There's a thread at PM about Tom Prince. He was phenomenal! Unfortunately his career was cut short before he could really make waves in the pro's. I truly believe he could have been one of the best pro's in history!! I'll get some videos up in a bit but for newer members or maybe some that never saw this, this was Tom Prince stating his cycle for the 2001 Night of Champions. There's also questions that he answered at that time.
It's been over 6 years since I last stepped on stage. I remember promising a ton of peeps that one day I would post this. So, here it is, folks. My 2001 Night of Champions Cycle. Just for fun.. Tom
Week #1: 4 iu's GH/day; 4 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 200 mg. Deca Durabolin; 1 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day
Week #2: 4 iu's GH/day; 5 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 200 mg. Deca Durabolin; 1 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day
Week #3: 4 iu's GH/day; 5 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 200 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 2 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #4: 4 iu's GH/day; 6 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 400 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 2 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #5: 6iu's GH/day; 6 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 400 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 3 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #6: 6 iu's GH/day; 6 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 400 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 3 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #7: off; 5000 iu HCG/day; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 clenbuterol/day (2 days on 1 day off); 300 mg. caffeine x 6 days/week (a.m. only)
Week #8: off; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 clenbuterol/day (2 days on 1 day off); 300 mg. caffeine x 6 days/week (a.m. only)
Week #9: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 300 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #10: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 300 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #11: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 5 x Clenbuterol tabs, 300 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #12: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 5 x Clenbuterol tabs, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #13: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 300 mg. Winstrol-V (100 mg. each M-W-F); 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 5 x 25 mg. Ephedrine tab, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #14: 6 iu's GH/day; 1500 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 300 mg. Winstrol-V (100 mg. each M-W-F); 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 6 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #15: off 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 6 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
**Week #16: off; 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 10 x Clenbuterol tab (Sun, Mon, Tue only), 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
**Day of contest was at the end of 16th Week.
1. Caffeine was used for a few things. First, as a thermogenic.. ephedrine/caffeine keep your body temperature raised so that you keep burning fat. Second, used in conjunction with the GH, to stimulate your metabolism. LOTS (and I mean waaayyy too many) of people think you need to actually use thyroid, or some form of T3, to stimulate your thyroid to keep the GH working effectively. (If you don't this when reading.. GH can, if you're not careful, cause your thyroid to shut down if it's not stimulated when using the GH).
2. I always wrote my own cycles.
3. "Upping the test going into the show". The longer you diet, and the leaner you get, the higher the doses should go, in my opinion. The closer the show gets, and the leaner you get, the more at risk you are of losing muscle. It's just common sense.
BY THE WAY.. please notice. Nothing crazy or fantastic in that cycle. Just common sense. No weird compounds. GH, Cypionate, Deca, Winstol. That's it really.
I'M TELLING YA'.. it's hard work, lots of years, and genetics.
Insulin: NEVER. I tired insulin the Wednesday before Friday night's prejudging the year I won Nationals. I filled up too fast, and spilled over too fast, and it was basically just a mess. I didn't get any fuller than normal.. so, why bother.
Insulin in the off-season never made sense, either. You can eat as much as you want. My body produces enough insulin on it's own.
NOW.. if I was helping a guy in a weight class, who had to make weight one night, and compete the next night.. and he had to kill himself and get super flat to make the weight.. I may have used insulin to carb someone up who didn't have time for his body to do it on it's own.
HERE'S A SIMPLE GUIDELINE TO FOLLOW: LESS compounds to account for, means you have MORE control. Think of the gear, diet, training, like balls you're juggling in the air. It's much easier to juggle 3 balls, than 10 balls.
The more variables you keep adding, the harder it is to predict the outcome.
ANSWERING QUESTIONS:
1. Do I have any great back stage stories? Yeah.. tons of them. I wouldn't know where to begin.
2. Did I often use Deca pre-conest: Yes.
3. Off-season cycles: Much, much smaller than what I just posted. Never did GH in the off-season EVER. Only precontest. I'd also only use Test Cypionate or Test Enanthate (either one, not both) in my off-season cycles.
Anything else was a waste of money.
4. I'd stay off for 12 - 14 weeks after every show. Each cycle in the off-season only lasted a total of 6 weeks.
5. Why start the cycle with Sostenon and switch to Cypionate later? Too simple a question. Like, why'd you wear that black t-shirt and not a blue one?
