So what do all of you do with the off season (if indeed you do have an off season)?

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It takes two to lie, Marge. One to lie and one to believe it.

I feel like Im being robbed. This is the time of year I just go all out to make gains and not worry too much about fat or anything. These are always the biggest and best gains, being that I can be a lot more free with my diet and worry about the aftermath as the warm weather approaches!
Well, there MAY be light at the end of the tunnel. I order 10 lbs of Monsters Secret Formula Custom Blended MRP. So mabye I'll have a shot at it after all...
Im a little light in the ole' gear box, but Im sure I can scrap something together... (4 bottles T200, 12 amps Sustanon, 25 amps proprionate, 50 clomid and 300 clen). If one of my cheap-ass friends would scrape some money together we'll go in on some orals and I'll be good to go!
Hey! Im feeling a little better now! (I better go look at the picture again and bring myself back to reality )
Mabye if I start making nice gains I'll post it as a before picture... so my shame can drive me to greater heights!
Heh heh, self pity ROCKS!!!

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It takes two to lie, Marge. One to lie and one to believe it.

Sassy, I hear ya! I feel PMSy too! I just cant get into doing anything but the gym, nothing sounds appetising to eat, nothing sounds fun to do...
Yeah, the tan thing too. I cant spare the cash to go tan, so Im stuck being pale.

HA!

And guess what?......I don't give two flying fahooties!!!!!

My home is a wreck!!! (To answer your question Temple) We DIDN'T buy our tree yet. I did help the kids make their teachers' and hubby's Christmas presents, but as for the rest.....I almost had a heart attack when people told me Christmas is ONE week away!!!!! Shit, I thought I had at LEAST another week and 1/2!

I have pushed my body so hard for so long, withouht adequate rest that I am taking antibiotics for the THIRD time in 8 weeks. What's wrong with this picture? So, I am chilling and taking the next week or so to get my home and personal affairs in order. My baby just turned four and she will soon be old enough to realize that it isn't Baby Jesus that brings the presents, but mom and dad. How tragic would it be if I missed this? For what? "The perfect body"? Come on, we ALL need to give ourselves a break!

As far as being lean year round. I was trapped there for about two years. The progress I made from my first bulking cycle alone makes me want to kick myself for all the time I wasted, all the growth I could've exprienced if I would just have stopped chasing after the anorexic Barbie dolls at the pansy ass gym where I train. I now have enough shape and mass where I am quite comfortable in my own skin whether I am at 12% bf or 18%. The way I look at it. If my nice BIG ROUND ROCK HARD ASS offends you, then look at something else!

It is quite sad now that when I see my old training partner (zero %bf ALL THE TIME) she looks like she would fall over if I LOOKED at her hard enough, FORGET if I pushed her! Not that I am "all that" by any stretch of the imagination, but I have confidence,size, shape and STRENGTH!

I can definitely relate to the "off-season" blues, but I feel fortunate to NOT experience this. I am actually quite pleased (though not thrilled about hacking up green shit all nite long) to have a break.

SO GIVE YOURSELVES A BREAK! SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!!!! YOU HAVE THE REST OF YOUR LIVES TO TORTURE YOURSELVES IN THE GYM!!!

.....AND THAT'S AN ORDER!!!! >:O

I beleive it was explained to you that NOV,DEC and 1/2 of January are (eat what ever the hell you want months and NO PHOTO SHOOTS)

Plus when I check the boards I see replies posted by you at 12 or 1 in the morning and with 4 kids needing to get ready for school I can't see now you get more than 5 or 6 hours/ sleep per day.

that a 14 hour sleep deficit per week, so you getting sick with your hectic schedule, lack of sleep and training regimen, Plus being on a restricted calorie diet is no great mystery.

Hope you feel better,

There, I said it! Are you happy now?! :PP

I'm just so used to pushing, pushing, pushing....I'm not used to taking it easy and relaxing. It's that DAMNED protestant work ethic!

Hey, guess what I'm going to be doing today? After re-organizing the house (cleaning BEFORE the cleaning people show up LOL!), donating coats at local toy store, grocery shopping, taking child #2 to yearly check-up, getting Christmas tree, homework, dinner, laundry and setting up and decorating tree.....?

BAKING OATMEAL COOKIES and GINGERBREAD CAKE.......I happen to know some people who REALLY like oatmeal cookies.

Oh yes, this is a slow day.

Captain Insano: Well, I stop for both reasons. I like to take at least 4 weeks off after an 8 week cycle, of course this is a TRUE 8 week cycle, not some peoples version of an 8 weeker. A lot of people will (for instance) shoot sustanon for all 8 weeks and figure thats an 8 week cycle, but forget about deesterification and actually not be clean for as long as 12 weeks.
I make sure I build my cycles to have EVERYTHING clear by the time I plan for it to be.
I seldom use any orals, or anything liver/kidney toxic, so that gives me a little more leeway. My main area of recovery is my receptors and endocrine system (at times my testicles and I are not on speaking terms...), whereas with 17aa stuff you need to consider allowing liver values to return to normal.
By choice or by financial-rectal-reaming, I usually end up taking a straight 2 to 3 months off every year.
My cycles seem heavy to some, but I do what I know I can handle and what I need to get results. Ive gone real heavy before, like 1750mg of sustanon a week, but saw no better results than 1000mg a week.
For an 8 week cycle I'll do 1000mg of sustanon for 4 weeks and end the cycle with something faster acting, like prop at 100mg EOD then tapering it down to 50mg EOD and bringing it to a nice clean finish at the 8 week mark.
I use clomid starting a week before Im clean and for 4 weeks after, but no more (to avoid a negative feedback loop from the clomid) and I never use HCG. I never use anti estrogens either, though I have them on hand in case of emergencies. For some reason, I never seem to suffer from estrogen related problems. Mabye a touch of high blood pressure, but little to no edema and no gyno or anything!?!?

I dont think more than 1000mg of sustanon is ever needed. I was 275lbs+ and still made gains with 1000mg.