I want to be a real boy!!!

[CJ]

Weekly Update:

Up 0.4 lbs to a weekly average of 202.2 lbs. Gained back a bit of what I lost the last couple of weeks. Might be a bit skewed due to Super Bowl treats, although I think I violently shit it all out the next morning.

4212 Cals
455g C
259g P
151g F

Training is going very well. Slowly adding reps each week, then weight when I feel I've maxed that weight out and I'm ready to go up.

My bodyweight isn't moving much, but I feel tighter and not bloated anymore, so I hope I'm making progress and it's not just in my head. Weights are moving in the gym, so hopefully I'm good. We'll see later when I strip off the fat.

Dedicated cardio is back in as well, 2-3x/week, doing 30 min chunks right now, keeping my HR around 120. Time to build the aerobic base back up, I pushed it aside for so long, albeit for a valid reason. I'll work my way up to hour long sessions, then increase the intensity from there. Bike and Rower.

Just a couple of weeks left before the bottle runs dry, then back to TRT for a long while, at least until my yearly Dr's physical in May.

 

[CJ]

Weekly Update:

Lost 0.8 lbs to a weekly average of 201.4 lbs.

3794 Cals
395g C
248g P
135g F

I've dropped 5 mm's of caliper bf measurements over 3 sites over the last 7 weeks, while at a similar bodyweight. If weight isn't going up, at least bodyfat is going down. That's a win.

Tried an experiment yesterday. Since I've been pounding carbs for the last 6 months, I wanted to see how my body would react to them being taken out for a day, and those Cals replaced with fats.

Wasn't great, felt sluggish all day, even though I consumed about 4,000 Cals for the day. Ended up eating 230g of fats and 200g of carbs(most were residual carbs from all the nuts and seeds I ate, plus 60g at dinner from spaghetti squash and sauce).

Going to address that going forward. My 2 rest days will now be high fats/low carb to regain some of that metabolic flexibility that I've lost over the last several months. Still quality foods though, like steak stir fry with peppers and mushrooms with olive oil, nuts and seeds, fatty fish, etc..

Workouts have been amazing, feel great in the gym. Taking most sets right up to technical failure(if it's a safe exercise to do so) and some past failure(using partials or rest-pause sets). I like training that way, less sets but closer to failure vs more sets with lots of reps left in the tank.

Cardio is coming along, it's getting easier so I bumped to the resistance level on the bike 2 positions. Also added in some Concept2 rower work. It's been too long since I've used that machine. I used to love it, but it kicked my ass the other day.

Last week before a deload, kids are on vacation next week so we're taking them down to Washington DC to see the sights. After that, a long period of back to TRT and holding on to weight while tightening up a bit.

If you read all this, you should give yourself a thanks and positive rep points! :32 (18):

 

[DEADlifter]

Have fun on DC, brother. What is you TRT dose going to be?

 

[CJ]

Have fun on DC, brother. What is you TRT dose going to be?

140mg/week of Cyp. Split in half on Mon and Thurs.

That puts me at about 850 ng/dl the day after a shot.

 

[Beserker]

Always love a DC trip, we’re only 2 hours away in favorable traffic. Probably too early for the cherry blossoms though..

 

[CJ]

Weekly Update:

Increased my Cals almost 300 per day, still dropped 0.4 lbs to a weekly average of 201.0 lbs.

4073 Cals
356g C
272g P
174g F

Dietary fat intake is way up, as I decided to eat lower carb/higher fats on my two rest days. Just replaced carb Cals with fat Cals. Energy felt much more stable doing that this week, vs last week.

Those 2 days averaged about:
3970 cals
195g C
245g P
240g F

Workouts have been great, except for legs. I needed to deload them this week, I had been piling too much on them. I use Squats on Wednesday morning as my gauge of progress. I build to a Heavy 3 or 5, then do back off sets. The heavy sets have stalled out, and felt like more of a struggle, while I lost a few reps on the back off sets.

Every other bodypart is progressing, I've been eating well, I've been sleeping decent, and I have minimal stress in my life, so I've concluded that I've just been doing too much for the quads, and a deload was in order.

Back to TRT dose after tonight's shot, which will just be the leftover juices in the bottom of the vial. I'm ready to just be back to TRT anyway. I feel great, no issues there, but it's time.

My weight has been pretty stable for 5 weeks now, so I'll just maintain this weight for a few more weeks, before slowly stripping off some excess bodyfat.

Oh yeah, I fukked up. I thought this was going to be a week off from the gym, because we were going down to DC for a week. I messed the dates up, that's not until April.

 

[DEADlifter]

With amping your calories back up are you experiencing the bloated feeling again? If not, how have you combated it?

 

[CJ]

With amping your calories back up are you experiencing the bloated feeling again? If not, how have you combated it?

Nope, not at all. I actually feel much better. Feeling less fat than I have in awhile, even noticing some veins starting to show up in the quads. The big bloated food baby is long gone though, thankfully.

Two things I've changed up:

1. Eating low carb and high fat on my rest day. Similar Cals, just switched up the fuel source. This really has helped hold off the bloat, I believe. Felt like crap the first week though, as my body adjusted back from the neverending carbs I had been eating daily, at pretty much every meal.