6. Best time for GH. Right before bed. Midinight for me.
7. Did I follow a special diet? Yes.
I can't say this enough, answer this enough, express this enough: ANYONE looking for the magic cycle, or looking for why some pro does this or that.. or, for example "I wonder what Ronnie does".. YOURE LOOKING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. Ronnie was great because of how hard he trained. He did the same shit all the rest of us did.
Ronnie and Dorian out-trained everyone else, and they were more disciplined than everyone else. Period.
The reason no one likes that answer, because it's HARD. You'd have to be crazy disciplined, and work your F'N balls off, plus have great genetics, to beat guy's like Dorian and Ronnie. That's VERY, VERY, HARD.. and why almost no one matched them.
Flex Wheeler, for example. Had all the tools, genetically. Even more. Didn't have the same work ethic, didn't have the same discipline.
If I add myself in: I had the work ethic, had the discipline, wasn't all that genetically gifted. Was an over acheiver, and had to rely on my brains.
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ANSWERING QUESTIONS:
1. "Why come off the gear 2 weeks out?" Simple. I actually looked better after being off for 2 weeks. I'd always lose 4 - 5 pounds of water from just being off for those 2 weeks. Doesn't matter if the steroids are still "working", per se.. it only matters what the muscle looks like. Plus, that last week, I'm not training balls to the wall. Just pumping movements that last week. No need to worry about recovery from training, etc,
2. "Human Grade Products". ALWAYS. I had a prescription for Test, Deca, Teslac, HCG. As much as humanly possible, I'd stick with American Pharmacuetical products.
3. "Average amounts compared to my peers?" I'd say average, or less. Titus was famous for using TONS. LIke, 5000 mg./week. I won't name anyone else, but there's more than a few guys that do that. But, hey, I didn't win any pro shows, so, maybe I should have been doing 5000 mgs/week. LOL. The 2 guys I know that did that much, Titus and one other guy, didn't win any shows, either.
4. "What doses did I use in my early cycles/" My first cycle was 200 tabs of dianabol, 200 tabs of Anavar. 8 week cycle. Cost me $100 for 2 bottles of each. That shows my age. LOL.
But, after that first cycle, I always used Test. My 2nd cycle was 200 mg. of test for 3 weeks, 400 mg. of test for 3 weeks. I didn't use more than 4 cc's of test/ week (800 mg's) until I was 275 pounds, and 25 years old.
VERY IMPORTANT: You want to use as LITTLE as possible to keep yourself growing and making gains. If you use 1500 mg. of test and 6 iu's of GH to add 10 pounds from 180 - 190 pounds, you'll NEVER get to 250. The faster you rush it, and the more the gear makes your gains (and not your training), the faster you'll lose those gains when you come off. You want to use the gear to push yourself PAST your own limitations. That's why it's soooooo important to have a great base built up.
I've told this story before: I got to 248 pounds, natural. I'm 5'8". I waited till I had an awesome base built up, before I ever touched the gear.
I also didn't use GH until I had already gotten 2nd at Nationals in 1995. The very first time I used GH, was getting ready for the 1996 USA.
Also, I DIDN'T use GH when I won Nationals in 1997. I probably would have, but I couldn't afford it. Serostim was brand new in late 1997, and it was $1300/box at the time. I needed 3 boxes. No way I had $3900 for just GH. In fact, I know I only spent about $1200 TOTAL on all my gear for the '97 Nationals. Regardles of the cost.. I believed I didn't need the GH to win Nationals.
Point about the GH. I waited a very long time to use it. I wanted to be as good as possible, as big as possible, and do as well, competitively, as possible, before I used it. THIS WAS PLANNED!!
I also wanted to learn how to diet without the GH. There IS a difference in how you diet, depending on whether or not you're using GH.
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ANSWERING MORE QUESTIONS:
1. "How did I pick what steroids to use?"
Pay attention, peeps. This is VERY important. Bear with me, because the answer will be a little long.
Years ago.. I think I was 16.. Encylopedia Brittanica used to have a section about steroids. It was amazingly detailed, especially for 1986.
In this section, the steroids were listed, and ranked, by how strong they were, anabolically, and by how strong they were androgenically. It was very interesting. So, it sort of looked like this:
Compound Anabolic Androgenic
Test Enanthate (1 cc) 3200 2500
Deca Durabolin (1cc) 1500 1100
Winstrol-V (1cc) 110 10
That was all that's listed. But, just this little chart tells you a LOT. Now, I don't remember the entire 4 - 5 pages of what they discussed, exacly. So, I don't remember exactly where they got the info for how they determine the numbers for each steroid.
