Test and prop cut/strength log
- Thread starter MN87
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I think if you start at 250 under, you'll start by mildly shedding fat and mildly building muscle... unless you use something like tren, in which case you could do both and very well too, I might add. But I think that if you know that you wanna do a lean bulk, youd be better off starting at a 250 surplus instead of trying to serve two masters at once. The gear use will probably necessitate that you adjust that balance sooner rather than later, but its better than going too high all at once.
As far as decreasing bloat: sodium will increase bloat, so minimize its intake... carbs will too, but they're necessary for anabolism, so be smart about when you consume them. Keep your test low and keep an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) handy. You know, common sense stuff.
As far as decreasing bloat: sodium will increase bloat, so minimize its intake... carbs will too, but they're necessary for anabolism, so be smart about when you consume them. Keep your test low and keep an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) handy. You know, common sense stuff.
Ok so today:
OHP 235x5
DB inc 135x8 (PR on the increased incline)
CG inclines have plateaued, so I will change grips beginning next workout to work around this.
Flat... well, everything was going fine till I got to this exercise... well not really. My foot had been spasming all workout long for God knows what reason, which was weird and atypical. I got to my work set on bench, 355, and began it. On the first rep I felt an immediate... 'tightness'... in that meaty flat part that ties your chest to your shoulder. It felt like a rubber band being stretched. I wasn't really a lot 'pain' but it wasn't pleasant feeling either... I guess 'extremely uncomfortable' is the best way to put it, i.e. blurring the boundary between discomfort and pain. Weird, I thought, but maybe it will go away as the set progresses. I did 4 or 5 reps and the sensation was still there, so I racked the bar and went home immediately after.
I'm home now and I'm ok. No tremendous pain to speak of, maybe some discomfort, although the tie in area is slightly sore and mildly tight when I do a BP motion, but not really.
Guys, lemme hear your input on this.
OHP 235x5
DB inc 135x8 (PR on the increased incline)
CG inclines have plateaued, so I will change grips beginning next workout to work around this.
Flat... well, everything was going fine till I got to this exercise... well not really. My foot had been spasming all workout long for God knows what reason, which was weird and atypical. I got to my work set on bench, 355, and began it. On the first rep I felt an immediate... 'tightness'... in that meaty flat part that ties your chest to your shoulder. It felt like a rubber band being stretched. I wasn't really a lot 'pain' but it wasn't pleasant feeling either... I guess 'extremely uncomfortable' is the best way to put it, i.e. blurring the boundary between discomfort and pain. Weird, I thought, but maybe it will go away as the set progresses. I did 4 or 5 reps and the sensation was still there, so I racked the bar and went home immediately after.
I'm home now and I'm ok. No tremendous pain to speak of, maybe some discomfort, although the tie in area is slightly sore and mildly tight when I do a BP motion, but not really.
Guys, lemme hear your input on this.
Looks like I have slight inflammation in the area too. Like a tiny bump/tiny ball in the tie in area. Which moves across my chest when I make a pressing motion. Hm. Trying to stretch my arm around as we speak in order to assuage the tightness... icing it too
EDIT: looks like its the pectoralis minor
EDIT: looks like its the pectoralis minor
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Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
Damn bro, i'm sorry to hear it. If there is a bump, i would instinctively believe that spreading heat on it would be the way to go to help it disperse. Obviously for most injuries icing is the way to go, but you would know best based on how it feels and the pain level. Perhaps you should take an anti-inflammatory the next few days to help keep the swelling down. Did you do a warmup set or any related warmup exercises?
I hope it's not severe and you can resume your chest workouts in the next week but it may have been simply too much strain and growth too quickly, that's always a concern with enhancers and working as hard as you do.
As far as the spasms I would guess that you have a deficiency somewhere and your body is making it known. I assume you are getting an adequate water intake so I would suggest an increase in potassium, magnesium or taurine. An electrolyte mix may very well do the trick. Fuck bro, keep us updated and keep treating it.
I hope it's not severe and you can resume your chest workouts in the next week but it may have been simply too much strain and growth too quickly, that's always a concern with enhancers and working as hard as you do.
As far as the spasms I would guess that you have a deficiency somewhere and your body is making it known. I assume you are getting an adequate water intake so I would suggest an increase in potassium, magnesium or taurine. An electrolyte mix may very well do the trick. Fuck bro, keep us updated and keep treating it.
