Q&A with Shadow Pro

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]55amg wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]55amg wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]55amg wrote:
hey bro Thanks for signing up here! I have a question on water bloat/cutting. No matter how I try my stomach always stays distended and bloated I feel like im holding water. I have gone 6-7 weeks drinking nothing but water, clean food, low carbs 4-6 meals a day, cardio 3-5 time a week on top of my job which is also physical, and my stomach seems to stay the same size according to the tape measure.

I know cutting takes a while (12 weeks at least) but in 6-7 weeks i should have lost at least 1.5 inches off my waist or something like that. The only thing that changes is that i lose strength and size but my waistline is always the same. I cant tell u how frustrating it is. One guy pm’ed me on another message board and said its all about estrogen control he told me he had the same problem, he said to run nolvadex 20mg a day to cut estrogen down and 12.5 mg of aromasin eod to kill the estrogen so I dont get a rebound.

what do you think bro? sorry about the poem here I don’t know what else to do, Im currently 205 5’9’’ 19% bf or so. I must add that my leanest was when I was on test enant and proviron @ 75mg a day and also during pct using nolvadex my waist shrunk a lot. I havent been ON in 3 years.[/quote]

Can you post a picture for me? At 19% bf I don’t think you need to worry about a lot of water retention, you need to concentrate on losing fat. Once you start to shed the fat your waist will come down with it. If you were on test-e at 19% bf all it will do is make you hold more water and it will not help you burn fat.

Get your diet and training 100% first of all. Indigo-3G and HOT-ROX would be an excellent supplement stack to take immediately. If you have good overall health you could do an ECA stack as well. Indigo will be your best friend from now on… If anything can get you down to 10% bf in a respectable amount of time this is it… Combined with a good diet and training of course.
[/quote]

Hey bro thanks for the reply here is a pic of me about 6 weeks ago im about 5 lb lighter now
[/quote]

brother you are way too fat to be cycling. Get your diet in check/[/quote]

Never said once in my post that i was going to cycle.
[/quote]

I apologise, I thought you were asking about a cycle[/quote]

Yeah i havent cycled in 3 yrs. i have no interest in doing so either but i will if i have to. I want to get down to 12% i think that walking works best for me. I went to LA for vacation and i walked miles every day and i lost 4 lb in a week without paying attention to diet just 3 good meals a day. I think i will just walk for 1 hr a day at least and see if the the weight comes off.

Mister ShadowPro,

Thanks for your help and insight, it is highly appreciated!

I’m currently going to start my prep for a Bikini for men competition this fall (Men’s Physique).

It’s 16 weeks out for my second attempt at the stage. The first time was as a natural athlete, with pretty dismal results compared to the rest of the guys that where not. But, I wanted to complete 100 % clean once, just to see what type of potential there was, and now i wanted to step it up and play on the same field as the rest.

Stats:
34 Years Old / 5.9" / 220lbs / 12-15% BF

I’ve been on 500mg Test-E 16 Weeks on, followed by 8 weeks of 150mg Test-E, and then back on again for the last year and a half. Gained good amount of muscle, and a little fat in the process of course. Not been totally of at any time in the period.

I’m now looking into a pre-comp cycle that would get me into the best possible shape for a Bikini for men competition this fall (Men’s Physique).

I tried some Tren 300mg / Test-E 500mg combo, for four weeks, but the sides where horrific, and i started to lactate, and Prolactin went through the roof. Caber seems to be close to impossible to get here in my country - Norway, so i need options.
So I’m back to only 500mg Test-E.

What would you recommend as a good pre-competition drug plan for myself. Keeping price and simplicity in mind?

Note that I live in Norway, and cost and getting hold of some substances is next to impossible.
HCG/Insuline is next to non existing, HGH and similar cost upwards of 400$ a month is you wish to run 4ui per day. So it is kinda out of my price range.

Was thinking, something like this, as it is available to me pretty easily. Maybe adding Tren-E if i get Caber?

500mg Test-E Week 1-12
375mg Mast Week 8-16
500mg Test-P Week 13-16
50mg Winni ED Week 13-16

Ari eod 0.5mg whole time

Can i use Test-P all the way until competition time, or should i taper of before?
Your insight or better suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Again, thanks Mr. Shadow :slight_smile: (PS: Reminds me of the bad guys in 5th Element if you’ve seen that movie)

 Hey Shadow I'm 17 years old and would like some input and some advice on how to get more out of my training. 

A little background about me is that I’ve been training since February 2013 and rarely if ever miss a day of training. I’ve been counting my calories since day one of lifting and have been adjusting them as I start to slow in weight gain but I never had a set meal plan. Speaking of weight gain I started at ~130-135 and now sit at around 170-175 and have stayed lean the entire way doing one long bulk since starting.

My routine started as hitting each muscle twice a week but not really organized. I then found Layne Norton’s PHAT and was doing that from around June to the end of November. Since then I’ve been doing the classic brosplit. For supplementation I take 5 grams of creatine a day, 1-2 scoops of whey, a pre workout, and Super Cissus RX.

Oh and I’m around 5’9-5’10 and my main lift stats are 210 lbs x2 for bench(did this around 2 months ago and I now do DB incline as my main chest lift and I did 80lb dbs for 6 on sunday) squat is 315 lbs x2 to parallel deadlift is 335 lbs once but I just added that in a week ago and last is barbell shoulder press 155 lbs x 5.

For my goals I would like to build a physique much like the Men's Physique competitors and am not sure yet if I would be wanting to compete myself or not. I understand you compete in the Olympia and didn't start using AAS until you were 22 so I'm assuming you would suggest I stay natural for a while. 

So this is where the question is. After reading through the forum for a while I noticed that you suggest training each muscle twice a week as apposed to the brosplit and would like to know if there is a number of sets in total I should stay around or any other advice you would have to set that up(sorry if you already mentioned that because I haven't read entirely over all 20 something pages of this thread.). 

Also if you would have any suggestions to add to my supplementation and diet because I’ve been stalling around this weight for the past month or so and when I do up calories from 4k to 4,200 I notice a lot more fat gain than I used to. I’m willing to try and do anything to get to my goal so any suggestions you have I will gladly listen to.

Thanks in advance for helping me.

After reading roughly the first 7 pages I decided to should ask a question concerning my current cycle for my 2nd contest prep. I am 23yrs old, 6’1 currently 217lbs @7.43BF coming down from 231lbs and 10.24%. I’m a physique competitor so I know this is alittle different being you are a BBer.

My first show I was 184lbs 3.12% bf placing second in Novice. I immediately started bulking for roughly 45 days, rebounding from my comp weight of 184 to 209lbs in a day (water) and over the next month and a half started my first cycle of Test E 500mg/week. Shooting up to 231lbs.

Now I am cutting down for my next competition at the Dexter Jackson Classic. I am a day shy of 7.5 weeks out. I am currently 214lbs in the AM before food, usually 217-218 by 8pm after 5 of my meals. I am running 175mg of Sust, 100mg of Tren A, 100mg of Mast all every other day reoccurring. Orals I am taking 100mg Winstrol, 80mg T3, Clen, Anavar, everyday and Arimidex every other day.

2 weeks out I will run Letrozale every day till the show. While running Sust do I still need to cut it out 2 weeks before the show like I would Test E or Cyp or no? BC of less water retention. This is my first real cycle, I was thinking after this show I may take a month break even though it is prime bulking season… I have my favorite show up again next year in March that I wanna step on stage around 205-210 for physique instead of the 184 last show and hopefully the 195 for this upcoming one.

