Hyde’s Strength Odyssey

[Hyde]

I don’t know man the picture looks good and it looks pretty damn tasty!!

Man shredding down! Fantastic work as always

I don't know, that looks pretty good to me!

I throw some Cajun seasoning on the Tilapia and put a pound in the air fryer to grill for 7 minutes. Then pour a bag of steamer cauliflower in a glass bowl and microwave while it cooks. Ready to eat in about 15 minutes, and I have 2 awesome meals made.

I found Aldi is actually cheaper per lb than Sam’s Club on Tilapia and Salmon. Then when I made my weekly run they had them both 50% off with a use by of 3 days - the same period of time I’d use them in! So $3.40 for Tilapia and under $5 for Salmon and Trout this week

 

[Dustin07]

lol honestly that meal looks awesome, I've been craving trout lately and got lucky when my step daughter brought some she caught home the other night but under $5 for salmon is

 

[Hyde]

lol honestly that meal looks awesome, I've been craving trout lately and got lucky when my step daughter brought some she caught home the other night but under $5 for salmon is

Doing about 2lbs Tilapia, 1lb Chicken Breast and 2lbs Salmon, 1lb Trout, plus a few pints of egg whites over Monday-Thursday. 2 protein sludges/shakes daily, and often a Quest bar. There’s also 1-2 servings of nuts/pb, 1-2 of olives/oil daily. And a couple servings of veggies or salad.

Friday and Sunday are basically PSMF, so mainly whey, egg whites and tuna. I often still have a salad on these days, but use a low-cal dressing instead of oil/vinegar.

Saturday is primarily Greek yogurt, maybe a whey shake, and whatever loading food I have (Subway turkey sandwiches and my aunt’s chili last week). I don’t really worry about protein on Saturday with cals approaching 4k and so many carbs every meal (shoot for 4x150+). I always eat 2 packs of Buldak Ramen (Truffle & Quattro Cheese were this week’s picks), but otherwise carb sources vary. Pasta, bread, a little sugar like fruit, jam, candy primarily.

 

[gphagan1]

I love fish, and that meal looks and sounds great to me. And by the looks of the scale your diet is working great. Your bench work looks good too….dropping weight staying strong sounds like an elite formula to me.

 

[Hyde]

10/28/26
BW 220.0

Roll Feet & Tspine

Frontsquat, SSB
65 2x5
155,245,285x3
+deadlift belt
305 5x5

GHR
1x12
2x8 moved forward a hole

alt w/ BB Shrugs
225,315x3
+belt & straps
385x15,16

DB Walking Lunges
BWx12
35,40sx15

DB Hammercurls
30x15
35 2x15
40x15

alt w/ Calf Raises on Hacksquat
180x15
250x12,12,8

Band Standing Abs
Avg 2x20

Off-week in my deadlift rotation (light/heavy/off). Added 10lbs to frontsquat 5x5 from the last time I hit them. Felt like a productive evening hitting the little stuff while shedding some fatigue - thinking this Sunday’s squats will be heavy.

Bloodwork Friday morning.

 

[gphagan1]

That’s some strong 5x5 front squats.

 

[Hyde]

That’s some strong 5x5 front squats.

Thank you; hoping driving those up will keep muscle strong where I need it to make a bigger squat.

 

[Dustin07]

yeah those are monsters!

 

[dapack]

Your killing it with the weight lose and numbers are super strong

 

[Hyde]

I measured my waist at the navel this morning, around the widest part of the love handle/oblique:down to 37.5-38”. It was ~43.5-44” when I was in the 250s in February.

So I’ve lost about half a foot on my waist this year. My biceps still taped at 17.5” flexed cold, thighs are 25.5” at peak quad and 28” at their widest near top.

 

[akboom87]

I measured my waist at the navel this morning, around the widest part of the love handle/oblique:down to 37.5-38”. It was ~43.5-44” when I was in the 250s in February.

So I’ve lost about half a foot on my waist this year. My biceps still taped at 17.5” flexed cold, thighs are 25.5” at peak quad and 28” at their widest near top.

That is some serious difference and technically not even a year really.

 

[gphagan1]

That’s awesome man….dropping 6” in your waist while holding on to muscle is huge. I have always liked the tape measure when cutting. The scales are obviously useful for overall weight loss, but the tape measure shows you the fat loss and whether you’re holding onto muscle. I would say with a 37.5” waist, 17.5” biceps and 28” quads that this cut has been a huge success.

 

[dapack]

I measured my waist at the navel this morning, around the widest part of the love handle/oblique:down to 37.5-38”. It was ~43.5-44” when I was in the 250s in February.

