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nychardgainer
New member
I've been browsing this board and others for some time now and continue to contemplate a cycle of some sort late this year. I'm 30 and have been training for about six years now, but had a two year gap in the middle where life got in the way and I threw in the towel. I've been back at it now for about 18 months. I consider myself a true hard gainer. When not training (i.e., during my gap), my body weight heads south to about 140 pounds. My appetite is generally not that strong and I feel like I have to work harder on eating than I do in the gym.
Today I'm at 175 pounds and have been for the past few months. I've been training predominately with the Madcows 5x5 program and my strength has increased to the following:
Bench - 225x5
Squat - 275x5
Bent Row - 200x5
Deadlift - 300x5
Overhead Press - 135x5
These gains are impressive to me. When I started training I couldn't even get 135x1 on the bench. Squats were originally in the 150x5 range and I couldn't overhead press more than 80 pounds!
My gains stalled out in November and I moved to a four day split (Chest & Tris / Back & Bis / Shoulders & Traps / Legs) at higher reps (8-12). I've not made any additional weight gains in the past two or three months, but I have continued to increase in strength and I believe some of the fat I've accumulated in the belly region has gone down and I've added muscle. I also think I've rounded out any imbalances and my overall physique feels more balanced and more full. I also feel stronger.
I'm currently eating 3200 calories a day and getting at least 200 grams of protein (on workout days I get substantially more because I take 50 pre and 50 post). I was previously eating approx 4000, but gained substantial amounts of excess fat (BF approx. 18 - 20%) almost entirely in my midsection and dialed the calories back a bit.
I've done quite a bit of research, although its been more focused in the world of prohormones. I've even put together an H-Drol cycle, but am wondering if it makes more sense to go for the real thing.
I'm putting aside my four-day split and going back to madcows 5x5 to see if I can re-ignite the progress I was making on that program before. I'm definitely going to stay natural for a bit longer as I want to make sure I've really exhausted the gains I can get without "help" before I enter into the world of PH or AAS.
I haven't gotten any blood work done yet, but will definitely do so before making any final decisions.
My questions are fairly generic. Do you guys think I'm ready for this? If I go this route, am I going to find it exceedingly difficult to continue making gains once I've completed my cycle (I'm not referring to maintaining cycle gains, I'm more worried about ending any future natural gains)? Would I be better served with the legal PH/DS substances or would an injectable AAS ultimately be better for my progression as well as my body?
This board has been a tremendous resource to me and I'm grateful. I'd be most appreciative of any advice you guys could offer me.
Today I'm at 175 pounds and have been for the past few months. I've been training predominately with the Madcows 5x5 program and my strength has increased to the following:
Bench - 225x5
Squat - 275x5
Bent Row - 200x5
Deadlift - 300x5
Overhead Press - 135x5
These gains are impressive to me. When I started training I couldn't even get 135x1 on the bench. Squats were originally in the 150x5 range and I couldn't overhead press more than 80 pounds!
My gains stalled out in November and I moved to a four day split (Chest & Tris / Back & Bis / Shoulders & Traps / Legs) at higher reps (8-12). I've not made any additional weight gains in the past two or three months, but I have continued to increase in strength and I believe some of the fat I've accumulated in the belly region has gone down and I've added muscle. I also think I've rounded out any imbalances and my overall physique feels more balanced and more full. I also feel stronger.
I'm currently eating 3200 calories a day and getting at least 200 grams of protein (on workout days I get substantially more because I take 50 pre and 50 post). I was previously eating approx 4000, but gained substantial amounts of excess fat (BF approx. 18 - 20%) almost entirely in my midsection and dialed the calories back a bit.
I've done quite a bit of research, although its been more focused in the world of prohormones. I've even put together an H-Drol cycle, but am wondering if it makes more sense to go for the real thing.
I'm putting aside my four-day split and going back to madcows 5x5 to see if I can re-ignite the progress I was making on that program before. I'm definitely going to stay natural for a bit longer as I want to make sure I've really exhausted the gains I can get without "help" before I enter into the world of PH or AAS.
I haven't gotten any blood work done yet, but will definitely do so before making any final decisions.
My questions are fairly generic. Do you guys think I'm ready for this? If I go this route, am I going to find it exceedingly difficult to continue making gains once I've completed my cycle (I'm not referring to maintaining cycle gains, I'm more worried about ending any future natural gains)? Would I be better served with the legal PH/DS substances or would an injectable AAS ultimately be better for my progression as well as my body?
This board has been a tremendous resource to me and I'm grateful. I'd be most appreciative of any advice you guys could offer me.
