Post: #26

^ I forgot about leg day. I'll squeeze it in with shoulder/abs on Fridays.

Post: #27

Two things from today's sesh:

1. Welcome back Buakaw!

2. New deadlift PR - 5 x 260 lbs

Post: #28

(08-23-2017 01:35 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  1. Welcome back Buakaw!

It's good to be back!

Sadly my waist line got a bit bigger after the good times in Ukraine. I did hit the gym with my buddies Vinny, Atlantic and Sosa but my diet was shit.

The rest of the year I'll be focusing on getting back in shape plus growing my online business. My plan is to join Cleanslate with boxing plus weight lifting.

Haven't deadlifted for a month but was able to do a 3 x 260 lbs.

Post: #29

Finished the first week with my new schedule, alternating gym days with boxing days M-F.

Man, that kicked my ass. My cardio and core needs some real work.

At least I did 232 lbs squats, best ever (the plates were in kg). Still need to work on going deeper though.

Post: #30

Friday: classic arms day! That extra pump before hitting the nightlife

Post: #31

Strong start to another week.

Benched 204 lbs x 3 on the last set after doing 200 x 5.

Feel I have a real strong shot at benching 225 by the end of the year.

Post: #32

Deadlifts 265 lbs x 5 for 2 sets after three warm up sets. Well on my way to 300 lb deadlifts.

Post: #33

(08-30-2017 12:08 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Deadlifts 265 lbs x 5 for 2 sets after three warm up sets. Well on my way to 300 lb deadlifts.

If you're doing 265 for 5 and multiple sets, you should have little to no issue pulling 3 plates. Forget being on your way, I'm confident that you're already there.

Post: #34

(08-30-2017 12:08 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Deadlifts 265 lbs x 5 for 2 sets after three warm up sets. Well on my way to 300 lb deadlifts.

When we started I was stronger than Cleanslate.

Now he passed me.

I could only do 265 x 3 yesterday.

Edit: today is boxing day. Conditioning is lagging so stepped up my cardio. Also started doing endurance exercises for my traps.

Post: #35

(08-30-2017 06:47 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  If you're doing 265 for 5 and multiple sets, you should have little to no issue pulling 3 plates. Forget being on your way, I'm confident that you're already there.

Ha, thanks GS.

That may be the case, but I wouldn't want to take chances on my back. I'll continue adding a conservative 5-10 pounds every week or two until I progress comfortably to 300+.

Also, these "breaks" I take every 4 weeks where I refresh on form, boost the reps, and back off the heavy stuff really help. I mean, they really help to consolidate my gains. Without these "easy" weeks, I would have plateaued a while back.

(08-30-2017 08:00 PM)Buakaw Wrote:  When we started I was stronger than Cleanslate.

Now he passed me.

I could only do 265 x 3 yesterday.

Edit: today is boxing day. Conditioning is lagging so stepped up my cardio. Also started doing endurance exercises for my traps.

Quit slacking, playa!

Post: #36

Second week of combined lifting and boxing complete.

After the first week, I felt like I was hit by a truck. This time, I feel slightly better -- less knackered, but still worked my ass off.

Today was leg and shoulder day.

Legs:

I kept my squats at the same weight as last week, but tried going an inch or two deeper. That bottom inch was a total bitch. Since I'm doing squats only two days after my deadlifts, I'm going to stay at that weight (232 lbs) for at least a couple more weeks and focus on best form. After another week of rest, I'll try increasing to 240 or so.

I also did hack press, calf raises, leg extensions and curls.

Shoulders:

For the first time in several weeks, I did the military overhead press. I was able to push 100 lbs for a few sets rather easily. Previously, I struggled to push more than 90 lbs.

I used to have shoulder problems that limited my lifting numbers, but I've been doing shoulder physical therapy for about 2 months now.

Check out this link:

http://www.onyourmark.nyc/single-post/20...Prevention

Particularly the first 4: *** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

- Shoulder external rotations (parts 1 and 2)
- Shoulder internal rotations (parts 1 and 2)

I do these 3 times a week, using very, very light weights. No more than 5-10 lbs. Even 10 lbs is pretty damn tough for these exercises.

I believe that, for any lifting you do involving your upper body, your shoulders are the weakest link. Even if you have a strong back, strong chest, and strong arms, you won't be able to push heavy weights if you have weak shoulders.