However, what is HUGELY INTERESTING, is that you can clearly see that 1 cc of Test Enanthate, is 30 TIMES as strong, as 1 cc of Winstrol.
Moral of the story: You need to take 30 cc's of Winstrol, to equal 1 cc of Test Enanthate, anabolically. (To me.. that almost makes using Winstrol at all, a waste. Very simply, I want the strongest stuff possible.. or get the most bang for my buck. Even Anadrol would be OK, but not too much, because it's sooooo rough on the kidney's, liver, etc.)
So, let's do the quick math, using the cycle I posted for what I did prepping for the 2001 N.O.C. To equal the 1200 mg's of Test I was averaging per week, to get the same anabolic effect, I would have had to used 180 amps of Winstrol per WEEK.
180 amps of Winstrol, per week. That's obviously ridiculous.
However, what isn't ridiculous.. is to get rid of the androgenic effects of the Test and Deca. Ergo, were going to LOWER the androgenic effects, and keep all the anabolic effects.
So, we take Teslac the entire diet, starting Day One, to block the androgens.. and keep raising the Teslac the higher the androgen level of each compound goes. Add in Nolvadex at 4 weeks out to make sure my androgen receptors are totally blocked.
In conclusion, I dieted on mostly Test and Deca because anabolically, you get the most out of those. It's easier to block the androgens, than to try and make Winstrol, Primobolan, Tren, Anavar, stronger.
As I've said before, this stuff is mostly common sense, and very simply. If you spend hours and hours looking for the magic cycle, you're just wasting time.
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1. What goals did I have as a bodybuilder? First, it was just to turn pro. There was lots of short term goals, prior to that.. like, getting to 250, 260, 270, 280, 290. Making sure I was a "complete" 250 pounds, a complete "260" pounds, etc.
I wanted an endorsement deal. I wanted to make enough money so that I could bodybuild, and nothing else. Make enough money to support my family. Make enough to be able to start another business some day.
I did all of it.
Never had any aspirations to be Mr. Olympia.
2. Cardio: I split my cardio into 2 sessions per day. 30 - 40 minutes in the morning. 30 - 40 minutes at night.
3. Lee's calime of his dosages. Seems REALLY low. Like, almost too unbelievably low. BUT, that doesn't mean it's not real. PLUS, I know one of the guy's Lee got his gear from. PUT IT THIS WAY.. It was a normal amount of gear for a pro.
EQUIPOISE: Way back in 1992, I had 12 - 15 bottles of Equipoise that came directly from a European pharmacy. (Don't ask.. I won't tell you). Made in Spain. Worked the same as Deca.
I had scripts for American Deca. Was just easier to go down to the pharmacy and have the script filled.
4. Trenbolone: Used it. Was called "Finajet" back in the day. Best stuff EVER. To bad they quit making it. Don't trust anything that's not form an American pharmacy, or from a European pharmacy. Black market bullshit is just that.
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MORE QUESTIONS FROM THE TP MINIONS:
1. Does GH make it easier to get lean? Nope. But it does make you much rounder when you get to 3% bodyfat.
2. EQUIPOISE: Not the Greek EQ. It was from Spain.
3. HCG. Would I still do HCG that way? No, now that I no longer compete. If I was still a bodybuilder, yes. Now, I'd take 5000 iu's each Mon, Wed, Fri, for 2 weeks.
4. Take for side effects? I never took anything. My skin was always really clear. Only side effect I ever really had was losing my hair.. but I started losing my hair when I was 19. That was 4 years before my first cycle. So, my hair was going bye-bye, regardless of the gear.
5. 4 - 5 week cycles? Well, you need to let your testosterone levels build up in your system for the gear to really start working. 4 weeks isn't much time. I liked 6 week cycles, which is still somewhat short.
1. Alex Azarian. Super nice guy. Both he and his wife were really cool. I had fun helping him in his first shot at the USA.
2. Surprised I could get Teslac? Remember, this was 1999 - 2002. Plus, like I previously posted, I had a legit script for everything.
3. When to start using HCG is a little tricky. The easy answer, of course, is "When your test levels noticeably drop". After 2, maybe 3 cycles, get your test levels tested if you can't tell.
