Jettisoned Ponderings

…try using them for 3 years and then stopping! Things lately have been interesting in the gym. The work and intensity is there, but all my weights are noticeably down. To best test out the NOS-FX I’m off all my other supplements, except for protein and basics like EFAs, joint support, and a multi. Lat pulldowns today were down about 40lbs. Close grip bench down 30lbs. I’m sure all my strength lifts like deads and squats are also much the same, just haven’t had a chance to try them all yet. I know that one of the main ways a number of prohormones help increase strength is by opening the calcium pathways. Now having been off all those this year I’m even more solidified in believing in their usefullness (and safety, when used properly). The product testing has yielded mixed results for me thus far, and I am enjoying it. Can’t deny though that I will be very much looking forward to getting back onto my usual stack when all is said and done.

If you want to follow it, here’s the forum link: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=113684501

So far I’ve had some pretty impressive results and unbelievable results with the full strength libido boost dose! Still got 3 weeks of workouts to log it for.

Recently both myself and GJ were selected to alpha test a new product coming from Anabolic Xtreme. For now, the product is being code named "AXplosion". We got our NDAs sent in and the ingredient list today to make sure we were ok with everything in it. We’ll get the full testing and dosing guidelines most likely sometime next week when it arrives. Some of the parameters are going to be fairly strict with respect to what can and cannot be consumed within a certain time window, amount of time taken pre-workout, etc. Its still exciting though. Once we were notified we’d been chosen, all the pre-workout supps were ceased to get it out of our systems and have as clean of a slate as possible to make sure the product itself is working as intended and get the most accurate feedback possible.

I can’t say a whole lot more than that, but from what I know and have read on what’s in it I’m fairly excited to see how it performs. Keep an eye out for the link to my log if you’re curious to follow it and see the results.

Somewhere this idea started spreading that estrogen is just a bad thing for guys. Let me reassure you, this is far from the case. Too much estrogen is bad, sure, but after having to be on a very potent AI (With what I’m on, I’m talking over 98% estrogen elimination) today I started to feel the effects with my knees hurting. Mind you, until today I had not lifted since Sunday so it was not a result of a hard lift. The fact is we need some estrogen to maintain the structural integrity of our joints, bones, and connective tissue. Certainly there are appropriate times to use an AI, but ideally only for shorter terms to prevent some of the sides. Consider what happens to women post menopause when their estrogen levels significantly decline. The same things can happen to men. I’m looking forward to beginning to come off the AI and getting my system back to normal.

Most of the Tribulus products out there aren’t effective for a few reasons. First, some aren’t extracts so you’re not really getting the best part. Another factor is what region the plant grew in since the soil affects the profile of saponins in it. Anyhow… Assuming you get one of the ones that is actually a good standardization of the extract it should properly help to increase LH and therefore test levels. Whether that’s a lower dose at a higher standardization or a higher dose at a lower standardization, in the end if you’re getting enough of the steroidal saponins it’ll do the job. Now, the typical thought of course is "Oh, its natural so there won’t be any problems!" Well, folks, I can tell you that is not the case. For the past month I’ve been taking 3g of bulgarian tribulus extract a day (45% standardization) to offset a low drive. After about 3 weeks into it one morning I noticed that the mammary gland tissue (Yes, guys, we have them, too) was noticeably firmer than usual. Initially I thought that prolactin levels were elevated and offsetting it with some ibuprofen to reduce levels. This seemed to help for that week. Then we left for Vegas and when I packed my pill case I neglected to put the ibuprofen in it. A couple days later the symptoms were back and a bit worse. It was clear the problems were persisting and not going away. I stopped taking all my supps except for my basics trying to think what was throwing my hormones for such a loop. My drive had been back up so I know my test levels had been increasing. The next morning I woke up and remembered a study I’d read and realized what had been happening. For the record I was not using Tribestan, but NOW Tribulus 1000, which is another Bulgarian tribulus extract:

"The original purpose for tribulus terrestris extract was as a         "tonic" to treat sexual dysfunction. In animal husbandry         studies tribulus extract was shown to stimulate rutting behavior (i.e.         attempting to score) in rams as well as boars. When the supplement         Tribestan® was given to healthy men (Milanov, 1981) in a dose of 750         milligrams per day for five days, LH and testosterone were elevated 72%         and 40% respectively. As you might expect, estradiol was also elevated.         In fact estradiol was elevated by 81%! The increase in testosterone is         obviously what all the fuss is about, nevertheless, you can’t ignore         the fact that whenever you increase testosterone you are going to         increase aromatization and therefore estrogen levels. To put these         changes in hormone levels into perspective, the reference range for         testosterone in men is between 300 - 1,000 ng/dL. The subjects in this         study started out with an average of 600 ng/dL and ended up with about         850 ng/dL. This is still well within the "normal" range for         men. Estradiol on the other hand went from normal levels of about 76         pg/ml to significantly elevated levels of 137.5 pg/ml. This is well         above normal levels which range from about 20-80 pg/ml in men."

