The weights never lie. My natural high. Do this sh*t till I f*cking die.

[THErunCMD]

^Does look pretty light for you but still good volume.

Red

Yeah I emailed him.

My slanger comes Wednesday, just in time for benching. Also you can find free tires from farmers. You're close enough to get some . There was a dude up by me giving one away the other day but I didn't feel like borrowing a truck for it.

[ardee2124]

lol ^

Last two workouts done:

Workout 1:

Lighter Squats
(warmups)
315x5
345x5
365x7 (more)

Front Squats
135x10
225x5
275x5
315x3 (more)

Ab Wheel
Couple sets

****************************

Wokout 2:

Lighter SOHP
(warmups)
135x5
165x3
185x5
185x6
185x7 (more)

Bench
135x10
225x5
275x5
315x7 (more)

Pullups
BW x 10
+ 30lbs Chain x 4
+ 30lbs Chain x 4
+ 30lbs Chain x 5
+ 60lbs Chain x 3 (1 more)
BW x 10

Chins
+ 30 lbs Chain x 10 (more)

Dips
+ 60lbs Chain x 15 (tough)

In a calorie deficit and dieting hard so lifting sucks right now. Just doing my best to put work in.

When did you become such a pullup beast?! These are your usual WG DH right?

[dopamine72]

^Does look pretty light for you but still good volume.
My slanger comes Wednesday, just in time for benching. Also you can find free tires from farmers. You're close enough to get some . There was a dude up by me giving one away the other day but I didn't feel like borrowing a truck for it.

Yeah light weight, and also lower than normal volume, which I think is actually helping me break a pressing strength plateau...on a cut.
Wait. If I got a truck I could go grab that tire you're talking about? FOR FREE????!!!!!!!!

When did you become such a pullup beast?! These are your usual WG DH right?

Yes usual pullups for me. Just too lazy to be so specific sometimes. The reason I'm much stronger on these now is because somewhere last December I was nearly 250 pounds. Today I am 224. I should be dropping under 220 within the next few days. Then level out there.

Last Two Workouts:

Workout #1

Lighter Squats
(long warmup high reps, stretching)
225x5
275x5
315x5
315x7
315x12 (more)

Deadlifts/Bo Belt
(warmups)
315x5
365x5
405x8 (more)

That's it. Felt sick. Almost puked from being so overheated.

*************************

Workout #2

Incline Bench
135x10
185x5
225x5
245x5
265x5 (last rep paused)
275x3 (last rep paused)
305x1 @7.5

I could have thrown on 315-325 now and hit it but I'm saving that for the next round so I can milk the gains. Was a nice smooth rep but slowed down a bit right before the lockout. Oh and if you wanna get your bench stronger and you have a weak incline bench. Get a stronger incline bench. That seems to be helping a lot for me and other people I have talked to.

Close Grip Incline Bench
225x8 (more)

- I was very surprised I hit this after all the working sets prior. My incline strength is skyrocketing.

Strict BB Rows/No Belt
135x10
225x5
275x5
315x6
315x10 (more)

- Kept it easy because I feel my upper back is still recovering from the previous squat/dead workout + calorie deficit.

Strict BB Curls
Bar x 20
75 x 15
95 x 15 (more)

- I'm surprised to see so many of my lifts are going up on this cut, its possible the lower volume is getting me stronger right now. I think my programming method is the main component to the gains I'm experiencing. Sometimes I failed before, but I got it right this time. I'm also listening to my body, so on particular days like the last few days my workouts have been lighter, and shorter simply because of the way I feel. I'm not exactly 100% so I get a session in, but take it a little easier. I believe also it was because I was pushing myself so much harder before during these past few months. My body needed a break from the volume and intensity. Then as I did these easier workouts I actually grew and became stronger.

I'm also working on stomach vacuums at the moment. My hips aren't that big and waist pretty slim so I'm working on a better V-Taper if I keep cutting like this. I think if I hit the 215 mark I would be around 10% body fat. Not sure if want though.

