! , it's mentally satisfying to let out a sigh as I finally get sat down in a chair . Glutes are also feeling the strain today, so putting socks on this morning was a bit of a chore :thumbsup: . . Actually, if I squint, the delt/tri/bi area looks bigger! Well, replace 'squint' with 'look' and 'bigger' with 'rounder'. If you see what I mean.
. . I always wonder if strength increases follow a size increase or precedes one; I hope it's the latter so I can see another arm gain next week . . I've been doing something a bit wierd with my water intake this week; I've been drinking when I get up during sleep time:blink: ! When nature calls and I get up to go to the toilet, I have a few gulps of water on the way back to bed! Funnily enough, it doesn't mean I get up any more than before:toilet: . Plus, it's GRRREAT if you're not a morning eater like me, as your stomach doesn't feel the size of a raisin and eating first thing (and indeed, throughout the rest of the day), feels somewhat easier. ! If I turn round 180 degrees I can see a beautiful blue sky and I'd love go and sit by the pool (I'm at the gym) and be one of those a$$holes who look good and know it:bb: ! Ahhhh to live the dream! Maybe a few years, eh Bobo?! If it was all about attitude, I could bypass the pool on my way to the Olympia stage and win easy.....:lol: ! (dan would come a close second )! ) of some gains!
! . No increases in weight though, just smaller drops over all the sets of an exercise. But I did feel I had to work harder this time round on most leg exercises, just to match last my numbers:think: . Don’t know what that was about. ! (Even if he was only lifting 30kg) . From what I remember anyway . That technique also works well for the tuna meal. Saves endless hours of jaw ache! . I should probably go off and do my Civic duty now or something and watch the TV:whip: ; England are currently playing in their first World Cup game of the summer, against Paraguay or Uruguay or……...whatever drunk:- streets will be filled with this species tonight, latin name Intoxico Extremae). Sigh. England in a WC final is like Tim Henman in a Wimbledon final. Never gonna happen! Although I wouldn’t actually say that out loud:ntome: !
. On wednesday, I was eating my last meal of the day, just finishing up the broccoli, when some crappy little fly decided to land on my last piece. Obviously, I couldn't eat it. Now, others would have said 'what the hell', chucked it away and gone to bed; but not me ! I got a single piece of brocolli out of the freezer, waited 7 mins to steam it and ate it! That is dedication:dance: ! Same sort of thing y'day: I got 2 cups skim milk and mistakenly added 2 scoops of protein, when I only wanted 1. So I drunk 1/2, chucked the rest and had a cup of milk on it's own, thus getting the 2 cups milk and 1 scoop of protein! Obsessive? Unnecessary? Maybe. But those are the words the population at large use to describe us all going down the gym 5 days a week and eating all the time. Think about it . ). My shoulder problems definitely aren't affecting my delts and they look as though they're doing well. Same with tri's. Descriptions are markedly less zesty than my usual fare, I know, but I'm saving those for some gains, lol.
. Workmen in the building hammering, drilling, WHISTLING:aargh: !!! (At least I'm moving out next week, somewhere quieter....hopefully). It's wierd but I don't notice it first thing because the light seems to act as a very strong stimulus to wake up. Who needs caffiene?! . They seem to be morphing every day, between a 160lb me and what I can only assume is a 200lb me. Quite fun at times . . . I'm going to do some tuna shopping, have a nap, have a shave later lol. It all helps to prepare for week 47!
. I don't mean in terms of diet/training, but generally. I've had, on average, 45mins less sleep per day and, what I have had, the quality hasn't been too good. I've also moved this week so that's been quite stressful (and calorie consuming!:rasp: ). ! Waist hasn't shifted but I swear my trousers are feeling looser; if I don't wear a belt, they basically slip down from my waist to my hips! There's been a loss to the limbs but no strength loss at all. Probably just glycogen. . Solid. SLDL's were up and I put up a few back exercises because they were too easy last time. Everything else was the same. . I had my flax oil with meal 6, instead of meal 1 on tuesday. That was the only hiccup. I noticed that after a few hrs of packing and unpacking, cleaning etc, my chicken/mozz meal went down VERY easily. That was wierd. Water intake has been good aswell. But it has not really been anything but good IMO. A little off once or twice, but I always make mountians out of molehills. To me 100% is 100%, 95% might as well be 55%:frustrate . An attitude that is a blessing and a curse. . So that's good. Definitely looking better than in recent weeks. Not looking as good as I want to be or WILL be, but I seem to be a step closer .