Does this seem like a good stack givin my goals? Ive been lifting since I was 15 through Football, Wrestling, and Weightlifting, did’nt get serious about competitions till last Oct and now here I am. Heavier and more muscular than I’ve ever been, even before the gear. But now with gear its a whole new ball game. I train 5-6 days a week with an hour of incline walking cardio 7 days a week. Just looking to see if I am doing this right, my coach knows some but his advice isnt always… sound? I have friends also in the NPC that offer advice and I read alot, but would like some real world advice if you wouldn’t mind. Thank you for your time and sorry for my lengthy post. I’m sure I am forgetting something but…

Hi sir. I’ve been bodybuilding for about 8 years now. I’ve competed at Provincial level a couple of times and have qualified for Nationals, though I’ve never competed at National level yet. Wanted to ask you a couple of questions if possible.

  1. At what dose do you think diminishing returns begin with Testosterone? Especially in the off-season as a mass gainer. I know this is subjective, but I am looking for a rough estimate. I know guys that go up to 2g/week, and others that stay at 1-1.5g max.

  2. Assuming I can only afford 4IU/day of Pharm grade GH to use during the off-season, would taking Humalog along with it really make a big difference in my gains? I’ve used Humalog in the past at 15IU pre-work out and felt like it bloated me too much. I am trying to see exactly how effective insulin is in the off-season for packing on muscle mass. Do you think it’s really that important?

Basically, what I am asking is will Humalog/AAS/GH yield much better muscle gains as opposed to just AAS and GH during the off-season. If the humalog is that important, would you recommend using it both in the morning and also before gym? or just once per day? (prework out)

Also would you advocate taking Slin with no GH? Or will that cause too much fat gains?

On a side note - you mentioned that taking Insulin is bad for the cardiovascular system? To what extent? I am asking because last off-season was the first time I used insulin, and it was also the first time I had a high resting heart rate (90 beats per minute at resting). Not sure if the two were connected.

  1. Do you or any of the pros use DNP as their primary fat burner over the more traditional stuff like T3,Clen, etc?

  2. Joints - What do you think has helped your tendons and joints stay healthy? Supplements, GH, etc?

Thanks for your time :).

Shadow Pro- thank your time and responses in this forum. I am 31, 6’3’’ 232lbs. My body fat is 15.6%. I cant figure out how to get pics from my phone, friend is helping later. I have been training for 13 years. i have done one test cyp only cycle at 500mg/wk. I will get body fat lower and stay in the 230’s, im normally 240 plus, before starting the next cycle. It is lean gains oriented. Your advice on the cycle would be greatly appreciated!

12 weeks
1-6 test cyp at 600mg/week
7-12 primo at 300mg/week
1-12 EQ at 300mg/week
1-12 nolva 20mg/day
1-12 HcG 250iu every 3rd day

A friend also suggested Halo at 20mg per day the entire cycle.
After cycle i will run 250mg/week sust for a while or nothing but PCT.

Thank you for your time!

[quote]mcs2012 wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]mcs2012 wrote:
Shadow - need your input here.

Stats:
Age: 54
Ht: 5-7
Wt: 02-14: 189lbs; current: 170lbs
BF: 02-14: 30.5%; current (I know it’s less because I’m starting to see veins & abs)
Fat-free mass: 02-14: 129lbs; current: ?? (If I had to guess, maybe 23%)

To get a better idea of my body comp history, click this link: Box

Goals (main goal is to lose fat without losing lean mass):

Short-term:
150-155lbs - that means another 15-20lbs to go. At that weight, I would gauge bf will be around 14% if and only if I will not lose too much LBM!! Then, do clean bulk to add some lean mass back, rinse/repeat.

Long-term:
Want to add mass but without all the fat game associated with bulking.
10% bf or less
Wt: 185-195

I am also interested in an overall health and antiaging anabolic and fat loss combo HRT (pharm-grade TRT/hGH) but am unable until I hopefully resolve some current health issues. I look @ HRT as the finishing touch to recomp. I use a DEXA scan to monitor my recomp progress.

What diet, training, and HRT (when and if possible) would you recommend to achieve my goals?

What have I done so far to achieve my fat loss goals?

Since it made no sense to do a bulk to add lean mass when I am >15% bf, I tried many things over the last few years (i.e. intermittent fasting, keto). The one & only diet regimen that has worked is alternate day calorie restriction or every-other-day dieting. I lost 19 pounds in approximately 90 days, the most consistent and dramatic loss ever in my history.

I thought I could eat without worrying about counting calories while on IF/keto. What a crock that is, I was only fooling myself. Maybe some with gifted metabolisms, perfectly-balanced hormones, and half my age can do that.

I failed because I still ate a surplus of calories OVER TIME. Keto is great, but you really need to watch FATS; at 9 cals/gram those suckers will balloon you up in no time - and that’s what happened.

Bottom line & basic rule is that unless I’m eating at a caloric deficit, weight and bf will increase no matter how hard I train, do IF, keto, etc.

I feel that unless I’m on a ton of AAS, a caloric deficit seems the most important part for losing fat in my case at least.

I have been training more consistently now, picking up where I left off in my mid-20s which was the last time I was probably <15% bf. 4x’s/week + cardio 2-3x’s/week. Because of a lumbar injury and shoulder impingement, I can’t do barbell squats nor much shoulder press work. Maybe HRT will help.

In any case, with this much bf on me now, I am insulin resistant, therefore, going low-carb (100g or less) is the mainstay for now. It has been impossible to add mass without adding twice as much bf.

I should also mention that I take thyroid meds (T3 and Armour Thyroid) for a hypothyroid condition.

So, the alternate day calorie restriction has worked great, however, I’m going to have to go even lower on my down day calories to lose more weight. I am at a standstill now at 170. If I could skip the weight loss and just switch to a recomp of 170 with 10%, I’d like that better, but that ain’t gonna happen. Another thing: the only way this works is if I keep track of every calorie.

Kcals & Macros:
refeed (maintenance) days: 2100-2300 kcals (55% fats, 30% protein, 15% carbs)
“fast” days: 750-850 kcals (70% protein, 15% fats, 5% carbs) - basically, a semi-protein-sparing modified fast. Of all the macros, I feel protein is most important. I average 135g/day which is just over 1g/lb of LBM. I consume a ton of supplements to offset the lack of micros on my “fast” day.

I appreciate your time and input to help me reach my goals. It’s been a long struggle.
[/quote]

Can you please post a photo? At the current bodyfat you mention,the first thing you want to do is lose bodyfat and get under 15% before going thinking about starting HRT .

By the sounds of it the keto and fasting isn’t working for you because you mention you are gaining fat.
“I thought I could eat without worrying about counting calories while on IF/keto. What a crock that is, I was only fooling myself. Maybe some with gifted metabolisms, perfectly-balanced hormones, and half my age can do that.” You are absolutely right about that. In order to lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficient state.

In order to help you better, please give me this info. What type of cardio are you doing? Since you aren’t squatting, I’m assuming dead lifts are out as well, can you give me an example of how your training looks? Current pictures? I want to see where the bodyfat actually is and not where you assume… Like i mentioned before I’m here to help not criticize so don’t be embarrassed or shy to post current pics, I want to help. List of current supplements? Where are your fat sources coming from?[/quote]

Ok, not the best selfies, but you aksed, here they are after tonight’s workout: Box

I know you wanted the pics to best judge, but the most accurate body composition assessment I have found is the DEXA scan which I have been using for the past 3 years. Again, here�¢??s the link to my DEXA scan history: Box

Since I haven’t had an updated scan since losing 19lbs, I’m sure you can better judge what my bf is now. I’d say I’m at around 22-23% right now. What do you think?

