@bmbrady77
Thank you!
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Anytime my friend.
Youāre always free to hijack around here, brother! Let us know how the routine goes
I got bored with the Growth Systems Training program Iāve been running for all of 2019, and I wanted something different, but I didnāt yet have the time to do the Yates routine (winter break will be the time). So for November, Iām focusing on upping my maxes in the Big 4, doing some powerlifting type work for the first time in a looooong time.
One other thing to add about the powerlifting/strength focus Iāve employedā¦it can be really good and healthy to shift your focus from aesthetics sometimes. I care about being Jacked & Tan as much as the next guy, but it can really become an obsession. Iāve found focusing on performance ā thinking less āhow will this impact my absā and more āhow will this impact my liftsā ā helps recalibrate things. Of course, that can also go too far (fat powerlifting bellies), but good to weave in and out!
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This helps keep things fresh too. I just went from a BB focused routine back to a strength focused routine. Wasnāt surprised to see some lifts were down. I def built some size over the last few months but got weaker in some areas (bench + dead).
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Bingo. Personally, I will stay no more than about 8 weeks in hypertrophy ranges, and then take a week off and hit strength training rep ranges and routines for about 6 weeks. Got to keep alternating to bring up everything togetherā¦
Sadly though, right now my wife and are looking to buy a house. Weāve been so dead focused on that adventure for the last month that weāve been off of the weights for about 3 weeks now. Itās KILLING me to not work out, but Iām sure that my body needs the break. Been hitting it pretty hard for a while before this.
Gonna get back going as best as I can next week and just let my agent do her thingā¦but after I find a house and get movedā¦Itās back to hardcore! lol
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Man, Iāve never understood how house-shopping takes over peopleās lives so much. (Thatās clearly because Iāve never bought a house, lol.) What about the process is so time-consuming?
Hope you find a place that allows for your epic home gym setup to continue! Guessing thatās a priority?
Hear you man, itās hard to have the best of both worlds. Thatās what always amazed me about guys like Ronnie Coleman who looked incredible AND could lift tons of weight. Dude was an absolute savage!
Everything about it brother. From trying to find something that you can commit that much of your life and paycheck to, to making sure that it will accommodate your existing life without too much compromise.
And then find all that for a price you can afford lol!! Scouting listings, working with the realtor to make sure sheās looking for the same type of shit youāre looking at. Finding the perfect place only to find out that seller wonāt budge on the price, because it is a mere 10K above your approval limit. It takes a lot out of you man.
In my case in particular, Montana property is SO stinking hot these days that they are asking very unreasonable prices for shit homes. Iām at the point now where I am just looking for something big enough to live in (and set my gym up lol), that I can half way accept and afford. I am going to have to play the game of buying something thatās not quite what I want, so I can sit on it for a few years and then resale it for a profit. Maybe by then I can go for the gusto and get what I really wantā¦
Which is a little spread of 5-20 acres with a nice house that wonāt require every dime Iāve got to bring it up to par, and is somewhat accessible in the winter! Lol
Also, @bkb333, not sure bmbradyās situation but there is a timing issue involved. Say you put your house on the market and you get a buyer right awayā¦you may not have found a house yet to move to so you either say NO or you find an interim place to live. OR you find the perfect house but you havenāt yet sold yours and the sellers donāt want to wait for you to sell. OR your new buyers have a contingency where THEY need to sell before they can ink a deal on your current house. AND THEN any of these things can fall apart mid deal and you start all over again. Meanwhile you may be living out of boxes, etc.
There there are the house inspections where things are uncovered and then negotiated as far as WHO is going to be responsible (seller or buyer) and if extra money is discounted due to problems. Then maybe issues are found at the house you are selling and you are giving the buyer an extra $10k at closing because your house needs a new roofā¦etc, etc, etc.
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Lmao! You sound like youāve been there too brother!!
At the very leastā¦itās time consuming as hell and a frustrating experience. Sorry for the rant though guys lol!!
Back to slinging iron and dialing shit in!
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My wife is a realtor here in MA. I hear all sorts of these stories and with this hot market, sellers arenāt even considering offers with contingencies. Itās crazy.
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Same here in Raleigh. Its not quite as crazy as it was but most everything priced reasonably sells in under a week. Usually they list on Friday and take the best offer by Sunday. Itās crazy.
Yeahā¦Im in MA so it was frustrating because those things do happen here. They donāt need you since so many are shopping.
Yeah @bmbrady77 we moved into our current house just over two years ago. We moved two miles down the st to a bigger house. We have 3 kids under 15 and were in a small house. It was also during my worst Low T time as I was working on getting diagnosed due to my issues being at their worst.
@ncsugrad2002 we put it on the market on a Friday and accepted an offer, out of several, on Sunday morning as soon as they saw the house. LOL
Yeah man, I recently spent 3 years in Durham ā such a hot housing market! Everyone wants to live there. (Canāt blame them, the Triangle is the best, favorite place in the U.S. tbh)
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Damn brother, youāre in amazing shape for a dude with young kids. I see so many dads let their physique/fitness turn to absolute shit during these yearsā¦honestly, part of the reason I havenāt gotten the wifey pregnant yet. It scares me. Any tips on how to stay fit with young kids?
@NH_Watts @bmbrady77 OK, you two have convinced meā¦itās gonna be a seriously tough experience! I hadnāt thought about all the logistic issues with your current place, timing, etc. What a headache. Fortunately weāre saving up quite a nice nest egg while Iām in school (finishing PhD) to put down a sizeable down payment when I land in a tenure-track role.
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Thatās all we need, brother ā a comfortable-enough space and room to clang and bang (double entendre intended)!
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What are you studying @bkb333?
Question for the crowd: how important is IGF-1 in HOT? What do you āfeelā when itās higher/lower?
At the start of my treatment, my level was 234 (Ref 63-373). My provider felt I needed to elevate this number to feel better, so we have tried a number of peptides. At last check, my level had fallen to 207, so we switched from Ibutamoren to Ipamorelin. That means nightly injections, which are obviously inconvenient, plus the goods cost money.
Ultimately, I want to be a hormonal minimalist ā I think the fewer medications, the better. If Iām going to be on T forever, Iād like it to be basically just T and nothing else. But my provider thinks IGF is important in this process. He said I could go as high as 350 without concern.
Do you think I should keep up with the IGF experiments?