Simplicity, consistency, accountability

[Trenbolonetax]

Haha 5 amino 1 mq, and 9 me bc.

Im near 100% sure my dopamine circuitry is damaged, but, after coming to my senses, 9 me bc didn't sound like something that I actually wanted to put into my brain. It may repair dopamine circuits? Or be neurotoxic? Or both? I think, no thanks.

And for the price of the 5 amino I think I'd rather just get another kit of reta.

Though just today realized I've been doing that wrong too with my daily microdosing, going to move to weekly after reading the reta thread. Any advice switching schedules? .6 daily would be 4 weekly so I'd figure just skip a few days and start bolusing 4 mgs maybe Saturdays?

Haha i'm familiar with 9mebc. On my 2nd run.

Yeah my dopamine circuitry was / is fried. I don't have a good answer for you on the neurotoxic component; I was intrigued in it's ability to potentially help unfuck my dopamine circuitry I probably looked past potential issues.

Yeah I'd def rather get another kit of reta vs price of 5amino. Only reason I run SLUPP and 5Amino is cuz raws in the 100g amount are cheap enough daily that idc. Just throw it into the daily "stack".'

I would do exactly what you said; skip a few days and then choose a day to bolus on. This defeats the purpose, but I prefer to bolus on sunday nights / monday mornings so I get hardest suppression through the week and then a bit less on the weekend to enjoy food a little more / easier.

 

[twreck555]

Haha i'm familiar with 9mebc. On my 2nd run.

Yeah my dopamine circuitry was / is fried. I don't have a good answer for you on the neurotoxic component; I was intrigued in it's ability to potentially help unfuck my dopamine circuitry I probably looked past potential issues.

Yeah I'd def rather get another kit of reta vs price of 5amino. Only reason I run SLUPP and 5Amino is cuz raws in the 100g amount are cheap enough daily that idc. Just throw it into the daily "stack".'

I would do exactly what you said; skip a few days and then choose a day to bolus on. This defeats the purpose, but I prefer to bolus on sunday nights / monday mornings so I get hardest suppression through the week and then a bit less on the weekend to enjoy food a little more / easier.

This makes sense, thanks brother.

Do you feel like the 9 me bc has helped you? Perhaps I'll give it another look in the future. Not now though. Plus that ones expensive too

Totally makes sense on the 5 amino too. If I had gotten it cheaper I'd probably try it out.

 

[Trenbolonetax]

This makes sense, thanks brother.

Do you feel like the 9 me bc has helped you? Perhaps I'll give it another look in the future. Not now though. Plus that ones expensive too

Totally makes sense on the 5 amino too. If I had gotten it cheaper I'd probably try it out.

No problem!

I do think 9mebc has helped. What I like is that it helps while on and then also feels that it actually does have a lasting positive benefit. I got mine from modernaminos.com, not sure how much the place you got it charges. ModernAminos having a black friday sale, BF20, 20% off, gonna stock up on some l-carnitine right now actually.

 

[twreck555]

No problem!

I do think 9mebc has helped. What I like is that it helps while on and then also feels that it actually does have a lasting positive benefit. I got mine from modernaminos.com, not sure how much the place you got it charges. ModernAminos having a black friday sale, BF20, 20% off, gonna stock up on some l-carnitine right now actually.

Yeah I'm intrigued. What worries me is that apparently 9-me-bc can apparently metabolize into a neurotoxic metabolite when in the presence of methyl donors such as methyl folate or SAMe, and it sounds like it is unclear if this happens in vivo or if so under what conditions. Promising compound but I don't want to damage my brain more than it already is while trying to fix things, you know?

Have you ever tried dihexa? Or semax and selank? Those also sound promising and perhaps slightly better studied.

Question for you on reta- if delivering dose as a single bolus, how long to peak suppression?

 

[Trenbolonetax]

Yeah I'm intrigued. What worries me is that apparently 9-me-bc can apparently metabolize into a neurotoxic metabolite when in the presence of methyl donors such as methyl folate or SAMe, and it sounds like it is unclear if this happens in vivo or if so under what conditions

Damn well fuck me lol I didn’t do big deep dive on this. Only got a few caps left so I’ll finish out and read up on it more before next time

 

[twreck555]

Damn well fuck me lol I didn’t do big deep dive on this. Only got a few caps left so I’ll finish out and read up on it more before next time

I don't think anything is proven about it one way or another but to me that sort of illustrates the dangers of RCs in general, we just don't know.

