bms0lsc's muscle building log

[bms0lsc]

End of week 73

Weight: 187.0lbs – up 1.2lbs
Arm: 15 13/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 5/16’’ – up 2/16''
Waist: 35 7/16’’ – up 1/16''
Hips: 41 1/8‘’ – no change

Pretty big change this week. Having Christmas day and Boxing day off from work has probably helped, storing a little extra glycogen. (I've just been oogling pictures of Jamie Eason and I'm in a rush to type this and get back to it, so I apologise for the distinct lack of sentence structure and any spelling mistakes . Stunning:chick: !)

Gym work has been going well. Strength seems to have stabilised somewhat i.e. there aren't any drops to speak of but there arent any increases either. My leg workout was tough this week, but I think that was due to me doing SLDL's on tuesday and therefore having 1 less day for my hammy's to recover. It's wierd but before starting a set, the weight tends to feel quite heavy and I'm usually convinced I'm gonna have to lower it. I'm sure it's mostly psychological and I can complete the set no probs, it's just when picking up the weight that it feels heavy:blink: .

Diet has been on point. I didn't drop my cals for Christmas day and Boxing day like I did when on holiday. I did that last year and and I had a quick look back in my log and it seemed I didn't have too many problems with it . Appetite has swayed a little from being normal to just below average. No big deal though. It's back to normal now .

Visually, not too much change. Sometimes (and I stress the word sometimes), I can see some good separation in my upper arms between the tricep, bicep and brachialis, so that's good . Unfortunately, I've lost a little definition in my abs:rasp: but they're still showing !

So that's week 73 over and 6 weeks of pct. I'd essentially call that 'finished' as everything seems ok as far as I can tell but I'm going to do one more week of tor anyway . However, week 74 is a little different as I'm starting the new year off with a bang and starting another anabolic!

What's that I hear you cry? ''You can't do that! What about the time on=time off rule!'':whip: . Well, I have no intention of breaking that HPTA friendly rule and I'm NOT starting another androgenic anabolic, but I am going to use PEPTIDES . Yes, in my undaunting quest to achieve the physique I want, I will be starting an IGF/pMGF cycle as follows:

40mcg IGF E3D, 5min PWO, inj. bilaterally into muscle worked
150mcg pMGF, sub-q, 2x p.w (between sunday to saturday spread out from IGF dose as best as possible).

This protocol may not be ideal and there has been a ''2on 1off'' regimen that has been sugested as the way to go, however I'm not doing that simply because it's more expensive (80mcg every 6days compared to 160mcg every 7). I'll have to change the order of a few sets during workouts to do it properly but that's not too much trouble. Obviously, an 'IGF day' will land on a training off day so on those days I'll just use it first thing upon waking. The length of this cycle is open-ended but I'll probably go for 4-5 months. So that starts tomorrow, but I'm starting with a vial of IGF that I dropped on the floor just to see if it's still good. I've been assured that the fragility of IGF has been ''overstated by miles'', but we'll see .

Looking forward to week 74.

(Back to Jamie ! I'm just shaking my head in disbelief)

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 74

Weight: 187.0lbs – no change
Arm: 15 7/8'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 5/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/16’’ – no change
Hips: 41 1/8‘’ – no change

Not much of a change this week, except in the arms . I always wonder about results like this as I've made an increase with the tape but no weight increase or a loss to other areas that may cause this phenomenon. I just put it down to some kind of Bobo magic, lol .

Strength has been stable, with a few increases here and there. My chest exercises on wednesday were most noticeable for strength increases, but that was about it. (I pinned pecs on sunday so that might be something to do with it:think: ). Recently, I've been using a stopwatch during my workouts. I get annoyed if my cadence isn't spot on o ) so I've been using one to keep that in check. What I've learnt is that I don't really need to keep that close a check on it but it's morale boosting to finish a set bang on time . However I've also learnt that if you don't concentrate fully you can wander and be +/- as much as 5 seconds which is quite significant during a 1min set:hammer: . Using a stopwatch also allows me to keep a close eye on rest intervals and it's quite surprising how much rest you actually get in 3mins. In short, I think a stopwatch is a good investment, particularly when doing TUT- makes your workouts more efficient IMO.

Diet has been great . I've not noticed any increased appetite really, but my appetite has been above average anyway so getting my food in has been easy. I've been cooking my chicken with chinese 5 spice:food: which almost feels like a treat (chinese is my fav. food) and I can usually cook up a weeks worth in about 1hr on the old GF grill. I'm definitely considering replacing the tin of tuna with a portion of chicken.

Mirror-wise there's not much change really. However, my tri's are a bit more 'sticky-outy' than before, for want of a better word. Seriously, from 1 angle they're sticking out more!

So overall, this week has been pretty good. I've not noticed any effects from the peptides, apart from my sleep seems to be better. Not 'feeling' anything is a good thing as far as I can ascertain as the fewer systemic effects the better, but I am using a vial that I dropped on the floor so that might be playing a part :think: . We shall see anyway.

Looking forward to week 75.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 75

Weight: 186.4lbs – down 0.6lbs
Arm: 15 7/8'' – no change
Leg: 24 5/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/16’’ – no change
Hips: 41 1/8‘’ – no change

Another wierd week like last week, except this time I've got a weight change and no discernable changes to tape measurements, instead of the other way round .

Workouts haven't been too good this week:sad: . Last saturday, I woke up with a 'crick' in my neck/back right between the shoulder blades. It didn't seem bad (which is why I didn't mention it in last week's update) and I set to work stretching and working it out. So for sunday's workout I was feeling quite good; however 3 reps into my first working set, BAM:nutkick: ! I got a massive shooting pain right in the problem area and I almost dropped the db's on myself! I soldiered through the set and the rest of the workout but it was painful and I didn't seem to 'move' properly. If you've had it before then you know what I'm on about; you carry your shoulders differently and can't tip your head backwards or support your head when you get up from a lying position:whiner: . I didn't actually lose any strength on any workout as a result, in fact I met my numbers from last time which was good , but it was certainly tough going! As I write this, I'm still not 100%, but hopefully it'll be ok for tomorrow.

Diet has been good. Always is:yawn: . I'm still not seeing any appetite increase from the peptides but I'm still eating all my food quite easily. I'm laying off making any calorie additions until I know how I'm going to react vis a vis fatloss/muscle gain. I have been wondering if I've my IGF was damaged after I dropped it, but this week I did get really tired about 90mins post w.o which was remedied by eating a meal- possibly hypoglyceamia? I don't know why I felt it on this day and haven't felt it before or since:think: .

Visually, I've kinda thought I was looking better all this week , apart from last night when I was looking a bit flat:rasp: . This morning, I looked pretty good but I'm not too sure I actually look different from last week. Certainly no leaner or more vascular.

So that's another week done and dusted. Week 3 with the peptides starts tomorrow. I might reconstitute another mg and use that next week, see if I 'feel' a difference. I know feeling something isn't necessarily a good thing, as that means it's going systemic, but if there's no difference between the 2 vials, then it'll put my mind at ease and I won't chuck it.

Looking forward to week 76. Christ, that's almost a year and a half!:blink:

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 76

Weight: 187.4lbs – up 1lb
Arm: 15 15/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 5/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/16’’ – no change
Hips: 41 2/8‘’ – up 1/8''

Hi-dilly ho gainerinos:head: ! What is it about a good week of gains that makes you feel so good:dance: !? Every time I've been walking today, I'm hearing Staying Alive by the Bee Gees and this morning I was grooving (very uncharacteristically) to Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back. The SONG, not the bodypart though, :lol: . And it's almost a necessity to walk like your lats are too big to allow your arms to rest at your sides- at least for a few hours after the weigh in anyway .

It's been an average week in the gym. No strength gains, but everything has been stable. I'm still using my stopwatch alot which, although I don't really need it, helps reassure me that my cadences are spot on . Something I noticed this week is how good my shoulder feels. I've had problems with it for ages but the pain/aching has got alot better . It still feels 'weak', but it's an encouraging sign. Lunges are the official bain of my life:rasp: ! Well not the exercises per se; ME doing lunges I hate, good looking girls doing lunges I like !

Diet has been on form again . It's been so damn long since I strayed from my diet and ate junk food that I've literally forgotten how to spell chiet mael . I'm still not noticing any appetite increases and I haven't felt any more hypoglycaemia, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If I'd made another weightloss like last week, I was going to add a few more cals, but I'm not too sure where I'd have put the extra food tbh. I don't think I could handle anything extra that was too 'bulky'.

