Hey everyone, so after reading about this for years now, I've decided it's finally time to do this. Any comments, criticism, ideas, changes, anything is more than welcomed. I've spent a lot of time reading on this, and reading a bit more won't hurt.
First off, a little about me
-5'8" 165 lbs ~8% bf. (have been up to 175-180, carried a bit too much fat for my liking then)
-26 Years Old, Perfectly Healthy, Regular Physicals, Blood Tests done regularly - every things good to go.
-Former D1 Track and Field Athlete (short sprints and long jumper)
-Training since I was 15. Obviously training varies, from sports to track specific and the past few years more bodybuilding type.
-Science nerd, bachelors and masters in biochemistry, I've always had a very science based approach to training (even when I was younger, spent more time watching videos and reading books on form then most other kids) so if you would like to provide links to journals, studies, I would more than welcome it.
Game Plan
Alright game plan, until I get everything sorted out, everything in hand I plan on just bulking up and keep lifting heavy compounds, moving weight up as much as possible so I'm at a solid state to begin the cycle.
Here is what I've planned so far (you may have seen a similar excel spreadsheet online, I had to redo it just for my own ocd)
i.imgur.com/jqmWp.jpg
In case copy/pasting the link won't work, here is my cycle details.
Week 1 - 10: Test E, 500 mg/week (250 mg Mon. Morning and 250 mg Thurs. Night)
Week 1 - 10: Armidex .25 mg/ED
Week 1 - 10: hCG 500 IU/Week
Week 11 - 12: off
Week 13 - 14: Nolvadex 40mg/day
Week 15 - 16: Nolvadex 20mg/day
As you can see, pretty basic first cycle. I've seen hCG started the first/second week. As well as debate between small increments each week or use massive quantities in the end to kick start. I decided to go with the first week and small increments, any comments on that?
Also for the post cycle therapy (pct), there's a lot of debate between what to do, I went with the pretty normal route. Once again any comments? I'm debating between doing 20 mg each day through out the cycle...It was in the stickies, but kind of feel that it wouldn't be necessary. Maybe keep extra nolvadex on the side at all times?
As for other supplements, a very normal stack, multivitamin, fish oil and vitamin d3 (5000 IU/daily...yes vitamin d deficient). I've seen DAA thrown into the equation for this cycle, I'll throw it in if something goes wrong and it seems sufficient to use. It's easily accessible.
Injections, this is where I need the most advice. I'm doing these by my self and was thinking of doing front left thigh, front right thigh, left lateral thigh, right lateral thigh, repeat, and last two weeks do front left thigh and front right thigh (total of 10 weeks). These would be Monday morning 250 mg and Thursday night 250 mg (250 mg every 3.5 days). With 25 gauge x 1" length for test and 1 mL 29 gauge for the hCG.
Also as a note, I will have absolutely have all of this before starting. In case anything goes wrong, anything else I should obtain before starting?
As for training and diet, I'll post these in their respective sections to get better feedback but wanted to include this in here you guys can see the entire game plan.
Training
I've decided to go with Lyle McDonald generic bulking program, I've had absolutely great bulking results with it and want to try it out for this cycle. I am not as educated in training during cycles as much as I am with training off cycles. Any opinion on here would be nice, and I'm currently reading as much as I can on the training section down below. Here's what I have so far.
Monday: Lower
Squat 3x6 3'
Glute/Ham Raise 3x8 2'
Leg Press 3x12 2'
Leg Curl 3x12 2'
Standing Calf Raise 4x8 2'
Seated Calf Raise 3x12 2'
Core
Tuesday: Upper
Bench 3x6 3'
DB Row 3x8 2'
DB Shoulder Press 3x12 2'
Pull Ups (palms out) 3x12 2'
Tricep Ext. 2x12 1.5'
Preacher Curls 2x12 1.5'
Wrist Curls 2x12 1'
Thursday: Lower
Deadlifts 3x6 3'
Leg Press 3x8 2'
Leg Curl 3x12 2'
Standing Calf Raise 4x8 2'
Seated Calf Raise 3x12 2'
Core
Friday: Upper
Military Press 3x6 3'
Pull Ups (palms out) 3x8 2'
Flat DB Bench 3x12 2'
DB Rows 3x12 2'
Tricep Ext. 2x12 1.5'
Preacher Curls 2x12 1.5'
Wrist Curls 2x12 1'
I've always done 3x6-8, and lately have been forcing myself to get into the 10-12 rep range. I know it's more hyperthopy but the athlete in me always preferred lower reps and pumping out more weight. Does this seem sufficient? At first I had most of them at 3x10 instead of 3x12, so input on that would be great. I'll definitely take this down to the training section for more input.
Along with that, there will be a light jog warm up and dynamic stretches prior to working out and static stretches usually a few hours later or before bed. Along with foam rolling every night before bed.
Also being an avid runner, I just can't escape cardio. I will keep it a minimum, just to get my heart going and maybe throw in some short sprints or plyometrics on leg days (I'm very good and gauging my body and work outs, after more than a decade I can tell if my running is affecting my lifts). But once again, I have never tried a cycle before, so comments would be appreciated.
Nutrition
I've seen people start out low, then get higher as the cycle grows. I was thinking of starting at 3500, and judging from there. At about 50:30:20 (protein:carbs:fat). I've done a higher carb before but felt I grew the most with a high protein diet. Obviously, most of the calories if not all would come from eggs, oatmeal, protein shakes, fruits, nuts, chicken, steak, beef, greek yogurt, skim milk, brown rice. Along with my daily green tea and honey every morning
Well that's about it, every comment, criticism, advice, anything would be greatly appreciated.