4. Ephedrine: I don't know how I would have dieted without ephedrine. I never did a diet without it. No, I don't think ephedrine burns muscle at ALL.
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1. Test Propinate. For some reason, it always hurt.. and stayed as this big lump.. a golf ball sized lump that took a week to go away. I always assumed the ph balance of propinate conflicted with my body. My body just did NOT react well to propinate.
I loved Suspension, when it was real, and when I could get it. Last time I had real Suspension was in 1998.
2. Palumbo's diet (keto diet). The lowest I could go with my carbs and still be functioning mentally, was 250 grams of carbs. Any lower and I'd be a zombie. So, doing a keto diet was never going to happen with me.
Only people who should do a keto diet are people that are super sensitive to carbs. In other words, people who get fat very easily. Will Harris was like this. I dieted him on fat, not carbs.
3. Never did site injections. Nothing was ever a weak bodypart, or small. I'm sure that sounds cocky.
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OFF-SEASON CYCLES:
All off-season cycles were 6 weeks long. I don't ever remember doing a cycle longer than that. I'd follow that with HCG for 6 days, and then stay off for another 5 weeks. So, start to finish, that's 12 weeks.
As far as "what" I'd use. For the last 5 years I was competing, offseason cycles were either Cypionate or Enanthate. Nothing more. I never used GH in the offseason (never thought I needed to, to be honest).
I'm sure that's boring to some of you. The TRUTH, is that bodybuilding is all about genetics and hard work. Without both, you have NO shot.
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Off-season protein when I was younger.. like, from 22 - 28, was 300 grams/day. As I got a little older, I realized I didn't need that much. Protein was lowered to between 200 - 250 grams per day.
Carbs was as much as I felt like. Usually between 600 - 800 grams/day. Calories was roughly 4000 4500/day.
Makes it easy to answer all these questions now that I'm long since retired and done competing.. and don't need bodybuilding for an income.
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MORE ADVICE:
1. Advice to get huge: "If you have ask, it'll never happen."
2. Specific reason for my kidneys: I'm sure it was everything. High blood pressure, gear, anti-inflammatories, weighing 310.
3. Orals: Didn't mind orals. Just had a script for injectables. Orals were all black market gear. Like I said, I stuck with the American Pharmacueticals, 100% of the time, from 1998 - 2004.
4. Training when on and off. I trained the same way all the time. Didn't matter if I was on or off. Only thing that altered my training the dieting process.
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1. How do I feel now? 1000 times better than when I was competing. I was 270 at 24. 290 at 26. 300 at 29. 310 from 30 - 34. Being that muscular is great in the gym, when you're training. he rest of the time it sucks. I'm 205 now and LOVE IT.
Knees are trashed, left shoulder has NO cartilidge, elbows are OK, hips hurt all the time, back hurts all the time. I still weight train one day a week.
2. Why are guys better now if the gear has been the same since the 70's??
(*sigh) IT'S NOT THE GEAR!!!!!
Smarter training, more diet knowledge, better equipment, better supplements, better cardio equipment, tanning beds, pro-tan, etc.
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GOOD QUESTION. HERE'S MY ANSWER: HRT levels at 40 years old: 200 mg. every other week. Not every 3rd week.
Of course, that's based on a person's current Testosterone levels, and keeping them in a normal range of 300 - 800. 300 is still little low, but that would be normal to most labs. MOST labs consider 250 - 1100 "normal". LOL. 1100 isn't "normal", I promise you.
200 mg. every 3rd week gives you too many highs and lows. Raises and lowers your blood pressure. Can mess with your moods, both highs and lows, very dramatically. much more consistant doing 200 mg. every 2 weeks.
I think most pro's WANT to drop some weight eventually. It's too ridiculously hard to walk around at 260 - 310. I think Levrone had the right idea. He stayed at 220 in the off-season, and went UP to 240 to compete. Much healthier way too do it in the long run.
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If you think it's all drugs, you have ZERO chance of ever making it anywhere in bodybuilding.
If you think the gear is 3%, and hard work is 97%, you may have a microscopic, teeny tiny small shot.
If you take your gear, don't give it a second thought after you take it, and believe "making it" is all hard work.. you have a shot.
"The Gear" is the ultimate weak-minded pussies excuse.
