Here we are three weeks later form my 3 month out to the Vancouver Fall Classic Update Video and I have been doing everything for the most part in my game plan. Interestingly I feel like I look a bit worse in this now three weeks later video but there are some possible reason for it and at this point I am not too worried as I feel my next update video in 2 to 3 weeks will be more of an indicator of where I am at in this prep.
It's hard to shoot a video a few weeks apart and really know what's going on as there are so many possible things going on with your body, in one video I could be super dry and holding very little water and in the next I could of had too much salt the day before making me puffy and watery looking which I think is what happened in this latest update video. At this point in the game holding water really doesn't matter, in fact you don't want to be too dry! Unfortunately it doesn't make for an impressive update video where people will be shocked and amazed at the progress I have made in a few weeks time.
All I can say is my strength is up and my weight generally speaking is where I want it to be (when not holding water). My diet and training have been on point and with some small adjustments I still feel like I have the potential to bring my best overall size and conditioning to the stage for this show. Only time will tell but I can promise I will do my best to get there!
I see people at the gym and for the most part they show no signs of improvement yet they are at the gym all the time and seem to have a basic good understanding of what they are doing. Often times these people are simply making the mistake of assuming that by being at the gym X days per week for X hours per day will get them the results they are looking for but end up asking why they are not making any progress anymore?
The reason is their bodies have now adapted to the current level of fitness they are subjecting it to and even if they saw results at first they now have hit a point where the exercise they re doing is keeping them at the level of fitness they are now experiencing. In order to see an improvement in their fitness they will need to stimulate their body in a different way which may require more effort but can often simply be achieved by changing their training program a bit.
Change your split days.
Change or add in some new types of exercises.
Change your workout set amounts and rep ranges.
Even try changing your diet a bit.
The Over and Under Achiever:
I see a lot of people at the gym “similar to going through the motions” but with an even bigger problem, they are barely pushing themselves. They pick up a set of say 10 pound dumbbells and do a bunch of arm curls then switch to some overhead press with the same weight, then again switch to another exercise using the same weight and at no time do I see them really exerting themselves at all. Sure they are getting their heart rate up a bit and burning some calories but in terms of challenging their muscles enough to actually active muscle growth, not going to happen until they really start push themselves.
Likewise I see the opposite people that grab a much too heavy weight and try to perform some sort of functional exercise but usually end up using horrible form and partial rep ranges with very few reps per set. If you are a power lifter and know what you are doing you can grab a super heavy weight and do sets of 1-5 reps. But for the average person this will only lead to bad form and possible injuries.
The Zig Zag Workout:
Another type of gym user I see are the Busy Bee Zig Zaggers, they jump from exercise to exercise generally doing one long set with a short amount of rest time between and then go over on to another machine and usually there is no real rhyme or reason to it, they hit arms, then back, then calves, then legs, then abs and so on…
This type of workout is for sure going to burn calories and be what I would consider more of a cardio workout but in terms of building muscle it is not going to work. You really need to focus on a muscle for at least 3-4 sets and really fatigue it before moving on to a new muscle to achieve muscle growth.
I Have No Idea What I’m Doing:
I feel bad for the people that come in and you can tell they have no idea what they are doing. I am sure they probably know it and feel self conscious about it and I know they are doing their best under the circumstances but I really want to emphasis the concept of properly educating yourself on what you should be doing in the gym for you’re personal fitness goals.
You could spend an entree year in the gym doing it all wrong and that could amount to 5 day per week at 1 hour per day so 5 hours per week or 20 hours per month which works out to close to 250 houses per year. Why not invest in yourself and get some training from either a knowledgeable friend or even a fitness trainer. That time and money will be well worth it in the end and you will be fast tracked into your health and fitness journey rather than wasting years of your time.
The Partial Repper:
This one kind of falls into the not knowing what to do although I see people with very poor technique doing all the right exercises, they even seem to push themselves fairly hard, maybe too hard and that’s why their technique is poor.