Yeah man I always go in with my warmups... only thing I did differently this time I think was that I didnt rest as long in between sets as I usually do cause I wanted to get my shit in before my spotter left (he was in a rush)... but I really dont know if that wouldve been the cause...
I don't know if you remember me mentioning this a while ago, but I posted something about having weird back tightness a while back... like if I'd stretch how my back muscles would just tighten up and lock up. Happened today alot too.. I can't help but think that the foot spasming, the back locking up, and the pec injury (ive also been getting a lot of charlie horses) is all related somehow. Maybe the var?
Man I hope this shit clears up fast though
I don't know if you remember me mentioning this a while ago, but I posted something about having weird back tightness a while back... like if I'd stretch how my back muscles would just tighten up and lock up. Happened today alot too.. I can't help but think that the foot spasming, the back locking up, and the pec injury (ive also been getting a lot of charlie horses) is all related somehow. Maybe the var?
Man I hope this shit clears up fast though
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Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
Yeah, Anavar (var) would be the primary culprit for muscle tightness. Take a couple of days and see if it clears up. If it doesn't are you considering shutting down the cycle?
Dunno dude, the thought had crossed my mind but there are many factors I'll need to consider... I guess all I can do now is wait it out. Give it a few days and see how it goes... hopefully its just temporary strain/a pull/a very minor temporary tear, but I'm probably gonna see an ortho Monday and go from there depending on what he says.
If its not a tear, time off is all I'll need.
If its a tear... not sure if it'd need surgery or not... but I'll def need to start looking into IGF for expediting the healing process.
Squatted 545 for a real good 3 today, and did calves and alotta cardio. Didnt wanna do upper body work.
If its not a tear, time off is all I'll need.
If its a tear... not sure if it'd need surgery or not... but I'll def need to start looking into IGF for expediting the healing process.
Squatted 545 for a real good 3 today, and did calves and alotta cardio. Didnt wanna do upper body work.
Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
Did you take any anti-inflammatories? I hope it's a mild strain and you can resume your usual routine so you can finish this out right.
I took aspirin and will probably take a few more. Any other suggestions?
I'd really like to get my moneys worth out of this cycle so Im leaning towards just modifying my routine with various work-arounds and filling up the void of press work with other stuff... maybe more abs, back, legs, tris, I dunno stuff like that. It's all dependent on what the diagnosis is Monday
I wonder if I can still do heavy overheads.
I'd really like to get my moneys worth out of this cycle so Im leaning towards just modifying my routine with various work-arounds and filling up the void of press work with other stuff... maybe more abs, back, legs, tris, I dunno stuff like that. It's all dependent on what the diagnosis is Monday
I wonder if I can still do heavy overheads.
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Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
I'm not too familiar with the best protocols for healing injuries but I would imagine nsaids are your best bet. I've heard of cox-2 inhibitors perhaps being more effective but I haven't read the literature on it. I'll refernce my anabolics book and see what they have on it. But for now, keep icing it, take your aspirin and work around it with lighter loads.
Because you were smart enough to go home and treat it, I imagine and am hopeful it's not too extensive. Maybe a couple of weeks off from heavy pressing movements will do the trick. The high dose of test should also aid in recovery as well.
Because you were smart enough to go home and treat it, I imagine and am hopeful it's not too extensive. Maybe a couple of weeks off from heavy pressing movements will do the trick. The high dose of test should also aid in recovery as well.
Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
My book didn't have much on it. From what I gathered, igf-1 as you previously mentioned seems to be the best for strengthening tendons and ligaments. I also wonder if the decrease in myostatin makes us more prone to injuries. If i'm not mistaken, anabolics do decrease it but not to dangerous levels. I know myostatin is involved with regulating the elasticity and functionality of ligaments and tendons.
Just wanted to post some updated thoughts on the injury.
I had an ultrasound yesterday which was somewhat indeterminate, which either means A) the injury isn't that bad or B) it was just an ineffective test. I've been doing some research, and I believe my injury is either a grade I or grade II strain (or blurring the line between the two)... either of which require no surgery and take anywhere from 1 week to a handful of weeks to heal (its self-treatable, too). I'm leaning towards grade I, since my ROM is not limited and neither is my strength... its just very uncomfortable is all. Also I have no bruising and felt no "pop" sensation that is indicative of a more fuller tear. I've torn my hammy deadlifting before, so I def know what that pop feels like. Ironically I still feel a somewhat unnatural stretch in my hammy to this day, so hopefully this pec strain isnt something I'll be dealing with for a while even after it goes away.
