From Giant to Monster - First Cycle Thread

[Lt.Ted]

If you are not doing a decline bench on the regular you should throw that into your chest routine. Also, for another upper chest workout start doing a reverse grip bench press its been shown to have a greater impact than your typical incline press. Good luck with your cycle and can't wait to see the final results.

 

[Larrybird]

Today was 5th pin.

Pinned left quad. This was the first time I bled just a tiny bit after pulling out.

Weight = 230 (+15lbs) I had a bad weekend with the diet [REALLY BAD!, NO SRS, REALLY BAD] but I definitely tore it up in the gym.

My strength was through the roof today.

I've loaded up on creatine so a lot of the weight / strength could be due from the water bloat.

I went to put up 250 on bench 8x and couldn't get it! Instead, I got 3 sets of 7. This is a new PR though.



Holy hell I'm oily!

Workout:

Upon wakening - 1 hour elliptical

Went home and rested and got some shit done.

Chest + Abs:
Bench: 135 x 12, 205 x 10, 250 x 7 , 250 x 7, 250 x 7.

Incline DB: 85lbs x 8 x 3
Incline Fly: 60lbs x 9 x 3
Cable Fly: 100 x 8, 90 x 10, 90 x 9.
Dips: 3 sets burn out (15, 12, 10) respectively.

Abs:
Decline sit-up (with the rope machine behind it - put on 20lbs) 3 sets of 10.
Rope Pull downs: 100lbs x 3 sets of 10-15
Wood Choppers: 60lbs 3 x 12
Renegades: 40lbs x 3 x 10 [These were tough!]


This is the beginning of the third week, and I still don't think the Test has taken its effect yet. I don't feel any increase in libido, or aggression (which is good!). No oily skin, no acne, the works...

I got the gear from Z, so I don't think it's bunk, but who knows.

I hope that next week is when I'll start noticing the dramatic effects. If not by then, then def week 5!

Before I go to bed I'll probably go back to the gym and do 45 minute cardio, and a 15 minute swim.

I'm definitely excited for Squats tomorrow. Looking to hit 315 x 10 for a new PR. Wish me luck beasties!

FUCK I LOVE SQUAT DAYS! CAN'T WAIT!

Getting my diet back in check! Hoping to stay as lean as possible during this cycle.

At the end of this cycle, I would like to be 235lbs with about %14 - 16 BF. Then I'll have 4 months after that to lean out to 200-205 for the military.

Edit:
Today is Wednesday (9/22)

 

[BigD636]

today was my 6th pin and i've noticed my skin is a little more oily and libido is def increased. i also weighed in at 191 today so i've gained about 10 lbs in 3 weeks. strength and endurance is better than ever and also soreness doesn't stick around as long. good luck on setting that pr!

 

[Larrybird]

today was my 6th pin and i've noticed my skin is a little more oily and libido is def increased. i also weighed in at 191 today so i've gained about 10 lbs in 3 weeks. strength and endurance is better than ever and also soreness doesn't stick around as long. good luck on setting that pr!

Nice! You must be stoked to look forward to that 8th pin. I'm hoping the 6/7/8 pin is gonna be the magicz!

 

[BigD636]

after the 8th i should blow up if i can keep eating enough... i was eating like a horse last week and then this week i've somewhat lost my appetite, mainly in the morning though any ideas???

 

[Larrybird]

You should definitely start blowing up by the 8th!

Honestly brosef, peanut butter should become your best friend. Whatever you eat for breakfast, have at least 1 or 2 servings of PB to go with it.

 

[BigD636]

i'll def start doing that. i usually have a 5 egg omlet and big bowl of cereal, but this week i have had to force myself to eat it all. i think i'll add a meal between breakfast and lunch just to add more calories since my appetite has been horribly low until the evening.

 

[Larrybird]

Try and shoot to eat every 3 hours, no matter how big or small your last meal was.

Edit:

Today was 6th pin! (09/23)

250mg, right quad. A little bit of blood came out this time. I forgot to aspirate, but I didn't feel anything out of sync.

My weight has DROPPED

I now weigh 225, wet, but it's still up! (+10lbs)

I'm probably on track for my gains. Each lift has gone up a few solid pounds.

Starting lifts:
Bench: 225 x 8
Squat: 315 x 8
Deadlift: 350 x 8

Current lifts:
Bench: 245 x 8
Squat: 325 x 8
Deadlift: 360 x 8

Today I'm going in to do some Back
Later in the day I will go out walking for about an hour.

I'll keep all informed on any major changes.

Still haven't seen any (visual) effects in the mirror of the Test. Patience, patience.

Edit:

Today's back workout was a BREEZE.

Deadlifts EZ
Bentover BB row EZ
Lat Pulls EZ
All was easy!

I PRed on Bentover BB rows: Did 240 x 5. Granted probably didn't have the most strict form, but felt fucking EASY!

