Cameron Thomas
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Oh no @corinne..
You have me thinking about food now, what have you done! Haha
1. How has nobody said Reeces PB Cups!?!?
2. Cake is kind of boring but… Costco birthday cake every damn time!
3. Way too many condiments to choose one buuut… I’m currently on a Nando’s medium sauce kick with Tuna & rice cakes.
Yum.
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@drdeanstmart thanks for your input Dr Dean I’ll certainly be spending some time looking into that.
Whilst we’re on the topic of AI’s and Oestrogen, just had my full blood panel back.
Everything is surprising in a pretty damn good place which I’m super happy about, elevated liver enzymes are the only area out of range which is to be expected from the orals.
Oestrogen came back at 91pmol/L and to give some context that’s after 6 days of reducing Test to 200mg per/wk and AI use of Aromasin at 12.5mg EOD which was increased from e2d the week prior.
I was running 300mg Test prior to that so I do foresee Oestrogen levels to continue to drop a little lower than that before stabilising.
The decision to make now of course being whether or not I’ll need to increase AI during the final week, which I would only foresee being ever so slightly to make sure I avoid crashing Oestrogen as @corinne mentioned.
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@corinne that’s very true! Only this year have I been a lot more patient and stubborn with sticking to my guns!
Kcal reduction is the plan, ever so slight as I’ll also be increasing Clen this weekend to 60mcg.. which I may bump to 80mcg eventually (didn’t want to initially) if necessary. As I do feel I may be a LITTLE behind at this point but as you said, the prep mind f*ck probably kicking in a little now.
Haven’t been using thyroid medication at all but after running more bloods and discussing with Dr Dean he’s advise 25mcg may be wise considering my low production of FT4 leading to low FT3.Thank you so much for that positive feedback though, that honestly means a lot!
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@corinne that’s always good to hear!
The big glutes are a gift when lean but a curse in the off season I think!
Bloods being taken today so I’ll be sure to update where Oestrogen is at now I’m at 3.5 weeks out. It’d be interesting to read about the difference now you’ve said that.
That does make sense now you’ve put it in that context.. almost starting from a clean slate for your first prep doing the absolute minimum, and then layering it on prep by prep to monitor changes in look. Hmm.. interesting. I wonder if anybody has ever had that patience!
Another good point!
I’m assuming your approach would be to off-set that with other tools as opposed to increasing duration/intensity of cardio! 😉
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Hey Matthew, in terms of my gaining phase I did take more of a nutrient timing approach in respect to placing carbohydrates solely around the workout perimeter and the last meal of the day.
(I train fasted in the AM most days)
However during prep I’ve simply spread my carbohydrates fairly evenly, post workout is my biggest hit of carbs however!
In my opinion we’re going to be very receptive to carbohydrates at this stage at any point during the day with body composition being in a good place hence insulin sensitivity is unlikely to be an issue. Therefore it’s a case of running with a macro set-up meal by meal based off of what can be adhered to and that is conducive to optimising recovery/performance!
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Darius – I think it depends on the duration you plan to use it for, but from what I’ve read on these forums and from what I’ve been advised when I asked Dr Dean is that receptor down-regulation doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue.
Just from what I’ve interpreted as a result of looking at literature also.
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UPDATE – 4 weeks out
How’s it going guys, so… I can officially say the contest prep feeling has kicked in now for sure. I’m at that level of body fat where I can ‘feel’ it, daily tasks starting to take a little more effort in general and energy levels somewhat diminished.
I was wondering when this might happen! So in a sense, it’s welcomed with warm embrace LOL.
Recap of changes last week:
All remaining beef/steak meals across the week have now been replaced with either chicken or tuna, to leave macros going in this week at:
Upper body, legs, pull training days
220p 300cPush, arms, rest day prior to push day
220p 275c (remaining fats from protein now removed)Rest day prior to upper body day
220p 300cI also implemented a calculated refeed at the end of the week on Friday on my rest day.
Bodyweight:
I woke up on the morning of 4 weeks out (post refeed) at 208.4lbs and gained nothing from the increased food intake. The following day I dropped to a new low of 207.2lbs which I weighed in at again today.
There was certainly a positive response physique wise as the check-in video I took on that day 2 days post-refeed was definitely the tightest I’d been yet, it also reinforced the fact that I could have potentially fed up more!