The lump that I spoke of earlier I believe may just be an inflammation of a feature of my chest which I have on my other side too... in other words, just an exaggerated version of something I already had. I'm very bloated today (ate shitty yesterday) so the inflammation is worse than yesterday, but the bump IMO is not as protrusive. The cut I had across my chest (see earlier pictures I posted) is significantly decreased on the right side (the injured side), but it was always less to be fair, and I'm sure the inflammation just adds to that, so it may not be as deformed as I thought.
Probably in my best interest to take some time off regardless, but that may not be the worst thing in the world. I'll try some overheads just to see if I can handle em, but thats it. Otherwise I want to use this time to prioritize other lifts. Most importantly, I always talked earlier in my log about how I wanted to experiment with training EOD as opposed to E3D... so I might use this as an opportunity to train my squats EOD at least till the injury heals
Other than that, I'll do alotta abs, calves, and see how much back and trap work I can get by with. I may also use this as an opportunity to increase cardio/cut more aggressively... we shall see.
Hopefully I still get a week or two left of bench this cycle though, since I had planned on taking an extensive break from benching after the cycle ANYWAY... lol talk about a minute to soon huh
Either way, I want to spend my day tomorrow researching peptide rehabilitation protocol to prepare for upcoming scenarios. Depending on what the doc says Monday, there are any numbers of things I have in mind, but if its something like a grade I, I will probably just temporarily increase dose frequency of my peps up to 6x/day... I think this will elevate IGF high enough to give me a tad boost in recovery. Might experiment with spot injections. If the condition is worse I'll have to look into other stuff like exogenous IGF and shit...
The injury is also making me re-evaluate my form. I bench like a bodybuilder (flat back, elbows flared, etc) and this puts my pecs/delts under more duress than a powerlifting type bench. I'm toying with the idea of switching to a PLing style bench for safety sake, but I'm not sure it will be as sports specific. Hm...
Anyway, I have a tendency to ramble alot on this log. It's cathartic for me, and I get relief out of writing shit in here... I guess like a diary would be. So I just wanted to post these thoughts
I had an ultrasound yesterday which was somewhat indeterminate, which either means A) the injury isn't that bad or B) it was just an ineffective test. I've been doing some research, and I believe my injury is either a grade I or grade II strain (or blurring the line between the two)... either of which require no surgery and take anywhere from 1 week to a handful of weeks to heal (its self-treatable, too). I'm leaning towards grade I, since my ROM is not limited and neither is my strength... its just very uncomfortable is all. Also I have no bruising and felt no "pop" sensation that is indicative of a more fuller tear. I've torn my hammy deadlifting before, so I def know what that pop feels like. Ironically I still feel a somewhat unnatural stretch in my hammy to this day, so hopefully this pec strain isnt something I'll be dealing with for a while even after it goes away.
The lump that I spoke of earlier I believe may just be an inflammation of a feature of my chest which I have on my other side too... in other words, just an exaggerated version of something I already had. I'm very bloated today (ate shitty yesterday) so the inflammation is worse than yesterday, but the bump IMO is not as protrusive. The cut I had across my chest (see earlier pictures I posted) is significantly decreased on the right side (the injured side), but it was always less to be fair, and I'm sure the inflammation just adds to that, so it may not be as deformed as I thought.
Probably in my best interest to take some time off regardless, but that may not be the worst thing in the world. I'll try some overheads just to see if I can handle em, but thats it. Otherwise I want to use this time to prioritize other lifts. Most importantly, I always talked earlier in my log about how I wanted to experiment with training EOD as opposed to E3D... so I might use this as an opportunity to train my squats EOD at least till the injury heals
Other than that, I'll do alotta abs, calves, and see how much back and trap work I can get by with. I may also use this as an opportunity to increase cardio/cut more aggressively... we shall see.Hopefully I still get a week or two left of bench this cycle though, since I had planned on taking an extensive break from benching after the cycle ANYWAY... lol talk about a minute to soon huh
Either way, I want to spend my day tomorrow researching peptide rehabilitation protocol to prepare for upcoming scenarios. Depending on what the doc says Monday, there are any numbers of things I have in mind, but if its something like a grade I, I will probably just temporarily increase dose frequency of my peps up to 6x/day... I think this will elevate IGF high enough to give me a tad boost in recovery. Might experiment with spot injections. If the condition is worse I'll have to look into other stuff like exogenous IGF and shit...
