The Maximus Pact

[Dustin07]

Day 90:

It was a good lift today but I’m taking bench completely out of my plan for the next 3 weeks. I made a returning plan for maximum performance coming back, powerlifting style too not the bro style I was doing.

I dig the Christmas pump covers there, Clark Kent. I just realized this might be the first time I seen you with clothes on

Shower daily. If possible, right after you train or get sweatiest.

Have you seen the growing discussion on how showering is washing away our natural barrier of good bacteria etc potentially weakening immunity? I've seen Hubberman and now a bunch of others start bringing it up.

Unfortunately, I don't care. I shower twice a day on lifting days regardless, lol. I'm at the point now where I have to wash my face at the gym after a session or my forehead and face breaks out. I can't get myself to climb into clean bed sheets at night if I haven't post-gym showered yet. just sorta grosses me out.

 

[Hyde]

Have you seen the growing discussion on how showering is washing away our natural barrier of good bacteria etc potentially weakening immunity? I've seen Hubberman and now a bunch of others start bringing it up.

Unfortunately, I don't care. I shower twice a day on lifting days regardless, lol. I'm at the point now where I have to wash my face at the gym after a session or my forehead and face breaks out. I can't get myself to climb into clean bed sheets at night if I haven't post-gym showered yet. just sorta grosses me out.

No, but I wouldn’t necessarily have a hard time believing it; the oils we produce exist for a reason.

But I think most of those people barely lift, and don’t even have the same concerns that someone with a physical job who lifts weights seriously or trains athletics often would experience. Especially a younger person or someone using anabolics that alter hormones. It’s a lot more practical to say “Showering less is better for you” when your skin doesn’t look like a pepperoni pizza.

And when it comes to skincare, it’s going to be VERY individualized. People have very different skincare needs and responses and hormones in different periods. The more oily you are, the more you will need to wash and scrub. If you are clear and dry, you would just be overly-drying things out doing stuff too often. It’s like eating - how hungry you are, your energy needs, and your digestion should all influence your consumption.

 

[Shadowblaze]

I dig the Christmas pump covers there, Clark Kent. I just realized this might be the first time I seen you with clothes on

thanks bro! I had to bust out the Christmas sweater for that lift, but it was just too hot in there so I took it off half way through my workout and only kept my Santa hat on.

Have you seen the growing discussion on how showering is washing away our natural barrier of good bacteria etc potentially weakening immunity? I've seen Hubberman and now a bunch of others start bringing it up.

Unfortunately, I don't care. I shower twice a day on lifting days regardless, lol. I'm at the point now where I have to wash my face at the gym after a session or my forehead and face breaks out. I can't get myself to climb into clean bed sheets at night if I haven't post-gym showered yet. just sorta grosses me out.

Hmm that is interesting, I knew that showering stripped oils from the skin but not bacteria.

It does make sense, humans haven’t evolved to shower and doing anything we haven’t evolved to do will always have some degree of harm to your body. But at the same time now we are subjected to different things like clothes with certain fabric types, and environmental influences that may make it more important for us to shower than our ancestors.

I know hot showers are quite bad for your skin, at least in terms of stripping oils it is. And we do know that dose and duration makes the poison. So I think the answer lies in the middle.
A short with Luke warm or colder water most likely has little effect on skin health.
Longer showers, especially if you turn up the heat can be bad for your skin and cause more acne as well as stripping your skin of oils.

I have been doing skincare and already after a week my skin looks much better. To help the lost oils I always use moisturizer after a shower on parts where I get acne.

 

[Dustin07]

yeah I'm the same way and regardless of the science, I live in a very cold house and that hot shower at 4:45am hits real nice in the morning so I endulge. Sometimes I'll experiement and see how masculine a musk I can cultivate to attract my wife but so far I have not seen improved reaction out of her from less showers.

admittedly out of morbid curiosity I tried her moisturizers when we first started living together, especially in the winter cause like right now its 31F and DRY outside, so my skin gets super dry and even itchy this time of year if I'm not careful. Now she's got me on a full routine LOL. but it feels damn good when some 40yr old actor shows up on the tv and he looks 10 years older than me, cause obviously he doesn't have my wifes skin care routine

thanks bro! I had to bust out the Christmas sweater for that lift, but it was just too hot in there so I took it off half way through my workout and only kept my Santa hat on.

