Gettin' my **** together with Follidrone

[DirkHardPec]

Long time reader, first time poster. TLDR: on follidrone (2 caps pre-wo) for a week.

PRs Within that period:
Incline Bench: 330x7
Bench: 405x5
Squat: 365x6 (yep, terrible)
Hack Squat: 4pps x 20 and 5pps x 5
Behind the neck push press: 315 for 5 singles and 295x5 for 3 sets.
Deadlift: 495 for 3 sets of 5.

BW: three-oh-fat (308) - unchanged. Not sure if I can attribute the PRs to follidrone yet.
-----------------------------------------

The long version:
I spent about 18 months binging on whiskey and pies due to a terrible job and other stuff that contributed to incredible depression - slingshotting me from 234 to 315. I'm trying follidrone for 8 weeks inbetween cycles of Secretabridge and other wacky test boosters in order to maintain/gain strength.

Diet/cardio? My only goal is to eat like a goddamn normal person, which is my biggest issue currently. My usual stair running would be an attempt to solve a psychological issue with physical means - completely useless.

This is my first log ever, hoping to learn even more from youse guys on AM.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Today's workout:

Squats: 365 for 5 sets of 2. Three paused reps - followed by 365x6.
Hack squats - 4plates x 20 and 5plates x 5. Finished off with leg ext and curls.

The follidrone isn't something I can "feel" working, but I'm anticipating gains in at least work capacity - the squats went very well since usually I'd be too gassed for high-rep work after my work sets.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Well, something is up. All but one set of the overhead work was done beltless.

Overhead press - 230 - 5 sets of 2 front, 2 behind the neck, then 230x7.
Push press - 300 - 6 sets of 2.
Bench - 365 - 6 sets of 3 with 5 sec pauses.
Rows - 255 - 3x8, then 130lb DB for 20

This workout actually felt good. Monday is usually the most difficult day due to recovering from weekend shenanigans, but I felt the same kind of euphoria that I used to get from DMAA/ephedrine.

If this keeps up, I'll have to buy 10 bottles.

 

[grocker]

subbed

 

[DirkHardPec]

TLDR: Overall performance improved, workout felt awful. Work capacity improvements greater than Beta Alanine or Creatinol O Phosphate.

Paused front squats: worked up to 295x5
Deads: 505 - 6 sets of 2
Chins: BW x 13, 15, 9, 6.
----------------------------------------------------

Bad: I was plagued with lower back cramps straight from the bowels of hell itself.

Good: I was still able to finish the workout and I took less rest between sets - 2-3 minutes vs 5+ minutes.

I'm Ron Burgundy? The psychological effects were still there, though they had to compete with the fear and loathing that usually accompanies Paused Front Squats, the dumbest movement in all of weightlifting.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Incline bench day was complete crap, and I couldn't finish my assistance stuff due to an appointment - that may have saved me from a pec strain however.

Paused Incline bench: 330 for 6 x 3
Bradford press: 200 x 10.

The workout itself wasn't great. I felt tired and my technique was all over the place.

I thought it may have something to do with not shotgunning baked goods like a man on Death Row, but on Friday...

 

[DirkHardPec]

I came in and was going to hit my squats no matter what. I was sweating before I even started warming up, which is weird because the gym was well-cooled.

Squat - 365 for 3x3
Belt on, paused squats - 365 for 2x3
Banged out a set of 6 after that.

Hack squat machine: 5 plates a side - 3x5 and then 2x6.
Finished up with leg ext / leg curls
170 / 145 - 3x20 / 3x15

The hack squat machine is definitely helping my leg strength - I squatted as deep as I could without ricocheting off the bottom of the machine and my legs were beaten to hell and back. Goal is 5 plates for 20 reps.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Well - today I was worried about my energy levels plummeting which may or may not be happening - a lot of this is mental. My lifts aren't as snappy as I'd like but I'll forge ahead.

Behind the neck press + regular press: 240 x 2, 2/2, 3/2. - all of these are PRs
Push press: 300 x 4 sets of 3.
Bench press: 365 x 3 sets of 4.
Chin-ups: 10, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 9.

I misloaded the bar due to using kilo plates - it was 10lbs heavier. I was about to sulk and be a big baby, I realized I hit 3 PRs. Unexpectedly Pressing 240lbs from behind the neck totally zapped my energy reserves, so I had to cut some volume.

I'm making changes: Bringing back high rep work and assistance lifts while cutting a little volume from the heavy stuff. It's worked well in the past and it would give my joints a break.

