Smont
Legend
Can you point me in the direction where you saw that, I was under the impression they're very complementary to each other and have a lot of synergy and should be taken together, does one interfere with the absorption of the other?
The Biggest Smont ever! 🤔 Lets find out
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Hyde
Legend
When I read that I was thinking that didn’t make any sense, because Vit C helps guide glutathione to where it’s needed.
But my GUESS is the logic may be that because you need C present for optimal glutathione delivery, taking the oral same time as a shot is going to have it a bit late to the party. So if you take C in the evening and pin the gluta in the morning, you ensure it’s available when the shot hits the bloodstream.
The reality is if you use some C daily in a supplement or fruit/veg, you probably already have enough around. But it’s easy for people to get lost in the weeds on timing. It can absolutely make a difference in absorption of things, but it’s not as important as just taking stuff or not entirely.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
I’ll see if I can dig it up. If I remember right it had something to do with vitamin c being able to recycle oxidated glutathione if taken separate. I’ll look to see if I can find where I got it from.
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sammpedd88
Well-known member
Vitamin C and glutathione supplementation: a review of their additive effects on exercise performance - PubMed
Studies on the effects of vitamin C and glutathione intake on exercise have been conducted using diverse approaches; however, the results have not been consistent. Although an additive effect is anticipated with the combined intake of vitamin C and glutathione, research on this topic is...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Here you go.
jtmass
Well-known member
What steak did you try? How many days do they cure the meat for?I fucked up, went to a Brazilian steakhouse and didn't take a single picture
if drop the ball was an Olympic sport, I wouldn't won a gold medal tonight lol
Smont
Legend
So it definitely helps with glutathione recycling. That's a definite. Its a hot topic for me right now because I'm down the rabbit hole lately for glutathione, nac, the b vitamins, cystine, magnesium, v-c and a few other things and how they all work together to help with anxiety, depression and cognitive function.
I honestly don't know lol, the service all had really strong accents and it was hard to figure out what exactly they were saying lol. My Spanish isint great and I can't speak or understand Portuguese at all lol.
Had 3 kinds of beef, 2 chicken and 2 pork.
I really dropped the ball
Smont
Legend
Thanks dude, il read this later today!Vitamin C and glutathione supplementation: a review of their additive effects on exercise performance - PubMed
Studies on the effects of vitamin C and glutathione intake on exercise have been conducted using diverse approaches; however, the results have not been consistent. Although an additive effect is anticipated with the combined intake of vitamin C and glutathione, research on this topic is...
Here you go.
jtmass
Well-known member
All going into muscles bro. lol..View attachment 258635
So it definitely helps with glutathione recycling. That's a definite. Its a hot topic for me right now because I'm down the rabbit hole lately for glutathione, nac, the b vitamins, cystine, magnesium, v-c and a few other things and how they all work together to help with anxiety, depression and cognitive function.
I honestly don't know lol, the service all had really strong accents and it was hard to figure out what exactly they were saying lol. My Spanish isint great and I can't speak or understand Portuguese at all lol.
Had 3 kinds of beef, 2 chicken and 2 pork.
I really dropped the ball
Hyde
Legend
So this would imply you do in fact want Vit C present in the body around administration, AND ideally later on to get more bang for buck. Not necessarily that you need a ton, just that it’s great to have some around anytime.
You do not need them separated at all.
Smont
Legend
That's what I was thinking as well, I wanted to make sure it wasn't a absorption issue.
Yes I'm looking for a combination of things that increase glutathione, things that help with glutathione recycling, and all the co-factors and everything else. Looking for the multi angle approach to check off all the boxes
Smont
Legend
I noticed a couple things since I've been here.
I have 2 games on my phone that I play almost everyday at least once in my downtime. I haven't played them here obviously because Im doing other stuff.
I have posted here, but other then scrolling through the forum a few times, I've not done anything fitness related or had to talk to any of my current online clients or my group from the boxing gym and I haven't done anything work related and I'm finally starting to relax. But tomorrow we're going home.
So I erased the games, I'm not setting up a painting job till next week and I'm only doing my mandatory obligations for client check in this week.
I think it's time for me to take a step back and chill out with the stimulus from every angle of my life.
I think I need to force myself to be less involved in everything and give my brain a rest!
I have 2 games on my phone that I play almost everyday at least once in my downtime. I haven't played them here obviously because Im doing other stuff.
I have posted here, but other then scrolling through the forum a few times, I've not done anything fitness related or had to talk to any of my current online clients or my group from the boxing gym and I haven't done anything work related and I'm finally starting to relax. But tomorrow we're going home.
So I erased the games, I'm not setting up a painting job till next week and I'm only doing my mandatory obligations for client check in this week.
I think it's time for me to take a step back and chill out with the stimulus from every angle of my life.
