First Blast Ever - Full Log

[TRT_Training_Hard]

Hi All,
I wanted to try and tap into the great knowledge on this forum and also let my experience on this journey help those who may find it useful.

Key Data (Starting):
40 years young
6ft
195lbs (88.5kg)
Lifting hard for the last 5 years

I was obese 5 years ago at 300lbs and through lifting and diet dropped down to 175lbs then dirty bulked (stupid I know) to 240lbs. Then with lifting, Jiu jitsu and eating 2,200 calories a day I cut down to 195lbs. I estimate my bf to be around 17.5% currently and I have some mild loose skin.

Bench:
225 x 12
295 x 1

Squat:
330x1

Deadlift
396lbs

I know my lifts aren’t great but I try hard and remember I have been in a big deficit for 3 plus of the 5 years.

Starting Pics:



TRT (doctor prescribed):
90mg Test Cyp a week injected daily sub-q
.1ml HCG daily sub q HCG
Aromasin 6.25mg every 3 days

Pre-Blast Bloods:


Blast Info:
12 week blast

Started 400mg Test Cyp but went up to 500mg at the end of week 1

Also considering adding Anavar 50mg for the last 5 weeks

Diet:
I have gone from eating 2,000 calories a day to 3,000 on my blast. I could use some help tweaking this along the way.

Program (6 Days - 12 Workouts):

Please note I nap for 1 hour a day minimum and sleep 8 hours minimum a night.

 

[TRT_Training_Hard]

At the End of Week 2:

1) Week 1 I ate approx 2,500 calories and from week 2 i calories have been increased to 3,000 calories.

2) I have gained 6.6lbs in 2 weeks

3) I did a BF% calculation last night based on the navy method on 2 sites and it shows my body fat at around 17%

4) My lifting numbers are improving consistently by around 3lbs to 5lbs a week on most lifts, but nothing crazy in terms of gains yet. Hard to tell if it’s the blast or the big increase in calories. I feel it could possibly just be the large increase in calories. I am approaching all my previous PRs now from when I was 240lbs at 200lbs. I must say I was expecting a bigger sense of strength from the blast.

I know water weight can come on fast but man it makes dialling in the calories very tough as going from 2,000 calorie (deficit) diet for 14 months pre to 2,500 for week 1 of my blast & then 3,000 for week 2 is a 1k daily caloric increase quite quickly.

Sides:
No sides at all except intense sweating for the first 10 days.

I had a constant desire to sleep which seems to have gotten a bit better in the last day or two.

 

[shawn2551]

Following along man, congratulations. Looks like a decent start. I would say however, that I dont feel your training intensity is high enough. Could be wrong. But I think you need to add some excersises. All that food, and all that rest, youd be doing yourself a disservice not taking advantage of that and amping up volume and intensity

 

[Eman]

Subbed.

I must say I was expecting a bigger sense of strength from the blast.

Your weeks away from seeing real strength gains.

Also, a one hour nap everyday? Fuck you.

 

[TRT_Training_Hard]

Following along man, congratulations. Looks like a decent start. I would say however, that I dont feel your training intensity is high enough. Could be wrong. But I think you need to add some excersises. All that food, and all that rest, youd be doing yourself a disservice not taking advantage of that and amping up volume and intensity

Thank you very much man! Any advice on where you would up the intensity?

I hope I am not over eating as I am borderline chubby with no visible abs already. I couldn’t keep cutting as my face was looking very sucked in and need to put more meet on the bones without going to crazy with the added bf.

Please keep in mind I am on lockdown with my home gym so only have access to the meat and potatoes (no machines or cables available):
Power rack with pull up attachment
Adjustable bench
Olympic bar
Hex bar/trap bar
Dumbbells up to 90lbs

Subbed.



Your weeks away from seeing real strength gains.

Also, a one hour nap everyday? Fuck you.

That is very exciting if I haven’t seen the strength gains yet. I have been seeing gains but it hey are online with what I would expect from a good caloric surplus.

