get big and die?

alan1973 · Apr 25, 2007

In Feb I was doing great except for high blood pressure that was starting to soar through the roof. my strength and size was the best ever and my BF was around 16-17% weighing in at 235 at 5'11.5".
then I ruptured my bicep, spent 6 weeks out of the gym. lost 8 lbs and got fat to 23%.
i realized then that I was just so unhealthy. I did ZERO cardio for a whole year for the sake of trying to get big. Since April first, I have been doing 15-20min of cardio 4-5 days a week and doing nautilus lifting afterward. I have lost 2 more lbs and am at 225 with 20%BF (IAW lost fat but did not gain or lose lean body mass) and I feel healthier than I have in the past 5 years. Except the finasteride and the Zestril killed my libido 100%. I have decided that I would rather have no hair than no dick and have stopped the Finasteride and since I am more cardiovascularly fit, I am dropping the zestril from 20 mg to 10. i am also gonna get my Test levels checked soon. I am eating more balanced meals instead of taking in 50-60% of my calories daily from protein.
i have enough gear left over for one more cycle (why waste it). I will run that and then I plan to keep all further cycles simple and safe. I was perfectly fine when just running winny and anavar, except that the Winny dried me out big time and I was shedding like a dog.
but the fact remains that I have no choice but to make cardio a permanent part of my life. If I don't, i may die too young.
Phil Hernon has made many comments about looking healthy...I looked healthy, but I wasn't....my health is now more important than getting big and strong.

Larry Bowie · Apr 25, 2007

i made some simple changes this month with someones recommendations.... my cardio has been increased hugley w/ very little effort and my BP dropped quite considerable (was good to begin with). i feel healthier and i have more energy.

glad you feel good and are getting healthier

xcelbeyond · Apr 25, 2007

I know exactly what you mean other than the "looking" good part. I've been as much as 210-215 at 5' 6" and never over 15, maybe 17% BF. At that weight my arms were the BIGGEST ever, as well as chest and everything else. I got ZERO comments on looking good or even comments on my physique - was probably just big enough that people didn't want to say I looked like a fat ass.

So then I drop down to 175-180 in the 6-7% BF range and EVERYONE is like complimenting me on my biceps - saying how big they've gotten, when if they'd have really looked at them at 210 they were MUCH bigger then. People ask me when I'm at the lower weight if I've put on more muscle - WTF.

I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER at the lower weight. At the heavy weight, I'd get winded walking up a 1/2-flight of stairs. So now I take the gains while staying lean - much harder to do but is MORE than possible - even at my age!

Here's another example I'm sure many of you can relate to. I was at the Emerald Cup last weekend and there were MANY in the audience that DWARFED the competitors - I mean a TON of people! ! The competitors, off stage did not look NEAR AS BIG as they did on stage, of course with the exception of Superheavys and some Heavywts. There's just a HUGE differenc between being big and looking the part. Now you have a handful of guys with genetics that can be BOTH and those are what you see elevate as IFBB Pros

km2000 · Apr 25, 2007

i had a simular experience myself,

it was after competing in the superheavys at the las vegas classic for the first time and not doing too well, i remember having breakfast with jay after the show and him tellin me the key to getting big was food.... i thought to myself i can do that, all i have to do is eat as much as i can for a year or so and should be able to hang better in this weight class... got up to 285-290 and looked and felt like shit... i remember having the worst stomach problems, high blood pressure, and workouts were shitty, i could barly finish a leg workout due to my heavy breathing....

i realized after doing that for the better part of a year and having to diet all that weight off that there is more than one way to skin a cat! the last 2 years i have stayed at a moderate bodyweight for the off season (250-265) and just grow into the show, i have found this works much better for me, and i seem to react to the diet and gear in a synergistic manner(getting bigger and losing bodyfat). not to mention the health benifits of being clean for 9 months out of the year, and not gorging my face with ungodly amounts of food... i can live a halfway normal life and not have to wait 5 min to catch my breath when i lay down at night! i learned my lesson early in life and am glad i did!

i do not belive you need to have "good" genitics to prep for shows this way, you need to have self control with food, and not let your ego run your life....

Bent_O_Bar · Apr 25, 2007

alan1973 you bring up some good observations. Having had so much trouble putting on weight I stayed away from any cardio or other activties to make sure I kept the muscle I built. But I didn't feel I was in the best health or conditioning.

Last summer I took up mountain biking, then road biking too. I lost only 10lbs but looked better and felt great. I used to struggle going up stairs at work too, but after biking for a month I felt totally different.

I've kept up the cardio since then, either going outside for runs or spinning indoors and now with good weather I've been outside on both bikes again.

My recovery between sets is way better and I can handle tougher workouts now. My off days recovery is better too. I'm actually making my best gains ever with my current setup.

alan1973 · Apr 26, 2007

km2000 said:
i can live a halfway normal life and not have to wait 5 min to catch my breath when i lay down at night! i learned my lesson early in life and am glad i did!

I thought I was the only one that had trouble catching my breath after hitting the pillow. I had to relax 30 minutes before I can even think of sleeping.

LATS · Apr 26, 2007

i have been lucky so far.. even at my heaviest i usually dont have breathing problems and my job involves walking or standing for 8 hours.. i am sure my weight is the issue i have with my heel hurting ect.. but, i feel pretty comfortable at this weight.. my blood pressure today was 128/81.. not bad for 265 pounds.. could be lower but, could be a heck of a lot higher too..

Golgo13 · Apr 26, 2007

Think about it this way:

A 250lb fat ass has a heart that works pretty hard, probably has some cholesterol problems too.

A 250lb lean guy has a heart that works even harder, there is a blood demand to all lean tissue.

Magnum · Apr 26, 2007

A person can look even better by losing all the extra bloat and fat and be healthier on top of it. About 2 1/2 years ago I weighed about 295. For the last 2 Years I have weighed between 255 and 260. 80% of my diet is organic food and as of late I have been eating a ton of fruit which helps my craving for chocolate.

My hips and knees no longer hurt, I can climb stairs with ease and do all kinds of stuff I could not do before. I do no cardio, but when I lift I go at a very fast pace, so fast that I prefer to lift alone because there is mostly not enough time for another person to go in between me. I also do a lot of walking somtimes up to 2 to 3 hours in a day. Once a week I eat whatever the hell I want.

and besides feeling like crap for a few hours my weight never flucuates because of it.

My goal is to get down to about 235 and stay there for life. I would seriously have to quit lifting and starve myself to go any lower. Just wanted to add that my resting heart rate has been as low as 59 upon waking, but normally is in the lower 60's.