[dopamine72]

Still not strong because of all the dieting. BW = 223

Oly Squats
(warmup+stretching)
225x5
275x5
315x1 (paused)
345x1
365x1
395x1
405x1
435x1 (more)

Light Squats
315x5
335x8 (more)

Lower back needs a lot of recovery time from previous workouts.

[dopamine72]

Down to 220 body weight leveling off. Been a helluva cut. First real cut ever. I think the next couple weeks will give me a better idea of where I have leveled off at once I up the cals a bit. Not gonna try and act all tough. I lowered my cals a lot. I also took a pretty strong fat burner. It was not fun. But it was worth it.

Haven't logged last few workouts. Not feelin it right now.

Today I hit some upper:

Bench
(warmup)
225x5
275x5
315x5
335x5 (more)

CGBP
225x10
275x6 (more)

SOHP
135x3
165x3
185x3
205x3 (meh)

135x15 (more)

- This is the only thing that really suffered strength wise this workout

WG DH Pullups
BW x 10
BW + 30lbs Chain x 5
BW + 30lbs Chain x 5
BW + 30lbs Chain x 5
BW + 60lbs Chain x 3 (more but challenging)

Chins
BW x 15 (more)

Strict BB Curls
75 x 15
95 x 12 (more but challenging)

Ab Wheel
Knees x 20

[dopamine72]

So this is me as of 6 hours ago today. 220ish and somewhat depleted. I'll probably fill out more a little while staying just as lean within the next few weeks.

I plan on cutting more. I just need a mental break at the moment. I will continue to watch my cals/macros a lot more closely now however. No way I'm going to fuk up my hard work lol.

I have a lot going on this next month. But after that I'll do some more serious cutting again and try to get absolutely shredded. I'd say if I could get to a solid 215ish that will be good. 210 will be shredded territory I think however. We'll see...

[THErunCMD]

Looking good. Yeah I'd say another 10lbs would be pretty cut. See where you're at then, might try for 15?

Pressing is always hard, especially on a cut.

[Woody-5]

Strong ass session especially after a harsh cut!
Looking big and lean in that pic! Shredded with your mass wood be scary!

[adamsz]

Lookin solid as fuk at 220 bro, mirin hard. Pretty much my goal physique at 220lbs if I ever get back down there.

If you tightened up the waist a bit you'd be peeled.

Keep hustlin 'Dope

[weightsb4dates]

you lookin great dude, keep killin it. physique is on point right now for balance between appearance and maintainability

[ardee2124]

You look incredible now man. If you cut another 10 and your abs came out even more, would you consider getting on stage?

[The Shoeless Wonder]

I hope this isnt true

http://www.cheatsheet.com/sports/nfl...k.html/?ref=YF

[dopamine72]

Looking good. Yeah I'd say another 10lbs would be pretty cut. See where you're at then, might try for 15?
Pressing is always hard, especially on a cut.

Thanks bro. 15 is a lot lol. I like to think small steps in this game. So for now my next cut I'll aim for 5-10 pounds of fat. This always keeps me growing and getting stronger while losing fat.

Strong ass session especially after a harsh cut!
Looking big and lean in that pic! Shredded with your mass wood be scary!

Thanks Wood. lol yeah I'm gonna start back up in a bit. For now. Break time.

Lookin solid as fuk at 220 bro, mirin hard. Pretty much my goal physique at 220lbs if I ever get back down there.
If you tightened up the waist a bit you'd be peeled.
Keep hustlin 'Dope

Appreciate it Adam brah. As far as tightening up my waist that's exactly what I noticed too. Its from all the beltless deads, OHP, front squats, squats, ab wheel etc. My obliques are ridiculously huge from the more strong man type training I have been doing. There are ways to tighten up the obliques so I'll be doing that in the near future. Its a special trick not many people know about that I will explain through PM if you would like.

you lookin great dude, keep killin it. physique is on point right now for balance between appearance and maintainability

Hell yeah thanks bro!