I think I need to force myself to be less involved in everything and give my brain a rest!
jfigliuolo
Member
You posted a while back you were at stress level 10. Go back and read the good advice given
Smont
Legend
Lots of advice has been given, and lots of it's been listened to, but this is an issue I've been dealing with my entire adult life, it's not that simple
jfigliuolo
Member
K just hoping you take care of yourself.
Smont
Legend
I try every day, and I appreciate the thought
sammpedd88
Well-known member
I didn’t mean to cause any confusion on the vitamin C issue. The summarization that I read said it was a good idea to take separately so that is what I’ve been doing. I know it doesn’t interfere with absorption but if I can get more bang for my buck, in theory, I’ll take it separately. I have the MTHFR gene, so vitamin B is really important to me. My bloodwork showed my vitamin B levels at the high end of the scale and I haven’t taken any methylated vitamin b in several months. The only thing I’ve done different is started glutathione.
Smont
Legend
Its all good, this is how we learn. I just got back to town, it's about 130 am and I'm wide awake so I'm going to dig in and start reading that link you shared
Dustin07
Legend
You have had some hard roller coaster events in life the past year or two and you are busy 24/7. I think your thought process here is solid. Its of course easier said than done! My wife and I were on a vacation I think in 2024 when we said "we should just make our home a place we want to vacation to". so thats where all our time and money went in 2025. We used to be boaters, I sold the boat. I used to be a hot rodder, I don't even have a garage anymore. I had picked up a 1968 GW Invader 10ft race boat as a project, but I sold it instead. We cancelled our membership at the local boat club (which was basically a drinking club) and cut our friend circle from 100 people to like a dozen people. Instead of going to every seahawks game or Mariners game at the local bar, and feeling rushed get home stuff done, we would turn the game on the tv at home while we BBQ'd, did our weekly meal prep etc, letting us say pause a game etc and when it was done guess what... we weren't drunk, didn't have to drive home, meal prep was already done, etc.
anyways.......... I'm just saying I hear you and agree. We have cut a lot of the excess **** out of our life and life feels really meaningful. last night she was showing me her garden plan, her research on companion plants, etc and getting a seed order ready. we will be busy at home but we will be healthy and more relaxed in many ways too.
I also think that we are building more stability for our kids, even though they are older ages 16-27 now, they see our consistency, they have traditions with us, and everything seems just more productive in life and a bit more chill. still busy all the time but the busy is more enjoyable and less mentally stressful/taxing.
jtmass
Well-known member
I haven't read the advices given before. But, few things that I would consider if I was in your shoes would be
1) Am I losing sight of my priorities because I am getting involved in everything?
2) Do I like the stimulus and if it's harming me or not.
3) If I remove these stimulus, will I feel that I am not myself.
The reason I am said all these are because, I have had so much going on in work, business, clients and my personal life for more than 5yrs now and all of sudden I decided to take a break from my 9-5 for a couple months. Now, I have time in my hands which I don't like. I like the stimulus and I enjoy being go-go-go all the time. It's stress, but I thrive in it. So, are you that person?
bell1986
Well-known member
Damn Bro you look awesome 
Your physique is my goal. A good proportion all over and lean.
I'm lean but definitely need a good extra 10 lbs on my frame. I'm recovering from a herniated disc at the moment so hypertrophy training is still months away.
It's nice to see someone commiting to a bulk. The last year or two I've noticed so many people aren't actually bulking anymore. They go with this 'maingaining' and it makes the process so slow. It will work but will easily take 3-4 times as long. It seems like your dialed in
Following the progress........
Your physique is my goal. A good proportion all over and lean.
I'm lean but definitely need a good extra 10 lbs on my frame. I'm recovering from a herniated disc at the moment so hypertrophy training is still months away.
It's nice to see someone commiting to a bulk. The last year or two I've noticed so many people aren't actually bulking anymore. They go with this 'maingaining' and it makes the process so slow. It will work but will easily take 3-4 times as long. It seems like your dialed in
Following the progress........
Hyde
Legend
Being committed to a bulk means you are also committing to a cut…not everyone has that second part in themDamn Bro you look awesome
Your physique is my goal. A good proportion all over and lean.
I'm lean but definitely need a good extra 10 lbs on my frame. I'm recovering from a herniated disc at the moment so hypertrophy training is still months away.
It's nice to see someone commiting to a bulk. The last year or two I've noticed so many people aren't actually bulking anymore. They go with this 'maingaining' and it makes the process so slow. It will work but will easily take 3-4 times as long. It seems like your dialed in
Following the progress........
As someone who has had multiple herniated discs, you can definitely do certain hypertrophy training. The core of your effort should be on restoring back health, so frequent brisk walks with arms swinging, lots of Bird Dogs, McGill Sit-ups, and Side Planks, eventually very light weighted carries, but there can be a lot of seated and chest supported machine work that can be appropriate at moderate intensities. And hypertrophy can definitely occur off fluffier work than people want to believe.
