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

[FuriousAngus]

W8D06, 05/06/2025
Bodyweight unknown

Shoulder is still janky; can't really do any kind of pushing or pulling yet, so I decided to just do legs.

Breakfast
Overnight oats

Pretty delicious, but saffron just go well with these

Followed with a 10-minute walk on this fancy Reebok treadmill

Pre
The usual, WITH SAFFRON

10iu Humalog

Training
Legs B

I had a blast working out at this new gym, it's a state of the art facility and the overall atmosphere is pretty dope. I'll be having so much fun here over the next 8 weeks.

Warmed up on hack squats (been LOVING this recently, hacks warms me up way more than doing multiple sets of leg presses or leg extensions) and leg extensions first

Leg press x2 (sets of 20)

Pendulum squat x2 (those were pretty sweet)

Leg extensions x2 (raised myself up a bit, felt pretty nice)

Seated leg curl x3

Lying leg curl x3

SUPER
Standing calf raises x6
Abductors machine x6

30 minutes Z2

Post

8iu Humalog.

This meal is probably the HARDEST to digest; I'll be going back to doing 75g of oats + jam rice cakes

Also, I went SLIGHTLY hypo at the 2 hour mark (61).

EKRISPY SHICKEN

This was absolutely bangers; I probably broke 5000 calories today, but it's the holidays so it's not real calories. I wasn't actually planning on eating this but my sister didn't know I had food prepared so she counted me in before she ordered. Had a bit of frozen yogurt with this to get more protein in.

 

[Eddie.]

Man I'm a sucker for a good quality honey, i'd put it with my chicken n rice if i could lol. The only time i kinda got sicked of it is when i saw Sas doing his giant oatmeals with 200gr of honey on top, i imagined myself eating this and almost gagged haha

 

[Ateam2023]

Man I'm a sucker for a good quality honey, i'd put it with my chicken n rice if i could lol. The only time i kinda got sicked of it is when i saw Sas doing his giant oatmeals with 200gr of honey on top, i imagined myself eating this and almost gagged haha

my brother has honey beehives up at the pig ranch, nothing like munching on a chunk of gooey goodness straight from the hive,,

 

[Eddie.]

Spot on! I have a good friend who's doing that job and he has great quality 100% organic honey and all sorts of things bees related. Different types with different taste each, it's awesome.

 

[FuriousAngus]

Man I'm a sucker for a good quality honey, i'd put it with my chicken n rice if i could lol. The only time i kinda got sicked of it is when i saw Sas doing his giant oatmeals with 200gr of honey on top, i imagined myself eating this and almost gagged haha

my brother has honey beehives up at the pig ranch, nothing like munching on a chunk of gooey goodness straight from the hive,,

I'ma sucker for good honey too! My parents are big honey connoisseurs so they often have a huge selection of different kinds of honey, local and not. What's crazy is how different they all taste!

It's getting harder to get real good quality honey, though. Lots of buffered honey and fake stuff on the market...

 

[FuriousAngus]

Minor update, nothing of importance

Shoulder is still messed up; I can wash my own hair now but I can't push or pull, the shoulder joint feels extremely weak and unstable, and it still hurts a little.

Still in the holiday season (ends on Sunday), so went out with friends and had some nice eats

Hummus w/ shawerma

Had a lot more but I was busy stuffing my face.

Sweets

This was INSANELY good.

But more is always better, no?

I'll be doing cardio on Push/Pull days, legs and then hopefully my shoulder will be good for some high rep work. I'll also have my BPC by then, which I'll be blasting at 5mg/day.

 

[FuriousAngus]

Late update, 08/06/2025
Bodyweight unknown

New friends at my parents'

New goodies arrived
Just got my new automated pens! These are EXCELLENT for IM HGH because I don’t need to push the plunger at all (no more bent needles); you just set the desired dose and then hold the switch until the indicator turns green. I reckon this would also work with TRT and MCT based oils.

Shoulder update
In 2014 I had a very serious knee issue that rendered me unable to walk normally, the pain persisted until I started doing hundreds of very light weight reps on the leg extension; the pain was gone in days.

