Breakin' The Plateau - Test/Tren Log

[02z06]

Hello ladies and gentlemen! The time has FINALLY come to get a real cycle ran through and hopefully break some plateaus I've been stuck at for a long time.

Last year I competed in my first bodybuilding competition and am ready to do some serious growing.

Nutrition:

My calories currently fall at right around 3000 on both training and non training days(training slightly over, off days slightly under).

Protein is at 350g per day with fat/carbs varying.

I always do either pro/fat or pro/carb meals.

I do have questions regarding how much I should pump up calories for the cycle listed below.

Training:

I tend to gravitate toward higher volume approaches. I have done 5/3/1 for about a year and a half and had great results but I am seeing some imbalances and have also done DC through the years. I tend to 'mentally' burn out on DC before I do physically. I get so focused on beating that number that I sacrifice form & don't feel like I utilize the muscle the best.

So, I am using Skip's 'periodized volume' approach(essentially I do blasts with every week increasing the work sets per exercise, so week 1 is 2 work sets, week 2 3 work sets, etc etc.. I usually don't exceed 4 working sets as I feel like I'm smoked at that point.

Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Chest/Shoulders/Tri's
Day 3: Back/Bi's

I workout 4 days per week, so I restart the cycle slightly shorter than a week long.

Cycle:

I've got some experience with cycles, nothing terribly heavy however, and now that I know how to eat I feel like I will accomplish a lot more. I've not ran tren yet. I used to run long esters but am ready for a more 'pronounced' effect.

Week 1-12: 100mg Test Prop EOD
Week 1-12: 150mg Tren Ace EOD

Keeping cabergoline on hand in case sides come up. PCT will be Tamox unless I've got other recommendations.

Goal:

I am currently sitting at 175 ~10% bf(average of 3 point caliper rating and electronic method). Competed at 167lbs & got 1st in my weight class and 2nd overall. I've been as heavy as 247 and started this whole thing at about 120.

I do not honestly know what is a 'expected' result from this form of cycle. Would 20lbs be unreasonable? I feel as if I have been stuck for awhile now & am ready to push the boundaries.

Will toss some pictures up shortly. Thanks for the awesome forum, everybody!

 

[02z06]

Been lifting 8 years..5'7"!

Sent from my Motorola RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk

 

[02z06]

Got new pictures & I was incorrect on my bodyfat reading, I believe I am more at 12% based on readings/look.

I'm very much looking forward to actually making some headway. I have been taking measurments ever since my competition & there have been very minimal if any improvements. I am very frustrated with my bodys ability to build muscle.

 

[02z06]

Had a great 4 day vacation with the lady & pretty much gorged myself on protein the whole time. Got some extra food in also...

Hit first shot today. Smooth as butter. 100testp/150trena.

Excited as hell to see how the short esters react.

 

[gettnlarge01]

Since this is your first time with tren I'd start with 75mg/EOD and run it 8 weeks instead of 12. How many total calories are you planning on taking in? What is your goal for weight and body fat with this cycle?

 

[02z06]

Thanks gettnlarge! Right now a typical training day is ~3300 calories..350g protein..around 250g carbs.

I am trying to decide what to do calorie wise. I've been maintaining pretty good at this level of calories. I want to gain as much muscle possible with as minimal bodyfat gain as possible. Quite frankly I am not quite sure what to expect in terms of increase in LBM. I know everybody gains at different rates & apparently my body frigging hates putting anything other than fat on.

What would be a 'attainable' goal, you think?

 

[02z06]

Ok this is where I am at on a typical training day. I forgot about 4 weeks ago I dropped it back a bit.

319 pro 238 carb 74 fat 2886 cal

First day workout on..felt good..no sluggishness or anything. Considerable 'lump' formation..gotta remember to rub that crap.