Anyone have any advice on how I can increase my pull up strength? I have a chain belt at home and a ten pound weight where I do 1,2,3,4,5,5,4,3,2,1 every few days. Just curious if anyone knows how else I could keep increasing the strength on the pull-up!

Thanks all for following the log.

 

[RAW3NVY]

Good log bro. .

 

[TommyTrainR]

my weight dropped a few times on my first test e/dbol cycle. i gained roughly 8-9 lbs. in the first couple weeks then gained about another 5-7 the remaining of the cycle. my weight went up and down. don't let it get to you. if your diet and training is solid, you'll keep all your gains like i did

 

[Larrybird]

my weight dropped a few times on my first test e/dbol cycle. i gained roughly 8-9 lbs. in the first couple weeks then gained about another 5-7 the remaining of the cycle. my weight went up and down. don't let it get to you. if your diet and training is solid, you'll keep all your gains like i did

Thanks for the advice! I really don't mind what happens with my weight. I'd really like it all to go to my chest, ha! What I care most about this cycle is putting on some solid strength. So far, so good! I have a feeling next week I'm gonna beast it up. I'll keep you all informed.

 

[Larrybird]

Progress pics posted on front page! (First post)

I can definitely see that I'm putting some size on. I'm excited to see what the next four weeks bring. Going to work hard on the abdominal area. I really want a solid mid section.

Anyone have any advice for getting rid of those ugly, ugly love handles?

 

[leanbody]

Hey bird - nice log - what's the progress like now? must be near the end, eh?

Update - whoops - just read your other thread - you fukkin blew up! good going, dude!

 

[Larrybird]

Shit!

Totally forgot I had this log.


Just to let you all know, I'm still getting good results. At the start of week 10, I'm going to post another set of progress pics.

Then at week 16 I'll post my final pics.

 

[derek.d]

when did you feel the test kickin in? good luck with the rest of your cycle man!

 

[Larrybird]

when did you feel the test kickin in? good luck with the rest of your cycle man!

Felt the difference in strength @ week 5/6.

From the beginning I was progressively getting strong, but I felt the big jump right around week 5.

 

[Larrybird]

Ok guys, time to post an update. I know it's been a while.

So first, let's stat with my weight.

I stepped on the scale today in the morning and saw that my weight was up to 240!!! That's +25lbs. Granted, I feel like a fucking balloon and 8lbs of that weight is probably water, but still! I seriously do feel like a balloon though

Now, don't get me wrong, probably 7lbss of that is fat, but that I can deal with. I'm hoping that in the next 5 weeks of my remaining cycle that I can put on another 5-8lbs of lean mass, and maybe only 5lbs of fat. I'm shooting for 250, I could care less how I get there!

Ok, so now let's look at my lifts progression.

My strength has gone through the roof on all my exercises.

I haven't maxed out yet, but I, well, I'll just tell you what I did over my last few workouts.

The weight and reps (what I started with):

Bentover Barbell Row: 240 x 8 (started with 200 x 10)
Deadlift: 380 x 8 (350 x 8)
Bench: 255 x 10 (235 x 8) [current max is 320]
Squat: 355 x 8 (315 x 8)
Leg Press: 540 x 15 (450 x 12)
Pull-ups: 5 x 5 x 35lbs (8 x 3 @ BW)
Close Grip Bench: 240 x 10 x 3 (210 x 8 x 3).
Shoulder BB Press: 210 x 8 (185 x 10)
DB Shoulder Press: 85 x 12 (75 x 8).

So, as you can see, I've put on some pretty damn good strength. I've been most impressed by my bench because for almost over a year now I was stuck at 275 x 1, now I'm repping it 6x !!!

However, as you can note, I've put on quite a bit of fat with the muscle. However, I'm OK with that. My goal is to get the most out of this cycle (in terms of weight and strength).

Next pictures to come are going to be week 10, and then week 16.

Starting week 10, I'm going to lift for hypertrophy mainly, and aim for 8-12 reps with 3-5 sets per exercise with a minute to two minutes of rest between sets. Then week 16 I'm going to get a BF analysis test done in a hydrostatic.

Btw, I started out @ 15% bf, I'm probably 18 - 21% now. Still, I'm ok with that, just looking to put on some quality mass. I'll worry about cutting slowly later.

Keep your eyes peeled!

 

[Bullseye Forever]

You should definitely start blowing up by the 8th!

Honestly brosef, peanut butter should become your best friend. Whatever you eat for breakfast, have at least 1 or 2 servings of PB to go with it.

i totally agree...PB is your best friend

 

[derek.d]

i eat 2-3 jars of peanut butter a week! love the stuff.

 

[leanbody]

Bird! that's awesome that your strength is up so much! Way to go! I like your plan to move into hypertrophy for the latter part of the cycle - you should do really well with that. 240 for the bent over BB row is crazy!