So I’ve lost about half a foot on my waist this year. My biceps still taped at 17.5” flexed cold, thighs are 25.5” at peak quad and 28” at their widest near top.

Thatbis alot of fat loss with keeping strength if not improve at the same time.

 

[MrKleen73]

Very nice work! I bet you are feeling pretty spry and mobile too now aren't you?

 

[Hyde]

Thanks gang!

Thatbis alot of fat loss with keeping strength if not improve at the same time.

Haven’t really gotten stronger, but definitely more competitive as I’ve held a lot of strength.

Very nice work! I bet you are feeling pretty spry and mobile too now aren't you?

Definitely things like ease of breathing when reclined/in bed, stairs and realistically even walking do feel easier. Not that they were hard before, but everything is more comfortable/more stamina.

 

[Hyde]

Bloodwork came back:

Dropped my LDL from 212 to 64. 70% in just 6 weeks.

Total cholesterol went from 284 to 127. So ApoB can’t be more than 63 if LDL is 64, which means that dropped from 167 to 63 - over 100 points.

Sat fats are kept around 20g per day and all dietary fat intake 6 days per week comes from fish, olive, or nuts (plus supplemented flaxseed, borage, and high EPA fish oil). No animal or dairy fats. Carbs are obviously ultra low. Chris Tuttle talked about how he uses this to fix people’s lipids in a month for insurance testing. And rereading DiPasquale’s book, he really stresses the fatty fish intake to be critical for lipid balance (along with the supplemented fats I mentioned). Also added 12g fiber from Benefiber daily.

Pharmaceutical intervention was 5mg Rosuvastatin & Cardarine, plus 5mg Ezetimibe the last 2 weeks of the 6.

 

[MrKleen73]

Great improvements! I plan to do blood work at the end of this run and hoping to see some positive results too.

 

[Hyde]

10/31/26
BW 215.4

Jumping Jacks
Mace Swings

Bench, ISF Powerbar
135x10
195x5
245,295x3
315,325x1

Widegrip Bench
210 2x25

JM Press
135x12
155x10
175x8

Ended up deciding to fast all day yesterday and just train today in the garage since bloodwork didn’t let me go yesterday morning. Had to rack the second widegrip set of 25 after rep 24, took a breath, and did the 25th - but I’m counting it Got my son to come out with me; he did db floorpress, db deadlifts, sandbag carries, and a lot of standing & running jumps over a little box. We shared some gummy candies from his trunk or treat stuff

 

[Hyde]

For the first & probably last time in my life, I signed up for TWO meets today!

PLU Nationals end of April 24/25th in the 242lb class, and a nearly full meet in Indy in just 6 weeks from tomorrow on December 13th as a 198. I am going for it, boys.

There’s basically no meets happening in Jan/Feb/March with Nationals coming in April, unless I want to drive 10 hours or search for other federations. I really only need to lose about 5 more lbs, plus my bloodwork is immaculate (and I know how to fix it faster afterwards now). The comps are all wrapped up before Christmas, so if I want to do this I just have to put my big boy pants on and do it now.

With only 6 weeks to jam & limited calories, every session matters and I need to really focus on the highest training specificity. Putting on the Inzer sleeves & going to the squat bar tomorrow, switching over to the deadlift bar & using calibrated plates, and weights are going to have to crank up. Gear also has to go 0-100: frontloaded 120mg Tren E and 200mg Mast E this morning. I’ll put another 200 Mast E in tomorrow, along with raising test some. Probably start taking Var preWO.

42 days out

 

[gphagan1]

10/31/26
BW 215.4

Jumping Jacks
Mace Swings

Bench, ISF Powerbar
135x10
195x5
245,295x3
315,325x1

Widegrip Bench
210 2x25

JM Press
135x12
155x10
175x8

Ended up deciding to fast all day yesterday and just train today in the garage since bloodwork didn’t let me go yesterday morning. Had to rack the second widegrip set of 25 after rep 24, took a breath, and did the 25th - but I’m counting it Got my son to come out with me; he did db floorpress, db deadlifts, sandbag carries, and a lot of standing & running jumps over a little box. We shared some gummy candies from his trunk or treat stuff

For the first & probably last time in my life, I signed up for TWO meets today!

PLU Nationals end of April 24/25th in the 242lb class, and a nearly full meet in Indy in just 6 weeks from tomorrow on December 13th as a 198. I am going for it, boys.