I decided to try the same thing for my shoulder; I went through the motions that hurt the most/were the most “frozen” for a ton of reps until my joint was full of blood and I could no longer move my shoulder. This completely eliminated the pain and gave me instant relief/full range of motion that lasted the whole day. I woke up with near full ROM today and was finally able to get some training in.

I don’t think this works for ALL injuries, but it sure is working like magic for whatever it is that my shoulder has.

I will continue to do this for a few more days until it’s 100% again.

Eats from Saturday night w/ friends

Philly steak w/loaded fries

Burger had a strong smokey flavor; absolutely delicious

10/10 would violate again.

Family lunch
No pictures, but we had a whole ass grilled animal on a massive plate of basmati rice. I had this followed by a bunch of sweets and had a good time with the family.

This was also my pre meal. I just grabbed a couple of scoops of cyclic dextrin and went to the gym afterwards.

Training
Pull A

I started with a very extensive shoulder warm up, which got my shoulders THICK and JUICY from all the blood, ready to go through some good ROM.

Lat pull down (wide) x2

Single arm hammer lat row x2

T-bar row (wider grip) x2

I should’ve stuck to higher reps but ah well.

Single arm dumbbell curls x3

Single arm cuff cable curls x3

SUPERSET

Reverse peck deck x6
Standing strap cable shrugs x6

Leg raises x2

30 minutes Z2 cardio, recumbent bike

Post
Wasn't in the mood to cook anything so I went for some cereal, I had 8ius Humalog w/ this meal (no insulin with my pre today)

Followed by some chicken sammiches and greek yogurt.

Legs tomorrow!

 

[The Answ3r]

W8D06, 05/06/2025
Bodyweight unknown

Shoulder is still janky; can't really do any kind of pushing or pulling yet, so I decided to just do legs.

Breakfast
Overnight oats

Pretty delicious, but saffron just go well with these

Followed with a 10-minute walk on this fancy Reebok treadmill

Pre
The usual, WITH SAFFRON

10iu Humalog

Training
Legs B

I had a blast working out at this new gym, it's a state of the art facility and the overall atmosphere is pretty dope. I'll be having so much fun here over the next 8 weeks.

Warmed up on hack squats (been LOVING this recently, hacks warms me up way more than doing multiple sets of leg presses or leg extensions) and leg extensions first

Leg press x2 (sets of 20)

Pendulum squat x2 (those were pretty sweet)

Leg extensions x2 (raised myself up a bit, felt pretty nice)

Seated leg curl x3

Lying leg curl x3

SUPER
Standing calf raises x6
Abductors machine x6

30 minutes Z2

Post

8iu Humalog.

This meal is probably the HARDEST to digest; I'll be going back to doing 75g of oats + jam rice cakes

Also, I went SLIGHTLY hypo at the 2 hour mark (61).

EKRISPY SHICKEN

This was absolutely bangers; I probably broke 5000 calories today, but it's the holidays so it's not real calories. I wasn't actually planning on eating this but my sister didn't know I had food prepared so she counted me in before she ordered. Had a bit of frozen yogurt with this to get more protein in.

What kind of knee support are you using - something like SBD 7mm knee wraps or more of a compression-style knee brace?

I’m looking to get something specifically for leg day, just to give my knees extra support during heavy compound lifts like squats and leg press.

 

[FuriousAngus]

What kind of knee support are you using - something like SBD 7mm knee wraps or more of a compression-style knee brace?

I’m looking to get something specifically for leg day, just to give my knees extra support during heavy compound lifts like squats and leg press.

Those are the old/original 7mm Rehabnds (I've had them for 12+ years)

RX Original V Knee Sleeve 7mm

The Rehband RX Original V Knee Sleeve is the knee sleeve that started it all and is known and trusted the world over by athletes. This 7mm thick Neoprene sleeve with the classic V-seam pattern that joins in the back is perfect for weightlifting, strongman or whatever moves you. Loved by top...

www.rehband.com

I also have SBDs but they're so tight and uncomfortable to wear for extended periods (probably why they give so much support); my Rehbands keep my knees warm and give a tiny, tiny bit of support only.