I am in full lockdown so lifting, eating and sleeping is available in abundance.

 

[Eman]

Thank you very much man! Any advice on where you would up the intensity?

So, intensity for the program you chose appears to be unknown... So I don't know why he said to consider increasing it. Intensities refers to the weight you're actually moving, compared to the maximum weight you could have moved. The only thing you need to worry about here is adding weight every week to your lifts.

You're also training twice a day, so you don't need to adjust volume.. although, you might get more out of that method during a cutting period.

I hope I am not over eating as I am borderline chubby with no visible abs already.

Whatever your TDEE is, add 750cal to it minimum. You're going to gain weight and feel watery and you can go on another cut eventually after you've added the new muscle tissue if you have to.

 

[TRT_Training_Hard]

So, intensity for the program you chose appears to be unknown... So I don't know why he said to consider increasing it. Intensities refers to the weight you're actually moving, compared to the maximum weight you could have moved. The only thing you need to worry about here is adding weight every week to your lifts.

You're also training twice a day, so you don't need to adjust volume.. although, you might get more out of that method during a cutting period.



Whatever your TDEE is, add 750cal to it minimum. You're going to gain weight and feel watery and you can go on another cut eventually after you've added the new muscle tissue if you have to.

Thank you @Eman

On the point of intensity:
1) the weights go up every week, today I just did 4 reps with 3 plates on the squats, which I have never done before, even when 40lbs heavier.

2) the last set of each exercise I go to failure.

On the point of TDEE and ensuring I am eating enough:
1) I am not sure what to use in terms of the activity level as my lifts have 3min rests in between sets and the rep range isn’t super high. I am never exhausted after a session, but if I was I likely couldn’t do the volume.

2) If I use an online TDEE calculator it gives me a range of 2,750 to 3,385 depending on activity level. Again I am currently eating 3,000 to 3,200 and prior to my blast was on 2,000. I am feeling a bit more tubby but that could be water. Definitely get stronger every week. Do I need to tweak my food intake if I am getting stronger? I definitely want to maximise my first blast. I am always eating 250g protein a day across 4 to 5 meals.

Tomorrow marks the end of Blast Week 3 so I will take measurements and progress pics.

 

[Eman]

Thank you @Eman

On the point of intensity:
1) the weights go up every week, today I just did 4 reps with 3 plates on the squats, which I have never done before, even when 40lbs heavier.

2) the last set of each exercise I go to failure.

On the point of TDEE and ensuring I am eating enough:
1) I am not sure what to use in terms of the activity level as my lifts have 3min rests in between sets and the rep range isn’t super high. I am never exhausted after a session, but if I was I likely couldn’t do the volume.

2) If I use an online TDEE calculator it gives me a range of 2,750 to 3,385 depending on activity level. Again I am currently eating 3,000 to 3,200 and prior to my blast was on 2,000. I am feeling a bit more tubby but that could be water. Definitely get stronger every week. Do I need to tweak my food intake if I am getting stronger? I definitely want to maximise my first blast. I am always eating 250g protein a day across 4 to 5 meals.

Tomorrow marks the end of Blast Week 3 so I will take measurements and progress pics.
View attachment 128252 View attachment 128253 View attachment 128254

So I would suggest you not dip below 3500cal. If you really want to maximize, I would suggest going to 4000cal and you can work up to that each week so that your there by week 6. That will be about the timeframe where things will be getting very interesting.

As far as water weight, make sure you're drinking a lot of water. That will help you move it through your system and retain less. It should stabilize a bit in a week or two.

Also worth noting, I have found anavar to be great for strength. It's not going to slab muscle onto you at the end but it's a nice feel good drug for most users as long as blood pressure doesn't get high.

 

[shawn2551]

So, intensity for the program you chose appears to be unknown... So I don't know why he said to consider increasing it. Intensities refers to the weight you're actually moving, compared to the maximum weight you could have moved. The only thing you need to worry about here is adding weight every week to your lifts.

