Introducing Myself

[DaHurt]

Hey Everybody,

I'm a newb here and wanted to introduce myself with a couple pics. My stats: 24 y/o, 5'10", 180 lbs, 7.5% bf. I am completely natty and don't plan to use gear for at least another year because I have plenty of growth left. But I wanted to jump onto this forum early so I know EXACTLY what I'm doing when I make the leap.

Anyways, I just started an 8 week stack of Activate Xtreme/Triazole (1 week in) and I'll update this post with my progress. I'm also supplementing with the usual suspects: whey hydrolysate, casein, creatine, glutamine, NO booster pre-workout, beta-alanine, ZMA, BCAA's intra-workout, and of course a good multivitamin. My diet is very clean, 7 meals a day: eggs, chicken, steak, fish, turkey, oats, brown rice, brocolli, almonds, natural nut butters, etc...you get the picture.

Any other questions you have definitely hit me up and I'll be happy to share!

D

 

[jimbo79]

holding back a nut butter joke..hut welcome

 

[DaHurt]

HA! Should've seen that coming! Didn't really think that one through...

Appreciate the welcome!

 

[Blondie_Bombshell]

Welcome to Ology

 

[Greazy-Pickle]

couldve lived without seeing the underwear shot but good potential.. welcome..

 

[DaHurt]

Ha well they cover more than posing trunks...just wanted a leg shot. Sorry if it offended.

 

[leanbody]

hey bud;
looks like you've been working hard and it shows. You have nice proportions, slim waist, broad shoulders,etc. so you will look great when you pack on some more muscle.

I agree with you about the gear - IMO good decision. I bet you could gain another 15-20 natty in the next year. Wheels look good too - nice to see that you have not been ignoring the lower body while working on the top.

If I were u I'd post your diet in detail and your workout. I bet you'll get some good criticism that way. keep it up!

 

[DaHurt]

Thanks a lot man - got a long way to go! I hadn't lifted since high school (2005) - been at it now for almost a month...I've been pretty happy with how my body has responded so far. I want to get back to what I weighed at 18: 205-210 at 7-8% bf...can't believe I let college interfere with bodybuilding - kicking myself now as a grad student in worse shape than when I was a f*cking high school kid. But I've always packed on muscle really easily, so we'll see.

As for the AX/Triazole stack, so far so good. Noticing increased mood & libido, definitely increased strength gains in the gym. One thing - my joints are a little achy, probably because of the Triazole (from what I've read) - so I'm starting Animal Flex, and we'll see if that does the trick.
Anyways, here is a sample diet/supplement regimen:

Wake:
1 scoop isopure w/ honey in 6 oz water, green tea extract, L-carnitine

Breakfast:
1 cup egg whites, 3 whole eggs, 1 cup oats
Multi-vitamin (Anavite), Activate Xtreme (2), Triazole (2), CLA, fish oil

Meal 2:
8 oz (weighed cooked) chicken breast
1 cup brown rice

Pre-workout shake (45 min pre):
40g whey hydrolysate, 5g creatine, 2000mg glutamine

Pre-workout stim/NO booster (30 min pre):
Neurocore/Nanostim stack (retarded pump)

Intraworkout:
2-3 scoops Scivation Xtend in 30oz water

Postworkout:
2 scoops Gaspari Myofusion, 5g creatine, 2000mg glutamine

Meal 3:
8 oz chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup brocolli (steamed)
CLA, L-carnitine

Meal 4:
4 oz steak, 4 oz chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice
Multi (Anavite), Activate Xtreme (2), Triazole (1)

Meal 5:
4 oz steak, 4 oz chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice

Late-night shake
24g Opt Nutrition Casein

30 min later: ZMA & melatonin

30 min later: bed

My training split:
Day 1 - Chest, bi's, calves
Day 2 - Back, tri's
Day 3 - Quads, glutes, hams
Day 4 - Shoulders, traps, calves
Day 5 - Rest

I generally do fasted cardio 3 days a week in the AM (while sipping BCAA's), and fit in ab work ca. 2 times a week at different times (not too concerned there right now...just focusing on bulking). I usually train pretty high intensity/high volume (around 20 sets per group, but highly variable).

Sorry for such a long post!

 

[a68rebel]

You're lean enough you could even stop all cardio for now to bulk. Also lower the volume and increase the weight poundages. 20 sets per body part will cut you up but is not optimal for packing on muscle mass. You have a great foundation for sure!

 

[DaHurt]

Thanks Rebel - I've definitely been cutting back on the cardio and probably will just toss it completely until I gain some more lbs. I'm kind of addicted to high volume sh*t unfortunately, but I need to make myself cut back.