Doing shoulder PT as shown above has REALLY boosted my strength and helped me put more power into each rep. Plus, my shoulder pain has decreased dramatically over the last few months. This was after I had been struggling for YEARS with shoulder issues.

Post: #37

Alright you sold me on the shoulder PT. I will start doing them next week.

Post: #38

This week is my "easy" week. Same number of sets on everything, but half the usual weight and double the reps.

I was feeling under the weather on Monday and Tuesday, so I skipped those days altogether and made up for it this morning. Good thing it was my easy week, so it didn't mess up my schedule.

Post: #39

Another week, and not a very good one. Couldn't hit all my top weights, only bested my deadlifts at 270 lbs. Only did one set of squats at 220 lbs and had to stop because my lower back complained.

And I've been tired as shit. Happy it's the weekend and I get much needed rest. Plus maybe I need to eat more.

Post: #40

(09-01-2017 04:07 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  I used to have shoulder problems that limited my lifting numbers, but I've been doing shoulder physical therapy for about 2 months now.

Check out this link:

http://www.onyourmark.nyc/single-post/20...Prevention

...

I believe that, for any lifting you do involving your upper body, your shoulders are the weakest link. Even if you have a strong back, strong chest, and strong arms, you won't be able to push heavy weights if you have weak shoulders.

Doing shoulder PT as shown above has REALLY boosted my strength and helped me put more power into each rep. Plus, my shoulder pain has decreased dramatically over the last few months. This was after I had been struggling for YEARS with shoulder issues.

Man, I want to boost my OHP as well. My shoulders have always been my weakest link in my upper body as well.

Thank you CS-I'll look into the link you provided and I'll be writing about how I do with these exercises

Post: #41

Been a bit burned out, so I took last week off from lifting and did light cardio. Towards the end of the weekend, I was getting irritable and cranky because I hadn't lifted. I was itching to get back in the gym.

Eased myself back into it, and almost picked up where I left off. Did 200 lb x 3 on the bench at the END of my chest/tri session. I could feel my strength coming back and my irritability just melted away.

Feeling fresh!

Post: #42

Cleanslate, thanks for that excellent summary of your training and nutrition schedule. Valuable forum comments, as well.

I am finally willing to try out intermittent fasting now to get more energy and focus, and optimize my hormones. It annoys me that I keep waking up tired despite 8+ hours of sleep.

Current routine:

Nutrition: I made good gym progress in recent weeks using a food log app and increasing my caloric intake to >4000 kcal/day. Macros are roughly 1 g fat, 4 g carbs, 3 g protein per kg body weight. Every 3 – 3,5 hours I eat evenly composed meals.

Stats: weight 90 kg, height 1,90 cm.

Gym: I train 4-5 times per week with the goal of building mass.

Supps: Mg 400 mg, Zn 30 g, fish oil 4 g, creatine 3g, vitamin D 5000 I.U. daily. After each training: 30 g Whey + 10 g BCAA.

Other: I optimized my bedroom. No electronic devices, pitch black environment. I wake up naturally without an alarm clock or – if necessary – use one that wakes me up with light to avoid being kicked out of a REM phase. I meditate daily in the mornings for 20+ min, which is highly valuable to reduce stress and increase focus.

Some questions on IF:

I don’t want to lose any of my hard-earned muscle gains.

- Should I have my last meal at 8 pm, skip breakfast, start eating lunch at noon again and just eat my 4000 kcal in the 8h window?
- Should I take BCAAs to protect my muscle? If so, when, how often, how much?
- Do I need to change my macro ratios (more fat, less carbs) or is this not that important?
- How many days in a row do I need to do the IF? Is it most effective only when done permanently, or is IF once in a while also effective?
- Is it important to adjust the timing of my training sessions? I prefer to train in the afternoon or evening, but I am flexible enough to train in the mornings, if necessary.
- Anything else you would recommend?

Advice much appreciated. If found this link informative to get an introduction:
https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/a-begin...t-fasting/
They basically recommend to not overthink it and just give it a go.