I keep a Christmas sweater in my desk drawer at work that I pull out for a couple hours every year at the company Christmas party. It lasted about 2 hours on Dec 19th before I had to strip that sucker off cause I was too hot lol. the idea of Christmas sweaters is always appealing until I'm in one for more than a half hour.

 

[akboom87]

Also just to add to the skin care on a side note. Different detergents for washing clothes can cause skin issues, also body washes can cause issues.


I only say this because both of these I have found out over time.

 

[Dustin07]

yeah thats true too. after my wife's cancer she switched us over to some cleaner stuff (no pun intended). I'm not sure if you call it organic or what, but it seems to do just fine cleaning everything.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Look at the view from the parking lot of the new gym I’m going to

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 91:
It was a great lift, belt squats are already feeling better. I’m going to an end of the year worship night tmrw, to the movies with my friends tonight and then a new year worship night on Wednesday. It’s gonna be great!

Legs are looking great and feeling pretty good, I pulled a adductor slightly but I should be fine in the morning.

 

[Hyde]

That’s a pretty view from the gym!

Nice session; hope the adductor feels better quick.

On the subject of moisturizing, I would NOT moisturize the acne on your back. You want that area to get dried out, at least until the skin around it starts to flake. Keeping it greased up is going to make it much more likely to clog those pores back up & keep the acne active. Save the moisturizer for areas that aren’t broken out and feel dry.

One of the big reasons tanning is good for reducing acne (and a big reason it’s part of bodybuilding comp), aside from the darkening hiding the zits, is the way it dries out the skin to make it less oily.

 

[Shadowblaze]

That’s a pretty view from the gym!

Nice session; hope the adductor feels better quick.

On the subject of moisturizing, I would NOT moisturize the acne on your back. You want that area to get dried out, at least until the skin around it starts to flake. Keeping it greased up is going to make it much more likely to clog those pores back up & keep the acne active. Save the moisturizer for areas that aren’t broken out and feel dry.

One of the big reasons tanning is good for reducing acne (and a big reason it’s part of bodybuilding comp), aside from the darkening hiding the zits, is the way it dries out the skin to make it less oily.

Thanks bro.

Curcuprime and stretching should have me good in no time for the adductor.

For the squats, admittedly the heavy sets weren’t full ROM, they were Anderson squats which is when you come up from a dead stop. Anderson squats remove the stretch reflex which makes it a lot harder but the shorter ROM I use makes it a lot easier. I like to have shorter ROM movements for squatting and deeper ones too. I like the strength and athletic boost from heavy squats but I just can’t go deep with them because of my autoimmune spine disease.

 

[Shadowblaze]

I’m gonna fast and not train for the next few days to give the year to the lord. And then when I go back to work I will go ham.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Beautiful British Columbia baby

In the zoomed in photo you can see mount baker in the USA

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 92:

It was a good lift today and I’ve been enjoying incline bench.

On the tricep exercises I used a different cable stack so the weights are different from what I usually do.

I’m happy with my physique rn and I weighed in at 175!!! That’s a few pounds up which is great to hear.

 

[Dustin07]

Beautiful British Columbia baby

In the zoomed in photo you can see mount baker in the USA

we can practically see each other
happy new years bro- here's to a solid 2026

 

[Shadowblaze]

we can practically see each other
happy new years bro- here's to a solid 2026

Happy new years! Let’s see that 315 bench this year!

My goal is to hit 315x3 but with good form. I hit it for 1 in August but the form wasn’t great.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 93:

Today’s lift went great, I went with 2 of my boys and it was so much fun. I’m back to work on Monday, the break was nice but it’s also nice to get back in the habit of working and grinding.

I’ve been tracking my sleep and my deep sleep is always off the charts high and my rem is pretty low. I need to work on that.

I cut back heavily on volume since my main hypertrophy movement is the biking.

