USPLabs Cissus Mega dose log

[Basso]

Ok I've got the goods and I'm ready to start this 30 day Cissus/Symmetry Mega Dose cycle. Ive been taking CissusRX for about 5 weeks now, the first two weeks was at 6 caps a day and the last 3 weeks at 4 caps a day. While I've been very impressed I still have some nagging joint problems that I hope this will help clear up. I've never taken symmetry so I'm anxious to get started and see the results.
During this cycle I will be taking the following supps.
Day 1-14 12Caps of CissusRX (4,4,4)
Day 15-31 12Caps of Cissus and 8caps of Symmetry(2,2,2,2)
Day 1-31
5g creatine
Multi
1000mg C
ZMA
Fish Oil/Flax
Multiple Protein supps
Going to keep this simple!

Goals:

My diet goal for the next 31 days will be to take off 5-10lbs of fat and maintain or gain strength. I will be taking in 2500-3000 cals a day with about a 50/25/25 ratio, it will vary from w/o days to rest days, my diet will be posted on fitday.com.
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=derryckw

Workout goals are at the very least to maintain current strength levels, and possibly increase some lifts. I won't be doing any max lifts during this time, it's not my main focus right now and you'll understand why if you look at the before pictures. My workout will be a MTTF split. Mon-Core/Back/bis, Tue-Chest/Tris, Thu-Legs, Fri-Core/Shoulders/arms. This may change depending on my work schedule, but that is what I'm doing now and want to keeps things fairly constant for this log. I will post highlights of my workouts, and general comments on how I'm feeling, if anyone wants more, I'm willing.

BF, after getting pretty intimate with my calipers, I've come to the conclusion (much to my dismay) that I am not at 17.5% BF but more like 20-21%, let me know what you all think, but I think I finally have a handle on the calipers and hopefully my measurements will be at the very least consistent. I of course would like to drop a couple of % during this cycle.

Stats: 40, 5'9" 245lbs, 20-21%BF
I measure everything but here are the basics
Waist-38.5
Stomach-40.5
Chest-48
Thighs-28.5
Arms-18.75

My main focus is Powerlifting, but I'm at the point now where I'm not feeling healthy, hence the change of focus, and if I eventually hit 220 without losing to much on my lifts that would be a nice boost for my Total.

I am hoping this cycle will allow me to continue with my current workout intensity and help maintain lean body mass as I slowly get my body under much needed control. I haven't seen my abs since I was 28 and I've forgotten what they look like!

I just want to say that I really appreciate USPLabs for this opportunity to give this "experiment" a try, I'm counting on the anabolic properties to help me maintain my LBM while continuing this mild cut.

 

[Basso]

Sat 27May Day4: Update

Day 1: Nothing to report, cardio day
Day 2: Leg day, was running on 3hrs of sleep, did my workout anyway but stayed light, after a couple of squat :squat: sets with 450 I was awake so I did 315X15x2 and close stance squats with 225 x25 x2. Good quad pump. Gave straight bar curls a try (been about a year) they actually felt fairly good, before cissus I could not even curl the bar due to wrist pain. I threw some 35's on the bar and did some reps, I may be going heavy in a couple weeks if this keeps up!
Day 3: Not to sore but it's there, today is shoulders/tris. This is the first test of joint effects. My problem areas are left wrist, right elbow and left shoulder.
- Standing press, shoulder feels really good did 185x10x3, slight ache but better then last week
- Skull crushers, elbow felt great. It's been feeling a lot better since I started Cissus but it felt even better today, I still haven't gone with the straight bar but I see it in the future.
Day 4: It's still AM and I may go play in the weight room but will probably just do some cardio:bruce3: . So far the joint healing is the only noticable affects, recovery may be a little better but I think that will also improve after a week or so. I'm pretty impressed to be seeing results already, but I have been taking low dose for awhile so it was already in my system which would explain it.
-

 

[Basso]

Day 6: 29May

Just a note to say I did straight bar skull crushers today for the first time in about a year and my elbow felt great, wrists bothered me a little but I was pretty stoked. I only went to 135 and could barely get sets of 8, but that's to be expected after not doing them for so long. Other than that nothing really to report.

 

[Brent]

Just so you know someone is paying attention.


:bruce3:

 

[Basso]

Ya thanks, I was wondering if I was talking to myself or not!

 

[jminis]

keep up the log bro people are watching.

 

[theshocker21]

Im listening too! Subscribed!

 

[Basso]

Thanks ya all, it's always easier to keep these things up when you know folks are watching. I don't think I will see to much strength gain from this protocol due to my caloric intake (2500-2800) but hopefully I'm wrong. Anyway I've dropped an inch on my gut and arse in the past 6 days and 3lbs, it's a little fast but it's also most likely water at this point. Other measurements remain the same. I'll do measurements every weekend and report any note worthy changes.