I’m certain this was my problem now. I had neglected to add in some sort of estrogen/atomatise inhibitor in the stack to offset the increase in estradiol. Since stopping the tribulus and am now using an aggressive anti-estrogen the symptoms have been significantly reduced the last few days. The bottom line for anyone who’s considering using tribulus is to remember that it is very much an effective herbal supplement to use both by itself or with other synergistic herbs. However, it is important to remember to have some sort of estrogen management such as DIM, Calclum d-glucarate, indole-3 carbinol, etc. Another option is an atomatise inhibitor, such as ATD (my preferred choice for OTC). Do not go overboard with these, however, because the body does need some estrogen to maintain things like bone and joint integrity. Everyone responds differently, so it is important to listen to your body. I’ll absolutely use the tribulus again in the future, but I’ll be sure to add in the ATD next run (SNS Inhibit-e has always worked well for me)

Today is the last day finishing up American Cellular Labs’ MMA3 (Bold precursor) and I’m quite pleased with the results, even from only one bottle. I ran a relatively lower dose at 400mg/day for only a month. While I didn’t directly gain a whole lot of mass from it (partially due to diet inconsistencies) I did gain noticeable density and hardness of the muscles. Pumps were fuller and strength gains made steady increases. Most noteably was going up 4 plates on leg press (for 8 reps) in 2 weeks once it really started kicking in. I’ve set a number of personal bests this past month. I feel like running it alone would be good, but potentially expensive to get a sufficient dose. It would, however, stack great with a number of other products out there. I’ll certainly be running it again in the future, provided the ban passed this year remains unsigned into law like it has been so far…

Now I’m bridged over and running ACL’s Tren Xtreme to finish up my stash of it. It worked beautifully back in Jan-Mar, so I’m hoping it’ll help me hit the 1000lb leg press goal by the end of the month.

Between resting and tripling my intake of Xango this weekend, fortunately whatever I got is pretty much gone now. Not always easy to stay healthy when your spouse works around sick people all day. I’m sure this will affect my lifting tonight, but I need to go anyhow.

I’m up 1% bodyfat today, which I’m attributing to being a bit too high on the carbs. Though some good gains are coming with it, so I can’t complain that much. I did a bit of revising today on my nutrient timing and the macros. Its still a bulk, so I’m not concerned with staying overly lean right now. That 225lb long term goal is looking really appeasing right now. Plus to get the most out of the cycle, it’d be better to err on the side of being too high on the calories. I’ve got about another week on the Bold, then I’ll bridge over into the Tren and HMG. I really wish I wasn’t tapped for funds right now… I’d like to run a cycle of MMA3/TT40 in the near future.
For lifts, I know I’m gonna hate this long term, but I’m not lifting calves for a while in favor of just having 1 day to hit legs. I need to have 2 rest days a week and as hard as I hit legs, they really do need a lot more time to recover. I don’t have the endurance for quite as much leg volume as I do with my upper body. Tonight’s workout though it definitely gonna leave me sore. Works out better to lift late for legs anyhow so I can get a reliable spot from some of the other guys who go late and can go heavy.

Giving ACL’s MMA3 (Bold) a shot my itself alone this time. Starting out at 400mg/day for now and seeing how that works. Diet is just under 3900 calories for now. Trying to see if that’s enough, which it should be going off the general rule of 20 cals/1lb bodyweight (3860 as of this morning’s weight). Hope it works out…

Caffeine is my new best friend! Last week I avoided extra stimulants to see how the Methyl Ripped Hardcore would be tolerated. It really lit me up the first few days, but by the end of the week an additional couple cups of coffee throughout the day had no adverse effects. Well, today I got up on time, got breakfast (new portion size has 1/2c of oats instead of 1c, and 1 less egg. This amount was perfect!) but got distracted talking online with my mom. By the time the conversation was over I figured I’d wait and head out the same time GJ did for work, so roughly an hour and a half later than I’d typically go.

I’d already taken my Nitro EXT, and I didn’t want to take more of that. It had been long enough that the methyl ripped was starting to lose its initial kick. It also was too early to try and eat more. So, I went ahead, initially against my better judgement, to take a serving of Full Blown Extreme instead to get the carbs (trade out worked by halving the oats and dropping the extra carbs from the PWO shake) from it and some other pump promoting goodies. Within 10 minutes, I was hyped, but not jittery. Hmmm… This could be good… I got to the gym and every single lift went up more than I expected. For the 7s I didn’t need to drop the weights nearly as frequently. Pretty surprised by this since I changed out a couple exercise variations to make the workout more challenging. Multiple exercises were finishing roughly 10-20% heavier than last week on the final sets.

I’m still quite energized and haven’t crashed at all. The rest of the day should be interesting to see how my energy levels change. I can definitely say though that given the pacing of the morning I think I’ll stick with timing things like I did today. No harm letting breakfast digest a little longer.

So here are today’s numbers:
Cross-Body Hammer Curls    3-4×8-12    35    40    40    45
Machine Bicep Curl    3×8-12    90    100    120
V-Bar Cable Curls    7×8-12    80    90    90    90    85    80    60×22
Close Grip Bench Press    3-4×8-12    115    120    125    130
Parallel Bar Machine Dips    3×8-12    225    240    255
Reverse Cable Pushdown w/V-Bar    7×8-12    110    110    110    110    100    100    75×22
Standing Calf Raises    4×10-12    160    170    180    190
Seated Calf Raises    4×15-20    95    100    105    110
Calf Sled Press    7×10-12    180    180    180    180    170    170    170

For lifting days I’m adding 20g Max ACM to post-workout shake (Blend of waxy maize, maltodextrin, and trehalose) and changing out the protein cookie for 2 cups of green beans with lunch. Non-lifting days I’m pulling the carbs from my first shake so its just protein and fiber. I’m keeping the protein cookies in on the off days since they’re the coffee flavors and have a little caffeine, since I won’t be taking the Methyl Ripped Hardcore on off days.