I posted some before and after pics in the pic forum, but figured I'd do a quick breakdown for any hard gainers out there looking to add some weight.

In the winter of 2009 I started a new job, and to my surprise everyone there went to the gym on lunch break. Weighing in at only 135lbs(At age 29) I was stoked about this opportunity to finally get in the gym and put on size. Most of the guys there were big guys, 215+, some former amateur bodybuilders. So I was soaking up the advice like a sponge.

The first year of trying to put on weight is always the toughest. Not in actually putting on the weight, it comes fairly easy, but in having the patience to put on this new weight. Your lifts are small, seems to take awhile to see progress,etc. To me that was the toughest time to stay motivated. I remember seeing the scale go from 135-140 but not noticing much in gains and feeling like it would take forever to reach my goals.(Which by the way at that time was only 160lbs.)

From 135 to about 150 I was able to put on the weight with no issues. Then I finally hit a wall. That boiled down to my limited knowledge of calories in vs calories out. At 150 I was still eating how I was when I was when I weighed 135. So by 150, with the extra 15lbs of weight, I needed to eat more, but wasnt and couldnt figure it out. I purchased ON's Serious Mass to help me add some pounds and will have to credit that product for giving me the boost I needed. After a few months of lifting and adding that to my diet I was finally at my goal weight of 160lbs. Once I reached that however, I realized that 160 was no where close to where I wanted to be, so I decided to shoot for 180.

After some research, thought and consideration, I began to run a Test-C cycle. A coworker had plenty of US Pharmacy grade Test-C and hooked me up with a vial. I ran a simple 200ml a week cycle for 10 weeks. This is when I started to make some serious progress. I went from 160-175 in the 10 weeks of cycling this. My strength was at an all time high and I was really starting to notice my muscles defining. It "jump started" my body to more of a lifters physique and strength and from that point I was no longer worried about being a small guy again.

As time progressed I studied more about diet, exercise and steroid use. My next cycle would be a Deca/Test cycle. I was treading between 175-180 with my goal being to hit the 200lb mark. After running the cycle I came real close, closing in at 195. I think with a better diet I couldve reached it, but was still trying to really figure out the macros needed to reach the sizes I had in mind. Off cycle I dropped down to about 185, which was still a good chunk of gains kept. I wanted to try Deca/Sustanon next, with my eyes back on the 200 mark.(Quick disclaimer, I only ran the deca cycles one time a year. The rest of the year was sporadic Test-C runs, which was done by a doctors prescription for TRT)

In January 2014 I finished a deca/sust cycle landing right at 200lbs. Some shoulder injuries at the beginning of the summer put me at 185 again by August. I had missed the gym for 3 months. August 1st I dove back in, lifting and eating like crazy. As of today I am at 198lbs with just a Test-C script every 2 weeks. I only ran two deca cycles, which helped me tremendously in adding size on. To be at 200 now with my last cycle being almost a year ago is good motivation for me considering in 2010 I was at 135lbs. I will be running a Tren-A/Test-E cycle in a few weeks, with my sights on the 215 mark. After that I will do my first legit cut since I started lifting. I feel I added the nearly 65lbs of weight safely, and effectively. I of course added on some fat, but if you look in the pic section of my before and after, you can see that I did it with minimal fat addition. Hopefully in a few years I can write up a post about going from 135lbs to 225lbs in 6 years. Thatll be the goal!

Im attempting to post a pic of a before and after, 135lbs to 195lbs. Both pics have me wearing the same shirt, its probably the best way to see how far Ive progressed.