starting over after 19 years

[heavypieces]

day off

2384 cal

fat 84 g
cho 181 g
protein 232 g

HP

 

[heavypieces]

yesterday 254 lbs

Back and Biceps

overhead rows
130x10, 150x10, 160x10, 170x10
Deadlift
5x5x195
lat pull down
130x10x4

ezbar curls
65x10, 85x10, 95x10x2
isolation db curls
25x10x2, 30x10x2, 35x10x2
preacher curls
30x10x2, 40x10x2

Second day of 5x5 for deadlift. I'm increasing 5 lbs per back day. Let's see how it goes.

Day 6 Havoc notes
I've been taking 30 mg per day and I felt a little more pumped in the gym and a little more muscle hardness. However this may just be a placebo effect. Libido is up. My BP was 10 pts higher than normal 3 days ago. I'm up 4 lbs but I think this is just water weight due to relaxing CHO restrictions. I loosened up my calorie restrictions the last week and a half just to see how my body responds to Havoc. Also I've been experiencing a common side with this compound--hunger.

Diet

2480 calories

breakfast
isopure 210 cal
havoc 10 mg

workout

after workout snack
isopure 210 cal
granola bar 180 cal

lunch
sushi 800 cal
10 mg havoc

snack
pretzels 160 cal
isopure 210 cal

dinner
chicken 426 cal
10 mg havoc

snack
3 tablespoons of peanut butter 285 cal

fat 54 g
cho 236 g
protein 270 g

 

[heavypieces]

chest and triceps

flat bench
150x5, 170x5, 190x5x2 (PR)
incline bench
90x5, 110x5, 130x5x2 (PR)
decline db press
60x10, 70x10, 75x6x2 (PR)
cable flies
20x10, 30x10, 40x10, 50x10

skull crushers
65x10, 75x10, 85x6x2
pull downs
55x10, 60x10, 70x10, 80x10
reverse cable pull down
40x10x4

Notes
I felt very strong today. I was trying to do my 5x5 program at 145 lbs on the bench but I kept throwing up the weight and it wasn't working out my chest so i just kept adding iron. My shoulder is a little sore so I will stop and get a nice big ice bag and try to get it ready for tomorrow since it's legs and shoulders.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

diet for today

2279 calories

fat 50 g
cho 174 g
protein 282 g

breakfast
isopure 210
wheaties 275
milk 183
havoc 10 mg
AI cycle support
multi vit
2000 mg fish oil

preworkout
isopure 210

workout

postworkout
isopure 210


lunch
ham sandwich 440
havoc 10 mg

snack
pretzels 318

dinner
2 chicken breast 426 cal
10 mg havoc

 

[EasyEJL]

just to insert something to show people are still following I have noticed lately that I have gained enough lean mass and changed overall eating habits enough that if I don't purposefully pay attention to what i'm eating I actually lose weight by default. its an odd feeling, never been that way my whole life.

 

[heavypieces]

256 this morning. I'm up 6 lbs in one week. I think it's all muscle. I'll break out the tape later and check it out. One of my goals was to fit in size 38 levi's. I picked a pair up and the just about fit.

Checked my bp last night. It seems to be up about 5 pts. Libido is high. Skin looks a little oily. No alpha male stuff going on. Strength is up and I feel a little harder.

 

[heavypieces]

just to insert something to show people are still following I have noticed lately that I have gained enough lean mass and changed overall eating habits enough that if I don't purposefully pay attention to what i'm eating I actually lose weight by default. its an odd feeling, never been that way my whole life.

that's what I am shooting for with the havoc cycle. Add muscle then cut again.

 

[EasyEJL]

yeah, you sometimes have to, or at least change up how you are doing things as I think I mentioned earlier. Your body always seeks homeostasis no matter what you are doing, so anything stops or at least slows down in terms of results after a period of time. Plus it sucks anyhow to stay too low calorically and avoid fun foods for too long

 

[carnivalhobo]

pics of the +6 lbs!!

still watching heavy

 

[heavypieces]

Sorry for the lag. I have a cold and I am fighting through it. I weighed in at 258 this morning. That's up 8 lbs in one week on approx. 2400 calories per day. This stuff is crazy. Today was a day off after legs yesterday. I put on my size 38 Levi's this morning--this was one of my medium range goals and I am almost there. Still just a little tight. So I don't think I am gaining too much fat on this cycle. Arms are looking bigger. Chest is bigger. Legs for sure look bigger. I'm on 30 mg per day and considering bumping to 40 after the cold. My research says 40 mg is the sweet spot for most folks on Havoc.