 

[DirkHardPec]

A mixed bag: I hit two PRs, but was so lightheaded between all sets that I had to sit for a few minutes just to regain composure. I assume this is due to less food intake (?)

Paused front squat: 300 - 1,2,3,4.
Front squat: 300 for 10 reps. PR
Deadlift: 405 for 5 sets of 7. PR
Shrug machine: 250 for 3 sets of 10.

My hunger and lack of energy was intense, but the weights moved with a good amount of speed. I am terrible at high rep deadlifts, but they should help - I want to work up to 5 sets of 10 with 405 before adding any weight.

 

[DirkHardPec]

A mixed bag: I hit two PRs, but was so lightheaded between all sets that I had to sit for a few minutes just to regain composure. I assume this is due to less food intake (?)

Paused front squat: 300 - 1,2,3,4.
Front squat: 300 for 10 reps. PR
Deadlift: 405 for 5 sets of 7. PR
Shrug machine: 250 for 3 sets of 10.

My hunger and lack of energy was intense, but the weights moved with a good amount of speed. I am terrible at high rep deadlifts, but they should help - I want to work up to 5 sets of 10 with 405 before adding any weight.

 

[kenpoengineer]

Subbed. You are crazy strong brother! What are your macros like now that you are back in the gym? 70 lb gain in 18 months is not something you can loose by rapidly decreasing macros.

 

[DirkHardPec]

I'm avoiding counting until my mind is mostly un-f*cked.

Right now: carbs pre-workout. The rest of the day is protein and fat in the form of eggs and meat. On the weekends I get more carbs while eating out.

Based on what I'm eating it looks like
100-160g carbs
200-275g protein
50-100g of fat

Wow that isn't much. Hilariously, for people like me, eating a large amount of real food is difficult.

 

[brundel]

Subbed. Sorry Im late.

So your cutting basically? I expect the Follidrone will help.

 

[DirkHardPec]

I'm not sure if cutting is really the right word for it - I'm going from pure insanity/depression and 5-10,000 calories of junk food, to mental stability... and around 3,000 cals of regular food.

I'm testing out follidrone to see if it helps - 3 weeks in and strength levels are improving instead of declining like they usually do.

 

[pimppapa1977]

Im in bro

 

[blurryimage]

In!

 

[DirkHardPec]

Down to 9 doses of my first bottle.

PRs:
Behind the neck press: 240 x 3.
Front squat: 300 x 10, and I can now handle paused squats easily.

This are both huge for me, and they show direct improvement while taking only Follidrone.

Lower body work capacity is improving.
Strength is holding steady while eating less.
I'm hungrier and warmer than usual.
There may be mild mood benefits but I'm not sure.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Today - another workout I had to cut short. Felt *MUCH* better than last week though and I had a huge pump going for hours afterwards. I can't even remember the last time my pecs were pumped, haha.

Paused incline bench: 330, 4 sets of 4.
High incline bench: 180 x 8, 10, 8
Curls and pushdowns: until I'm so pumped that I can't bend my arms (around 100 reps each)
Jumprope: 40 jumps between work sets.

 

[kenpoengineer]

I'm very impressed with the weight you are lifting! Nice work. Adding the jump rope in between sets is a great idea. Have you seen any weight loss?

 

[DirkHardPec]

Just weighed in at 303 - I started at 315. Not bad at all considering no cardio.

Hah, I had a long dream about pancakes. Weird because I haven't been going low carb or killing myself with fasted stair running.

 

[brundel]

Good work brother.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Thanks man. Couldn't have done it without follidrone or Formeron.

 

[DirkHardPec]

My wacky intraworkout concoction - 15g ALCAR, 2 tbsp mct oil, a scoop of whey and 80g Glutamine - utterly destroyed my stomach and made this workout awful...

but as they say in my native Tennessee: "Be a mensch, not a schmendrick".

Squats: all of these were PRs
Beltless 365x4
Belted 365 for 5 sets of 4

Hack squat; 5 plates x 8, 10, 10

Then I wrapped a small weight belt around each leg for some occluded hack squats: 4 plates x 6
3 plates x 3
2 plates x 10

That was it. This was one of my toughest workouts in a while. 365 was a weight I could handle for *one* set of 4 reps earlier this year, and the occlusion training made my legs hurt a half hour post workout.

Soooo, looks like I'm gonna have to buy all of the Follidrone in the next batch or hijack the truck while dressed Lord Humongous from Mad Max 2.

