Gymratluke FIANLLY takes the plunge! My journey to the NANBF Stage June 25th

[400Lb Gorilla]

^^^ Should be my new nickname! Why? Long story short, I've backed out of doing my show. This is so hard to explain but I'll try...I lost an employee and its been the WORST spring we've ever had! Since the weather has become semi good, I've been busier then ever before and to say we are just behind on work, would be a gross under statement! About 3 weeks ago, I started feeling really drained. Thought I was over training or something, but it was far worse then that. I stopped being able to sleep at night, I started losing strength by the day, work became so difficult that I could barely make it thru the day and had to start skipping workouts. Depression/Anxiety started kicking in and I started to have really bad thoughts going thru my head at night. Then I started getting really light headed all the time and was getting daily bloody noses. When I started getting pale my mom made me go to the Doctor and I got my blood work done to see what might be wrong...lets just say everything is out of whack! My testosterone level was 49...yes, thats right, 49!!! I got retested cause I thought it was a mistake....46 this time!!! In December my Test levels were 550 so this is more then just a small drop from dieting! Made total sense since I havent been able to have sex in weeks, I've had ZERO desire to and I've been emotional as hell, like a damn woman. Anyway, I know that its normal to have a drop in Testosterone from dieting, but my doctors dont seem to think that having levels of a 13 year old girl is normal by any standards, diet or not! They actually thought I was starving myself or doing drugs or something. Neither have even in all their years seen a MAN, of any age, with test levels under 100. After hearing their concern and talking with my mom and the docs that she works for as well as my own, I decided to stop dieting and get myself back to normal! I feel like a total disappointment right now...and I feel like I just did what everone expected me to do, so I think Im done trying to act like I might be a bodybuilder some day. Im just not cut out for it! I feel like MAYBE if I didnt have such a physical job and the stress of owning a business, I may have been able to see this thru, but unfortunately its not in the cards for me. I think I made a responsible decision cause I have been slacking way too much at work and its been costing us thousands of dollars. I need to be able to work like I normally do so I can get my company out of the red, cause normally we are making good money by May and we have too many bills to pay. Sorry for getting everyones hopes up about seeing me get on stage, it will be a while before anyone hears me talk about competing again. I probably wont be posting on here for a while, cause Im just plain out embarrassed about having to throw in the towel, and being so damn close! Anyway, thanks for reading! Happy lifting to all!

damn breh that is ALOT!!! yeah i think in your situation everyone would probably do the same thing. would like you to keep us up to date on the test thing though(srs). that is on the extreme low side for test. hopefully it is just your body's extremeness respponding to diet and stress and nothing more serious than that.

dont be embarrassed either bruddah! atleast you made a serious attempt to get on that stage and had you not got slammed by life events might have gotten up there.

ofcourse the fact that i wont get to see you in posing trunks is a disappoinr (no homo)

good luck recuperating and getting life back on track Luke!!!

also IIRC you are into powerlifting as well as bodybuilding(powerbuilding ) any chance of you possibly hitting up strength contests of one kind or another in the future? seems like the prep would be less stressful since you are already lfting heavy as hell anyway

[theshoupguy]

Idgaf how low your test is, get up on that stage right meow!



(kidding)

I don't think you're letting anyone down, man. You gave it a solid shot and made awesome progress. Life got in the way -- that's nothing to be embarrassed about though. Maybe get back into the 'feel good' lifting/powerbuilding (like 400G mentioned) +food!!!

Take care of yourself and keep in touch with all your supporters.

[PaC-mAn8]

Wow. Hope everything works out for ya Luke. Take care of yourself bro.

[JimmyChitwood]

I was just checkin' in to see how you were doing and saw your post about having to give up the contest. Had to be a tough call, given all the progress you made...but you've got a clear enough head to step back and make a big-picture decision. In my experience...that's the difference between a good businessman and a bad one. Big picture.

I think it's no secret... bodybuilding competition is not for everyone. And certainly is not right at any given time even for those who are disposed to it. It's one of very few hobbies that demands that much of your life from you.

I think you made the only reasonable call possible. Good on ya. And best of luck with the business this season!

[gymratluke]

Wow guys, I really appreciate all the kind words and support! Today was gonna be the big day...it still makes me really sad to think about how close I was but even now, a couple weeks into the weight gain process, Im still not even close to a 100% yet. I've gained 10lbs and I still look great, just dont feel like myself at all yet. The one perk is, my company is finally making some money. Last 2 weeks we have done some huge projects and we are finally starting to get caught up. I already have over 40 hours for the week and Im just about to head out to go do another big money making clean up job this morning...in the end, Im confident I did the right thing, but it still doesnt make it easy to think about on this day. Glad I have a good support group around me! Thanks everyone!!

[JimmyChitwood]

Glad to hear about the business turning up the heat. That's gotta make your decision feel all that much more justified. And hey - you still built yourself a top notch physique, even if you didn't take it on stage. AND...there's no door that's been closed here. If the time is right next year or the one after that, you can have another go at it with all of the knowledge you've picked up as ammunition. I can't see how you're in a worse position. It's all good, in fact.

For now...just kick some butt in the field and don't get fat.

[toddbz]

Does dieting make hormone levels just plunge like that? Seemed like you were kicking ass in the gym then blam, it just hit you like a ton of bricks. I know that levels will drop some during hard dieting, but your macros were actually on the rise, and those levels are like pre-teen shhh.