Today was a rest day.

 

[heavypieces]

Feeling better today. Still at 30 mg and calories at 2400 or so.

Chest and Tri

db press 75x5x4, 75x3
pec deck 85x10x4 concentrating on good negatives
low cable press 60x10x4
cable cross over 20x10, 30x10, 40x10, 50x10

skull crushers
50x10, 60x10, 70x10, 80x6
cable pull down
50x10, 60x10, 70x6, 70x4
cable overhead extension (rope)
50x10x4

Felt strong and pumped today!!! I have the strong feeling of being on and the king of the gym. One guy commented in the locker room that my chest is looking much more defined and I seem to be bulking up a bit. I'm going to cycle my carbs back down just above ketosis. I have some keto strips so let's find out where that is.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

meals

dropping my carbs as low as I can without going into ketosis.

breakfast 315 cal
oatmeal
isopure

preworkout isopure 200 cal

workout

lunch 508 cal
isopure
whole wheat bagel
peanut butter

dinner 1275 cal
steak
lobster
asparagus
mushrooms

evening snack 210 cal
isopure drink

2412 calories

fat 88 g
cho 102 g
protein 306 g

 

[heavypieces]

up another 2 lbs today. +10

Day 3 at 40 mg.

Libdo is down a bit. No other sides to note.

back and biceps today.

wide grip lat pull down
130x10x4
close grip rows
120x10x3, 150x10
straight leg deadlift machine
60x10x4
overhead rows
130x10x3, 150x10

db curls
30x10x4
wrist curls
20x10, 40x10x3
reverse EZbar curls
40x10x4
EZbar curls
65x10x4
cable preacher curls
45x10x3, 55x10

 

[heavypieces]

I'll post progress pics saturday

 

[heavypieces]

2245 calories

fat 53 g
cho 145 g
protein 298 g

I still have a cold and a nasty cough. To top it off the other day I tore my hamstring doing squats. It's not too bad but I need to heal up.

 

[heavypieces]

progress pics 2.5 months into my recomp

2.5 months since I started. Three weeks into my Havoc cycle.

 

[the bruiser]

great job! keep it up!

 

[heavypieces]

I have a very dark bruise on my inner thigh about the size of a baseball.

 

[heavypieces]

My weight is holding but size is up. I measured my bicep last night and it looks like I increased about 1/2".

Back and Biceps today.

overhead rows
100x10, 130x10, 150x10, 160x10
lat pull down
120x10, 140x10, 150x10x2
deadlift machine
60x10, 80x10, 100x10, 120x10
low rows
120x10, 130x10, 150x10x2

EZ bar curls
65x10, 85x10x3
decline db curls
20x10, 25x10, 30x10, 35x10
standing single cable curls
20x10, 30x10x3
preacher curls two arm cable
45x10, 55x10, 65x10, 75x10

Felt a great pump in the gym.

Sides are starting to show up. I really have a tough time sleeping the whole night. Back pumps are pretty regular even with 6 g of taurine a day. Libido is down. BP is up about 10 points.

To tell you the truth I am ready to start another cut but I'm not sure about the timing. Do I cut during PCT or after. What's the most effective.

 

[heavypieces]

chest and triceps

hammersmith bench press machine
90x15, 180x6, 180x6, 200x5
decline db press
55x10, 60x10, 65x10, 70x10
incline db press
40x10, 45x10, 50x10, 55x10

skull crushers
50x10, 60x10, 70x10x2
reverse cable pull down single hand
10x10, 20x10, 30x10x2
rope push down, back to machine
40x10, 50x10, 60x10x2
push downs
50x10, 60x10, 70x10x2

good pump. low intensity due to lack of sleep and I have been taking sleeping aid. my body feels harder and more muscular. great cycle for my recomp.