 

[SkRaw85]

we can practically see each other
happy new years bro- here's to a solid 2026

I envision you two like Sarah Palin seeing Russia from her back deck

 

[Dustin07]

I envision you two like Sarah Palin seeing Russia from her back deck

<checks notes>

I think we're closer lol

 

[gphagan1]

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 94:

It was a good lift today and it’s my dad’s birthday so I’m going out to eat with him. It was my first day back at work after Christmas break today. I feel pretty good.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Current physique before the bulk starts. ~175lbs evening weight

 

[gphagan1]

Current physique before the bulk starts. ~175lbs evening weight

Looks like you’re starting from a really good place…..in for the Gain Train.

 

[Dustin07]

agreed definitely starting strong.
I can't remember if you had a final goal or timeline in mind for your bulk.
My last real legit one was about 25lbs over 2 years and to be 100% honest with you I'm really glad it went that slow. built a lot more lean mass over that time IMO.

now caveats
a. I was about 39 or so maybe 40. so older than you and who knows if that played any role (positive or negative)
b. however I was not an untrained athlete. just a low calorie lean dude at 183 who's body took calories like a sponge and used them for everything they were worth.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 95:

I had a great day today. I increased my squat ROM and squatted to my usual depth (slightly less then parallel)

My workout went great, I’ve been going ham.

And I got a full 7.5 hours of sleep. I’m gonna try to get that every night.

 

[akboom87]

Day 95:

I had a great day today. I increased my squat ROM and squatted to my usual depth (slightly less then parallel)

My workout went great, I’ve been going ham.

And I got a full 7.5 hours of sleep. I’m gonna try to get that every night.

Sounds like you are getting it dialed in man

 

[Hyde]

Remember, proper bulking for the physique-minded lifter is about progressive overload of the diet to create new lean mass. You will gain fat as well, but the tighter you can dial in calories to create a surplus without going over that need, the less fat will accumulate.

Do not marry yourself to the scale or an arbitrary goal bodyweight - you can’t gain muscle faster with a greater surplus, only accumulate more bodyfat & absolute weight. Which can make you stronger via leverage, and therefore can be desirable for lineman, sumo wrestlers, any open weightclass position, but will decrease your health faster & have the opposite effect of making you look more jacked.

I remember thinking 200lbs would be this grand finale, but I wasn’t nearly muscular enough to be satisfied. Because I needed to gain about 25lbs of solid muscle to do that, not 25lbs scale weight - what I wanted wasn’t something that could be achieved in the timeframe I desired. I would have been better off taking some time at maintenance by 185lbs or so instead of just forcing the scale up higher when my body stopped responding positively to more food after so many months.

 

[Dustin07]

I always take this rough idea into consideration. outliers exist, drugs exist, but I consider this my basic rule of thumb.

I remember thinking 200lbs would be this grand finale, but I wasn’t nearly muscular enough to be satisfied. Because I needed to gain about 25lbs of solid muscle to do that, not 25lbs scale weight - what I wanted wasn’t something that could be achieved in the timeframe I desired. I would have been better off taking some time at maintenance by 185lbs or so instead of just forcing the scale up higher when my body stopped responding positively to more food after so many months.

You did pretty well with your super bulk to the 405 bench though. but damn your ability to cut what, like 30+lbs after that? is pretty impressive to me. the big swings get smaller and smaller for me as I get a little burnt out of the constant cycle.

if someone really had the discipline that lasted years like Layne I still like his mini bulk/mini cut approach where he basically does each one for 4-6 weeks one right after the other. But man after a few years of bulking and cutting I personally am at a point where I'd like to cut to where I want to be and maintain for a while, personally.

 

[Hyde]

I always take this rough idea into consideration. outliers exist, drugs exist, but I consider this my basic rule of thumb.
View attachment 257727


You did pretty well with your super bulk to the 405 bench though. but damn your ability to cut what, like 30+lbs after that? is pretty impressive to me. the big swings get smaller and smaller for me as I get a little burnt out of the constant cycle.

if someone really had the discipline that lasted years like Layne I still like his mini bulk/mini cut approach where he basically does each one for 4-6 weeks one right after the other. But man after a few years of bulking and cutting I personally am at a point where I'd like to cut to where I want to be and maintain for a while, personally.