You look incredible now man. If you cut another 10 and your abs came out even more, would you consider getting on stage?

I have never planned to step on stage. Not really my thing. But who knows. Maybe one day. I really do all of this for myself. I like to see how far I can push myself and keep going. Feels good to be where I'm at, but I still have work to do. Thanks for the kind words.

[dopamine72]

So I am 4 days out of surgery right now recovering. I had very slight gyno and it got removed finally. Been waiting since I was 15 years old to get this done. So finally its out. No lifting for at least two weeks. All I can do at the moment is rest up and try not to go insane. I already wanna hit the gym but I can't. I am in a little pain anyways so I gotta rest.

This coming Wed I go to my follow up apt with the surgeon/doc. From there I'll see if its ok for me to go on walks and what not. Then later hopefully I'll get the ok to start my regular mountain bike trail riding which I have been doing a lot of. Then hoepfully soon I'll be able to hit some light workouts at the gym.

Yes....I am going crazy right now not being able to exercise. But I'll get through it. Overall this isn't that bad. My chest just looks like the texas chainsaw massacre at the moment. Can't wait to heal up and get back into the routine!

Once I can hit the weights again I'll get back to where I was as far as strength/size. Then start my next phase of cutting "Operation bigger than zyzz".

[Woody-5]

Hope you get the green light soon, homie!

[jshaw5]

I have never planned to step on stage. Not really my thing. But who knows. Maybe one day. I really do all of this for myself. I like to see how far I can push myself and keep going. Feels good to be where I'm at, but I still have work to do. Thanks for the kind words.

Fukc the stage, get on the platform!!!!

Hope you heal up quick and get back to lifting heavy shit soon.

[ardee2124]

By the way I just thought I'd let you know:

I took your advice of including heavier singles, doubles and triples in my sessions after work sets. I'm doing 5/3/1, so on the first cycle I ended with 200 as my final set of the last day and only got 3. The next cycle ended with 210, which I've never attempted before. After the work sets on the first two days of the cycle I did 2 sets of doubles and 2 singles with 210 and on the final day, I got 210x4 (and 225x1!!! Feels insane).

Just wanted to thank you for that, I think getting used to the weight is crucial and I wouldn't have thought of that if you hadn't advised me to do it.

[SydTheKid]

Looking real swole at 220, not fluffy at all, keep beasting

[THErunCMD]

Hows the recovery looking? Sucks being down but it will feel nice to not think about that anymore.

[apujols24]

What up bro? Hope your doing good man, tried texting you a few times from my new number but didn't hear anything back. Hope your recovery is coming along smoothly, my finger is ****ed so I feel the pain of not being able to lift. Get at me bro!! Hang in there

P.S.

I'm living in Florida now

[dopamine72]

Hope you get the green light soon, homie!

Got the green light bro, thanks

Fukc the stage, get on the platform!!!!
Hope you heal up quick and get back to lifting heavy shit soon.

Ha, yes yes that does sound much better

By the way I just thought I'd let you know:

I took your advice of including heavier singles, doubles and triples in my sessions after work sets. I'm doing 5/3/1, so on the first cycle I ended with 200 as my final set of the last day and only got 3. The next cycle ended with 210, which I've never attempted before. After the work sets on the first two days of the cycle I did 2 sets of doubles and 2 singles with 210 and on the final day, I got 210x4 (and 225x1!!! Feels insane).

Just wanted to thank you for that, I think getting used to the weight is crucial and I wouldn't have thought of that if you hadn't advised me to do it.

Hell yeah I love hearing this. Glad I could help you.

Looking real swole at 220, not fluffy at all, keep beasting

Thanks Syd. You too you fukin animal

Hows the recovery looking? Sucks being down but it will feel nice to not think about that anymore.

It was tough. But I'm back to lifting. Starting out light and getting back into it pretty fast now.