It's been over 6 years since I last stepped on stage. I remember promising a ton of peeps that one day I would post this. So, here it is, folks. My 2001 Night of Champions Cycle. Just for fun.. Tom
Week #1: 4 iu's GH/day; 4 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 200 mg. Deca Durabolin; 1 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day
Week #2: 4 iu's GH/day; 5 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 200 mg. Deca Durabolin; 1 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day
Week #3: 4 iu's GH/day; 5 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 200 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 2 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #4: 4 iu's GH/day; 6 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 400 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 2 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #5: 6iu's GH/day; 6 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 400 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 3 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #6: 6 iu's GH/day; 6 x Sostenon 250 mg.; 400 mg. Deca Durabolin; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; (pre a.m. workout) 3 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 200 mg. caffeine tab
Week #7: off; 5000 iu HCG/day; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 clenbuterol/day (2 days on 1 day off); 300 mg. caffeine x 6 days/week (a.m. only)
Week #8: off; 2 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 clenbuterol/day (2 days on 1 day off); 300 mg. caffeine x 6 days/week (a.m. only)
Week #9: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 300 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #10: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 4 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 300 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #11: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 5 x Clenbuterol tabs, 300 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #12: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 150 mg. Winstrol-V (50 mg. each M-W-F); 4 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 5 x Clenbuterol tabs, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #13: 6 iu's GH/day; 1200 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 300 mg. Winstrol-V (100 mg. each M-W-F); 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 5 x 25 mg. Ephedrine tab, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #14: 6 iu's GH/day; 1500 mg. Test Cypionate; 600 mg. Deca Durabolin; 300 mg. Winstrol-V (100 mg. each M-W-F); 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 6 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
Week #15: off 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 6 x 25 mg. ephedrine tab, 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
**Week #16: off; 6 x 50 mg. Teslac tabs/day; 2 x 20 mg. Nolvadex tabs/day; 10 x Clenbuterol tab (Sun, Mon, Tue only), 400 mg. caffeine tab (a.m. only)
**Day of contest was at the end of 16th Week.
1. Caffeine was used for a few things. First, as a thermogenic.. ephedrine/caffeine keep your body temperature raised so that you keep burning fat. Second, used in conjunction with the GH, to stimulate your metabolism. LOTS (and I mean waaayyy too many) of people think you need to actually use thyroid, or some form of T3, to stimulate your thyroid to keep the GH working effectively. (If you don't this when reading.. GH can, if you're not careful, cause your thyroid to shut down if it's not stimulated when using the GH).
2. I always wrote my own cycles.
3. "Upping the test going into the show". The longer you diet, and the leaner you get, the higher the doses should go, in my opinion. The closer the show gets, and the leaner you get, the more at risk you are of losing muscle. It's just common sense.
BY THE WAY.. please notice. Nothing crazy or fantastic in that cycle. Just common sense. No weird compounds. GH, Cypionate, Deca, Winstol. That's it really.
I'M TELLING YA'.. it's hard work, lots of years, and genetics.
Insulin: NEVER. I tired insulin the Wednesday before Friday night's prejudging the year I won Nationals. I filled up too fast, and spilled over too fast, and it was basically just a mess. I didn't get any fuller than normal.. so, why bother.
Insulin in the off-season never made sense, either. You can eat as much as you want. My body produces enough insulin on it's own.
NOW.. if I was helping a guy in a weight class, who had to make weight one night, and compete the next night.. and he had to kill himself and get super flat to make the weight.. I may have used insulin to carb someone up who didn't have time for his body to do it on it's own.
HERE'S A SIMPLE GUIDELINE TO FOLLOW: LESS compounds to account for, means you have MORE control. Think of the gear, diet, training, like balls you're juggling in the air. It's much easier to juggle 3 balls, than 10 balls.
The more variables you keep adding, the harder it is to predict the outcome.
ANSWERING QUESTIONS:
1. Do I have any great back stage stories? Yeah.. tons of them. I wouldn't know where to begin.
2. Did I often use Deca pre-conest: Yes.
3. Off-season cycles: Much, much smaller than what I just posted. Never did GH in the off-season EVER. Only precontest. I'd also only use Test Cypionate or Test Enanthate (either one, not both) in my off-season cycles.
Anything else was a waste of money.
4. I'd stay off for 12 - 14 weeks after every show. Each cycle in the off-season only lasted a total of 6 weeks.
5. Why start the cycle with Sostenon and switch to Cypionate later? Too simple a question. Like, why'd you wear that black t-shirt and not a blue one?