That bulk to 273 was the result of muscle memory & potent steroids - I had been 268 just a few months prior after all for competition, with 15 years of training already under my belt. And it was for absolute size for temporary leverage for a feat of strength, the opposite of what Shadowblaze is trying to accomplish with more permanent lean mass. So not applicable to his situation.

When I was natural and went from 166 to 191 naturally over 6 months, I should have shut it down by 185. There will be a point where insulin sensitivity just isn’t that great and you need a minicut. I think Layne’s approach is sound for longterm progress.

 

[Dustin07]

When I was natural and went from 166 to 191 naturally over 6 months, I should have shut it down by 185

25lbs in 6 months is wild for the avg natty guy. Even the guys who are particularly skinny and need the 25. but there is a reason why the GOMAD clans exist, lol.

was that rapid enough for stretch marks?

 

[Shadowblaze]

25lbs in 6 months is wild for the avg natty guy. Even the guys who are particularly skinny and need the 25. but there is a reason why the GOMAD clans exist, lol.

was that rapid enough for stretch marks?

From grade 11-12 I gained 35lbs in 11 months while getting leaner. I didn’t grow in height either, I didn’t even focus a lot on diet back then.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Nice to finally have some Canadian weather again

 

[Dustin07]

From grade 11-12 I gained 35lbs in 11 months while getting leaner. I didn’t grow in height either, I didn’t even focus a lot on diet back then.

LOL me too. I wrestled at 148 and graduated at 186

Nice to finally have some Canadian weather again

nice, send some 3hrs south of ya!! we could go for a few snow days.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 96:

I felt great today and had a good lift but my incline was messed up, so I’m gonna re evaluate and drop the weight. Every other exercise is going up.

 

[Shadowblaze]

The construction people on site are stupid and installed the temporary stairs on an unstable so I tripped and straight up crashed on the concrete corner with my knee. I was limping most of my work day today so I’m gonna just rest today.

I was gonna train today and then rest tomorrow but I guess I’m resting today too. It’s not actually an injury or anything just a bruise and stuff so I should be back in no time.

It sucks because I always felt like there was one thing in the way of me giving 100% and now this too.

 

[akboom87]

The construction people on site are stupid and installed the temporary stairs on an unstable so I tripped and straight up crashed on the concrete corner with my knee. I was limping most of my work day today so I’m gonna just rest today.

I was gonna train today and then rest tomorrow but I guess I’m resting today too. It’s not actually an injury or anything just a bruise and stuff so I should be back in no time.

It sucks because I always felt like there was one thing in the way of me giving 100% and now this too.

Bummer man hope it turns around quick.

 

[Hyde]

That does suck. I hope it feels better quickly.

If it seems like a never-ending barrage of one thing or another, consider that’s actually usually how life is. So what we end up accomplishing in training is DESPITE all the various detours and hurdles life inevitably will throw at us.

 

[akboom87]

That does suck. I hope it feels better quickly.

If it seems like a never-ending barrage of one thing or another, consider that’s actually usually how life is. So what we end up accomplishing in training is DESPITE all the various detours and hurdles life inevitably will throw at us.

Solid words here.

 

[gphagan1]

The construction people on site are stupid and installed the temporary stairs on an unstable so I tripped and straight up crashed on the concrete corner with my knee. I was limping most of my work day today so I’m gonna just rest today.

I was gonna train today and then rest tomorrow but I guess I’m resting today too. It’s not actually an injury or anything just a bruise and stuff so I should be back in no time.

It sucks because I always felt like there was one thing in the way of me giving 100% and now this too.

That does suck…hopefully it’s just a bruise.

 

[Shadowblaze]

That does suck…hopefully it’s just a bruise.

That does suck. I hope it feels better quickly.

If it seems like a never-ending barrage of one thing or another, consider that’s actually usually how life is. So what we end up accomplishing in training is DESPITE all the various detours and hurdles life inevitably will throw at us.

Bummer man hope it turns around quick.

Thanks for all the kind words guys!

I’m icing it a lot and hopefully should be good by Saturday to hit legs.
And I’m only missing the gym on one day so it’s not a big deal.

On the bright side I’ve been averaging 7 hours of sleep a night for a few days now. I have also been tracking it and found that I say full incoherent sentences during my sleep, it’s a little weird honestly. I was saying something about a bull and my dad during my sleep (those are the only 2 words I said I could actually understand) lmao.