) during my leg workout. It felt worse than your average twinge, but not as bad as a 'don't workout' twinge. It held up and I didn't feel anything untoward, although right now it feels as though it has a 'new dimension' of stiffness and soreness:smite: . Nothing to worry about. . Besides that damn friday pre w.o meal! Took me about 35mins to eat yesterday:burger: ! I was drinking my chocolate protein scoop WHILST eating the chicken/mozz/c.cheese. It actually tastes a little like a chocolate hob-nob biscuit:food: (I'm sure you guys have those- an oat biscuit with chocolate on top)! Oh yeah, I should point out that over my many weeks of experimentation, the tuna/c.cheese meal is MUCH easier to get down if it's at room temp; overnight refrigeration makes for a saliva-producing, tummy-rumbling hell of a few minutes first thing in the morning ! . Damn, they're going fast. AS ALWAYS, I'm looking forward to whatever week 49 brings....
! That scared me a little and I was moving db's around cautiously for the rest of the workout, but it felt fine (for the most part) the next day. . Not something an ecto would normally say after weightloss (fatloss?), but maybe I do. ! Bobo had earlier suggested it might be beneficial, after going for so long, but at the time, I truly didn't feel as though I needed one. With hindsight, I think I was more interested with completing 52 weeks straight than what was better for me . Damn ego! I should know better after 49 weeks on this program ! ) ! I'm interested to see what will happen really, considering I'm bulking. Weight up, down? Bigger, smaller? This might be a first for a bulker so it'll be important to note what happens for future FLAites ! I'll take measurements as usual and post them up next saturday. . ! 
! It's very satisfying to not have to get up to train at a certain time and pre-plan the rest of the day so that you have enough time to do everything you need to. ALOT less rigorous ! ! (To be honest, I'd probably just get bored by wednesday and wish I'd started back up). In future, even though Bobo's program is alot less taxing on the PNS and CNS than other training programs (I think, anyway), I'll definitely take more than 1 week off every year. One in the middle and one at the end, perhaps. I think it can only do good . . I look smaller in the arms/chest, but I'm impressed by how my legs look, irrespective of the lost diameter. Back also looks v.good, complete with the 2 wasp stings I got at work this morning! Damn things! !
(in the end, I had to put the quilt behind my knees to keep them bent); that was close to the worst stifness I've had, but the level of DOMS was nowhere near it's worst . .
. For some reason I thought my weight would be down this week. Glad it wasn't ! and partly because last week I had '1st week back' syndrome last week. My muscles definitely feel more 'broken in' this week . Soreness was/is still rather mild, with the exception of legs:twisted: ! Trust lunges to do that (need a 'sore' smiley here)! ! ! Bobo had sent me a new plan that had 600mg iron only for meal 2:fool2: ( or Fe as it was in the plan) and at some point I had to 'invest in portfolio'! I remember feeling quite anxious as I don't have a portfolio and thought I'd messed up:lol: . That's just the stuff I remember, but it goes to show that it's cool to alter your zinc dosage (within the parameters) and have wierd dreams like that . . Might be interesting from an experimental pov, as I'm only altering one variable, my diet, training etc, will stay the same. Alot of people alter those it seems. Anyway, just thought I'd let everyone know.
Am I hardcore or stupid? I don't know yet!
And get some pics up dan! Then you can finish and I won't worry about you overtaking me, lol.