6. Best time for GH. Right before bed. Midinight for me.
7. Did I follow a special diet? Yes.
I can't say this enough, answer this enough, express this enough: ANYONE looking for the magic cycle, or looking for why some pro does this or that.. or, for example "I wonder what Ronnie does".. YOURE LOOKING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. Ronnie was great because of how hard he trained. He did the same shit all the rest of us did.
Ronnie and Dorian out-trained everyone else, and they were more disciplined than everyone else. Period.
The reason no one likes that answer, because it's HARD. You'd have to be crazy disciplined, and work your F'N balls off, plus have great genetics, to beat guy's like Dorian and Ronnie. That's VERY, VERY, HARD.. and why almost no one matched them.
Flex Wheeler, for example. Had all the tools, genetically. Even more. Didn't have the same work ethic, didn't have the same discipline.
If I add myself in: I had the work ethic, had the discipline, wasn't all that genetically gifted. Was an over acheiver, and had to rely on my brains.
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ANSWERING QUESTIONS:
1. "Why come off the gear 2 weeks out?" Simple. I actually looked better after being off for 2 weeks. I'd always lose 4 - 5 pounds of water from just being off for those 2 weeks. Doesn't matter if the steroids are still "working", per se.. it only matters what the muscle looks like. Plus, that last week, I'm not training balls to the wall. Just pumping movements that last week. No need to worry about recovery from training, etc,
2. "Human Grade Products". ALWAYS. I had a prescription for Test, Deca, Teslac, HCG. As much as humanly possible, I'd stick with American Pharmacuetical products.
3. "Average amounts compared to my peers?" I'd say average, or less. Titus was famous for using TONS. LIke, 5000 mg./week. I won't name anyone else, but there's more than a few guys that do that. But, hey, I didn't win any pro shows, so, maybe I should have been doing 5000 mgs/week. LOL. The 2 guys I know that did that much, Titus and one other guy, didn't win any shows, either.
4. "What doses did I use in my early cycles/" My first cycle was 200 tabs of dianabol, 200 tabs of Anavar. 8 week cycle. Cost me $100 for 2 bottles of each. That shows my age. LOL.
But, after that first cycle, I always used Test. My 2nd cycle was 200 mg. of test for 3 weeks, 400 mg. of test for 3 weeks. I didn't use more than 4 cc's of test/ week (800 mg's) until I was 275 pounds, and 25 years old.
VERY IMPORTANT: You want to use as LITTLE as possible to keep yourself growing and making gains. If you use 1500 mg. of test and 6 iu's of GH to add 10 pounds from 180 - 190 pounds, you'll NEVER get to 250. The faster you rush it, and the more the gear makes your gains (and not your training), the faster you'll lose those gains when you come off. You want to use the gear to push yourself PAST your own limitations. That's why it's soooooo important to have a great base built up.
I've told this story before: I got to 248 pounds, natural. I'm 5'8". I waited till I had an awesome base built up, before I ever touched the gear.
I also didn't use GH until I had already gotten 2nd at Nationals in 1995. The very first time I used GH, was getting ready for the 1996 USA.
Also, I DIDN'T use GH when I won Nationals in 1997. I probably would have, but I couldn't afford it. Serostim was brand new in late 1997, and it was $1300/box at the time. I needed 3 boxes. No way I had $3900 for just GH. In fact, I know I only spent about $1200 TOTAL on all my gear for the '97 Nationals. Regardles of the cost.. I believed I didn't need the GH to win Nationals.
Point about the GH. I waited a very long time to use it. I wanted to be as good as possible, as big as possible, and do as well, competitively, as possible, before I used it. THIS WAS PLANNED!!
I also wanted to learn how to diet without the GH. There IS a difference in how you diet, depending on whether or not you're using GH.
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ANSWERING MORE QUESTIONS:
1. "How did I pick what steroids to use?"
Pay attention, peeps. This is VERY important. Bear with me, because the answer will be a little long.
Years ago.. I think I was 16.. Encylopedia Brittanica used to have a section about steroids. It was amazingly detailed, especially for 1986.
