9.28.2015/Mon-pm
Olympic Squat, wraps at 345, NO BELT  
45 x 12
135 x 4 paused + 4
225 x 2 paused + 2
275 x 1 paused + 2
315 x 1 paused + 1
345 x 1
365 x 3 x 2

Straight Bar Pull-up @ 190 + 40 x 4 x 2

I took my first dose of Olympus UK's Ghar1ne (MK 677) last night. Just 10 mg. Within a couple of hours my hunger spiked. I didn't experience the much-heralded sleep, however. I was up till past 2 am.

But I figured I should just go ahead and finish the bottle of LeGenD LGD 4033 I had on hand since I will be able to bulk easily with the Ghar1ne. As of this morning I am up to just under 189. This is the heaviest I've been in a while.

I'm also thinking of continuing to cruise with the SARMs. I know, I know. A break and a PCT are needed. But I'm feeling so damned good. And I don't want the gains train to stop chugging along. And more importantly, for me the benefit of these things is their lack of sides and complications. So I'm going to see how well I can do by swapping compounds and keeping the doses minimal.

I may even start adding Ostarine to see if the effects kick up a bit...use the Ostarine as a bridge between LGD and RAD 140.

Okay, I just gave my rat 15 mg of Ostarine. This is after the 4 mg of Legend this morning.

And here is today's vlog:

Squat Notes

Long pauses on those paused reps. I counted to four on the 315. I was getting a little winded. That 365 triple was hard and the second triple required rest-pause. I'm mostly happy. I'm just focused on getting a triple with 405 at this point.

I did the pull ups mainly to decompress my spine. It's still the best I've ever done on pull ups. I think this 190 is the heaviest I've ever been.

Bench PR 275 for Two Singles @ 187

9.27.2015/Sun-am, 187 lbs
Bench Press, touch and go [paused first rep of warm up sets up to 245]
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3
245 x 2
265 x 1
275 x 1 x 2 PR

One-Arm DB Row 125 x 8LR x 2 (with a third set of sloppy reps)

Father, forgive me for these gains I just received.

That 275 was the most I've ever benched in my life. And it was so easy that I did it again.

The second single was slower, but I never stalled. I knew better than to attempt another single, however. But I know that by the end of this week, I will very likely have this weight for a double.

I felt so strong going into this morning's session. And all I've had all day (it's now 2 pm) was two cups of coffee! I almost couldn't believe how easy the paused rep with 245 felt. For the record, my two best ever paused reps were in two separate meets about a year apart and they were 242 and 253. I easily beat the 242 and I'm sure I could do as much as 260 anytime this coming week. In short, I am stronger on the bench now than I've ever been in my life, even when I was eating literally twice as much five years ago at the height of my competition days.

And these were long pauses too! Way longer than they would have been under meet conditions. I deliberately held the 245 down for time because I felt it was no threat at all. I think I got to a three or four count.

Heh. By Friday, I will be able to say that I've put 60 lbs on my bench in two and a half months. There are about 12 weeks till Christmas. My Christmas gift to myself will be a paused bench with 315. Troof.

SARM Dosing

Note: I'd stepped down the LGD dose to just one 4-mg tab per day and as of today I've stopped taking it entirely. So there may be a stall or even a dip in strength this week. I mean, I'm going to push hard, but I'm also ready to give my body a little break from SARMs.

I will begin dosing my lab rat with Ghar1ne which is the MK-677 GH secretagogue from Olympus UK. This is more healing than anabolism. But I may also pick up a bottle of RAD-140 Radar1ne to start in a couple of weeks. I think my body has gotten a little too used to the LGD. Swapping out SARMs just seems like a good idea each cycle.

I do have a bottle of Ostarine from Olympus and I've only tried less than a dozen pills. If I feel like my lifts are going down the tube, I may start dosing my lab rat with that before I spring for a bottle of RAD.

I am more than a little nervous about losing ground. And I may slip just because I expect it. Placebo could make me lift less.

Tomorrow: Squat

My quads are feeling better again today. I'm very nervous about squatting tomorrow, though. My squat and dead have been in the toilet because I've trained my squat way too much lately. I'm hoping the fatigue has dissipated and that I can get a few doubles with 365.

9.26.2015/Sat

No training today. Had to help pack the truck up for the trip to the shipper in Miami, though. I am very happy to report that even after a day of high volume dumbbell rows, there is only a whisper of pain in my medial epicondyles.

We have to lift a lot of boxes and move a lot of heavy barrels. When I first got to Florida and would help my dad do this every other Saturday, my elbows would have this burning feeling as if the tissue there was being ripped apart. That's mostly gone now. I'd say that it's honestly only 10% of what it was. I'd be a liar if I were to say it's completely gone, but I'm still ecstatic over how much better I feel.

I couldn't sleep last night and ended up making myself a burger at 2 in the morning. I was able to sleep after that. After much elimination and sweating from working in this autumnal Florida heat, I weighed 188. This was a surprise. I am barely eating at all these days.

I chalk this up to the potency of the LGD 4033. I'm still getting stronger on the bench (though my squat and deadlift are currently paying the price of my training the squat too frequently).

Bad Squat Advice

My thighs are just now starting to feel normal after I ran myself into the ground with high frequency squatting again. I was using squats as a form of psychotherapy, never a healthy thing. My squats went down because -- surprise! -- squats work the body's largest muscles and all that muscle mass takes a bit longer to recover than the relatively small amount of muscles involved in the bench press (which is the squat of the upper body).

I can squat productively maybe twice per week or so. Just once a week invites soreness. But less than two days complete rest between training days: playing with fire.

Also, I've been playing around with naked knees. That's rarely a good idea either. Though it is less of a problem with paused squats because a pause means a lot less mechanical energy that the knees have to handle at the end of the descent.

Still, fuck all that noise about squatting every day and not wrapping the knees. That's just dumb. Though I won't wrap on days I do nothing but pauses! But regular squats get wraps from now on. Even on the warm ups there will be light wrapping.

Myofascial Release and Not Needing It So Much with Wraps

I believe my aggressive heavy squats with minimal wrapping led to the outbreak of trigger points or knots that I developed in both my vastus lateralis. It seems like these muscles were doing the main job of braking and reversing my descent. Their mechanical limits were apparently exceeded during my last cycle. When I wear wraps, the wraps do a lot of the braking and reversal :) Yeah, it's cheating a bit. But it spares my joints and muscles when they are most vulnerable. It may not build resilience in that bottom range. But fuck that if I'm still getting stronger thighs. I'll just be sure to compete in feds that allow wraps and leave the feds with naked knees in raw to the real men.

My multiple daily genuflexion to the PVC pipe is paying off. The knots are vastly reduced and my quads can operate smoothly and without much pain.