The injury is also making me re-evaluate my form. I bench like a bodybuilder (flat back, elbows flared, etc) and this puts my pecs/delts under more duress than a powerlifting type bench. I'm toying with the idea of switching to a PLing style bench for safety sake, but I'm not sure it will be as sports specific. Hm...
Anyway, I have a tendency to ramble alot on this log. It's cathartic for me, and I get relief out of writing shit in here... I guess like a diary would be. So I just wanted to post these thoughts
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Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
Yeah bud, build those legs while you heal up your chest. I've implemented an EOD protocol and have seen some good results from it without overstraining. I usually get more soreness then the average guy but I have been healed enough to perform at my peak level with this regimen. I also believe from past training techniques that I gain the most strength utilizing the EOD method.
I'm glad the ultrasound was inconclusive, I imagine for that test to conclude anything that it would have to be pretty severe. Keep us updated on your status and heal up brother. You were getting too strong anyway, a small break wouldn't hurt.
Powerlifting style? Is that when they perform that crazy back arch so it's almost like a decline press? If you try it then i'll try it but i'll have to study the technique first.
I'm glad the ultrasound was inconclusive, I imagine for that test to conclude anything that it would have to be pretty severe. Keep us updated on your status and heal up brother. You were getting too strong anyway, a small break wouldn't hurt.
Powerlifting style? Is that when they perform that crazy back arch so it's almost like a decline press? If you try it then i'll try it but i'll have to study the technique first.
Yeah haha, I don't know if I'd take it to that extreme though... moreso the whole 'tuck your elbows and flare your lats' in order to activate more tris and back in the lift. I'll look into it, or may just experiment with new bars and stuff.
Whats your EOD routine look like? I hadn't seen you mention it till now.
I may be making a mountain out of a molehill, I feel that it looks and feels a lot better today but can't help but prepare for the worst ya know. Btw what ever became of your back condition? Still not back to squatting?
Whats your EOD routine look like? I hadn't seen you mention it till now.
I may be making a mountain out of a molehill, I feel that it looks and feels a lot better today but can't help but prepare for the worst ya know. Btw what ever became of your back condition? Still not back to squatting?
Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
I have been on the EOD training for about 3 weeks. I used to lift 4 times per week and at some point on cycle I decided that it wasn't good enough. I hate off-days right now so I am in 6 days per currently. I'll work chest and tri's on monday, wednesday and saturday and legs on tuesday, thursday, and sunday. I hit up back and bi's twice per week and abs at least 5 days per. I mix up the exercises and grip techniques each workout so that I get the full variation and compliment of different angles etc..
So far so good, my body has handled it well. The strength gain has been much more notable in my legs, back and upper pectoral to this point.
I'm glad it's feeling good, but just make sure you do your stretches and warmup exercises and take it lightly to begin with. It should feel good with zero resistance, it's when you throw 375 pounds on it that it reacts. Maybe force yourself to not go higher the 225-275 next workout if you feel up to it and perhaps even limit your range of motion on the reps so as to not aggravate it.
My back feels great, I did good mornings a few days ago to test it out and it went very well, just the usual soreness accompanied with that exercise. But I still just can't carry a full load on me, for some reason that is when it reacts. But i'm encouraged and will move up 100 pounds every week on the squat until I get back to the proper weight ranges.
So far so good, my body has handled it well. The strength gain has been much more notable in my legs, back and upper pectoral to this point.
I'm glad it's feeling good, but just make sure you do your stretches and warmup exercises and take it lightly to begin with. It should feel good with zero resistance, it's when you throw 375 pounds on it that it reacts. Maybe force yourself to not go higher the 225-275 next workout if you feel up to it and perhaps even limit your range of motion on the reps so as to not aggravate it.
My back feels great, I did good mornings a few days ago to test it out and it went very well, just the usual soreness accompanied with that exercise. But I still just can't carry a full load on me, for some reason that is when it reacts. But i'm encouraged and will move up 100 pounds every week on the squat until I get back to the proper weight ranges.
Yeah man... I'ma probably see if I can get by with doing overheads tomorrow, but thats about the most I'll go. Maybe Ill try pressing the bar a few times to see how the stretchiness feels. Def gonna keep the warmups up and not rush myself like I did last time... I think that if I were to have taken more time in between sets that I'd have been fresher and wouldnt have fucked my shit up as I did for the set.
How do you do abs 5x/wk? Do you vary up the intensity and do a mix of weight and unweighted? I just do them at the end of every leg workout.
How do you do abs 5x/wk? Do you vary up the intensity and do a mix of weight and unweighted? I just do them at the end of every leg workout.
