Been on this site for a couple months.. Before joining – to make a long story short – I had been running AAS to alleviate some issues with depression, moodiness, low energy levels, sleep disorder, and diminished libido. I had been running AAS for approximately a year and at the guidance of a personal friend, who in fact was the wrong guy to listen to…

I never knew how to properly cycle on or off. I didn’t know about AIs; only Nolva. Nor did I even consider the necessity for running blood work periodically. You hear bad stories about AAS users in the general public and the media. People that are damaging their endocrine and reproductive systems from improper usage, and people that have uncontrollable mood swings. Sadly, though, the average person on the streets knows virtually nothing about the aspects of cycling that we discuss here. PCT is a foreign word to a lot of people that I talk to these days. Fortunately for me, this site has made me aware.

The world of AAS is relatively new to me, but I am learning more each day. In terms of fine tuning the bad cycling habits that I picked up from my friend, I owe the credit to the guys that have offered insight and advice: cdaddy7, GS9902, Zewi, and most of all tread-m. Our conversations have not been many, but they were all straight to the point and informative enough to either give me the answer I needed – not always what I wanted to hear – or point me in the right direction to find that answer. So, much appreciated fellas!

Although the world of AAS is relatively new to me, the world of health and fitness is not. Because of decisions made as a teenager, I spent a good chunk of my 20’s in a federal prison. When I went down, I was weighing about 230 lbs and fat as all get out. Once I got situated and got over the fact that I was not in society any longer, I met a guy who was a master trainer certified through the NFPT. He and I wound up bunking in the same cell for about a year.

We’ve all heard the saying “iron sharpens iron”? This guy began to rub off on me. As I got more and more curious, I started borrowing all 5 of his training manuals. I read them front to back several times and took copious notes. I’m a firm believer in that, psychologically, if we pour enough information into our brains and actually believe that information, everything will become second nature.

Before I knew it, I had dropped from 230 lbs to 185 and 16% within less than a year from applying what I had learned. This is about where I plateaued physically. I continued reading anything I could get my hands on relating to health and fitness, and I’m not talking about bullshit magazines either. You’d be surprised the amount of people in federal prison that are engaged in correspondence degree programs. After these guys finished their courses and finals, they would try to trade in or sell their textbooks. If it was health and fitness related, I bought it and buried myself in it. In combination of the books I’ve acquired from individuals and purchased on my own, I have acquired and studied training manuals from 2 separate organizations (NFPT & NSCA), science of nutrition 101 and 102, biology, exercise physiology, kinesiology, and various medical reference guides.

After all, what else is there to do in prison? Eat, sleep, shit, workout, and frickin read, so I read my ass off. I became so proficient with everything that I had a developed a book of business made up of guys that paid me to train them. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to make a career out of it when I got out. Problem was, no matter how much knowledge or experience I was getting, I felt it would have done me no good without the official documentation to certify that level of skill. So, I started my official education with college correspondence programs. My degree was a business degree, but all of my free electives went towards health and fitness. When it was all said and done with, I maintained certs as personal trainer and sports nutritionist thru the NFPT, as well as career diploma in nutrition from another institute. Through all this education, I was able to break thru my plateau at 185 and arrive at a solid 160 lbs and 10%, which I maintained for 5 years.

Sadly, though, there is not much room in this industry for a convicted felon, at least not in my area. The furthest I got career wise was group fitness instructor and class instructor for NFPT program at a rec facility. After two career moves, I’ve planted my roots; however, life has definitely gotten in the way of the gym and the diet. In the past year and a half, I’ve put on a good 70 lbs, bringing me back to my original pre-prison weight.

For the past 3 months I’ve been breaking my bad habits and trying to revert back to the old mentality. I am really enjoying the opportunities to engage in conversations about these topics again, as well as contribute what I can to this community. These things play a big role for me in solidifying what I am trying to accomplish in my own endeavors. In the last 3 months, I’ve dropped 16 lbs and 6% bf (214 & 16%) from putting back into the play the same things that I keep posting. Beast mode is BACK, and I am lovin’ it!