posted Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:51
1976
+ 12 Mid-Cycle Progress
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Had the wife get a couple shots at the gym last night, not the best poses or angles but this is what I got. I’m ten weeks into my cycle and up to 225 lb from 190 lb starting weight. I tend to pack on the pounds pretty quick so the next few weeks will be focusing on recomping and building strength. I’ve done this the last couple cycles and I feel that it helps me solidify my gains and stay strong after dropping to a cruise. Bloods are looking good and I’m feeling great, hitting PRs and having a lot of fun in the gym.
Ordered from:
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Velia214Are you running all meta?
Just meta sust, rest is from GK (rip)
Velia214Ik rip is right that’s honestly why I just ordered from meta the first time lol I ordered the sustanon as well everyone seems to give it good feedback here so it’s reassuring to here you got bloods. Looking solid too!
Damn, got those Popeye forearms. Beefy! Looking good bro
Funny thing is, I’ve never done any isolations for forearms. They were huge even before I started lifting, just genetic I’d guess.
Mmmhmmmm….
“Genetic”
I’m sure teenage Pantani started training forearms long before even focusing on the gym!
Lmao, guilty as charged! Of course, every time I’m on cycle I’m right back at it like I was at 15 so they just blow up lol
Hopefully from pulling the wifey’s hips and not as much “isolation of forearm against the hip” these days hahaha
She can’t handle three times a day for more than four or five weeks so usually by the end I’m back to my old tricks again. My libido has always been pretty high even before gear
isolation of forearm against the hip
perfect !
Thanks buddy
Lots of decent mass added in a short amount of time!
I don’t care who ya are or what you’re on 35lbs in 2 months isn’t an easy task- even if you were on my 600lb life downing tubs of ice cream for each meal lol.
Huge change from a couple months ago!
Keep it up and once you cut down again I think you’ll be shocked how much lean mass you’ve put on.
Thanks man, it means a lot. I know this site is full of big eaters but I’ve always been able to out it down like none other. I can be real disciplined when I’m cutting but when bulking season rolls around it’s on. Even keeping the diet clean I’ve been eating 4500-5500 cals a day depending on cardio.
The plan is consolidate here for a bit and then I’ll start leaning out for the summer. I really want to focus on building strength in some of my compounds before cutting the cals too much. It’s the easiest way for me to keep mass on a cut if I can still lift heavy. I’ll definitely be posting some more photos at the end of the cut, hopefully you’re right about all that lean mass.
Why not add the mast before you end the npp. The added mast on top of npp would have it icing on the cake
Looking good keep up the good work and keep that cardio going
Tbh I waiting on the mast to come in the mail. I just got my pack and just pinned a mL. I was going to drop the npp because my BP was running high but I have it under control now so maybe I will keep it going for a fee more weeks.
Its up to you health is most important. But if you add the mast to the npp for acouple weeks. Id add some dandelion root pill about 500 mgs along with 25 minutes treadmill at 4-7 incline at 3.1-3.4 speed
Dandelion root will help expel water and help blood pressure andcan help in many ways.. and you wont have to bench press heavier and the pecs will show better. Also i recommend 80g up to 120 grams of pineapple with your meat protein meals to help break the food down for better availability
Like i said your looking great!!! YOUR RIGHT THERE !!!its the little changes now that can be that extra crisp look. Goodluck
I’ve been looking into dandelion root to help with gh sides. I’ll go ahead and get some to give it a shot. Never heard that about the pineapple. Thanks bro, appreciate the kind words
2 gallons of water a day if you can and slowly towards the end of your cycle cut back to 1 gallon per day … also asparagus !!! EAT EAT EAT AND you will piss like crazy pulling any additional water :-) I like to do this once a month gives you that nasty grainy look for a few days and back to the carb load
I love asparagus in the air fryer. So easy with sooo many benefits.
I agree 100% i was gonna say that myself but figured he had it planned out.
What gear are you running from Meta
Just their sust right now. Also running eq and npp from GK (rip)
Dam that’s a huge jump nice, u look great brother just keep killing it.
Appreciate it bro.
Brilliant progress with the bodyweight buddy, 35lb's is a lot!! I was going to ask along the same lines as Mikey already has done and question what you are doing for the general chest/shoulder area's as it looks to me like you may do more cables or machines than barbell/dumbbell work. Because they help balance the weight for you - they remove a lot of the stabilizing muscles which can result in slightly uneven muscle distribution. I know it can be intimidating especially in a packed gym to get under a barbell but it will train this area much better for you if you can, or just use dumbbells instead. They will give you much better mass and distribution. Deadlifts and barbell/dumbbell rows will have the same effect on your back too. I'm not being critical here mate, just trying to be constructive and help you
I posted this in here partially to get that constructive feedback so thank you bro! Long story short, I do bench pretty much every chest day but I have a recurrent shoulder injury that has had me too spooked to go very heavy for the past couple years. I’ve been training with a guy for the past month or so that’s helped me a lot with my form and I’m finally putting some weight up again instead of just high reps. Same goes for DL but I’ve started working them back in again too recently. You’re absolutely right about the machines and cables though! I use mostly free weights for everything but chest and back so I just need to get back on the horse, get my form perfect and do the work.