First off, a little about me
-5'8" 165 lbs ~8% bf. (have been up to 175-180, carried a bit too much fat for my liking then)
-26 Years Old, Perfectly Healthy, Regular Physicals, Blood Tests done regularly - every things good to go.
-Former D1 Track and Field Athlete (short sprints and long jumper)
-Training since I was 15. Obviously training varies, from sports to track specific and the past few years more bodybuilding type.
-Science nerd, bachelors and masters in biochemistry, I've always had a very science based approach to training (even when I was younger, spent more time watching videos and reading books on form then most other kids) so if you would like to provide links to journals, studies, I would more than welcome it.
Game Plan
Alright game plan, until I get everything sorted out, everything in hand I plan on just bulking up and keep lifting heavy compounds, moving weight up as much as possible so I'm at a solid state to begin the cycle.
Here is what I've planned so far (you may have seen a similar excel spreadsheet online, I had to redo it just for my own ocd)
i.imgur.com/jqmWp.jpg
In case copy/pasting the link won't work, here is my cycle details.
Week 1 - 10: Test E, 500 mg/week (250 mg Mon. Morning and 250 mg Thurs. Night)
Week 1 - 10: Armidex .25 mg/ED
Week 1 - 10: hCG 500 IU/Week
Week 11 - 12: off
Week 13 - 14: Nolvadex 40mg/day
Week 15 - 16: Nolvadex 20mg/day
As you can see, pretty basic first cycle. I've seen hCG started the first/second week. As well as debate between small increments each week or use massive quantities in the end to kick start. I decided to go with the first week and small increments, any comments on that?
Also for the post cycle therapy (pct), there's a lot of debate between what to do, I went with the pretty normal route. Once again any comments? I'm debating between doing 20 mg each day through out the cycle...It was in the stickies, but kind of feel that it wouldn't be necessary. Maybe keep extra nolvadex on the side at all times?
As for other supplements, a very normal stack, multivitamin, fish oil and vitamin d3 (5000 IU/daily...yes vitamin d deficient). I've seen DAA thrown into the equation for this cycle, I'll throw it in if something goes wrong and it seems sufficient to use. It's easily accessible.
Injections, this is where I need the most advice. I'm doing these by my self and was thinking of doing front left thigh, front right thigh, left lateral thigh, right lateral thigh, repeat, and last two weeks do front left thigh and front right thigh (total of 10 weeks). These would be Monday morning 250 mg and Thursday night 250 mg (250 mg every 3.5 days). With 25 gauge x 1" length for test and 1 mL 29 gauge for the hCG.
Also as a note, I will have absolutely have all of this before starting. In case anything goes wrong, anything else I should obtain before starting?
As for training and diet, I'll post these in their respective sections to get better feedback but wanted to include this in here you guys can see the entire game plan.
Training
I've decided to go with Lyle McDonald generic bulking program, I've had absolutely great bulking results with it and want to try it out for this cycle. I am not as educated in training during cycles as much as I am with training off cycles. Any opinion on here would be nice, and I'm currently reading as much as I can on the training section down below. Here's what I have so far.
Monday: Lower
Squat 3x6 3'
Glute/Ham Raise 3x8 2'
Leg Press 3x12 2'
Leg Curl 3x12 2'
Standing Calf Raise 4x8 2'
Seated Calf Raise 3x12 2'
Core
Tuesday: Upper
Bench 3x6 3'
DB Row 3x8 2'
DB Shoulder Press 3x12 2'
Pull Ups (palms out) 3x12 2'
Tricep Ext. 2x12 1.5'
Preacher Curls 2x12 1.5'
Wrist Curls 2x12 1'
Thursday: Lower
Deadlifts 3x6 3'
Leg Press 3x8 2'
Leg Curl 3x12 2'
Standing Calf Raise 4x8 2'
Seated Calf Raise 3x12 2'
Core
Friday: Upper
Military Press 3x6 3'
Pull Ups (palms out) 3x8 2'
Flat DB Bench 3x12 2'
DB Rows 3x12 2'
Tricep Ext. 2x12 1.5'
Preacher Curls 2x12 1.5'
Wrist Curls 2x12 1'
I've always done 3x6-8, and lately have been forcing myself to get into the 10-12 rep range. I know it's more hyperthopy but the athlete in me always preferred lower reps and pumping out more weight. Does this seem sufficient? At first I had most of them at 3x10 instead of 3x12, so input on that would be great. I'll definitely take this down to the training section for more input.
Along with that, there will be a light jog warm up and dynamic stretches prior to working out and static stretches usually a few hours later or before bed. Along with foam rolling every night before bed.
Also being an avid runner, I just can't escape cardio. I will keep it a minimum, just to get my heart going and maybe throw in some short sprints or plyometrics on leg days (I'm very good and gauging my body and work outs, after more than a decade I can tell if my running is affecting my lifts). But once again, I have never tried a cycle before, so comments would be appreciated.
Nutrition
I've seen people start out low, then get higher as the cycle grows. I was thinking of starting at 3500, and judging from there. At about 50:30:20 (protein:carbs:fat). I've done a higher carb before but felt I grew the most with a high protein diet. Obviously, most of the calories if not all would come from eggs, oatmeal, protein shakes, fruits, nuts, chicken, steak, beef, greek yogurt, skim milk, brown rice. Along with my daily green tea and honey every morning
Well that's about it, every comment, criticism, advice, anything would be greatly appreciated.
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