. Some lifts are now back up to where they were before my week off, but alot aren't just yet. I didn't have any preconceived ideas about how my strength would change, as strength is alot more related to LBM gain with TUT than with other forms of training. . I remember looking down at my arm during the week and thinking 'Wow, my bicep's changed shape!':lol: . No increase in vascularity as yet. Not too bothered if this doesn't change. Fortunately, no decrease in definition . I'm going (mainly) by my abs for the definition check. As long as they're as visible at the end as they are now, I'm good . I know my opinion probably doesn't count for much, seeing as my androgen use totals 7 days so far, but I'm definitely not in the camp of 1st cycle-eat like a sumo wrestler! Eat like a Bobo-ite ! ! The extra food I've got has all been 'liquid', so it's been an easy addition to make. I did have to come up with a solution to carrying flax oil around though- I thought about using the pills, but that would be expensive, annoying (having to swallow 14 each time) and impractical (as the bottle'd run out within a week). So basically heeeeell no! - Some of you might find this helpful. Fill up a few oral syringes with the right amount of oil and place them in a small freezer bag (to prevent the oil getting everywhere). Then, wrap them in one of those injury gel packs (pre frozen of course) and slip the whole lot in an empty protein shaker. Bada bing bada boom; fully transportable, easily packable and continually chilled flax oil, without the problems of pills ! ), but that MAY change depending on how my experience goes (......and on how that other log goes:run: ). Not the best idea to change like after everything is planned, but it's months away and I'm on a steep practical learning curve that answers questions theory and preparation can't.
! Everything is up. Seem to be carrying a little bloat which I think is contributing to the big gains in waist/hips and the large mass gain. Abs still visible though. 196 and abs! Oh yeah!! . Everything seems to tast like crap! I've not been able to finish meals and I've had to make up what protein and fat I've missed in whole foods with powder and flax:blink: . I'm going to see how I am today, but I think a drop in SD dose is on the cards.
. I have been looking somewhat less bigger in the mirror over the past few days (bloat, I suppose) so I was expecting a weight drop at the end of this week and was very surprised to see a gain . I suppose I've inadvertently done a taper effect which should make coming completely of the SD a little easier (end of next week) . ! I'm starting to think my conservative nature in terms of weight selection is working against me a little at the mo. Do you all remember Bruce Willis in the 'bench press' scene in Unbreakable? He didn't think he could push a weight until he tried. Well, I feel like if I have a go I might be able to put up more weight than I think. I might try that new strategy next week:think: . . I AM trying really hard, too; it took me 1hour to eat the second 1/2 of my tuna/cc meal !! I was on a mission and wasn't losing that battle! Water also seems to taste greasy and I've resorted to using dilutable orange. Zero cal of course ! My grandma thinks this my appetite is waning because I 'don't get a proper diet'. Her suggestions for a good diet include 'a nice roast lamb' and 'mashed potatoes' . ! It's hard to explain, but the best word I could use would be a 'maturation' of my physique. Delts seem more rounded, bi's peak a little better, tri's look more 'horseshoe-y' and I look more tapered from shoulders through waist to the hips . . I have l'dex on hand to help that but I don't want to get ahead of myself and use it unless necessary. Obviously I don't want to leave it too late and have soreness develop into a lump, so I'll pay CLOSE attention to it over the coming week. Chances are though I'll have started l'dex dosing before the end of the week:rasp: . No big deal really.
. Bi's and tri's saw the smallest increases, legs saw the biggest. A little bit down to my genetics AND I think it's just simply a fact that bigger muscles seem to grow faster:think: . . In any case, I still look good (better than last week), quite muscular and my abs are STILL here . That's a blessing- I've gained 3+ inches on my waist over the past 56 weeks and I've still got abs. Obviously alot is muscle in the l.back and obliques , but what fat I have put on (when I take hols from work) is in those areas too . I actually did the '2 mirror' thing today and had a look at my back; I've got new 'bumps' everywhere and it aint acne, lol. . I don't know what to expect gains-wise for next week as I may see a 'rebound from finishing the SD and possibly lose weight, but I'll wait and see. It'll only be glycogen or something, so no biggie.
