Oops I double posted the same thing somehow. 
I’ll be getting updated bloodwork done in the next week or so. That will give me a chance to see how it compares over the last 1.5 years that I’ve been testing and tracking everything.
However, I’m going to stick with the protein/carb meals since they are working and my body now seems to do well with them (unlike high-fat meals).
The fact that I had more than 10 years with a consistently low-carb approach definitely shows that it can work. But, like Dan John says, nothing works forever!
Ah, yes! Chris and I go way, way back. He essentially has “known” me since the beginning (Testosterone.net) and we finally met in person.
However, my memory is NOT like it used to be, and I cannot remember if we first met at the one (and only) Testosterone seminar in Orlando (2000) when I first met Ian King, John Berardi, and others; or the Charles Staley Training Summit in October 2005; or if it wasn’t until the 2006 Test Fest in DC.
I never got a chance to meet you as I started my fitness business in September 2009 and didn’t have time to get on the Forums for the next decade (but I did pop in a couple years ago to see if any of the OG’s were still around).
I would love to be a part of the community again, but I just don’t have much time to post on forums these days. 
I definitely miss the good ole days and the great people I met here and, eventually, in person!
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So smart to stick with what’s working now. Protein/carb meals are more fun too. ha!
I hear that. This community replaced the time I was spending on Instagram and Facebook, and what’s bizarre is I think my mood has been consistently elevated as a result of coming here instead. I love these people.
Thanks for the great chat!!
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Double post again. 
Yesterday’s Full-ish Body Workout
Superset:
Hip Thrust: 4x10-15 full ROM, then partials at the top
Neutral-Grip Pull-Up: 4x5 controlled, strict reps
This combo is pretty fun because these are non-competing exercises, but they hit major muscle groups, so you end up a little winded between sets.
Last time I could only do 15 pull-ups, this time it was 20. Is this progressive overload?
Superset:
Booty Machine (Abductor): 3 x failure with full ROM, then burn-out partials
Loaded Walking Lunges: 25-lb plate, out and back
For lunges, hold the plate slightly in front of your body with a wide elbow angle and you’ll get a nice little bicep pump from the isometric hold.
Superset
Hammer Strength Chest Press: 4x15
DB Lateral Raise: 4x15 slow, controlled
Chest strength is lower right now but I don’t care because everything else is trending upward.
Dips: 4x6, slow and controlled
Thyroid Health and Attraction
I read an article a couple weeks ago that blew my mind. The gist was about how the greatest predictor of romantic attraction was the energy levels between the potential partners. Not appearance, not intelligence, not religion or socioeconomic background, but physical energy levels.
The article went on to say that these “energy levels” (kinda vague term) were directly related to thyroid health. Crazy, right?
This begs the question, are our personalities dictated by our metabolic health?
I can’t seem to find this article again but it got me thinking about people you meet who are upbeat versus those who seem to be the opposite.
And what if the relationship between these two things – thyroid health and energetic personality traits – can work in reverse? If that were the case, you could improve metabolic health by intentionally changing your demeanor.
That sounds impossible and even a little woo-woo, but it’s fun to think about.
For the record I know a lot of charming/charismatic people with hypothyroid so maybe that article was dead wrong. Who knows?
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If you find the article, please link it!!!
Being hypothyroid doesn’t necessarily mean that someone acts low energy around others. They might compensate in other areas
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Ha, First time poster. I’m kinda surprised it worked. Anyways, this is my currant condition. I’ll turn 49yrs old in three weeks.
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I HATE social media!
I had a nice two-year ban on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from 2020 - 2020 for speaking the truth. 
If I wasn’t still training a small group of clients, I would delete all of them!
It’s far better when you can find a community of like-minded people trying to better themselves rather than the false-reality and negativity that perpetuates throughout social media platforms.
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Amazing work, @Friscokid! Now we need the details! What are you doing and how are you feeling?
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Well…I’ve always been a bit of a stimulus junky. With that being said I’ve used mostly “Bro splits” throughout my training life. Training (lifting) 4 times a week EOD with 20min of steady state treadmill and sauna twice a week with Saturdays been completely off. I came out of my winter bulk at about 195lbs and calorie cycled my way down to about 170lbs currently. I would stay in a calorie deficit cycling higher calorie days on training days in order to maintain a little better performance and then reduce cals. ( Mostly carbs) on off days. I found this to be better than a strait deficit across the board. It helped me for better adherence. I would always add in a maintenance week here and there to make sure I wouldn’t stall my progress or tank my gym performance. I’ve been able to maintain pretty well. It’s funny cause when I stopped my cut and started inching my way back to maintenance cals. and even a surplus on some days I would continue to lose fat. I’m currently now in a surplus on training days and maintenance cals. on my off days and still holding steady at about 168ish lbs. I’m definitely going to go slow a steady this time around with my muscle gaining phase. The whole bulking and cutting thing just isn’t very effective for me at the intermediate stage.