There’s basically no meets happening in Jan/Feb/March with Nationals coming in April, unless I want to drive 10 hours or search for other federations. I really only need to lose about 5 more lbs, plus my bloodwork is immaculate (and I know how to fix it faster afterwards now). The comps are all wrapped up before Christmas, so if I want to do this I just have to put my big boy pants on and do it now.

With only 6 weeks to jam & limited calories, every session matters and I need to really focus on the highest training specificity. Putting on the Inzer sleeves & going to the squat bar tomorrow, switching over to the deadlift bar & using calibrated plates, and weights are going to have to crank up. Gear also has to go 0-100: frontloaded 120mg Tren E and 200mg Mast E this morning. I’ll put another 200 Mast E in tomorrow, along with raising test some. Probably start taking Var preWO.

42 days out

Man that’s awesome….6 weeks is definitely putting on your big boy pants and jumping into the fire, but you’ve got this bro. Your cut and training have really been great, and you seem to be in a good place to have a good push these next 6 weeks. You’re primed and ready to take this.
And that’s great little man got to work out with Daddy….future Champion.

 

[gphagan1]

And that good blood work coming back is perfect timing to feel good about cranking up the gear.

 

[Hyde]

And that good blood work coming back is perfect timing to feel good about cranking up the gear.

Yeah I know things have probably only been healthy really lipid wise for 4 weeks, compared to probably 4 months trashed prior, and I’m pushing things right back towards the red. BUT it’s only a 6-week run, I have a great profile for head start, and will fix it fast. Probably 1-2 months of bad ranges this time, and then I will have a much longer time with good lipids after. I don’t need any of these kind of dry compounds if I am bulking back up for Nationals end of April.

 

[Hyde]

11/1/26
BW 218.6

Roll Feet, Tspine
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Shoulder & Hip Stretches

4 min Assault Bike
Bird Dogs
RFE Splitsquat

Squat, Rogue Squatbar
55,165x5
275x3
+Inzer Ergopros
385x3
+belt
430,452,474,496x3
452x8

SLDL, Texas DL bar
155x1
265x3
+deadlift belt
375x3
386 3x8

GHR
12,12,9

Hanging Leg Raises
2x15

Switching to the comp sleeves felt like a big boost, plus when I woke up I took 200mg Mast E & 70mg Test C, then 25mg Var a couple hours before squats. So between the added support at the bottom, blasting gear & going to the easiest bar everything was feeling STRONG. Felt like I could have went up to 518 for another triple, but I need to string together 4 hard weeks in a row yet I so dropped down 10% to got a bit more volume in. I could have done over 10 with 452, so 600+ should be doable soon.

Had to bring my belt in another hole today! Not really surprised after a new low bodyweight yesterday from the 37-hour fast.

 

[akboom87]

Out of curiosity, how much extra does the gear add compared to nothing?

 

[MrKleen73]

Super excited to watch you achieve another bucket list item with going elite. I have no doubt you can make it happen! That workout with your boy sounded fun!

 

[Hyde]

Out of curiosity, how much extra does the gear add compared to nothing?

It really depends. How much you take matters, understanding how to leverage it for your goals, and individual response are all huge factors.

The ATWRs between tested and untested in powerlifting are typically within 8% or so - and a few weightclasses actually have higher records from tested lifters. But you’re talking about absolutely elite freak genetic outliers on either side, not really representative of the bell curve of competitors.

But I would say for myself, 10-12% likely when things are at full tilt come competition day over true in-range TRT strength. Periodization of training with the drugs is also playing into that too.

Super excited to watch you achieve another bucket list item with going elite. I have no doubt you can make it happen! That workout with your boy sounded fun!

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I believe if I can make it through unscathed, I can lift the weights necessary.

 

[Segansational]

Got my son to come out with me; he did db floorpress, db deadlifts, sandbag carries, and a lot of standing & running jumps over a little box. We shared some gummy candies from his trunk or treat stuff

You know, I was just telling my wife about this the other day. I gave my kids a pack of gummy bears pre-hike Saturday afternoon to give them that sugar/carb boost. Although it's apparently all HFCS in them these days (vs actual sugar, not sure energy wise it matters though).

For the first & probably last time in my life, I signed up for TWO meets today!

PLU Nationals end of April 24/25th in the 242lb class, and a nearly full meet in Indy in just 6 weeks from tomorrow on December 13th as a 198. I am going for it, boys.

There’s basically no meets happening in Jan/Feb/March with Nationals coming in April, unless I want to drive 10 hours or search for other federations. I really only need to lose about 5 more lbs, plus my bloodwork is immaculate (and I know how to fix it faster afterwards now). The comps are all wrapped up before Christmas, so if I want to do this I just have to put my big boy pants on and do it now.