 

[Shadowblaze]

I got 7.5 hours of sleep tn!

 

[Dustin07]

I have also been tracking it and found that I say full incoherent sentences during my sleep, it’s a little weird honestly. I was saying something about a bull and my dad during my sleep (those are the only 2 words I said I could actually understand) lmao.

I think a lot of people do. My wife sometimes will laugh or something and wake herself up with the noise she makes, the other day she shot out of bed like a scene in the exorcist (sat up fast), then went back to sleep LOL. she freaked me out, I was jumping on the cameras to see if there was a prowler or something that woke her up

 

[gphagan1]

I think a lot of people do. My wife sometimes will laugh or something and wake herself up with the noise she makes, the other day she shot out of bed like a scene in the exorcist (sat up fast), then went back to sleep LOL. she freaked me out, I was jumping on the cameras to see if there was a prowler or something that woke her up

Now that is funny….my wife talks in her sleep, but me and the dogs can’t understand what she’s saying. She’ll mumble something and then start laughing. Our 2 little dogs will look at me all confused, and I’ll be like “I don’t know, but whatever it was is funny.” I asked her if I ever talk in my sleep, she says “I don’t know because I’m always asleep before you.”

 

[Hyde]

My wife mumbles in her sleep all the time, usually short stressful unintelligible muttering, maybe ending in “nooooo!” Lol I will just say something like “Baby you’re safe” and she’ll calm down & back to slumberland.

 

[SkRaw85]

I got 7.5 hours of sleep tn!

Stacking W’s

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 97:

I had so much fun at the young adults church group yesterday, we went out for dinner after and it was really good.

It was definitely a good idea to take those 2 days off the gym, my shin and knee feels much better now and I could do my full leg day. I had a great lift too, I hit some PRs. My knee was a little painful but nothing really concerning and since it’s just a bruise and not actually a muscle or bone injury I think it’s fine to push through it a bit.

I wore knee wraps today (not the powerlifting ones just the 5mm thinner ones) and it felt pretty good. I think I will keep wearing them from now on.

 

[gphagan1]

Day 97:

I had so much fun at the young adults church group yesterday, we went out for dinner after and it was really good.

It was definitely a good idea to take those 2 days off the gym, my shin and knee feels much better now and I could do my full leg day. I had a great lift too, I hit some PRs. My knee was a little painful but nothing really concerning and since it’s just a bruise and not actually a muscle or bone injury I think it’s fine to push through it a bit.

I wore knee wraps today (not the powerlifting ones just the 5mm thinner ones) and it felt pretty good. I think I will keep wearing them from now on.

Nice workout…glad the knee is better, and congrats on the PRs.

 

[Hyde]

Do you mean knee sleeves, where you just pull them up over and leave them on for a while? Or wraps where you have to crank them around each set, then take them off while you rest?

 

[Shadowblaze]

Do you mean knee sleeves, where you just pull them up over and leave them on for a while? Or wraps where you have to crank them around each set, then take them off while you rest?

They are knee sleeves not wraps, but I do have knee wraps too. Wraps help a lot but I consider them cheating too much so I don’t use them. I use elbow wraps on flat bench because I have some shoulder issues but other than that I try not to use any wraps.

 

[Hyde]

They are knee sleeves not wraps, but I do have knee wraps too. Wraps help a lot but I consider them cheating too much so I don’t use them. I use elbow wraps on flat bench because I have some shoulder issues but other than that I try not to use any wraps.

Yeah figured you meant sleeves. I am big on sleeves; I just feel like aside from reducing discomfort and letting you train harder, they improve joint recovery as well the way they keep more blood and fluid around the joint while it’s being stressed.

 

[Shadowblaze]

Day 98:

I had an amazing upper day today, definitely packing on some size. I can’t wait for the weather to be better, seasonal depression is hitting me a bit.

I am gonna start doing my top sets on incline with elbow wraps and then the following 2 sets raw with a slow eccentric, none of them to failure. It’s more sustainable in the long term and preserves my CNS a bit better.

I hit some 215x7 on incline.