You're also training twice a day, so you don't need to adjust volume.. although, you might get more out of that method during a cutting period.



Whatever your TDEE is, add 750cal to it minimum. You're going to gain weight and feel watery and you can go on another cut eventually after you've added the new muscle tissue if you have to.

Sorry for the bad choice of words. But still could hold true. IMO he seems to be keeping the rep ranges a bit to low. If the goal is to pack on muscle he should be using hypertrophy ranges. I come from a powerlifting background where I never realy did reps over 8. Doing a 5x5 for barbell press.i dont think works the best for hypertrophy. I'm sure hell get growth. But i would imagine rep ranges in the 12-15, or atleast 10-12. Find a way to add excersises in.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[shawn2551]

Thank you very much man! Any advice on where you would up the intensity?

I hope I am not over eating as I am borderline chubby with no visible abs already. I couldn’t keep cutting as my face was looking very sucked in and need to put more meet on the bones without going to crazy with the added bf.

Please keep in mind I am on lockdown with my home gym so only have access to the meat and potatoes (no machines or cables available):
Power rack with pull up attachment
Adjustable bench
Olympic bar
Hex bar/trap bar
Dumbbells up to 90lbs



That is very exciting if I haven’t seen the strength gains yet. I have been seeing gains but it hey are online with what I would expect from a good caloric surplus.

I am in full lockdown so lifting, eating and sleeping is available in abundance.

Its realy hard to follow your programming to point out what your missing. IMO you should think about bringing rep ranges up. Some of your excersises are great but need more reps.and sets.
Your trying to pack on as much muscle as possible.

It's hard to read them all to see. But I'd say you need to add reps and sets everywhere.

Make sure you have dumbell presses flat, dunmbell or barbell Upright rows, beat your biceps to shreds..add in tricep.work however you can. You have more then enough equipment. Just add excersises, reps, and sets.

Just my thoughts
I always thought I was doing well when I did 6-8 reps, I never saw the growth I see now until I started hitting 15rep sets. Dont get me wrong I still have a peaking block where I keep the reps low and weight super high. Right now during my hypertrophy block, I'm doing 4x15 on flat barbell bench, 4x12 on incline. Make sure u have zero reps left at the end of my sets. I up the weight if I have to. I know your tall and they suck for us, but get some lunges in for your legs. Box jumps. Make sure you're getting rear delt work. Try snatch grip deads to help that upperback.

Just my thoughts

 

[TRT_Training_Hard]

So I would suggest you not dip below 3500cal. If you really want to maximize, I would suggest going to 4000cal and you can work up to that each week so that your there by week 6. That will be about the timeframe where things will be getting very interesting.

As far as water weight, make sure you're drinking a lot of water. That will help you move it through your system and retain less. It should stabilize a bit in a week or two.

Also worth noting, I have found anavar to be great for strength. It's not going to slab muscle onto you at the end but it's a nice feel good drug for most users as long as blood pressure doesn't get high.

Thank you @Eman for taking the time to help!

Maybe I am just being too scared about gaining fat. Does the blast help minimise fat gain?

Noted on your thoughts about upping the calories and upping my water intake.



@shawn2551 do you also think I need to up my calories?

I am so excited for what’s to come and really appreciate the help do you both! Thanks Big Guys!!!!

 

[shawn2551]

Thank you @Eman for taking the time to help!

Maybe I am just being too scared about gaining fat. Does the blast help minimise fat gain?

Noted on your thoughts about upping the calories and upping my water intake.



@shawn2551 do you also think I need to up my calories?

I am so excited for what’s to come and really appreciate the help do you both! Thanks Big Guys!!!!