Squat Hopes

My squat has been suffering horribly even as my more intelligent thrice weekly approach to the bench has seen that lift progressing. My brain has been reminiscing over Smolov as a prescription to get the squat moving...but I want first to try just reducing the squat frequency to something sensible and applying the same low volume approach of singles and doubles that I use for bench (and which is adding five pounds weekly like clockwork).

I should probably alternate 5-lb jumps with 10-lb jumps each week, instead of always counting on 10-lb jumps.

MK-677 Gahr1ne

I'm startng on Ghar1ne tomorrow night. I'd been toying with the idea of taking Ostarine with it, but I think I just want to give my body a break from SARMs entirely while just letting this ghrelin mimetic / secretagogue do its thing.

9.24.2015/Thu-pm
Bench Press, touch and go, first rep paused till 225
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
255 x 1
265 x 1
270 x 1 x 3
One-Arm DB Row, supinated 100 x 12L/12R x 4

I don't know why I fight this reality: my bench is best with three times per week, but my squat starts to stall if I train it more than twice per week. Maybe that will change once I get on the Ghar1ne (MK 677). But right now there is just no way I progress with this daily squatting bullshit.

What has almost always worked for me (when I was fresh enough at the start of the program) is Smolov.

But I get ahead of myself. I think for a while I really need to dial back my squat frequency to just twice weekly. The glutes and the quadriceps power the squat and deadlift, and those two muscle groups represent the biggest, strongest muscles in the body. So it stands to reason that they would need a bit more recovery time than the pecs, delts, and triceps.

I mean, I'm looking at my quads right now. They are these huge slabs of muscle covering two feet of my thickest bones. I don't think my pecs, delts, and tris combined are as massive as my quads. And my glutes are bigger still. I estimate that there is 2-3 times as much muscle mass that needs recovery after the squat than after the bench press.

Furthermore, the squat also taxes the lower back. Not nearly as bad as the deadlift does, but it still fatigues it.

Bench Notes

Anywho...I got a bug up my butt today about getting my bench over 315 ASAP. So I had the goal of getting 270 for a double...even though I just got 265 for a double a couple days ago and 270 for a double really shouldn't be expect till the middle of next week..

So that 270 x 2 just wasn't happening. I got two singles and after a long, long rest (10 minutes) I got another single. I thought about going for one more, but I unracked it and realized that I just didn't have any more energy for pressing. I'm sure the 270 for a double will be there next week, though.

I am weighing a hair over 186 this evening.

9.24.2015/Thu-pm

Olympic-style Squat, no belt, wraps at 345, paused first rep till 345
45 x 12
135 x 6
225 x 4
315 x 2
345 x 1
355 x 1
Negative and hold 405

Conventional Deadlift, no belt 
405 x 3
445 x 2
475 x 1
495 x X

Failure to progress. Stupid to squat every day like this. All progress these last couple weeks have been in the bench press and overhead press. Because androgens have more places to plug in on the upper body.

It may be time to unsheath my oldest, most reliable squat prescription...

Bench Press PR, Paused High Bar PR

9.23.15/Wed
Bench Press, touch and go 
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
255 x 1
265 x 2 PR

Paused Olympic Squat, NO belt/sleeves
45 x 12
135 x 6
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1
325 x 1 PR

Straight Bar Pull-up @186 + 35 x 3, 3

So I've been feeling a little off all day because my v. lateralis had been feeling tender around the knots that I roll continually. But I watched Jason Blaha's vids on training frequency and got it into my head that I should go train again.

Glad I went. PRs abounded. I am closing in on that three-wheel bench so quickly...I just can't believe my progress is still moving at the rate of 5 lbs/week!

I didn't feel like squatting too heavy tonight and I also didn't feel like wrapping up for anything. I'd also forgotten my knee sleeves at home. So I decided to use paused squats so I could go completely knee-naked without worrying about tearing up my knees with the bounce at the bottom. Got a big paused PR with 325:

In before someone points out that my ass could have been lower. I use modified elevated heels on the already high heels of my Ristos. My torso is really short in relation to my femurs. The higher heels effectively lengthen my shins and allow me to stay amazingly upright even though my spine is so relatively short. The tradeoff of this is that even at acute knee flexion I'm only a couple inches below parallel.

The lower the heel, the more below parallel I get, but without any extra benefit to the actual range of motion. And I have to lean forward more with my natural heel closer to the ground.

Simply, with my proportions, higher heels (artificially longer shins) and a higher bar placement (artificially longer spine) are the only way to stay fairly upright in the squat.

Recomping, Lower Dosing, Happy Testicles

I'm shifting plans a bit. I got a hint of testicular pain a couple nights ago. Just a hint. Nothing like I had when I'd upped the dosage of LGD 4033 to 12 mg a day for my lab rat. So since I only have 14 or so tablets left, I decided to go down to just one per day (4 mg) and extend the cycle out to two weeks. This gives me more time bring my squat up instead of trying to cram 40 lbs of improvement into seven days.

And the last time my testicles hurt (and were shrinking), just bringing down the dose made things right again.

Is it smart to step down to 4 mg after going at 8 mg? Who knows?

I'm not looking for increased performance so much at this point. I just want to step down gently instead of jumping off the cliff to zero LGD intake. I'll be coasting. These gains are supposed to very keepable. So I should be able to continue to make some progress over the next few days before it peters out.

Either way, I'd like to see some of this fat around my middle start to go away. I've been avoiding the necessary caloric deficit, but now I feel I'm ready. I'm reducing my lab rat's LGD 4033 dosage and the next SARM I'll be feeding him is MK 2877 in small amounts to keep on some muscle while in caloric deficit.

Persistent Vastus Lateralis Pain

Rolling my quads over the PVC pipe is definitely forcing out the knots in both my thighs. I am rolling several times per day. But the pain persists and is limiting my ability to pour effort into the squat. They are getting better (as evidenced by my ability to put up a PR on the paused squat last night), but it is slow going.

Funny, though...it's only on back squats. Front squats don't have the same stress on my quads.

Back Squats Are Better Than Front Squats For Lower Body Power

There was a time I thought that front squats could and should hold the esteem the back squat does. Experience has taught me that the back squat really is the king of lower body development. Front squats are a bit of a sideshow.

Front squats are kind of like overhead presses. They look cool and almost nobody ever does them outside of specialists like Olympic-style weightlifters. But while they are a special application of strength, the actual general strength in the involved musculature is far better built by back squats (in the case of the front squat) and bench presses (in the case of the standing press).

The full squat version of the clean is much more a strength move than the full squat version of the snatch. Leg strength won't limit a lifter out of the bottom of a snatch...but leg strength could indeed limit a lifter out of the bottom of the clean! So I get it now. Lifters don't need to work on overhead squats to make sure they have enough standing strength in the snatch; they DO need to get comfortable with standing up with heavy weight in the front squat position to help the clean.