With only 6 weeks to jam & limited calories, every session matters and I need to really focus on the highest training specificity. Putting on the Inzer sleeves & going to the squat bar tomorrow, switching over to the deadlift bar & using calibrated plates, and weights are going to have to crank up. Gear also has to go 0-100: frontloaded 120mg Tren E and 200mg Mast E this morning. I’ll put another 200 Mast E in tomorrow, along with raising test some. Probably start taking Var preWO.

42 days out

Heck yeah! Now its on! Whew, I can feel the energy already. That also certainly seems like a 0 to 100 level plan on all fronts!

That timing is sort of what I was running into as well, but of course I'm just going to be building until an April meet. I saw one early Dec too, but 4 weeks is way too short for me to make any real improvements.

 

[MrKleen73]

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I believe if I can make it through unscathed, I can lift the weights necessary.

You know it, already speaking it into existence for you!

You know, I was just telling my wife about this the other day. I gave my kids a pack of gummy bears pre-hike Saturday afternoon to give them that sugar/carb boost. Although it's apparently all HFCS in them these days (vs actual sugar, not sure energy wise it matters though).



Heck yeah! Now its on! Whew, I can feel the energy already. That also certainly seems like a 0 to 100 level plan on all fronts!

That timing is sort of what I was running into as well, but of course I'm just going to be building until an April meet. I saw one early Dec too, but 4 weeks is way too short for me to make any real improvements.

If going with gummy anything for energy go with haribo, they use glucose syrup instead of HFCS. Far better option IMHO. If you like sour, without the mouth damage from the malic acid the Twin Snakes are FIRE!!!!

 

[Hyde]

You know, I was just telling my wife about this the other day. I gave my kids a pack of gummy bears pre-hike Saturday afternoon to give them that sugar/carb boost. Although it's apparently all HFCS in them these days (vs actual sugar, not sure energy wise it matters though).



Heck yeah! Now its on! Whew, I can feel the energy already. That also certainly seems like a 0 to 100 level plan on all fronts!

That timing is sort of what I was running into as well, but of course I'm just going to be building until an April meet. I saw one early Dec too, but 4 weeks is way too short for me to make any real improvements.

We always give my son a piece of candy or two right before he does things like gymnastics or swimming, etc. This gives him an opportunity to have the holiday candy he acquires in a setting where he will burn it right up, it creates a positive association with physical effort & reward, and it even helps his performance - but most of all, it’s fun! If they had a real meal recently, there is enough stable energy underneath the sugar to avoid crashing when the flash is over. And IME, they can do well on anything, corn syrup or otherwise. It’s adults where sources are more noticeable. Kids are like biodiesel machines that burn anything

Yeah no need to rush for you for sure; that’s just smarter all around.

In my case, I just don’t want to drive many states away for a possibly empty meet in February. I really like to do packed meets; I want to have competition. This meet has 58 lifters and there’s 3 of us in Untested Open 198! I much prefer taking last than getting a medal for being the only lifter in my class.

You know it, already speaking it into existence for you!

If going with gummy anything for energy go with haribo, they use glucose syrup instead of HFCS. Far better option IMHO. If you like sour, without the mouth damage from the malic acid the Twin Snakes are FIRE!!!!

Thank you brother; I believe too!

My son loves those Haribo Twin Snakes! They are great to me too.

 

[Hyde]

New low bodyweight today:

215.0lbs

17lbs up. 5lbs to go!

Bumping Test Cyp to an average of 40mg per day / 280mg weekly. Added in KLOW this morning as well to help my body stay together this 6 weeks.

30 minutes of LISS on the cycle this morning to help lower body recovery, lipids, fatloss etc. 2mg MOTS-C, 4iu GH, and 500mg L-Carnitine prior.

 

[Dustin07]

Gear also has to go 0-100: frontloaded 120mg Tren E and 200mg Mast E this morning. I’ll put another 200 Mast E in tomorrow, along with raising test some. Probably start taking Var preWO.

I started hearing air raid sirens as I read this

in the 242lb class, and a nearly full meet in Indy in just 6 weeks from tomorrow on December 13th as a 198

This seems so wild to me

Out of curiosity, how much extra does the gear add compared to nothing?

But I would say for myself, 10-12% likely when things are at full tilt come competition day over true in-range TRT strength. Periodization of training with the drugs is also playing into that too.

