Journey to the bottom of the food chain; Angus gains 0.33g of muscle!

[FuriousAngus]

Quick history rundown about myself:
Started using steroids (mostly Test, but tried Deca, Tren, and other compounds) around the age of 24 (I'm 36 now); perma blasted for two years straight with minimal diet adherence and terrible training protocols (I did Squat 365x25 ATG, though). About a couple of years after starting PEDs I switched to true TRT and stayed there until now.

20022-24
I tried coming off but couldn't recover to beyond 300 test (which could've actually been my natural baseline, but we'll never know); I gained a ton of fat, became very weak and perhaps even depressed, and then eventually decided to hop back on TRT. Never looked back since.

Today
I'm doing my first "real" progressive phase since my very first. The goal is to gain as much mass as possible while also staying relatively healthy and lean. I'll be utilizing short, aggressive minicuts throughout my progressive phase to keep body fat levels and insulin sensitivity in check.

Philosophy
I'm a huge fan of testosterone, so I will strictly be using Test, HGH, and insulin in a progressive dosing manner, nothing else. The main focus during this phase will be on diet and training. I'll also be using a GLP-1 (Retatrutide) to increase diet adherence and better control my eating habits and improve insulin sensitivity/other health markers.

Goals
I've always been a huge fan of "classic" physiques; I want to be 190-200lbs at 10% (I'm 168cm/5'6"), hopefully within the next 4-5 years before I hit the breaks and stick to true TRT (isn't that what we all say?). I'm 36 now, and I want to accomplish this before I hit 40.

Starting stats
Age: 36
Height: 168cm (5'6"?)
Bodyfat %: 11-12%?
Current weight : 70kg

Diet
Some form of calorie/carb cycling, except I won't be doing high days because I don't think I actually need them at my level. Also, this is just a rough sketch of what I'll be eating; it's more of a diet structure than anything, really.

Training
Upper/lower (hitting all muscles x2 a week)

PEDs

I'm thinking of running 10iu of HGH/day throughout...convince me!


Health (I'll be posting current blood work next week, just before I start; health is very important to me)

Pictures (all taken this week, I'll be posting progress pictures every 2-4 weeks throughout)
Locker room magic (that's my baby brother)

Normal lighting/back

Booger on my left shoulder is a cyst/in-grown hair that I had surgically removed after those pictures; it has since healed very nicely (thanks to BPC-157).

While I am primarily writing this log to keep myself accountable, I'm also eager to share what I do and learn from others who are much more experienced than I am.

Current plan (04/04/2025 until start of this phase, 8 days)

I just came back after the holidays where I thought It'd be great to up my Tirz dose to 5mg; I've been shitting water for 3 days and I can barely finish a bowl of oatmeal, so it looks like I'll be cutting this week until the GLP calms down and I receive my Reta, which I'll be utilizing for the entirety of this phase. I'm also -possibly- buying a treadmill so I might be doing a lot of my Z2 at home, which is great because this will allow me to actually get the full benefits of Z2.

I am excite.

 

[Ateam2023]

following for sure,,

 

[FuriousAngus]

following for sure,,

Welcome aboard!

Not much appetite today.

I noticed something interesting yesterday; I've been struggling with extreme fullness (somewhat uncomfortable) after my pre meal on Tirz, which is 75g of oats in milk with some fruit and a whey isolate shake, so not much really. I initially chugged it to delayed gastric mobility, but I skipped the psyllium husk in my shake yesterday and the meal digested fairly quickly and with minimal bloating (if any at all).

I might have to experiment with less psylllium/different time. It's really good for those smooth poops, so I don't want to take it out (and I actually enjoy having it in my shakes).

Also, used a massage gun on my VG for the first time after a pin (just upped test to 750mg, in preparation for next week); bad idea.

 

[Ateam2023]

Welcome aboard!

Not much appetite today.

I noticed something interesting yesterday; I've been struggling with extreme fullness (somewhat uncomfortable) after my pre meal on Tirz, which is 75g of oats in milk with some fruit and a whey isolate shake, so not much really. I initially chugged it to delayed gastric mobility, but I skipped the psyllium husk in my shake yesterday and the meal digested fairly quickly and with minimal bloating (if any at all).

I might have to experiment with less psylllium/different time. It's really good for those smooth poops, so I don't want to take it out (and I actually enjoy having it in my shakes).