To get a big core and get strong, yes you need big compound movements. But to keep a tiny waist and enhance arms and legs, you can do a LOT with drugs and fluff work. Seated calves, lateral raise & arm machines, chest-supported rows & rear delts, pec flyes & tempo HS pressing.
bell1986
Well-known member
Jeez lol. They seem to be sticking protein into everything these days. I wouldn't actually call it true usable protein source though. They bulk these products out with wheat protein ie gluten. Though for a quick pre post workout snack it's ideal. Also it dull down that sweet tooth voice which for me is important.Man just in time pop tarts has the new protein pop tarts now!!!
lol I’m sure it’s a super low amount but thought it was funny I seen a add and immediately thought of this log.
HeyBeing committed to a bulk means you are also committing to a cut…not everyone has that second part in them
As someone who has had multiple herniated discs, you can definitely do certain hypertrophy training. The core of your effort should be on restoring back health, so frequent brisk walks with arms swinging, lots of Bird Dogs, McGill Sit-ups, and Side Planks, eventually very light weighted carries, but there can be a lot of seated and chest supported machine work that can be appropriate at moderate intensities. And hypertrophy can definitely occur off fluffier work than people want to believe.
To get a big core and get strong, yes you need big compound movements. But to keep a tiny waist and enhance arms and legs, you can do a LOT with drugs and fluff work. Seated calves, lateral raise & arm machines, chest-supported rows & rear delts, pec flyes & tempo HS pressing.
I worded that wrong. I'm still training but certain muscle groups I'm not pushing into the hypertrophy range. I
Being committed to a bulk means you are also committing to a cut…not everyone has that second part in them
As someone who has had multiple herniated discs, you can definitely do certain hypertrophy training. The core of your effort should be on restoring back health, so frequent brisk walks with arms swinging, lots of Bird Dogs, McGill Sit-ups, and Side Planks, eventually very light weighted carries, but there can be a lot of seated and chest supported machine work that can be appropriate at moderate intensities. And hypertrophy can definitely occur off fluffier work than people want to believe.
To get a big core and get strong, yes you need big compound movements. But to keep a tiny waist and enhance arms and legs, you can do a LOT with drugs and fluff work. Seated calves, lateral raise & arm machines, chest-supported rows & rear delts, pec flyes & tempo HS pressing.
Hey bud
Yeh alot of people struggle while cutting. I personally don't tbh. I just switch to fasting and honestly the weight falls off me. I think that if you structure a cut phase properly then it can be a little easier.
I am still training. I just can't hit certain muscle groups directly. I think I herniated the disc due to upright rows so I've ditched that exercise completely. My C7 disc is still currently compressing the nerve and I've lost alot of strength (Push exercises) It's actually a very weird/scary feeling. I physically can't lift weights like I could. But... I'm still able to do Lats/Biceps/Abs/Legs/Calves. I can still do very light bench work and have still been doing cable chest flys to try and maintain some mass around this area. Also I herniated this disc 5 months ago and even with the light exercises and keeping the muscle stimulated... I've not really lost much.. If any. I am on TRT and eating in a slight surplus so that will be a big help.
I was healing up and 3 weeks ago it just flared up again. Nerves are horrendously slow to heal up. I'm trying to balance exercise and healing. I've been doing alot of cardio though and I've been really enjoying it. I can feel the difference with my cardiovascular system.
What would you incorporate from the pharmaceutical side to help along the way? I'm currently just using TRT + Hcg. I keep my test levels around 1100. This seems a sweet spot for mood/libido and recovery.
Thanks for the input
Smont
Legend
I had a big response and I accidentally erased it somehow.
Yes I am a go, go,go person and I enjoy it, when it's not overwhelming stressful, which lately it is.
To summarize what I was originally going to post.
I'm taking a few steps backwards for a mental reset. If that's even a thing lol. But honestly, just from Sunday to today I'm starting to feel a little more relaxed.
Backing off of everything I'm doing wouldn't be a long-term solution, because like you, I also don't like having too much free time on my hands. When I have too much free time I tend to get in the habit of not doing anything.
I like to keep myself very busy, but busy doing things that I enjoy and that keep my mind occupied and I'm just reevaluating my priorities this week.
I'm also just spending the week eating whatever I want I did hit the gym twice already since I've been back so it's not like I'm not working out. One of the fighters that I do one-on-one strength training with is on vacation for the next two weeks so I don't have to worry about him.
Just taking a little break
Smont
Legend
I had this conversation with my girlfriend last night. I have a huge yard, gardens already there but there's a ton of wasted space. The yard was for me and my brother and our friends to play sports, and those days are over, my kids are 17-19, my daughter is living upstate NY for school and my son is going to college next year. Let's make this house so comfortable we never want to leave.
