First Cycle Log: 14 Weeks Deca+Test

[Optimal]

Great progress.

A bit late on this but thanks, man!


Updates::

Week 8&9: Days 52 - 62
Arms finally hit 17" with a pump!! Not exactly amazing or anything but it's the first time I've seen that # so I'm glad about that. Strength still coming steady and lower body starting to catch up finally. +40lbs on squat so far, hopefully I can pull out another 30 before the end. Leg press somehow just jumped up by 90lbs in a week, wasn't expecting that. Hopefully things keep going on this way!

Week 10: Days 63 - 68
Starting to feel a bit worn out and lethargic, though I'm also feeling/looking a bit leaner, so it could just be that. Strength still increasing though, just by smaller margins so nothing major to report. Gonna take it a bit easy next week.

 

[Ecal468]

What's up with the progress man? Looking like some nice gains.

 

[Optimal]

What's up with the progress man? Looking like some nice gains.

I came to post updates here a bit ago and got some warning about the site being hacked or something and hadn't really gotten around to checking back since then. Still wrote updates into a word document though, so now I can update properly.
Done this cycle now, here are the results:



Week 10.5-11: Days 69 - 73
Left town for some a few days to do some relaxing in an ocean-side cabin . Need to let my back recover a bit anyway since it hasn't been doing so well the last little bit. Shoulders feeling pretty sore too so will be able to do double time when back at it. Lethargy still present... checked blood pressure and it's up a tiny bit but still within the "optimal/athletic" range so not entirely sure what's causing it.

Week 11-12: Days 74 - 81
Feeling a bit better after the break. Progress sort of stalled a bit of course but should pick up again next week.
Gonna go a bit longer than originally planned, an extra week or two depending on how I'm feeling.
Also upping the test to 300 for the remainder to see how that goes.

Week 12.5: Day 82 & 83 - 214lbs morning weight
Felt pretty darn good! Think I definitely hit the sweet spot by upping the test last week, aggressiveness in full force in the gym.
+10 more lbs. on squats again today, to a total of +50 now.
Going to be upping my leg work to 3x/wk and lowering upper body to 2x/wk for the remainder.
Got an annoying soreness in my left knee, hopefully it doesn't cause too much trouble...

Weeks 13-15 (FINAL)
Mood & sex drive definitely still up, the 300 test still holding up well. Strength went up a bit more and pains went down, though the heavier lifts like squats and barbell rows stagnated due to lack of energy in the gym.
Starting to feel really worn out all the time though, blood pressure doesn't seem to be doing me any favors. I think I'm just getting a bit too fast to be running this stuff for so long so I'm gonna have to call it quits. It's still a week longer than I had planned on originally so it's alright.

 

[Optimal]

End results:
217lbs @ 22-23% bodyfat
(+5-8 lbs of actual mass after accounting for bloat & bodyfat)

+20lbs to DB press (goal met)
+40lbs to chinup (goal was +55)
+55lbs to squat (goal was +70)

+ 1" to arms
+ .85" to calves
+ 2.75" to chest
+ 1.3" to legs

Only thing I'm a bit disappointed about in terms of progress is that squats didn't go up more, but I guess I can't complain when adding over an inch to legs with only 5-6% increased bodyfat. I'm fairly sure it's also to do with a form & confidence issue, as my back gives me a lot of trouble sometimes. Next time around, I'll be adding deadlifts back in to keep it up to par.

Here's where I think I went a bit wrong: I started out too fat & as such, didn't gain much weight in the second half. I didn't realize just how slow it was until looking back at the end, but from weeks 8-15 I only put on 7lbs. Should have been eating more food but upset stomach due to lots of food & general fatigue due to fatness was holding me back. I knew it would be an issue going in, I just didn't realize how much. Live & learn, I'll be back better next time for sure!



&btw, I WILL CONTINUE TO POST UPDATES as I lean down a bit to see how much I keep.

 

[smittiot]

Good log. Way to stick with it and learn.

 

[squareaqeel]

Really awesome job man. Any recent pics for progress?