Yes their are situations where one can not use a full range of motion, most commonly when a person has a limitation in a joint or body part that does not allow them to use full range of motion or it simply just hurst if they go all the way up and down and so avoiding the area that hurts is a good idea.
In most cases, poor range of motion is caused by going too heavy so I suggest grabbing a slightly lighter more manageable weight and using full range of motion until you are store enough to use that heavier weight with full proper range of motion.
The Distracted:
We have all seen that person at the gym staring at their iPhone or talking on it while they sit at their workout station. It is especially frustrating when the gym is busy and all the machines are being used and that person is spending most of their time being distracted and very little time actually training.
I suggest putting your phone in your workout bag or pocket and not reverting to looking at it every time you have a short break between sets, you are at the gym to train, not be distracted by your phone. People are usually waiting to get on the machine you are using so be respectful of others in the gym.
The Tasmanian Devil:
There is always that one person, well usually several people at the gym that seem to be fixated on only training upper body. You can generally pick them out because they will be wearing baggy sweat pants or super long shorts and high socks. I guess if this is the look they are going for then by all means go for it but I think most people want a balanced body not only because it looks good but it is also more functional in real life. Maybe some kind of body dysmorphia is going on here or perhaps they simply hate training less? I don’t know?
This can also go the other way, I sometimes see people at the gym that look like they overtrain their legs and forget about working on their upper body but this is way less often.
Put Your Shit Away:
This is simple, if you use a piece of equipment then put it away, your mom does not work at the gym and follow you around picking up after you!
In general most studies are in favor of TRT being safe and actually beneficial to your health as low Testosterone can also have a very negative effect on your health and even your longevity. Testosterone is a natural hormone we all require and so if it is deficient it only makes sense to have it restored in your body for proper hormone levels and body function.
What Risks are Associated with TRT?
Yes there can be some risks for a small group of people.
Some people can experience a rash or itching at the injection site most likely from an allergy or reaction to the other fluids (esters) used to help absorb the Testosterone into your body, this is usually temporary and just a minor inconvenience. Trying a different type of Testosterone solution can correct this problem.
TRT can increase the risk of heart attach and stroke but generally this is if the dose is too high and or blood prose is not monitored correctly, if your Estrogen is not in check it can lead to water retention and higher blood pressure.
The same is true for possible sleep apnea.
Can TRT Cause Prostate Cancer?
Another risk I wanted to single out on its own is prostate cancer related to TRT. There is much debate on this but it is assumed that elevated levels of Testosterone can speed up the rate of existing prostate cancers so some doctors will actual crash a mans Testosterone as a way to slow down prostate cancer and treat it.
Is TRT the Same as Taking Steroids?
The short answer is no, however many body builders do inject Testosterone along with other performers enhancing drugs as part of their steroid protocol. A TRT dose is generally anywhere from 80mg to as much as 200mg of testosterone per week while body builders generally start out at 500 and can go up to extreme levels of Testosterone and other steroids in combination. The main goal of TRT is to get that individual back to a normal level of Testosterone in their system while a body builders goal is to obtain super-physiological levels of Testosterone and other steroids.
How is TRT Taken?
There are several popular ways to take Testosterone.
Injections are generally conducted weekly or bimonthly and in some cases monthly depending on the oils/ester used and how the Testosterone absorbs into your body.
Gel tabs are also commonly used especially when a person is reluctant to have regular needle injections and possible doctor visits.
Transdermal Testosterone or skin patches are applied typically once per day to the upper arm allowing the Testosterone to absorb into the body.
Implants or tablets can be applied directly into the muscle or under the skin and absorb over several weeks and even months.
Do You Need an AI (Aromatase Inhibitor) When On TRT?