We're having a ongoing conversation about chickens and possibly ducks. But dicks are messy as all hell. So I want to dig out the center of my yard for a 20x20ft pond. Or at bare minimum I tap a well in the center of the yard where the water isn't too far down.
Lots of ideas, not insanely expensive, and all projects I can mostly do along or with my buddy and his excavator
jtmass
Well-known member
I agree. A short break definitely helps.
Hyde
Legend
Jeez lol. They seem to be sticking protein into everything these days. I wouldn't actually call it true usable protein source though. They bulk these products out with wheat protein ie gluten. Though for a quick pre post workout snack it's ideal. Also it dull down that sweet tooth voice which for me is important.
Hey
I worded that wrong. I'm still training but certain muscle groups I'm not pushing into the hypertrophy range. I
Hey bud
Yeh alot of people struggle while cutting. I personally don't tbh. I just switch to fasting and honestly the weight falls off me. I think that if you structure a cut phase properly then it can be a little easier.
I am still training. I just can't hit certain muscle groups directly. I think I herniated the disc due to upright rows so I've ditched that exercise completely. My C7 disc is still currently compressing the nerve and I've lost alot of strength (Push exercises) It's actually a very weird/scary feeling. I physically can't lift weights like I could. But... I'm still able to do Lats/Biceps/Abs/Legs/Calves. I can still do very light bench work and have still been doing cable chest flys to try and maintain some mass around this area. Also I herniated this disc 5 months ago and even with the light exercises and keeping the muscle stimulated... I've not really lost much.. If any. I am on TRT and eating in a slight surplus so that will be a big help.
I was healing up and 3 weeks ago it just flared up again. Nerves are horrendously slow to heal up. I'm trying to balance exercise and healing. I've been doing alot of cardio though and I've been really enjoying it. I can feel the difference with my cardiovascular system.
What would you incorporate from the pharmaceutical side to help along the way? I'm currently just using TRT + Hcg. I keep my test levels around 1100. This seems a sweet spot for mood/libido and recovery.
Thanks for the input
I’d be looking at BPC injected near that area of the neck (just a tiny 31g slinpin and little 125-250mcg doses daily), and begin taking a palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) supplement twice per day. I really like PEA Relief from SNS, because he has the clinical 600mg dose per cap, great price per cap, and I know it’s legit. Probably went through a dozen bottles by now, as it has other health benefits as well besides the decreases in neuropathy and spinal inflammation (gut health, etc).
You might also consult a professional about or look into some kind of neck tractioning. One of my wife’s chiros is big on having many clients essentially put a rope with padding under their chin and then looped over the top corner of a door. The rope has a slide to manually adjust length & therefore tension. And they sit like this for 10 minutes most days with that gentle upwards pressure tractioning the neck. Seriously though, I’d consult a professional on this - pulling on the spine needs to be done very mindfully!
Smont
Legend
Thank you, I'm really trying to put on some overall size mainly for the purpose of strength gains but I also don't want to put on too, too much body fat.Damn Bro you look awesome
Your physique is my goal. A good proportion all over and lean.
I'm lean but definitely need a good extra 10 lbs on my frame. I'm recovering from a herniated disc at the moment so hypertrophy training is still months away.
It's nice to see someone commiting to a bulk. The last year or two I've noticed so many people aren't actually bulking anymore. They go with this 'maingaining' and it makes the process so slow. It will work but will easily take 3-4 times as long. It seems like your dialed in
Following the progress........
And I also have not committed to a bulk in quite a while I had been doing my best to just maintain around roughly 12% I want to say, and I had made slow steady progress like that but I know if I want my strength to go up and I want my overall Mass to go up I need to eat myself into a bigger person. Luckily I don't have too much issues with the cutting part.
But I will say this, how you cut is very important. A lot of times I fall in the habit of almost intermittent fasting when I'm cutting and that's great for weight loss but it is not great for preserving muscle mass so if your goal is to get ripped without losing muscle I suggest sticking to five or six meals a day. From my own first-hand experience and I know a lot of people who would agree with me, intermittent fasting is great for weight loss and great for just staying in shape but if you're trying to build a really nice physique and maintain as much muscle as possible during a cut, intermittent fasting is not the way to do it
Hyde
Legend
Why do you always have to tell the truth?
bell1986
Well-known member
Hey
Yeh commiting to a bulk long term is hard mentally especially if your fairly lean. I think that if you do it properly then you shouldn't get too fluffy. Even 300 calories above your maintenance is enough to grow.
I've done omad while doing a cut. Weirdly I feel the best doing it like this but... Your muscle falls off nearly as fast as the fat. Your strength plummets also. I did do a cut once where I used some HMB and just used EAA's with 3g of leucine 2-3 times a day and that worked very well. I still lost mass but I accepted that while cutting.
