My workout & Masterdrol Result Summary.
Hi Gents;
1-I am 68 and my goals are to stay good shape, and have a healthy lifestyle. I retired in 2000 after working for 44 years for the same company. Traveled on average of 42 weeks per year and never really had time to exercise seriously while on the road other than your normal push-ups, sit-ups and a jog here and there.
2- It was not until I retired that I had the time to exercise a bit more seriously. Once a month I had lunch with some friends to talk good times, etc. After a while all I was hearing was about aches, pains, what type meds is one taking, etc. So, little by little I purchased some equipment until I had what I needed to train on a more consistent basis and have been doing so ever since.
3- With that behind me, this past January I made up a 4-day split routine and based it around a ?12 Week Arm Program? by T-Nation. My planned workout routine started 02/06 through 04/29, that also included a four week LG: Masterdrol (MD) cycle starting on weeks 5 through 8 and PCT weeks 9 through 12. My meals (4-5 meals per day) for the most part were basically clean. My main goal with this four day a week work out program and MD cycle was to add strength, reduce BF and gain any lean hypertrophy I could. I used a lot of variation regarding specific exercises during the 12 weeks. Workout times ranged from 31 to 67 minutes. A typical week was as follows:
MON: Chest/Abs TUES: Arms
WED: Rest THURS: Legs and/or Back
FRI: Shoulders/Abs/Arms-(on weeks 1,4,7,10)
4- My starting weight was 220lbs., BF at 32.3% (see par.10) and I covered all other body parts in this workout as well but, my arms are where I am lacking the most. Since my arm workouts were every Tuesday, I took four evenly spaced additional arm workouts each of which was added on Friday after shoulders. Each of the additional arm workouts was to lift intensely with heavier weights and were done on the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th week workouts. The extra workout during those specific weeks I felt benefited me towards my arm goal of better strength and hypertrophy by using heavier weights. All other weeks had a single weekly session where rep range varied between 5-15 and involved quite a variance based on alternating weeks of Intensity, Volume and Density, using drop sets, extended eccentrics, giant sets, super sets, etc.
5- My daily water intake was approximately 1 to 1-1/2 gallons, at times more. Although I started my MD cycle on a Monday, I pre-loaded MD the Sat. and Sun. before at 20g. During my MD cycle, (20,30,30,30) I experienced minor lower back pains for the first 3 days. After that, the LB pain was gone. For joint pain-See Par 9.
6- During my first week of my MD cycle, I immediately noticed a strength increase but, I think that may have been a placebo effect. I had experienced a few leg cramps during the cycle but, that occurred upon awakening and stretching while in bed; therefore, I don?t think it was the MD because of my water intake. I had no flexibility problems what-so-ever. I had a little loss of libido during the four week MD cycle; however, I just kept taking my Tribulus, Saw Palmetto and 6-OXO, before, during the cycle and PCT. Four days into my PCT, I was back to normal. Also, not mentioned were other supps taken for each workout i.e., CEE, NO, et al.
7- Much has been said about the necessity of taking Nolvadex for gynecomastia when using MD; however, we all react differently and IMPO I didn?t think MD was that strong to include Nolvadex in my PCT. However, I did use Formadrol and 6-OXO among other supps. Other than sides listed above, I had no gyno, lethargy, hair loss or any other issues using MD and again that is probably because before my MD cycle, I pre-loaded with a percentage of PCT supps and used the same percentage of supps during the MD cycle. The last four weeks of my planned workout routine also included my full PCT.
8- In order to reduce more BF, I eliminated my favorites, i.e., bread, pasta and potatoes during my last six weeks. (I know I should have been doing Cardio but, I hate doing that.) I actually was trying to keep my weight between 220-225 but, by week 9 (start of my PCT), I was at 233. However, during my MD cycle, my strength had increased as much as 30-40% on many of the exercises I did in my routine. Examples are:
Starting -BP-160+64(40%)=224-Ending
SQ 200+70(35%)=270
DL-225+78(35%)=303
CL-125+38(30%)=163
9- As a result of this strength increase, I experienced some joint pain occasionally but, by taking ?Therajoint? by ISS and Omega 3-6-9 oils helped soften the joint aggravation. I know I could have increased the weight on some exercises but, I held off at this point and finished my program and PCT with the increases I had attained. At my age I can not be too careful, especially when it comes to joints and tendons.
10- I used a Digital Body Fat Caliper (by Accu Fitness) to obtain my overall BF. My starting weight of 220 and BF of 32.3%, (translates to 148.94lbs. lean body wt./ 71.06lbs. BFwt) falls into the ?POOR? category range of the Accu Fitness Chart for my age. After week 9 at 233lbs. my BF% was at 28.5%, (translates to 166.59lbs. lean body wt./ 66.41lbs. BFwt) falls into the ?FAIR? category. My final body weight as of 05/01/06 was 228 lbs. My finishing BF% of 25.7%, (translates to 169.4lbs. lean body wt./ 58.60lbs. BFwt.) which falls into the ?GOOD? category range. The ?VERY GOOD? BF% range for my age is between 20.1-24% according to the chart and the ?EXCELLENT? BF% range for me is 20.0%. To give you a comparison, an 18-24 year old in the EXCELLENT category should have a BF% of 11. I think what I have done so far is not too bad but, as you can see, for total BF, I still have a ways to go. My final results were a loss of 12.46lbs.of BF and a gain of 20.46lbs, of Lean Body Weight.
11- Although I am a hard gainer, as of 05/01/06, I have increased my arms by +5/8", Chest+ 1.0? , Shoulders+1-1/4?, Waist - 1-1/2?, Quads+1.0?, Calves+1/2?. Muscle gains and BF reduction get harder to obtain at my age but, I think that what I have gained is not too bad and my muscles are rock hard.
12- This is my second PH cycle that I have tried. Since my last physical and blood work (11/04), I have had no abnormalities what-so-ever with reference to WBC/RBC-Platelets/Enzymes-HDL/LDL, PSA, et al. I do believe that was attributed to proper diet, exercise and a good thought out plan for PCT. My next physical and b/w should work out well.
13- I am taking a few days off and then try and keep the gains I have attained plus try to add a little more. I will put together a routine that will include compound exercises only with extended eccentrics and then return to a more normal routine. Hopefully that should help retain what I have gained.
14- Although I do this for every workout, what helped me immensely throughout this 12 week program, was to keep an organized scheduled outline of my workout, i.e., workout times, reps, sets, rest periods. Also where supplements are concerned, the quantity, dates, time of day supplements were taken, before/after workouts, meals, bedtime, etc.
15- Well, that is the summary of my 12 week program, together with my cycle of LG: Masterdrol and PCT and I am proud to say that I did not miss one workout throughout the 12 weeks.
Everyone, have a great day.
jram