What up bro? Hope your doing good man, tried texting you a few times from my new number but didn't hear anything back. Hope your recovery is coming along smoothly, my finger is ****ed so I feel the pain of not being able to lift. Get at me bro!! Hang in there

P.S.

I'm living in Florida now

Hey bro. Text me again. Been out of it the past moth.

[dopamine72]

So yeah I got addicted to pain meds again after the surgery....

- Realized I dun goofed last week and threw the rest of what I had away
- Had to go through some withdrawals all over again (not as bad as last time, but still awful)
- Been exactly 7 days clean now. No plan on ever using again. I'm ashamed of myself.
- Down to 205 pounds, still going through withdrawals getting at best 5 hours of sleep a night no matter what I do
- Overhead work hurts and pullups hurt but that's normal after this type of surgery, I'll just work through the pain, bench press doesn't really hurt at all surprisingly
- Yes I have been lifting since last Saturday, so 4 days into it. Don't really feel like posting my poverty workouts...

- I'm guessing I'll gain back some water weight and level off @ about 215. Not trying to get fat. Not trying to gain weight right now. I love the way I'm looking lean.
- Withdrawals shouldn't be going on for much longer (hopefully)
- Strength is way down obviously but all my muscle is still here and I am the leanest I have ever been in my life possibly. Getting a lot of comments even though I feel like an Auschwitz victim

Thanks for following me guys. Gonna be focusing a lot on the gym and work now. And yeah....not even one drink for me, no smoking, nothing...100% sober time

[Dan3317]

Thanks for following me guys. Gonna be focusing a lot on the gym and work now. And yeah....not even one drink for me, no smoking, nothing...100% sober time

That's what I like to hear dude, congratulations. You're going make it, guaranteed!

[jshaw5]

Glad to see you're getting back on track. Those pain meds are dangerous. They're so damn addictive, but easier to get and so much easier to justify using. For illegal drugs, there's really no justification to use them, but with prescription meds it's so damn easy to tell yourself (and others) that you need them for the pain, especially after a surgery. When Meg had shoulder surgery 2-3 months ago, we made sure everyone was aware of her history, and I held onto her prescriptions. As soon as her pain level was low enough that she could manage with advil, we flushed them down the toilet. She's up to 18 months clean now.

[adamsz]

Sorry to hear about the pain med relapse and glad to hear you're back on the right road and seemingly focused. You got this brah, you obviously have a ton of mental discipline as exemplified by how how much time, effort and consistency you've put into your training over the years. Now just gotta transfer that same mental discipline over to staying clean and you'll make it brah.

I'd love to see some before/after pics of the gyno surgery results at some point if you don't mind sharing. Not sure if you remember but I've had "persistent pubertal gyno" since I was 14 and it's never gone away. I've even visited an endocrinologist and he recommended not trying the typical courses of treatment (the anti-cancer drugs) as they reportedly only have about a 50% success rate and potentially terrible sides. Said cosmetic surgery was really only the real safe bet, so it's something that's been in my mind for a long time.

[dopamine72]

That's what I like to hear dude, congratulations. You're going make it, guaranteed!

Thanks!

Glad to see you're getting back on track. Those pain meds are dangerous. They're so damn addictive, but easier to get and so much easier to justify using. For illegal drugs, there's really no justification to use them, but with prescription meds it's so damn easy to tell yourself (and others) that you need them for the pain, especially after a surgery. When Meg had shoulder surgery 2-3 months ago, we made sure everyone was aware of her history, and I held onto her prescriptions. As soon as her pain level was low enough that she could manage with advil, we flushed them down the toilet. She's up to 18 months clean now.

Well said bro. And I have always appreciated you and your wife's support greatly. Thank you so much. Tell her I said hi and I hope she is doing well. Seems like she's kicking ass. Love to hear stories like this. Congrats on your end also bro.