. I stepped on the scales and was like 'Noooo. My membership in the '200' club has been revoked!'. But then I got the tape out and that showed the upside (yes, there is one). Most of the weight has come off the more fatty areas, whilst the limbs remain relatively the same . . All lifts were up but some went up ALOT. Db bp was up 10lbs and I managed 2 sets on that new weight, so it'll go up another 10 in 2 weeks. Squat was up 15lbs and it would've been more but I ran out of sets, lol (although you probably have to factor in that my BW was 7lbs less:rasp: ) Bi's and tri's saw mild increases in strength, as did Arnolds. In fact, I like to use the phrase 'saw an increase in w.o volume' instead of strength increase as I didn't increase the max weight I used (which I use in set 1 of any exercise). Oh yeah, soreness seems a thing of the past . Practically none at all. I think my cyokines and prostaglandins are scared of upsetting me. As well they should:afro: . (NOTE: I didn't look that up. It's been a long time, but that knowledge is still rattling around ) . Absolutely every morsel of whole food was eaten. I also had a little extra skim milk on thu because I had to sprint for a bus . The closest I have come to going that fast was when I had to 'skip' out the way of an oncoming car whilst crossing the road. And that was ages ago. . Also, if I flex just right, I can see all 3 heads of my delt . Just the left one though:run: .
.
. The big 200 seems so far away now. Like I said in the last post, I had no idea what to expect really in terms of results this week, but I certainly didn’t envision these numbers. . Obviously being a lighter weight means I have to take some strength gains with a pinch of salt i.e. dips, lunges and others involving bodyweight, but obviously non-bw oriented exercises going up is encouraging . I must say that I’m a little dumbfounded on some strength increases; I’m always thinking that I might be counting my cadence wrong or something and on more than one occasion I’ve trotted off to the nearest TV to match my own counting against the clock on a football match that’s playing ! (There isn’t anything wrong with my cadence BTW ; it’s just my ‘need everything to be spot on’ nature). I should also mention the fact that during workouts, I’m sweating like a pregnant nun! Of course I’ve always sweated during workouts, but this is top drenching stuff:fool2: . Like it’s been raining on me. Nothing to worry about, just weird. . I would even say I’ve felt ravenous at times! Some meals I have literelly hoovered up from the plastic container:twisted: . Vits are going down easy. I didn’t mention this before but I was having sooo much trouble with swallowing my 600mg calcium tablets (during superdrol) that I had to chew it up beforehand. Now there’s no problem at all. ! I’m leaner than I have been in ages and I still like it when I do a ‘most muscular’ pose! Not as good as some round here on these boards, but what can you do !? I would almost like to use the word ‘dry’, but idk; others may disagree. I’ll cautiously use the word dryER. Definitely sometimes feel as though I miss the bulbous/all out mass look of previous weeks, but it wasn’t really LBM so the feeling doesn’t last long!
). . I was a little surprised that, although strength was up, it hasn't gone up as much as in past weeks, especially with exercises involving BW; I'm a fair bit lighter than I was 2 weeks ago and other strength gains coinciding with weight loss have been alot greater:think: . . Bit of a nit-picky week really, casting an eagle eye over everything. . There was a possible hiccup when I couldn't remember if I'd had my flax with my tuna meal. It was really playing on my mind for hours so I had an extra 7ml's of flax with meal 6 (sitting on the fence really). To be honest, I now think I DID have it and so I had 7ml's extra. I must also say that after an initial dislike to them, I am now addicted to capers:food: ! They're great with tuna and I could quite easily have an entire jar of them with my tuna meal (although I don't)! I'm currently trying to keep my weekly usage to 1 jar as they're so damn expensive! . Basically, this has happened because of an 'anabolic administration' preceding y'day's back/bi workout by less than 48 hours:fool2: . Lesson is most definitely learned .
Not when you drop an androgen that has a pronounced effect on strenght. Most people even out for while before they start seeing increases again.
! It seems to be one of those weeks that defies the laws of physics, but I have actually had weeks when I’ve gained everywhere and still had no weight changes. . In contrast, legs felt very ‘stodgy’ this week ; I experimented with my leg extensions and found that the further apart my ankles are placed, the easier the exercise is. They went up but maybe only because of my ‘experiment’ and I actually saw a drop in wo volume with lunges and leg presses:rasp: ! Back y’day also saw now strength increases. This might be the start of what Bobo was talking about:trout: …… ?…... It just so happens that I’ve noticed a significant slowing in strength gain:rasp: (and legs have seen a drop in volume) so I’ll have to wait and see. Personally, I wouldn’t care if every week’s results were like this week !