Performance:
Dare I say it, performance is hanging in there. This has been the first week where recovery has noticeably slowed down and I’ve certainly reached my maximum recoverable volume for the majority of my workout rotations. From this point I’ll likely begin slowly tapering down volume, coming initially from the ‘metabolic’ style sets as opposed to my bread and butter working sets to reflect this drop off in recovery capability.
Changes going into week 9:
Again, I’ve held back on the addition of more cardio based on the advice from @corinne, as my fear of losing my legs significantly outweighs my need for more food right now, so food reductions have been simple:
Pulled 65g carbs from my leg day macro’s and placed these same macro’s on my deadlift day also which was slightly higher before.
Pulled 25g carbs from all other training days.
Increased both rest day LISS sessions to 45 min.
Stuck with the initial plan being to decrease 200mg per week and Primobolan introduced at 200mg per week as discussed before as I am intrigued to see how this translates to my look (if at all) in this next month.
The plan was to introduce 30mg Winstrol as of 4 weeks out but I’ve decided to hold back on that until I feel I can truly benefit from its visual enhancing effects.
Refeed:
So after the first refeed attempt and the response in terms of my physique and the drop in scale weight almost immediately, I’ve decided to fill up again today which was my next scheduled rest day.
Calculated refeed again as before but this time an additional 25g carbs to each meal.
Meal 1-3 macros for the refeed being 45p, 125c, 10f
Meal 4 45p, 125c, 20fLet’s see where that puts me.
Physique updates attached!
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@Darius Awesome man, I’ve been running Clen consistently so I haven’t been cycling it at all. Started at 20mcg for 3 weeks, tapered up to 40mcg for 3 weeks and as of this coming Saturday I plan to take to 60mcg.
60mcg was the max I intended to use this time around but may potentially take to 80mcg depending on where I am at 2 weeks out.
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I very much agree with @Dan here..
It’s not going to be a magic cure for poor mid-section control, it’s more of a mental cue for you to keep your TVA in check throughout the day because you physically can’t let it fall asleep.
In that sense, it COULD therefore be utilised for a period of time to reinforce that awareness of your TVA.. but if you leave that band-aid on and don’t carry over the TVA control when you aren’t wearing it, then, in my opinion, it’s useless.
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@corinne I think I likely will drop it to be able to troubleshoot a little more objectively, few more days at 20mg can’t do any harm though can it!? Haha! The mindset to be peeled taking over there.
What would cause aromasin to bottom about E as opposed to arimidex?
OK, interesting for sure. I love your input on this, as I’m very undecided. Verging between wanting to experiment to learn more about how different compounds can act together or focusing more on what will actually lead to a better package. Balance I guess! As I want to take as much away from this experience wise as possible.
I’m on the same page for sure in terms of cardio vs food reduction. I feel my leg recovery is slowing down also so increasing cardio is only going to hinder that more so… looks like it’ll be time to pull some food. I’m not scared of taking food low by any means.
I’ll probably pull the equivalent calorie wise to what an hour of cardio would have facilitated in terms of energy output. So likely circa 800 kcals across the week, I think ideally at 200-203lbs going into peak week I’ll be in a good spot so there I do need to up the gears a little imo.
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Yeah I think your probably right! Interesting on the Yohimbine, makes sense to be able to be able to troubleshoot daily changes without that blurring your ability to do so. I was going to up to 20mcg’s at 3 weeks out but probably consider dropping it this weekend now like you said!
Yeah with Oestrogen my thought process now was to slowly taper down between now and peak week until it’s sitting below 50pmol/L, I’ll have this checked again next Wednesday to see where I’m at.
AI was upped to EOD 🙂 only reason I’ve been using aromasin this year is supposedly less harsh on lipids which for me usually take a big hit, also with it being suicidial (or non-suicidial?) in terms of the rebound out the back end.
Do you think the added compound would reach its effect say implemented now and then for a show in 10 weeks? The show I’m 4.5 weeks out from will just be the first show of a small run of shows I plan on doing.
I’ll hold back on the Winny until three I think for sure.
Clen I planned on upping to 60mcgs at 3 out!
In my mind I like where food is at currently and was verging more towards adding a little more cardio from next week which I know your going to be skeptical of haha! I do have a lot of food to play with on my leg days in all honesty but still feel like my legs are holding out well!