I've had an inkling all week that I was going to make gains:hammer: ; it's been somewhat noticeable all week. I'm definitely looking bigger in my arms, shoulders and chest:afro: ! There's no greater guage of the success/failure of a week in the gym than that. There's nothing in the way of increased vascularity or leanness, but I'm not too concerned. I've got a cut scheduled for early 2010, but until then, it's all bulk! Seriously.

So the sun dawns on another week. I did use a new reconstituted vial this week and I didn't 'feel' anything different. No appetite increase, no hypo, but my shoulder feels better, my skin looks better and I'm growing, so I can live with that:thumbsup: ! As long as I'm growing, I don't care! The thing is, I think that it was just COINCIDENCE that I made a gain this week and started a new vial (my old vial is still good), mainly because the effects on my shoulder and skin were noticeable before this week, but they just seemed less important and marginal compared to the appetite/hypo I thought I should be feeling:trout: . Saying that, I'm a little supersticious, so I don't know if I'll use the old vial again just yet .

Looking forward to week 77.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 77

Weight: 187.4lbs – no change
Arm: 15 15/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 5/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/16’’ – no change
Hips: 41 2/8‘’ – no change

No changes this week. Whereas last week I had a feeling I was going to make gains, this week I had a feeling I wasn't:rasp: .

It's not been my best week in the gym:trout: ; things have felt a little off. Strength has held steady but I didn't feel on top of my workouts. They just seemed a little sluggish and didn't 'flow' like normal:stick: . It might have something to do with the fact that I'm changing my exercise order, or the fact that I hurt my trap (nothing serious) during SLDL's on monday, or it might just be 'one of those weeks'. It's a bit annoying because it might only be the difference between 0.2lbs at the end of the year- but that's still 0.2lbs ! Fortunately, things like this don't happen alot as I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about achieving my goals:run: . To get an idea, think Lord Sauron and how he feels (or felt) about the Ring . Obviously I think of other stuff aswell (afterall I'm a healthy young man), but I'm confident I have my priorities in the right order !

Diet has been 100%. Err, that's it. Shortest paragraph ever. Well it would have been had I not typed all this stuff.

Visually, there's no change. Still looking as good as last week . Actually, there is one difference; after my excitement at last week's progress I got a little happy with my clippers and removed a little more body hair than I intended . It's not the first time and much prefer having no hair (in a masculine bb'er way:bb: , not a freaky fetish way), but it was most definitely not the smartest thing to do in the middle of a British winter, considering I work outside!

Looking forward to week 78.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 78

Weight: 188.2lbs – up 0.8lbs
Arm: 15 12/16'' – down 3/16''
Leg: 24’’ – down 5/16''
Waist: 36– up 9/16''
Hips: 41 2/8'' – no change

A very bad week . My worst ever! The reason? An acute case of food poisoning:dump: . Whilst I was at work thu night/fri morning I was tucking into my egg and mozz meal as usual when I started to get a stomach ache. Joint and muscle pains are 'normal', but this felt wierd from the outset. When I got home I was violently sick, to the point I thought I was going to tear something inside and I have actually strained my neck as a result:wtf: !

**You know you're a bodybuilder when......you puke your guts out and you do some mental arithmetic to see how many calories you need to eat to replace the ones you lost. **

I spent the next 9 hours trying unsuccessfully to sleep, shivering uncontrollably and throwing up something awful. You'd be surprised but after the 3rd or 4th time, scooping partially digested egg and gastric juices from the sink doesn't seem so bad:lol: .

Workouts this week have been good. I even managed to get to the gym on friday despite my fragile state and I don't think I'm any worse for it:bb3: (and I still got to work this morning). I did have to cut it short by one back set though. One of my old rugby coaches used to say we should never quit unless we were knocked out or had a broken leg and it's definitely a mantra to live by!

Diet-wise, everything was going great until I got ill. I tried to drink a milk/protein powder mix at first but I gave up after it wouldn't stay down. On friday I didn't eat anything solid at all but felt I did some good with a bit of milk, pro powder and flax oil and at least that all stayed down. I probably even got close to the calorie totals . Maybe. Today so far I've managed 2/3 of a cup of c.cheese and a bagel, as well as a few milk/pro powder mixes . Tbh, I don't think I'll manage any chicken, mozz, or tuna today, but I'll try and get a few more whole foods. A few hrs ago, I chucked away the tuna that I had pre-prepared for yesterday and that definitely told me I wasn't ready to eat anything that once had eyes.

Judging from how I looked earlier in the week, I actually thought I was going to make a good gain this week . I've lost some glycogen and it's a little noticeable but I would say I still don't look too bad ! I also feel as though I've eaten enough to stave off any actual muscle loss so that's a positive to take away. My abdomen is looking somewhat distended (hence the measurement) but hopefully that'll die down soon enough:fart: .

So it's not been a good week. This is actually the first time I've been ill since I had food poisoning (again with eggs) in 2002. Seroiusly it's been 5 years since I've been ill:afro: . I'm actually very impressed with how well I've recovered so far. Back in 2002 I was on my a$$ for a week but now it's been 36hours and apart from feeling tired and practically no appetite, I feel good. There's no doubt that I'll be training tomorrow, but fingers crossed, with a decent rest today, my diet can get somewhere near normal for sunday.

Looking forward to week 79

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 79

Weight: 185.6lbs – down 2.6lbs
Arm: 15 3/4'' – no change
Leg: 24’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/2''– down 1/2''
Hips: 41 2/8'' – no change

Sigh. I'm down 1.8lbs from before I was ill. That is a little annoying and I guess I feel somewhat despondent:sad: . Not that I won't get it back, but because even when I do, I won't have actually gained anything, just made up what I lost. Saying that, it's not been a 100% week so maybe I'm being a little to hard on myself.

Suprisingly, workouts have gone quite well . No strength loss to speak of but some exercises felt a little stiff, especially squats as my back was still bad after getting an almighty spasm on sunday:smite: . I'd just finished a set of inc. db press, got up and felt like I'd been shot! The pain had died away by tuesday but my back was burning during squats. I suppose it's a good positive that I've not lost any strength, which would indicate I've managed to stave off muscle loss whilst ill:thumbsup: , but it kinda feels akin to sprinkling glitter on dog crap at the mo! You can try and dress it up as best as you can, but it still stinks:lol: !

Diet has been far from 100%. My appetite just wasn't present earlier in the week and despite a few tough battles:duel: I missed out on 1/2 a meal here and there, which I tried to make up with liquids as best I could. In fact I didn't eat all my meals in full until thursday . I also had a problem eating meals quickly enough and again up until thursday, was starting my workouts too late:trout: . Again a positive to take away is that my resolve to not cheat EVER (or for a few years anyway) has been strengthened . The way I see it, life inevitably forces you to make dietary concessions in one way or another (illness!), so the last thing that's needed is a voluntary dietary imposition:burger: .

Visually, there's not much change from last week. My abdomen looks better (less distended), but in terms of muscularity, I'm still the same. I definitely look worse than 2 weeks ago! And I was so sure I was going to make a gain too .

So that's another week done and dusted. I think there were times this week when I would have liked to ***** slap Mother Nature for keeping bacteria around, but now I'm feeling 100%, appetite is back and I'm looking to get back to gaining ways.

Looking forward to week 80.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 79

Weight: 186.6lbs – up 1lb
Arm: 15 3/4'' – no change
Leg: 24 1/4’’ – up 1/4''
Waist: 35 1/2''– no change
Hips: 41 2/8'' – no change

I'm up a little this week. Leg is up alot, don't know how that happened ! Arm hasn't budged unfortunately . I'm now 0.8lbs from where I was before I was sick, but there's a bitter tinge to the sweet taste of gainage, in that my arm is still 3/16'' off where it was:rasp: . Frustrating to say the least. Somewhat baffling too.

At the end of last week, I was confident that I'd done enough to stave of any muscle loss during this rough patch, but my performance in the gym this week left a little to be desired and made me change my mind:nutkick: . Last week was fine, but this week something seemed to catch up with me and my strength was down a little on some bodyparts .

Diet was 100% this week . Friday pre w.o took a little longer than I would have liked but I still ate it in good time. That was the only hiccup.

Visually, weeeell, I suppose I look a little better than last week, but I still have an image in my mind as to how I looked a few weeks ago. And I don't look as good now:frustrate .

These weeks are going by really fast now! I kinda have a target in my head of reaching the big 200 by the year's end which'll be tough but isn't impossible . Still, I've got to take one week at a time.

Looking forward to week 80 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 80

Weight: 189lbs – up 2.4lb
Arm: 15 13/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 5/16’’ – up 1/16''
Waist: 35 5/8''– up 1/8''
Hips: 41 7/16'' – up 3/16''

Big increase this week, derived from a few rare factors (as well as muscle growth obviously:thumbsup: ). Those include taking the measurements an hour early and most significantly, some holiday time from work.