 

[FuriousAngus]

W9D03, 10/06/2025
Bodyweight unknown

Major health update
I had bloods pulled yesterday and there are some pretty interesting findings.

I have become "moderately" insulin resistant, despite having an A1C of 4.8%
My HOMA-IR score is 3.0 (fasting insulin came out at 12.6), which indicates a moderate level of insulin sensitivity despite having an A1C of 4.8%. This likely means that while my blood sugar is regulated pretty well, my body has to pump out a lot of insulin to keep it that way. Keeping this up for extended periods will eventually tire out the pancreas and cause further insulin resistance (FBG will begin to climb up along with A1C).

This is likely influenced by exogenous insulin + HGH use ) on top of the caloric surplus).

So what now?

I will continue the progress phase for another 4 weeks (without changing anything) and retest again. If my score remains stable I will push for another 4 weeks and then do a 4-6 weeks cut/insulin sensitivity reset > push again for another 16 weeks. However, if my HOMA-IR score worsens significantly I will begin my insulin reset/cut phase immediately and then follow it with another 3-month push phase.

I am open to suggestions if you guys have better ideas.

Other markers worth mentioning

- LDL came out at 26. I do not know if this is good or bad, honestly. My statin combo is way too powerful, lol (HDL 36 down from 50, possibly due to very low fat diet and statins, LDL 27, Trig 29, VLDL 5).
- Vitamin D at 77, bit too high perhaps
- CBC perfect, HCT at 49%
- Creatinine at 1.13, EGFR at 90+
- AST bit elevated, 75 (ALT normal at 31); probably due to statins.

Breakfast
Tried putting a tsp of crème caramel mix into my oats today; came out pretty damn good (but perhaps a bit too sweet)

W/ dates and date syrup, of course

Pre
CoR

10iu Humalog

Training
Legs A

Had a great leg workout today.

Leg press x2 (sets of 20)

Hack squat x2 (watch the shake at the end, this was brutal for how little weight I put on there)

Leg extensions x2

Lying leg curl x3

Seated leg curl x3

SUPERSET
Standing calf raises x6
Abductor machine x6

Cable crunches x2
30 minutes Z2

Post
I had no desire to eat to I opted for cereal again (might make this a stable; move oats to meal 1). 8iu Humalog

Sammiches

 

[The Answ3r]

Those are the old/original 7mm Rehabnds (I've had them for 12+ years)

RX Original V Knee Sleeve 7mm

The Rehband RX Original V Knee Sleeve is the knee sleeve that started it all and is known and trusted the world over by athletes. This 7mm thick Neoprene sleeve with the classic V-seam pattern that joins in the back is perfect for weightlifting, strongman or whatever moves you. Loved by top...

www.rehband.com

I also have SBDs but they're so tight and uncomfortable to wear for extended periods (probably why they give so much support); my Rehbands keep my knees warm and give a tiny, tiny bit of support only.

Thanks, man - based on your recommendation, I picked up a pair of Versa Gripps and haven’t regretted it.

I’ll definitely give the Rehbands a try too - and if they’ve lasted you this long, sounds like a solid investment.

 

[Eddie.]

I'd ease the use of statins and let lipids climb up a little, they seem too low.

As far as insulin, next time you'll go draw bloods skip your hgh dose the day before, don't pin at all for 24 hours. I've read it affects test and gives a false positive.

If next time it's still elevated i wouldn't quit the bulk, I'd just do a mini cut and go with max 200gr carbs on training days preferably pre and post and rest days as low as i could for 1-2 weeks and then continue the push phase. Regarding body fat you're still in a good spot to continue. Perhaps you rushed it a little with calories, i was in the same situation last year as I was in push phase and for 8 weeks scale hasn't moved at all, then i made probably a big jump and in the end of the phase my insulin was 15 (no exogenous use though with 720gr carbs) and my A1c 4,9.

For knee sleeves @The Answ3r if you want an extra opinion I'm using the SBD and I'm shocked how durable they are. I bought them almost 6 years ago and wear them 1-2 sessions per week, they're great. Inzer has probably the best ones but they're too expensive and if you're not a competitive powerlifter it's a waste of money for me.