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@corinne I hadn’t bared that in mind so that’s super helpful about the Yohimbine, I did plan on pulling it one week out along with clen – is that sufficient? Hahaha knowing me and my water retention, I’m probably the same!
I got Oestrogen back, so that was at 130pmol/L about a week and a half ago. Since then I’ve upped Aromasin as of last weekend. I’ve ordered a TSH and T4 kit to dig a little deeper into the low T3 so will keep you updated on that!
Plan was this coming weekend (4 out) to reduce test to 200mg, introduce 200mg Primo & also 20mg Winstrol.
But I’m now thinking I might keep Winstrol in my pocket until 3 or even maybe 2 weeks out.
I’ve been advised Primo likely won’t reach it’s full effect with such a low dose or in that time frame, but with what I’ve got access to right now I’m restricted to that so I think I’m going to run with it.
Hmmmmm so you’ve got me pinching everywhere on my body like a mad man, but I’m going to verge on the side of it feeling like thick skin I think!?
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Hey @corinne
I want my glutes to be in pretty damn bad I can’t lie, but there are definitely some upper body spots I can still pinch that need tightening up.
Glad you’ve noticed a little extra condition!
Yep will be topping up this Friday, I’m feeling on the ‘flatter’ side this week from the slight drop food for sure despite performance still being good.
I’m keen to see what my bodies response will be look-wise but also scale weight, as it’s been very stagnant still.
Attached some pics from today’s posing video to show the changes so far this week 🙂
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UPDATE – 5 weeks out
Time is closing in now, another productive week in terms of everything prep related. No crazy changes in terms of the look but that wasn’t to be expected with fairly moderate changes going in from 6 out.
Recap of changes last week:
Clenbuterol up to 40mcg (from 20mcg)
Yohimbine up to 15mg (from 10mg)
Flank steak out on both remaining two leg days for chicken breast.Bodyweight:
The trend this week has been predominantly sub 210lbs which seems me around 0.6lbs down on average. Still not a huge shift in scale weight, and I do think I’ll need to be around 200lbs on stage for this first show to be close to the condition I know I can achieve.
Performance:
Still ticking over very well in the gym where it counts. Fatigue from ‘prep’ in general has been kicking in at times, so it’s at this stage assessing how I feel in the gym takes my mind off of how shit I may be feeling outside… to make sure any decisions I make are based on what should be a better indicator of recovery etc.
Logbook numbers being consistently beaten, volume still tapering up with the addition of more metabolic focused sets. I think I’ve probably reached my peak recoverable volume now so I’ll hold here until I feel as though energy input no longer allows that extra volume to be productive or warranted.
Blood work / thyroid output:
Still holding out on adding any T3 until I can see where TSH is at, bloods being taken this Wednesday so by three weeks out I should be able to decide whether or that’s a tool to consider. If it is, I’d imagine that will make a huge difference in the few final weeks.
General progress:
Physique wise and fat loss wise I still feel as though my lower body is tightening up and my upper body seems to have been a little more stubborn. Still a good pinch of fat especially on my arms, so the changes this week reflect that.
Changes going into week 8:
All remaining beef/steak meals across the week have now been replaced with either chicken or tuna, which leaves my macros at:
Upper body, legs, pull training days
220p 300cPush, arms, rest day prior to push day
220p 275c (remaining fats from protein now removed)Rest day prior to upper body day
220p 300cIf you include all trace nutrients this leaves my highest day at 2,700kcal and lowest day at 2,200.
Only other change is an increase in the frequency of my aromasin dosing which I’ve now increased to every other day as opposed to every 2 days.
Refeed:
What I do plan on doing, as I know after a full week of implementing these changes I’m going to feel very flat and deflated, is refeeding on Friday.
With this prep being very much an experimental process for me and after watching closely how Matt Jansen ran his refeed days during his prep, I’m very interested to see how my body responds in this condition to some extra calories.
So that is the plan Friday, which will be a rest day, and will almost replicate a moderate ‘carb-up’ for the show which would land on Sunday morning. So a cool chance to assess my bodies response from this.
My approach to this is simple, I’m going to bring protein down from 55g per meal to 40g.
Increase carbohydrates at every meal to 100g.
Add 10g fats to meal 1-2 and 20g fats to meal 4.
After that, we assess where I’m at, see how the scales respond and more than likely push harder into week 9 before repeating the same process.
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That was a massive improvement James, should be proud of that showing.
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