Getting back on track

[CountryLiftin]

Despite the name, I'm actually doing the exact opposite. I am ending the competitive running season very soon, and have been getting ready to do some heavy lifting once agai stn. I'm a sprinter. So, I have maintained alot of my strength and muscle, but have lost some, along with quite a bit of weight. I went from around 185 once I got leaned down from a bulk, to about 173 in mid season. I started lifting heavy again two weeks ago with more determination, and am sitting at 177. Leaner and stronger than I was in all aspects. The downside is, I pulled my hammy at the begining of season, and have been fighting back and fourth with injury for the past 9 weeks. I also have a back issue now due to compensation from the hammy. Anyways, I am getting those issues worked out through PT and chiro and doc. before I was about 185 benching 285x3 reps. 5 foot 9. now I can do maybe 260 on a good day. my dead was over 500 for 1, and 405 for 7. squats were in the 400s 300s for reps. traps were huge and I was just overall bulked. now I am lean but starting to pack back on the mass again. I am going for lean tight mass this time around, to keep fast for fall, but still get as much strength as I can. weight isnt an issue but I would like to end up around 210. I like to set my goals high. I ran two bottles of natty followed by formadrol XT before season. I saw good gains, esp on bench and dead. I am now two weeks into a cycle of GHenerate, IGH1, and aromX RD. 1MR for PWO and take 5g of Creatine mono and 5g beta Alanine a day, split in half for two doses. I was off protein powder and got all my protein from food. I have some mass gainer that I used in the past with much success on hand that I am working into diet. As for diet I keep it very healthy, and varied. its not perfect but I have come to find what works best for me when gaining. I am working on increasing my stomach capacity now, because I cannot eat as much anymore because I cut back for so long during track. As far as my new stack goes, it feels very good. everything is working well, I feel very dense and strong, lots of energy, and motivation. strength is going back up, dont know if it will stop or not. I am still running so seeing that everything is going back up is a good sign, because I drastically dropped in strength the first few weeks.

I am now looking at what I want to run/invest in for my next cycle. I am nearly out of creatine, so was looking into creatine nitrate which I have heard alot of hype about. I personally love mono and see alot of benefit from it. I am thinking about running natty again, or something similar. Then there are supps like erase, triazole, titanium, adamantium, and countless others that I have looked into. I am trying to figure out what will work best for me, and make the most out of the next 4 months.

If anyone has some good supps for me to take a look at, or anything else to add please post up. I need to hear some other peoples thoughts.

 

[Milas]

Hey Country, good to see you back on here. Sounds like a good track season.

I'd make a couple recommendations for you.

For diet, look into LeanGains.com. It's all about intermittent fasting, going 16hrs with no food, then 8 hour feeding window. A lot of folks are trying it out with good success. I've been using it for about a month now post-contest, and have been making steady gains in strength and quality size (LBM). There's also a great thread in the Nutrition section on here.

The other recommendation as far as supplements go, creatine yes, but the other stuff isn't really necessary. Probably the best thing for your situation would be a nutrient partitioner. There are a lot of good ones, but my favorite is Need2Slin from NeedToBuildMuscle.com (coupon code needto139 for 15% off) or here on nutraplanet. It has all the key ingredients to help shuttle food you eat directly to muscle instead of fat. Plus, it has health related benefits, and I had no side effects from it (other nutrient partitioners have given me terrible IBS and diarhea). It's a little on the pricey side, but can be used successfully for 6 weeks, at 1 pill taken 3 times a day.

Other than that, it sounds like you've got your stuff together, and are having good success.

Remember, diet first, training second, rest/sleep third and add supplements last.

 

[rms80]

Hey bud-
I come from a track background myself- the chiro and PT will help immensely with the hamstring issue- chiro helped me quite a bit with pain reduction as well. Your max lifts will start to come up with the chiro adjustments, b/c it actually re-sensitizes your nervous system in deficient areas- everyone has a dominant side, and the chiro tends to allow for a more bilateral redistribution of strength.

I wouldn't get hung up about being 210- it most likely won't improve your times all that much- staying around the range where you are, and maybe adding 5-10 lbs. plus increasing strength, is probably what you want to focus on. Just more weight to carry around- in-season I was a lot faster at 200 than 215- once you get on the heavier end, the tendency to start getting overuse injuries increases dramatically, especially on the track.