Calories are subjective. It depends on you. I've given my advice on calories with you many times. I wouldn't worry about getting to fat. Start out with a calorie number stick to.it for 2 weeks see what happens. If you dont like adjust. Make sure you get your protein. Since you used to he obese you are going to be over focused on calories and slight pudge. Itll.come in go when you bulk and cut. Just because you gain 10lns doesn't mean your going.to.become 300 lb.tub of lard. Do what you want

 

[TRT_Training_Hard]

Its realy hard to follow your programming to point out what your missing. IMO you should think about bringing rep ranges up. Some of your excersises are great but need more reps.and sets.
Your trying to pack on as much muscle as possible.

It's hard to read them all to see. But I'd say you need to add reps and sets everywhere.

Make sure you have dumbell presses flat, dunmbell or barbell Upright rows, beat your biceps to shreds..add in tricep.work however you can. You have more then enough equipment. Just add excersises, reps, and sets.

Just my thoughts
I always thought I was doing well when I did 6-8 reps, I never saw the growth I see now until I started hitting 15rep sets. Dont get me wrong I still have a peaking block where I keep the reps low and weight super high. Right now during my hypertrophy block, I'm doing 4x15 on flat barbell bench, 4x12 on incline. Make sure u have zero reps left at the end of my sets. I up the weight if I have to. I know your tall and they suck for us, but get some lunges in for your legs. Box jumps. Make sure you're getting rear delt work. Try snatch grip deads to help that upperback.

Just my thoughts

What you have pointed out is very interesting. I definitely feel more pump and burn with higher rep ranges.

In a few days I finish the 4 week program and will start it again while adding in the exercises you mentioned, for higher rep range work.

May I ask:
- Is it ok on for example to throw in some high rep chest work (flat dumbbell press and say incline dumbbell press) on my shoulder workout and arm workout?
This would allow me to keep my strength program unchanged but get additional hypertrophy work on the easier days.

- Alternatively, I could add in a couple high rep, lower weight sets after each key lift if you think that is more optimal.? So say do 5x5 for week 1 as per the program but then add in an extra 2 sets on bench for 15 reps.
5x5 + 2x15

I welcome your thoughts and thank you for all the help.

 

[Eman]

Sorry for the bad choice of words. But still could hold true. IMO he seems to be keeping the rep ranges a bit to low. If the goal is to pack on muscle he should be using hypertrophy ranges. I come from a powerlifting background where I never realy did reps over 8. Doing a 5x5 for barbell press.i dont think works the best for hypertrophy. I'm sure hell get growth. But i would imagine rep ranges in the 12-15, or atleast 10-12. Find a way to add excersises in.

Just my humble opinion.

Volume might benefit to come up a tad, I think that's a very undervalued part for beginners - really pushing volume.

Although, the overall might be pretty sufficient since we're looking at two a day workouts. The total volume is a little tough for me figure out with the attachments.

Hypertrophy ranges are really subjective... As long as he's working in the right RPE range, he should be still like hypertrophy mode.

To clarify, I don't really disagree with anything you're saying... Neither of us really know anything for certain based on the info we have. Lol.

Maybe I am just being too scared about gaining fat. Does the blast help minimise fat gain?

It's common.. especially for guys that have lost so much fat like you have. You need to accept it now that you'll gain some with the muscle you gain... I believe it's called a P ratio. Every lb you gain or lose is comprised of gained muscle and fat or lost muscle and lost fat depending on whether you're gaining or cutting. You lost fat before, you'll do it again and it'll be easier because you'll have more muscle tissue.

 

[shawn2551]

What you have pointed out is very interesting. I definitely feel more pump and burn with higher rep ranges.

In a few days I finish the 4 week program and will start it again while adding in the exercises you mentioned, for higher rep range work.

May I ask:
- Is it ok on for example to throw in some high rep chest work (flat dumbbell press and say incline dumbbell press) on my shoulder workout and arm workout?
This would allow me to keep my strength program unchanged but get additional hypertrophy work on the easier days.