Weight This Morning

As of 10 am September 24, 2015, I am down to 186 1/2 lbs. I want to get up over 200 lbs, of course, but I am happy to see that weight come slowly while my lifts go up more quickly. If I only weigh 185 when I squat over 400 and pull over 500, both without a belt, that's just fine by me. That would mean I was cutting fat as I got more muscular. And I really could stand to drop pound or three of fat right now to get rid of that his tiny, tiny spare tire I have.

My projected touch and go max is 280 right now based on the 265 x 2 I got last night (and they were solid as fuck). I am tempted to believe that I could get a touch and go of 300 this very cycle now that I'm extending things out a couple more weeks.

Standing Press PR 170 x 1 x 2 @ 187

[9.22.2015/Tue-pm, 187 lbs]
Olympic Squat, True Black wraps @ 345
45 x 12
135 x 6
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
345 x 1
355 x 2
365 x 2
Standing Press 155, 165, 170, 170 PRs
Front Squat, True Black wraps 315

I really had no business back in the gym tonight. But I needed to manage stress. Squat was as shitty as expected with quad knots complaining. I rolled on 30-lb curl bar to keep them at bay.

I was all over the place and just called it quits when I didn't feel like either volume or intensity. When I don't have the energy to back squat, I like to wrap up with singles testing on presses and front squats.

Personal records on press. I messed up recording of 170 the first time so I had to do another single which was a bit more of a grinder. I think I'm good for 175...which would put me at 40 lbs over my 135 max in June.

What's funny is that I don't train the standing press at all. I just test it every week or so while getting all my pressing strength from the bench volume.

Similarly I don't train the front squat or deadlift; I just test them while the back squat actually drives them up.

If there is one thing I'd like to drive home and prove to the training world, it's that only three movements are necessary and oprimal for 95-98% of total body strength and muscular development goals: Olympic-style squat, bench press, and dumbbell row.

Here is my second single with 170. Not as pretty as the first single.

And here is my front squat with loose wraps. I've done this weight before a couple of times and will aim for more when rested.

And finally, here is today's vlog ramble:

[9.21.2015/Mon-pm, 187 lbs]
Bench Press, touch and go
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
255 x 3, 3, 2, 2

Back Squat, high bar, squat shoes, NO BELT, Inzer True Black wraps at 335 
(Paused first rep of warm ups, all reps with 135)
135 x 6
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
335 x 4, 1, 4

Straight Bar Pull-up @ 187
+10 x 6
+20 x 5
+25 x 4 x 3

Bench Notes

Energy level is high. LGD supply won't last another ten days. So I am upping the frequency. Bench cooperated tonight: two triples then two doubles with 255. My best at the end of last cycle was two doubles with this weight. I think a double with 275 is entirely reasonable for next Tuesday when the LGD runs out.

Squat Notes

I have been PVC rolling my quads with religious regularity to keep fighting the knots that make squatting painful (and cause other dysfunction). The knots on the v. lateralis are still there, but it's getting better overall.

I wrapped up on 335 and had to rest a bit before the fourth rep. Then I went into the second set too soon and got just one. I took a big rest and wrapped a little tighter ;-) The tighter wrap got me another 5-10 lbs of rebound and I finished the four reps strong and with perfect form.

I actually upped the weight to 345...but after walking it out I knew I wouldn't be getting more than one rep so I racked it. Rested and got some pull-ups. Quite a bit actually. Used my flimsy shoe bag to hold the plates for weighted pull-ups.

Plans

My next planned training days are Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday. I would like to bench in the morning and squat at night again so I can squat fresh. I would also like to hit 355 for a set of five Wednesday night...then up the weight by 20 lbs and lower the set by one rep till I hit
415 for that magical double on the last evening of the cycle.

That...may be fantasy. But it is my goal to squat over 405 beltless high bar this cycle, even if I have to wrap tighter for a 20-lb boost to do it.

Either way, there is no reason I shouldn't be able to pull over 500 without a belt on that final day. I want to be able to say I added a plate to each side of my squat and my deadlift within 12 weeks/3 months! That means a 425-lb max squat (because I added knee wraps I have to add another ten pounds to the the 90 lbs) and a 515-lb deadlift, both without a belt.

In another cycle I can say that I added a plate to each side of my bench, too.

Here is a vlog entry about another reason I believe LGD 4033 is working...

9.20.2015/Sun-am, 188 lbs 
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
255 x 1
260 x 1
265 x 1
270 x 1 x 2

Back Squat, high bar, NO BELT, Inzer True Black wraps for 325 (paused first of warm ups, all paused with 135)
135 x 6
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
325 x 3 x 5

Bench notes

I just didn't feel like doing any bench volume today. I felt like getting a lot of crisp singles. So I just kept upping the weight by five pounds till I figured the next jump would be ugly. I got a really speedy single at 260 and then things got a little slow on 270. This is the most weight I've benched, maybe ever (can't remember if I got 260 or 265 or 270 years ago), but definitely the most I've benched in several years. I got another single with it and while it didn't kill me, I knew another one was very unlikely.

Still not ecstatic over this, though. I really won't be happy till I hit the next big bench milestone of 315 for a rep. That is not going to happen this cycle, however. It may happen in the cycle after this one. I figure I'll get to 285 this cycle and then get another 30 pounds in the next one.

Squat notes

Squats were okay too. I make such a big deal about what kind of knee wraps I used and how tight I made them. My other wraps were all in the wash so I broke out the Inzer True Blacks. This are my thickest wraps and they are nice and stretchy. But I wrap them so very loose that I can keep them on for minutes at a time without discomfort and still get into a nice full squat without any added weight and without any effort.

Still, just to keep things as honest as possible, I put another ten pounds on the bar to account for the thicker wraps. No problem, though! I got five triples and they all looked pretty damned good. To be honest, even though I didn't mention it in the last entry, the last double with 315 last week as rough. I got bent over on both of them and it was hard getting up out of the hole. So I'm very happy that I was able to get these doubles today.

Vids: DB Row, Paused High Bar

[9.19.2015/Fri-noon]
One-Arm Dumbbell Row, left/right
100 x 5/5
110 x 4/4
120 x 3/3
125 x 6/6, 6/6

[9.19.2015/Fri-pm]
Bench Press, touch and go 
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 2 x 5

Back Squat, high bar, squat shoes, NO BELT, wraps on work sets of 315, paused first of warmups
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1*
315 x 2 x 5

I decided to head out to the LA Fitness with the heavy dumbbells and get in some rows while fresh.

Then I was bored later and felt like starting on volume for bench and squat.

I decided to do another paused 315 in the midst of my doubles and I recorded it.

Wrapped Back Squat and Front Squat PRs

[9.17.2015/Thu-am, 188 lbs]
Bench Press, touch and go
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
260 x 2, 2
One-Arm Dumbbell Row (Flat Back) 100 x 10L-10R, 10L-10R, 10L-10R

I was a little disappointed with my lack of energy on the bench this morning. I was hoping to get another single or two, but I was wiped out after those doubles.

