pretty weak, I abandoned it quickly and as of right now I have no solid plan. Just trying to make sure I get everything in. This has always been the bane to my progress in the gym.
Sides: None, libido is good, lethargy seems to have went away, no atrophy, no gyno, no acne, no joint pain, no back pumps, feeling good.
Question: My chest has been feeling really tight toward the inner part of the muscle, especially when I am doing bench press on flat or incline. It is becoming quite difficult to touch my chest for a full rep and the focus on the concentric part of the motion is exuding a lot of energy needed in the eccentric part of the motion. I always stretch and warm-up before going so I am not sure what it is. Any ideas??
Day 22
Weight: 180 (+5lbs)
Felt really motivated yesterday and busted ass in the gym. I did 3 different supersets for back totaling 6 exercises for 18 sets. Back feels pretty good today! Bi’s went even better and I felt really strong, my wrists have been bothering me for the past few months so it’s been difficult to get curls in, but I invested in some wraps and they made a world of difference, did 125 for 7 on the EZ bar for 3 sets, followed that with DB curls and Single armed cable curls. Got home last night and I kept getting really massive pumps in my arms, hurt like an SOB.
Diet: Struggled yesterday with getting enough to eat. I’ve been seeing really good results with this cycle, but I feel it could be better if my diet was better, gotta figure that out soon. I would like to continue the warrior diet, but it’s expensive to go through a tub of protein a week.
Sides: None
About halfway through the cycle…..here is a list of gains, improvements, and PR’s that I’ve seen.
Weight: Up 5 pounds
BF%: Down 1% looking much leaner
Arm Size: Up ½ an inch
Bench Press: Former PR 300lbs new PR 325lbs
Incline DB Press: Former PR 100x4 new PR 110x5
EZ Bar Curls: Former PR 125x4 new PR 125x7
T-Bar Rows: Former PR 205x4 new PR 225x4
DB Shoulder Press: Former PR 80x5 new PR 90x5
Day 24
Yesterday I just focused on Shoulder. I feel I haven’t given them the attention they deserve over the past couple weeks so I did 16 sets of just shoulders.
Seated Military: 185x5 2 sets in front 2 sets behind
DB Shoulder Press: 90x5x3
Front DB raise: 40x8x3
Lateral DB Raises: 40x8x3
Rear delt DB Flies: 55x8x3
Tonight is legs and then tomorrow I am going hiking for a few hours.
Diet was good, lots of good protein yesterday, and ate plenty before my workout so I felt pretty strong all day. Took an update photo this morning and man it’s amazing the changes over the last 3.5 weeks.
Sides: I feel like the lethargy has subsided, but now my aggression seems to be a little high. Very irritable.
Day 25
Friday was legs, it went pretty well. I did:
Leg Press: 600x10x4
Hack Squats: 275x8x3
Leg Ext.: 190x10x3
Glute ham raises: 10x3
Straight legged deadlift: 225x10x3
Weighted Calve Raises: 225x15x3
Then Saturday I did a 6 mile hike.
Diet was good, kept it in check, went to a party last night and ate a bit more than I should have.
Day 29
Today was Chest and tri's...nothing epic happened, but had a solid workout and definitely feeling it today. My joints have been feeling really good...I'm up to about 7 grams of fish oil a day on top of the glucosimine and chondrotin, I'm feeling pretty good.
Diet was in check, no sides, just keep plugg'n along.
Day 31
Yesterday was good hit back and bi's really good and got a solid pump for hours after. Diet was spot on! Progress seems to have slowed a bit, so I'm curious how the next the 2 weeks go as I finish out the cycle.
Today I am heading to Arizona for 4 days and will have access to ASU's fitness facility while I'm there so I should be able to get shoulders and chest in tomorrow and legs in on Friday time permitting.
Sent from my HP TouchPad.
Day 32
Today was Chest and shoulders…….the gym at ASU didn’t work out so I had to use the hotel gym which only had a cable machine and a set of dumbbells going up to 50’s. Not much to work with, but I made it work.
Day 33
Orientation kept me pretty busy so I missed legs today. Didn’t get done working till 1 am and then I had to be up at 5am the next day. Diet struggled over the weekend.
Day 36
Back from ASU and also started my next dose of 50 mg’s. Today was chest and tri and felt pretty good. I did 3 sets of 295x4 and then one set of 315x2 on bench. Did some incline dumbbells for 3 sets, and then 4 sets of power presses before moving on to tris.
Day 37
Today is back and bi’s, felt pretty good nothing exciting, just a solid workout. Felt strong.