Typical current training (EOD) - 50-60 minute workout:

Day 1 - chest/back push-pull routine:
Incline DB presses - *50lbs x 4x10-12 supersetted w/
Wide-grip pull-ups - bodyweight x 4x6-8
Lat pulldowns - 135lbs-150lbs-170lbs x 3x6-8 supersetted w/
Cable incline presses - 37lbs-42lbs-47lbs x 3x8-10
Low pulley rows - 110lbs x 3x8-10 supersetted w/
Close-grip BP - 135lbs-155lbs-175lbs x 3x6-8
Bent over DB rows - 3 x6-8 supersetted with
*Flat bench Smith Machine BB presses 135lbs-155lbs-185lbs (alternate: cable decline presses w/ same weight as incline) x 3x6-8

*Believe me, I would love to increase my lbs again, as I was doing 85-90lb DB inclines before the shoulder injury. The shoulder impingement is now 2 years old.

Day 2 - stability/core regimen + cardio (see regimen below which I switch up every other day)

Day 3 - biceps/triceps:
DB curls - 50lbs-50lbs-45lbs-45lbs x 4x8-10 supersetted w/
Tri rope pulldowns - 72lbs-77lbs-82lbs-87lbs x 4x8-10
Wide-grip chinups - bodyweight x 4x6-8 supersetted w/
Dips - bodyweight x 4x10-12
BB cable curls - 62lbs-67lbs-72lbs x 3x8-10 supersetted w/
DB tri extensions - 35lbs-40lbs-40lbs x 3x10
Sometimes I will throw in some delt work (i.e. lateral raises) depending on my impingement pain tolerance, but the problem is that the inflammation may not surface for 2-3 days later. I am told surgery is the only surefire way. I have withheld to see what I can do with HRT once I’m able.

Day 4 - stability/core regimen + cardio (see regimen below which I switch up every other day)

Day 5 - legs/abs/misc.
DB walking lunges - 25lbs x 4x8-10
Seated leg curls - 75lbs-95lbs-110lbs-135lbs x 4x8-20 supersetted w/
Seated led extensions - 135lbs-155lbs-175lbs-195lbs x 4x6-12
Leg presses - 235lbs-255lbs-275lbs-310lbs x 4x8-10 supersetted w/
Leg Press Calf Raises - 235lbs x 4x10-15 (alternate: Smith Machine BB calf raises)
Adductor machine - 190lbs-210lbs-235lbs x 3x12-20
Abductor machine - 175lbs-175lbs-195lbs x 3x10-15
Misc: flat bench flyes - 35lbs-40lbs-40lbs x 3x8-10
Day 6 - stability/core regimen + cardio (see regimen below which I switch up every other day)

Day 7 - rest; usually do a brisk walk for 30-45 min.

Cardio (I will switch up and do the following in between my training days or sometimes post wo):
Elliptical - 25-30 min. �¢?? sometimes will do HIIT
Stationary bike - 25-30 min.
Outdoor intervals (fast walk 2-3 min/jog for 1-2 min. for 2-3 miles)
If I am tired, I may do a brisk low intensity 30-45 min. walk as an alternate.

Stability/Core:
On my cardio days I also do stability and core training that I adopted from being in PT for 6 weeks last year for my lower back and shoulder issues (these have helped a lot reduce the inflammation especially in the lower spine):

Elbow planks - 1x 5 min. x 2x1 min.
Side planks (each side) - 3x30 secs
Plank with Opposite Arm and Leg Lift - 2x10
Cable internal rotations - 22lbs-3x15
Cable external rotations - 12lbs-3x15
Reverse cable flyes - 7-10lbs-3x10-15

The rest of time away from any physical exercise is pretty sedentary, at home doing my business and online research.

I sleep 8h but have mild sleep apnea and have not acclimated well to my CPAP machine. I am therefore trying to sleep on my sides and use nasal strips to help with the breathing. I am looking into alternatives like a dental appliance.

I drink about 10-12 cups of water/day.

Since my supplement regimen changes frequently, I haven’t updated it. To give you an idea, here’s one from 2012: Box

Sources of fat: coconut oil, raw cheeses, nut/seeds, lean meats, lots of fish/krill oil, pastured butter, sardines, avocados, eggs, soy-free mayo.

Again, much appreciate your input!

[/quote]

Ok, I’m going to try to keep this simple. But in order for this to work for you you’d have to follow it 100%. And there are a lot of things you are doing currently in all aspects that need to be changed. I would say you are about 25% right now maybe a little less (thank you for allowing me access to your photos)

First things first, you need to drop your bodyfat down to about 12%. This will take some time but if you are patient and motivated it can definitely be done. What you need to do is increase your energy expenditure, trying to be as active as possible. Since your bodyfat is high at this point I’d recommend doing some form of cardio 6 days a week(no less than 45min - preferably 1hr including warm up and cool down) 10 min warm up, 5 min cool down is good. Try to include a lot of variety because it will give your cardiovascular system different types of stimulation, for example you could do:
2 days HIIT outside on a track (2-5min medium/fast run and then 2-5min light jog/fast walk) repeat this for an hour. If you aren’t in shape to finish this now, build the time up and you’ll eventually get there.
2 days Stairmaster HIIT (2-4min at the highest level you can manage and then the same time at 1/2 the level for recovery)
2 days elliptical HIIT (same as Stairmaster)

  • keep this cardio along with everything else until your dexa scan is at the 12-14%

Before cardio take HOT-ROX (30-45min before) and do this for 6 weeks, then switch to an ECA stack, then go back to HOT-ROX.

As for your training, I don’t know you personally and I don’t have enough time to put a whole program together for you (you will benefit from a program that is designed specific for you though, take a look at the programs offered on T-Nation, there are a lot of excellent resources here)
You have no business spending a whole day training arms right now and you are doing way too much machine and cable work. Your training program should be based around compound exercises and barbell/dumbbell free weight exercises. You should do them everyday in a different variation in different set and rep schemes. Your training should be a full body workout now until you get your bodyfat down, no need for body part splits. Do plenty of squats, dead lifts, chin ups, barbell presses, barbell rows and all exercises in different variations such as different angles, different grips etc.

You can do your physical therapy exercises at the end of each workout, there’s no reason to have it on its own day… It’s just wasting time and you’d get more benefit from doing a little bit everyday. Try to get a minimum of 4 weight sessions/week… You can go up to 6 depending on how you feel.

The supplements you are taking are a little overboard to say the least. This list is hurting my eyes just looking at it. These are what your main supplement stapes should be… Spend your money on the things that will help you reach your goal, nothing else is needed.
-Superfood with breakfast (1 serving)
-HOT-ROX pre-cardio and ECA stack
-indigo-3G 6 capsules 30 min before training
-MAG-10 1 serving pre-workout with indigo
1 serving intraworkout (on weight training days)
1 serving 1 hr post workout

  • AlphaMale use 2 full bottles.
  • Apple cider vinegar
    -probiotic if you need it
    You are using a very long list of supplements while might be causing a lot of water retention as well. If you think you have estrogen problems, you can try Rez-V… It will definitely help but I’m not 100% sure that’s the problem.

Do not take any pharmaceutical compounds now, it will do more harm than good.