Push Day
Incline smith press - 12+6+3@140(rest pause, slow). 8@90
Hammer Chest press machine - 4x12 @ 110
Fly machine - 4x8@90

Hammer shoulder press machine - 8+4+2(rp)@180. 9@90
Bent rear lateral - 4x10@35's
seated side lateral - 4x10@20's

Overhead rope tricep extension - 4x12@40
CG pushup - 2x10(failed)


My weights are considerably down from my last DC blast, primarily because I am trying to focus on feeling the muscle more rather than just blasting through. For example on chest press machine I was using 300lbs for ~24 reps rest paused during DC blast. As can be seen..this was significantly lower, but felt way more in the chest.

 

[gettnlarge01]

During a tren /test cycle my diet looks like Protein 500g, Carbs 200g and Fats 60g. I gain 10-15lbs during a 20-week cycle. My main goal is leaning out while adding a few pounds but my body responds very well to Tren. To me it's a great cycle to use for adding lean mass if you can handle the side effects.

 

[02z06]

Is most of that weight retained after pct? thank you for your numbers man! I appreciate it greatly.

I will probably bump things up slightly starting next week. I already feel as if I'm hungrier. would that be a placebo effect?

 

[gettnlarge01]

Because of my age I stay on 200mg/week of test e to cruise between cycles. I keep most of the weight but lose the hardness. the guys I've had run a cycle like that have kept half the weight after PCT.

 

[gettnlarge01]

I would add in more tricep work. Given what you're already doing I would add 3 sets of overhead dunmbell extensions and lying tricep extension with the EZ bar.

 

[02z06]

Leg Day

Smith Squat - 4x8@200 paused
Seated leg curl - 4x10@90
1 Leg 45 degree leg press - 4x10@180
Bulgarian split squat - 3x12 w/ 25lb wt..did a few drop sets to finish this one out
Leg Extension - 3x10 3 drop sets
Standing calf press - 4x20

Sweating like a fricking pig today. Quads already cramping.

I will definitely add in some more tricep work. The advice is great man..I am always looking for ways to switch it up.

 

[02z06]

Pull Day

Pulldown - 10x2,8,6@270
Underhand EZ bar row - [email protected]
Smith T-Bar Row( I love these ) - 4x8
Back extension - 2x20@bw+20

Alternating cable curl - 2x12, 2x10
Reverse grip BB curl - 3x10
DB hammer curl - 1x10, 1x10 drop set from 35's to 30 to 25 to 20

Thoughts:

I am freaking hungry as hell, and ridiculously sweaty. I take it that means things are working correctly?

Seeing as I am so hungry..should I eat?? I would take it as a sign that my body is ready for more food but I don't want to fluff up a lot on this cycle.

 

[gettnlarge01]

Tren will make you sweat like a mad man so take an extra shower a day.. Don't be afraid to eat when you're hungry it's a good sign. When you do eat those extra calories concentrate on making it protein. The more protein the better... Keep up the good work, you're on your way to seeing a big difference.

 

[02z06]

Up 5lbs so far this week. DAMN. Pretty excited about that. Feeling slightly pumped all the time which I really like.

Gettnlarge - my thoughts exactly on the food. I've noticed that I have meal 6 at like 7pm and by 9pm when I go to bed I'm still starving so I am doing like a 6oz egg white/water/blended protein mix that is holding me over well.

 

[gettnlarge01]

If it doesn't mess up your sleep what I do is get up around 3am and have another protein shake with 60g protein in it. Have you noticed any difference yet in your BF%? I mainly go by how I look in the mirror but do check it every couple weeks to know where I'm at, how effective my program is working and if I need to make any adjustments.

 

[02z06]

I used to do that back in the day..would be a great addition! I do body fat via calipers & electronic reader every Saturday. so far its holding steady at 15% on electronic methods & 13% via a 3 point caliper.

 

[gettnlarge01]

How much body weight have you added since starting the cycle?

 

[gettnlarge01]

How are you looking in the mirror? Are you seeing the changes you wanted?

 

[02z06]

5lbs up from my 'baseline' weight so far. Seeing as I am only 1 week in should I notice a huge visual change? I can definitely see some vascularity differences & striations in shoulders.