First you need to understand what an AI is used for and why you might need one. Testosterone in both men and women partially converts to Estrogen and estrogen is also a necessary sex hormone both men and women require for proper body function and overall health. That said too much Estrogen is not a good thing and can lead to water retention, high blood pressure, gynecomastia and mood imbalances, even sexual disfunction. Most TRT doses should not require an AI because when your Testosterone is increased you also need an increase in Estrogen to balance each other, this generally happens as it should but for some people their Estrogen can become too high or cause side effects so in this situation an AI (Aromatase Inhibitor) may be required.
Keep in mind too low of Estrogen in your body can also have a negative effect like joint pain, mood swings, tiredness, sexual disfunction and even less muscle mass so it is not good to take too much of an AI and potentially crash your Estrogen levels.
Should You Go On and Off Cycle When On TRT?
The idea of going on and off cycle is something more commonly associated with body building as body builders take very high levels of Steroids during a prep cycle or bulk cycle and to give the body a break from the extreme high levels of Steroids they take several month off to allow their bodies to rest in hopes that they will begin producing natural hormone again. This is more of a practice done in the past, most body builders today will do what’s is called “blasting and cruising” which means they take the same high levels of Steroids while getting ready for a contest and rather than coming completely off of them, they take much lower doses in hopes of keeping most of the muscle the worked hard to build duringthe prep or bulk. It is now understood that most body builders will not get back to normal hormone function after years of steroid abuse. Many will have to be on TRT for the rest of their lives.
So getting back to the idea of going on and off of a TRT program, this is not a good idea unless there are other outside reasons for it since if you decide to come off of your TRT, your Testosterone levels will crash and since you needed to go on TRT in the first place because of low Testosterone, it is highly unlikely that your body will begin to naturally make adequate levels of Testosterone. So in other words you will feel like garbage after a few weeks of coming off of TRT.
Do Your Testicles Shrink and Can You Still Have Kids On TRT?
Yes your testicles will more than likely shrink unless they had already shrunk because of low Testosterone production, then you may not notice it as much. The reason for this shrinkage is because when you go on an exogenous or (outside source) of Testosterone because you are on TRT, your body will then stop making it’s own Testosterone with much of it being produced in the testicles. This results in a reduction in the size of the testicles. This lack of your own body making Testosterone and testicle shrinkage also effects sperm count drastically and can result in infertility for some.
There are drugs like HCG and even Climid that can help to bring back your bodies own natural production of Testosterone even while on TRT resulting in a more normal testicle size and higher sperm count allowing fertility to be more likely.
If you're interest in finding out if TRT may be right for you, you can checkout the Link Provided to get your blood-work done and if you do end up going on TRT you can save $45 per month with my “GFO40” discount code. This is for US residence only at this time.
I did mention a while back that I had plans for a show in the fall and so it begins or I should say it has already begun since I have been consistently training with this goal in mind since April doing my best to stay fairly lean while adding some extra muscle before the really hard prep begins. The show I am doing is called the Vancouver Fall Classic and it looks like Popeye's is the main sponsor with many other sponsors coming to the table so I expect it to be a really good show with a decent turn out. I will be entering Open Physique and perhaps a Masters Class of some sort. Classic Physique I am not sure about but I will consider it as I get closer to the show and see how I am looking, specifically if my legs are up to the challenge.
I am currently sitting at around 205 pounds and would say I am around 11-12% body fat so I need to lose around 10 pounds of fat and would like to be come in right around 195+ pounds before I carb up and fill back in for contest day.
Over the next month my focus will be to slightly cut fat with around a 500 calorie deficit per day which should put me on track to losing around 3-4 pounds of fat for the month, I hope to add an additional 2-3 pounds of muscle so my weight should not change all that much during the next month of prep.
Heading into 2 months out the plans will be to cut a bit harder while maintaining the muscle I have gained, maybe even gaining a pound or two if I'm lucky. I will be in closer to a 1000 calorie deficit during this time which should lead to around a 6-8 pounds of fat loss but everything will be adjusted based on how I look and how I feel.