Gym performance has been pretty steady. No gains to speak of. My bout of food poisoning a few weeks ago is still leaving something of a legacy in that my stamina is suffering:rasp: ; I'm making greater drops in weight during the course of certain exercises than I used to do:trout: . Note that I use the same weight for the first set of all my exercises, so that's why I use the word 'stamina' instead of 'strength' here.

Diet has been good. I've dropped back 4 diets to compensate for being off work and not burning as many calories. I must say despite the reduction in food, my appetite is relatively smaller than last week and is fluctuating a little:rasp: .

I think that people who are healthy have a certain incite into their bodies that others don't. A honed diagnostic ability if you will . As individuals who lifts weights, eat consistently well and whose metabolisms are in overdrive, I believe we are very sensitive to when we don't feel 'right'-which isn't often . So I can tell my digestion isn't working at top notch at the mo. One symptom I have is that I'm :fart: more than normal, which for me is like never! People talk about 'protein farts' but I just don't get them normally:think: . **Also, after re-reading the above, I'm not trying to say that weightlifters are superhuman or anything; it's not meant to sound pompous or big headed!:lol: **

The extra weight I've gained this week is definitely manifesting itself favourably in the mirror . Something I've noticed is that I look alot better relaxed than last week which doesn't usually happen. I usually have to flex to get the full benefit. Also, despite the gain in the waist, I've not lost any ab definition, which is always a relief .

Looking forward to week 81 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 81

Weight: 191lbs – up 2lb
Arm: 15 7/8'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 3/8’’ – up 1/16''
Waist: 35 5/8''– no change''
Hips: 41 11/16'' – up 1/4''

Another week of gains . Definitely happy that the arms and quads are going up; a little less so at my J.Lo hips:rasp: . However, I'm confident that this increase is temporary and they'll come down when I get back to work next week .

Gym work has been good. No 'decent' increases in weight, but I've experienced that phenomenon in which you feel really strong at the beginning of a set and for the 1st few reps, but then you get sapped and finish the set as 'normal'. This might be an indicator that my strength will go up soon:hammer: . I say no 'decent' increases in weight as I went for the next set of db's on incline bench curl, but reached failure. I'll drop back down for 2 weeks time unless mi bi's produce something special next week.

Diet has been good. Still :fart: more than normal, but my appetite saw a little upturn so that was good .

For the second week running, I'm looking better. Abs are still as defined as they were last week, but there's obvious gains to chest, shoulders and arms . It's not all fun as this means I'm spending too much time doing the 'most muscular' pose in the mirror ! Aswell as putting a hook in the wall so just so I can stand between 2 mirrors and see my back.....and standing on the coffee table in my underwear to get a look at my legs:lol: ! The devil makes work for idle bb'ers:twisted: ! What must the neighbours think!?:run:

Back to work next week. I'm expecting a loss as I lose a bit of water/glycogen. It's ok if I'm expecting it . Hopefully I can defy my ectomorphic genes and not lose too much on the limbs:nutkick: .

Looking forward to week 82.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 82

Weight: 189.8lbs – down 1.2lbs
Arm: 15 7/8'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/8’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/2''– down 1/8''
Hips: 41 7/16'' – down 1/4''

Most satisfied with these results, since I was back at work this week . Limbs remain where they were last week, but hips and waist are down:thumbsup: .

It's been a mixed bag in the gym this week. I had a few strength increases, inc. db press and leg press are two of note , but with some (other) exercises I faltered a little with my cadence:rasp: . I was also a little complacent and spent 1 (one half really) set of db press using a 2:2 ratio instead of a 3:1 .

Seated calf raises yesterday were interesting . I was just resting inbetween sets, minding my own business when this rather hairy, middle aged man approached me. I expected him to enquire as to how long I'd be using the equipment for but he said, get this ''If you were born big instead of pretty, you wouldn't need to be doing those'':blink: :run: . It took a few seconds, but once I realised the gravity of the situation I found myself in, I did the only thing I could; smiled nervously and avoided all eye contact. ''Eh?'' he said, seemingly looking for a better response:stick: . I managed to stretch my smile marginally wider and produce some sort of strained chuckle, still looking at my feet. He went away after that. This guy was a very salt of the earth Yorkshireman, so with hindsight it wasn't what I thought it was, but what do you say to something like that? Thankyou?:lol:

Diet was 100% this week but my appetite was down and some meals were a real chore:trout: . Although this is relative as I've been eating alot more food this week compared to last week.

Mirror-wise, I'm happy with what I see at the moment . I'm still looking 'full' in my muscles and whilst measuring my leg today, I was looking down and felt quite shocked at how much my outer quad just 'pops' out!

So this week I made an inevitable loss, was 'compimented' on my appearance and am feeling happy with where I am at the mo. But as usual, I'm looking to make a gain next week and continue back on that long journey .

Looking forward to week 83 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 83

Weight: 189.8lbs – no change
Arm: 15 7/8'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/8’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/2''– no change
Hips: 41 7/16'' – no change

No changes this week. Although it took a few times for me to 'settle' at these numbers as my limbs kept registering a gain and my waist kept measuring a loss ! I always measure a few times, just so I don't cheat myself either way and I eventually settled for registering no changes:whip: .

Gym work has been good. A few increases in strength and stamina here and there . Also, pretty much all exercises are feeling 'easy' at some point whilst completing sets so I'll be looking to make further increases soon .

Diet has been good. Appetite is up a little from last week which is always a good thing, but still not back at a level at which all meals are smooth sailing:rasp: .

Visually, I'd definitely say I'm looking better than last week and that has been the general feeling all week:thumbsup: . It's wierd but I've noticed that any visual gains I make seem to take place all in one go on monday/tuesday and 'stick' for the rest of the week:think: . It's not in little amounts every day and neither do I seem to notice any change from then on:blink: . Must have something to do with saturday being an off day and then sunday and monday being relatively high calorie days:think: .

I did think I was going to make a gain numbers-wise, but they obviously don't tell the whole story:hammer: . Like I said, at first I thought I HAD made some gains with the numbers; maybe I just got tired of flexing and actually did, lol. Maybe I made a 1/32'' gain and couldn't register it having just got up! Whatever happened, I KNOW I'm looking better and the numbers'll change soon enough .

Looking forward to week 84 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 84

Weight: 189.8lbs – no change
Arm: 15 7/8'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/8’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/2''– no change
Hips: 41 7/16'' – no change

No changes for this week. I think I need to make a calorie increase- definitely somewhat overdue:hammer: . I've been on my current diet for a LONG time so my current calorie intake has probably lost it's shelf life. Plus I think my work also plays it's role; when I've taken hols and gained LBM on fewer calories, my 'maintenance level' has increased, so going back to my 'regular' diet means I've essentially reduced my caloric surplus needed to make gains. Whatever Bobo's magic number is. Yep, it's time for an increase .

I've been happy with my performance in the gym this week. Progress has been made in dribs and drabs. I'm starting to think this is another indicator a calorie increase is needed; I don't really seem to have had an ''everything is up'' week for a while:rasp: . Leg day was quite rough and I had a few 'stodgy' moments:duel: . I put the word TOUGH! in big letters at the top of my training diary- I don't do that too often. I also feel that my workouts are just getting a tad too long, maybe by 5-10 mins, and I do tend to allow myself an extra 30 secs rest here and there.

Diet has been on form . Appetite is up a little again, but not where I'd like it. I'm not sure where I'd make any cal increases as I dont know if I could manage it, but suppose I could swap my last remaining cups of skim milk for semi-skim. I'm sure I could manage another bagel every day, so I have options that would appease my appetite .

Visually, no change from last week. I'm kinda happy with how I look but I still have some drastic improvements to make. Afterall, that's why I'm here .

There's something else that's been on my mind this week, apart from making a diet change; a REST WEEK. I did 49 weeks straight and took week 50 off; that week off was very much needed as I was dragging ass at the time .

I want a good, unbroken run through spring/summer for *cough* various reasons, so I either take a break soon or one after 60 or so straight weeks. So it'll be soon I think, as soon as week 86 really:blink: . If I think about it, all the 'symptoms' that I think could be remedied by a calorie increase could also be indicators that I need a break. Plus I don't think that my stubborness to soldier on when I had food poisoning a while back has helped.