Bottom line, concentrate on losing bodyfat at this point… Do your cardio and get on the right supplementation and reconstruct your training, this will get you on the right path.

[quote]TokenB wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]TokenB wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]TokenB wrote:
Hi, quick question regarding nutrition, in particular beef protein.
My diet, due to having zero appetite whilst on a heavy cycle is horrendous.
Pretty much my entire diet is made up from whey protein isolate, casein, whole raw eggs, MCT oil, oats, dextrose and the occasional chicken breast or lean mince beef.
My appetite is shot. I use a superfoods supplement & multi vit too plus a vast array of supplements.

But I am making progress better than ever before. My question is would using beef protein make much of a difference, purely from a variety point if view, due to a different (if any) amino acid profile?

Thanks[/quote]

I am a big fan of red meat and I think it’s an important source of protein. Even if you can eat it once a day it will be beneficial for you instead of one of your other protein meals… Just make sure it’s a lean cut. Is that hydrolyzed casein you are using(MAG-10)? If not, that is the first thing you need to look into… It’s a very high quality protein and you will benefit a lot from this… Also it’s very easy to consume and tastes good for someone who has no appetite.

Just curious? Why are you using dextrose?
[/quote]

The only time I’m using dextrose is pre/intra/post, due to insulin use.
The casein I’m using is micellar casein 85%.
My thoughts on using beef protein was that it would be a different kind of protein (albeit in powdered form) to add to my diet instead of primarily only using whey isolate and casein.
Whenever I can stomach chicken or red meat I do, but I’m lucky if it’s once a day, usually in the afternoon a couple of hours before I lift. [/quote]

If you are able to switch the dextrose to Plazma you will benefit greatly from this. I am not sure how much insulin you are using but even with a lower dose of insulin and Plazma in place of dextrose it’s much for efficient, you are shooting yourself in the foot here… It’s something you need to look into especially for someone who has problems with appetite, this is a very good quality nutrition source for someone in your case. There is nothing you can find for pre or intra workout that will substitute this, period! If you can only afford to buy one supplement… This is it.

Powdered form is not the same as eating a steak. If you are going to eat one solid meal a day, choose a lean steak and have it either 2 hours before or 2 hours after your training. Another source of protein to add to your day would be the hydrolyzed casein, it’s the most effective protein as it makes your body absorb other protein sources more efficiently, aids in recovery, does great things for the immune system and tastes good (for people like you that don’t have a big appetite it’s great)

If you add the things I told you then you will have 5 great sources of protein and the best source of pre and intraworkout carbs. (Eggs, steak, casein, whey, hydrolyzed casein) just changing this alone should give you leaner gains, a better pump and faster recovery.
[/quote]

When would be the best time to take the hydrolyzed casein? Pre, Intra or Post? I’m going to order some now.
I’ll look in to buying Plazma but the cheapest price I’ve found it so far in the UK is over Ã?£60 ($100) a tub.
Thank you for all this, much appreciated.[/quote]

The best time to do it is pre and post (45-60min) Even if the Plamza costs you $100/tub and you use 2 servings every workout, that would be $10 for your intraworkout meal… I’m sure you’d spend the same if not more on a good quality steak meal that you have to eat anyways. Worst case scenario just use 1 scoop. A coffee from Starbucks is worth more then this. Think of it as money that you are spending on high quality food and it’s money well spent for someone who is serious about training.

[quote]doom44 wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]doom44 wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]doom44 wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]doom44 wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]doom44 wrote:
Thanks for the reply shadow.
What’s the longer cycle length that you can safely run? Might to give me a sample layout ?
I’m just finish a show 1 1/2 month ago. Now going to bulking .

My stats
Height : 5’ 7
Weight : 168
Bf : 12%

Thanks.
[/quote]

I would say 12-16 weeks is a decent length for a cycle for your off season. How many cycles have you done previously? (And what were they) how many shows have you done? Years of training? What’s your plan for your off season diet?
Also, if I may ask… Why are you already at 12% bf 1.5 months after a show? I’m assuming you’re doing bodybuilding? You should be pretty lean still and I wouldn’t expect you to be over 12% even in the off season.

Please post a picture and this info so I can see where the starting point is and give you an appropriate layout.[/quote]

I’m not sure my body fat is 12% or not. Just guessing. Lol

I have 4 years plus training experience.
Have done 2 cycles before.

  1. Test prop 150mg eod 1-8 weeks
    Arimidex 0.25mg 1-8 weeks
    Pct : novaldex and clomid 40/100,20/50,20/50,20/50

  2. Test prop 150mg eod 1-8 weeks
    Tren A 100mg eod 1-8 weeks
    Arimidex 0.5mg eod 1-8 weeks
    Pct same as cycle one.

My diet is high in carbs: 4000calories
Carbs 60%
Protein 25%
Fat 15%

I have high metabolic that’s the reason why I eat that much .
Thanks
[/quote]

Well thank you for posting a picture!! Dude, you are a horrible guesser… You are still in great condition which is exactly how you should be after a show, this is closer to 6%

You are at the perfect point to do a rebound phase and gain some quality new muscle. I’m going to suggest you go into a 12 week cycle before you take time off.
This would be my best option for you now:
Sustanon@ 600-750mg/week
Tren-e@ 400mg/week
EQ@400mg/week
Nolva@20mg Every day
HCG 250iu every 3rd day.
This is going to give you a huge jump in both strength and size, it’s a medium dosage. If you want you could also throw in some oral tbol @ 50mg/day (for the first 6 weeks)
You’re going to gain a lot of good quality muscle from this, your body is in a perfect position for this phase so train your ass off for 12 weeks and then take some time off the juice. I will help you with pct when the time comes.

Thanks again for posting a picture, it helps me out a lot!

*THIS IS WHY I KEEP SUGGESTING YOU GUYS/GIRLS POST PHOTOS FOR ME, I CAN’T HELP PEOPLE IF DON’T KNOW WHAT IM WORKING WITH. IF HE DIDN’T POST THIS PHOTO THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD EVER SUGGEST THIS BASED ON THE PREVIOUS INFO.

[/quote]

Hi shadow, will you mind to help me with pct first ? So that I can have all the gears that I need in hand . Just in case. Thanks again.[/quote]

For pct, have clomid on hand… Do 2 weeks @100mg and 2 weeks @ 50mg. Bump the HCG up to every other day @ 500iu for 3 weeks. Keep the nolva @20mg until you are finished. Start AlphaMale after clomid until you are finished 2 full bottles.
[/quote]

nice !!! and after the pct how long should i take off? what’s your advice?[/quote]

Minimum of 8 weeks and preferably 10[/quote]

Thanks a lot. Thanks for the advise.
[/quote]

You’re very welcome, you have great potential so keep pushing. Good luck!

[quote]Lifting Bull wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]Lifting Bull wrote:
Hi, thanks for all the info so far, really interesting stuff.

I’m an Olympic weightlifter and I have a friend who does it too who is contemplating trying a cycle. His plan is to do purely test suspension and he seems to think that’s adequate and that he also won’t need to worry about any sides. I’ve told him that the cycle might be a bit too basic and that he really should at least have some anti estrogen on hand just in case.

For a pure strength athlete who needs to be able to pass drug tests at least in competition is test suspension by itself sufficient? With the relatively low doses do you think anti estrogens are necessary? My knowledge of steroids is poor at best, but his isn’t any better so I’m just a bit worried he’s going to do something stupid.[/quote]

Hi, thanks for joining us here.