No sides and diet was in check. Still leaning out quite a bit and weight seems to have stopped at 180, but still getting stronger.
Day 39
Today was shoulders and traps, went really well, again nothing ground breaking, but a solid workout. Diet has been good, sleeping well, no sides, can’t complain.
Day 40
Weight: 182 (+7 pounds)
Tore up legs pretty good today. I missed last week so I really blasted ‘em today, should feel it for a while. Haha Felt strong!
Day 43
Well this is my last week of Epi, I believe I have enough to make it till Saturday, then I will start my PCT. Today was Chest and Tri’s. Pretty solid workout, strength gains slowed quite a bit towards the end of the cycle, but I have leaned out quite a bit. Today my working set for bench press was 6x275 and when I started my working set was 6x225, pretty happy with that! Chest got hit hard today as did tri’s. All weights for tri’s are up about 15-20%
Diet has been good for the majority of the cycle. I tried not to exceed my maintenance intake as the goal was body recomp and strength. I haven’t seen the recomp result that I wanted, but definitely seeing the strength increases.
Day 44
Today was back and bi and admittedly I walked in with a very low motivation level. However, once I got started I blew it up and hit my back and bi’s harder than I have in a while. Did DB Curls with 70’s for 5 reps; that’s a 10 pound increase over my previous working set. Back was great, did and extra plate on the seated lat pulls and jumped up my one arm DB rows to 115 from 100.
Sad this is my last week, but after seeing the results TonyGT is seeing on the PCT, I’m pretty stoked to see what happens there.
Day 46
Toady was Shoulders and Traps. Felt really great today, put up 80’s on DB Shoulder Press for 3 sets of 8 and did 185 on military press for 3 sets of 6. Followed by front raises, lateral raises, and bent over flies. For traps I did 3 sets of BB Shrugs of 315 for sets of 10 then did DB shrugs with 125’s for 3 sets of 10. Short workout, but I killed my shoulders for sure.
Diet has been really good for the past couple weeks and tomorrow being my last day on Epi, the only real side effect I had was the lethargy. It was pretty bad throughout the entire cycle. I will most likely do Epi again, except next time I will probably use DHEA with it. I’ve been reading a lot about that lately to combat the shutdown during the cycle.
Day 48 (Day 2 PCT)
Weight 185 (+10 pounds)
Missed leg day on Friday, so I am got in here on Sunday (yesterday) to get them in. Solid workout, although I really hate doing legs and I typically just do some lighter weight doing reps of 10-15 reps, I did 265 for 12 on Hack Squats, 500 for 12 on leg press, some leg extensions, with hammy curls, then moved on to 5 sets for claves.
Yesterday was also day 2 of my PCT, and I am feeling pretty good. Today is Chest so we’ll see how that goes, and I am excited to get back on a PW.
Day 49 (Day 3 PCT)
Hit chest and tri’s today, and had a really good workout. It was nice to be back on a PW. For chest I did
Bench Press: 275x5x3 and 225x10x1
DB Flat Bench Press: 100x6x4
Power Presses: 225x6x4
For Tri’s I did
Behind the Head Ext.: 100x8x3
Skull Crushers: 100x8x3
Tri Cable Ext.: 100x8x3
I just realized that my weights, reps and set were all the same. Haha
Diet was in check, still trying to recover from the suppression of the Epi, so still feeling a bit lethargic, but definitely better. Another side effect I’ve noticed is increased attention at the gym, I had 1 guy on Sunday and 2 yesterday comment on my strength and size increase. It’s a nice motivator!
Day 50 (Day 4 PCT)
Hit Back and Bi’s today, and had a solid workout. For back I did:
T-Bar Rows: 4 sets for 8x225
One Arm DB Rows: 3 sets for 8x100
Pulldowns Wide: 3 sets for 6x170
Inside Grip Pull-Ups: 3 sets of 13
For Bi’s I did:
Standing EZ-Bar Curls: 4 sets of 6x137 (Bar weighs 27 pounds)
Standing DB Curls: 3 sets of 6x60
Cable Curls: 3 sets of 6x110
I feel recovery from the suppression is not going to great, energy levels are up, but libido is in the trash right now. On the flip side gains are still happening during the PCT so I am happy with that.
Day 52 (Day 6 PCT)
Did shoulders and traps today and felt really good. For shoulders I did:
Military Press: 4x10x155
DB Shoulder Press: 4x6x80
Front Raises: 3x6x40
Rear Delt Raises: 3x6x60
For Traps I did:
Shrugs: 3x8x315
DB Shrugs 3x8x125
Log continues
HERE