I am back to square one since I ended up partying a lot the last few weeks. So I'm now 7 days sober on the clean count timer app Meg suggested I get. Can't wait till I hit a year again. The two year mark is where its at for me this time around. I won't feel any sort of satisfaction till I can at least make it to the two year mark.

Sorry to hear about the pain med relapse and glad to hear you're back on the right road and seemingly focused. You got this brah, you obviously have a ton of mental discipline as exemplified by how how much time, effort and consistency you've put into your training over the years. Now just gotta transfer that same mental discipline over to staying clean and you'll make it brah.

I'd love to see some before/after pics of the gyno surgery results at some point if you don't mind sharing. Not sure if you remember but I've had "persistent pubertal gyno" since I was 14 and it's never gone away. I've even visited an endocrinologist and he recommended not trying the typical courses of treatment (the anti-cancer drugs) as they reportedly only have about a 50% success rate and potentially terrible sides. Said cosmetic surgery was really only the real safe bet, so it's something that's been in my mind for a long time.

Thanks Adam, means the world. All this support does help me greatly. It goes such a long way you have no idea.

I will post some up when I'm all healed. The after pic wont be taken till next year though since it takes a while for 100% of the swelling to go away, so its gonna be a while lol. I remember your issue yes. The anti cancer drugs helped me a little actually, but they were not worth the sides like your endo said. One of the meds made me extremely depressed and another made me feel ill, gave joint pain and extreme lethargy + flu like symptoms. Not worth it. My best piece of advice to you is to get that sh*t removed ASAP. I waited and waited. I wish I got this done years ago. But better late than never. I'm so relieved its out of me finally. If you have the funds, go search around for the best surgeons in your area on google. I went shopping and had a few consultations with different ones. The average cost is anywhere from 5-10K. To some its not worth it but to me it was well worth the 7.3k I dropped. But that's just me.

[dopamine72]

I almost blacked out lifting today because of withdrawals but I feel better after my workout. Nothing really special to report just rebuilding my strength. Body weight is 205-210ish. I must be around 10% bf now for sure.

Here's some poverty sets I have hit since I started back up:

Squat 315x3
Bench 245x5
Deadlift 455x1
Pullups BW x 15
BB Rows 225x15
RDL's 315x10

The squat and bench sucked, they both have tanked hard. But my deadlift was relatively easy, I'm 100% certain I could have hit 500 and mind you this is without a belt or straps and losing about 20 pounds in a month. I dunno wtf is up with that. Trying to figure it out.

[THErunCMD]

Dude, absolutely amazing work recognizing it when you did and taking steps to solve the problem. Really, it sounds like you are doing a great job fighting through it, keep it up! I expect the lifts will come back with even just a little bit of patience and persistence. Glad to see you back it it!

[dopamine72]

Dude, absolutely amazing work recognizing it when you did and taking steps to solve the problem. Really, it sounds like you are doing a great job fighting through it, keep it up! I expect the lifts will come back with even just a little bit of patience and persistence. Glad to see you back it it!

Thanks bro! Yep everything is coming back fast. And I'm super lean. Getting a helluva lot of comments even though I'm weak as sh*t lol.

Body weight = 210

SOHP
(warmup)
135x3
165x3
185x3
185x3
185x3 (more)
135x12 (more)

CGBP
135x10
225x8
225x10 (more)

WG DH Pullups
BW x 12
BW x 12 (more)

Calves
3 sets of 20

Biceps
1 crazy rest pause set on incline bench with dumbbells


Meh. Still going through minor withdrawals but feeling much better and def getting back into the swing of things

[adamsz]

slow but steady wins the race bro. Naturally you'll have a drop off in strength after taking some time off/messing around with the pills, but it'll all come back super fast before you know it.

Keep a positive mindset and start looking forward to those training sessions and the progress you will again be seeing. It's great to see the rewards of hardwork in the gym, as I'm sure you know. Just gotta get that workout schedule down and consistent so it's a staple of your everyday life.