Bulldog2103
Junior Bodybuilder
I will give the standing overheads a try tomorrow. I suppose I will start with 185 and adjust from there. I have never done it before so it should be fun. I feel I have plateaued on the seated dumbbell press at 110 so maybe this can engage the muscles differently and help build up the areas where I am weaker.
All of my ab work is weighted, some days with 3 45's, more recently just with one. It just depends if I am working high reps or low. But I prefer the one 45 behind the head, that is the best workout I have gotten from situps. I will try your butterfly kicks supersetting with the situps today.
Be careful today bud, I hope all is ready to rock but just remember you have an appt later today so don't fuck it up more.
All of my ab work is weighted, some days with 3 45's, more recently just with one. It just depends if I am working high reps or low. But I prefer the one 45 behind the head, that is the best workout I have gotten from situps. I will try your butterfly kicks supersetting with the situps today.
Be careful today bud, I hope all is ready to rock but just remember you have an appt later today so don't fuck it up more.
The apt actually got pushed back to tomorrow, so we will see how that goes. In the meantime, today's workout:
Squats 545 x 3.5
OHP 235 x 5
Light inclines, working up to a plate
Light bench, working up to 185
Some weightless abs
Lotta triceps pushdowns
Cardio
Managed to do heavy overheads and even PRed! Felt no discomfort on inclines, which is good cause I felt some discomfort Saturday when trying em. Felt slight discomfort on 185 on flat, but again, altogether less than I felt when trying em Sat. Could do pushups with no discomfort today, whereas they caused discomfort on Sat. So I'm making progress. Other than pressing, I see that certain angles cause me to notice it... like shrugs where my shit is getting pulled down, or even leg raises when I support myself on my elbows.
My next press workout is Thursday and I def plan to see what I can get away with. I'll do extra warmups though, extra rest btwn sets, possibly less volume, and will probably do alotta stretching and bar work between now and then. If bench causes discomfort Ill see if I can work around it using a different bar/grip, but I am optimistic.
In the time being, it's interesting to see how this EOD squat training will go. It's something I've wanted to do all cycle long, and at the very least it will provide me valuable input to see if its something I can possibly incorporate on my next run. Today was my first day trying it, and I'm used to seeing a greater rate of progress on squats then what I got out of it today... so we'll see if this indicative of insufficient recovery, or just a less-than-stellar day.
Regardless, as I mentioned earlier, I'm gonna increase dose frequency of my peps to 5x/day for the time being. Should elevate IGF levels enough to help expedite, but I don't wanna do this for too long. Maybe 10 days max. I tried spot injections into my pec andddd that didnt work very well lol... nasty purple bumpy bruise there, so never again. Gonna start pinning my quads subq because my tummy has been getting bruises from the frequency of injections.
Squats 545 x 3.5
OHP 235 x 5
Light inclines, working up to a plate
Light bench, working up to 185
Some weightless abs
Lotta triceps pushdowns
Cardio
Managed to do heavy overheads and even PRed! Felt no discomfort on inclines, which is good cause I felt some discomfort Saturday when trying em. Felt slight discomfort on 185 on flat, but again, altogether less than I felt when trying em Sat. Could do pushups with no discomfort today, whereas they caused discomfort on Sat. So I'm making progress. Other than pressing, I see that certain angles cause me to notice it... like shrugs where my shit is getting pulled down, or even leg raises when I support myself on my elbows.
My next press workout is Thursday and I def plan to see what I can get away with. I'll do extra warmups though, extra rest btwn sets, possibly less volume, and will probably do alotta stretching and bar work between now and then. If bench causes discomfort Ill see if I can work around it using a different bar/grip, but I am optimistic.
In the time being, it's interesting to see how this EOD squat training will go. It's something I've wanted to do all cycle long, and at the very least it will provide me valuable input to see if its something I can possibly incorporate on my next run. Today was my first day trying it, and I'm used to seeing a greater rate of progress on squats then what I got out of it today... so we'll see if this indicative of insufficient recovery, or just a less-than-stellar day.
Regardless, as I mentioned earlier, I'm gonna increase dose frequency of my peps to 5x/day for the time being. Should elevate IGF levels enough to help expedite, but I don't wanna do this for too long. Maybe 10 days max. I tried spot injections into my pec andddd that didnt work very well lol... nasty purple bumpy bruise there, so never again. Gonna start pinning my quads subq because my tummy has been getting bruises from the frequency of injections.
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