How long will you commit to the bulk for? Just looking at your physique you definitely know what your doing. Commiting to bulk and cut phases is the difference between looking good and looking incredible.
jfigliuolo
Member
Main reason I respect what he posts and appreciate him sharing his thoughts and experiences
Smont
Legend
My intensions are to push my bodyweight up to 230. I'm probably not going to do it all in one shot. I always have a game plan and I know what I'm supposed to do. But I'm also aware of my impulsive behavior and falling victim to what I want to do, more than what I need to be doingHey
Yeh commiting to a bulk long term is hard mentally especially if your fairly lean. I think that if you do it properly then you shouldn't get too fluffy. Even 300 calories above your maintenance is enough to grow.
I've done omad while doing a cut. Weirdly I feel the best doing it like this but... Your muscle falls off nearly as fast as the fat. Your strength plummets also. I did do a cut once where I used some HMB and just used EAA's with 3g of leucine 2-3 times a day and that worked very well. I still lost mass but I accepted that while cutting.
How long will you commit to the bulk for? Just looking at your physique you definitely know what your doing. Commiting to bulk and cut phases is the difference between looking good and looking incredible.
. Here's where I'm at now.....Early December I had finished a stretch of a few months where I pretty much put a stop to all hypertrophy training. I was doing a lot of boxing and conditioning type work, I was still using weights but not any kind of structure, just using the weights for more conditioning and endurance. I was down to 184-186. Probably the best cardiovascular shape I had been in the past few years. Once I started lifting a little bit more, probably second week of December, I was pretty disappointed in how bad my strength was. Legs hadn't lost too much, but all my pressing strength was down . Insert the rebound and by early January I'm around 200 and starting this thread.
Started off great, strength skyrocketed, and actually I'm still making strength games right up until now, no problems there. But the scale weight wasn't budging despite eating 3500 to 3800 calories per day. I hit a high of 208 so far but I'm still bouncing between 200-205.
My metabolism is jacked up from all the cardio I was doing. I was eating 3000cal loosing weight at 190lbs at one point. One of the guys I was training with, same height, same weight, eating about the same amount of food as me everyday and he's chubby and gaining weight while I'm getting ripped lol. I think it's just finally starting to slow down as I'm just now noticing that for the past few days I've been maintaining my body weight on a little bit lower calories than I had been eating. Just making/taking notes, I keep them to see how trends are going.
In the mix of all this, just stressed out all the time, anxious and feeling lazy. Not feeling great as a whole and I get the seasonal depression pretty bad.
Took a little vacation and since I've been back I'm just cruising on autopilot. I actually haven't taken any gear in about 10 days (last pin 3 days before vacation) I'm dropping NPP just in case it's contributed to my anxiety, continue on with a random shot of testosterone here and there for the next few weeks and I'm gonna keep pushing my food. Maintaining 200-205lbs is my normal. So I'm not worried about anything here. But I'm going to continue on my way when some of my "supplies" show up, If I'm feeling solid then I'll push for another 10-15lbs and make assessments again. And hopefully not change my mind three times along the way
I'm waiting on more test, primo and HGH and I'm going to try to stick with just those on my next push.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
What kind of dose are you looking at with HGH?My intensions are to push my bodyweight up to 230. I'm probably not going to do it all in one shot. I always have a game plan and I know what I'm supposed to do. But I'm also aware of my impulsive behavior and falling victim to what I want to do, more than what I need to be doing
Early December I had finished a stretch of a few months where I pretty much put a stop to all hypertrophy training. I was doing a lot of boxing and conditioning type work, I was still using weights but not any kind of structure, just using the weights for more conditioning and endurance. I was down to 184-186. Probably the best cardiovascular shape I had been in the past few years. Once I started lifting a little bit more, probably second week of December, I was pretty disappointed in how bad my strength was. Legs hadn't lost too much, but all my pressing strength was down . Insert the rebound and by early January I'm around 200 and starting this thread.
Started off great, strength skyrocketed, and actually I'm still making strength games right up until now, no problems there. But the scale weight wasn't budging despite eating 3500 to 3800 calories per day. I hit a high of 208 so far but I'm still bouncing between 200-205.
My metabolism is jacked up from all the cardio I was doing. I was eating 3000cal loosing weight at 190lbs at one point. One of the guys I was training with, same height, same weight, eating about the same amount of food as me everyday and he's chubby and gaining weight while I'm getting ripped lol. I think it's just finally starting to slow down as I'm just now noticing that for the past few days I've been maintaining my body weight on a little bit lower calories than I had been eating. Just making/taking notes, I keep them to see how trends are going.
In the mix of all this, just stressed out all the time, anxious and feeling lazy. Not feeling great as a whole and I get the seasonal depression pretty bad.
