Ty for sharing all that info, Texas. I take doses very similar to the cycle you posted. I’ve moved into the 2g per week zone after some years. I have also never used insulin.
I’m glad you mentioned the part about the heavy hitters in open. These dudes are on a lot of gear. There are a lot of downplay about dosage amounts, but I think it is to keep those younger guys from doing to much to soon… so sorta like white lies.
One thing people don't talk about....everyone talks about genetics, thinking full muscles bellies, structure, one in 10.000 body parts.
But another thing is drug response. The guys at the top are just super responders. They get way better responses from gear than us mere mortals.
I actually have pretty shitty genetics, short biceps muscles, thin chest, thick hips and waist (which were actually not that bad when I was younger). But I have always responded well to gear and was able handle fairly high doses with less sides than most people. I also trained 100% naturally unto age 30 (started at 13). That natural base is huge.
I usually had some of the best legs on stage...striated glutei but my upper body simply was not pro material. I was able to win smaller shows because my conditioning was always on.
I was a wizard with diuretics. I could eat cake and ice cream my last week and come in shredding thanks to my diuretic stack.
But my advice is to stay away from competitive bodybuilding. The amounts being run are just insane and insulin has gotten out of control.
Train to look as good as you can on the smallest amount possible. Its always about the training guys (and diet) all the drugs in the world won't get around that fact. Ya have to love training.
Another thing I will tell ya, the top guys find out what works and then don't change much. They are not constantly experimenting around.
This is my on stage my last time, age 56.