like many of you I had this thread pop back up from an email address that I rarely use anymore. It’s pretty ironic considering I just started up a thread again in the OVER 35 section. I couldn’t remember my old account information so I started over new. Many of you might remember me as maruadermeat. but it’s been, like, 7 years since I’ve checked out t-nation. I guess Professor X is gone. At one point I felt like he spent his entire day on these forums. He commented on pretty much every thread.
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Holy crap; welcome back dude. Your departure was a sad one.
thanks…I appreciate that.
It’s like running into your old high school buddies in a bar, after not seeing them for years.
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yes it is… you still competing Stu?
Not anymore. Shoulder issues a few years back (2 surgeries), and a couple of bulging discs this past year have convinced me that doing “what I’d need to do” to be competitive ain’t worth missing out on being able to spend quality time (holding, chasing over equipment in a playground, throwing a ball) with my 2 year old son.
Been coaching and judging shows since though. Still keeps me around the sport I love 
What’ve you been up to?
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that’s cool…yeah… i was still going full steam ahead in powerlifting up until about a year and a half ago. i went in to do some deads and out of the blue i tore my distal biceps tendon 90% in a split second. i guess many many years of mixed grip pulling in the 700’s finally caught up with me. after that i immediately got surgery and started rehabbing right away. i was very lucky. I’ve had a full recovery but I’m NEVER pulling with a mixed grip again. I’ve tried hook grip by I’ve got short stubby fingers and over mid 600’s i can’t hold on. I’ve pulled 765 with straps since then but that pretty much ended my competition deadlifting.
i have a log over in the OVER 35 section where i will log the highlights of my training. been concentrating on building mass, losing BF and working on all the areas i neglected when i was powerlifting. I feel better now than I’ve felt in all my years as a powerlifter. shoulders are healthy, i have mobility and can actually run now. i do a ton of hill sprinting and weighted vest work.
I’m an owner in a powerlifting, strongman, and Olympic lifting gym as well.
here’s the vid of my biceps tear…don’t blink.
welcome back indeed!
You were the reason I left this site for a bit a few years ago and logged for a bit on the site you moved to (won’t mention the name for obvious reasons). Your front squat war was epic. Still one of the most interesting, and ultimately depressing, threads in the history of this site. I remember at the time thinking how unimaginably difficult a 405 front squat would be, lol. That battle came to mind the first time I front squatted 4 plates last year.
Will check out your new thread.
yeah… i used to let myself get caught up in the drama a bit too much. i remember taking that front squat bet thinking- this is not my strong suit but my ego got the best of me. i wasn’t used to doing high reps on front squats and definitely not without knee wraps. i still have the video of my attempt. i remember feeling my quad tearing but kept pushing for a couple more reps…stupid internet bets. I’m definitely nothing like i was before. i have nothing to prove anymore other than to be able to look myself in the mirror each morning.
although… after that i did make front squats a priority in my training. here’s a fairly recent video of a pretty easy 540 front squat.
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Maruadermeat - you still maintaining the aggressive taint bleaching regimen? I was following you on YT there for a while.
Damn…that’s a blast from the past…but yes…as you get older it seems
to darken up faster.
I’m very interested in everyone’s opinion on this!
How would you view my situation, as I have great size genetics, or terrible strength genetics?
I have good size, currently 205 and 12% bf, and I have been as big as 230 at 11% bf before I fell into drugs, was a long road to recovery but that’s off topic.
Point is, even when I was 230 at 11%, I Could BARELY bench 2 plates a side, and now at 205 12%, MY max bench is 205 for 4 reps, Deadlift is like 275 for 3 reps, OHP is 115 for 3 reps, and that’s on TRT dose test. I know I am EXTREMELY weak for my size. Those lifts are like me REALLY pushing myself as well, I usually do my reps in the 8-12 range for compounds with considerably lighter weight than listed here.
So it seems I’m blessed if you look at it like this: If I am this big with such shit lifts, ill be all that much bigger as my lifts progress.
OR you could look at it like: My strength blows for my size.
Which way is correct to view this?
My strength always seemed ahead of what I expected my size to be. Nothing was worse than some guy bigger than I was watching me and being impressed while telling me he wished he could move that type of weight… Of course walking down the street in everyday clothing, no one knows what you lift, they only know what it LOOKS like you can lift!
Being ahead on the strength curve isn’t a bad thing, but if your primary goal is aesthetics, you need to learn to train around your strength and ensure you’re working muscles in a way that will stimulate the growth that you’re after. Hence learning to feel the muscles working, avoiding lock out on certain movements, even just how your sequence your movements for the most effect on your target muscles groups.
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What’s your height? 230 at average height is enormous! Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think you were 11% at that weight if you are of average height considering that was Dorian’s composition in his offseason in the mid 80s (on drugs!), as well as other IFBB pros of average height. My friend is an IFBB pro with that sort of makeup four months out of a show at 5’10".