I read a guy theorize that even if someone did only one solid cycle their whole life they'd probably hold on to some level of those gains, that added foundation, going forward as long as they continued lifting. Even though I've done nothing PED in the last year, I do feel like I'm holding more lean mass these days. But man even the very mild products I've used definitely gave me a mental edge, whether they contributed physiologically or not, the psychologically gains were pretty impactful for me.

17lbs up. 5lbs to go!

do you expect the water cut to be lb per lb the same as when you are starting heavier or do you think there will be a little less water retention etc in the smaller you? i.e. like should your walking around weight be closer to your weigh-in weight at this lower starting point to make sure the water cut is successful?

 

[Hyde]

I started hearing air raid sirens as I read this

View attachment 264227



This seems so wild to me





I read a guy theorize that even if someone did only one solid cycle their whole life they'd probably hold on to some level of those gains, that added foundation, going forward as long as they continued lifting. Even though I've done nothing PED in the last year, I do feel like I'm holding more lean mass these days. But man even the very mild products I've used definitely gave me a mental edge, whether they contributed physiologically or not, the psychologically gains were pretty impactful for me.


do you expect the water cut to be lb per lb the same as when you are starting heavier or do you think there will be a little less water retention etc in the smaller you? i.e. like should your walking around weight be closer to your weigh-in weight at this lower starting point to make sure the water cut is successful?

I definitely believe even one good cycle will have lasting physiological changes. They’ve done muscle biopsies and found increased muscle cells in those who had previously used but no longer did, plus the bone density adaptations. So at least 5 years later it was obvious positive adaptations remained.

This is why it’s so important to understand Drug Tested does NOT equal lifetime Drug Free! It’s not the same as coming into a meet blasting Dbol & Tren, but there’s an edge to be had nonetheless.

No, I only cut ~9lbs last one. I will be pushing this one at least 50% higher and need to pull out all the stops since I need more absolute weight and will also have less retention possibly like you mentioned. Laxative prep mid week, pounding gallons of distilled water multiple days, sauna at the end. Might experiment with a hydrochlorthiazide this or next Friday to see how much water it pulls off. That could possibly let me skip the stress of sauna work (while already very dehydrated) before leaving for Indy. But I’ve never used diuretics for any cut, so need to test far out, and will go with a very small dose. Broderick was encouraging me to give it a go last we spoke.

 

[akboom87]

full beast mode man! So excited to see this come together!

 

[Dustin07]

I've been surprised how impactful a sauna can be, although I have found I really like them during the winter months specifically up here anyways. I don't have access to a bathtub so if I were intentionally aiming for a watercut Sauna would definitely be used I'd think. I like to do it as a one-two punch after severe squat or pull days. 10-15 minutes in the sauna at 180f followed by 5-10 in the hot tub stretching out the calves/ankels and taking the jets to the back.

 

[Hyde]

I've been surprised how impactful a sauna can be, although I have found I really like them during the winter months specifically up here anyways. I don't have access to a bathtub so if I were intentionally aiming for a watercut Sauna would definitely be used I'd think. I like to do it as a one-two punch after severe squat or pull days. 10-15 minutes in the sauna at 180f followed by 5-10 in the hot tub stretching out the calves/ankels and taking the jets to the back.

Sweating when you are hydrated or holding excess water is one thing, but during a cut when already dry fasting and stripped of electrolytes the sauna is purely stressful (and ultimately dangerous without educated moderation). That’s like comparing a 5k to a marathon. One improves health; the other is goal-oriented & represents a cost.

 

[sammpedd88]

@Hyde I’m going to blame you for this. My wife and I were grocery shopping yesterday to prepare for our weekly meal prep. I saw those evil Buldak Carbonara Spicy Ramen packs. I remember you and @Smont talking about them. I added some lean ground beef to a pack once it was done. OMG man are those things great. I’m hooked and it’s your fault. What a tasty meal for a high carb day. I’m hooked!

 

[Dustin07]

@Hyde I’m going to blame you for this. My wife and I were grocery shopping yesterday to prepare for our weekly meal prep. I saw those evil Buldak Carbonara Spicy Ramen packs. I remember you and @Smont talking about them. I added some lean ground beef to a pack once it was done. OMG man are those things great. I’m hooked and it’s your fault. What a tasty meal for a high carb day. I’m hooked!

Blend it up with some chicken breast and throw it in your shaker bottle.

 

[sammpedd88]

Blend it up with some chicken breast and throw it in your shaker bottle.

I’ve never done the chicken shake but if I just think of it as chicken soup I could prob do it!

 

[Smont]

I can't do a chicken shake, but I have blended chicken, broccoli, cheese, Greek yogurt and chicken broth together rough chop style to make a chunky creamy soup