Been doing some thinking.......lol

[Corrodo]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

The decision here is obvious. At age 27 you should be thinking about the future, because it is here. Am I correct in assuming that you have been on and off gear for a while now? At 270-280 gear-assisted pounds, you are putting great strain on your cardiovascular system. How much do you think you would weight had you never done gear? 200-220? Well, think about it--thats 50-60 extra pounds on your frame that your genetics were not programmed to handle. If you cannot look at training from a health standpoint and stop the abuse, you have a problem. just like any substance, you will be in a dependency/abuse situation. a 27 year old man should be able to bend over and tie his shoes w/o dizziness. your body is telling you something. you want a life, stop the gear.

You have alot of assumptions in this post and I answered them in my post above it....Hope that helps...I am not a black or white person with this topic as you are is all. I respect your comments but your natural for life sig kind of puts you on the "not getting what I am saying list".. No disrespect meant just your post has alot of neg assumptions and we arent on the same page, which is cool. I respect ANY natural athlete and was one all through college baseball and HS. I did my research before I jumped into any cycles and honestly didnt do shiit for me. So a year later I tried again along a good diet and finally saw results. I couldnt tell you what possessed me to do it other than curiousity and wanting to progress in the gym. 5 years later and I achieved the "look" but just doing what anyone does and question the future...

[Corrodo]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

Bottom line is I have decided to drop the EQ and just run 600 Test and 400 Npp. This is basically cutting it in half and keeping diet tight. I am just not a BIG CYCLE type of guy, just dont need it to grow.... Along with this going to cont keeping upping the cardio vascular activity and eating less red meat (1-2 times a week) and more fiber. Ok I am rambling but this is the plan...No more Mikey style cycles....lol

[Rolsroyce]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

hey buddy, Maybe you just need a break from it all you know... I have taken breaks that lasted a year or more before but i always minimum at least kept my HRT up and maybe trained just for a pump a couple times a week and if I didnt feel like it i didnt. My point is maybe you just need to do other stuff and not focus on it, maybe you are burnt out a little. I promise you this, your weight will come right back pretty easy and the hunger for the iron will build in you as it use to be there. Sometimes we all need to give our minds and bodies a break from the pounding grind of heavy eating and hard training and max cycles. Just clear your head and I promise when you are ready you will be back in there hitting it again like a beast. I am 36 and I think gaining muscle is something that i have loved so much that it is jusr part of me and I will strive for more all my life. I am lucky that I dont get cholesterol issues and stuff like that. But either way man, you will always be a true bud of mine and if I can ever help you know how to get me. Much respect man, do what is in your heart and the rest will work itself out.

[Corrodo]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

hey buddy, Maybe you just need a break from it all you know... I have taken breaks that lasted a year or more before but i always minimum at least kept my HRT up and maybe trained just for a pump a couple times a week and if I didnt feel like it i didnt. My point is maybe you just need to do other stuff and not focus on it, maybe you are burnt out a little. I promise you this, your weight will come right back pretty easy and the hunger for the iron will build in you as it use to be there. Sometimes we all need to give our minds and bodies a break from the pounding grind of heavy eating and hard training and max cycles. Just clear your head and I promise when you are ready you will be back in there hitting it again like a beast. I am 36 and I think gaining muscle is something that i have loved so much that it is jusr part of me and I will strive for more all my life. I am lucky that I dont get cholesterol issues and stuff like that. But either way man, you will always be a true bud of mine and if I can ever help you know how to get me. Much respect man, do what is in your heart and the rest will work itself out.

Yeah bro that is why when we talked the other day last week when I said I was going to deload and hit one bp per day and do cardio right after. Lighten up the protein from 4-500 to 300 and add in good carbs and veggies. See where that takes me, I know a few guys who gain better than way for a few months and then GROW into a show. Justin Harris does this exact philosophy. Eat clean all year and stay lean and that way you put a few lbs of muscle on and you SEE it, not the fat that goes with it.... Talking to him about it and others has me convinced. Sometimes the set routine we have needs a kick in the balls and look out for the long term. Id rather be 50 hitting the gym than 35 and burnt out walking around the block for my workouts with some stretching...lol In able to do that is NOT always trying to get big but realizing that we already are and need to deload once in awhile and then come back with a refueled motivation. Watching Justin transform has opened my eyes to what its all about....I mean dude loses 2 lbs his whole prep for the USA's in 16 weeks ....and healthy as can be...

[Corrodo]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

Ok for example and then I will be done...lol

Say you compete in a show at 230 and came down from 280, so 50lbs. THE SMART THEN TO DO IS THIS....You then take advantage of the rebound and get up to 250. The smart thing to to is hover around there for the next year and try to add a lb a month. So at the end of the year you are a lean 255-260. Instead of blowing up to 290 unhealthy and having to cut that back down. If you stay lean and add a little weight per month then you start your prep next year and you have MAYBE 10 lbs to lose and you can step on stage 10lbs heavier and its LESS stress on the heart and body adapting to the extreme ups and downs. THE PROBLEM is this requires A TON of discipline and hard work to keep that "big weight" off and finding that balance of cals to do this. Doing it like this though you can see that when the scale goes up its actual muscle and the changes are more apparent being leaner. I kind of got off topic but I feel this post is necessary to be able to build muscle and get big healthier. When you put on 40 lbs during a cycle how much of that is REALLY muscle??? NOT MUCH!! But if you run a 12 week decent size cycle and do cardio and eat right and gain 5- 10 lbs, how much of that is muscle?? ALOT! So that is where I am coming from...Now the decision in the next few months is when I get down to 250-260 can I do this?? I have it in me if I can get to that...That is my goal.