So I'll do one more week at the gym, take a week off and come back fresh, like a brand new training diary....JOURNAL, I mean journal; men keep journals . I suppose I could take off this upcoming week, but I'll need this week to drill the ''It'll do you good'' mantra into my head, lol. Plus, I've literally just made my mind up as I write this, so in some rather irrational way, it just wouldn't be 'right'. **If I know it's irrational, why am I basing my decision on it?:blink: :think:...... Yes, I'm daft:fool2: **

Looking forward to week 85 .

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Eat more!

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 85

Weight: 190.6lbs – up 0.8lbs
Arm: 15 15/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 3/8’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/16''– down 1/16''
Hips: 41 1/2'' – up 1/16''

Gains! The extra food worked:hammer: .

Gym work hasn't been too great, but not crap either. It seems that once you consign yourself to taking a week off, your body shifts down a gear. Well not the body, more the mind. Strength has remained consistent but I've definitely had some kind of 'fuzz' on the brain; I woke up on thursday and I don't think I've ever been so apathetic about doing a workout (it was legs though):nutkick: ! I must admit, there was a few microseconds when I considered not going, but there's nothing like the tart taste of c.cheese to wake you up and get you in the training mood !

I seem to have incorporated the extra food quite well and I'm certainly not struggling to get it down . I've not added ALL the extra calories I intend to with this increase, as I'm still having a few cups of skim milk that I'll be swapping for semi skim later. Only because I still have a bit of skim milk left over from my last shopping trip and I don't want to waste it ! Yes, I have short arms and deep pockets !

Despite the gain, I'm not looking different in the mirror really. It seems that in one way or another, I've been pushing to make a little gain recently and the extra food has just pushed me over the edge, so maybe that explains the lack of visual difference:think: .

Ok, so next week is slightly different in that I'm taking a week off. If I didn't have to take a week off I wouldn't, but it's certainly something that (rather ironically) can do some good. I've just got to keep repeating that:frustrate ! I'm expecting to lose some size/weight/strength:rasp:, but it won't be muscle: a bit of water, glycogen, etc. Given that this week I've made a fresh gain which I imagine consists primarily of glycogen/water, I think I'll lose at least that. My diet next week will just consist of an 'off day' every day and I'll see how I go.

Looking forward to a novel week 86.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 86

Weight: 192lbs – up 1.4lbs
Arm: 15 7/8'' – down 1/16''
Leg: 24 5/16’’ – down 1/16''
Waist: 35 9/16''– up 1/8''
Hips: 41 5/8'' – up 1/8''

So here I am, the other side of my week off. Very surprising results:think: ; I was expecting to lose weight and I gained some! Obviously I expected to lose a little in the limbs, but I didn't expect to gain any in the waist/hips:blink: .

Diet this week has been ok. I had a 'tuesday off day' every day and I managed to refrain from any cheat meals , so my weight gain certainly hasn't got anything to do with that. I did take a very relaxed attitude to eating and consumed them rather slowly; it was definitely a change to not have to hoover up a meal and race off to the gym:run: .

Overall, I tried to have a break from the normal daily routine. That lasted about 30 mins and I was in the kitchen making up meals for the rest of the day . Tbh, as I sit here I don't feel all that rested, just like my last week off I had:rasp: . Not working out gives you about 2.5 hours extra every day and I don't know if I had a bit of cabin fever with nothing to do or I rested too much and went out the 'other side':yawn: (just like if you sleep for too long).

And shopping over the Easter hols is never a good thing to do when you want to relax; you go to the supermarket with a purpose, c.cheese, check; flax oil, check; bagels, check, whilst every numpty on the planet is wandering around aimlessly, rudely putting their trolleys in the middle of the aisle and loading up with too much booze, chocolate and bread:frustrate . However I feel though, I know that on some physiological/cellular level, my week off has done me some good:hammer: and I'm sure it'll manifest itself in the following weeks and months .

The weather has been gorgeous this week in 'rainy old England' and that always helps to make you feel rested and happy . Rather unseasonably warm weather for April. Scientists predict that global warming could cause the British climate to be akin to that of the south of France ! So I do hope all you Yanks continue to drive those gas guzzling SUV's:thumbsup: ! God bless America and it's refusal to sign up to the Kyoto treaty:dance: ! And if you guys had to do a bit of vote fiddling to keep Al 'Green to the Core' Gore out of office you won't hear any compaints from me:lol: . Democracy, ney the world is the better for it IMO .

Visually, my week off has propagated a few changes. Whilst there isnt much difference to the limbs, my shoulders and chest look a little deflated:whip: and funnily enough, I feel I have slightly more definition in the abs, despite the waist increase:think: .

So to the future, and the next 9+ months before my next week off: I have a few more daily calories to add to my recent increase, but I might delay that for a week, just so the extra weight in my waist and hips doesn't get comfortable and establish itself as a more permanent fixture . I'm also going to change my training routine to the one I originally started on with Bobo (I have 2), as I've been on this one for a fair while . This means I'll have a few weeks of getting reaquainted with new exercises and finding the appropriate weight to use, that might not see me in top gear workout-wise. This routine has a killer leg workout so I might regret it come thursday:fool2: .

Looking forward to a productive 'tone for the future' setting week 87.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 87

Weight: 192lbs – no change
Arm: 15 15/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 7/16’’ – up 1/8''
Waist: 35 1/2''– down 1/16''
Hips: 41 5/8'' – no change

So the 192lbs is unchanged, but there's been alot of movement in the tape measurements.

As I expected, the workouts this week were a tad off, due to me changing it up:rasp: . It was really just a case of picking the wrong weight to use, which is easily rectified next time . I also got alot more sore this week, as it was my first week back; and my leg workout was absolute killer:squat: ! So much so that I didn't think I was going to finish the workout and was debating with myself wether I should mention that I left early in my log or just lie:lol: ! Fortunately I finished, but was close to puking and only managed to stay the course after parking myself in front of a fan that was in one of the studios at the back ! Right now my legs are as sore as hell and my thighs are just refusing to work properly. In fact, my legs keep giving way underneath me as I walk along at the mo:blink: .

Diet was good.

Visually there's not too much difference to be seen this week, but there's always next week I suppose. And the week after that, and so on:hammer: .

Looking forward to week 88 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 88

Weight: 192.8lbs – up 0.8lbs
Arm: 15 15/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 9/16’’ – up 1/8''
Waist: 35 10/16''– up 1/8''
Hips: 41 3/4'' – up 1/8''

Up this week. Although I'm not as happy as I could have been, primarily as my arms are exactly where they were last week:trout: . I guess you could say I'm having a bit of an ecto crisis:whiner: ! I'm creeping ever closer to the big 200 and my arms aren't even 16'' yet. Why oh why couldn't one of my distant forebears have had an affair with a travelling circus strongman:lol: !?

My performance in the gym has been ok; it's been another acclimatisation week since changing up the routine, setting a new baseline, and I've been relatively happy . But basically I'm looking to press on and add a few lbs to my lifts as well as my frame . This routine definitely seems harder:nutkick: ; it's a non stop assault on a specific bodypart every time, whereas my other routine mixed chest/tri's and back/bi's, so felt like it offered a resbite (sp?) that this one doesn't.

Diet has been good, but unfortunately my appetite has been awful . All week I've felt like a stone has been in my guts, taking up space, although things have been, cough, moving well enough, cough. You know. (I'm English, so it's just not cricket to talk about stuff like this ). However it feels as though it's slowly returning at the mo and hopefully that trend will continue.

Visually, weeell, I'm not bad, but not great. I'm just feeling a bit ecto at the mo so I'll never think I look great . I've got this big, thick trunk that has absolutely no taper from ribs to hips, small arms and a J.Lo ass. But I still have abs though:dance: ! I might glue some chicken breasts to my arms; it'll smell but at least I'll look big! Lol, I feel better now. I can't wait 'til I have 20'' arms and I go online and re-read all this stuff. Seriously.:head:

Looking forward to week 89 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 88

Weight: 193.8lbs – up 1lb
Arm: 16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 5/8’’ – up 1/16''
Waist: 35 5/8''– no change''
Hips: 41 7/8'' – up 1/8''

YES!! The big 1-6! Hai faive:dance: ! (in my best Borat voice). My khram is heavy:lol: ! I'm now a member of that elite group of individuals whose training has paid off dividends, cementing my place in 'club 16':head: .

Training has been good and I need to make a few weight increases next time round . I must admit that I was a little apprehensive on leg day, bordering on nervous , given the fact that it was REALLY hard last time, but I surprised myself and was satisfied with my performance.

Diet was good and appetite continues to improve . I'm a little concerned that whilst my appetite fluctuates up and down, it hasn't been as good as it was before I got food poisoning a few months back:frustrate .