I don’t have great or bad relative strength; I have average relative strength. So do many bodybuilders. Ever watch Paul Dillet train? He wasn’t moving mountains; I’ll say that.
What matters is that you progress over time, in reps and weight. So if you bench 205 for 4 reps this year, and by next year you are benching 204 for 10 to 12 reps or 225 for 6-8 reps, that’s still progress, and you will be bigger!
Right.
Does it matter what view it is if you are improving? Is a “view” really going to matter so long as you keep going to the gym with good effort and that you like what you’re doing. This is a pastime, recreation. Do you really want to have a bad view on it?
The same goes for guys obsessed with their weight. It seems nearly everyone on the internet thinks men at or below 200 pounds of average height are small. But get this: judges don’t jump on a stage and weigh a competitor! Brian Whitacre has beaten men bigger than him at 160+ pounds. Frank Zane looks infinitely better than many bloated messes today.
Thanks for the reply. I’m 6 feet and a half inch tall :). I was 229 at 11.4% at my best but I Was on LOTS of gear at the time. I aim to get back to that size before shredding down to compete, still going to use gear, but I’m hoping to get back there with more moderate dosages this time! Trying to approach it with the view of getting the most out of the lowest dosages before I increase a dosage, where as before I did as much as I needed for the fastest growth and every cycle has to be the “ultimate cycle”.
This being said, I also didn’t cycle on and off juice, I was and will be blasting and cruising, which is where you do a heavy cycle, for say 3 months, then a light dose of test (trt dose or a little over), for 1-2 months, and repeat. This is what allowed me to get to the size you questioned earlier (which doesn’t offend me at all). This time I hope to get there because of my NUTRITION AND TRAINING and have gear just be the icing on the cake!
I’m hoping to get my pro card in the IFBB in a few years. I was on the cusp of preparing for my first show when I got into heroin, and that really set me back. I’ve been clean over a year now and been working out for 6-8 months again. I really wanna compete within the next 1.5-2 years. My entire life revolves around family and bodybuilding. I have no extended fam its just my daughter and my fiancé and myself. My daughter and fiancé live in a different city at the moment but are working to move to the city I’m in. I moved away to recover from my addiction so now that things are better I am really excited for us to be a family again!
But yeah point is bodybuilding is my ONLY real priority after my daughter and my fiancé.
I understand as a natural, 170 stage weight would be very impressive. Obviously I can push that envelope being assisted, but I have no illusions that I would even be 170 stage weight IF I cut down RIGHT NOW. I’m sure id be less than that. I have friends who compete and I understand that 200 stage weight is MASSIVE, I’m not one of those guys who thinks under 200 stage weight means small, that kind of thinking is aggravating for sure!
OK, that explains it. If I recall correctly you’re also very young, 22 years old. I know there are phenoms who are or were benching 225 for reps in high school but from what Ive seen, that is not the norm, even for guys with decent genetics. If I recall correctly, it even took Jim Wendler (a former D1 football player) quite some time to get a 300 pound bench press max, and look at what he later went on to do. You’re also tall, and might not have the best levers for exceptional strength.
Again, don’t consider this as an offense, because it isn’t at all: I think that was a mistake but I’m positive you consider the same. You mention moderate dosages, but do you really think, considering your age that you’e given yourself enough time (which would actually be a lot of time) to do some things naturally first?
That’s a good approach!
It was a HUGE mistake to take the doses that I did and I would never do the same thing again if I could do it over. However, I did get lucky and fully recover and still have perfect health, and I did gain A LOT of knowledge and experience in the process. Keep in mind I GOT LUCKY and I Could have seriously hurt myself, and I Got myself to the point where I NEEDED high doses or I Would lose size. Was a TERRIBLE place to be.
It would definitely be advisable to stay natural for longer for sure, I am only 22. It’s a personal choice that I made. I have very good genetics / potential (ESPECIALLY thickess, very thick naturally in upper torso), and I really want to go as far as I Can in the bodybuilding world so I am doing everything I can do to get there. I am basically dedicating my life to the sport right now.
Would I recommend other people to start steroids at 22? No, I would suggest staying natural till atleast 25 if you wanna go down that road. I’ve already taken the plunge though and I’m very happy with where I am right now. I am only using TRT dosages at the moment, and I am going to start doing “light cycles” alternated with trt dosages after I hit 8% or so body fat levels.
I don’t take offense to anything you said. IT’s my personal choice to start this early and while I DEFINITELY regret my earlier use, I am very happy with my current use!
I am making sure that my diet and training are the meat and potatoes of my growth, and the juice is just the icing on the cake this time around!
Please check out my cutting thread if you have the time! I have NOBODY in real life to discuss bodybuilding with (moved to a new town for recovery from recreational drugs) and have like 0 friends here, it’s great to have knowledgeable people to talk to. Stu has been a great help to me and I read all his posts, I know he has been a great help to you too! I read your entire prep thread, great stuff and great job man!