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Oh, I had to edit what I wrote! I think it might’ve been romantic attraction and not long term success. Ugh, my memory.
So the article wasn’t meant to poop on any one group in particular, but to show who was most attracted to one another. The reason why it was kind of a big deal is that it had little to do with looks or financial success and more to do with similar levels of energy – and I’m not exactly sure what they meant by that. But they did mention thyroid output within the same article.
As we all know, sometimes journalists don’t do justice to the studies researchers carry out.
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What you’re doing sounds both fun and brutal!
It probably also helped keep your metabolism humming too.
This is all really cool! Love to hear when people raise their intake and end up leaner.
Totally agree on the bulking and cutting phases. I’m not convinced it’s all that great (even) for those who love it. It looks like glorified yo-yo dieting where average lifters go from overweight for half the year to relatively normal for the other half of the year. I understand it for pro bodybuilders on gear but not for most lifters.
What?! Stahp it! No way.
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Right there with ya. Every week I come up with a new reason to hate it.
The newest one? I don’t think we’re meant to see every last frivolous hot take or daily happening recorded by strangers we’ve never met in real life.
It’s just too much information and most of it is useless to us as individuals.
What you were sharing on the other hand sounds like it was actually useful and honest, and you got punished for it.
But people who are compelled to document their lives for a social media following have been brainwashed by Kardashian culture. And they get rewarded by the algorithm. It’s weird.
Hey Dani, Thanks for the response and kind words.
Here is what I’ve come to learn so far.
1). Bro splits can be awesome for the neurotype 2B’s. As long as you chase performance week to week over fatigue.
2). Calorie cycle for what you are going to do that day.
3). Muscle gain and fat loss are very rarely a linier process.
4). It’s easier to lose fat than gain muscle.
5). Less is sometimes more.
6). Get lean ONCE and slowly build from there. For us older folk. The bulk and cut thing stops working outside of newbi gains and is potentially unhealthy. Slow and steady gains are just fine for me at my age.
7). Scale weight is overrated. " If you don’t like the way you look"? “Then what difference does it make what the scale says”! # Vince
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Yupper, Old enough to know better, but still too young to care! 
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oral route or topical finasteride?
Oral route stops the conversion of Testosterone to DHT system wide. Topical route stops the conversion only on the areas applied (scalp).
If taking oral route, it will give you low T symptoms (post-finasteride syndrome). If taking topical route, it will be FAR less prevalent.
Most of your endo/exogenous testosterone is converted to DHT. If you block it, you’re blocking most of your body’s testosterone and it’s benefits.
DHN is far more anabolic than DHT, which is why women often run things like Anavar, Primobolan (EDIT primo is a DHT, but still run by women on cycle for low risk sides), or Deca… more muscle with less ‘manly’ effects. Also, the excess androgens tend not to cause hair loss.
I’m not the most educated on this stuff, I mostly just know what to take and why.
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Yes. Hitting 21 next time is also progressive overload. You could also add weight and still count it. I still like rep ranges and tonnage over time as an indicator of progressive overload.
On a different note: 20 pull ups for anyone is impressive. For women? even more so. I think I can do like 12 right now lol.
Probably to an extent.
Women also have a better sense of smell than men and can literally smell a healthy immune system… body odor/pheromones smell better between healthy complimentary immune systems.
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Yep! Learned that lesson. Should’ve consulted you first.
I somehow didn’t think a DHT blocker would lower overall testosterone or contribute to any symptoms, and writing that out now makes me feel really dumb.
You’re way more educated on it than I am. I tried the topical stuff before and it made hair quality really rough. It completely lost any silky texture. That’s fine for guys; not a great effect for females.
I actually looked into microdosing with a couple of the things you mentioned like anavar, but ultimately decided against it for now. My doc has me on an itty bitty dose of TRT (like 4 mg a week) and I feel like a superhero most of the time, as long as I’m not blocking DHT lol.
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