- Alternatively, I could add in a couple high rep, lower weight sets after each key lift if you think that is more optimal.? So say do 5x5 for week 1 as per the program but then add in an extra 2 sets on bench for 15 reps.
5x5 + 2x15

I welcome your thoughts and thank you for all the help.

I would focus on getting hypertrophy done. The hard painful work you hate doing. Just as an example

Today is my 1st chest day
4x15 flat barbell
4x12 incline barbell
4x15 decline dumbell press
4x10 close grip barbell
4x12 French press
4x15 tricep kick backs
4x10 JM press
4x10 dumbell over head triceps.

This is what I have to do now.
Then I
On other bench day i change the first exercise to change focus. Do more triceps less chest.

Then on one of my off days i hit heavy sets of triples or doubles to keep strength up and hit variations like sotto presses and tempo

 

[shawn2551]

Volume might benefit to come up a tad, I think that's a very undervalued part for beginners - really pushing volume.

Although, the overall might be pretty sufficient since we're looking at two a day workouts. The total volume is a little tough for me figure out with the attachments.

Hypertrophy ranges are really subjective... As long as he's working in the right RPE range, he should be still like hypertrophy mode.

To clarify, I don't really disagree with anything you're saying... Neither of us really know anything for certain based on the info we have. Lol.



It's common.. especially for guys that have lost so much fat like you have. You need to accept it now that you'll gain some with the muscle you gain... I believe it's called a P ratio. Every lb you gain or lose is comprised of gained muscle and fat or lost muscle and lost fat depending on whether you're gaining or cutting. You lost fat before, you'll do it again and it'll be easier because you'll have more muscle tissue.

Agreed. It is harder to follow. I never knew what volume was.until my coach made me do sests of 15 plus. Never hurt as much, in a good way, never grew as much. But as you said based of rpe. Every single set I go to rpe10.

 

[Tren91]

You can't force muscle growth with over eating,but you sure can force fat gain.Theres a thing called homeostasis,after many years with high bodyfat thats where your homeostasis is.You cant change that.For you this level maybe 25-30% for other people may be 12%.This doesn't mean you can't do everything posible to not let your body go there. After a long period of calorie restriction you will be prone to fat gain easily.Be patient and don't focus on the scale.

 

[TRT_Training_Hard]

@shawn2551 I apologise. You changed your profile pic so I didn’t realise it was you. I remember clearly you advising me to hit 2,500 calories with a clear strategy towards the macros and stick to a plan with only small adjustments.

Your advice is spot on and I am going to do that. Although 3,000 calories might be too much and cause a little extra fat gain, that was my plan once I upped my dose to 500mg and I am “sticking to it” for at least 1 more week. At my week 4 checkin when I take measurements and update pics, I might make a small adjustment downward if I am gaining fat.

I am also following the several other suggestions of yours:
- timing my carbs around my workouts and my last meal is protein and veg.
- Hitting at least 250g of protein daily also as you suggested with a controlled carb intake.
- 500mg a week

Your new profile pic is unreal by the way!

Thanks again for all the help during this exciting time!

 

[TRT_Training_Hard]

You can't force muscle growth with over eating,but you sure can force fat gain.Theres a thing called homeostasis,after many years with high bodyfat thats where your homeostasis is.You cant change that.For you this level maybe 25-30% for other people may be 12%.This doesn't mean you can't do everything posible to not let your body go there. After a long period of calorie restriction you will be prone to fat gain easily.Be patient and don't focus on the scale.

Thanks buddy. Noted. I am going to focus on my weekly measurements and progress pics.

 

[Tren91]

Also i saw Eman mentioned the P ratio.Which you should consider.The easiest way to explain it with my bad english is the higher bf % you start bulking the less LBM you will gain,but if you start cuting at higher %bf you will keep more LBM.Bigest factor that impacts this are genetics.If we compare dieted down person with naturally lean one. Dieted person will tend to gain more fat after switching from cut to bulk.Not to mention the potential drop in GH,igf-1 and thyroid function after longer calorie restriction.