- Joined
- Apr 9, 2018
- Messages
- 24
Howdy ya'll, this is my first post to this board, so I figure I should let you guys know a bit about me, where I've been recently, and where I am going.
I am a soldier, though I no longer serve, I have and will always remain, a soldier. I was in excellent physical conditioning, and worked out in one form or another 5 to 6 days a week, operations permitting of course, for the physical and aesthetic reasons, and also for the mental release and stability that can only be found in exertion and bringing your body to an ever better state.
Through the course of my duties I racked up injuries that eventually ended my career, and my way of life as I knew it. Instead of bringing my body to closer to perfection, I felt helpless as I watched it fall apart. My body was damaged, my physical brain was damaged, and my heart was broken. This downward spiral went on for a few years, full body convulsions that lasted hours intense enough to tear muscles, break down enough muscle tissue to damage my kidneys from rhabdomyolysis (wiki that shit, it suuuuuuucks) damage to my pituitary and endocrine system that left me with the testosterone level of an 85 year old man on a good day, severe anemia forcing me to receive blood transfusions sometimes several times in a month. Basically, I was a fucking mess. If I was to list everything I would never finish this entry, but for the purposes of this post let's leave it at that.
In the hospital, fighting a life threatening infection for the umpteenth time, I reached out to a Ranger buddy who is in another battalion and also served at the same time as I had. We shared our stories, new and old, laughed at names we both knew, fights we had fought together, cried for brothers lost, and scratched our heads at just how everything had gone so tits up since. We had some of the same issues, but also shared an unflappable resiliency to survive. He was the first person to suggest I try hormone replacement. I had never considered it as an option, when healthy I could accomplish my goals naturally, so I didn't know much about it aside from what other comrades told me about their cycles. When I got out of the hospital, I got started on a cycle designed to increase my red blood count, and bring my lean body mass back to healthy level. I was 225 on average and fairly lean at the time of my life changing injury, and in a few years ended up struggling greatly to stay around 150 lbs and out of the hospital for a few months.
He started me on EQ, NPP, and testosterone, and on nothing more than faith in a fellow Ranger, began working out again for the first time in years. We worked around my injuries, and paced things as my body permitted. In a few weeks, the effects of the cycle were becoming apparent. Appetite, for the first time in years appeared. My recovery went from spending a day or two in hell after each workout, far beyond typical post workout soreness when first starting, something I was very familiar with after recovering from other injuries and surgeries and getting back in the gym, became workable and easier to get back the next day. My face began to look a little bit like me again in the mirror. My functions as man began returning. I felt the first genuine flashes of hope I had felt in YEARS. Through relentless encouragement and accountability, being on an effective cycle to start bringing things back to normal, and a deep personal drive to never give in or surrender to the circumstances I found myself in, I rapidly saw results. I began putting on solid, lean muscle, feeling strong, feeling healthy, feeling vibrant, a feeling I can only describe as "Fuck this, I'm not going to die like this. I've beaten worse, and I'm beating this." In 9 months, I put on 50 pounds at my highest weight of good clean weight. I have DOUBLED my red blood cell count and am very close to no longer being anemic. For those who understand these things, my red blood cell count bounced between 6 and 7.8 unless I needed and received a transfusion, and now I hover around 13. Due to the altitude of my location I need to have a red blood cell count of 16 to no longer be anemic. Despite not making cut off I'm DAMN PROUD to have doubled my count. I have not been hospitalized since starting hormone replacement, my marriage has never been stronger post injury, and my family is blown away at seeing me coming back.
I would never recommend that someone sitting on the couch for years take gear to get their shit together and get off the couch. I wasnt doing this for vanity or to cut corners, I did and am doing this to level the playing field, to do the things my brain and body can no longer do for itself. Unfortunately, I faced some struggles with my physical and neurological health, and personal life that derailed me for a couple months. I learned important lessons about the fragility of my progress, and how to protect it. Now I have taken the steps to protect my program, chart my direction for the next few months, I figure this is an outstanding opportunity to log my progress and protocols. I'm no longer fighting off my deathbed, I'm at a fairly average starting point for the average person, and after a forced break, have a clearly defined point of reference for starting again, I hope to find some things out about myself, my methods, and how to refine those. And just maybe, some of you can learn some things yourself, and I'm damn sure, you will teach me quite a few things along the way.
Next I will be posting my cycle, some "before" pics to show where I'm starting today, and my plans. If you have advice, speak up. If you have criticisms, speak up. If you just want to say what's up, well fuck off, there are other places for that. Just kidding! I'm looking forward to this, and I'm looking forward to getting to know some of you.