 

[heavypieces]

Day off again.

1988 calories

fat 37 g
cho 162 g
protein 247 g

libido is down. lethargy is a problem. I'm still dropping fat and muscle is increasing. I'll hit the legs tomorrow.

 

[heavypieces]

legs and shoulders

2050 calories

fat 30 g
cho 207 g
protein 244 g

squats
130x10, 200x10, 220x10, 270x10
hack squat machine
135x10, 180x10, 205x5, 215x5
leg press machine calf and quads superset
270x10, 360x10, 450x10, 540x10
leg curls
120x10, 130x10, 140x10x2

military press machine
40x10, 50x10, 60x10, 70x10
low pully front raises
10x10x4
low pully lat raise
10x10x4

 

[heavypieces]

255 this morning.

Back and Biceps

overhead rows
130x10, 160x10, 180x10, 190x10
deadlift
130x10, 220x5x3
lat pull down
130x10, 140x10, 150x10x2
cable rows
120x10, 130x10, 140x10x2

ez bar curls
65x10, 75x10, 80x10x2
single standing cable curls
20x10, 30x10, 40x10x2
cable seated preacher curls
45x10, 55x10, 65x10, 70x10

2047 calories

fat 53 g
cho 208 g
protein 182 g

started PCT
SERM creatine

 

[oufinny]

How are you progressing with the weight loss? I still am a firm believer you need to get that fat ratio up to 30% of caloric intake and drop the carbs to 20%... that low of fat does not allow for optimal natural test production; something that is key when you are cutting/dieting. Just a thought if you plateau and want to switch it up to keep the metabolism guessing.

 

[heavypieces]

How are you progressing with the weight loss? I still am a firm believer you need to get that fat ratio up to 30% of caloric intake and drop the carbs to 20%... that low of fat does not allow for optimal natural test production; something that is key when you are cutting/dieting. Just a thought if you plateau and want to switch it up to keep the metabolism guessing.

Thanks for the feedback. To break my last plateau I opted to bulk for a month. The result has been I believe I continue to cut fat and add muscle without seeing the scale move much on my overall weight. I'll post some progress pictures Saturday and let's see if the plan worked.

I started PCT and changed my diet to cutting again 2 days ago. Let's see what happens next. I need to add HIIT back to my routine and then start playing with macros.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

This may sound weird but I can wear my size 38 jeans now. Next stop size 36.

 

[heavypieces]

I essentially on track now. I will continue my program and post some progress pics every once and a while. Thanks for all your help and encouragement.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

3 months

three months still some belly fat but it's slowly going away.

 

[heavypieces]

progress

progress

 

[Bionic]

Fantastic man! Great job. Honestly, this is my first visit to this post but it's clear that you're determined and your results are obvious. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is an athletic physique but you are well on your way and your foundation is getting more solid every day. Keep it up! The one bit of advice I would offer is that you should forget about isolation exercises and just concentrate on heavy compound lifts for now.

 

[heavypieces]

Fantastic man! Great job. Honestly, this is my first visit to this post but it's clear that you're determined and your results are obvious. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is an athletic physique but you are well on your way and your foundation is getting more solid every day. Keep it up! The one bit of advice I would offer is that you should forget about isolation exercises and just concentrate on heavy compound lifts for now.

thanks bro. I get the same feedback over and over. How about this--can you put together a routine for me.

 

[Vance]

Size 38 Levis? Try 34 bro.

Keep up the great work man, you've made a pretty big difference in 3 months. You're gonna want to throw in some middle delt work though. Cable side-lateral-raises are good. Bench and rows have your front/rear delts covered, but you don't have much in terms of middle-delt work and it'll limit your growth and mess around your shoulder posture if you don't hit them a bit here and there.

You'll find the next period of fat loss will be a series of stalls and splurts. You'll lose nothing/gain a little weight in the next few weeks as muscle growth balances or exceeds fat loss but then this will flip and you'll find yourself suddenly losing double digits of lbs for a few weeks in fat as the muscle beings eating it up (Just like Easy said before).