It's just something I've come to realise; I might do a bit of research later to see if I can do a bit of self medication, possibly one of those pro-biotic drinks(?). You might say that I could go to the doc, since it's free over here, but I'm not actually registered with one ! In fact, I've not used any NHS service for over 8 years (yet my taxes still go towards it)! I must confess that I take a little pride in that .

Visually, I am looking better. Partly because I actually am , but there's also a little bit of psycology at work here, given my ecto-crisis I was having last week .

So that's another week over; gains were made and that's always a good thing. I made it to 'club 16', but now it's onwards and upwards, hopefully towards 'club 18-30':hammer: !

Looking forward to week 90 .

 

[OCCFan023]

Congratulations man thats impressive and like you said just keeps getting bigger and better. However if you did get to the 30 club I will be waiting for your documentary entitled "bms0lcs the second man whos arms exploded" aaha

 

[bms0lsc]

Thanks OCC. Haha, yeah. Maybe just the club 18-20 then.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 89

Weight: 193.8lbs – no change
Arm: 16 1/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 11/8’’ – up 1/16''
Waist: 35 5/8''– no change
Hips: 41 7/8'' – no change

This just keeps getting better ! I think there's a few things at work here; the week off I had recently, the change in w.o routine and the extra food- all providing a rare 2nd consecutive gain:thumbsup: .

I think I'm finally settled with the new (old) w.o routine . I do tend to get set in my ways and I'm not too fond of change but now I feel I'm in the groove with it. What I'm surprised about is the 'exercise specific' acclimatisation that occurs and the length of time it takes to achieve, especially after a week off. What I mean is, given the alternating 'week 1' and 'week 2' workouts, I find that the workouts of each week seem to work independently of each other and strength increases in say 'week 1' chest don't contribute to strength increases in 'week 2' chest:think: . At least that's how it seems to work for me.

Diet has been good and appetite has been getting better . I don't know what I'm going to do when I make another calorie increase though, as at present, I couldn't get any more food down. I might have to start blending everything:food: !

No distinguishable difference in the mirror from last week, but that's ok (for now). As long as the tape OR mirror shows some improvement, then I'm happy . It's so wrong that the success of my gym endeavours dictates my degree of happiness but there you go:lol: !

So that's 2 consecutive weeks of gains; off the top of my head I think my record has been 3, so here's keeping my fingers crossed:hammer: .

Looking forward to week 90.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 90

Weight: 193.8lbs – no change
Arm: 16 1/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 11/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 5/8''– no change
Hips: 41 7/8'' – no change

I've not quite matched my three consecutive gain record but that's ok. Maybe another time .

Training is going well and strength is up. Definitely feeling at home with the routine .

Diet is good and appetite is a little better, but not where I'd like it to be or where I feel it should be:rasp: . After the realisation that my appetite hasn't been as good as it was before I got ill a while ago, I decided to do a bit of a self diagnosis and I've subsequently been taking a probiotic drink every day. It's Yakult (Light)-only 30 odd calories . I would possibly attribute my small appetite increase this week to this, but I can't say for sure. Never the less, I'll give it a fair run and see how I go .

Visually, I look slightly leaner than last week. I don't know how or why but I'm not complaining:thumbsup: !

Next week (and for some weeks after) there will technically be an asterisk next to my results, kinda like Barry Bonds and his HR record, and basically for the same reason . Of course it's no excuse for me to slack off from my ''dedicated discplinarian focus'':whip:. Translation: rediculously OTT, would see a psychiatrist if I weren't spending all my money on food, weightlifting addiction . It's not that bad really; I can quit any time I want:lol::run: .

Looking forward to week 91.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 91

Weight: 196.8lbs – up 3lbs
Arm: 16 3/16'' – up 1/8''
Leg: 24 13/16’’ – up 1/8''
Waist: 35 3/4''– up 1/8''
Hips: 42''– up 1/8''

So everything's up this week, although it was expected . Doesn't make them any less welcome though .

Strength has remained steady with no increases to speak of. My lifts feel alot smoohter though, like my joints are working better . I have a bit of a problem shoulder making it a little sensitive and thus a good indicator to overall increases and decreases in joint health.

Diet has been good this week, with appetite holding steady . I'd rather it go up but holding steady is the nex best thing. I have noticed something of a less bloated look and feel with the Yakult I'm having.

The extra size is showing this week which is a good thing ! I'm trying not to get too carried away as everything I gain won't obviously stick; I'll just have to see what's left over after PCT .

Looking forward to week 92 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 92

Weight: 200lbs – up 3.2lbs
Arm: 16 1/4'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – up 1/8''
Waist: 35 15/16''– up 3/16''
Hips: 42 1/8''– up 1/8''

Up again! Funnily enough, it's not altogether expected as I'm not actually 'kickstarting' with anything. I must just have a propensity for water/glycogen gain .

I've had some good increases in strength . I really love that feeling when squatting at the mo that I could just stop at the bottom of the movement for about 5mins and the concentric portion becomes almost effortless ! It's definitely better with squats than with any other exercise. I'm already starting to sweat more than usual during workouts- if you're into the stock market, may I suggest you look at Febreze shares, because I'm using gallons of it at the mo to keep my workout clothes fresh:hammer: !

Diet is good and appetite is better so I'm happy about that .

I'm continuing to improve visually, which is great, but whilst the limbs are noticeably growing, so are the hips and waist. Obviously it's not fat (and the abs are still there), but my ass looks seriously dodgy in profile ! Fortunately, carrying a bag around wherever I go containing water and a few meals allows me to conceal it pretty well:lol: !

Looking forward to next week.

 

[DougMan]

End of week 92

Weight: 200lbs – up 3.2lbs
Arm: 16 1/4'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – up 1/8''
Waist: 35 15/16''– up 3/16''
Hips: 42 1/8''– up 1/8''

Solid week! Your log is definitely inspirational. I can't wait to start bulking with Bobo after 5-6 months of cutting. Just wanted to let you know there are people out here watching this log, so keep up the good work!

 

[Dwight Schrute]

End of week 92

Weight: 200lbs – up 3.2lbs

wOOt!!!!

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 93

Weight: 199.2lbs – down 0.8lbs
Arm: 16 3/16'' – down 1/16''
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/8''– down 1/16''
Hips: 42 1/16''– down 1/16''

Well, I've had a bit of a dodgy week these past 7 days. Literally 5mins after my previous log entry I got a phone call from my sister, informing me my grandmother had died. Not completely unexpected due to a cancer diagnosis 3 weeks previously, but still a shock.

So this meant I had to get to London (200 odd miles away) for the funeral (easy enough) and shift my sleep back a good 7 hours to a normal pattern, which pretty much had me wide awake all night and isn't very conducive to keeping on top form.

Despite this, I managed to get in all my workouts. I trained sun, mon, tue, wed and fri and I must say they were all pretty good : strength gains here and there, even on friday, a workout I assumed would bear the brunt of my dodgy nutritional dealings over the preceding few days .

So my diet wasn't on top form. To shift my sleep pattern, I was up for only about 11 hours on tue but managed to get everything down. Wed and thu weren't great and I sometimes went 4+ hours without anything to eat and water intake was WAY below par. Not necessarily because there weren't opportunites to eat, but with everyone at the wake chatting about this and that, I felt it'd be a wierd thing to do to break out some tupperware full of warm, dodgy smelling cottage cheese:lol: ! I did manage to abstain from the Indian takeaway everyone had on thu night though, telling my younger cousins ''it's easy to get fat at my age'' ! Technically it's true, although my sister who is younger by 1 year, eats like crap and is rediculously slim and toned. The kind of ''slim and toned'' that made me worry when my friends would come round and start ogling:frustrate ! Nowadays it's ok because she's a police officer and can do more damage to a random, frisky hand than I ever could !

Visually, there's no difference really. If anything, I've been looking slightly better as my poor water intake has inadvertedly dried me out a little, counteracting my propensity for water retention.

So not a great week by any measure. In all honesty, whilst I really enjoy what I do in the gym, the odd week of below par nutrition may become more frequent as I travel down to London more regularly to visit people. Next time I visit, I don't know if I could pass up Indian food whilst gingerly chewing on cheese and eggs- although I'll try:burger: ! Still, that just means I'll have to focus alot more on the weeks and months between visits. Starting with next week.

Looking forward to week 94 .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 94

Weight: 200.2lbs – up 1lb
Arm: 16 1/4'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/8''– no change
Hips: 42 1/16''– no change

Back to where I was 2 weeks ago, pretty much. BUT hips and waist are lower than what they were, so that's good !