Also, used a massage gun on my VG for the first time after a pin (just upped test to 750mg, in preparation for next week); bad idea.

imo those massage guns "Can" be a little aggressive in nature, even on low settings, i figure the muscle is likely damaged by the injection volume, and pummeling that damaged tissue can just aggravate it , causing it to be even ,
more inflamed,,

 

[FuriousAngus]

imo those massage guns "Can" be a little aggressive in nature, even on low settings, i figure the muscle is likely damaged by the injection volume, and pummeling that damaged tissue can just aggravate it , causing it to be even ,
more inflamed,,

Most certainly; it's not really swollen, just tender and sore. I'm going to rotating VG LR with Glutes LR, so it's 14 days per 1.5 cc per muscle, plenty of time to recover. For the next phases I'll add the extra to upper body muscles.

Something else I'm going through this week:
My HR has jumped a full 20 points over the past 7 days, likely due to increasing Tirz from 2.5 to 5mg + barely getting any sleep + having GI issues for the past 3 days.

I'm currently at 95 while typing this just sitting at my desk, but I hope this will pass over the next few days. I was waking up in the high 60s/low 70s just a week ago; even my HRV dropped from high 50s-low 60s to 17 (and apple watch says I'm breathing heavy).

I'm hoping Reta doesn't do me like that at 2mg; if it does I'll switch back to Tirz at 2.5mg and SLOWLY titrate up over several months. Probably split over 3 injections, too. I'm currently doing 2.

 

[Ryu82]

Fook you and your sick quads...

Following.

 

[FuriousAngus]

Fook you and your sick quads...

Following.

Thanks man, welcome aboard!

So my last pin has been pretty inflamed (due to the massage gun) to the point I couldn't do legs (hard to externally rotate without pain), but I've been doing everything else + cardio pain free. I'll be doing leg extensions and curls today since those are painless and I'm in a slight deficit until Saturday (start of my progressive phase) so want to ensure muscles are up to speed by then.

Anyways!

Oat meal with dates and date syrup, yum. Also, this brown butter stuff gives oats a very rich flavor that I like a lot.

BPC-157 1mg x2/day (running this for 5 days to freshen up)
8iu HGH (really considering 10iu/day for this coming phase)
0.66mg Retatrutide (first pin, will be doing MWF for a total of 2mg)
375mg Test-C (split 1ml in left VG and 0.5ml in left lat)

I also added Nebivolol at 1.25mg/day; I had tried Nebi at 2.5mg before and it took me down 20+ points which was nice but turned me into a complete zombie, so giving this another shot at 1.25mg/day until my Ivabradine passes through.

Might do lipids tomorrow, fingers crossed... I've been on Crestor 5mg/Ezetimibe 10mg for a month now, I'm so excited, lol.

 

[TurboJet]

Tagging this, looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Eddie.]

I'm gonna be honest, when i saw you're 70 kg (before looking at your pics) i thought you would look skinny and natty lol, great physique and structure brother. Enjoy the trip, excited to see the your end of push phase.

If you asked me what i'd change, i'd definitely say that 290gr of protein for 70kg is unnecessarily too much. I'd definitely lower that and raise your carb intake, especially since you have insulin in play. It seems that excessive protein diets belong to the past.

 

[FuriousAngus]

Tagging this, looking forward to seeing your progress.

Glad to have you, looking forward to making all the progress!

I'm gonna be honest, when i saw you're 70 kg (before looking at your pics) i thought you would look skinny and natty lol, great physique and structure brother. Enjoy the trip, excited to see the your end of push phase.

If you asked me what i'd change, i'd definitely say that 290gr of protein for 70kg is unnecessarily too much. I'd definitely lower that and raise your carb intake, especially since you have insulin in play. It seems that excessive protein diets belong to the past.

Thanks brother, I appreciate the kind words; I was hesitant to post my weight for this exact reason, haha. Truth is though that is my depleted weight at the end of my clean up phase, I'm probably going to be around 75kg+ full and juicy (which is still light).

Regarding protein intake: you're certainly right. I do not think I actually need 290g of protein as a 70kg bodybuilder, but I wasn't really shooting for this number; it just came out this high due to how I normally eat.

I still don't want to go lower than x1.5/lb, but I can definitely remove a couple scoops of protein and increase peri workout carbs (specifically my pre and post, I'd like to keep my intra as light as possible, my stomach isn't the strongest).

You're spot on with this suggestion; I was on the fence here for a while.

 

[Eddie.]

