The different organizations usually have some kind of time limit on those kinda things too though, you may be alright afterall, for some.
Well there are no breaks in TRT (medication).
I donāt think most people who hear about ex-competitors now being on TRT realiZe that for the typical person who has been medically prescribed this therapy, it is to address a genetic disorder that negatively affects your health and well being and not a situation caused by a self made decision to use PEDs for such a prolonged period that you have permanently damaged your bodyās ability to create its own hormones.
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absolutely. Most steroids were developed as medications for various conditions.
As for using PEDs for so long you end up on TRT for life, well, seems like a pretty silly thing to do but I understand that the juice is worth the squeeze for some people (pun kinda intended).
Lookinā pretty juicy m8, lotta progress since you kicked off this thread. Iām surprised there isnāt more activity here, tbh.
Howās the training/dieting hanging so far? Any tweaks since you started or are you just cruising on the original plan for now?
Thank you. I donāt think there is much activity because I have not been doing much in this thread besides posting the odd photo here and there. That is because I have been quite busy with this prep, in addition toā¦ life. 
I knew it would be time consuming, but I did not know just how busy til I started it. Iām also hesitant to post much about it because, although I am not a superstitious person, I donāt want to jinx myself. I donāt want to hype myself up in the case that something goes wrong and I donāt wind up in shape at the appropriate time. I donāt want to disappoint myself that is, and anything can go wrong.
The training and dieting is going great and there has been four tweaks to the diet and cardio so far.
The prep has taken up much of my thoughts too. So, as silly as this sounds, when I am done with training for the day, I tend to keep away from looking at articles and photos at night. Thereās only so much I can fill my head with even thoughts of bodybuilding without going insane. At least thatās how it is for me. When I do cardio in the morning, attend work, then do a training session at night, eat dinner, do errands, or whatever, I just canāt take speaking about or looking at bodybuilding stuff in large doses at night. Itās not bad; itās just overload.
Thanks!
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Dude, you are going to do great
Iām silently watching in the background, just dont have a ton of time these days with wife/job/baby-on-the-way-this-week, and honestly just dont feel that qualified to give advice like I used to when I was younger and smarter 
Looking thick though, your plan is working quite nicely and you have built a good foundation obviously. Excited to see the end product. I may give it a run again myself next year (Not stepping on stage again, but getting peeled)
As good as these pics look, this is the point where you differentiate between the average gym rat and the knowledgable competitor when you mention that youāve got a good 15 lbs or so to lose -lol
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Oh yeah, for anyone keeping tabs,ā¦ Brad wasnāt as soft as most gym rats who strut around with their ego fueled lats jutted out for every photo op, and yet heās already down 17 lbs in these last photos.
Let that sink in for just a moment.
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In for progress // support for fellow NYāer. You look great.
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Iāll never forget how disappointed I was when I did my first ever real cut. Had like 20lbs less muscle than I thought I did.
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i love these threads, it truly shows you want it takes. Bravo Brick
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I understand. I remember when I was much younger, I actually believed that naturals at 5ā10" could come in contest shape at 200+ pounds shredded. Well, it was naivetĆ© and falling for what people say, especially the famous, so-called naturals of the 90ās and early 2000ās. Itās funny that past 2010 people on You Tube and other social media started talking about fake natties as if they discovered some unique phenomenon. There were plenty of people running around saying they were natural, when in hindsight and what I know now, one would have to be really ignorant to think they were. People who followed the muscle mags back then know who I am talking about.
Now with a better grasp of all this, I know what a 5ā10" with decent genes can come out looking like. I believe I have decent/good genes, not spectacular. So to come in shape, requires getting into the 170ās. Thereās a poster who left here some time ago who used to scoff at naturals who came in at such weights at average height. Everyone in the know, knows that coming in shredded in the 170s and 180s at average height is no easy feat as a natural, size or conditioning wise.
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Thank you. I see you are from LI. I am from Queens.
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Thank you very much. That means a lot coming from you.
Exactly. I think people, even people who follow bodybuilding, just donāt realize at what weights people will come in shredded at, regarding structure, height, drug usage versus natural status, and muscle mass. As I said in a previous post now, many of us were deluded in thinking that we could all be shredded at 190 or OVER 200 pounds at average height and natural. Thereās a certain forum defector who thought he could weigh 220 to 230 contest ready, when meanwhile we have an Olympia classic physique hopeful on here who didnāt come in at much over 200 onstage at the NY Pro with EXCELLENT, 90ās-worthy genes!
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Yeah, somehow that ā200 pound body builderā idea really got around, to the point that it almost felt like the minimumā¦ Like, oh for sure everyone is going to be 200 pounds shredded, thats just what a body builder isā¦ Hell, thats just a good start.
I came in at 160 for my show when I was 27 four years ago (God I can barely believe its been that long and I am that much older now)ā¦ And honestly dont think Iāve gained more than maybe a few pounds of muscle on top of that, so if I got down to the same leanness it wouldnt be much heavier. I can remember being 220 a few times, then when that didnt work I got up to 237 so that I could begin the cut to 200 shreddedā¦ what an eye opener.
I have actually been wondering about exactly what you guys are discussing. A (might be dumb) question: in reference to height, how heavy do you see successful taller natural bbās get to fill out their frame? For example i am 6ā4, and i am a LONG way off from contest shape, but i was trying to find a frame of reference to see a natural amateur competitor that was taller.
I honestly think too be contest shape i would have get down to 170ish, but i think that would look way to, i dont know, thin for a stage.
Any thoughts would be great