[Quelly]

Does dieting make hormone levels just plunge like that? Seemed like you were kicking ass in the gym then blam, it just hit you like a ton of bricks. I know that levels will drop some during hard dieting, but your macros were actually on the rise, and those levels are like pre-teen shhh.

actually todd its pretty typical, they drop on a deficit, then come back up, sucks, but its just the way it is, that's where a lot of the lethargy comes from. Nothing out of the ordinary.

and Luke, the stage will always be there, and dude you got just as lean as most cats who I see in amateur overalls! You got in a photo shoot and you pushed hard for months!

proud of you and noone can take that away

the time will come when it comes and there's no shame in that not being this year, keep doing yo thang!

[toddbz]

actually todd its pretty typical, they drop on a deficit, then come back up, sucks, but its just the way it is, that's where a lot of the lethargy comes from. Nothing out of the ordinary.

and Luke, the stage will always be there, and dude you got just as lean as most cats who I see in amateur overalls! You got in a photo shoot and you pushed hard for months!

proud of you and noone can take that away

the time will come when it comes and there's no shame in that not being this year, keep doing yo thang!

Do they drop to a 55 though...when cals have been on the rise for a few weeks?

Yeah Luke this doesn't mean I want to see a photo of you at like 240lb wearing those chains ;P

[Quelly]

Do they drop to a 55 though...when cals have been on the rise for a few weeks?

Yeah Luke this doesn't mean I want to see a photo of you at like 240lb wearing those chains ;P

They totally tank for almost everybody its really not uncommon, most just don't get tested

[400Lb Gorilla]

They totally tank for almost everybody its really not uncommon, most just don't get tested

thanks that would explain why i have been a little "off" the last few weeks. anyway to naturally fight this? sorry to high jack you journal Luke, but i have been wondering how someone would keep energy and test levels reasonably normal while cutting for longer periods...

without the use of any "help" ofcourse

[Quelly]

thanks that would explain why i have been a little "off" the last few weeks. anyway to naturally fight this? sorry to high jack you journal Luke, but i have been wondering how someone would keep energy and test levels reasonably normal while cutting for longer periods...

without the use of any "help" ofcourse

keep training volume low, focus more on lifting heavy with moderate frequency, don't overdo high intensity cardio, keep calories as high as possible while still losing weight, don't eliminate all sources of cholesterol or saturated fat from the diet, and supplement with vitamin d3 @5000iu-10000iu depending on how much sun you get

the test boosters I wouldn't recommend, because if anything does work...you'll invariably get a swing back in the other direction when you go off

Most important thing to keep in mind is that although it will make you lethargic, emotional, grumpy etc. hormone levels have much less to do with muscle maintenance when compared to heavy tension stimulus...if this wasn't the case every natural female bodybuilder would look like a stick on stage...its really just one of those "comes with the territory" things in natural bodybuilding

[400Lb Gorilla]

keep training volume low, focus more on lifting heavy with moderate frequency, don't overdo high intensity cardio, keep calories as high as possible while still losing weight, don't eliminate all sources of cholesterol or saturated fat from the diet, and supplement with vitamin d3 @5000iu-10000iu depending on how much sun you get

the test boosters I wouldn't recommend, because if anything does work...you'll invariably get a swing back in the other direction when you go off

Most important thing to keep in mind is that although it will make you lethargic, emotional, grumpy etc. hormone levels have much less to do with muscle maintenance when compared to heavy tension stimulus...if this wasn't the case every natural female bodybuilder would look like a stick on stage...its really just one of those "comes with the territory" things in natural bodybuilding

thanks Quelly. the only thing i am confused about is the d3 supplementing. why is this important? i tend to catch alot of sun so i will probably go with the lower dosage but curious as to why a cut would effect wether or not you supplement it?

i dont put alot of faith in test boosters as i have heard and read that most just supress estrogen. that and i am 26 years old and have no medical reason as to why i should need something like that. i am pretty sure diet is the only thing i need more control over.

[Quelly]

thanks Quelly. the only thing i am confused about is the d3 supplementing. why is this important? i tend to catch alot of sun so i will probably go with the lower dosage but curious as to why a cut would effect wether or not you supplement it?

i dont put alot of faith in test boosters as i have heard and read that most just supress estrogen. that and i am 26 years old and have no medical reason as to why i should need something like that. i am pretty sure diet is the only thing i need more control over.

most people are deficient in vitamin d its actually very common in modern industrial society, vitamin d is a direct precursor to hormones in our body, and its not MORE important on a cut, its just more likely the deficiency gets worse when you eat less and get less nutrients, I take it offseason as well

[400Lb Gorilla]

most people are deficient in vitamin d its actually very common in modern industrial society, vitamin d is a direct precursor to hormones in our body, and its not MORE important on a cut, its just more likely the deficiency gets worse when you eat less and get less nutrients, I take it offseason as well

ah makes sense.

appreciate the advice. diet is still one of my weaknesses. i try and get my fats, carbs, ad protein correct but it gets a little hard to keep up with some times, especially when not stateside. i prefer to use supplements sparingly since so many of them seem gimmicky. but i dont want to derails Luke's thread anymore so appreciate the advice and i will find you through PM later about some of this stuff(going to do a little research) if thats alright

[toddbz]

They totally tank for almost everybody its really not uncommon, most just don't get tested

Yeah that's true. Like you said we always relate "below normal" with "the sky is falling!"

most people are deficient in vitamin d its actually very common in modern industrial society, vitamin d is a direct precursor to hormones in our body, and its not MORE important on a cut, its just more likely the deficiency gets worse when you eat less and get less nutrients, I take it offseason as well

Even though I'm in the sun quite a bit (but use sun block), I take 5000iu's daily and it seems to have made a reasonable different in prolonged endurance and even improved my sleep patterns. Well that and the 4g's of fish oils a day to. And I really have no caloric restriction.