[Sal Paradise]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

Ok for example and then I will be done...lol

Say you compete in a show at 230 and came down from 280, so 50lbs. THE SMART THEN TO DO IS THIS....You then take advantage of the rebound and get up to 250. The smart thing to to is hover around there for the next year and try to add a lb a month. So at the end of the year you are a lean 255-260. Instead of blowing up to 290 unhealthy and having to cut that back down. If you stay lean and add a little weight per month then you start your prep next year and you have MAYBE 10 lbs to lose and you can step on stage 10lbs heavier and its LESS stress on the heart and body adapting to the extreme ups and downs. THE PROBLEM is this requires A TON of discipline and hard work to keep that "big weight" off and finding that balance of cals to do this. Doing it like this though you can see that when the scale goes up its actual muscle and the changes are more apparent being leaner. I kind of got off topic but I feel this post is necessary to be able to build muscle and get big healthier. When you put on 40 lbs during a cycle how much of that is REALLY muscle??? NOT MUCH!! But if you run a 12 week decent size cycle and do cardio and eat right and gain 5- 10 lbs, how much of that is muscle?? ALOT! So that is where I am coming from...Now the decision in the next few months is when I get down to 250-260 can I do this?? I have it in me if I can get to that...That is my goal.

Hey brother - I finally got through all the posts and this last one you made is 1000% ON THE MONEY!
I have done the bulking thing in years past, up to 275, then 280, then 285,etc. The problem is we do put on too much fat when we bulk up that way. Sure the weights are easier to move at times and we don't have to worry about getting enough nutrients, we know we are.
BUT it is not the most healthy way to do things. And dropping that much weight is counter productive for 2 reasons.
1) We will surely loose some muscle in the process. Unless we slow diet for 20 weeks there will be a time when we hit the diet a little harder and lose some lean muscle. And if we supper slow diet for 20+ weeks what's really the point in getting that big for a couple of months?
2) The skin also takes time to tighten up - this applies only to those of us competing - but the skin is stretched out to some degree and when we drop size going into a show the skin has to tighten up as well. If we essentially grow into a show the skin will be snare drum tight.

The added weight is a hindrance and although we may be in fine health, my BP doesn't get high, my cardio system is generally OK but just walking steps with the extra weight in just a annoyance. And tying the shoes, well that simply has to do with the girth of the body getting in the way and holding your breath when doing so. Not really a health concern there.

The biggest thing I have noticed is after this last pre-contest diet phase that I purposely did not get back up in weight too much, this has led me to feeling better overall, a little more energy, etc, etc. I feel the single biggest factor in this is very simply the amount of food taken in.

I eat a semi-clean diet, I still have the occasional junk and a pizza buffet about once a week but I have managed to keep the bf% much lower. Strength is not noticeably lower at all in fact I would say in some things it's better than it's ever been.
And once the actual strict diet starts I don't think I'll be a hungry due to a lesser volume of food off-season. My body is simply used to eating less.

If I was to go from 240-250 range and put on 30 pounds - backup to 280 that doesn't mean I'll be on stage at 260. It just means I'll have to lose another 20-30 pounds of excess weight next time I diet.

I think it's still possible to make good gains, stay strong and compete at a respectable level without the typical bulking of 40-50 pounds over contest weight. When I started my last diet at around 265-270 I was figuring I would come in to the show about 215.
Now that I am 240 I am figuring I will come into the show about......215.

I still think a person will make greater overall gains if they put on more weight but once we as bodybuilders get to a certain level of development the gains are only going to come from careful attention to the nutrients we give our bodies, the workouts, supps and proper rest.

Corrodo - at your level of development I honestly feel there is no reason to put on the extra weight in the off-season simply for the sake of getting bigger. As you alluded to - there are much smarter and healthier ways to achieve the goal.


Sal

[Harry Tasker]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

You have alot of assumptions in this post and I answered them in my post above it....Hope that helps...I am not a black or white person with this topic as you are is all. I respect your comments but your natural for life sig kind of puts you on the "not getting what I am saying list".. No disrespect meant just your post has alot of neg assumptions and we arent on the same page, which is cool. I respect ANY natural athlete and was one all through college baseball and HS. I did my research before I jumped into any cycles and honestly didnt do shiit for me. So a year later I tried again along a good diet and finally saw results. I couldnt tell you what possessed me to do it other than curiousity and wanting to progress in the gym. 5 years later and I achieved the "look" but just doing what anyone does and question the future...

so the reasearch didnt do ****? what helped u the MOST in getting ur good gains with the cycles? THE DIET???

[Corrodo]

Re: Been doing some thinking.......lol

^^ The cycle didnt do SHIIT , it took me awhile to realize DIET is number one in the equation. Some people never figure it out....