Performance in the gym continues to improve with just about every bodypart . Typically for me, biceps have the smallest gains:rasp: , whilst at the other end of the scale I increased my squat by and db bp by 10lbs . To be honest I feel as though next time around, I could bump them both up by another 10:hammer: ! I've want to push out 100lb'ers on bench press and I may well do in a month or so! Other increases of note were a 5lb increase on bent over rows and a 2.5lb increase on tri press that wasn't enough .

Things have been good diet-wise. Whilst appetite hasn't increased, there have been far fewer fluctuations and the fluctuations that have occured have been much smaller .

Visually, I feel as though I'm looking better than I have done for a long time. Muscles appear full and I'm seeing some good separation. I also appear a little drier than I have in recent weeks which adds to the overall quality of my aesthetic:thumbsup: !

All in all a good week. Hopefully i can build on it .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 95

Weight: 200.2lbs – no change
Arm: 16 1/4'' – no change
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/8''– no change
Hips: 42 1/16''– no change

One of my first across the board 'no changes' for a while. Although all other guages of progress seem to be moving along nicely .

Strength continues to increase . 10lbs here, 5lbs there. Bi's are not seeing too much gain, but they never seem to. It's a bit annoying because the db's in my gym go up in increments of 5lbs which is probably a little much to see consistent strength gain on such a small muscle group .

Diet has been good, except for the fact a few servings of my flax seed oil have been warm:rasp: . If I'm out and about, I transport my flax in some oral syringes, in a freezer bag, wrapped in one of those injury cold packs. But my cold pack burst so I cant use it, I haven't yet found a replacement and so have to use a bit of ice which doesn't work anywhere near as well:rant: .

Visually, I seem to be leaning out somewhat (or losing a bit of bloat). Muscularity remains the same, so overall appearance is better:thumbsup: .

Looking forward to next week .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 95

Weight: 201lbs – up 0.8lbs
Arm: 16 5/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 7/8''– no change
Hips: 42 1/16''– down 1/16''

Good gain this week. Leg hasn't budged for a while but who cares if the arm goes up !

Bit of a poor week in the gym tbh . I had (and still have to an extent) two annoying injuries that affected my performance: lower back and shoulder. Not bad enough to warrant time off but just bad enough to be annoying. My lower back was v.stiff when I woke up on sunday, to the extent that it took a while to stand up straight and has been aching all week:frustrate . With my shoulder, I have a few rotator cuff issues; there's no real pain but when it plays up, the mechanics of the joint go to crap and I can't really push myself and my form gets a bit dodgy-particularly on flat bench:trout: .

On the plus side, I did manage some strength gains though .

Diet has been good and appetite is up . Still having a few issues with keeping my flax cool while out and about though.

Continuing to look better. More defined and bigger !

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 97

Weight: 199.6lbs – down 1.4lb
Arm: 16 1/4'' – down 1/16''
Leg: 24 13/16’’ – down 1/8''
Waist: 35 3/4''– down 1/8''
Hips: 42''– down 1/16''

So this is a 2 week update today. I had a bit of trouble last week and couldn't make an update, but there were no changes across the board in any case. So the losses seen above have all occured this past week .

Basically a pretty good explanation, in 2 parts. Firstly, I was involved in a few changes at work which involved quite a significant change in my sleep pattern. Literally a 12 hour change:blink: ! Not particularly conducive to keeping on track with diet!

Secondly, and most significantly, I was involved in a fairly big vehicular crash whilst at work. I was in the passenger seat whilst one of my colleagues was driving; we were coming up a hill when a bus decided to pull right out into the middle of the road, hitting us head on:nutkick: . We obviously didn't fare too well against a bus and ended up being spun round 180 degrees and 30 feet back down the road!

At the moment of impact, my head jerked left and smashed the passenger door window. I had a bit of concussion (no loss of conciiousness-fortunately I didn't hit anything more solid) and 2 quite large lacerations to my scalp, which means I currently have 8 stitches and a hell of a lot of glue on my head:trout: ! They are both in my hairline but given the fact that baldness runs in my family, it won't be too many years 'til I have to make a decision to shave my head and show them off, or keep them covered and have a lovely 'widow's peak':lol: ! I'll probably just show them off and add them to my plethora of physical hang-ups, along with my ecto arms and J.Lo ass:rant: !

So all this meant that I was at hospital for a good 10 hours and I went 8 HOURS without anything to eat, since I'd got up tat morning-and when I did get something it was only breakfast on the wards so all I had was a bowl of cornflakes:frustrate - no protein powder on an NHS budget ! Eventually after keeping me around for observation to make sure everything was ok, the doctors let me go home mid-afternoon, but my appetite only y'day returned to where it was pre-accident:burger: .

Aaaaanyway, all that being said I've not fared too badly this week (the drip the paramedics put in was the worst part- about 2in long and about as thick as the 'ink cartridge' of a ball point pen !). I missed monday's workout, but made it up on tuesday and I only had tuesday off work, returned wednesday. I've not experienced ANY loss of strength which I'm v.happy about and my overall workload in the gym has actually increased:dance: (no actual strength gain though).

Visually, the change is noticeable, but I'm guessing the size loss is 99-100% glycogen/water, so I'm ok with that:thumbsup: . Just after the accident, I was covered in glass with blood all over me, ears ringing, a bit disoriented and feeling like I wanted to puke, but my main thought was ''I wonder if the paramedics will let me take my food to the hospital?'':rofl: . Lol, you know you're a bodybuilder when.......

Looking forward to an uneventful week 98!

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 98

Weight: 201lbs – up 1.4lb
Arm: 16 3/8'' – up 1/8''
Leg: 24 7/8’’ – up 1/16''
Waist: 35 3/4''– up 1/16''
Hips: 42''– no change

Well, that's a good way to bounce back from last week's mishap:hammer: ! These numbers are even better than they were 2/3 weeks ago, nevermind last week .

Training has been on point. Strength gains are v.slow at the moment, even practically non-existent, but stamina is increasing in dribs and drabs .

Diet has been good, no slip ups . Appetite has been ok as well, but I'd prefer it to be better.

Mirror-wise, things are progressing along nicely and I hope that'll continue. A bodypart of note is my lats; my upper and lower back have always looked quite strong, with my lats letting me down somewhat, but they definitely seem to be holding their own of late:afro: .

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 99

Weight: 201lbs – no change
Arm: 16 3/8'' – no change
Leg: 24 7/8’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/16''– down 1/16''
Hips: 41 15/16''– down 1/16''

Bit of a wierd one this week; no changes to weight or limbs, but my 'fat' bits are down:think: :thumbsup: .

Work in the gym has been solid, but progress has been stagnant. In fact, it's probably been the slowest week in terms of strength gain for a LONG time:rasp: . Off the top of my head, I can only think of one exercise that I made a true strength gain on this week (lat pulldowns).

Diet has been good, appetite has been satisfactory .

My appearance has seen the most interesting changes this week; not in terms of muscle fullness or size, but in definition. My abs were AMAZINGLY well defined, the likes of which I havent seen since my waist was about 34.5'' !! Very interesting to say the least. I'll be making sure to keep an eye on this measurement in particular, once any water retention/glycogen recedes .

Looking forward to next week .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 100

Weight: 201lbs – no change
Arm: 16 3/8'' – no change
Leg: 24 7/8’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/16''– no change
Hips: 41 15/16''– no change

No measurement changes this week.

Gym performance is still top notch, despite progress being PAINFULLY slow:rasp: . Perhaps the most interesting thing to happen this week is that I puked during leg day !! I stuck with the same weight for my last 2 sets of squats, when I should have dropped it, and the subsequent 1st set of lunges just destroyed me. My legs were really pumped, but I managed to waddle off to a toilet cubicle, stripped down because I felt like I was being baked alive, but alas couldn't hold back the tide :lol: . A great big serving of British determination carried me through the rest of the workout, surprisingly unscathed .

Diet has been good, appetite is on the up .

No changes to speak of visually. Disregarding the obvious influence of pumps, my size does seem to fluctuate quite a bit throughout the week. Not an entirely new phenomenon to me but still strange none the less:think: .

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 101

Weight: 201.6lbs – up 0.6lbs
Arm: 16 7/16'' – up 1/16''
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – up 1/16''
Waist: 35 1/16''– no change
Hips: 42''– up 1/16''

Ahhh. Always great when that happens !

Gym performance still good, weights still pretty much not moving, which means there's a little shadow of doubt as to what the limb gains are consisting of:think: . I suppose I'll find in in due course .

Diet is good and appetite remains satisfactory. I'm not guzzling food down but I'm also not chewing each mouthful for 10 mins either .

Continuing to look better. Especially my abs. Wether I see them or not is becoming a little less dependent on favourable lighting:thumbsup: !