[9.17.2015//Thu-pm, 187 lbs]
Back Squat, high bar, squat shoes, no belt, *wraps at 385
135 x 6
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
345 x 1
365 x 1
380 x X
385 x 2* PR
Front Squat, wraps, no belt 305, 315 PR, 320

A little frustrated with missing 380. But I did manage to do a paused rep with 315 with sleeves; I also front squatted 315 with wraps; And 385 x 2 with wraps. These are all PRs. Yet I am not too happy.

My upper back had to round for me to fight through the second rep with 385. But I'll take it because I've been fighting for that second rep with 385 for a few sessions now.

[9.18.2015/Fri-am]
Weighing 187 this morning after breakfast. I don't feel like this cycle is going nearly as well as the first. this is about where I was at the end of the first cycle. Maybe I'll get another five pounds on me by the end of the next two weeks.

I feel like maybe I should start trying to use a little volume again. Just upping the weight each time for doubles had been working. But I feel like I"m getting a little burned out on that. Now that 80% of my squat max with wraps equals about 315, I'm happy to use 80% for undulating/escalating volume ala the "Russian Squat Routine". So I'll start with 315 for a bunch of triples and work up to a bunch of sextuples.

For bench I will try to push the usual strategy a bit longer. The upper body has more androgen receptors and using anabolics works way better for bench than any fancy volume prescriptions.

I weighed a little over 189 lbs this morning after the bathroom and a cup of coffee and before any actual food intake. The LGD is really kicking in. Once again, the kick started at two weeks and I expect it will continue strong for another three or four weeks.

I keep saying I want to extend the cycle out to eight or ten weeks this time...but then I keep having doubts. Going either too high daily and for too long is what starts to complicate things in terms of side effects, particularly suppression. Like, I can bounce back with just a few days off if I stop at six weeks...but I may need a few weeks off if I push things out to eight weeks and more.

So maybe I should just finish this bottle of LGD and then let my mouse take a break for a week. I have enough left for nearly three weeks. That should be enough time to get my high bar, beltless squat up to at least 405 for a double. That's if I squat every fourth day and make 15-lb and 10-lb jumps. I already did 365 x 2. So next would be: 380 x 2, 395 x 2, 405 x 2, 415 x 2.

The squat takes priority over the bench this cycle. My squat was a bit problematic during the initial six weeks while my bench just flew up. So as much as I would like to bench over 315, I know that it will take a couple more cycles to get there and that 405 squat is too close for me to ignore. It's the next big milestone I want to achieve, even with the 5-plate deadlift just around the corner.

I do plan to go for a beltless deadlift of 495 x 1 on the warm up to 505 x 2 at the end of this cycle...maybe even just do 505 x 1 and then go for 515 x 2 depending on how I feel. That will be a pretty big deal. Again, my best sumo deadlift with a belt was the 506 I did in competition a few years back. So getting that same weight and more for a double with a beltless conventional would mean I am stronger by several pounds than I was at my previous best.

In fact, since sumo and a belt boost my pull about 40 lbs it's easy to calculate how much stronger I would be with a 505 to 515-lb beltless conventional for a double; It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 lbs.

I'm pretty confident that I'm actually a little stronger now than I was at that previous peak in 2010. Back then I also got a 495 conventional pull with a belt. I could probably get 495 now without a belt, at least based on the 475 x 2 I got without a belt this week.

Definitely stronger than ever on the beltless high bar squat! 365 x 2 with equivalent knee protection to when I got 365 x 1 in 2011 or so.

RAD-140 Next

Beyond this cycle I think I will make the switch to RAD-140. First, it's supposed to be even better than LGD-4033 with even leaner gains. So LGD is better for bulking while RAD is better for "hardening". I just want to keep getting stronger with as little bloat as possible. Also it's supposed to be good to rotate compounds.

I'll actually probably add in Ostarine/MK-2866 toward the end of my LGD cycle so the Ostarine will act as a bridge into my RAD cycle.

Hmm...yeah...like the sound of that. That's about another 10 weeks of SARMs with the Ostarine bridge time acting as a backoff week. I honestly believe I get my bodyweight up over 205 lbs in that time and get my squat up to 500 lbs high bar without a belt...maybe for a double. That would mean a beltless conventional pull over 600. I expect I'd finally get to bench 315 and overhead press 225, too.

Go On And Doubt SARMs

The SARMs naysayers often naysay with warnings of the unknown longer-term effects of SARMs. Testosterone and steroids have decades of millions of human trials. SARMs don't even have a decade of trials and the subject pool is probably only a thousandth of that of test and steroids.

Yet the known side effects of test and steroids are so substantial that SARMs automatically seem like the better choice.

I'm thinking about all of this again this morning because I have just set lifetime personal records on all my big lifts. Again, this is as I approach my 40th birthday and after months of stagnation because my body just refused to improve like it did when I was in my early 30's.

Two weeks into my second cycle, almost on cue, and my lifts are pushing past all my old limits. I'm using a sensible dose -- just 8 mg per day for my 185-lb test mouse-- and I'm getting no signs of shutdown, no testicular pain or atrophy, no diminution of sex drive. In fact, the natural test booster I've been taking seems to have helped reverse any of those symptoms I got during my mouse's first cycle where I dosed him a little too high.

The testicles have regained the size they had been losing after the excess dosing. I'm very happy about this. Yes, SARMs -- especially the very potent LGD-4033 -- will induce shutdown because they take the place of testosterone in the muscle and bone cell androgen receptors. But if proper dosing protocols are followed (about 1 mg per 10 kg of body mass apparently), then suppression of test production seems minimal enough to be a worthwhile price to pay for the anabolic benefits.

Meanwhile, there is no acne, no hair loss, and no gynecomastia. I am now bigger and stronger than I was when I was younger and training just as hard and eating even more than I am now.

Placebo?

There are those who will say my results are due to placebo...that I'm finally just training harder or smarter than before because I expect the LGD-4033 to be having an effect on my test mouse.

I really wish that WADA and the USAPL felt the same way! Then I wouldn't have to drive to Defuniak Springs to compete in an untested fed!!

Seriously, I wonder just how much I would have to improve for the doubters to admit that LGD-4033 is roughly as good as exogenous testosterone in terms of producing growth and gains in strength.

As of this writing, it's been two months since I first dosed LGD-4033. I took a break of a few days to allow my body to correct the suppression and testicular atrophy I caused by dosing my mouse a little too high in the first six-week cycle. My squat is up an honest 50 lbs; my bench is up 40; my deadlift is up 60. These are apple-to-apple comparisons using the same form and the same type of supportive gear or lack thereof. I have put on exactly 10 lbs of bodyweight, and based on my improved strength I have to believe that is something like 80% fat-free.

Ten pounds on my body with 150 lbs on my powerlifting total using the same form and equipment. In two months. For an experienced lifter about to turn 40 whose lifts had been stagnating for a year.