I definitely agree that if he’s going to use test, even if it’s “just” suspension he needs to have nolvadex on hand. Also, I hope he is using pharmaceutical especially being a tested athlete because you never know what you’re getting… For all he knows the suspension could be winstrol and then he would fail the test miserably.

Depends on the type of testing and how in depth they go, but he needs to take into consideration the actual detection time and then take precautionary time on top of this. WADA is not playing around these days, they look for everything and they catch you if you aren’t being sneaky enough. Just off the top of my head… For pure strength athletes I would look into cheque drops or halotestin as well as short acting compounds like tren acetate. All of these substances have different detection times so he needs to research. All of these compounds alone or in combination with the test suspension will provide better results strength wise than just the test alone.

What is the dose he is considering? I would keep the anti estrogens on hand regardless. Some people are very sensitive to even the smallest dose while others are fine without it, so better be safe and have some.

Going into a cycle without doing research is very risky. I don’t think by the sounds of this post that he has a lot of knowledge regarding the subject. I’m going to highly suggest he reads about the substances I mentioned and the detection times for testing. (Easily found in a simple google search) but never start a cycle without knowing the facts.
[/quote]

Thanks a lot for the information, I will relay it to him. [/quote]
Sounds good, stay safe!

Just gave in to your shills and got a bottle of Plazma on the way, only yesterday I had a poor workout and the conclusion I’m coming to is my approach to nutrition around my workout was poor.

Juice question, currently going in to week 6 of my first Test-E 600mg/week only cycle, loving it and the thought of PCT’ing after week 12 isn’t appealing. Do you think that PCT’ing and getting more bloods after ones first cycle is important? Or, if I’m coping with the test well, do you think it wouldn’t be too bad to add on an 8 week cycle of high Test low Tren (700mg/350mg respectively) to run into the summer with?

Pics: http://i.imgur.com/kGMcTmi.jpg http://i.imgur.com/0QMsEsk.jpg

I’m 22 with 4 years gym experience, 2.5 years of which bodybuilding focused. 6’1, 195 at 10% bf (guessed, full six pack and minor oblique striations visible.)

Appreciate any and all input, if wanted I’ll take a recent pic once I’m home.

Thanks a lot for the thread, informative stuff, you’re a good guy.

[quote]ebalage wrote:
Hey Shadow!

While others may flame me for being a first poster, I would like to get your opinion, but not really on PEDs. I would like to know where would you go next, or what would you do:
In general: at the moment I am 25 years old, working in the ER as a doctor. Main issue is the night shifts, the not-enough or not good quality sleep (at times sleeping 3-5 hours for days and having 12 hour shifts), and that I cannot always eat when I would like to/need to (Sometimes I must rely on shakes only troughout the day). Current bodyweight is 208 lbs, with around 10% bf.

As for sports history: I’ve been doing martial arts (karate) since I was 5, though nowadays I mainly do it as “cardio” once a week. I took up bodybuilding at 15. I can say I have tried all the training system, currently I am following a standard “old-school” volume training, 5 day split: chest (10-12 sets working sets)- upperback (4 sets), Back (12 sets), Legs (12-14 sets), Shoulders and arms (shoulder around 10, arms: 6-6 for biceps and triceps, being arm dominant), and another Chest (10 sets, strenght centric work). I use low reps in incline press, deadlift and squats to put decent numbers behind my body (Being an ex-martial artist, I still have the performance centered view), and because I noticed low rep work helps with muscle hardness.

Overall goal is the best I could be, which in specific means I would like to improve my overall quality, but the main goal would be to bring up my chest, which is my most lagging bodypart. While it may be childish to compare myself to movie heroes, I would be happy with a body like this: http://i2.cdnds.net/13/44/618x325/screen-shot-2013-10-29-at-134106.png

Diet: at the moment my macros are: non.training days p: 180-200 g, c: 150-200 g, on training days: p: 200-230 c: 250-300 g. I don’t count fat, I only use the naturally occuring while trying to eat as low fat as possible. The main problem with the diet is, sometimes I can only cover all my basics from shakes and supplements, especially in grueling shifts. I have a cheat meal every 5-7 days, usually when I feel very run down and my body craves for something “bad”.

Supplements: Pre-workout I take 10 g BCAA, 10 g creatine, and a pre-workout mostly with caffeine. Intra-workout: none. While it may be a problem, I can hardly get myself to drink water, thanks to my martial arts “survive drink when done” background. Old habits die hard I guess. Post workout: 40 g whey+10 g creatine, 60 g carbs, a multi and 2 g vitamin C. I eat whole food 1-1.5 hours before, and after training.

PED: Apart from ocasional ephedrine to boost my workouts when feeling totally hell, I take none. I don’t feel I have maxed out my natural potential, especially considering my job, the lack of sleep, and sometimes not ideal diet. And I don’t really want to.

My question is: in general, what would you do in my place? I don’t want to take steroids (yet) but the number of shifts, and sometimes lack of sleep,stress, or shake-only days thanks to my job, stays :(. Any suggestion? Should I train less (4/week? 3/week?) Any supplements? Timing the supps? Anything?

The more specific question is regarding my chest: it’s growing like a turtle on valium, and I feel it hasn’t improved the past couple months. Alhough I am arm dominant, I can get it to work, I can get good pumps, and may feel it a bit a day after, but after two days, there is no soreness, the “fullness from the workout” is gone, and I feel like I could work them again ( I actually tried I can produce the same numbers 48 hours after the workout both in strenght and rep-count and it doesn’t take more grinding then 2 days before). I have tried all, HIT, 2/week, Standard volume, hell-load of volume (7-8 exercises), Supersets, name it.

The only things I haven’t is 3 chest a week (I’m considering though…) and obviously the program for chest that works :). THey all give a good pump, but 2 days after no soreness, and while it was slowly growing, now I feel it stopped. So I would like to ask your opinion in these matters, what would you do in my place, both chest and general wise? Thank you for time and effort, and if I missed out any info you need, please tell, and I’ll add. Thanks.[/quote]

Another quality first time post! You started off on my good side when I saw the picture of Wolverine. Glad to have to here doc, I will gladly help you out.

Can you please post a picture of yourself so I can see where you’re at??

First thing you want to change is your intraworkout nutrition, buy yourself a few tubs of Plazma and have at least 2.5servings during your workout. Your body will absorb this nutrition while you’re training in the most efficient way.. It will aid in your overall muscle growth and recovery. It’s especially important for someone like yourself who is getting such little rest during the day. This alone will improve your workout quality in terms of pump, strength and recovery between sets. Also, considering you are a doctor working around the clock it will leave you with enough energy to successfully finish your day. You need to break this habit of not eating during the workout, it will make a world of difference for you.

I need to see the picture first before making decisions on your macros. (Just blur your face and cover tattoos)

A cheat meal every 5-7 days is fine and I think it’s necessary to keep the metabolism racing. I would increase vitamin c to 4g/day rather than 2, it will keep your immune system up. I would change the post workout shake from whey to hydolyzed casein (MAG-10) it’s a very high quality protein that you’ve probably read me raving about already, you can read further into it on the supplement facts here. You can also use this when you are busy at work so you don’t miss meals. It makes your body more responsive to other protein sources and when you need to rely on liquid protein sources due to work schedules you want to have the best quality nutrition at your fingertips.