 

[twreck555]

Is it normal to feel like you're just dragging ass when you go down on dose? Cuz I feel like ass this week, but I did just reduce dosage from a peak of 350 total mg like 3-4 weeks ago, down to 154 now, so I imagine I might feel like I'm dragging ass for a little while. I see how the shit is psychologically addictive.

It's weird I've just taken several rest days in a row and yet all my metrics are still in the toilet: sleep scores and HRV for example. Maybe I shouldn't put too much stock in what my watch tells me but actually my body tells me that it's right.

It does make sense i suppose, my body is adapting to a changing hormonal environment. That and I cut my suboxone dose by 25% last week. So it's got to adjust to that as well.

Rethinking my goal for the next 8 was and I think I'd like to minicut actually, strange choice for the holidays but I feel like a fat fuck so there it is. I know this is my body dysmorphia more than anything but I do feel heavy and sluggish. Still need to find isocaloric point so previous diet still applies

Compounds:
Test 154, still daily, might try subq instead of IM, might go down to 2 or 3x/wk dosing
HGH on the fence about 3 units or 2 per day, might drop back to 2
reta- think ill probably titrate up. Going to switch to weekly dosing still at 4mg, will probably dose Sundays as mon tue thu are when I need suppression. I really only need suppression at work because I am continously surrounded by the opportunity to eat free highly palatable junk, it's just the work culture at my job to bring food to share and it's always there and its always crap. But lets see how this week goes.

Training I settled on my upper lower 4 day option, 15 sets per workout, 60 total, mostly compound lifts, W/F/S/S. Not quite ideal but doable and challenging.

So today officially day 1. Will track carefully and post up exactly how it goes.

 

[Grey Spartan]

Is it normal to feel like you're just dragging ass when you go down on dose? Cuz I feel like ass this week, but I did just reduce dosage from a peak of 350 total mg like 3-4 weeks ago, down to 154 now, so I imagine I might feel like I'm dragging ass for a little while. I see how the shit is psychologically addictive.

Yes sir it is normal. I have found if you switch to injecting the whole dose once a week, it helps out. I also find, if you titrate down instead of going from 350 to 154 (this random number makes my brain hurt) also helps. You can also bump up to lets say 175 (not a crazy ass number like 172 lol) for a month then come back down.

Remember, TRT is about reducing symptoms and feeling better, not following some idealistic numbers that should do what you want them to do.

 

[twreck555]

Yes sir it is normal. I have found if you switch to injecting the whole dose once a week, it helps out. I also find, if you titrate down instead of going from 350 to 154 (this random number makes my brain hurt) also helps. You can also bump up to lets say 175 (not a crazy ass number like 172 lol) for a month then come back down.

Remember, TRT is about reducing symptoms and feeling better, not following some idealistic numbers that should do what you want them to do.

Thanks man. I think I'll try 150 dosed 3x/wk, 50 per dose. But yeah I'm dragging ass. But to be honest I didn't feel great on 350 either (280 test 70 primo). I got strong and grew, but I felt slow and heavy and emotionally flat. I still feel heavy lol, time for a minicut of kcal among other things.

I did feel great on 100. Seriously, I felt amazing. Shouldn't have fucked with it, I've been chasing my tail ever since. But that's the nature of my psyche lol. Hey this is great, more will be even better!! Not

 

[Trenbolonetax]

Thanks man. I think I'll try 150 dosed 3x/wk, 50 per dose. But yeah I'm dragging ass. But to be honest I didn't feel great on 350 either (280 test 70 primo). I got strong and grew, but I felt slow and heavy and emotionally flat. I still feel heavy lol, time for a minicut of kcal among other things.

I did feel great on 100. Seriously, I felt amazing. Shouldn't have fucked with it, I've been chasing my tail ever since. But that's the nature of my psyche lol. Hey this is great, more will be even better!! Not

FWIW, primo has a tendency to make me feel “flat” even if e2 is in a good range. Not sure why. Test + mast is best feel good combo for me

 

[Grey Spartan]

Hey this is great, more will be even better!! Not

Hahahaha I do the same thing. I finished a 350 Test-C and 150 Tren-A experiment 8 weeks ago. And have been on 150 Test-C for about 6 weeks now, and am now just starting to not drag ass. The human body is an amazing thing and can adjust to about anything we throw at it. Its the mind that has a hard time catching up.