Keep it up though.

 

[Bionic]

thanks bro. I get the same feedback over and over. How about this--can you put together a routine for me.

I'm sorry, brother. I don't have a lot of time but I won't leave you stranded. Start your search here. You can also look in to DC training which I hear is pretty good. But the main thing is to forget isolation work and build a strong foundation. Everything else will fall into place. Squats, deadlifts, bench, dips, rows and chins. These are your friends.

 

[Vance]

And if neutral grip chins are something you can't do at the moment and you don't have an assisted chinnie machine at your gym, just go for high weight lat pulldowns. You'll be doing chinnies with the best of us in no time.

 

[heavypieces]

Size 38 Levis? Try 34 bro.

Keep up the great work man, you've made a pretty big difference in 3 months. You're gonna want to throw in some middle delt work though. Cable side-lateral-raises are good. Bench and rows have your front/rear delts covered, but you don't have much in terms of middle-delt work and it'll limit your growth and mess around your shoulder posture if you don't hit them a bit here and there.

You'll find the next period of fat loss will be a series of stalls and splurts. You'll lose nothing/gain a little weight in the next few weeks as muscle growth balances or exceeds fat loss but then this will flip and you'll find yourself suddenly losing double digits of lbs for a few weeks in fat as the muscle beings eating it up (Just like Easy said before).

Keep it up though.

Yes next stop size 36.

 

[EasyEJL]

I recently drifted back up to 34s being snug and no more 32s in the process of bulking from 200-230, but already back down at 225 the 34s are getting loose. and some 32s just about are back to fitting. snugly of course.

 

[heavypieces]

Mid January progress pics

Progress pics. Been hitting it hard!!

 

[heavypieces]

Going to start bulking soon. Been hitting the gym still and diet is tight.

 

[oufinny]

That is huge progress man, great work!

 

[Vance]

Just remember dude bulking doesn't = eating like ****!

Keep your food clean when you're looking to increase your LBM.

Great work so far.

 

[heavypieces]

Thanks

That is huge progress man, great work!

Thanks brotha. I'm feeling good now. Clothes are fitting and the girls are looking.

 

[heavypieces]

eating clean

Just remember dude bulking doesn't = eating like ****!

Keep your food clean when you're looking to increase your LBM.

Great work so far.

Yes, I am going to target 3200 calories and eat very clean. I will start a log in the bulk section soon which will include diet and lifting stats every day. I'm going to need some guidance.

HP

 

[Vance]

What sort of weights are you pushing on the big 3 mate?

Deadlift/Flat Bench/Skwats.

 

[heavypieces]

What sort of weights are you pushing on the big 3 mate?

Deadlift/Flat Bench/Skwats.

I don't know. I've added a workout partner so I am lifting as heavy as I can on the big three to get about 4-6 reps. My routine has been completely switched up though so i feel much weaker. Hitting Costco this weekend to load up on protein, chicken, tuna for a serious attempt at adding muscle.

Right now I'm at 235 and my arms and legs feel dense. However I still have love handles and belly fat. I need to get a tripod so I can take some pics of my back and a couple of poses.

 

[heavypieces]

Weighed in at 228 yesterday. Down 52 lbs since September 7.

 

[Vance]

Awesome work dude!

Remember that you can either be building muscle or losing a lot of fat. I'd say you're probably at the cusp of wanting to put on some muscle now rather than just smashing fat, so in that case don't be afraid to be carrying a little podge around the mid-section. Once you're happy with the amount of muscle you've built you can start cutting and losing fat then.

 

[carnivalhobo]

wow, looking great keep it up, such a huge change since I last posted in this thread.

post some workout logs so we can see your training now.

 

[heavypieces]

wow, looking great keep it up, such a huge change since I last posted in this thread.

post some workout logs so we can see your training now.

thanks. I'll start tuesday.

 

[heavypieces]

Started bulking two days ago. Eating like crazy right now. The goal is to bulk up for 60 days then cut till summer shows up.

 

[heavypieces]

still hitting it hard.