Took a little vacation and since I've been back I'm just cruising on autopilot. I actually haven't taken any gear in about 10 days (last pin 3 days before vacation) I'm dropping NPP just in case it's contributed to my anxiety, continue on with a random shot of testosterone here and there for the next few weeks and I'm gonna keep pushing my food. Maintaining 200-205lbs is my normal. So I'm not worried about anything here. But I'm going to continue on my way when some of my "supplies" show up, If I'm feeling solid then I'll push for another 10-15lbs and make assessments again. And hopefully not change my mind three times along the way
I'm waiting on more test, primo and HGH and I'm going to try to stick with just those on my next push.
Smont
Legend
Over the summer it seemed like 5 units a day or 10 EOD while on cycle was very noticeable, I started with 2-3 daily I didn't really notice much. I did use 2-3 while I dropped to cruise anyway, but I think 5/day or 10eod is going to give me what I'm looking for out of it. I'm sure lots of ppl could be satisfied with 2-3, but I wasn't. So my logic is that HGH while fairly expensive, if using 2-3 doesn't give me the visual effects I'm looking for, then I feel like I'm wasting my time. Id rather pay a little more and get my desired effects.
For me to run about 3 months of HGH at the doses I want then I would need 4 kits, which could be anywhere from $600-800. And here's my logic I presented to my girlfriend lol
Let's say it's $800, $800÷90 days =$8.89/day or $62.23 per week.
My girl recently quit smoking but up until 2 months ago she bought a $14 pack of smokes EOD and drinks a ice coffee from Dunkin every day. Your Newport and Dunkin donuts habits are $77 week.
Case closed
Smont
Legend
When I was younger, my buddy Chris would often ask me to do him a solid and not explain anything in detail to his uncle when he's around. He would be like ....
Listen Steve, uncle Mike is gonna randomly start talking about something he heard and it's going to be a concrete fact in his mind. If you try to explain anything, he's either going to get mad or your going to get trapped in a 2 hour conversation until he understands. Steve, please, just smile and agree with him
Maybe I'm autistic lol, but I read or hear something, I tend to almost impulsively respond with my thoughts and often it's through talk to text. While that forces me to give the most honest opinion I can at that moment, later when I go back and read what I wrote, I usually sound like I'm being a bit of a asshole, it's not my intention, I'm just trying to get a honest opinion or answer to the person I'm talking with.
I start a lot of fights with my girlfriend by giving her my honest opinions
, she often tells me it's not what I said, it's how I said it lol. I'm working on it
Smont
Legend
Also @bell1986, the main reason I was inclined to bring up the cutting stuff was because I do a lot of the same things you do when dieting, I love making things as convenient as possible and for me personally, IF lets me keep my calories low and still be able to smash a massive meal late in the day and get my food fix in. Its super convenient in that aspect, but I just always noticed I don't look as good when I cut like that. I tend to deflate rather quickly and tho I will look very athletic still, it's a much smaller and flatter type look then when Im grinding and eating normal or frequently. I don't ever consistently get 6 meals in, it's not easy, but even 4 evenly spaced meals with a little bit of extra focus on my intra or peri-workout nutrition seems to be significantly better on keeping me looking bigger and rounder while dieting.
And for me, I feel like IF encourages my binge eating habits and that gets tough sometimes too. If it's 8pm and I got 2500-3000 calories to eat, I'm going to eat a lot of crap, because 2500-3000 cal from meat, rice and veggies is pretty hard in a few hours window. And if my protein goal is 200-220, that's hard in a short window as well unless I slug a shake or 2 with the meal
And for me, I feel like IF encourages my binge eating habits and that gets tough sometimes too. If it's 8pm and I got 2500-3000 calories to eat, I'm going to eat a lot of crap, because 2500-3000 cal from meat, rice and veggies is pretty hard in a few hours window. And if my protein goal is 200-220, that's hard in a short window as well unless I slug a shake or 2 with the meal
bell1986
Well-known member
My intensions are to push my bodyweight up to 230. I'm probably not going to do it all in one shot. I always have a game plan and I know what I'm supposed to do. But I'm also aware of my impulsive behavior and falling victim to what I want to do, more than what I need to be doing
Early December I had finished a stretch of a few months where I pretty much put a stop to all hypertrophy training. I was doing a lot of boxing and conditioning type work, I was still using weights but not any kind of structure, just using the weights for more conditioning and endurance. I was down to 184-186. Probably the best cardiovascular shape I had been in the past few years. Once I started lifting a little bit more, probably second week of December, I was pretty disappointed in how bad my strength was. Legs hadn't lost too much, but all my pressing strength was down . Insert the rebound and by early January I'm around 200 and starting this thread.
Started off great, strength skyrocketed, and actually I'm still making strength games right up until now, no problems there. But the scale weight wasn't budging despite eating 3500 to 3800 calories per day. I hit a high of 208 so far but I'm still bouncing between 200-205.