 

[FuriousAngus]

Thanks, man - based on your recommendation, I picked up a pair of Versa Gripps and haven’t regretted it.

I’ll definitely give the Rehbands a try too - and if they’ve lasted you this long, sounds like a solid investment.

You can't go wrong either ways; both have lasted me YEARS. I just prefer less support at this point in my training (I no longer squat/powerlift, but if I did the SBDs would be my go-to for sure).

I'd ease the use of statins and let lipids climb up a little, they seem too low.

I'm leaning towards this as well; I just ordered a pill cutter; I'll be doing 2.5 Crestor/10mg Ezetimibe.

As far as insulin, next time you'll go draw bloods skip your hgh dose the day before, don't pin at all for 24 hours. I've read it affects test and gives a false positive.

I figured the result is probably affected by HGH/exogenous insulin use, at least to some extent.

If next time it's still elevated i wouldn't quit the bulk, I'd just do a mini cut and go with max 200gr carbs on training days preferably pre and post and rest days as low as i could for 1-2 weeks and then continue the push phase. Regarding body fat you're still in a good spot to continue. Perhaps you rushed it a little with calories, i was in the same situation last year as I was in push phase and for 8 weeks scale hasn't moved at all, then i made probably a big jump and in the end of the phase my insulin was 15 (no exogenous use though with 720gr carbs) and my A1c 4,9.

Funny how our numbers are near identical, haha.

Sound advice Eddie (like always), that's what I'm probably going to do. I think it made sense for you to make that big jump given that you were planning to cut afterwards and that's obviously going to reset everything.

I have a few local IFBB friends and man you'd be shocked to know the kind of health markers they have even at the start of their off seasons.

One guy (working with Chris Aceto so you'd think he'd care more about his health since Chris doesn't like big doses of anabolics) would constantly wake up with a FBG of 130-140 throughout his ENTIRE off season (lasted nearly a year). There's also BP issues/RHR issues, etc. Some guys have this weird mentality where they go for all kinds of crazy compounds but they draw the line at "medicine". Insane.

Their mentality is to basically not care during the off season because prep (extreme dieting) will fix all of it later.

 

[The Answ3r]

For knee sleeves @The Answ3r if you want an extra opinion I'm using the SBD and I'm shocked how durable they are. I bought them almost 6 years ago and wear them 1-2 sessions per week, they're great. Inzer has probably the best ones but they're too expensive and if you're not a competitive powerlifter it's a waste of money for me.

Thanks for the advice! I actually ordered both SBD and Rehband yesterday - figured I’d give them both a shot and see what works best.

From what I’ve read, Rehbands seem a bit more forgiving and comfortable - probably a better match for the average gym bro who’s not chasing PRs every week. SBDs sound great for serious support, but maybe a bit much for longer sessions.

As for Inzer - yeah, I think that ship has sailed for me. Heavy lifting days are mostly in the past now, so no need to gear up like I’m heading into a powerlifting meet. Just need something solid for support, not max-out armor.

 

[FuriousAngus]

W9D04, 10/06/2025
Bodyweight at 82.5Kg

I made some minor (but significant) changes to my diet today:

- Reduced oatmeal to 75g and moved it to meal 1, mainly going to be overnight oats
- Reduced CoR to 75g and made up for lost carbs with rice cakes and jam; slightly higher carbs, same calories
- Cereal post workout

These changes resulted in MUCH better digestion. The difference between 100g CoR and 75g CoR + rice jam is night and day.

Also, shoulder felt pretty good today (right on time for push day).

Package landed, more BPC-157
Loaded up my pen and did x3 shots of 1.5mg today. I'll be doing 4.5mg/day for the next 2-3 weeks or until my shoulder and (hopefully) tennis elbow is close to 100%.

Breakfast
Overnight oats with that crème caramel mix (about 6g only)

Pre

More crème caramel mixed in; this stuff is pretty good. 10iu Humalog

Training
Push B

Started my workout with a very thorough/long shoulder warm up; I basically did what I've done for my shoulders every night the past few nights (loads of bodyweight movement/reps).