Are we still saying "placebo"?

Will we still be saying that if this lifter puts on another ten pounds in another six to ten weeks, with another 150 lbs to his total using the same form and equipment?

40 is Just Four Months Away

I turn 40 years old in January. That's just four months from now. I plan to run this cycle for at least another six weeks and maybe as many as ten weeks. Then I can squeeze in at least one more cycle before my birthday.

My first cycle was six weeks. I want to get in eight weeks at least this time to give the LGD-4033 more time to work. That first cycle I dosed my poor mouse too high and I pushed the deadlift way too hard and too frequently so I had to take a backoff/deload week.

I'm feeling smarter this time and think I can keep the cycle going longer. I want to give myself enough time to hit at least a 405 x 2 high bar, beltless back squat with sleeves or very thin, loose wraps (more on using wraps in a minute). Obviously 425 x 2 high bar / no belt would be even better and I dare to hope that will happen in another six weeks. 405 x 2 is a minimum goal...but in truth, I am looking for an even 200 kg / 440 lb double if I take the cycle out to 10 weeks!

My beltless conventional pull should easily be over 500 for a double in just a couple more weeks. By the end of this cycle I will be looking for 525 - 545 for a double.

Now, if I can get another cycle in before January, then I'd like to celebrate my 40th birthday with a 500-lb high bar, beltless back squat and a 600-lb beltless conventional pull. I will have to weigh a little over 205 lbs to accomplish these lifts; For each pound of bodyweight I gain, I seem to gain a little under 5 lbs on the squat and a little over 5 lbs on the deadlift. It's about 3.5 lbs per pound of bodyweight on the bench...so I'm hoping for something just a little north of 315 for the paused bench by then.

BUT REMEMBER: "NOT AS GOOD AS ACTUAL GEAR!"

While I've just defended SARMs yet again, I kind of hope that most people will continue to doubt their efficacy in relation to actual steroids. That means I get to keep using these potent anabolics with their almost complete lack of side effects while people think my vast improvements are all because I know how to train and work really hard.

I mean...I DO know how to train and I do work really hard. But I do not kid myself that my ageing, genetically below average, happy, black ass would be all of a sudden be getting these results if it weren't for the LGD-4033.

High Bar And Conventional Deadlift PRs

9.14.2015/Mon-am
Bench Press, touch and go 
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
260 x 2, 1, 1, 1

9.14.2015/Mon-pm
Back Squat, high bar, squat shoes, NO BELT
135 x 6
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
345 x 1
365 x 2 PR
Negative Back Squat and hold 405

Deadlift, conventional, flat shoes, hook grip, NO BELT 
405 x 3
435 x 2
455 x 1
475 x 2 PR

Got some singles after the double with 260. Yippee! Hurt my left trap on the first single, though. It's still hurting.

I weighed 189 in the middle of the day. It's been almost two weeks since I reinitiated LGD dosing. I think the weight is starting to climb back up. I was down to 187 by the time I got back to the gym.

My back squat and deadlift were both personal records. So. Yeah.

I wore my super light Harbinger black Power  (tee hee) wraps so loosely today that I was able to keep them on for hours. My Rehband sleeves are shot. One has a hole in the seem line. So I wanted a little support, but no rebound. So this is definitely better than that 365 x 1 I got years ago with my then-new Rehbands.

My grip gave out an inch before I got the second 475 on the floor. Would not have counted in a meet. But it counts here as a hard-won second rep.

Oh...and I paused the first squat reps on each set up to 275. Long pauses. Getting very comfortable with these. I also held 405 in the bottom after the negative. That is the most weight I've ever held high bar...and the most weight I've had on my back at all without a belt.

9.13.2015/Sat-pm. 185-188 lbs
Bench Press, touch and go 
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x
255 x 1
265 x 1, 1

Squat, high bar, wraps at 385
135 x 6
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
345 x 1
365 x 1
385 x 1 + miss

That second single with 265 was very, very slow. The first was so smooth and powerful and had me thinking another would be not that bad. But it was very bad. I maintained form, but the rep took about 15 seconds and there were a couple moments I nearly gave up.

It took almost 20 minutes for my spirit to resettle firmly in my body after that second rep. Then I decided just to back squat instead of front squat.

Pleasant surprise on squats: 365 with a very light and loose wrap was not max. I had another ten pounds in me. And this is after a hard bench session which usually knocks about 5% of my squat. So getting a relatively easy 365 under these conditions represents a tremendous milestone.

My excitement fueled an attempt at a second rep with 385 in wraps. That was not too wise. I had failed to get more than one single with it in my last devoted squat session. I should have attempted another single, not a double. I feel confident about getting a double with it when I'm fresh, however.

I didn't note it up top, but I tried to go for 365 for a wrapped triple after a long rest. I failed immediately. I was just too burned out.

Oh, the reps first reps were paused up to 275, as usual. And for the first time in weeks my quads didn't hurt thanks to all the PVC rolling I've been doing.

Recalling The Kettlebell

The kettlebell craze was initiated at the turn of the century by Comrade Pavel Tsatsouline. Back at the height of it all powerlifting had embraced the kettlebell as the perfect tool for the "in between" stuff. It wasn't a barbell, but it wasn't stretching and jogging either. But it would allow powerlifters to get mobility, flexibility, and aerobic capacity while using a heavy chunk of iron!

There were people who tried to get the benefits of a barbell by using a kettlebell. That wasn't such a good idea, though. The barbell replaced the kettlebell over a century ago as the far superior pure strength tool. People were using the kettlebell for front squat, one-arm overhead pressing, and rows. Honestly, the barbell was way better for very heavy squats and presses, and the dumbbell was just fine for most one-arm stuff.

Where the kettlebell really shines, however, is the swing.

I will never like jogging. Sprinting is the superior form of locomotion for people who are concerned with developing strength and power in the lower body and a perfect compliment for lots of heavy squats. Sprinting is also excellent for getting the heart rate up.

But the kettlebell swing is even better at getting the heart rate up than sprinting is. High rep squatting is also good at this, but high rep squats are a bit problematic. They can be done properly, but they invite loss of form and vomiting. Swings are just more...fluid. The weight is just heavy enough for lots of smooth reps in a short amount of time.

I just did a bunch of swings non-stop after just a cup of coffee. I tend to fast till about noon every day (Intermittent Fasting comes naturally to me). I have been taking GW501516 (Cardarine) daily, but not doing any sort of aerobic work to get the full benefits of the drug. I figured I'd change that this morning.

No counting reps or time. I just swung the 16-kg bell and switched arms till I couldn't anymore. I probably didn't last much longer than two minutes. And when I was done I walked around sucking air like an asthmatic. I tried to do more swings a few minutes later, but I just couldn't. I'd kicked my own ass.

Update: I just did another set a few hours after the first. Still haven't eaten for the day, but I will be breaking my fast soon. My glutes are killing me.