Thanks brother, I appreciate the kind words; I was hesitant to post my weight for this exact reason, haha. Truth is though that is my depleted weight at the end of my clean up phase, I'm probably going to be around 75kg+ full and juicy (which is still light).

Regarding protein intake: you're certainly right. I do not think I actually need 290g of protein as a 70kg bodybuilder, but I wasn't really shooting for this number; it just came out this high due to how I normally eat.

I still don't want to go lower than x1.5/lb, but I can definitely remove a couple scoops of protein and increase peri workout carbs (specifically my pre and post, I'd like to keep my intra as light as possible, my stomach isn't the strongest).

You're spot on with this suggestion; I was on the fence here for a while.

Yeah man, nothing more to add here your first post explained it all well. I still believe though 1,5gr/lb for a push phase is a quite a much. For a deficit, i could hear that.. But lowering your protein won't only allow you to eat more carbs from a caloric perspective but your digestion will work better.

Carbs around training, i'm a big fan. If digestion is an issue you could try some digestive enzymes, if swapping carb sources won't help at the first place. Super enzymes from NOW foods work quite well for that matter.

 

[FuriousAngus]

Yeah man, nothing more to add here your first post explained it all well. I still believe though 1,5gr/lb for a push phase is a quite a much. For a deficit, i could hear that.. But lowering your protein won't only allow you to eat more carbs from a caloric perspective but your digestion will work better.

Carbs around training, i'm a big fan. If digestion is an issue you could try some digestive enzymes, if swapping carb sources won't help at the first place. Super enzymes from NOW foods work quite well for that matter.

Digestion shouldn't be an issue with Retatrutide (fingers crossed), but I'll check out those enzymes! Thanks brother.

Also, it's hard to argue when I'm in agreement, haha. A big part of the protein intake is psychological, but it's also not as high as it initially seems; this is the total intake from both complete and incomplete protein sources, which includes oats, bread, etc.

I just re-adjusted my training day diet on the fly and I was able to push protein down to 235g and carbs up all the way to 535-550g, which is pretty nice (I suspect I'll be pushing over 600g sooner than later).

I'll edit and re-post my diet base later.

But since we're on the topic of diet, I'm thinking of ditching the deficit on off days and doing straight maintenance; this could aid with diet adherence/avoiding excess calories from cheat meals on Friday, etc.

I'm getting more and more excited for Saturday!

 

[FuriousAngus]

So my lipids just came back...

Bloods on 2.5mg Rosuvastatin (Crestor):
HDL: 71.4
LDL: 169.7
Trig: 64.9
VLDL: 13.0
Total: 254.1
Lipids: 704
LDL/HDL ratio: 2.4
Cholesterol / HDL ratio: 3.6

30 days later on 5mg Crestor and 10mg Ezetimibe:
HDL: 50.1
LDL: 34.6
Trig: 22.3
VLDL: 4.5
Total: 89.2
Lipids: 287
LDL/HDL ratio: 0.7
Cholesterol / HDL ratio: 1.8

 

[FuriousAngus]

GUYS IT'S HAPPENING! WE'RE 7 HOURS AWAY FROM THE FIRST DAY OF THIS PROGRESS FAYZE.

Been eating a bit more to fill up, I think it's working...

Diet changes
I decided to experiment with trace carbs only on workout/insulin days; this puts me at under 20g of carbs a day (probably much lower in reality).

That said, I have my doubts about small amounts of fats resulting in body fat gain within the context of a small surplus (250~) and the presence of AAS/HGH/good insulin sensitivity. However, I'm doing the above protocol on workout days at least for the first stage (8 weeks). Might experiment with bit more fats later, because I absolutely hate skim milk (I put fat free creamer in it to make it taste a bit better).

Actually, switching to low fat milk would add around 13g of fat, so assuming it ALL results in added body fat (which is highly unlikely), that's only around 450g of fat in 8 whole weeks. Literally 3 days of dieting, lol.

I might do it. It makes everything taste SO MUCH better.

Off days are now close to maintenance calories, so around 3000 (slightly under, but it's better than before).

PED changes

Decided to do 10iu of GH a day. Fuck it.

Rx
My heart rate has been climbing up very rapidly because of Reta and all the food; so far 1.25mg of Nebi is keeping me low 80s but if it starts going up higher I'll double the dose. Things should stabilize soon, though.

I'm also dropping the Nolvadex entirely (for now).