Hammer incline press x2 (higher reps to accommodate shoulder, starting easy)

Hammer PROBABLY (lol, weird angle but it felt great) flat press x2

Standing pec deck (kinda) x2

Strap tricep push downs x3

Strap overhead tricep pushdowns x3

SUPERSET

Machine laterals x6

Those chest striations, bros

Seated neutral grip overhead press (very light weight) x6

Leg raises x2

30 minutes Z2

Post

7iu Humalog; I went down a unit because for some reason I've been feeling EXTREMELY sleepy after this meal, almost like it's impossible to resist falling asleep within 15 minutes of eating. I didn't feel this way after going down to 7ius today.

Chicken n' sweet potatoes

Delicious, but potatoes gave me EXTREMELY PAINFUL gas. Removing this from rotation.

Oh, and here's a short clip of my baby brother doing leg extensions

 

[FuriousAngus]

W9D05, 11/06/2025
Bodyweight at 82.3Kg

Woke up with shoulder feeling pretty darn good (still slightly stiff), so that's a good start. Also, feeling surprisingly hungry today.

Medication update
Reduced Crestor to 2.5mg/day and increased T4 to 125mcg (from 100); my T4 came borderline on my last labs.

Breakfast
Overnight oats w/ banana mashed in

Really diggin' this crème caramel mix into oats/CoR.

Pre
CoR w/ 10iu Humalog

Apricot jam

Training
Pull B

Had a bit of a disastrous start to my workout today; I got in on time but realized I had forgotten to charge my headphones so I spent some time looking for a way to charge them (about 20 minutes, so we're currently 1 hour 20 minutes in after Humalog shot) and I completely forgot about sipping on my intra.

Well, I went hypo because my body started sweating ICE and I was pretty shakey. I drank half of my intra, relaxed for ten minutes then started my workout. It ended up being a good one despite what happened.

Wide grip lat pulldowns x2

Hammer strength lat row x2

Seated cable row, medium neutral grip x2

Single arm dumbbell curls x3

Machine preacher curls x3

Reverse pec deck x6

Strap shrugs x6

Cable crunches x2

30 minutes Z2

Mandatory mirror shots

Post

7iu Humalog

BACK TO SAMMICHES

See all that molasses? Yum.

BPC-157 is doing me very well right now; doing 3 shots of 1.5mg ED (4.5mg/d).

 

[FuriousAngus]

W9D06, 12/06/2025
Bodyweight at 82.00Kg

So there is no mirror in my bathroom here at my parents' and I really need to shave; I'm starting to look more like a gorilla (which I don't mind, but I need to see skin to gauge progress!)

More medication updates
I decided to bump Ivabradine to 10mg x2/day to see how I respond; I'd really like to have a RHR of low/mid 70s if possible (on this stack/diet).

Shoulder/tennis elbow/BPC update
Shoulders are mostly healed and my forearms/tennis elbow is actually healing as well! Some movement no longer hurt, and I've been able to do some rehab work for tennis elbow to speed up the process. I've been injecting directly into the forearm muscle where it hurts. I love BPC.

Also, I started taking curcumin again (Meriva, to be specific) and I almost forgot how good this is for my joints/overall stiffness.

Blood sugar update
Mostly low 90s; I will no longer be logging this every single day.

Breakfast
Overnight oats w/ banana and berries on top; honestly didn't care much for the berries, but this tasted good regardless!

I'll try cherries next.

Pre

The usual; one of my favorite meals. 10iu Humalog.

Training
Legs B

Did I ever walk you guys through this gym? It's amazing. This is the leg/back/crossfit section

They also have basketball courts and paddle courts as well.

Starting my leg days off with a couple of sets of no weight hack squats and a 20 rep leg extensions has been a game changer; I no longer feel 80 at the beginning of my leg days, lol. In fact, this has been helping me feels VERY fluid throughout all of my motions.