In order to advise you whether to use steroids or not to help with your situation I will need to see the pictures. In general, here are a few things that can help with your lifestyle.
-Plazma intraworkout (extremely necessary to improve workouts)
-MAG-10 (3 servings/day)

  • instead of using stimulants, try a combo of Brain Candy and spike.. It will give you a lot of mental focus and energy to start a long day without the crash or any jittery feeling.
    -as long as you can have at least 2 solid meals a day then I don’t see a problem to rely on shakes. Try to have the solid meals before and after your workout. (Preferably red meat if you like it, your muscles will appear more full/hard) as long as you are hitting your macros in the day, then the liquid meals aren’t a problem.

Turtle on Valium… I like this! I see no issue training 5-6 days a week as long as you are getting the food and supplements you need… And try to rest more! When it comes to a lacking body part, frequency is king. I would definitely give it a shot to train your chest 3 times/weeks
Session1:heavy pressing
Incline barbell press and incline OR decline barbell press 7sets for 3-6 rep ranges
(Lift heavy and concentrate on full ROM)
Add shoulder and tris after this.
Session 2: isolation chest workout
5 flies exercises (ex. Flat, incline, decline, cables and a machine) 3-4 sets in 12-20 rep range
Add whatever you want after this (biceps or rear delts for example)
Session 3: mix of pressing and flies
Do a combination of drop sets, Supersets and slow negatives. Keep the pump as your main goal of this workout. Ex. 2 Supersets, 2 drop sets and 2 sets with negatives (try to use plate loaded machines and pick different exercises than session 1 & 2)

Leave 48 hrs between each chest session.

Have a stand alone leg day and back day… Your other days can be combined with the chest sessions. If you want more help with the macros please post the pics and I can give you more advice.

[quote]SauceMonkey wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]SauceMonkey wrote:
Wow, just read all 22 pages and every single word

Shadow, one question regarding AAS and one regarding non AAS…

Currently I’m practicing getting stage lean with a coach, I’m making great progress and just broke under the 10% BF threshold. Stated cutting at 5’5", 160 lbs and now 153-154 through 5 weeks. Started at around 11-12%, keeping all my strength thus far and have even hit some PR’s. I’m 22 as well, did a mock power lifting meet with my partner and got 315/275/405 for Squat / Bench / Deadlift at 154. My goal is to see how my body reacts getting to 5-7% BF and then going on a long term bulk and compete at the end of 2015, or beginning of 2016.

My maintenance calories are around 2,600, and my macros right now are: 2,200 cals, 50F, 275C and 160P… started at 400g C in the beginning of the cut. Refeed is 2,800, 45F, 450C, and 150P. It’s been the most successful cut i’ve ever had and finally got over my fear of carbs lol. Cardio is LISS 3x20 minute sessions.

My question regarding non AAS is pretty simple, surprised no one asked it, unless I missed it:

I can’t train with food in my stomach at all, i get very queasy. So I guess you can say I fast until my workout, although i just started having 2 rice cakes for 14g CHO about 30 mins pre wo, then 10g BCAA 15 mins pre, and then intra another 7.5g EAA. Afterwards is my largest meal, usually <10g F (Trace sources), 175g CHO, and about 50P. About 2-3 hours later is another low fat, mod carb, and higher protein meal and then before bed I consume most of my fats and another large amount of protein.

So my question is this optimal? Can I still continue to make good progress with such minimal amount of food pre workout? Intra workout carb drinks tend to make me feel sick too, i’ve tried Plazma, malto, dextrose, gatorade, everything. Karbolyn, etc and i end up having to sell it all. In a perfect world, what would be your pre workout nutrition?

My second question, in regards to AAS:

In college a friend offered me anavar, and stupidly i decided to take it. didn’t do any research, ran anavar at 19 for 6 weeks. no pct, quit cold turkey. never had issues with libido or anything, thank god.

another stupid decision, and just did as older teammates on my college baseball team suggested, ran another cycle at 20, for 14 weeks of anavar at 40mg daily… pct was Nolva at 20/20/10/10, Erase and DAA at 3g daily. Again no issues, actually made ridiculous progress after Tommy John Surgery… went from 133 to 155 in 14 weeks and leaned out to about 11-12% BF, feint abs showing. Dieted like a retard, and lost essentially everything, became a carbophobe as well, and now i’m here where i am.

libido is fine, have ran one prohormone cycle of DMZ for 5 weeks and pct was on point… clomid/nolva, formestane, and kept most of my gains. its been about 4 months since PCT, and I want to wait until after i bulk naturally and hit a plateau before I cycle, but was wondering what you think of this cycle, probably about a year after any AAS or maybe another couple of months after PCTing from a 5-6 week oral PH cycle again (Haven’t decided on that):

Test E @ 500mg/week (1-14)
Kick Start w/ DMZ (prohormone, at 45mg for weeks 1-4)
Winni at 50mg for weeks 13-16)

PCT: Torem (120/90/60/30)
Nolva: 40/20/20/10
Armidex as an AI, dose I’ll play with

So would you recommend this cycle, alot of planning has gone into it? Nervous about pinning but i’ll get over it. have a pharma grade connection thank god, although past SERM use has been from UL’s, luckily with success. PLan on getting blood work in July before i head out to vacation and after my cut to 5-7% is finished.

Again long term goal is compete in 2015 or 2016, after adding more mass. i’m proud of how far i’ve come (broke my femur twice, got fat at 189, then dropped to 130 in 6 months of ddieting before college) but really wanna take this to the next level. i’m an ambitious little pr*ck so to speak lol very determined. diet is meticulously tracked, only cook for myself, and count everything. don’t need cheat meals, cause when you can make chocolate protein waffles or bake a snicker doodle protein cake, or cook mexican style dishes like a pro i don’t need them lol

Also, what are your opinions of SARM’s such as ostarine?

Thanks so much for the info and for your time, it’s guys like you that truly make a difference and prevent others from doing stupid shit like what i did :/[/quote]

Thanks for reading, this is a very good first post!

First question.Why is your protein so low?

how many meals are you eating each day? Did you try the Plazma in a lower serving size? Maybe half pre workout, half intra and half post workout? Also, make sure you are mixing it with enough water. If it’s a definite no, I would choose MAG-10 as the optimal pre-workout and post workout meal if you aren’t using Plazma. There is a small amount of carbs in the MAG-10 and you might like that for intraworkout as well. When I am low carbing on my diets I always drink it as my intra(I used to feel sick drinking during my workout as well but I haven’t had any issues with either of these). If neither of these work you could try a bit of baby rice pre and post workout, it should digest very easily. Look for a rice that doesn’t include any milk products but should include an ingredient called inulin, it’s a fiber that will help you with digestion. You can eat it as a pudding with a scoop of hydrolyzed whey and 30-50g from carbs about 1hr before your workout and immediately after. If a baby is able to digest this then it surely won’t be a problem for you.

I prefer bcaa’s intraworkout rather than eaa’s because I think it helps with recovery. If you aren’t using the Plazma you will need between 20-40g.

I’m getting the feeling that you are only eating 3-4 meals a day? Unless I’m misunderstanding? You should be eating more like 6-7.

I’m glad you didn’t get any bad side effects with the anavar cycles you did, you’re very lucky. Instead of the DMZ I would do something like oral tbol(run it for up to 6 weeks @ 40-70mg/day… I’m not a big fan of pro hormones because you never know what you are getting and could potentially get worse side effects. If you are doing test-e, oral tbol and winstrol it’s a decent gaining cycle with medium water retention. You will get a bit from the tbol and the test but nothing major. I am also not a big fan of peptides… You are never too sure what you are getting there and the results are questionable.