 

[RekTest]

I apologize if I presume too much by you planning on staying on 1500+ indefinitely. But this is my general warning - if this is actually your plan ...

Staying above 1500 (you are probably around 2000 Tmax) is a cycle and you wont feel good staying on such a high dose in the long run. Some people would call where you are at now "the honeymoon phase" - as you might imagine, as it's implicit in the phrase; this is only a phase, it wont last. Eventually your brain will give up, neurobiology will follow a pattern of change which can be very similar to depressed patients with a caveat of possible epigenetic changes.

Be careful, as you don't want do be an impulsive, sleepless, panicky, anxiety ridden wreck 2, 3 years from now. You should start at a solid baseline, get acquainted with it, so you now what works and can always come back to it, and only then start messing with it. It seems like you promised yourself a good time by going on the "juice", but this is a very slippery slope, leading to possible addiction, personality/mood changes, etc. I see a lot of this type of rationale in the aas community, as people basically want to ease their anxiety of death by going on high TRT and beyond dosages. But it's basically just an invitation to decadence ...

Certainly a responsible pattern of drug use, or if you want to call it "bio hacking", is by first establishing a coherent, safe and predictable drug response curve and only then deviating from the known into the unknown. This means staying a year or two, or finding, your sweet spot for TRT, seeing how you respond, mentally and physically.

Drug response, it's very intraindividual, some respond better and some not so much, but keep in mind that AAS forums (and social media in general) filter out a lot of individuals who don’t respond well to steroids, so it's very easy to get a wrong representation of the actual aas using populations drug tolerance/response. And couple that with your subjective filters/wants and the fact that the aas users also hide/don't talk about a lot sides and you've just stepped of the buss in the fairytale land.

Btw, what were your levels before you hopped on?

I dont know how I found this single comment, but it spoke to me. I want to thank you deeply for taking the time to write it.
Im on TRT, a little high, and wasn’t aware it could cause “ impulsive, sleepless, panicky, anxiety ridden wreck”
I need to reevaluate what I am doing.

 

[twreck555]

I dont know how I found this single comment, but it spoke to me. I want to thank you deeply for taking the time to write it.
Im on TRT, a little high, and wasn’t aware it could cause “ impulsive, sleepless, panicky, anxiety ridden wreck”
I need to reevaluate what I am doing.

Yeah bro this guy knows. He spoke to me as well, for sure. Stay strong, stay healthy, stay focused.

 

[twreck555]

Holiday mesocycle week 1 day 1. Goal: Adherence

Sleep: 8 hrs, poor quality according to watch but felt comatose. Awoke feeling tired

Weight 209.3 this AM

Strange day. Felt like ass but nailed everything except cardio. Macros and workout on point. Good session with physio working posterior chain mobility, unilateral squat variations, glute med + abductor strength. Lesson of the day: fuck your feelings

Upper body workout, RIR target 3
Bench 200x7, 180x11
Pullup +20#x5, +0x7,
OHP 115x6, 105x10
BB row 135x8, 115x12
Dip +40x10, +20x15
One arm pulldown 60x16/16, 60x16/16
DB flye 20x16, 20x16
DB lat raise 7x16, 7x14, 7x12
Cable facepull 60x15, 60x15

Macros p224, f38, c254, cal 2252

Cardio none to speak of

Gotta get up early, working 12 hrs tomorrow. Off to shower and then bed.

 

[Jin23]

Yeah I've noticed in certain spots already, quads mostly. Any advice on the skin irritation? Just deal with it? I get that in the long run I have more to lose by pinning the muscle

Maybe you're sensitive to solvents or the carrier oil. You can test that by switching to different gear.

Also, dont pin on the stomach area. Pin subq on glutes. Stomach area is much more sensitive for me too, but glutes were not an issue.

 

[twreck555]

Maybe you're sensitive to solvents or the carrier oil. You can test that by switching to different gear.

Also, dont pin on the stomach area. Pin subq on glutes. Stomach area is much more sensitive for me too, but glutes were not an issue.