Aahhh okay mate - completely understandable. Definitely not worth bothering your shoulder over. Just work at your own pace then in regards to building weight back up, warming up properly before bench is also essential to protect your shoulders and always begin with just an empty bar for a set of 8 to 10 and go from there
I do about 3 sets with just the bar for 10 to 15 lol after taking the 15lb dumbbell and curling it regular then hammer, then overhead extensions, then some side rear and front laterals all in superset fashion for 2 or 3 sets. But i do 15 with each arm and pass the dumbbell back and forth also wrist curls and extensions just letting my elbow bent in the air. If i didn't do all this shit I'd be like a creaky old man and end up in pain in a month. Lol.
I do remember the good ole days of warning up with 185lb. Lol
@Mikeyt84L.I..N.Y. I tried your warmup routine today before benching and it helped a ton. Thank you bro.
Damn, I need to work on my warmup routine. I usually just go straight to the bench and start warming up with 135. Honestly, I didn’t even think about that, thus is just the way I’ve always done it.
I like to start off with just the bar for 15-20 for a couple sets then I’ll add 10lbs for 15, add 25lbs for 15, so on so forth til I get to whatever I can do for 5-8 reps. I’m Fairly young but If don’t warm up like that my shoulder feel like they are on fire. Uncomfortable as fuck. I’ll also get that shoulder pain if I get sloppy with form. Now I have a warm up routine for shoulders on bench day and arm day…. Damn am I old now lol
Mate I use to be a real bugger for it too, not warming up properly because I was too impatient and believed I was too strong to be messing with smaller weights Lmao I would go straight to 160lb's doing absolutely nothing before it - no arm circles or raises or anything. Then all that happens is you begin getting sore rotator cuffs all the time and injuries. When I saw Larry Wheels warming up with an empty bar when working up to 700lb's I realised I was doing it wrong LMAO
Yep, same. Full shoulder reconstruction (with several metal anchors) and bicep reattachment later.. warning up is a MUST. You need to let the tendons and ligaments warm and get some blood to the area. Doesn’t even matter if you work a labourer intensive job like mine! I would be rushing to the gym at 5pm to smash a shoulder workout because I got family shit to do not to mention paperwork for the business and I’d warm up with the 40kg dumbbells for 12 - 15 (military press) because I’ve been working hard all day, but I’m actually putting myself at the most risk, dehydrated and stiff. So the result was a long and painful surgery and having to take 20 steps back! I try to tell people as I'm living proof of what happens if you don’t take care of yourself.
Bro i was at a point i couldn't do dips and barely do flat barbell. I did all crawls with my hands and ask the shit pushing your elbows into the walls standing flat, internal rotation shit with cables and dumbells
Same bro
I figured out I can do dumbbells and reverse grip with no pain so I’ve been working on those but I can’t go as heavy. I think getting my flat bench form cleaned up is the way to go in the long run. I always appreciate the constructive criticism bud, that’s what this place is for
That’s plenty of size you have put on just takes the body a while to adjust to carrying all that extra weight. Good work mate keep it up.
How old are you??
Idk the look your going for. But some barbell compound heavy movements will help you add thickness 3 compound movements with 1 isolation. Per muscle group. Obviously with legs you'd have to do leg curls and extensions at the knee however you choose to go about that.
But dedication is key and u got that so you'll get where u want to be. Good work.
I’m 37, spent most of my life doing endurance sports where you want to be fast and light. I didn’t really start trying to put on mass until three or four years ago. I appreciate the feedback, recently I’ve been focusing a lot on getting my compounds up. My bench in particular has always been shit and I think it shows in my chest development. But yeah, I like lifting and I can make myself show up to the gym which is like half the battle lol
Def is. Heavy flat heavy as you can go for 8 to 10 on the barbell, then some dumbells on flat heavy as you can go. Then polish it off with some barbell incline and some kind of isolation cable crossover pulling from above will help get the cup out by the armpit and it just hits it so nice. But obv you'll have to do something else after 3 or 4 weeks of that. Then at the end do some dips go straight to having your feet maybe 6 to 10 inches off the ground and just bang out 3 sets superset with push ups to failure. Your chest will grow. It was my weak point at one time also. Shoulders were overpowering, now my bench is my strong point. Then once you really learn to activate your chest u can start with lighter fly and do a Lil pre exhaust but i wouldn't do that till you added a good amount of meat there so like a year.
Close grip bench on triceps days. i do triceps with chest. That chest workout alone will build your triceps like a mother fucka tho.
Bro, thank you so much. This is that solid gold-type advice that I come here for.
Solid work!
Thanks buddy. I feel like I have a long way to go but it feels good to do the work at least
anvilLooking solid, 35lbs in 10 weeks is a lot. Must feel strong AF.
The extra weight is really starting to affect my cardio capacity. I’m pretty interested to see how much of it I piss out when I swap the npp I’ve been running for mast next week.
anvilHopefully a good amount, its slowing you down.
It’s only been the last 10 pounds or so that I’ve really noticed it so I think once the npp clears my system I’ll be good. I’m about to start ramping the cardio back up as well so by summer I should be shredded and fast again lol