Bench Press (Touch And Go) New Personal Best

9.10.2015/Thu-am ~185lbs
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 10
135 x 6
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
255 x 1
260 x 2 PR

Straight Bar Pull Up @ 185 x 6, 6, 6
One-Arm Dumbbell Row (STRICT) 100 x 8l8r, 8l8r, 8r8l

Feeling froggy today. I slept well despite taking my first ever pre-workout stimulant late in the evening yesterday. It was Geeked and I can't say I felt much. It was like a cup of coffee without the need to poop.

So. A new personal best on the bench press. They were both good, clean reps, too. Absolutely no bouncing. The second rep was slow, but I never stalled.

Pro tip: Late last cycle, I had tried deliberately flaring my arms out of the bottom and hurt my right shoulder. Now I just let the bar drift toward my face naturally as I get through the sticking point. Too early a flare puts the shoulder in the danger zone.

I don't think I've ever benched this much weight for more than a single before. I'm pretty sure I've benched either 260 or 265 for a single a few years ago. I'm surely good for 270 for a single now. My aim for the end of this cycle is 285 for a double.

I was hoping to get a single after that double, but I was pretty wiped out. I decided to move on to upper back instead of pressing my luck. Nice, clean pull ups with chin getting a few inches over the bar. Then the 100-lb DB rows felt so incredibly light. Those rows were so clean. Not even a hint of body English till the last couple of reps of the last set, and even then it was amazingly slight.

I did some fasted sprints in the parking lot of the family business. Felt good and had me feeling very limber afterward. I can't believe I let myself go so long without running and jumping. I went inside and did some a few vertical leaps and on the third attempt I hit my head on the ceiling tile which is 7'10". Only a 24" leap, but I imagine I will get higher again with practice.

Calibrated scale read 185 on the nose this morning. That is sort of a surprise. I just benched my heaviest ever weight for a double while I was at the lower end of my weight range.

Next

I am going to try to be smart and not return to the gym in the evening. I will take tomorrow off and then pull on Saturday. I want to warm up for the pull with front squats just to see how I do on front squats when I'm not already exhausted from back squats. If I see myself getting a 315 front squat, I'm having some hapless gym-goer record that shit.

A 465 double is the plan for the pull, but I will happily up that to 475 if things are going well.

Monday bench 260 for a double and then some singles. Tuesday back squat 385 for a double.

Back At It

9.9.15/Wed-pm ~187lbs
Back Squat, high bar, squat shoes, NO BELT, medium/loose Red Line wraps @ 365
135 x 6
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
345 x 1
365 x 1
385 x 1, miss
Standing Overhead Press (STRICT) 155 x 3
Front Squat, squat shoes, NO BELT, medium/loose Red Line wraps 275 x 3, 285 x 2

It's been a busy Labor Day weekend and I was forced to stay out of the gym for a full seven days. Last session was the bench on 9.2.15. I've been dosing LGD at 8 mg ED, GW at 14 mg ED, and two pills of TestUp per day. Feeling good. Weighing ~187 in the mornings, right where I'd left off.

I had unrealistic hopes for doubles with at least 375 today. I went up to 385 and it felt so solid that I thought I might get a few singles with it. But on the second attempt I went a bit too far down in an attempt to catch the bounce and I lost my arch. Couldn't fight through the sticking point once my transmission (my spine) started to give, not with this weight which is literally the heaviest I've ever lifted in this style (high bar, medium wraps).

I should note that instead of my usual knee sleeves I wore the Harbinger black, thin "Power" wraps. I wrapped them so loosely that I was able to wear them the entire session without any discomfort. These truly gave me even less added weight than my much thicker knee sleeves do. So I am very, very happy that I was able to work up to 345 in this manner. I imagine that my max with just sleeves or such light and loose wraps is somewhere over 355, maybe even 365.

This is a fantastic way to start another meso-cycle after a brief layoff.  The LGD hasn't even kicked in yet. I should really start to see my bodyweight and my lifts moving in another few days.

As usual, I paused the first rep or two of my squat warmups till 275. At 315 I started the controlled bouncing. Also as usual, I folllowed up back squats with a quick set of standing presses then front squats. The first rep of the press is always "true" coming from a dead stop; the following reps use the stretch reflex.

Gym Anecdote

A very athletic-looking brotha approached me after my set of 285 on the front squat to compliment me on them. I had to rejoin that he looked like an athlete himself with some power behind him. He told me he wrestled and played football...running back. He was about 5'8" or so and all muscle, definitely under 10% bodyfat. He looked like a running back.

I asked him if he remembered his sprint times or vertical because while I am "gym strong", I really admire people with natural speed and power. He told me that all he knows is that he could jump and grab rim with both hands. At his 5'8" height that works out to over a 30" vertical.

Next

I'm PVC rolling right now. I don't care how pussy-ish it seems. If I don't do it, my quads become increasingly bound up and painful. This is something that I need to pay attention to if I want to keep progressing and stay free of chronic pain.

I'm also reveling in the fact that I am as strong as ever and in some ways stronger than ever. Apples to apples is a little hard since my best front squat was done in just sleeves and right now I'm using wraps on my top sets. But still 275 x 1 was my best years ago in sleeves and today I got an easy triple with that weight. My best ever high bar squat with just sleeves was 365 and my best with loose powerlifting wraps was 385...and I'm right about at both those numbers now here at the begining of a cycle.

I am gunning for 425 x 2 back squat in wraps and 315 x 3 front squat in wraps by the end of this cycle in the next four or five weeks. Tomorrow I will bench and maybe deadlift. It's a bit too close to squats, but I'm just trying to establish some numbers at the begining. And I may just put the deadlift off till Saturday. After that I don't really plan to do it much this cycle because it impedes my squat recovery too much.

I'm Getting Bettah...

Thank you, evil corporations, for NSAIDs.

I've been dosing Naproxen again and it's finally kicking in. Felt much better yesterday and this morning the pain is almost entirely gone. It's less than 5% of what it has been the last couple of days. It looks like there was just a lot of inflammation due to some minor tear in the area of the gluteus medius, minimus or involved tendon. Inflammation is down and pain is almost gone.

It's amazing how much pain affects mood. The chronic pain and sense of vastly diminished ability had dampened those feelings of well-being that the SARMs started enhancing a couple days ago. Surprise: crippling pain is a total buzzkill.

I'm starting to look forward to lifting again. I'm thinking about the possible progressions for my next cycle.

And I really, really need to keep doing myofascial release for my IT bands and quads. This isn't even an option.

I think this is the most important thing I've learned about training: do what you know works for you. No matter which loudmouth guru belittles it.

For me, this is knee wraps and rolling my IT bands with a PVC pipe. If I don't do these things, I very quickly become incapacitated by heavy squats. If I want to keep my squat progressing and to be able to use my legs between squat sessions for other stuff like walking and running, then I need to wear knee wraps starting at about 225 and I need to work the adhesions out of the quads and IT bands after and between sessions.