The final month before the show will be all about getting every last bit of fat off of me which means around a 1500 calorie defect which in order to achieve means with a BMR of around 2100 I need to do at least 1500 calories of exercise each day while eating around 2000 calorie of food. I have done this many times and for me this works. With this calorie deficit I can lose as much as 3 pounds of fat per week but anyone that has done this before will understand that your body does not always cooperate and your metabolism can crash.
Well that's the plan for now but it can change at anytime depending on how I look and feel along the way.
In a world full of fake Natty’s, is being on TRT just an excuse to be on steroids and get all the benefits of steroids and still claim being natural?
There are for sure lots people who should be or need to be on TRT because their bodies just are not producing enough Testosterone to be in what is considered a healthy range.
That healthy range can depend on many things…
Are you a man or woman and yes some women are prescribed Testosterone by their doctors as a means to increase low Testosterone and even increase estrogen in women.
Age is also a factor when considering what is healthy so in other words it is not expected for a 20 year old and a 70 year old to naturally produce the same amount of Testosterone but there are still healthy ranges each age group should be within.
Geography, yes each country will have their own Testosterone range allowances set since each country has their own health system and guidelines in place.
So lets say you find yourself with low Testosterone, your blood-work shows this to be true and you feel the symptoms of low Testosterone which can be a lack of energy, low libido, a hard time recovering from physical activity, fat gain, sleep disorders, depression, erectile dysfunction being the most common. It would only make sense to get this looked into for better over health and well-being! After all being on TRT is a medical therapy much like if a woman is going through menopause and requires supplementation of hormones or even people on specific drugs to help with chemical imbalances to get them back to a more normal state.
Getting more to the topic of this video, why is it that people think that just because a person is prescribed Testosterone by their doctor to get them back to more “normal” ranges, that somehow they are cheating and have super human powers and advantages? I would go so far as to say that most men on TRT would be hard to pick out since being at normal ranges will not make you jacked or give you super human strength. Yes if your Testosterone was really low, going on TRT will help you gain some muscle back and get stronger but it should bring you back to where you normally would have been if your Testosterone levels where in more normal ranges to begin with.
I think the main reason why people get "set-off" when people claim they are on TRT but still claim to be natural, is because many of these So called "Natty’s" simply do not look natural. This is because I would say most of these people while they may be on TRT, are probably also abusing their TRT to some degree by either upping their Testosterone dose or adding other performance enhancing compounds and yes that would for sure take them out of the “Natty” category. No argument here!
I often hear the argument that when a person is on TRT, their levels of Testosterone in their system are more consistent and this can be true since a true natural person will produce small amounts of Testosterone at different times of the day which can make their Testosterone fluctuate from hour to hour. Many people on TRT only get their injection twice per month or even once per month which means right after the injection they will be at their highest levels but right before their next injection they can actually be crashed especially if they have monthly injections so I am not really sure which is worse at the end of the day. Personally I believe that you don’t really feel the effects of Testosterone so much based on exactly how much is in your system at any given time but more as an average over time and that is why it take a good month or so after going on TRT to feel the benefits.
At the end of the day plain and simple if you are on TRT you are not Natty since you are not making the bulk of your Testosterone naturally. That said if you are at normal healthy ranges while on TRT, I feel there is little advantage over a person with similar Testosterone levels making it naturally. Of course if you are taking more Testosterone than you need putting yourself into above average ranges then you will be getting extra benefits because now are you are essentially at body builder levels of Testosterone.
Do what is right for you and don’t worry about what other people think, you do not need to tell people if you are "Natty or Not" but don’t make a video showing your 3 month transformation after going on TRT and call it a Natural transformation, that just adds fuel to the already burning bonfire of calling out Fake Natty's.
All that said if you are interest in finding out if TRT may be right for you, you can checkout the Link Provided to get your blood-work done and if you do end up going on TRT you can save $45 per month with my “GFO40” discount code. This is for US residence only at this time.
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at 11:35AM 
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