 

[Basso]

31May Day 8:

Being a long boring weekend that it was I decided to go ahead and change my workout up to a 3on 1off schedule alternating light and heavy. I really have to much time on my hands and this will force me to get some more light speed work in which is much needed.

Yesterday I did some shoulder work and got some great pumps on bis, not painful but deep and long lasting (know what I mean?) Broke the bike out and did some hill sprints nothing to dramatic but wanted to get a little interval training in, it's been awhile.

Day 8: Legs, felt good so after 20min of light cardio I started squats, felt great until I got to 450 and then the diet started showing itself. The strength is just not there so after some triples I went down to 315 and did sets of 10, hit the hammer strength leg ext and did some one legged presses. Needless to say I could not walk very well, but this will be a good test of the effect of cissus on DOMS, I hadn't really noticed much improvement but I should be pretty sore tomorrow. I recover very poorly and am usually always sore somewhere and when I find something that helps I know it! Totally beat I downed some Nectar/Carboplex (yeh, yeh I know but I needed it today) with my last dose for the day. Let ya know tomorrow how it's going.

Dreaming of izza: :burger: :donut: :burg:

 

[Basso]

1 June Day 9:

Just to let you know the DOMS is less than I expected, but really tomorrow we'll see the 2nd day is always the worst especially for legs. I did a light chest day today, DBs and speed bench with bands, outstanding pump in the ol boobs! Hopefully my legs aren't to bad tomorrow I'd like to get some DLing in.

 

[Basso]

2 Jun Day 10:

Just a follow up on the DOMS, uh no it has not improved, I'm crippled. Needless to say DLs were out so I opted for Rack deads and bent over rows
Rack DLs 325x10, 425x8, 505x6x2
BO Rows 225x15, 275x10x3
Pull downs, DB rows, Hammer pull downs.
Once I got through the Rack deads I was feelin' jacked actually I still am, my back swelled up, didn't feel strong but felt really good!

Note: Fella was asking me how I got my legs so big, one thing led to another and he asked me how I stay so trim without running ????? Did you see my pics? I know I've lost some gut but I don't think trim would describe it (must of been the swollen lats!) Anyway it is going very well and without the joint aches and pains that normally come with low calories so I am very pleased thus far. But DOMS is still at about 95% force.

 

[I-Vtec]

swollen lats lol

good luck on your progress and hurry back to the shop

 

[Basso]

Day 15: Day 1 with Symmetry

The last few days have been pretty much of the same, DOMS has actually gotten worse, most likely due to low calories. Today however was a great work out, very weak but I felt great, starting to see long hidden veins and peaks. My BW is still 240 but my fat is definitely decreasing, I'm even getting upper abs in the A.M. still have a way to go, My BF measured at 17.5% but I still don't trust my ability to measure. When I post my Post pics hopefully you all can give me your assessment on my BF%.
Chest/Tris today BP 315X5X3 a little off my PR of 385X5X3 (yes I've lost that much strength) Rack presses 365X3X3, Incline DB press 105s X8X3 and some TUT on the incline hammer strength. Also did some skull crushers and push downs. Nothing fantastic but the pump lasted about 1.5 hours and like I said vascularity is increasing.

I acually took my first dose of Symmetry last night before bed, then at waking and pre and post workout, I'll take my last dose of the day before bed tonight. I can't wait to see what a few days on this stack will do, I can already tell the difference in my intensity and the pumps. I have a feeling this is going to be a great stack!

Tomorrow :dl: if my legs are up to it!

 

[Basso]

Day 16:

Not much to report, did Back/Bis today pumps are outrageous still. My strength is still down and I haven't dropped any weight this week so I'm thinking about dropping my cals to 2200-2500 (about 300 a day) and see what happens, I still feel like I'm retaining muscle and losing fat and if that is the case might try to speed it up a bit. Think I'll do a carb up on Sat and lower them on Monday. My energy has been fine once I get started, I'm a little lethargic by 4pm and when I finally start hitting the weights I wake up, but if my workout suffers to much and raise the cals back up.

 

[jjohn]

Looking good man! Don't stop :good:

 

[Basso]

Day 20:

The past few days have been interesting
Day 17: Rest day, did nothing! instead of doing a carb up I decided to have a free meal, my stupid choice was TacoSmell. 2 7-layer burittos and 1-Chicken Buritto supreme!
Day 18: Won't be doing another free meal for awhile, gained 5lbs:wtf: Dropped my cals to 2500 range
Leg day did speed work with bands, I couldn't walk for a few hours, man my quads were pumped!
Day 19: Chest, BP went to 335 for 2X5, first sign of strength returning (a little). Did a lot of DB/Cable work, great W/O had some really good endurance.
Day 20: Still have that extra 5lbs, but interestingly enough my waist is at 37" so I'm not complaining, I feel like I'm holding water, but vascularity is still increasing. I'm pretty pleased thus far. Probably just do some cardio today, I need a day off, but the iron calls! Body changes are interesting to say the least, I seem to be getting some good recomp properties which was unexpected, can't wait to see what the next couple of weeks hold.