Leg press x2 (sets of 20)

Hack squat x2 (those were terrible for my knees; they only feel good without weight, dropping it as a main exercise but keeping it as a warm up)

Leg extension x2

Lying leg curl x3

Seated leg curl x3

Standing calf raises x6 (bottom/stretch to neutral)
Abductor machine x6

Leg raises x2

30 minutes Z2

Post

Adding cranberries made this SO MUCH tastier. Also, I did 7iu Humalog despite the carbs breaking 170+ for this meal thinking I wouldn't feel extremely tired and need to sleep minutes after but that didn't work. So, since I'm going to feel this way regardless I'll be going back to 8ius post.

Sammiches

 

[FuriousAngus]

W10D01, 14/06/2025
Bodyweight at 82.4Kg

Had a bunch of oily foods last night so I woke up feeling pretty terrible today; couldn't sleep right due to heart burn and I had no appetite for breakfast. Also, had to drive my car an hour to get my yearly service.

BPC update
Tennis elbow getting MUCH better by the day; I'm EXCITED!

Eats from yesterday
Fetta cheese mix w/ special hot sauce, enjoyed with pita and tea (this is next level good)

Grilled local fish (called Arosa). This is also crazy good!

Shawerma with loads of garlic sauce

Nutella stuffed cronut with Belgian chocolate on top; pretty heavy so I only had half

TODAY
Breakfast

Did cherries today instead of blueberries, MUCH better!

Pre

So messy; I was in a rush so wasn't in the mood to make it presentable, haha. 10iu Humalog.

Training
Push A

I trained with my brother today. We go to the same gym but at different times due to work, etc... so it's pretty rare for something like this to happen; we had a BLAST! Only issue is he LOVES free weights and I love machines, so we often have to compromise and meet somewhere in the middle. He's also stupid strong for his weight (inclines 3 plates at 70kg). He's also 8-9% BF year-round.

Smith machine incline press x3
Hammer strength flat press x2 (never do these so I was pathetically weak, but they felt GOOD)

Incline machine fly x2 (prefer cables or the pec deck)

SUPER
Seated dumbbell press x6
Machine side laterals x6

Tricep cable pushdowns w/ strap x3
Tricep cable overhead extension w/ strap x3

30 minutes Z2

Post
Loving those craisins

I could never go back to having oatmeal post workout. This is at least x973463 times easier to digest. 8iu Humalog.

Sammiches

Also, cut up and froze 2Kg of bananas; great in pancakes (blended into batter) and hot cereals/smoothies.

 

[FuriousAngus]

W10D02, 15/06/2025
Bodyweight at 82.30Kg

New oil package from SSA just hit customs, hoping it passes this time (it didn't last time).

Car won't be done until tomorrow so I kind of woke up early for nothing today, but tennis elbow is healing nicely and that's making me excited to go to bed every night, lol.

Today's father's day so we had this to celebrate my dad and brother (he's a father)

Also, more goodies

Breakfast
Overnight oats

Been really loving these cherries on top lately

Also, new pill containers

I was still feeling pretty sleepy after this meal so I went back to bed, slept for 3 hours

Pre
The usual

It's more yellow because I added a tsp of crème caramel mix to it (6g). 10iu Humalog.

Training
Pull A

Had to Uber to the gym today but other than that I had a great workout.

Lat pulldowns, wide x2

Hammer strength lat row x2

Seated cable row

Single arm dumbbell curl x3

Cable curls w/ strap attachment x3

SUPERSET
Reverse pec deck x6

Standing cable shrugs x6

Machine ab crunch x2

30 minutes Z2.

Post
Tried the store brand corn flakes today; actually tasted crunchier/better than Kellogg's and it gave me less gas, probably due to not being fortified w. iron.

8iu Humalog

Sammiches

Lots of ketchup.

 

[The Answ3r]

Really enjoying your blog - love how clean and well-organized everything is. Funny enough, our stats are pretty much identical, though I’m a bit taller. What’s wild is how much I’ve actually picked up from you - and it’s not training, gear, or diet. It’s the pancake recipe, ivabradine, curcumin, knee sleeves, Versa Gripps… even I’m surprised how that happened.