My metabolism is jacked up from all the cardio I was doing. I was eating 3000cal loosing weight at 190lbs at one point. One of the guys I was training with, same height, same weight, eating about the same amount of food as me everyday and he's chubby and gaining weight while I'm getting ripped lol. I think it's just finally starting to slow down as I'm just now noticing that for the past few days I've been maintaining my body weight on a little bit lower calories than I had been eating. Just making/taking notes, I keep them to see how trends are going.
In the mix of all this, just stressed out all the time, anxious and feeling lazy. Not feeling great as a whole and I get the seasonal depression pretty bad.
Took a little vacation and since I've been back I'm just cruising on autopilot. I actually haven't taken any gear in about 10 days (last pin 3 days before vacation) I'm dropping NPP just in case it's contributed to my anxiety, continue on with a random shot of testosterone here and there for the next few weeks and I'm gonna keep pushing my food. Maintaining 200-205lbs is my normal. So I'm not worried about anything here. But I'm going to continue on my way when some of my "supplies" show up, If I'm feeling solid then I'll push for another 10-15lbs and make assessments again. And hopefully not change my mind three times along the way
I'm waiting on more test, primo and HGH and I'm going to try to stick with just those on my next push.
Sounds like a plan
It also sounds like your metabolism has really peaked. Alot of people don't realise that you can actually make your metabolism run much faster and efficient. In the UK here they constantly tell men to eat 2500 calories to be healthy and keep a healthy weight. 2500 calories isn't that much tbh. I just feel that people don't build their metabolisms up properly. Like dieting but the opposite. If you slowly add calories each week your metabolism will increase. Start with your actual maintenance and add 100 calories a day. After each week keep adding 100 calories a day and you will increase your daily maintenance. I would rather maintain my weight on 3500 calories than 2500 calories.
Yeh I 100% agree with this. An issue with OMAD and even IF is muscle protein synthesis spikes. When you ingest 2-3g of leucine you get a MPS spike and it's short lived. If you eat one large meal you get one MPS spike per day. Even with IF you might get 2 spikes but the more you can raise MPS the more the body will recover and repair muscle.
I genuinely can't stand eating during the day. When I was working in Agriculture we would stop for 'lunch' around 11am. If I ate a meal I was dragging my feet all afternoon. I noticed that if I just fasted and maybe had a coffee then I felt 10x better. I then started to use EAA's 2-3 times a day and that stopped the daily fatigue and was supplying amino acids to trigger repair. I noticed I could do this and still feel like I was fasting. It's not as efficient as actual food but it's better than full on fasting.
But.. I will agree with IF and especially OMAD is an easy way to trigger an eating disorder. I did slip into this binge/fast eating style. I had to start having lunch meals now and again to stop my brain from falling into a disorder. My days off I always had Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner. Eating 3500 calories in a sitting just isn't healthy and efficient. I was going to bed crazy full and impacting my sleep quality.
Though if your overweight and OMAD allows you to lose the fat without losing control and bingeing. Go for it. It's just letting that mindset go once your happy with where you at.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
I’m currently at 2ius and have been for 4 weeks. I think I’ve finally gotten my fasting glucose figured out and I’ll get to that in a second because I would like your and @Hyde opinion on this.Over the summer it seemed like 5 units a day or 10 EOD while on cycle was very noticeable, I started with 2-3 daily I didn't really notice much. I did use 2-3 while I dropped to cruise anyway, but I think 5/day or 10eod is going to give me what I'm looking for out of it. I'm sure lots of ppl could be satisfied with 2-3, but I wasn't. So my logic is that HGH while fairly expensive, if using 2-3 doesn't give me the visual effects I'm looking for, then I feel like I'm wasting my time. Id rather pay a little more and get my desired effects.
For me to run about 3 months of HGH at the doses I want then I would need 4 kits, which could be anywhere from $600-800. And here's my logic I presented to my girlfriend lol
Let's say it's $800, $800÷90 days =$8.89/day or $62.23 per week.
My girl recently quit smoking but up until 2 months ago she bought a $14 pack of smokes EOD and drinks a ice coffee from Dunkin every day. Your Newport and Dunkin donuts habits are $77 week.
Case closed
I’ve found I’m pretty sensitive to HGH as far as the side effects when trying to titrate the doses. I know a lot of this is trial and error within certain perimeters, so I’m still trying to figure out my dosage and what works for me for recovery, as well as recomp. I’ll be 53 next week, so reading how HGH has been great for guys my age for the long haul has really drawn me to it. I think if I decide to titrate up, I won’t go above 4ius and will do it super slow, like .5ius at a time and riding it out for several weeks and assessing the sides and effects.