 

[brundel]

Lol having people want to hijack shipments indicates we are doing something right

 

[DirkHardPec]

* My upper body workouts are slowly getting better.
* the douchebag bench is paused with my feet up. I've been doing these for a few months and they've helped immensely.
* my waist is getting smaller - haven't measured but my pants and lifting belt are now loose
* follidrone is helping recovery because there's no way in hell I could normally survive the push presses after Saturdays squat shenanigans.

Press: 230 - 3 sets of 3/2 behind/front
230 - 2 sets of 3
Push press: 300 - 4 sets of 3
Douchebag bench: 365 - 2 sets of 5 - PR
Standing rollouts: 4 sets of 5

This workout again left me a sweating heap on the floor. Can't complain because I'm still hitting PRs.

 

[brundel]

* My upper body workouts are slowly getting better.
* the douchebag bench is paused with my feet up. I've been doing these for a few months and they've helped immensely.
* my waist is getting smaller - haven't measured but my pants and lifting belt are now loose
* follidrone is helping recovery because there's no way in hell I could normally survive the push presses after Saturdays squat shenanigans.

Press: 230 - 3 sets of 3/2 behind/front
230 - 2 sets of 3
Push press: 300 - 4 sets of 3
Douchebag bench: 365 - 2 sets of 5 - PR
Standing rollouts: 4 sets of 5

This workout again left me a sweating heap on the floor. Can't complain because I'm still hitting PRs.

Good job brother. Keep up the good work.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Another weird week:

Wednesday - I misloaded the deadlift bar and ended up pulling a huge volume PR.
----------------------------
Front squat - 305 - 1, 2 ... Tendon strain
Deadlift - 515 for 6 sets of 3
DB Rows / shrugs - 30 sec bike sprints + 30 sec cooldown between sets
160 / 300
135 / 250
Made it to 7 rounds before I was too pumped to move.

Thursday - complete crap
----------------------------
Incline bench - 330 - unracked it, and realized I may die
275 - 10, 8, 5 reps - awful.
Bradford presses - 165 for 4 sets of 10
DB Front/side raise + curl - 25lb - just kept going until I couldn't move my arms. Around 15-20 reps each movement.

Friday - this workout was hellish. My quads were on fire for most of it, and I can't even remember the last time that happened. The hack squats were very difficult, and that "0" is from my belt being ripped apart when I hit depth.
----------------------------
Squat - 365 - 5 sets of 5
Hack squat - 6 plates per side - 3, 0, 5, 5
5 plates - 11 reps rest/pause style
Occluded leg extension / curl - 3 sets of 20.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Notes: Finished my first bottle of follidrone and I'm a huge fan.

- better pumps
- maintained / gained strength (i can't say it's due to smart dieting or programming, haha)
- possible mood enhancing effects ?
- improved work capacity
- I've been sweating my butt off during my workouts

I totally bungled my nutrition on Wednesday by being lazy and drinking 2 big protein shakes after working out - mostly because workouts kill my appetite and eating *real* food is a chore. This may be what killed my Thursday workout - the last time I had no carbs after a huge workout, it led to erectile dysfunction soooo I guess this is better.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Just weighed in at 299.8 - finally under 300 for the first time in at least a year.

 

[brundel]

Just weighed in at 299.8 - finally under 300 for the first time in at least a year.

!!!good job man!!!

Stoked your on the way to reaching your goal.

 

[DirkHardPec]

So, the fat loss has kicked in to high gear and my body is starting to hit "the wall". This is a new experience thought because usually my upper body lifts are fine while my lower body lifts go down the crapper.

Follidrone definitely delayed that process and keeps me strong, but it ain't magic - my overhead lifts are going to stall while my back and abs are getting hit hard everyday.

Currently:
BW - 299
Waistline - 50" (HOLY JESUS)
Strength levels - all over the place but improved overall.
Work capacity - way up
Diet - tightened up after sorting out the mental stuff.

Behind the neck press - my shrinking waistline means my belt offers less support. haha, oh well.
230 x 2
230 x 0
230 x 0 - screw this

Push press - same issues
300 x 1, 0
250 x 3 sets of 5

Paused bench - fairly easy
370 x 6 sets of 2 with 90 secs rest including these vvv

Other stuff: did one of the following between all sets including warmups
Standing rollouts x 5 (4 sets)
Jumprope x 40-70 turns (too many to count)
Chins x 10 (5 sets)
Bike x 30 sec sprint / 90 secs recovery pace (4 sets)

 

[brundel]

Dude its all good.
Your primary goal is to lose a few lbs while keeping as much muscle as possible.
Strength is gonna drop...for sure. Dont let it get to you.

