Thanks brother and you are spot on!
Your story is inspirational. Thanks so much for sharing, brother. I canāt pretend to understand what you went through ā hell, I donāt have any kids at this point, much less a teenager struggling with drug addiction, and my marriage is still young ā but I really admire how you pulled through it and came out better on the other side.
As @jackolee observed, this is really, really cool. A healthy relationship takes so much work but it makes such a huge difference in overall life satisfaction ā nothing like having your spouse as your best friend! Greatest thing in life.
How has your wifeās fitness journey gone? It sounds like you two went in on health together. Howās the home gym coming along?
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@jackolee @Frank_C Itās my āpeak weekā for this 8-week transformation challenge (photos next Tuesday)! Though my goal changed and I elected not to focus exclusively on BF%, I definitely made a lot of aesthetic progress; I can just tell by looking in the mirror and based on comments from others. Excited to see the comparison in photos (and will share them here, of course).
Iām wondering what you think about my training/nutrition approach for this final week. Should I taper calories? They are currently all the way up at 3,000 (!), so I have room to play around. Iāve also read about lowering training volume to decrease inflammation, thereby lowering water retention. I want to look ripped on photoshoot day but also want to keep taking advantage of these gainz as long as possible!
Thank you for your kind words man. I really appreciate that.
My wife is amazing man. She pushes me to go harder. Hereās a couple pics of her digging deep fairly recently. Weāre both going to take some newer pics after the routine that weāre currently in comes to an end.
Hereās a pic of the current gym setup
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Your wife is crushing it ā biceps peak on point! Youāre both in awesome shape, man. Props.
Also, that home gym is a beauty. Waaaaaay more legit than my garage setup. How much $ would you estimate youāve poured into that bad boy over time? How do you like the basement (that is a basement, right?) setup? Weāre going to weigh these things as we look at houses. We want to build out a really nice gym like yours. I donāt mind the garage, but my wife wonāt go out there when itās cold. She wants to be indoors.
Thank you brother. Youād be surprised how cheap you can get some of this stuff. Keep an eye on Craigslist, especially around March. A lot of people with stupid money make resolutions on the 1st and then get bored after a month or so and sell their stuff off for a song.
The smith machine and most of my weights I got on Craigslist for $500.
The power rack was around $400 I think on amazon.
The white Odyssey machine I bought for $300 on Craigslist. It was a great find as it retails for around $2500.
The benches, and the rack on the left, and the stationary bike totaled $1500 new.
I got the elliptical for $100 on Craigslist and had to spend $20 on a new battery for it.
The black set of dumbells (10-30) I got at Costco for $200.
Total is right around $3000. Yes that is a basement and itās is an AWESOME space. We are currently saving up for a down payment to buy a place of our own. Itās hard here in Montana because contrary to what most might think, the cost of living is astronomical here. We currently rent this house. When we start looking, a basement is going to be a MUST!
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I havenāt been keeping up on logs as much as usual so Iām a little behind. Whatās more important right now - your current plan or the photo shoot? If you want to prep for the photo shoot then check with Jack and others who have stepped on stage to see what they did.
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Man it looks like what your doing is working so I would t really mess with it. Your pretty dang lean already. If you want to look the best for the photo Iād simply tan up a bit, do most of the week super low carb and then the day before have a heavy carb day. Drink lots of water and then cut off water the afternoon before and only sip as necessary for thirst.
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How low would you recommend taking the carbs? Right now my macros are 246C/281P/77F.
My peak weak was about 300P/50C/as little fat as possible. Pretty miserable.
Sounds like hell on earth, man! How do you even eat that ā just all chicken/turkey/tuna?
All good, brother! Itās hard to say because I value both, like 50/50. So hoping to look great in the photos while continuing this great progress. Guess somethingās got to give, though ā aināt that always the case in fitness? Lol.
Man, $3,000 for that beautiful setup is an absolute steal. I went to a gym today and was reminded how fun the gym environment can be ā thereās something about playing around on all the fancy machines ā but nothing beats the convenience of working out from home. I love having the ability to pop out there whenever I have time ā even on a 30-minute break from work ā and crank out a quick lift.
I had no idea about March ā great tip! Iāve been using Amazon and Craigslist so far. I even flipped some gear I found, and couldnāt really use (it couldnāt handle much weight), and made $200 off of it. Gotta love the internet!
I also had no idea about cost of living in Montana. We are actually taking a trip out there next spring ā any recommendations? We plan to do a lot of hunting and hiking. The splendor of the nature out there seems breathtaking. My wife spent a summer in Glacier 5 years ago.
Yesā¦Bring lots of money, a GPS and extra batteries, and bear spray (better yet a .45 Ruger Revolver with Bear loadsā¦doesnāt wear off in 30 minutes and wonāt jam on you, and wonāt backfire on you if the wind isnāt in your favor) !! lol
Best hunting depends on what youāre hunting for.
Antelope and mulies are more abundant in the areas just east of Helena and over between Livingston and Billings, and east of Billings.
Whitetail are good anywhere you can find a place near a river.
Elk are best in western Montana outside of Missoula and up near Polson.
Bear are hit and miss throughout the entire Western half of the state.
If you want to experience the hype, go to Bozeman and Missoula, and be sure to vist Glacier Ntnl Park and Yellowstone. If you want to experience Montana, pick any place on the map west of the divide that isnāt populated. You can just lose yourself in nature for as long as you like.
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Chicken, egg whites, whey, a few ounces of brown rice, and oh yeahā¦ more whey!
Thatās about what my diet looks like on a daily basis! lol
Be surprised how many different ways you can figure out to prepare turkey, chicken, and tuna/salmon/cod!
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Would you guys mind sharing your trt protocol? Looking around through the forum and you guys seem to be thriving more than most other posters. Im about to start and I know everyone is different but I was hoping to see something in common with your dosages/schedule? Thank you very much! bmbrady77 jackolee bkb333 (no idea if i tagged you guys propertly or not)
For sure, man. Iāll tag them: @bmbrady77 @jackolee
Another whoās doing very well is @enackers and I believe @traveling-man is feeling great, too.
My protocol
200 mg T-cypionate split across 3 injections/week (was previously at 260, may lower further, but feeling great at 200 right now)
25 mg Danazol ED
25 mg Ibutamoren ED
600 IU hCG split across 2 injections/week
1,000 mg Metformin (500 mg 2X/day)
Daily supplements
25 mg DHEA
Boron
Magnesium
Fish oil
Niacin
B6
B12
Multivitamin
Turmeric curcumin
Melatonin (pre-bed)
Zinc
ā¦I think thatās everything. May be forgetting something in there.
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Thank you!
Mine looks similar.
My protocol
50mg T-cypionate MWF (150mg Total)
1,000 mg Metformin (500 mg 2X/day)
Daily supplements
50 mg DHEA
Fish oil
5000iu Vitamin D
Probiotic
Remember that the only thing that the drug protocol gives you is the tools to work with. Itās still completely up to you to do the work. The most important thing to do on the road to recovering your body is to not ever forget that balancing hormones is only one leg of a 3 legged stool. The other two are proper diet and regular exercise. If any one leg is too short or missing altogether, then the stool canāt stand.
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