Instead of the ostarine, a better option for the same results and many more would be to use a low dose of GH(something like 4iu /day) it will completely stop any muscle breakdown, aid in recovery and help with your injuries. Also, it will help keep your body fat relatively low when you are eating more calories.

You can add HCG during your cycle as well @250iu 2x/week and 10mg of nolva during the cycle. Therefore, this would change your pct… You could use clomid for 4 weeks @50mg and nolva @20mg and 500iu HCG 2x/week (total of 8 shots)

Everytime you have the option or the budget to spend money on peptides, use this money to get pharm quality GH instead… The results will always be more profound and beneficial for all aspects of your goals.remember when you are using gear your protein consumption should be higher than when you are natural… 160g is not going to cut it. Honestly, I have natural figure clients eating more than 200g so I know you can do it!

Can you post a picture please?

[/quote]

Sure, I blurred out my face, tattoo, and background to keep myself anonymous. These were taken one month ago, cold in the morning at the start of my cut with my coach. Zero pump, no flex, etc… then also included is a picture of my leg after my mock meet, stupid leg pump.

I’ll talk to my source about GH, especially at a low dose. Seems like it would help given my past injury history and 3 surgeries, especially my elbow.

Protein intake i was always told 1g/lb is plenty, and carbs being protein sparing. When i do my macros and plan for the day, i make sure to hit the protein first, then stay under the carb threshold and fat threshold, and whatever is leftover i use for protein. i hit about 180-190g a day, just how the numbers work out.

I’ve tried everything regarding plazma and any intra carb drink, just can’t stomach them, idk why.

yes 3-4 large meals, 1,000 kcal + post wo, 500 kcal about 2-3 hours later, and then about 3-4 hours later about 600-700 kcals. varies everyday, that’s just the jist. sources are whole wheat complete pancake mix (for when i bake with protein powder), 99% lean ground turkey, white basmati rice, brown rice, sweet potato, oats, whole grain bread/bagels, fruit (post workout banana and either strawberry/blueberry), sometimes cheerios if i want a bowl of cereal (make it fit my macros), non-fat plain greek yogurt, 1% milkfat cottage cheese, eggs/egg whites, beans, etc

for fats: mct oil, natty pb occasionally, unsalted almonds/peanuts, fish oil caps, whole eggs, etc

everything is weighed out to the nearest gram right now as I cut, i’ll be less strict when i bulk.

i always was told meal timing/frequency didn’t matter, just the end of the day macros being met and if you’re in a total surplus/deficit. plus the bigger meals make cutting feel less like cutting, idk if i’d be able to 6-7 smaller meals tbh, as the former fatty in me likes to be satiated lol. but again i’m asking you because i’m serious about this and wanna take this to the next level in the next year or two.

perhaps include protein shakes in between meals to add more “meals” so to speak?[/quote]

Honestly I’m not sure where to start here, there is too much to change and the sad thing is that a coach set this up for you. It’s not something that I can answer with a few simple changes but your whole program needs to be reevaluated.

Whoever told you that meal timing is not important and that macros are the only thing that matters should not be coaching. This system will never work for you if you are trying to get yourself to the next level,it can work for average people looking for average results… I’m under the impression that you wanted to push things to the next level but if you keep going about it this way you will not get close to your desired look. At this point you are very far from being ready for stage physique wise (from a mass and fat loss point of view) you mentioned that you are 5% bf but I don’t think you are even brushing 10% yet.

I am not saying you don’t have potential to reach your goals, because absolutely you can do this but you need to reconsider your steps in the process to get there. You will never be able to put on quality mass eating 3-4 times a day, it just won’t happen. 6 meals is your bare minimum and since size is a big issue for you I would say 7-8. Whoever told you that 1g of protein per 1lb is plenty is clearly not educated and didn’t take into consideration the drugs you are taking… This info is something you will find in a 1980’s textbook.

Most important thing you need to straighten out before anything else is your nutrition… And with the amount of cycles you’ve done I was expecting to see someone with a lot more mass. This tells me your training and your diet are completely out of whack because with this amount of drugs along with a perfect diet and training program should have given you great gains.

I’m trying the best I can not to bash your coach and not to offend you. I just think you are being mislead and need to seek out more professional help because the potential is there and you seem to have the motivation so it’s a shame.

If I were you I would make these few changes to get started.
-6-7 meals a day
-increase protein to at least 250g (and probably higher)
-add the MAG-10 as a protein source
-if you decide to use GH, make sure it’s the pharmaceutical one.
-forget pro hormones, next cycle do the real thing with the right guidelines

I respect your enthusiasm and will to do better, I want to see it happen and it’s sad you’ve been pushed to the wrong direction. But you can turn it around and do great. Let me know how the food increases go.

[quote]Big L wrote:
Thanks for answering my last question. I’ve been bodybuilding for 7 years and the muscles on my left arm are smaller then on my right arm. Is there anything I can do to be more symmetrical? And what would you recommend for someone who is thinking of taking steroids for the first time?[/quote]

The simplest answer I can give to you without knowing you is to do about 20% more (sets and reps) on your weak side in comparison to your strong side. The increased volume should help with growth to an extent, unless any underlying issues are present(like injuries)

If you are thinking about taking them for the first time, my advice is completely individual and if you post a picture along with information I can help you make these decisions.

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Shadow,

Have you ever personally experienced or witnessed any steroid related horror stories?

[/quote]

No I haven’t. I think if someone’s an asshole they’ll be with way with or without juice. The “horror” stories you hear about on the news are almost always linked with people abusing recreational drugs or having other mental issues.

[quote]Ricardo Brentani wrote:
Hey Mr. Shadow Pro! Itâ??s an honor to have you on board! Iâ??d like to know your thoughts on this cycle theories shared by Rich Piana in one of his videos on youtube (- YouTube, itâ??s a 5 min video, I know you are a very busy man but watching it would be very helpful).

He basically says that in order to keep the body from adapting you should change your cycle compounds after a small period of time and than changing it back, so it would be something like A+B for 3 weeks, than C+D for 3 more weeks, than A+B again and so onâ?¦. The reason he says is that since the body isnâ??t getting used to it you donâ??t have to up the dosages, and therefore you are doing it in a much safer way.

I have never done any cycle in my life but Iâ??m starting to consider it, and this seems to be a safe and good way to do so. Please let me know if you approve it and the few compounds you would suggest for a first timer (I was thinking Test E+ Hanavar, switching it up to Deca + Stanozol). Since you asked the other guys for a proper background here it goes: Iâ??ve been training here in Brazil for almost 7 years, and have tried almost everything.

At the moment Iâ??m doing a Mountain Dog based program designed by myself, with only a few different things, usually 4 different exercises done for 6 sets each or 3 for 6, and 1 superset for only 3 sets, Iâ??m hitting the gym 4 to 5 times a week, always training hardcore. Itâ??s working pretty well for me and I think I finally understood to what my body responds well.

Bodyfat levels are about 8-12%, guess Iâ??m eating about 2.500-3.000 calories a day, and my goals are to reach perfect aesthetics. Thanks a lot for your patience and helping me. [/quote]

I just touched on this specific subject yesterday if you look a few pages back you will find it.

[quote]CxTucker wrote:
I’m going to speak for everyone here when I say that’s an extremely ignorant comment.

Steroid use is RAMPANT in professional sports. If you don’t think so, then you’re blind. Also note that steroids are illegal in the US, not just in sports. Do you think the winners of the Superbowl each year are natural? What about the NBA Championships? Olympic Sports? They aren’t, just FYI.

