Where to go from here?

[T-Dawg]

I am looking for advice from accomplished bodybuilders on where to go from here with my training plan.

My Goal: I'd like to be 215 lbs with a BF of 9% or less by March 2006 (my 40th birthday).

My Background: 38 year old Male, I started training about 2 years ago. When I began, I was 215 lbs with a BF of 32%. I spent the first year trimming fat and building some muscle and working on my diet. I did an upper body (M-W-F) and lower body (T-TH) beginner program with cardio 3X week for 6 months, then switched to a "Push/Pull" split Chest/Tri(M-TH), Back/Bi (T-F) Legs (W) for another 6 months. After a year I was 170lbs at 17% BF.

During the next year, I switched to 1x/Wk/Body Part routine - Chest(M), Back(T), Legs(W), Arms(T). I experimented with various supplements. I tried 1-AD, M1T (1-AD was ok, but M1T made me feel terrible). I was having difficulty building muscle so I decided to experiment with AS. I tried D-Bol 25mg/day for 5 weeks and really liked the results noticeable gains in strength and size). A few months later I tried Sust 250mg/week for only 6 weeks.

During my experiment with Sust, I notice some chronic health issues that I have had for some time went away. I told my Dr. and he put me on HRT TEST-Cyp 100mg/week.

So that's where I'm at. Currently 195 lbs at 17% BF.

My Plan: I want to focus my efforts on trimming fat. I have refining my diet which up to this point was pretty "loose". I'm targeting 2170 cals/day (195g protein, 190g carbs, 72 g fat). I am continuing on HRT (TEST-Cyp 100mg/wk) and plan to add ECA stack for cutting fat (E 25mg, C 200mg, A 325mg x4 per day). I plan to stay on the 1x/Wk/Body Part routine (same as above) focusing on proper form over increased weights. I also am increasing cardio to 45min/day (M-F). I'm not sure how long to stay on this cutting phase however I'm targeting about 2-3 months.

After cutting this winter, I'd like to try building some mass. I'm thinking about adding AS for 12 weeks to see what my body does. I'm thinking (D-Bol 25mg/day for first 4 weeks) stacked with TEST 500mg/week for the entire 12 weeks.

Any feedback on how I might improve this plan would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mike P.T.]

I am looking for advice from accomplished bodybuilders on where to go from here with my training plan.

My Goal: I'd like to be 215 lbs with a BF of 9% or less by March 2006 (my 40th birthday).

My Background: 38 year old Male, I started training about 2 years ago. When I began, I was 215 lbs with a BF of 32%. I spent the first year trimming fat and building some muscle and working on my diet. I did an upper body (M-W-F) and lower body (T-TH) beginner program with cardio 3X week for 6 months, then switched to a "Push/Pull" split Chest/Tri(M-TH), Back/Bi (T-F) Legs (W) for another 6 months. After a year I was 170lbs at 17% BF.

During the next year, I switched to 1x/Wk/Body Part routine - Chest(M), Back(T), Legs(W), Arms(T). I experimented with various supplements. I tried 1-AD, M1T (1-AD was ok, but M1T made me feel terrible). I was having difficulty building muscle so I decided to experiment with AS. I tried D-Bol 25mg/day for 5 weeks and really liked the results noticeable gains in strength and size). A few months later I tried Sust 250mg/week for only 6 weeks.

During my experiment with Sust, I notice some chronic health issues that I have had for some time went away. I told my Dr. and he put me on HRT TEST-Cyp 100mg/week.

So that's where I'm at. Currently 195 lbs at 17% BF.

My Plan: I want to focus my efforts on trimming fat. I have refining my diet which up to this point was pretty "loose". I'm targeting 2170 cals/day (195g protein, 190g carbs, 72 g fat). I am continuing on HRT (TEST-Cyp 100mg/wk) and plan to add ECA stack for cutting fat (E 25mg, C 200mg, A 325mg x4 per day). I plan to stay on the 1x/Wk/Body Part routine (same as above) focusing on proper form over increased weights. I also am increasing cardio to 45min/day (M-F). I'm not sure how long to stay on this cutting phase however I'm targeting about 2-3 months.

After cutting this winter, I'd like to try building some mass. I'm thinking about adding AS for 12 weeks to see what my body does. I'm thinking (D-Bol 25mg/day for first 4 weeks) stacked with TEST 500mg/week for the entire 12 weeks.

Any feedback on how I might improve this plan would be greatly appreciated.

First of all nice progress so far. It's good to see you're not going overboard with the anabolic steroid useage off the bat as well. Anyway as far as the eca stack goes I would consider adding yohimbine hcl in there as well.(Ask your doctor if this is ok of course. Hehehehe) As far as your diet since you're really getting specific with the ratios and how many grams of each you are getting I would recommend a different approach that I feel would give better results and even keep your body from getting used to the diet and slowing it's metabolism down.(Even though the eca will help of course.) I would personally recommend cycling your caloric intake. For example, for 3 days you would consume 250 grams of protein(No kidney problems yes? You didn't mention the condition you had but I'm assuming no since 195 grams of protein is high for someone who has bad kidneys.) and have maybe 75-100 grams of carbs and same fat intake. Then on the fourth day you would keep the protein intake high or drop it to maybe 220 grams and have maybe 300 grams of carbs. By doing this or something along the lines of this as this wasn't an exact figure you would keep the fat burning process constant and keep your metabolism from shutting down. Let me explain. When you go on a lower calorie diet for any extended period of time your body's homestasis mechanisms react by slowing it's overall metabolism down. As well without sufficient carb intake t3 production won't be at it's peak. By going low carbs for a few days your body will tap into it's fat stores. Insulin production will be low and gh will be higher. The higher protein intake will help keep your body from metabolizing it's own muscle tissue to make up for the energy deficiency caused from the decreased carb intake. As well protein intake will a good thermic effect on you as well protein burns up a good amount of calories just to digest it as well. So anyway on the fourth day you would up the intake of carbs. This will help you in many ways. One, it will trick your body into "thinking" it's being fed normally which would help to prevent metabolism lowering. As well it will help up your insulin levels which at this time is good since the insulin will help to shuttle all the carbs into your glycogen depleted muscles and it won't get stored as fat. Finally it will help you to keep you more sane. Hehehe. I'm sure I can get into much more in depth but this is just a slight example of why I like calorie cycling much better.

Oh and another thing make sure you are not deficient in vitamins or minerals as this will have a negative impact on your overall health as well as your efforts to lose bf. good luck with everything.

 

[T-Dawg]

Thanks Mike P.T. - I'll raise the carbs on the 4th day and look into yohimbine hcl. I really appreciate your advice and encouragement.

 

[Mike P.T.]

Thanks Mike P.T. - I'll raise the carbs on the 4th day and look into yohimbine hcl. I really appreciate your advice and encouragement.

Just remember too that you have to lower the carb intake as well for the other 3 days though. This is just an example too and these type of diets usually work best for most people. Everyone is different though but I think you should give it a try and see how it goes. Good luck.