Next I'll be posting my protocol, source, and my starting photos.
I am a soldier, though I no longer serve, I have and will always remain, a soldier. I was in excellent physical conditioning, and worked out in one form or another 5 to 6 days a week, operations permitting of course, for the physical and aesthetic reasons, and also for the mental release and stability that can only be found in exertion and bringing your body to an ever better state.
Through the course of my duties I racked up injuries that eventually ended my career, and my way of life as I knew it. Instead of bringing my body to closer to perfection, I felt helpless as I watched it fall apart. My body was damaged, my physical brain was damaged, and my heart was broken. This downward spiral went on for a few years, full body convulsions that lasted hours intense enough to tear muscles, break down enough muscle tissue to damage my kidneys from rhabdomyolysis (wiki that shit, it suuuuuuucks) damage to my pituitary and endocrine system that left me with the testosterone level of an 85 year old man on a good day, severe anemia forcing me to receive blood transfusions sometimes several times in a month. Basically, I was a fucking mess. If I was to list everything I would never finish this entry, but for the purposes of this post let's leave it at that.
In the hospital, fighting a life threatening infection for the umpteenth time, I reached out to a Ranger buddy who is in another battalion and also served at the same time as I had. We shared our stories, new and old, laughed at names we both knew, fights we had fought together, cried for brothers lost, and scratched our heads at just how everything had gone so tits up since. We had some of the same issues, but also shared an unflappable resiliency to survive. He was the first person to suggest I try hormone replacement. I had never considered it as an option, when healthy I could accomplish my goals naturally, so I didn't know much about it aside from what other comrades told me about their cycles. When I got out of the hospital, I got started on a cycle designed to increase my red blood count, and bring my lean body mass back to healthy level. I was 225 on average and fairly lean at the time of my life changing injury, and in a few years ended up struggling greatly to stay around 150 lbs and out of the hospital for a few months.
He started me on EQ, NPP, and testosterone, and on nothing more than faith in a fellow Ranger, began working out again for the first time in years. We worked around my injuries, and paced things as my body permitted. In a few weeks, the effects of the cycle were becoming apparent. Appetite, for the first time in years appeared. My recovery went from spending a day or two in hell after each workout, far beyond typical post workout soreness when first starting, something I was very familiar with after recovering from other injuries and surgeries and getting back in the gym, became workable and easier to get back the next day. My face began to look a little bit like me again in the mirror. My functions as man began returning. I felt the first genuine flashes of hope I had felt in YEARS. Through relentless encouragement and accountability, being on an effective cycle to start bringing things back to normal, and a deep personal drive to never give in or surrender to the circumstances I found myself in, I rapidly saw results. I began putting on solid, lean muscle, feeling strong, feeling healthy, feeling vibrant, a feeling I can only describe as "Fuck this, I'm not going to die like this. I've beaten worse, and I'm beating this." In 9 months, I put on 50 pounds at my highest weight of good clean weight. I have DOUBLED my red blood cell count and am very close to no longer being anemic. For those who understand these things, my red blood cell count bounced between 6 and 7.8 unless I needed and received a transfusion, and now I hover around 13. Due to the altitude of my location I need to have a red blood cell count of 16 to no longer be anemic. Despite not making cut off I'm DAMN PROUD to have doubled my count. I have not been hospitalized since starting hormone replacement, my marriage has never been stronger post injury, and my family is blown away at seeing me coming back.
I would never recommend that someone sitting on the couch for years take gear to get their shit together and get off the couch. I wasnt doing this for vanity or to cut corners, I did and am doing this to level the playing field, to do the things my brain and body can no longer do for itself. Unfortunately, I faced some struggles with my physical and neurological health, and personal life that derailed me for a couple months. I learned important lessons about the fragility of my progress, and how to protect it. Now I have taken the steps to protect my program, chart my direction for the next few months, I figure this is an outstanding opportunity to log my progress and protocols. I'm no longer fighting off my deathbed, I'm at a fairly average starting point for the average person, and after a forced break, have a clearly defined point of reference for starting again, I hope to find some things out about myself, my methods, and how to refine those. And just maybe, some of you can learn some things yourself, and I'm damn sure, you will teach me quite a few things along the way.
Next I will be posting my cycle, some "before" pics to show where I'm starting today, and my plans. If you have advice, speak up. If you have criticisms, speak up. If you just want to say what's up, well fuck off, there are other places for that. Just kidding! I'm looking forward to this, and I'm looking forward to getting to know some of you.
Next I'll be posting my protocol, source, and my starting photos.