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.