. . ) has dropped this week but there's been no shift in measurements. I suppose that's the CNS at work, obviously not LBM. I may, as next week progresses, just give way and make some pre-emptive drops in weight if I 'feel' it's necessary. . But I'll keep my fingers crossed. Except when lifting, obviously .
. Certainly no drops/decreases this week. I'm still sweating alot during workouts and my top ,is still getting soaked (note the comma is there because it seems to think I'm trying to type p1ss, lol) ! If this is what bulking is like when your appetite is up, God only knows what cutting is like. I almost feel miserable, lol. I have a new found sympathy for you guys! I might just take some SD to curb my appetite and feel better! That's a good ad campaign: SD- The bodybuilder's Prozac! :lol: . At the end of week 59, Bobo said and now at the end of week 62 that's happened
. 3 weeks. It seems as if I'm over that 'hump' now. In terms of the tape measurements, it's not been a particularly special week but, as I'm in positive gains, I might be able to have a little 'fun' and make some good progress.
Ok. Current diet sent.
; no strength increases per se but I 'felt' strong during all the workouts . Definitely no drops to speak of; it seems as though that little training wobble I had a few weeks ago seemed to be my 'off-superdrol strength drop'. (I never really saw a large strength increase with SD though. Most of the strength gains were post SD. Go figure!) ! I've been eating more food as Bobo said (it's been a cup of mozz and a few egg whites every day), but I've not eaten enough to satisfy my rampaging appetite:food: ! I didn't want to scoff down loads of food and put on lots of unwanted weight for the sake of 'dietary satiety'. That being said, I'll probably swap the egg whites for a cup of cc, as it's a greater bulk of food:burger: - but also more cals. . .....
. Performance in the gym has been good, but not alot to see in terms of strength. Legs saw some good gains, whilst tri's/delts saw none; all other bodyparts were somewhere in between the 2. The sweating that seemed to be common place over previous whilst working out has reduced quite significantly:think: , so maybe I'm not working hard enough ! . Still on the straight and narrow! I was thinking about chinese hot and sour soup on wednesday (as I'm doing now, actually:food: ), but as long as I don't give in I'm ok. I'll just run my food under the tap and my cravings should be ok. Tuna and c. cheese soup lol: ), but my chest looks very full and I had a really good outer quad sweep too ! A few seconds with a MM pose helps give the ego a boost . to . Along with the reduced sweating that was rampant 3-4 weeks ago, I feel as though my body MIGHT be somehow, sorta, kinda, 'opposing' the androgens:think: . Maybe. Week 13 of the cycle starts tomorrow (the last week, not including bookend), so maybe the length has something to do with it. ! .
. Strength/w.o volume increases have been good and, if memory serves, present in each bodypart. I'll definitely be looking to tackle heavier db's and plates next time round:bb3: . . It's a psychological boost to eat your meals on time and get all you food in; like an affirmation of your commitment to your goals. A way that you 'pay', but which the Hypertrophy Fairy will pay you back with interest! Much more so than the training, imo. IT'S NOT THE HOUR YOU SPEND IN THE GYM, IT'S THE 23 OUTSIDE IT THAT COUNT! . . The prop is a sound choice. To be honest, given my experience with SD, I don't think I'll use it again, primarily because of the appetite problems I had with it:blink: .
. I also have a pec that makes me look like a synthol freak and my delt has just recovered from sunday! Prop f'in hurts! Stretching helps but boy is it an eyewatering experience:whiner: ! ! The only 2 bodyparts that didn't see an increase were delts and bi's. Strength-wise, those are the 2 bodyparts that always lag behind, but I suppose they are the smallest muscle groups aswell, so it makes sense. Workouts went smoothly except for leg day, where I had to wait 10 mins:rant: for the l.press for a guy (let's call him Weighty McBouncealot), who informed me I'd make much better gains training like him instead of doing all my ''slow stuff''. I corrected him, giving a scientific reason why he was wrong and my gains as proof:hammer: , to which he replied that he'd only like to increase his measurements if he were competing and he's not interested in that anymore:rofl: . I just smiled and nodded, wanting to get on with my w.o. I can honestly say that this man has absolutely no clue what a pair of posing briefs and a bottle of bronzer look like and quite frankly, we are all better for it ! . .