Awesome thank you for this. Yesterday I tried subq on the glute area and really didn't get much irritation. I think when it's been bothersome in the past it was possibly because I was injecting on places that were subject to more mechanical disturbance, pressure or rubbing from clothes or pack etc.

The test I'm using is in MCT oil with BB so doesn't seem like it should be especially reactive, hopefully by being mindful of depot location I can resolve this issue.

I'll keep working on it, I'd love to avoid creating scar tissue in my muscles, plus given a non-zero.risk of infection I'd prefer not to be penetrating fascia every time.

Thank you again for helping me fine tune my protocol, and for helping keep me honest

 

[twreck555]

My plan for the next 8 weeks:

Happy Holidays meso

8 weeks 11/27/24 thru 1/21/24, possibly to be followed by an additional 8 weeks meso of fat loss depending upon results

Goals: adherence, consistency, fat loss, increased stability mobility and strength to lower body, preservation of strength and muscle mass to upper body

Fat loss goal: 0.5-1% per week, 1-2 lbs per week

Initial weight (weekly average) (11/27/24) 205.8, current trend +1.9

Target weight (weekly average) (1/21/24): 190-198, trend -1 to -2



Initial macro targets

Rest days (3): p208, f38, c229, kcal2090 split into 4 meals

Training days (4): p224, f38, c253, kcal 2244 split into 4 meals, plus intraworkout drink

Average kcal/day 2178

Kcal and macros titrated as needed to achieve goal of 1-2 lbs loss per week

One cheat meal allowed per week at first, with macros tracked. Might be pulled out if results are subpar



Training: 4 days per week. After this week’s visit to the physio I realize that I will be well served to increase frequency slightly so as to have more opportunities per week to practice the mobility routine and unilateral exercises that she has given me to improve the function of my lower body motor patterns.



Wednesday Lower A

Thursday Rest

Friday Upper A

Saturday Lower B

Sunday Upper B

Monday Rest

Tuesday Rest



A note on timing: I realize it’s not ideal from a SRA perspective, but for my work schedule it is ideal. Namely, I prefer to have the two upper body days closely spaced, than to attempt to train after a busy ten hour shift. In my experience it is just too easy to justify fucking off after a long work shift, and as adherence is my primary goal this is simply not acceptable. In addition, with the volume of work the physio has given me, it is simply not feasible to expect to get it all done on a full body split and still have adequate time for upper body training.



RIR targets

Week 1-2: 3-4 RIR

Week 3-4: 2-3 RIR

Week 5-6: 1-2 RIR

Week 7-8: 0-1 RIR

Starting volume 77 sets total increasing as tolerated to maximum 109 sets by week 8

A note on volume: It looks like a lot from # of sets, but all of the lower body work is at a necessarily reduced intensity due to the history of knee injury, surgery, and recovery. In addition, a majority of the lower body work is actually aimed more towards developing stability and healthy motor patterns than absolute strength. Thus, though the volume will certainly be challenging, I do not feel that it is unreasonably high. I am not at all sure if I will be able to titrate up volume while simultaneously reducing reps in reserve, and if it doesn’t seem feasible to increase volume I will not attempt to do so.



Lower A, Wednesdays, 20-30 sets

General warmup – 5-10 minutes light cardio (rower, walking, jogging) plus 5-10 minutes full body mobility

Physio mobility routine tv arch engagement balance 2x20, banded externally rotated side step 3x20, lying hamstring extension stretch 2x10, posterior chain fascia mobilization 2x10, hip flexor dynamic mob 2x30-60 sec