ALSO NOTE FOR NEW READERS: Shadow Pro has answered a TON of questions so far (500+ replies in this thread). Chances are, unless your question is extremely specific, he’s probably touched on it / gone in depth. Go back and read this whole thread.. even if you don’t see your exact question, there’s countless posts of valuable info that you will probably benefit from.[/quote]

Thank you sir! Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Awesome thread. Many people are learning a lot, thanks for doing this.

. I need help burning fat. I’m I taking 2200 calories macros more or less are : 240p 160c 80f

I’m 22, 215lb and I put myself at about 15-16%bf. my goal is to get to 10% and start my first cycle of many to come. If it maters, my goal is to look like the bodybuilders from the golden era.

I was also thinking of doing 250mg of test weekly to prevent muscle breakdown and see how my body reacts to the test.

I’ve lost about 10 lbs but I’ve been stuck for a while. Please help… Thanks in advance

[quote]55amg wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]55amg wrote:
hey bro Thanks for signing up here! I have a question on water bloat/cutting. No matter how I try my stomach always stays distended and bloated I feel like im holding water. I have gone 6-7 weeks drinking nothing but water, clean food, low carbs 4-6 meals a day, cardio 3-5 time a week on top of my job which is also physical, and my stomach seems to stay the same size according to the tape measure.

I know cutting takes a while (12 weeks at least) but in 6-7 weeks i should have lost at least 1.5 inches off my waist or something like that. The only thing that changes is that i lose strength and size but my waistline is always the same. I cant tell u how frustrating it is. One guy pm’ed me on another message board and said its all about estrogen control he told me he had the same problem, he said to run nolvadex 20mg a day to cut estrogen down and 12.5 mg of aromasin eod to kill the estrogen so I dont get a rebound.

what do you think bro? sorry about the poem here I don’t know what else to do, Im currently 205 5’9’’ 19% bf or so. I must add that my leanest was when I was on test enant and proviron @ 75mg a day and also during pct using nolvadex my waist shrunk a lot. I havent been ON in 3 years.[/quote]

Can you post a picture for me? At 19% bf I don’t think you need to worry about a lot of water retention, you need to concentrate on losing fat. Once you start to shed the fat your waist will come down with it. If you were on test-e at 19% bf all it will do is make you hold more water and it will not help you burn fat.

Get your diet and training 100% first of all. Indigo-3G and HOT-ROX would be an excellent supplement stack to take immediately. If you have good overall health you could do an ECA stack as well. Indigo will be your best friend from now on… If anything can get you down to 10% bf in a respectable amount of time this is it… Combined with a good diet and training of course.
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Hey bro thanks for the reply here is a pic of me about 6 weeks ago im about 5 lb lighter now
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Thank you for posting the photo.

Here’s what you can do:
Supplements:
Indigo-3G: 6-9capsules 30min before training
MAG-10: intraworkout and post workout
AlphaMale: 2 bottles
HOT-ROX and ECA (cycle back and forth for 6 weeks) 30 min before cardio

You need to drop your body fat down and the fastest way to do this will be with these supplements and this cardio: 45-60min
2 days HIIT track (2-5min run/2-5min jog/walk) repeat 45min-60min
2 days HIIT Stairmaster (2-4min high level/2-4min low level) repeat for 45-60min
2 days HIIT elliptical (same as Stairmaster)

If you think you have an estrogen problem, try Rez-V… This will help if it’s truly the case. I think it’s just an issue of high bodyfat levels, you should see your waist coming down and any excess water dropping as you lower fat.

Concentrate on your cardio, training and taking these supplements. Do not take any pharmaceutical compounds at this time, there is no need for it.

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:
Shadwell,

What do you think about short term GH use? Do you see any value in adding it to a 12 week cycle? My cycles tend to be fairly modest (1g of test-ish, a little dbol here, a little anavar there) but I’ve always been intrigued as to whether adding a couple of iu of GH daily would make much of an impact.

The typical bro-mantra tells us that anything less than 6 months is pointless, but I just can’t justify the expenditure. I could maybe stretch to a 12 weeker + PCT if there was going to be a significant benefit.

I have never used GH before, in case you were wondering.[/quote]

Thank you for asking this… And just when I thought you’d disappeared from the thread you come back with a quality question.

I DEFINITELY think it would give great benefits, even in a 12 week window. When using GH, usually the longer you can stay on the better it is but using it for 10-12 weeks will give you some nice benefits. What you could expect to see is fuller and “rounder” look (like a ninja turtle) it’s hard to pinpoint it but it’s the only drug that will give you this unique look. If you are using a quality GH(pharm… No Chinese BS) you will see these changes almost immediately… Most people report finding tighter skin with a better tone, fat loss and the ability to increase calories without gaining fat. You will notice an huge difference in recovery from training and better sleep quality. One of the biggest things I’ve found for people who are serious in the gym is that it helps a lot with existing injuries… I have always had shitty knees and I never have any issues when I’m on GH.

As for dosage, I would start with 6iu/day (to see these specific benefits that I listed) for people who are just looking for fat loss or skin improvements when 3-4iu will be sufficient.

So it does work in short term for sure, it’s optimal to stay on it longer if possible but I think taking it for a short period is better than skipping it all together.
[/quote]

Don’t worry big fella, I’ll be popping in and out to keep it interesting!

So 6iu for 12 weeks it is then. Looks like I’m going to have to start doing some overtime. 12 weeks of that’s going to cost me like Ã???Ã??Ã?£800![/quote]

Ã??Ã?£800 for 12 weeks, pharmaceutical? 1.52/iu… Are you sleeping with the pharmacist? If you are thinking about generics I don’t think I’d go with it, that sounds extremely cheap to me. 99% of the generics are not real so save your money and wait until you can buy the real thing. It seems ridiculously expensive to switch to pharm GH but it’s also insane to pay money for viles of sucralose and whatever kind of other shit they stuff in there.

Years ago when I decided to make the switch and spend more on GH was the year I made a huge jump in my career… And a huge hole in my bank account.

The difference isn’t something subtle, you notice it right away clear cut differences… Your reaction will be “WOW!” And you won’t be stuck wondering if it is/isn’t working. You can continue to waste money on generics or try and find a source for pharm, you’ll be happy you did. There is a smalllllll chance you can land some decent underground kits but have them tested in a lab before wasting more money.
[/quote]

hmm well that’s interesting! It was Ã?£200 for enough Growth to run 5iu for 20 days (that’s 100iu for those of you whose maths ain’t so good) and I was assured it was pharm grade! The guy that uses it swears by it and he’s a nationally ranked BBer, although I know that’s never an indication that people actually know what they’re talking about. He’s the dude I get my oils off as he gets them at a pretty decent knock down price and the quality is good. I just assumed the GH would be kosher as well.

I know we’re not supposed to discuss prices but what would the ballpark figure be for real growth then (sorry mods if that’s not cool to ask).[/quote]

Let me give you an example… If you walk into a pharmacy today with a prescription and no medical plan that helps with costs of prescription drugs you would be looking to pay $1800-2200USD for 128iu of pharmaceutical product. A good price could be $700 for 120iu… If u are finding cheaper than this I would be questioning the quality, unless you are sleeping with the girls at the facory… Hmmm, that’s a good idea! I know guys who got it this way btw.

It’s out there, just keep looking!!! Like I said to Reed, these low quality/no quality kits are the reason people don’t understand the true benefits of GH.