In this section, the steroids were listed, and ranked, by how strong they were, anabolically, and by how strong they were androgenically. It was very interesting. So, it sort of looked like this:
Compound Anabolic Androgenic
Test Enanthate (1 cc) 3200 2500
Deca Durabolin (1cc) 1500 1100
Winstrol-V (1cc) 110 10
That was all that's listed. But, just this little chart tells you a LOT. Now, I don't remember the entire 4 - 5 pages of what they discussed, exacly. So, I don't remember exactly where they got the info for how they determine the numbers for each steroid.
However, what is HUGELY INTERESTING, is that you can clearly see that 1 cc of Test Enanthate, is 30 TIMES as strong, as 1 cc of Winstrol.
Moral of the story: You need to take 30 cc's of Winstrol, to equal 1 cc of Test Enanthate, anabolically. (To me.. that almost makes using Winstrol at all, a waste. Very simply, I want the strongest stuff possible.. or get the most bang for my buck. Even Anadrol would be OK, but not too much, because it's sooooo rough on the kidney's, liver, etc.)
So, let's do the quick math, using the cycle I posted for what I did prepping for the 2001 N.O.C. To equal the 1200 mg's of Test I was averaging per week, to get the same anabolic effect, I would have had to used 180 amps of Winstrol per WEEK.
180 amps of Winstrol, per week. That's obviously ridiculous.
However, what isn't ridiculous.. is to get rid of the androgenic effects of the Test and Deca. Ergo, were going to LOWER the androgenic effects, and keep all the anabolic effects.
So, we take Teslac the entire diet, starting Day One, to block the androgens.. and keep raising the Teslac the higher the androgen level of each compound goes. Add in Nolvadex at 4 weeks out to make sure my androgen receptors are totally blocked.
In conclusion, I dieted on mostly Test and Deca because anabolically, you get the most out of those. It's easier to block the androgens, than to try and make Winstrol, Primobolan, Tren, Anavar, stronger.
As I've said before, this stuff is mostly common sense, and very simply. If you spend hours and hours looking for the magic cycle, you're just wasting time.
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1. What goals did I have as a bodybuilder? First, it was just to turn pro. There was lots of short term goals, prior to that.. like, getting to 250, 260, 270, 280, 290. Making sure I was a "complete" 250 pounds, a complete "260" pounds, etc.
I wanted an endorsement deal. I wanted to make enough money so that I could bodybuild, and nothing else. Make enough money to support my family. Make enough to be able to start another business some day.
I did all of it.
Never had any aspirations to be Mr. Olympia.
2. Cardio: I split my cardio into 2 sessions per day. 30 - 40 minutes in the morning. 30 - 40 minutes at night.
3. Lee's calime of his dosages. Seems REALLY low. Like, almost too unbelievably low. BUT, that doesn't mean it's not real. PLUS, I know one of the guy's Lee got his gear from. PUT IT THIS WAY.. It was a normal amount of gear for a pro.
EQUIPOISE: Way back in 1992, I had 12 - 15 bottles of Equipoise that came directly from a European pharmacy. (Don't ask.. I won't tell you). Made in Spain. Worked the same as Deca.
I had scripts for American Deca. Was just easier to go down to the pharmacy and have the script filled.
4. Trenbolone: Used it. Was called "Finajet" back in the day. Best stuff EVER. To bad they quit making it. Don't trust anything that's not form an American pharmacy, or from a European pharmacy. Black market bullshit is just that.
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MORE QUESTIONS FROM THE TP MINIONS:
1. Does GH make it easier to get lean? Nope. But it does make you much rounder when you get to 3% bodyfat.
2. EQUIPOISE: Not the Greek EQ. It was from Spain.
3. HCG. Would I still do HCG that way? No, now that I no longer compete. If I was still a bodybuilder, yes. Now, I'd take 5000 iu's each Mon, Wed, Fri, for 2 weeks.
4. Take for side effects? I never took anything. My skin was always really clear. Only side effect I ever really had was losing my hair.. but I started losing my hair when I was 19. That was 4 years before my first cycle. So, my hair was going bye-bye, regardless of the gear.
5. 4 - 5 week cycles? Well, you need to let your testosterone levels build up in your system for the gear to really start working. 4 weeks isn't much time. I liked 6 week cycles, which is still somewhat short.
1. Alex Azarian. Super nice guy. Both he and his wife were really cool. I had fun helping him in his first shot at the USA.
2. Surprised I could get Teslac? Remember, this was 1999 - 2002. Plus, like I previously posted, I had a legit script for everything.