There are a million voices on the Internet ready to damn you for just about any training practice. I'm guilty, too. I think for the overwhelming majority of lifters the full squat, bench press, and dumbbell row are more than enough for complete strength training. But maybe some people will get more out of incline press or overhead press or chin ups or trap bar deadlifts instead. That's fine. If someone knows from experience that something works for them, I urge them to keep on keeping on with it.

Seriously, fuck anyone who isn't you trying to tell you different when you know what works for your body. If you're getting stronger and staying healthy, keep doing what you're doing.

Hip Still Killing Me, Worse At Night

My hip felt good yesterday...but a few minutes of lying down makes the pain come back. I wasn't quite as immobile last night, but moving was very painful. It took me several minutes just to get out to the kitchen. And no matter how carefully I moved, the pain in my hip was excruciating. 

I upped my LGD dose to two pills today. Because fuck it. I'm 184 lbs right now. I haven't taken Any Ostarine today. I'm leaning toward agreeing that stacking these two is a waste of time. 

Butthurt...Literally!

Natty's Log 9.3.2015
4 mg LGD-4033 (Olympus UK Legend)
10 mg MK-2866 (Olympus UK Ostarine)
14 mg GW-501516 (Olympus UK Cardarine)

I Hurt My Butt

Last night, I was standing at a bar and eating beef tacos and quaffing a light lager. I put my right leg back a bit to stretch my iliopsoas a bit. About an hour later as I was getting out of my car, something in my right glute region cramped up very painfully. I tried to "walk it off", but a couple hours later by nightfall my gluteus medius (and maybe minimus) were in such pain that I could barely stand or move.

This morning I felt almost as bad upon waking, but moving around seemed to clear it up within 20 minutes. I am feeling much better now. But I'm very bothered by the fact that I could be so incapacitated so suddenly and for so long.

I was going to squat today, but now that seems like not such a good idea. I have to move a bunch of stuff out of a big truck this afternoon anyway.

I wonder if this sudden pain has to with me releasing all kinds of knots in my thighs these past couple of days. I think it's probably the fact that I tried to stretch out my hip flexors. I think I hypercontracted my glutes in that stretch.

Maybe because I haven't lifted anything heavy in a few days (deload week) my glutes got a chance to get really rested. So they were able to fire a lot harder than I anticipated and thus hyper-contract. I'm just pulling stuff out my butt here. Just trying to figure out why this happened.

It's Probably The Deadlift's Fault

In order to be good at deadlifts, one has to practice deadlifting. But the actual strength for the deadlift is built by the squat. Practicing the deadlift refines squatting strength (which is general physical preparation for every lower body strength and power movement). But the deadlift itself shifts stress away from the quadriceps and shunts the stress toward the various glute muscles and hamstrings and the lumbar muscles. Some think this is a good thing, but I would argue that it makes the deadlift an unbalanced movement far inferior to the squat for building strength and much more dangerous to the lower back and hip muscles.

The deadlift is a competitive display of power, but it is not nearly as effective as the squat for building hip and thigh strength. It is a taxing lift that really shouldn't be trained too often with challenging weight.

And now I'm thinking that I predisposed my gluteus medius to injury by going too hard on the deadlift in the latter part of the last cycle.

A Chance To Build Up

There may be a hidden blessing here. This injury forces me to take a few more days off...which gives the SARMs that much more time to build up in my system before I start lifting heavy.

I'm 184 this afternoon, after a meal. That's a little disconcerting. I am hurt, getting smaller, and just feel like I should be doing something to reverse that trend.

Natty's Log 9.2.15/Wed

4 mg LGD (Ol UK Legend)

10 mg Ostarine (Ol)

14 mg GW (Ol UK Cardarine)

Let's get this out of the way. I know that many, many people say that stacking LGD and Ostarine is a huge waste. And it probably is as far as getting any extra anabolic effect. But I also hear many people say that their feelings of well-being are better on Osta and that Osta benefits connective tissue more. 

It does make a lot of sense to use LGD solo and then use Osta between LGD cycles, though.

LGD will be dosed at 4 mg per day for about 15 days, then I'll up the dose to 8 mg for the remainder of the cycle. That should bring me to 40 days of dosing. I expect the strength to start kicking in somewhere near the end of the second week. I think a really good pattern would be a 6-week cycle of LGD and GW with the first two weeks laying a foundation for the big strength jumps in the last four weeks...then a week off...then a cycle of Ostarine...and keep alternating these two for a while. 

This time around, I am doing LGD again because honestly I already miss the constant improvement I was experiencing while on LGD. I miss adding reps and weights every single time I stepped into the gym. I miss seeing the weight on the scale edging up every morning, with my daily average constantly moving up. I weighed just a hair under 185 this morning after coffee, a sandwich, and an evacuation. I'm no longer staying up around 186-188. That could explain why my bench has regressed a few pounds. Even a little bit of lost glycogen and water weight shows up immediately on the bench press. 

Speaking of the bench, I snuck back into the gym last night because a) I really wasn't at my best yesterday morning in terms of energy levels, and b) I just didn't feel right about not benching more than 235. Results:

9.1.15/Tue

Bench Press, touch and go

45 x 10

135 x 5

185 x 3

225 x 2

245 x 2, 1

Pull Up @ 185 x 6, @ 185 + 15lb DB x 4

Not only was 245 for a double tough...but I also felt like neither of my shoulders could handle it! The right shoulder is already a little dinged up. But the left was feeling on the verge of slight injury too at 185. I think my decision to get on both LGD and Osta was solidified on that warm up set.

As if that weren't enough, both elbows were feeling the old strains when I did some pull-ups. That pain was almost entirely gone a few days ago! 

The first set of bodyweight-only pull-ups was ridiculously easy for six. I stopped at just six with the intention to do maybe four sets. But I decided to go a little bit heavier and put a 15-lb DB between my feet with the intention of going up to 30 lbs and doing sets of triples. But it was more than a little awkward with the DB because the straight bar is on a rack that's kind of short. I had to angle my legs forward. I need to buy another chin/dip belt.

Six-Week Cycles?

I have seen recommendations to run LGD for more like 8-12 weeks. I think that's just a little risky. But it may turn out to be fine for the majority of people. I like six-week cycles right now because it gives my body a much-needed rest from the rapid increases in what I'm able to lift. And also because my system spends less time getting suppressed. 

I'm sure someone will read this and claim that both six weeks and 12 weeks requires equal amounts of time off, but I really think that's a silly notion. I think I can get more time on within a year by taking regular breaks instead of staying on too long and then needing months for my own production to bounce back to normal. 

And anyway it seems like most of the benefits manifest between weeks two and six. So instead of going full bore for 12 weeks straight, it just seems to make more sense to go for six, then take a few days off to let the joints rest and endocrine system bounce back, then go back on. 