Starting health markers

Fasting insulin isn't an error... I don't know what to make of it, but it's either diabetes (which all other markers point to that it isn't), or very high insulin sensitivity. I think it's the latter.

Also, A1C is probably lower but because I have a thalassemia trait the readings aren't very accurate and they change from week to week (my RBC is anywhere between 5.5 and 6.9, but HCT and platelets are almost low so my hematologist doesn't think it matters, he said I just have a lot of very small RBCs, so it's not a concern EVEN if RBC goes up to 8).

I'll be starting my insulin dose at 5-6 iu (1iu per 20g of carbs).

 

[FuriousAngus]

Progressive phase of 2025
Day 1

Morning weight: 74.7
I'll be doing weekly averages throughout.

Day started out a bit rough; I had decided to eat out last night and I probably ended up consuming around 5000 calories (total). I woke up with little to no appetite but I was still excited to make those pancakes!

They're banana/fruit pancakes; bananas, flour, half 0% yogurt half skim milk, flavorings, sweetener, and syrup. Tasted pretty good! I made a double patch and froze the rest for work later.

Around 800 calories, 135g carbs

Pre (I decided to go back to 75g CoR/Oats and do actual sugar instead of sweetener, the net carbs are the same and I feel more comfortable -physically and mentally- compared to totaling 25+ packets of Splenda a day). Around 825 calories, 135-145g carbs, 6iu humalog.

Followed by this lovely intra shake (which tasted like shit because of the EAAs, I had to add water flavorings to it)

It has: 50g cyclic dextrin, 5g creatine. 5g taurine, 15g EAA, 700mg sodium and 700mg potassium . 250 calories.

Post (75g oatmeal, around 825 calories, 125g carbs, 8iu humalog)

And finally, some chicken and rice! (and yogurt, but I ate it so no pics) Around 800 calories, 110-115g carbs

Insulin and training

Oh boy. I had used some humalog in the past, mainly during refeed days, but today was nothing like that. I shot up 6 units (I'm starting low and working up to 10) in my thigh right before I had my pre meal.

Blood sugar was a 100 around the hour mark, so I took a sip from my intra and left for the gym. Now, I have taken Superdrol in the past, and training on a measly 6 units of insulin felt like I had taken a "clean" super drol, only it was super drol on steroids; I had so much power and energy, and I was SWEATING (despite BG being just right). BG was fine before/after cardio as well. 6 is too little; I'll be doing 8ius next.

The hardest part about today's training was having all that liquid in my stomach, especially considering I go pretty deep on leg press

Legs got pretty pumped, though. Huehuehue.

Digestion was overall pretty good, but I did overshoot on steps today (by 8000), so I waited 4-5 hours after my last slin shot and I had an ice cream cone (400 calories, exactly what I needed to meet today's caloric goal).

I think I totaled 600~g of carbs today (with the ice cream), 260~g protein, and under 25 fats.

Concerns

HR was pretty elevated during the slin window; I decided to increase Nebi to 2.5mg and keep it there.

That aside, today was a good day.

 

[Eddie.]

Nice meals, nice pump, nice macros and nice log overall. Keep up the great work man.

 

[29trt]

How the hell is that 12% BF? you have striations front to back ,top to bottom....

 

[Eddie.]

How the hell is that 12% BF? you have striations front to back ,top to bottom....

You can't blame him, from under estimate bf % here we went to the other side of over estimate. I'd have him in 10% if not sub 10 but that's just a blind guessing.

Bodyfat measuring is just pointless and dumb, it can only get you confused. From the time the actual methods of measuring bf % can vastly differ between dexa scan and skinfold caliper, imagine what happens with our eyes and everyone's perception lol

 

[29trt]

You can't blame him, from under estimate bf % here we went to the other side of over estimate. I'd have him in 10% if not sub 10 but that's just a blind guessing.

Bodyfat measuring is just pointless and dumb, it can only get you confused. From the time the actual methods of measuring bf % can vastly differ between dexa scan and skinfold caliper, imagine what happens with our eyes and everyone's perception lol

Wasn't blaming him at all, it came out like that ,sorry...not a native English speaker.
And I know all about the confounding factors that contribute to dexa error ,an experienced eye is way more accurate, not at evaluating true body fat but the look and that is all we care about at the end of the day.
Some guy might have thicker skin and his 5% dexa will look like shit compared to a guy with thin dry skin for example

 

[Vanargandar]

Good shit. Following.