So here’s where I’d like y’all’s opinion. I read something a while back about not taking berberine close to your HGH dose. I pin HGH at night and was trying to keep at least 1.5 hours between berberine and HGH. But then I read something else that the negative effects of taking berberine and HGH together are basically very minimal. So I tested that last night and my fasting glucose this morning was 92. So my question for you guys, what do you know about the negative impact of taking berberine or metformin with or close to your HGH dose? And just to add, I don’t take metformin but Smont I think you have in the past if I’m not mistaken and I know they work similarly, metformin just being stronger and a drug vs berberine being natural.
And that’s a good way of breaking down the cost of fru-fru coffee and cigs. It’s insane how expensive they are now. I grew up in the heart of tobacco country and the home of RJ Reynolds. I worked in tobacco fields for years. It’s some tough damn work!
bell1986
Well-known member
Is the HGH causing your elevated blood sugar swings? I didn't think 2iu would be an issue but everyone is different.
I know berberine and metformin get lumped together. I've personally used both numerous times. I find them completely different though. I feel like berberine is more short lived and ideal for high carb meals. Metformin on the other hand kept my blood glucose steady all day. Berberine was notorious for lowering my blood glucose too low sometimes and I would get hypoglycemia. I never got this with metformin. I know that everybody says berberine is just natural metformin but I think they definitely work different. I think that metformin would be better overall for the HGH increased blood sugar.
Their is also other additions like adding ceylon cinnamon into meals/shakes. Using vinegar on foods. Alpha lopoic acid. Never know some might just do the trick.
What are you using HGH for? Anti aging? Injuries? Overall health addition? I was never a fan of it tbh. I ran 100iu and couldn't stand the numb tingling hands. I never felt well on it either. So far how has it been for you?
sammpedd88
Well-known member
So my main reason for taking it is recovery. I got into competitive powerlifting about two years ago and was using for the recovery aspect. I’m in the non-tested division so I’m also using gear. I’ve been using all the other supplements you’ve mentioned lol, structured my carbs between lunch and post workout, and cutting the carbs back on off days, and my fasting glucose was still all over the place. But I’m thinking taking berberine close to pinning HGH may do the trick. I was just wanting get some input on it from guys that have used it as it relates ti glucose. So far it’s treating me well this time around. I feel the water retention in the am but it’s not terrible like it was the first time I ran HGH. I also don’t have the carpal tunnel sides I got before. I feel like my recovery has been better on this lifting schedule than it has been in the past, but I don’t know how much HGH has to do with it. I like the recomp effects of HGH also but it takes a while to really see it. So, you took 100ius or was that a typo and should have been 10ius?
Smont
Legend
I wish I had a answer but I don't. I was mostly taking my HGH all at once pre workout at 5pm or post workout 45min or so before my post workout meal. Which sometimes could be a big gap because I'm often not hungry right after I work out so I try to space my meal out sometimes. But regardless of whether I took it at 5:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m., I always took a 500 mg extended release metformin before bed. So on the days I took my HGH at 10:00 p.m. or later, I was also taking my metformin within the hour or even at the same time.
Occasionally I would do a unit first thing in the morning before fasted cardio and the other 4 at night and that actually seemed fine as well. But I've read about how breaking up your HGH and dosing several times a day will make you insulin resistant significantly faster so that's why I tended to take one big dose at night.
I didn't get any issues with numbness and the only place I saw a little extra water retention was in my ankles when I would take off my socks
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Yeah I notice the water retention in my ankles as well as my wrists and fingers. It goes away in my fingers after I’m up out of the bed and moving around but the slight retention in my ankle/calf area is still there. I’ve been making sure I stay hydrated along with drinking electrolytes too.
Smont
Legend
I was looking around for numbers and dosing and I came across several things saying that about 30% of ppl experience hard to manage side effects on HGH to the extent they can't even use it. Most of that group was in the 4-8iu range but some of them couldn't at any dose. Even if it was only like 10% of people who get unmanageable side effects, it's still 1 out of 10.
A lot of the fluid retention causes the numbness, it's fluid induced nerve compression. HGH is acting on the renin angiotensin aldosterone system and from the little bit of reading I just did it can increase plasma renin 3 fold an aldosterone x7 so those are pretty significant if you happen to be one of those people
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Thankfully I’m not experiencing that carpal tunnel feeling in my hands from pressure on the nerve. I’ve experienced it before and it really sucked. I wonder if the HGH may have been dosed high than what it was advertised. I may just keep taking the berberine at night with 2ius and make sure my fasting glucose is good. If it remains at a good spot, I may slowly titrate up from there. If that didn’t work I can always do what you had mentioned to me before about Big Paul saying take 4ius EOD to minimize sides.
gphagan1
Legend
That’s an impressive overhead press.
LeanEngineer
Legend
Still 245 press overhead is really good for your stats. I watch the strongman do the axle log press and it's crazy how much weight they can do but they're also pushing 400 lbs body weight to.