Back Lifting After 14 Years

[swiftnhbfighter]

Hello everyone,

I am 5'7" tall and weighed 140 when I started lifting. I went from 140 and got up to 185 pounds with a 8% of body fat. I quit lifting to focus on MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I lost a lot of what I gained and balanced out around 155. Now I'm a retired pro MMA fighter but still compete in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I'm 37 years old now and have a shit ton of injurys. I decided to get back into lifting cause that's when I felt the best. So, I'm a month into it and have already went from 155 up to 175 pounds and my body fat is 14.8%. I'm only doing 400mg's of test cyp/week and I'm feeling much better already. I'm not planning on cycling off. I'm just gonna stay on the test and will prolly add 400mg's of Equipoise/week in 3months and do that for 3 months and then switch to something else to stack with the test. I'm not super experienced with this stuff but I have a lot of super knowledgeable friends. One just recently got his pro card for body building and some other friends of mine are really experienced amateur competitors. So, I have them to turn to for advice. It feels super good to be back at it.

 

[AnaSCI]

Sounds like you are having a great run! Make sure to keep us posted on how things go and if you have any questions feel free to ask here!!

 

[swiftnhbfighter]

Thanks, I appreciate it! I didn't think getting back into it would go this good. So, I have no complaints. I've learned a lot already reading the sticky threads and reading the advice given to others. This is a very knowledgeable site and I look forward to growing both mind and body.

 

[thebrick]

Awesome. Muscle memory. Good to here you are back pushing some iron. If I didn't have the gym, I'd go crazy.

 

[swiftnhbfighter]

Thanks Brick! I expected to gain about 20 pounds in 2 months time and creep back up from there. I'm really shocked at my results. It's good to have friends as knowledgeable as mine are to guide me along the way. I'm spending about 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the weight gym 4x/week. I've cleaned up my diet and am drinking alot more water than I was before. My diet still needs some work but it's getting there. The Jiu-Jits gym is my stress relief, so thank god for that. Choking and arm barring your friends is a good way to relieve stress, lol!

 

[vpiedu]

make sure you stay on top of your blood test bro. 400/wk year round is alot for a guy your size and adding Eq to the mix is simply a cycle and there is nothing wrong with this however you need to watch your RBC esp when adding the Eq. i cruise at 200/wk of the test and add a mild compound to it like Mast. this will be much easier on your body. this is just my opinion but it is based in fact. i cruise on 200/wk Test E and 400/wk Mast E and make steady gains. only blast once a year. i am 43yo 6' tall and 260lbs. probably in the best shape of my life. bloods are good to go. hey bro, best of luck to you and stay active here and keep us posted on your progress. being a fighter we know you arent afraid of working hard so your progress will definitely be good to watch.

VP

 

[Andrew.peplin]

I agree with what was stated above. It would be smart to come down to somewhere around 200mg of test cyp per week (or whatever ester). This will not only help with growth but will allow for the receptor density to return to a somewhat normal state.

 

[swiftnhbfighter]

Thanks for the advice guys, it's much appreciated. I have the EQ but I'm going to listen to my body before I add it. If I keep making steady gains and I'm happy with my progress than I will hold off for a while. One of my main reason I got back into it was cause my sex drive has been in the dumps with the hours I work and just plain old being tired all the time. I feel like a 50 year old man in a 37 year old body, lol! Plus I've missed hitting the weights. I'm not to concerned with putting on tons of weight. If it comes cool, if not not biggie. I really just want to feel better, have more energy, better sex drive, look better, and be stronger cause I still compete at a professional level with grappling. I'm astonsihed with the speed of my gains which is prolly attributed to the amount of testosterone I'm taking. I did the same thing when I was younger with no problems and it worked out great! So if it's not broke, why fix it, ya know. I like this site a lot and I will try to keep everyone posted on how it's going. I actually just finished competing yesterday and I place 2nd in Brown Belt Gi, 3rd in No Gi advanced and I won absolutes. I bumped up 2 weight classes from all the weight i've gained and was a little worried how that was going to effect me and I adjusted fine. It was a rocky start but I finished strong.

 

[vpiedu]

congrats bro! glad to hear your doing well with your run and competing. just remember your body is quite different these days compared to when you were younger and will continue to change. once you have ran the 400/wk for 12 weeks or so which is nothing but a mild cycle you should drop it to 200mg/wk. you will retain your gains and you will continue to make steady gains. if you dont have an AI on hand get one or add a compound like Mast E that doesn't aromatize and is quite mild. believe me you will be very happy and it is better for you if you plan on staying on. good luck!

VP

 

[swiftnhbfighter]

I do have AI's on hand. I actually thought I would of had more problems when I was younger doing that much test. I didn't have any gyno problems at all. Since I'm older my body's test levels are lower and I would think it would hurt me less now. Is this incorrect? One of the main reasons I wanted to stay on the test was because of my lower test levels being almost 38.

 

[turbobusa]

Well i'm gonna bet you will really look good fairly quickly being that you are probably well conditioned from your mma training. You should see your gains fairly quickly.
As my buddy brick said ah muscle memory it's a great thing. Have fun and keep us posted on progress. T

 

[swiftnhbfighter]

I'm not as well conditioned as you may think. I am in good grappling condition but I look like shit in my opinion. My body fat % is to high for my size. I need to be around 10% instead of the 14.8% I am now. It all seems to sit right around my gut, too, lol! My injury's have really held me up from being in tip top shape. I have herniated, Bulging, degenerative discs between c4,5,6 and 7. I have a slightly torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder and a separated right shoulder. I've had 3 knee surgeries and I have 2 plates in my right ankle and a shit ton of pins attaching the plates together. I'm pretty much a train wreck from all the MMA competing I've done. I have fought in 60 pro MMA fights and have about 40 boxing matches under my belt combined both pro and amateur. I can't run or get on the treadmill cause it kills my knees. So I have accepted the fact I won't ever be at 6 or 8% body fat. I think I can get to 10% with a decent diet. My cardio consists of live grappling for about 45 minutes 4x/week. So that should help me reach my goals.

 

[vpiedu]

maybe try getting bloods drawn after 5 or 6 weeks and see where you are. get them done on the day you pin your test But get the bloods drawn before you pin yourself so you can see your test at its lowest level. this should let you know where to go with your dose. im def not as banged up as you bro but i do feel like it at times so i swim more than anything cause it is much easier on my joints. good luck brother.

VP

 

[swiftnhbfighter]

Thanks vpiedu. Is there any certain thing I should ask for when I get my blood drawn? Also, what all should I have the doctor look at when he sees my test results?

 

[vpiedu]

your main focus is going to be checking your test so ask to have your testosterone checked or if you dont mind spending a little more money ask for a comprehensive hormone panel. this will test all you need but is probably in the 200 to 300 dollar range where the other test would be around 80ish. just do a brief google search and you will probably find everything you need local. good luck brother!

VP

 

[swiftnhbfighter]

Ok, thank you for the advice, I appreciate it