Deadlift : 6-10

Front Squat: 8-12, 12-20

Kickstand Deadlift: 2-3x8-12

Ring Assist Pistol: 2-3x8-12

Side Plank Hip Abduction: 2-3x8-12

Bulgarian Split Squat with hip internal rotation: 2-3x8-12

Glute Ham Raise: 1-2x8-12

Lying Knee Extension (monkeyfeet): 1-2x15-20

Barbell Glute Bridge: 1-2x8-12

Single Leg Deficit Calf Raise: 2-3x15-20

Single Leg Deficit Tibialis Raise: 2-3x15-20

GHD Situp: 2-3x15-20



Lower B Saturdays, 21-31 sets

General Warmup
Physio Mobility Routine

Back Squat: 6-10, 10-15

Stiff Legged Deadlift: 8-12, 12-20

Ring Assist Pistol: 2-3x8-12

Kickstand Deadlift: 2-3x8-12

Bulgarian Split Squat: 2-3x8-12

Side Plank Hip Abduction: 2-3x8-12

Seated Knee Extension: 1-2x15-20

Lying Leg Curl: 1-2x15-20

Donkey Kick (monkeyfeet): 1-2x15-20

Deficit Calf Raise: 2-3x15-20

Deficit Tibialis Raise: 2-3x15-20

Cable Crunch: 2-3x15-20



Upper A, Fridays, 18-24 sets

General Warmup

Physio Mobility

Bench Press 6-10, 10-15

Weighted Pullup or Lat Pulldown: 6-10, 10-15

High Incline Dumbbell Press: 8-12, 12-20

Cable Row: 8-12, 12-20

Weighted Dip: 8-12, 12-20

Half Kneeling One Arm Lat Pull: 1-2x12-20

One Arm Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 2-3x15-20

Rope Face Pull: 1-2x12-20

Cable Flye: 1-2x15-20

EZ Curl Pullover: 1-2x15-20

Dip Bar Supported Knee Raise: 2-3x15-20



Upper B, Sundays, 18-24 sets

General Warmup

Physio Mobility

Overhead Press: 6-10, 10-15

Barbell Row: 6-10, 10-15

Close Grip Bench: 8-12, 12-20

Supinated Pulldown/Chinup: 8-12, 12-20

Dumbbell Flat Press: 8-12, 12-20

Dumbbell Row: 1-2x12-20

Cable Lateral: 2-3x15-20

Reverse Fly: 1-2x15-20

Dumbbell Flye: 1-2x15-20

Straight Arm Lat Pulldown: 1-2x15-20

Hanging Knee Raise: 2-3x15-20



Cardio: Simple goal of >10K steps AVERAGE across the week. These can be slow, fast, flat, hilly, weighted, or unweighted



Pharma:

Current protocol:

Testosterone cypionate 50mg Wed Fri Sun, 150mg/wk total

HGH 2IU at bedtime Wed thru Sunday, following Broderick Chavez’s simple protocol for extending the career span of the aging athlete. The 5 day per week protocol is apparently the best balance between reaping the most benefits from the drug with the least amount of side effects. Do more with less, I like it.

Retatrutide: Dosed once weekly on Sunday, titrated as needed according to the study protocol (2mgx4 wks, 4mgx4wks, 8mgx4wks, 12mgx4wks) starting at 4 mg/wk

Tadalafil 5mg/day. Have had this in for a little while, happy with it, keeping it in.

Rosuvastatin 5mg/day. Not at all a performance enhancing drug unless you consider lack of atherosclerosis to be a performance enhancement. Given a strong family history and LDL > 160 BEFORE starting TRT, I believe keeping this in is a good idea. I have been having an issue with muscle cramping though and I am a little suspicious that the rosuvastatin may be contributing.

Injectable L-carnitine 360mg IM daily. Considered pulling due to PIP, decided to leave it in, for now.

SLU-PP-332: 500 mcg TID – have it, can’t return it, doubt it will hurt me, might as well try it

Methylene Blue – 5 mg/day – supposed to pair well with the SLUPP to give a very mild ergogenic effect as well as possibly a positive effect on mood, also supposed to prevent dementia and/or hemorrhoids. I have no idea if it will actually work but it sounds kooky and interesting so what the hell

 

[Grey Spartan]

HGH 2IU at bedtime Wed thru Sunday, following Broderick Chavez’s simple protocol for extending the career span of the aging athlete. The 5 day per week protocol is apparently the best balance between reaping the most benefits from the drug with the least amount of side effects. Do more with less, I like it.

I haven't heard this. Thanks for the info!

 

[twreck555]

I haven't heard this. Thanks for the info!

Yeah! From the team evilgsp hgh round table. Andrew Triana and Alex Kiekel gave protocols for recomposition and anabolism, broderick presented his protocol for longevity and I thought: that, THAT is what I want. He prefaced it by saying it's the most boring protocol because it won't make you huge or anything else that's particularly exciting, if it works right you should never even notice it, but the cumulative effect of 5/7 nights enhanced recovery should, over time, add up to years or decades added to your career, with the smallest possible chance of anything untoward happening.