My training partner benches 455. When hes depleted and dieting it drops tp 275. Yah...he hates it but he looks better with the bp at 275

Just stay the course bro. Things are right on track.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Yeah thanks. I don't really have much of a choice with the fat loss and plummeting energy levels after from 10,000 calories to around 3,000 - eating that much in real food makes me queasy. I have no idea how bodybuilders do it.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Soooooo, clearly I need to change my programming.

"Jamaican stallion" goodmornings - green band + 135 for 3x8
Front squat - my tendon issue is still active - couldn't even squat the bar.
Deadlift - 405 x 6, 8, 2 ... and my mind just refused to go any further.
Hack squat - I worked up to 4 plates per side and then that was it. I felt awful and hypoglycemic - 6 hours later and my legs are violently cramping up.

I'm still impressed with Follidrone - it delayed this for a month, plus this is happening because I haven't freaked out and eaten an extra 5,000 calories in a month.

Looks like I need to either
A) drop the weights considerably or
B) cut out a lot of volume while trying to lift as heavy as possible

Any advice would be appreciated - I used the first option during my last cut from 280 to 230, but it may not be the best way to go (?)

 

[DirkHardPec]

Great success!

I tried something different - taking my carbs in during the workout. It made a huge difference with my performance and mood. Not only were the presses smooth and fast, but I didn't have any pec tendon issues.

Paused Incline bench - 330 - 2 sets of 5
Various ab exercises - 8-10 reps between each set

Giant set:
High incline presses - 185 - 3x8
Rear delts - 110, 130, 150 x 10
Front/side raises - 20 for 3x10
Hammer curls - 20, 30, 40 x 10

Well this certainly came out of nowhere. I'll keep doing the peri-workout thing to see if today was a fluke.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Great success x 2 and the follidrone train rolls on.

I performed the same experiment from yesterday - only taking carbs (150g) in immediately before and during the workout. PRs all over the place.

Squat - 375 - 5 sets of 2. All PRs
Hack squat - 6 plates - 4,6,8*
Leg curls - up to 205 x 10
Standing rollouts - sets of 3 between *all* sets of squatting movements, including warmups. This was painful and stupid. I recommend everyone try it.

* I had to grab a guy specifically to yell nonsense at me while I cranked out those 8 reps. I had to stop when I felt vomit bubbling up. That was the most painful thing I've done in all my years of lifting.

 

[brundel]

Great success x 2 and the follidrone train rolls on.

I performed the same experiment from yesterday - only taking carbs (150g) in immediately before and during the workout. PRs all over the place.

Squat - 375 - 5 sets of 2. All PRs
Hack squat - 6 plates - 4,6,8*
Leg curls - up to 205 x 10
Standing rollouts - sets of 3 between *all* sets of squatting movements, including warmups. This was painful and stupid. I recommend everyone try it.

* I had to grab a guy specifically to yell nonsense at me while I cranked out those 8 reps. I had to stop when I felt vomit bubbling up. That was the most painful thing I've done in all my years of lifting.

Damn brother your killing it in there!
Good job.
Prs as weight drops is insane.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Haha yeah, I'm training harder than I have in a long time. Add a decent diet (and follidrone) to it and the gains start to skyrocket.

Quick question: any benefit to taking 4 pills? I accidentally double dosed last Thursday and I felt great.

 

[brundel]

Haha yeah, I'm training harder than I have in a long time. Add a decent diet (and follidrone) to it and the gains start to skyrocket.

Quick question: any benefit to taking 4 pills? I accidentally double dosed last Thursday and I felt great.

I have no idea to be honest.
Im working on testing some absorption enhancement. Well see if it makes a difference.

 

[RecompMan]

!!!good job man!!! Stoked your on the way to reaching your goal.

Which cyp450 breaks down the epicatechin

Maybe able to target that pathway easier with enteric coating

 

[brundel]

Which cyp450 breaks down the epicatechin

Maybe able to target that pathway easier with enteric coating

Id have to look into it.
There are compounds that we know directly effect (-)-E absorption.
Im not gonna list em because others can use our research.
Just gonna have to trust me that we are on top of it.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Which cyp450 breaks down the epicatechin

Maybe able to target that pathway easier with enteric coating

Just read up on it - I've been taking my follidrone with bioperine and grapefruit juice already. Know of anything else I could try?