Looking forward to next week and wrapping up this particular androgenic adventure.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 102

Weight 201.6lbs- no change
Arm: 16 7/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 15/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/16''– no change
Hips: 42''– no change

No changes to report.

Strength remains steady. DEFINITELY plateaued in terms of strength:trout: . I seemed to lack a little focus on occasion this week which was annoying:frustrate .

Diet is good. Appetite is good.

No changes vis a vis the mirror to write about. But I can't really complain as I look pretty decent at the mo.

So that marks the end of my cycle. Very happy with the gains. Probably could've been a bit better had a not had a few 'nasty' weeks , but them's the breaks I suppose. PCT starts next week (tomorrow actually), so I wait with baited breath to see how much of the gains I'll retain and how much glycogen/water I'll lose.

Looking forward to next week .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 103

Weight 199.4lbs- down 2.2lbs
Arm: 16 3/8'' – down 1/16''
Leg: 24 13/16’’ – down 1/8''
Waist: 35 1/16''– no change
Hips: 41 13/16''– down 3/16''

A fair old drop, but one that was expected so it's not too much of a blow:rasp: .

No changes to report strength-wise, and I'm still pretty happy in the gym . No progress by any stretch of the imagination and I am expecting a few drops in the next few weeks:sad: . I may even make a few pre-emptive drops, just so my form remains acceptable and I stay the right side of rep failure:think: .

Diet has been good. Work has been inconsistent from day to day, so I've had to use my current diet for some days and my 'two diets ago' diet on others:frustrate . NOT a good thing to do I suppose, but I don't want to take in any more cals than necessary and hopefully my body doesn't get too confused .

Visually I look a little leaner:thumbsup: ; size-wise my muscles don't look different, but this is something I'll expect to occur to some extent. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst:hammer: .

Looking forward to next week .

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 104

Weight 199.4lbs- no change
Arm: 16 3/8'' – no change
Leg: 24 13/16’’ – no change
Waist: 35 1/16''– no change
Hips: 41 13/16''– no change

No measurement changes this week.

I was expecting a drop in strength at some point and this week it kicked in:whip: . I did make a few pre-emptive drops on some lifts and I was thankful for that, but for others I stuck at the same weight, going too close to rep failure:frustrate . I'll be dropping those next time.

Diet is good and my appetite is UP a little !

Visually, no change to speak of. I thought my waist looked a bit tighter this morning, but I guess it was just the light !

Looking forward to next week.

 

[silverSurfer]

Wow, this is the most awesome log I've ever read. You've inspired me to get serious and get my a** back in shape.

I salute your dedication - congratulations on your gains.

 

[bms0lsc]

Thanks, I try to keep a decent log . And thanks for the compliments on the gains. Although .... (see below)

End of week 105

Weight 198lbs- down 1.4lbs
Arm: 16 5/16'' – down 1/16''
Leg: 24 3/4’’ – down 1/16''
Waist: 35''– down 1/16''
Hips: 41 13/16''– no change

A loss:trout: ! Expected given I'm in PCT, but it's always annoying! Damn HPTA:rasp: !

I've also suffered a few losses in the gym too. All bodyparts are down , with the exception of biceps . I find this ironic, as this is the bodypart that I find is most resistant to size and strength gains. Things just tend to be a little slower all round in the gym; movements don't seem as smooth. It feels like my joints could do with a little WD-40! And wow, I'd forgotten how bad DOMS is:squat: !

I really can't complain about my diet. I'm getting my food in and my appetite continues to increase:thumbsup: !

The size losses are a little noticeable this week:nutkick: . But on the upside I seem to be more vascular- and I haven't even shaved yet, lol !

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 106

Weight 198lbs- no change
Arm: 16 5/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/4’’ – no change
Waist: 35''– no change
Hips: 41 13/16''– no change

No losses this week. Very good under the circumstances .

No losses in the gym either ! I've levelled out somewhat in this area. In fact, I may have turned a corner; I have a stopwatch which I tend to use to measure rest intervals and (more importantly) my cadences, and it seems that my sets tend to be too long (don't know why)! I'm not sure if a few seconds extra TUT would convert into increased poundages, but my sets would be easier if I stepped up the pace, and that's a move in the right direction:thumbsup: .

Diet is good. Appetite is good .

No change to muscularity, but I seem leaner again; vascularity is more noticeable. If any of you are familiar with the sports brand Mizuno, I have a vein pattern in my left shoulder that looks exactly like their trademark symbol:dance: !

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 107

Weight 198lbs- no change
Arm: 16 5/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/4’’ – no change
Waist: 35''– no change
Hips: 41 13/16''– no change

**I'm a day late with this update, as I watched the Bourne Ultimatum y'day. I sooo wanna be Jason Bourne !! I almost want some idiot on the street to start something so I can use the martial arts I've 'learned' from watching these films, lol:bruce1: ! The male psyche and films like this don't mix!**

So no losses this week, and performance in the gym has been, in one word, great:thumbsup: ! I may even increase my weights next time around (stress the word may). In all honesty I think some of this is psychological; by making pre-emtive, calculated drops in my lifts, I'm not getting frustrated or disappointed when it just creeps up on me, producing crappy form . There may be a physiological aspect, too; whilst I'm still going all out, I seem to be finishing a majority my sets at 2 reps shy of failure, as opposed to 1 rep shy. Might not sound like much, but it could be an avenue worth exploring:think: , and I might start making a note on this aspect in my training diary...journal, I mean JOURNAL .

Diet has been good, as has appetite. I'm was going to start looking at a calorie increase, but I'll wait and see if/how my strength increases....

No change visually. Whenever I go shopping at a supermarket, I find myself walking past the 'hair removal' aisle, glancing towards the Nair products ; at this point, it's only the dodgy looks from the plethora of women around that is stopping me from putting something in my trolley:lol: !!

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 108

Weight 197.4lbs- down 0.6lbs
Arm: 16 5/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/4’’ – no change
Waist: 35''– no change
Hips: 41 12/16''– down 1/16''

Good stuff really . I've got to the point mentally at which I'm expecting not to see losses on a sat morning, which is actually making me quite nervous taking measurements, lol.

Slight stamina increases in the gym. No out and out strength gains, but they might be on the horizon.

Back workouts, IMO, seem to be the most varied out of all the workouts, with different angles, grip widths and the large no. of muscles involved, and I just find it interesting noting the trials and tribulations of the individual exercises over the weeks and months ; they just seem so independent of each other- a few dodgy pulldowns doesn't seem to have any effect on the success/failure of close grip rows later on, whereas going to close to failure on, say, inc bp will really affect dec dbp form. Well I find it interesting .

Diet is good, appetite is good:thumbsup: .

Visually, I look better, (primarily due to the magic of this programme ) but also due to the fact I've given in and tanned a little . Christ, I'm talking about hair removal products one week and tanning the next, I'm officially metrosexual:trout: ! Or does having 16''+ arms just make it acceptable? Or do I need to be 200lbs for it to be ok or what:think: ? The US does everything bigger than we do here, so an ''Abercrombie model'' in the US is actually ''diesel'' in the UK so I think I qualify by geography:dance: . Hmmmm...

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 109

Weight 197.4lbs- no change
Arm: 16 5/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/4’’ – no changege
Waist: 35''– no change
Hips: 41 12/16''– no change

No changes. Most acceptable! And that marks the end of pct too .

Gym numbers have remained the same as last week, except for an increase in performance on bi's , and a DROP in performance on legs ! Not much, just 5lbs or so on leg press, but any drop is significant just because it shouldn't happen. I didn't feel 'right' from the start of the workout, but was fine beforehand and seemed ok a few hours later:think: . Might've been a dodgy bagel....

Diet has been good, appetite has been a little 'bleh'. I've been dosing vit b5 and it definitely has potential as a culprit:hammer: . No stomach ache or pain, and just a slight decrease in appetite, so it's bearable for the moment.

Visually, I've actually noticed my chest looks much more defined, with a greater separation between the upper and lower portions .

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 110

Weight 197.4lbs- no change
Arm: 16 5/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 3/4’’ – no change
Waist: 35''– no change
Hips: 41 12/16''– no change

No changes this week measurement-wise and I'm happy with that ; I thought there was a possibility I could've recovered fairly early on during PCT and any subsequent SERM administration would possibly be be providing a HPTA boost, which would result in losses once administration ceased. But no !

Strength has increased a little, so I'm happy about that! Hopefully it'll continue.

Diet has been good, as has appetite. I've been playing around with the idea of adding more calories, but with this plan ''If strength goes up, LBM goes up'', so I'll wait and see what happens there.....

Visually, there does seem to be a bit of a change; chest is fuller and pwo pumps seem better:hammer: .

