Ultimate MMA Stack: Osta/s4 log

rospina

New member
After taking a couple of s4 cycles, I have decided to stack osta and s4 for the next 4 weeks. My goal is to gain strength, and improve my anaerobic threshold and cardiovascular endurance. I will be dosing 25 mg of each, twice a day before each workout (I've had success with the low doses and experienced no vision side effects in the past). Other supplements will include LCLT, BCAA's, protein, billberry, and plenty of coffee!
Being a competitive MMA fighter, weight gain is not my goal. I currently walk around between 155-160 lbs and I compete at 145.
I took my last cycle of s4 in the 4 weeks leading up to my last fight, which was around a month ago. My strength and conditioning routine was more focused around power (~3 reps @80% 1RM) and circuits. No heavy weight lifting (to prevent overtraining of the CNS).
I won't be fighting for at least another month or two, so this is basically my offseason. My strength and conditioning will be focused on heavy lifting (~3-5 reps @80-90% 1RM), and less circuits.
I will begin my first dose tomorrow and I'll map out what my typical week looks like in regards to strength & conditioning and MMA training. Please hit me up with any questions or advice.
 
Sorry to ask this, but where are some good reads on SARMS? Ive just recently seen them mentioned....

I just typed sarms into the "search" bar and it should and looked through people's logs that came up (this is when I was trying to figure out how to dose, where to get it from, etc)
 
It's been a little over a week since I began the cycle, and I'm already seeing some great results. The intensity during training is always evident when I take s4, so that was there right off the bat. My endurance feels better during team training, I can def push the pace more when sparring/grappling. I haven't gotten much bigger (that's not a goal, but I figured it would happen a bit since osta is supposed to be more anabolic) but we'll see if there is any weight gain 3 weeks from now. It's almost time for me to head out and get my first workout in for the day - upper body strength/power. We'll see what my strength coach has in store for me today, look out for an update later on how the lift goes.
At least it's not a circuit day!
 
Just finished my leg workout and was overwhelmingly surprised. I've never been extremely strong in the weight room since I didn't start lifting until about 4 years ago (around the same time I started training). The strongest 1RM my deadlift has ever been was 320. Therefore, 270 would be about 85% 1RM, which was the heaviest we went today, and the last set was performed for max reps. Normally I get 270 x 4 reps at best...7 good reps today (I was told to drop it when I started lifting the 8th).
Yesterday's circuit was a confidence booster as well, even though it was tapered and purely for cardio. Tabata sprints - 20 sec sprint/10 sec rest x 10 reps @ 9-11 mph (progressively) on 2.5% incline. We did 3 sets, and in between each set we did a series of ladder drills to work on speed while fatigued.
My max heart rate was 174, and would be in the 120's after 1 min rest in between sets. The heart rate response is normal for me for this kind of circuit, but I felt great the whole time. I was always explosive for every ladder drill and I could control my respiration the whole time - never had to gasp for air or stress while breathing. Overall, I'm impressed for being a little less than 2 weeks in.
 
Strength and endurance are the through the roof right now. We did 10 x 3min Kickboxing w/ clinch and takedowns (get back up if taken down, so not fully mma) yesterday, with a 45 sec 'active' rest (jogging around the mat). I was able to not only push the pace, but stay just as strong in the clinch for every single round. I've always been able to box and stay light on my feet no matter how winded I am, or how tired my shoulders get. My wrestling/clinch endurance, however, is not usually as good. Being able to maintain the same strength output for every round was def a first for me since I've started training. Like I said before I'm LOVING this stack.
Today's circuit was pretty basic. 10 stations, 30 sec each, back to back with 1 min break after 5 min. My max HR was 182, and would be in the mid-to-high 120's after the minute break. Not bad to say so the least. The circuit consisted of
1. Sprint at 10.5 mph on 2.5% incline
2. Recline rows with my feet elevated. Isometric hold the last 10 seconds
3. 20 lb. medicine ball slams
4. Landmine punches -15 sec per arm
5. Battle ropes (any variation)
6. Double leg shots with a resistance band harness
7. Wall walks (these really f****** suck!)
8. Sprint at 8mph on 8% incline
9. Sprawls
10. Bear crawls up and down the mat
This was done 3 times, since our fights are 3 rounds. It's excruciating while I'm going through it, but it's amazing how quick I recover. Like I said, only 1 min and my HR was back in the 120's/130's.
Almost time to dose up again, and go back for some no gi jits/grappling.
 
So I finished the last dose of my cycle on Monday as well as the last week of my Wendler 5/3/1 week. First off, I have not experienced any type of shutdown feeling, nor do I feel any weaker so far (and I'm not taking a PCT). All of my numbers improved in the strength room, and my conditioning feels great.
This last week was my 5/3/1 week, where my last set of my strength lift (deadlift, weighted pullup, and dumbell bench being the main heavy lifts). The last set is performed to failure, and I used my previous 1 RM (even though the program says to use 95% 1RM; I wanted to see if there were improvements in my raw strength). My previous 1 RM for dumbell bench press was 95 lbs (each hand), which I moved for 4 reps, then reached failure and couldn't finish the 5th rep (3 rep increase). My weighted pull up 1 RM was 75 lbs, and I moved it for 2 reps (so 1 rep, some is better than none LOL!). And my best improvement was in my deadlift; my 1 RM was 315 lbs and I moved it for 5 reps. Needless to say I was very pleased with the results from the stack.
I have used s4 alone during the offseason, and did not see these types of gains, so I would attribute that to the stack and maybe other factors (My diet has changed, different training schedule, etc). Another important factor is that my weight did not change drastically. I'm waking up maybe 2 or 3 lbs more than I normally do, which is great, I want my weight to stay the same. In fact, I just found out that, in 8 weeks (Sept 9), I will be fighting in the lowest weight division that I've ever competed in. I have to lose about 10 lbs. walking weight, and 10 lbs. water weight. Should be very interesting.
I will begin another s4 cycle when I am 4 weeks out of my fight. That worked great for me last time, and now I can exactly 8 weeks to get ready. That works perfectly for my cycling. Maybe I will blog about this fight camp like I did the last one.
 
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