Feeling It Already

This is almost defnitely placebo, but I feel better already after my morning stack. My mood is fantastic. I feel energized. Muscles feel full. Torso looks lean. I have one more "deload" session this week. Supposed to see how my squat feels tomorrow. I'm hoping that 355 or 365 for a wrapped-but-no-belt double won't do me in. I want to start my official cycle next week right about where I left off last week: 255 x 2 bench and 375 x 2 squat. I want to end up with a 285 x 2 BP and 425 x 2 SQ at the end of six weeks. 

There will probably be much less emphasis on the deadlift this time. But I still hope to get a double with over 500 lbs conventional and beltless without it wrecking me. 

I dont see how my bodyweight won't crest 190 lbs. And I imagine it will get as high as 195. I'm actually hoping to do a another two or three cycles through the fall and winter and see if I can't get my bodyweight up to a lean 220. Getting over 200 is going to be a magical moment for me, though. It may happen this cycle, but more likely it will be the cycle after this one. That should also be when I see my bench crest 315. 

This cycle should see my high bar raw squat go well over 405, however. That will be another magical moment for me. I've never had that much weight on me high bar style. Also, a 500-lb conventional deadlift  without a belt will be an all-time best by far. Those are both coming this cycle!

IT Band Release; Weak Without Drugs

IT Bands Needed Kneading

First off, I think both my IT bands have been in very bad need of myofascial release. I used my back off week as it's supposed to be used yesterday and rolled my IT bands as devoutly as I would bench or squat. There was one time in my left thigh where it felt like I was squeezing a fist-sized rock through a garden hose. The knot seemed to move from mid-thigh down to the outside of my left knee as I slowly rolled and repeatedly stopped till a particular area released.

My right quadricep was in much more pain than my left during actual squats. And while my right quad felt better after I rolled it (and now seems to be contracting smoothly), I think the deeper problem was with my left thigh, particularly the IT band which seemed to have been pulling the knee out of ideal position. This would explain why for so long I have had chronic mild effusion in the left knee no matter what I do.

After a day of rolling my left knee felt "loose". Actually both knees felt this way, but especially the left. As of this morning, I am still rolling and attacking the "rock through a garden hose" knot in my left thigh. The effusion in my left knee DOES appear to be diminishing.

It's great that I'm using this deload week to focus so hard on working the debilitating kinks out of my IT bands. But this is something I really need to pay more attention to during my lifting cycle.

Weaker Without LGD

I'm not feeling the urge to hit the weights, but I figured I'd stop in for a quick few doubles on the bench press this morning.  I knew I was in zero danger of wanting to squat because my quads feel a little beat up from all the PVC rolling yesterday.

9.1.2015/Tue
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
235 x 2
One-Arm DB Row 100 x 10

I knew I was in trouble with how heavy 185 felt. 235 for a double felt heavier than 255 for a double did last week. It's been five days since I last took any LGD-4033. I am pretty sure my strength is already wearing off. I expected this, but it's kind of freaky to experience it. This is why I timed my deload for the week I planned to go off the SARM for a few days.

The gains with SARMs are supposed to be more "keepable" than those with actual test and steroids. But it stands to reason that subtracting androgen receptor activation is going to result in lowered mass and strength. To wit, taking a SARM clearly made  me stronger; what makes me think I will be as strong when NOT taking a SARM?

Now some might point out that my relative weakness today is just part of the natural wave inherent in a deload week. But while I was on LGD I could bench thrice weekly and come back stronger each time without fail. I am sure I never had a time where I felt like a weight 20 lbs below what I did the week before felt challenging.

I weighed 185 lbs this morning. This is only my fourth day without LGD. I don't like it. I read somewhere that cycling training weights was actually born of lifters being forced to use lighter weights when cycling use of AAS.

I will eventually have to take a longer break. Right now this one-week breather is just so I can link two six-week cycles as close together as possible and get to a 12-week total. I wonder if I'll continue to get weaker over the course of the week or if this ~5% drop in three days off is the worst of it.

The fact remains that even though I'm off my peak strength, I'm still considerably stronger now than I was when I started the LGD dosing. I could only get 225 for a very hard double back then. My new mass (admittedly mostly glycogen and water) is still there. I'm just lacking the oomph without the LGD-4033 filling my androgen receptors.

Bench Measure Anabolic Effectiveness Best

This article explains why my bench has been flying up more than my squats and pulls:

One study showed that men who used steroids for 10 weeks gained 2 to 5 kilograms of lean body mass — muscle, in other words. They also reported a 5% to 20% increase in strength. Study participants gained more muscle mass in their chest, [neck], shoulders, and upper arms than in other areas. That’s not because they skipped leg day, but because the muscles in these areas have more androgen receptors in their cells. Not surprisingly, the participants improved more noticeably at bench-pressing than in other kinds of weight-lifting.

While testosterone and its simulacra build muscle tissue, their presence in the body is vital for the maximal performance of that tissue. So when anabolic levels fall so does strength even before the muscle has had time to diminish in size.

Ligandrol's half-life is something like 30 hours. It's been 96 hours since my last dose. Any strength I exhibit now is due to the "hangover" of increased muscle mass without the benefit of high levels of exogenous anabolic/androgenic substances in my system.

This double-blind placebo study backs me up here. Testosterone increases not just muscle mass but also maximal voluntary muscle strength and power.

This study demonstrates that gains in maximal voluntary muscle strength and muscle power are related to testosterone dose and to serum and free testosterone concentrations. A single log-linear, dose-response curve best described the relationship between circulating testosterone concentrations and changes in fat-free mass and muscle size. Our data are consistent with Forbes’s hypothesis of a linear relationship between testosterone dose and muscle mass and strength gains. 

Testosterone not only tells the body to increase muscle mass; it also lets those muscles contract harder and faster. I remember reading somewhere P. Tsatsouline describing test as completing a "strength circuit" in the neuromuscular system.

I want to clarify. I am just feeling a little weaker. I have not lost any weight. So my "gainz" aren't dwindling after just a few days off. My strength just isn't what it was on-cycle because the half-life on SARMs is significantly shorter than that of AAS. Enough time has passed for my last dose to be down to less than 1/8th of what it was initially.

I just get the feeling that somebody is going to read this and say that the strength loss is in my head...that I only lost anything because I expected to. But why in the world would strength remain the same days after discontinuation of a compound that fades to less than 10% of its original amount after four days?

Not only is my strength down a bit, but bilateral golfer's elbow that had been going away is starting to flare up a bit; my right shoulder is starting to hurt again, too. I said I'd take a week off, but that is an arbitrary number conforming to a calendar grouping. That fact is that the LGD has cleared out of my system out already. I may start again tomorrow or the day after. Four mg per day for a couple weeks plus, then eight for the remaining three-plus weeks. Don't think I'll ever go up to 12 mg daily again! Testicles started hurting at that dosage last time.