That being said- I would focus heavily on recovery, rest, and diet. I would make sure you are getting ample carbs and protein, especially after your workouts. I would go on the high side for carbohydrates as well as protein, along with some healthy fat. I would also take in at least 100 oz. of water per day. Along with your post-workout meal, I would add in 5-7 grams of BCAA, 5 grams of creatine (doesn't really matter what kind), and Beta alanine isn't a bad choice as well. If you are going to add in nitrate- I would go on the low side- 1-2 grams/day should be plenty, and just take it along with the mono and the other supplements, as it will actually help you absorb them more effectively. Add in NAC and Vitamin C as well if you end up taking it- aside from both being really great anti-oxidants, NAC keeps you from becoming nitrate-tolerant, and vitamin C will help prevent the conversion of nitrate into nitrosamine, which can be deleterious in large amounts.

I would get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (at minimum)- all these recommendations have worked really well for me in the past. 1,3 DMA helps the motivation pre-workout, but I am not sure that it is compliant w/ USATF or NCAA- I would double-check on this if I were you.

I would stay away from the anti-e's as well- you may start running into a lot of joint and tendon pain, and this can really hurt your recovery. I like some products in our line, and they have helped me in the past while I still ran, but these are the basics, and they work.....LMK if you have any questions

 

[CountryLiftin]

Thanks guys, and yea I know, I am crazy busy with lift right now. schools about to end, tracks ending, I have work a girlfriend and a jeep im workin on. needless to say Im running around about 18 hours of the day, with about 6 hours of sleep. I know thats one thing I need to work on. As for diet, I am continuing to make it better and better, and I will check out the nutrient partitioner as well. I just have been stuck at exactly 177 for the past three weeks... no change, not even half a pound. I know its my ideal weight because I dropped to 173 then bot back up to 177 and stuck here. but that is for track, and now that summer and football season are coming on, I need the weight especially if I am going to be playing line/D end. I know I can do it, and I want to keep fast at the same time. I know its not an easy road to take, but with good planning, good diet, a good workout, and lots of hard work I know I will come as close as possible to my goal. I have had alot of increases in strength in the past three weeks in the gym. I have been going a bit harder and have had more energy lately, so I think that is helping. my last bench session left me sore as hell and I only lifed for 35 minutes. I think I have my supps sorted out, just a few minor tweaks. Im gona keep it to basics and make all my gains from hard work smart workouts and good diet. My big issue now is Im burning so many calories at school, the gym, track, then work, I am having trouble gaining. I have had alot of sucess with bulks in the past. I gain weight fairly easy, and Ive become very good at manipulating my diet to lose weight slowly while keeping or increasing strength. For examply I dropped from 192 to 185, and increased my bench(3 reps max) 15 pounds at the same time. I increased my bench over 100lbs. I felt pretty close to my best strength to speed ratio at about 186-187. but I am 10 pounds less than that and I can feel and see it. yet I now have arms nearly bigger than I have ever had in my life. My legs however are severely lacking. Lost probably 5 inches of muscle off my legs, and about 2 inches off my waiste/lower back. I need to heal my hammy before working back into squats hacks and deads though. I also find that when I start those exercises again, specifically deadlift, they increase my weight gain and overall strength in all areas.

Last summer I went from 145 in feb to about 157 end of may. by end of summer I was 178. right before thanks giving I was 192.... I was shooting for 200 by feb and well one my way. but I got crazy sick, and threw up and couldnt even eat or sleep for 3 days. I lost 17 pounds. I couldnt lift for a week. I ended up gaining about 9 pounds back but had to start over at 182. made it up to 186, and then track started. So now Im shooting for 210, so hopefully by setting my goal high I can make it near 200 (realistically lol)

On my previous bulk I was eating about 7-8k calories a day, around 400g of protein. 800g C and 200g Fats (makes about 6600) but thats just an estimate of break down. I sat at about 9% bf most of the time, ending up almost at 10% around 192. but LBM went up steadily and I was able to cut and keep 90% of my str. so I am hoping for another good bulk, but I just need to start eating more. I guess that my first issue. and run less haha.

 

[CountryLiftin]

Me now