 

[Basso]

Ok I lied, I didn't take today off, like I said the Iron called and I was weak. I have to run tomorrow and Sat I'm going on a MTB trip so lower body is done for the week anyway. So I did upper back today and once again some serious pumps! I'm feeling really strong, yet I'm not, if you know what I mean, I guess it's the increased endurance. I went balls to the wall on just back for 45 minutes hard and fast. Glad I went, I'm not going to feel like lifting after I run tomorrow, I think I'll make it a pool day!

BTW I haven't mentioned it but I've stayed exactly on the dosing protocol. Looks like I'll probably go a couple days extra, since I started on a Thur I'll take it to the weekend of the last week. Only thing I've added along the way is occassional Rampage, Spike and StimX other than that it's all as planned. Screw 2500 cals I can't live on that, I'm going back to 2700.

 

[jjohn]

Don't stop and give everything you've got!

 

[I-Vtec]

spped work with bands. ugh i remeber those. oh how i miss them. not the puking but the insane leg pain hahah

 

[Basso]

spped work with bands. ugh i remeber those. oh how i miss them. not the puking but the insane leg pain hahah

Yeah, maybe I should buy you some for Christmas:nutkick:
Everyone needs a good puke (I mean leg w/o) session once in awhile.

 

[Basso]

Day 22: Figured I post up since I will be gone most of the weekend and will most likely not be working out until Sunday. I took Day 21 off, walked 1.5 miles but that was it. Today I did a quick shoulder/Tri workout no real changes, still getting nice pumps but I'm not seeing anything worth writing about. I'll be doing a MBike trip on Sat and then it's legs on Sunday, I plan on doing some heavy lifting next week if I'm feeling it, and maybe pull back on the cardio for the first half of the week.

 

[I-Vtec]

Yeah, maybe I should buy you some for Christmas:nutkick:
Everyone needs a good puke (I mean leg w/o) session once in awhile.

well with all that extra loot coming in over there im sure you wouldnt mind.

just send them to work u know the addy

just waiting on nutraplanet to get the Phera in then its go time:bruce1: :bb2:

 

[Basso]

Day 26: I didn't make it to the gym on Sunday, my legs were thrashed from the ride Sat, and I left a lot of skin on the mountain, so I rested. Hit legs today and it went fairly well, still noticing a lot of strength loss from the diet. I went raw up to 405 for 3x5 and then did front squats with 225 for 3x15. Hit my bis a little, the pumps are still killer but other then that no changes.
The biggest thing is that my weight is still at 240lbs and I've been staying under 2700cals almost every day! I haven't really noticed to many body changes in the past few days, hopefully I lose a little more fat before I take pics again this weekend.
I'll be doing chest tomorrow and back on wed, thursday I'm working 12-14 hrs so it will be a day off and hopefully Fri I'll get off early enough to get another workout in. I plan on taking measurements, pics etc on Saturday. I'm going to continue Cissus at probably 4-6 caps and start a Melting Point/Basic Cuts run for awhile, hopefully that will kick start some fat loss, if not I have some trn/zol growing old in my cabinet.

 

[Basso]

Looks like tomorrow will be my last day, I'm going to nights and will be working 12s through the weekend so I won't have time to go to the gym or measurements etc. So tomorrow I'll wrap it up with Post pics and measurements and my final thoughts etc.

Day 27: Chest, finally the strength is coming back, BP 315x6, 345x6x2, 2boards 365x5x2, 3boards 365x5x1, 315x8.
Incline DB press 115x8x3
Did some other boob stuff and Tris, went well, I am starting to feel like my body is getting used to the diet, this stack is helping alot. I did lower the Cissus down to 9 for the past couple days due to aching joints (just a guess).

Day 28: Back
Bentover rows 225x10, 275x6, 315x6x2
Cable rows 3x10
DB Rows 150s x8x3
HS rows
light bis
I'm really feeling good after 3 days of 9 cissus my joints feel great and my strength continues to improve. The past 2 days the pumps have been unbelievable! It lasts a good 30-60 minutes after the w/o!

Tomorrow I'll wait about 4hrs after I wake up and do measurements and pics, I'm still carry plenty of fat but this has been a great 4 weeks and I feel like I've made some serious progress without sacrificing very much (food).