I like doing like 4-5 different movements per body part and usually do 3-4 sets per lift (so I guess it can vary from 12-20 sets per workout depending). In terms of rep schemes though I usually alternate between high and low rep weeks (for me that's 8-12 or 4-8), and I do a lot of pyramid sets and try to take different groups to failure each week.

So for example today I have chest & bi's:

Chest (20 sets):

Incline DB press 4x12,10,8,6
Flat BB press 4x10,8,6,4(drop-set for failure)
Incline DB flyes 4x8-12
Wide Grip Hammer Press 4x8-10
Pec Deck Flyes 4x8-12

Any thoughts?

 

[leanbody]

Yo bro;
Nice posts with lots of info - seems like you are going about this in an intelligent way. I like your diet seems really clean. the only changes I would make are to add 2 scoopd of dextrose with your post workout shake. IMO you need a big infusion of carbs immediately after working out to build muscle. Also i'd add 2 scoops of maltodextrin with your casein shake before bed. I also would keep up with the cardio - maybe just drop a day a week or cut back from 30 mins to 20 mins. the cardio will help you achieve a lean bulk so you dont increase your BF while adding more calories. I'd do a calorie count too on Fit day or similar to find outwhat you are injesting. Then make sure you up it by 500-1000 calories and work out like a mofo.

IMO also you are doing too many reps. If you feel good about where your strength is at - I'd do 2 warm up sets and then pyramid up to your max and see if you can get a spotter for the last set. The negatives on that set will be your growth reps. I'd keep the reps in the 8-12 range with the last set being 6-8 reps. Just make sure that last set is balls tothe wall. for chest, id do incline BB press, then DB press 5 degrees above flat (keeps the tension on the upper chest.) Then do incline flyes and and pec deck and/or cable flyes. try to really stretch out your chest on the flyes and remember to get a good hard 2-3 second squeeze at the top. That should really expand your chest and add some thickness. You might want to finish off with lying overhead dumbell pullovers - that really stretches the chest too and will help to add size and thickness.

If you have only been back at it for a month, you should make some great progress in the next 90 days! Just be patient and keep the calories up while you are working out hard.



BTW - i like to save Bi's and tris for a separate day - you'll get a huge pump and really exhaust them.

 

[DaHurt]

Thanks a lot for the input man! I've actually been thinking about adding some simple sugars like dextrose post-workout to further induce cellular uptake - gonna order some today. I appreciate the rep structure advice too - I have been trying to find a workout partner but so far both guys ended up being pussies that don't like to do legs...gonna keep tryin'.

I've been eating anywhere from 3800-4200 cal a day since I got back into it and I've gained a good 10 lb in the last month (and bf dropped from 8.5% down to around 7). I'll consider maybe upping the calories a little more to 4500 and see if I can sustain this growth, which has been f*ckin' awesome.

PS- Got some new motivation, went to a show and met Phil Heath and got a pic...yeah I look like a piece of shit next to him haha.

Don't know if I mentioned this initially but my goal is to be able to compete in a year.

 

[DaHurt]

Just a quick update: Started taking Animal Flex a couple of days ago and the joint popping/pain has all but completely subsided already. I'll post some update pics tonight. Definitely noticing tons of energy in the gym and feeling kind of tighter - like a hardened feeling in my muscles - hard to explain.

Can't believe how quickly Animal Flex relieved my joint issues though!

 

[MeatHead96]

Welcome here and good luck with your endeavors.

 

[DaHurt]

Welcome here and good luck with your endeavors.

Thanks a lot bro. BTW nice avi!

 

[DaHurt]

Leanbody - I can't read the public message you left me 'cause I don't have 50 posts yet.

 

[leanbody]

Damn u should be a paid spokesman for Flex! that's amazing - ill have to give it a try - i generally like their products.

 

[DaHurt]

Damn u should be a paid spokesman for Flex! that's amazing - ill have to give it a try - i generally like their products.

Yeah I'm definitely impressed - and relieved. The joint pain was getting a little crazy. As with any of the Animal Pack's though, there are a bunch of pills - I think 8 for Flex, but it is just one pack a day.

BTW I tried to respond to your message, not sure if it went through though...

Sorry for no update pics yet guys - going to try and get to it tonight.

 

[DaHurt]

Update

Alright update pics finally - sorry it took so long!

So I've gained about 8 lbs since the last pics and my bf has stayed about the same. I've been sticking to my diet religiously. Continuing to have really great focus and energy in the gym and getting awesome pumps. A few guys have asked me 'what I'm on' - I say good nutrition and sleep!

And yeah that's me I promise - cut all my hair off!

 

[bigherm2121]

Welcome bro. Stay around and you'll learn