. With my pec hurting, chest workouts were a nightmare this week:sad: . Apart from that, there's been no suprises or upsets in this area, so I'm happy about that . . My shoulders look better and there's quite a good separation between the 3 deltoid heads on the left . Not the right, though:frustrate . ! . Hopefully not too much!
. Strength/workout volume continues to increase, all be it slowly and not across all bodyparts. My leg workout was the roughest I've had in a while and leg presses felt really laboured:smite: . Not too sure why really. I'm happy that my weights are still increasing, but the thought that this might start to slip is ever present whilst in pct (despite not 'feeling' at all as if it could ). ! I have noticed a slight decrease in appetite though:rasp: , so I might bring back capers to help with the tuna. For some reason, they've phased out of use recently.o ) and I was quite impressed; some real good separation between ALL the muscles in there , not just the vastus medialis (tear drop shaped one). I hate the fact that I'm so unsymmetrical and both my legs don't look like that:frustrate . It's my weaker right leg that looks best. Same with upper body, too; I'm left handed but overall, I feel my right side looks best. ! I've also got a bit of a special pct weapon coming up in 2 weeks, in the form of hols from work, which in my case is an uber-muscle builder/saver so I'm looking forward to that:hammer: ! Especially since British winter weather is really kicking in right now .
! But I've felt a little drained and it culminated yesterday (fri) in a 'loss' of my pre w.o meal:run: . Rather embarrasingly in the gym car park. I'm not too sure why I felt below par this week (and I'm fine today), but I can say that this week I've also noticed a difference to how I felt while 'on' and it's a definite mental/physical downturn:nutkick: . . So no gains, but no losses (yet). . ! . !
. That just goes to show how many calories I burn at work; I've dropped something approaching 1000 cals a day and My weight hasn't even flickered ! I need a new job! That's my new year's resolution. (Aswell as breaking 210 . Tough but do-able I think) . Same goes for legs. I had a really big pump in my quads during lunges which made it hard to bend the knee, which may have affected performance a little. Tri's were ok but I was poor on the dropsets with the rope for some reason:sad: . With bi's, I met my numbers but the sets felt hard and finally, worst of all my chest and Arnold presses were poor by my own standards:rasp: . I had a bit of residual 'nit-pickyness' on sunday with my cadences and my shoulder felt really weak during Arnold's, so that may have had something to do with it. Next time round though, I think I will drop a few weights, just so I'm feeling more comfortable. . With the drop in food, I'm definitely noticing that I'm hungrier throughout the day, which is a bit annoying, but there you go. and I did seem to record a few false readings that were a 1/16'' over the official reading, but I'll see if next week I can maybe add that 1/16'' 'properly' . . If I wasn't in pct that's what I'd do, but as I am, it's probably a doubly good idea . Not too sure if this means I'll add some more calories to the diet I was on whilst at work (for week 72), as strength seemed ok at that calorie intake. I'll wait and see.
. Looks like the extra cals were a good move. This stuff is easy when all you do is eat, sleep and train every day ! . I even made a few increases in w.o volume on fri with back and bi's , despite having a bit of a 'mare and starting the workout 1.5 hrs after my pre w.o meal:rant: . . It wasn't great when I went out last saturday (after the update); all I had was a bit of chicken I'd put in a sandwich bag and stuffed into my pocket. I had enough problems explaining why I wasn't drinking that night so when I ate the chicken, I just disappeared out of sight:lol: ! . I'm still impressed at the development of my legs, which I attribute to my flawless squatting technique:afro: ! At least, that's what people tell me and I just tend to agree . One of the gym idiots we have here tried to work in with me on squats this week and thought he'd have no problem matching my weight, especially considering he'd just squatted 15lbs extra on the SMITH MACHINE. Let's just say that the 'I'm meeting the Queen' form he produced (courtsey), along with the 'cat in pain' noise and 'WTF' face was definitely................confidence building . .
, so it's just a bit of glycogen . .....oh yeah and Christmas. !