Ok, so today marks the end of an era; I have offically left my job:woohoo: ! It is the bain of my bb'ing goals, what with the dodgy sleep patterns and it's ability to turn me into a calorie furnace:rant: . As of mon 15th Oct, I'll be a Research Associate with Covance Laboratories, and I finally get to put my degree to some use (Bachelors in pharmacology ) (with honours ). So hopefully my progress will be a bit better and more regular in the future. The only downside is my diet/meal timing will become a little strained and I may have to go 3+ hours without food:trout: . But I'll see how I go.

Between now and then, I'm taking a trip to London to see family (still training though), so I might have to miss next week's update and do a '2 weeker' next time round.

Looking forward to next week. Especially because I'll get to stay up past 7pm for the first time in months!!

 

[silverSurfer]

33 lbs gain since you started your program, congratulations on your continued success!

Enjoy your vacation and congratulations on your new job, sounds more like a career :thumbsup:

 

[bms0lsc]

Thanks silverSurfer! Yep, definitely a move towards a proper career!

End of week 112 (2 week update)

Weight 196.4lbs- down 1lb
Arm: 16 4/16'' – down 1/16''
Leg: 24 5/8’’ – down 1/8''
Waist: 34 7/8''– down 1/8''
Hips: 41 5/8''– down 1/8''

Sooo. Bit of a drop ! Quite a wierd 2 weeks. I've had a complete cessation of all cardio exercise due to my job change (which is a 100% drop ) but my diet has been less than 100% , so I had no idea what to expect really as this has been a unique congregation of paramaters I've never experienced.

During week 111, I was down in London visiting family and had to attend another gym. It was quite crap, compared to what I was used to:frustrate . The benches were all at funny angles which made my inc.& dec. pressing quite poor and the machines (leg ext.) were abominable, but perhaps the most rediculous thing was that the weight stacks were just labelled as numbers and not as a weight:blink: . So I spent an age finding my 'working' weight and instead of doing an 80lb tri press, I was doing a '6'!! I don't like change at the best of times, especially when it involves something as important as my training:hammer: . But at least I have a starting point to refer to if (when) I go back....

Week 112, I was back in my regular gym and was exceptionally surprised. My strength had been maintained, and had even gone up in A LOT of places ! Like I said, I didn't know what to expect really given the fact I'm sailing on new waters.

Diet-wise, what can I say? It's been poor really, partly due to poor organisation because of new, unchartered circumstances. Whilst in London, I missed meals, went 4+ hours without eating and had to substitute food with a protein powder/flax oil/milk mix to get the calories down :smite: . And of course, my appetite stalled; I've learnt that appetite is like a house: you take out one meal (a few bricks) and the whole thing crumbles and takes a fair old while to build up again:duel: ! As I sit here, I still haven't really done it yet! This past week just gone, I've been in my new job and a laboratory environment isn't particularly conducive to eating every 2-3 hours (IMO). But, I think I've got a handle on it and I should start monday with it all figured out , even though I may just creep over 3hrs every now and then. I must also say that in both weeks, there has been a certain level of social 'non-eating' that has taken place:stick: .

Visually, not much change tbh. My guess is that, given my strength has increased, the small losses are just glycogen and nothing to really worry about . It may take a while, but I'll be interested to see where my measurements 'settle', with my new work routine.

I've eaten far less these past few weeks than I have done previously, but I've also burnt far less calories. In future, I'll still be as sedentary as I have been, but I'll be getting all my food in, AND the daily caloric variations this plan gives should manifest themselves much better, which can only be a good thing:thumbsup: .

So that's that! A small loss, but nothing to worry about. I'm looking forward to picking up speed gains-wise over the next few weeks and months (and years):dance: . Fingers crossed, anyway.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note, given the nature of my work, I've had to have quite an extensive medical, including a blood test so I thought I'd share some interesting results, just in case anyone finds it interesting . When they took the blood, I did ask if they could do and endocrinology panel, but alas they couldn't:rasp: . Given my larger than average size, I hope my question didn't arouse any suspicions ! I also failed to contain my excitement when I was told about an in vitro testosterone study they were doing in the next lab down the corridoor:hammer: . Red flags going up all over the place, lol. I won't have anything to do with that though, as I'm with the in vitro group (yes, live animals) (yes, not for the squeamish:saw: ).

Aaaanyway, a few results:

-My ALT (liver enzyme) was 55 IU/L with a healthy range of 7-39 !!

-My urea was 13.6mmol/L with a healthy range of 2.9-7.3 !!

I was a tad concerned at these given my AAS use (liver and kidneys!:hammer: ), BUT because I'd just had a workout 1.5hours ago and a big pwo meal, this is apparantly normal.

My HDL cholesterol was 1.55mmol/L (norm, 0.9-1.45), but that was ok too apparantly.

Other results of note were:

Heamoglobin: 18.1 g/dL (norm, 13-18)
Mean corpuscular heamoglobin concentration: 36.8 g/dL (norm 31-35).

So I have a lot of haemoglobin in my blood:thumbsup: !

And last but not least, lymphocytes: 0.95 10*9/L (norm 1.51-3.99). Very low, which I thought was unhealthy ( meaning I'm prone to infection, overtraining, etc), but apart from food poisoning, I've not been ill for around 8 years really. Apparantly it could mean I'm uber-healthy, as no infection means no reason to proliferate white blood cells, hence the low level. I passed anyway, and there's no way they'd have an unhealthy person working for them! It's an American company, so I'm sure I can trust them (right? ).

Looking forward to week 113.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 113

Weight 196.4lbs- no change
Arm: 16 4/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 5/8’’ –no change
Waist: 34 15/16''– up 1/16''
Hips: 41 5/8''– no change

No changes to report really, apart from the waist going up:rasp: .

Gym work has been good, with the exception of legs . I start off strong, but my stamina falls away quite quickly and I finish with my sets going too close to failure:nutkick: . I think I'll drop the weight for earlier exercises and see if that helps.

Diet has been pretty good, especially compared to the past few weeks. I'm eating every 2-3 hrs, with the v. occasional stretch to 3hrs 15 mins. The only downside is I have to cram the meals in after work:trout: ; I have my post w.o meal at about 7.15-7.30 pm, my chicken and mozz meal around 9.30 and meal 6 around 10.45. Given the speed I eat and the length of the breaks I get, I can't really get in another meal at work; and quite frankly, the idea of taking pre-cooked, refrigerated chicken to work doesn't do anything for my appetite (I cook ALL my chicken just before I eat it- tastes SO much better:food: ).

On a dietary side note, given the number of weeks I've used the phrase 'no change' recently, I think I may have added a few cals by this point. However due to the change in my calorie expenditure I'm going to leave it alone, just to see where my weight settles. I may even make a calorie DROP if necessary, i.e. if my reduced calorie expenditure means my current food intake is adding a little fat. (<--- Just occured to me now, given my waist is the only thing to have gone up!:hammer: )

Visually, I appear quite decent! So I can't complain about that. I've also had a few of my new work colleagues comment: Christine (colleague): ''So do you play any sport?''. Me: ''Used to play rugby, now I'm just down the gym alot''. Christine: ''I can tell'' (laughs) . (She's married though). (And not my type).

Looking forward to next week.

 

[bms0lsc]

End of week 114

Weight 196.4lbs- no change
Arm: 16 4/16'' – no change
Leg: 24 5/8’’ –no change
Waist: 34 15/16''– no change
Hips: 41 11/16''– up 1/16''

As suspected, not much to talk about:yawn: . There's an increase in my hip measurement, but I don't think I can read into that too much tbh.

Workouts are mostly going well . There have been a few slight movements upwards in with my numbers, but no 'real' strength gain; what I mean is, my starting weights are the same but sets 2, 3 etc. see either a smaller drop in weight or no drop at all . I'm hoping this will eventually result in a proper increase in strength . I'm still having a bit of trouble with my leg workouts and I think I know why; my cardiovascular fitness, or lack thereof:rasp: . I reckon my old job allowed me to build up a (semi) decent amount of cardiovascular fitness which has now receded to some degree. We all know how much these leg workouts get the lungs going, so I'm of the opinion any cv fitness gives an advantage, and a reduction in cv fitness translates into a reduction in leg day performance:nutkick: .

Diet's going well, appetite is ok. I'm still squashing up meals towards the end of the day, but I think that might just be 'the way' from now on .

Visually, things are pretty good . I must admit though that when I wake up in the morning, my abs are looking less defined. Idk if this is because I work out later in the day, thus drinking more water later in the day, which is 'carrying over' for the morning:think: . OR it's because I'm getting fatter !.....

Looking forward to next week.