2. I've worked up to three 30 minute cardio sessions per week, so that offsets it somewhat as well. Nothing crazy, just LISS on the bike or rower, keeping my heart rate in the 120's.

 

[Voyagersixone]

Ceej -

I'm not sure how I missed this thread. Your girl sounds hilarious. And so much fits in context now.

A 13 pound jump for an elf is pretty substantial. Major props to you. Late to the game, obviously, but looking forward to following along.

Thanks for being one of the brightest lights here dude.

 

[CJ]

6 month progress graph.

The big blip at the end of Dec/early Jan was when I got silly for a few weeks, thinking more food, more food, more food. Just got bloated as fukk, before I straightened it out.

 

[ComeBacKid85]

That’s awesome CJ! Solid, healthy gainz are the best!!! Bloat sucks. Keep it up Boss!!!:32 (1):

 

[CJ]

I think last week's leg deload did the trick. The back squat weight I had been stuck on for a 3 rep top set for the last few weeks, I did today for 6 quality reps, probably could've hit a 7th. Back off sets felt stronger as well.

 

[DEADlifter]

I think last week's leg deload did the trick. The back squat weight I had been stuck on for a 3 rep top set for the last few weeks, I did today for 6 quality reps, probably could've hit a 7th. Back off sets felt stronger as well.

Awesome! Great work, Sir!

 

[Voyagersixone]

View attachment 9239

6 month progress graph.

The big blip at the end of Dec/early Jan was when I got silly for a few weeks, thinking more food, more food, more food. Just got bloated as fukk, before I straightened it out.

!! fukking killer dude. Wtg.

 

[Boogieman]

Good work CJ!!!! I need to be more like you!!!!

 

[CJ]

Weekly Update:

Down 0.2 lbs to a weekly average of 200.8 lbs.

3970 cals
389 g C
274 g P
151 g F

Bodyweight has been fairly stable, over the last 5 weeks I've lost 1.0 lbs while averaging 3990 Cals. So my maintenance Cals is roughly 4100-4200 at this point.

Been back to TRT for week now, 140mg Cyp per week. Still feel the same, gym is going well, no issues, but I've never felt like I was "ON" when taking anything extra anyway.

Going to get a BodPod done next week, to see where I'm at. Thought about a DEXA, but it's almost 4x the cost, and getting it done would eat up a big chunk of my day, and the extra bit of accuracy would be nice, but it's really not needed. I almost went DEXA anyway, because the place also does VO2 max testing, and I've wanted to do that, but again, it's just a number to know without any real reason to know it.

Plan going forward will be to very slowly drop some bodyfat up to my yearly Dr physical in May. I want to be as healthy as possible for that, then afterwards I'll do a good lean down for summer. I think I'm going to go for silly lean, not stage lean, because fukk that, but leaner than I've ever been before.

***Edit: The only place nearby that had a BodPod stopped doing them, so I'm shit outta luck. May do the Dexa at the end then.

 

[Trump]

so your all out plan was to get above 200lb so you could then cut to be below it??

Weekly Update:

Down 0.2 lbs to a weekly average of 200.8 lbs.

3970 cals
389 g C
274 g P
151 g F

Bodyweight has been fairly stable, over the last 5 weeks I've lost 1.0 lbs while averaging 3990 Cals. So my maintenance Cals is roughly 4100-4200 at this point.

Been back to TRT for week now, 140mg Cyp per week. Still feel the same, gym is going well, no issues, but I've never felt like I was "ON" when taking anything extra anyway.

Going to get a BodPod done next week, to see where I'm at. Thought about a DEXA, but it's almost 4x the cost, and getting it done would eat up a big chunk of my day, and the extra bit of accuracy would be nice, but it's really not needed. I almost went DEXA anyway, because the place also does VO2 max testing, and I've wanted to do that, but again, it's just a number to know without any real reason to know it.

Plan going forward will be to very slowly drop some bodyfat up to my yearly Dr physical in May. I want to be as healthy as possible for that, then afterwards I'll do a good lean down for summer. I think I'm going to go for silly lean, not stage lean, because fukk that, but leaner than I've ever been before.

 

[CJ]

so your all out plan was to get above 200lb so you could then cut to be below it??

Sometimes I really dislike you! :32 (18):

But I'll be bigger, and leaner, than last year. Then do it all again next year, but better, with lessons that I've learned this year. I'm in no hurry, I'm just enjoying the process.

Truthfully, I'm a mental mess, and I can't be fluffy in the summer. I would feel gross.

 

[Jin]

Sometimes I really dislike you! :32 (18):

But I'll be bigger, and leaner, than last year. Then do it all again next year, but better, with lessons that I've learned this year. I'm in no hurry, I'm just enjoying the process.

Truthfully, I'm a mental mess, and I can't be fluffy in the summer. I would feel gross.

CJ’s been a centerfold in Long Haul Hunker mag.

 

[ComeBacKid85]

How much did you make to do that shoot CJ? Love the belt buckle. Now that it’s over! I’m going to need my hat back though lol :32 (18):