 

[Basso]

Ok it's over, I'm posting a couple after pics as close to the before positions as I can get so you can see the difference. The pics don't really show the changes like I'd hoped but the measurements give a good indication on how it went, so here they are

Stats:
Before:5'9" 245lbs, 20-21%BF
After:Still 5'9" 238lbs, 18%BF (5 measurements all 18-18.3%)

Waist-36.75 (-1.75)
Stomach-37.5 (-3)
Chest-48 (0)
Thighs-28.5 (0)
Arms-18.5 (-.25)
Buttocks-43 (-1.5)

Total 7lbs and around 2%BF loss! If my calculations are correct the 7lbs was almost entirely FAT! Just for info I started cutting in April at 256lbs.

Final thoughts: I felt the Megadose protocol was very helpful in maintaining LBM while cutting, the addition of symmetry didn't help with strength as much as I anticipated until the last couple of days. I will do this again, but will make some changes in dosing and length. Doms for the most part was unaffected, I did notice some increase but I can't attribute it to the stack.

Recommendations: The last days joints started to ache, but when reducing Cissus to 9caps the aches cleared. Due to my experience in this cycle, the next cycle I do will look like this
6 Weeks
Cissus 12caps 1-3 / 9caps wk4 / 6caps 5-6
Symmetry 8caps 4-6
I think this combo has great potential and would make an excellent bridge between cycles, or as a stand alone. While I used it cutting I think it would make a nice addition to a clean bulk also.

I highly recommend this stack, it's affordable and effective. I would like to once again thank USPlabs for allowing me the opportunity to run this log, it has been very rewarding and while I have a long way to go these 4 wks have been a great start to attaining my goals.

If anyone has questions I didn't answer please feel free to ask. Monday I start MP/BC 6 weeker, then I may jump into Mtrn/zol stack, hopefully I'll be at 10%bf by Sep, then I can start working on getting my power back! I will never, never, never again do all-out bulks, at my age it is way to difficult to drop the fat. Clean bulks from here on out!
Thanks for watching
Basso out

 

[edvanp]

Great log, very informative. Looks like the mega dosing did you well. Do you think the amount of Cissus you were taking had some effect on your cortisol levels, thus the achy joints? I've been on Cissus for a month, 4 caps a day. Love the healing effect for my joints, good stuff. Just started stacking it with PowerFULL, so we'll see how that works.

 

[Pfunk47]

Nice log Basso - nice prgress on the cut too -

The aches are from lowered cortisol - I hd the same results with the aches and I am dieting as well. I think it's just the active ingredient in cissus and since symetry is a concentrated dose - you have an abundance if not too much "active ingredient" in you at one time. I've yet to read any lowering cortisol properties on cissus but I don't think anyone had done this much at this time. Again not 100% but 2 of us had the same results have to be somewhat close to that theory.

 

[Basso]

Yeh I tend to agree, like you I was fine when I was warmed up etc. in the morning I felt like I was 60, well I don't really knooow what 60 feels like but you get the point. After dropping a few caps I was amazed that in 3 days I felt so much better, so I definitely think it was a little over the edge.
Interesting point: I have been awake for 24 hrs as I write this and my joints are feeling great, normally when I'm this tired my bones feel old, so the effects of the stack where very positive, I just think I need to lower the dose when stacked.

 

[jjohn]

Wow. Really nice size! Keep it up

 

[I-Vtec]

awww 12 hrs a day lol. i know what that means. only 11 months left big guy

 

[Basso]

Wow. Really nice size! Keep it up

Thanks, that's my plan:thumbsup:

I-vtec, it's not 11 months, its 45 weeks (who's counting). I'll probably see you sooner though, eh?:nutkick:

 

[CHAPS]

This has really convinced me to mega-dose cissus to continue my cut once i get off my Test Prop and Tren Ace in a couple weeks. I'm already down 15lbs but i wanna get STUPID cut, lol. I think i may do powerful+cissus though.

 

[Basso]

This has really convinced me to mega-dose cissus to continue my cut once i get off my Test Prop and Tren Ace in a couple weeks. I'm already down 15lbs but i wanna get STUPID cut, lol. I think i may do powerful+cissus though.

Good luck, that will be a nice stack coming off that cycle, you know USPlabs is providing Cissus in bulk to Nutraplanet mine is on the way, will make mega dosing very reasonable!

 

[jjohn]

I will do some symmetry and JW after my log. Kind of dont want to get off x-factor, lol, but I have 15 days left, so I'd better enjoy them.. Anyways.. keep it up bro!

 

[I-Vtec]

Thanks, that's my plan:thumbsup:

I-vtec, it's not 11 months, its 45 weeks (who's counting). I'll probably see you sooner though, eh?:nutkick:

Now that im SrA prob. so but i hope your wrong. they already have taken half the shop come feb.

one more week til phera run.