3. When to start using HCG is a little tricky. The easy answer, of course, is "When your test levels noticeably drop". After 2, maybe 3 cycles, get your test levels tested if you can't tell.
4. Ephedrine: I don't know how I would have dieted without ephedrine. I never did a diet without it. No, I don't think ephedrine burns muscle at ALL.
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1. Test Propinate. For some reason, it always hurt.. and stayed as this big lump.. a golf ball sized lump that took a week to go away. I always assumed the ph balance of propinate conflicted with my body. My body just did NOT react well to propinate.
I loved Suspension, when it was real, and when I could get it. Last time I had real Suspension was in 1998.
2. Palumbo's diet (keto diet). The lowest I could go with my carbs and still be functioning mentally, was 250 grams of carbs. Any lower and I'd be a zombie. So, doing a keto diet was never going to happen with me.
Only people who should do a keto diet are people that are super sensitive to carbs. In other words, people who get fat very easily. Will Harris was like this. I dieted him on fat, not carbs.
3. Never did site injections. Nothing was ever a weak bodypart, or small. I'm sure that sounds cocky.
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OFF-SEASON CYCLES:
All off-season cycles were 6 weeks long. I don't ever remember doing a cycle longer than that. I'd follow that with HCG for 6 days, and then stay off for another 5 weeks. So, start to finish, that's 12 weeks.
As far as "what" I'd use. For the last 5 years I was competing, offseason cycles were either Cypionate or Enanthate. Nothing more. I never used GH in the offseason (never thought I needed to, to be honest).
I'm sure that's boring to some of you. The TRUTH, is that bodybuilding is all about genetics and hard work. Without both, you have NO shot.
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Off-season protein when I was younger.. like, from 22 - 28, was 300 grams/day. As I got a little older, I realized I didn't need that much. Protein was lowered to between 200 - 250 grams per day.
Carbs was as much as I felt like. Usually between 600 - 800 grams/day. Calories was roughly 4000 4500/day.
Makes it easy to answer all these questions now that I'm long since retired and done competing.. and don't need bodybuilding for an income.
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MORE ADVICE:
1. Advice to get huge: "If you have ask, it'll never happen."
2. Specific reason for my kidneys: I'm sure it was everything. High blood pressure, gear, anti-inflammatories, weighing 310.
3. Orals: Didn't mind orals. Just had a script for injectables. Orals were all black market gear. Like I said, I stuck with the American Pharmacueticals, 100% of the time, from 1998 - 2004.
4. Training when on and off. I trained the same way all the time. Didn't matter if I was on or off. Only thing that altered my training the dieting process.
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1. How do I feel now? 1000 times better than when I was competing. I was 270 at 24. 290 at 26. 300 at 29. 310 from 30 - 34. Being that muscular is great in the gym, when you're training. he rest of the time it sucks. I'm 205 now and LOVE IT.
Knees are trashed, left shoulder has NO cartilidge, elbows are OK, hips hurt all the time, back hurts all the time. I still weight train one day a week.
2. Why are guys better now if the gear has been the same since the 70's??
(*sigh) IT'S NOT THE GEAR!!!!!
Smarter training, more diet knowledge, better equipment, better supplements, better cardio equipment, tanning beds, pro-tan, etc.
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GOOD QUESTION. HERE'S MY ANSWER: HRT levels at 40 years old: 200 mg. every other week. Not every 3rd week.
Of course, that's based on a person's current Testosterone levels, and keeping them in a normal range of 300 - 800. 300 is still little low, but that would be normal to most labs. MOST labs consider 250 - 1100 "normal". LOL. 1100 isn't "normal", I promise you.
200 mg. every 3rd week gives you too many highs and lows. Raises and lowers your blood pressure. Can mess with your moods, both highs and lows, very dramatically. much more consistant doing 200 mg. every 2 weeks.
I think most pro's WANT to drop some weight eventually. It's too ridiculously hard to walk around at 260 - 310. I think Levrone had the right idea. He stayed at 220 in the off-season, and went UP to 240 to compete. Much healthier way too do it in the long run.
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If you think it's all drugs, you have ZERO chance of ever making it anywhere in bodybuilding.
If you think the gear is 3%, and hard work is 97%, you may have a microscopic, teeny tiny small shot.
If you take your gear, don't give it a second thought after you take it, and believe "making it" is all hard work.. you have a shot.
"The Gear" is the ultimate weak-minded pussies excuse.