Post: #43

(09-29-2017 05:53 AM)Chase Wrote:  - Should I have my last meal at 8 pm, skip breakfast, start eating lunch at noon again and just eat my 4000 kcal in the 8h window?
- Should I take BCAAs to protect my muscle? If so, when, how often, how much?
- Do I need to change my macro ratios (more fat, less carbs) or is this not that important?
- How many days in a row do I need to do the IF? Is it most effective only when done permanently, or is IF once in a while also effective?
- Is it important to adjust the timing of my training sessions? I prefer to train in the afternoon or evening, but I am flexible enough to train in the mornings, if necessary.
- Anything else you would recommend?

Like that link said, I would not overthink it and just do it. The way I do my IF (every day, permanently, except the odd breakfast) is this:

- Wake up at 7 am
- Drink coffee
- Gym
- Eat my first meal of the day post-workout at about 12 noon
- Work
- Eat my second meal at dinner time (5-7 pm)
- Do whatever
- Eat a small snack at 8 pm if I'm still hungry (in which case my dinner was too small)
- Sleep at 11 pm

The key is to keep all your eating, whether 2, 3, or 4 meals, within an 8 hour window. The other 16 hours, you fast.

Hope this helps.

Post: #44

(09-29-2017 07:49 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Hope this helps.

It does, thanks. Always a good idea to keep it simple. Will report on the effects in a couple of days.

Post: #45

It's time to update this thread.

Unfortunately, no lifting PRs broken since my last update.

I had to take a full two weeks off because I was burned out from overtraining. I had the classic symptoms of overtraining -- irritability, not sleeping well, tired during the day, lack of productivity, general fatigue and getting sick easily. So I scaled back on everything and slept to my heart's content. Some nights I was sleeping 12 hours straight.

Once I got the rest my body needed, my sleep went back to 7-8 hours a night and I am easing myself back into my gym routine. This week I did high reps low weights with only 2-3 sets on abbreviated gym days, and got back into boxing twice this week.

For the next month or two, I'm going to focus more on boxing and cardio while doing abbreviated weight lifting sessions. By abbreviated, I mean not full out 5x5s on a dozen exercises, but rather 3x5 or (2x8-10 on high rep days) for maintenance of the muscle mass I already built. Will take off and rest every fourth week.

I don't expect to break my PRs for the rest of the year. I will start lifting hard in January, while taking care not to overtrain.

Post: #46

Forgot to add last time... I'm also getting off TRT. I will do a HPTA restart starting this week and I will re-test my testosterone in 3 months to see how my body is doing on its own.

Here's my PCT restart schedule, starting with my last T injection today:

Week 1: HCG 500 IU every other day + one dose 0.25 mg Arimidex
Week 2: HCG 500 IU every other day + one dose 0.25 mg Arimidex
Week 3: Nolvadex 20 mg daily + one dose 0.25 mg Arimidex
Week 4: Nolvadex 20 mg daily + one dose 0.25 mg Arimidex
Week 5: Nolvadex 20 mg every other day + one dose 0.25 mg Arimidex
Week 6: Nolvadex 20 mg every other day + one dose 0.25 mg Arimidex

Afterward, I'll give it another month and then do another round of labs. We shall see how it goes. Hopefully my T stays above 500-600. If Cernovich can do it, why can't I?

For whatever I spent on TRT, I will spend that money on:

- Gingko biloba
- Ginseng
- Horny Goat Weed
- Zinc

And consume more raw garlic, ACV, cinnamon, and ginger.

Post: #47

How long were you on TRT?

Post: #48

(10-30-2017 05:15 AM)Steelex Wrote:  How long were you on TRT?

Almost 2 years.

Post: #49

I'll be curious to see how you end up. I came off 30-40 weeks use with no PCT and was ok. I think with HCG and clomid you'll be ok.

Post: #50

(10-30-2017 05:44 AM)Steelex Wrote:  I'll be curious to see how you end up. I came off 30-40 weeks use with no PCT and was ok. I think with HCG and clomid you'll be ok.

Correction: it's been nearly THREE years since I got on injectable TRT. Where did the time go?

I'm using Nolvadex instead of clomid to avoid the estrogenic sides.

Now that I'm going back to my own natural production, I'm going to hunt for supplements to help control estrogen, detox once in a while, and keep antioxidant levels up. Zinc, Vitamin C and D should be easy to obtain locally... not sure about the rest, may have to order online.

I'll continue lifting, but that is already a habit and a deeply established part of my lifestyle. I expect future gains will become harder, but that was going to be the case with or without TRT anyway.