 

[DirkHardPec]

Totally forgot to log the workout.
BW: 295lbs (-4) Waist: 49" (-1)

Behind the neck press - 230 for 3 sets of 4. All of these were PRs.
Push press. 300 for 3 sets of 4. PRs here too.
Paused Bench press - 375 for 5 sets of 3. PR and nearly guillotined myself.
Pushdowns / pec deck - full stack for 9,6 / 8,5


Chins - BW - 16, 13
Weighted Chins - +20lb - 6 sets of 10

This workout crushed me - the presses would have failed if a fly landed on the bar. I pushed through and hit PRs, but stopped at the point of technical failure.

One more week and I replace the first set of presses with some dumbbell work - less mentally taxing.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Good workout today, but had to cut it short due to errands.

Deadlifts - 505 for 6 sets of 4
Farmer's walk - 220 - 2 runs of 15 yards

Had to leave the gym right after - but I stopped by a parking garage for:

Stair sprints
7 sets of 12 flights, done in 14:03.

That pace is close to my best, 10 sets in a little over 19 minutes. I haven't done any real cardio in 2 months, *and* this was after a tough workout. More evidence for follidrone boosting work capacity.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Looks like I've officially hit my stride.

Paused incline bench - 335 for 5 sets of 2, then repped out 275 x 13. These felt great, and my best so far is 275 x 14 before I started eating much less.

Giant sets:
High incline press - 8 reps - 200, 205, 210, 215. All of these were PRs - I want to get this into the 315+ range because it exposes a huge weakness.

Rear/front/side delts and cheat curls. - 3 sets of each at various weights.

Also did 49 total toes-to-bar leg raises during the workout. Good god, my abs are weak. No wonder my squat and deadlift stalled so hard.

 

[DirkHardPec]

So that's what happens when you forget to take follidrone preworkout...

Squat - 375 for 4 sets of 3, unracked for 5th set aaaaand nope.
Hack squat - 6 plates for 5 easy reps, tried for 10 ... I strained so hard that my neck and jaw cramped. Just lost the will to go further.

This workout felt AWFUL. instead of the usual zippy feeling, I was beset by "The Fear". Like something out of a Hunter S. Thompson book - my last set of squats made my vision blur and I honestly was about to pass out.

All I can think of is lack of food due to poor time management (only had 1 meal before working out at 4pm)

and no follidrone. My back is incredibly sore for the first time in a while, so my form must have been awful. Yeesh!

 

[DirkHardPec]

BW is now at 292 (-3), and waist measured at 47.5" (-1.5)

I'm now 6 weeks into this cut, and about to set a new "record" for "amount of time elapsed without a binge-eating freakout".

I firmly believe the follidrone has enhanced my mood. I'm not taking anything else, and the past 6 weeks have been a stressful ****show - then again it could be a placebo effect.

 

[brundel]

BW is now at 292 (-3), and waist measured at 47.5" (-1.5)

I'm now 6 weeks into this cut, and about to set a new "record" for "amount of time elapsed without a binge-eating freakout".

I firmly believe the follidrone has enhanced my mood. I'm not taking anything else, and the past 6 weeks have been a stressful ****show - then again it could be a placebo effect.

Good job man!
I dont think its placebo.....there are just too many reviews that reflect the same things. It would be impossible to have 500 people have the same placebo effects

 

[DirkHardPec]

Phew - long week. I finally figured out what's making me feel awful - stim dosages are too high at 500mg of caffiene plus god knows what else.

Monday was pretty terrible.

Behind the neck push press - 300 x 1,2,3 aaaand couldn't even get the bar off my traps.
- 270 x 3 sets of 2
Bench press - 375 for 3 sets of 4 awful, grinding reps.
DB overhead press - 70 for 3 sets of 10
Weighted chins - +40 for 2 sets of 8
Ab wheel and leg raises between all sets - the workout came to an end when I broke my ab wheel and strained my wrist.

Tuesday - repeated part of the workout with sane stimulant use.

Bench - 375 for 6 sets of 4 - PR and much easier than Monday.
Ez bar curl / tri extension - 125 / 100 for sets of 8 / 10
Ez bar preacher curl - 65 for 3 sets of 15
3 sets each of leg raises and ab wheel.

 

[DirkHardPec]

Wednesday - cutting down on the caffeine allowed me to finally finish my light deadlift workout.

Deadlift - 405 x 8,8,6,6,6. PR, but it made me never want to to more than 3 reps ever again.
Shrug machine - 2 / 3 plates for 10 / 10, 10
CSR - 2 plates, 3 sets of 10
3 sets each - Dragon flags and incline sit-ups
15 minutes of hill sprints. Only 6 as the hill was *long*.