Ryu's Lean Up Log

Time for a long overdue update. I do apologize for the lack of as I was stuck on another business trip, add that in with being sick and my gym efforts were pretty rough last week.

Back at it 100% as of Saturday with a 10km run just to see if I could still do it. 

Diet has been going well.  Some macro data from yesterday attached. Finding it a little hard to get all the calories into the 8 hour IF window. 

Weight as of Sunday is 103.3kg.  So not much movement as expected do to the above trip. Also note that I will be off TRT and all additional "suppressive" items until my wife is knocked up, so that present a challenge but as my goal now is a large drop in BF, I think it works out at least in theory. 

I do feel like I need to reassess my BF% level to a little higher than I though based on the photos. More into the high 20's low 30% range.  I feel like I should have more muscle mass than I do but meh, life. This would make my target weight around 88kg to hit 15% BF which is my goal over the next 3-4 months. Possible? Maybe...

I also got some blood work results back finally (1 month off TRT):

TT: 3.59 ng/ml

DHEA-S: 107.80 ug/dl

E2: 21.00 pg/ml

FSH: 5.46 mIU/ml

LH: 3.84 mIU/ml

TT4: 4.85 ug/dl

TT3: 0.77 ng/ml

TSH: 30.05 uIU/ml

FT3: 3.54 pmol/l

FT4: 9.47 pmol/l

Note they did not test free test even though I asked for it. My total TT is low, but in "normal range"

T4 and T3 are low, while free T3 seems low "normal". Looking forward to some T3 and RAD140 when I get back on TRT lol  @MedicusResearch  

TSH is pretty high and E2 seems not too bad considering the clomid/HCG fertility therapy. 

I am looking forward to posting a nice improvement this coming Saturday/Sunday and maybe some photos.  Hoping for around 1-1.5KG drop if not a little bit more. 

My blast that I have laid out is on hold until I get my BF% under control. The only note on that is I might consider adding in some MK677 at around 12.5mg a day into the blast plan. I have run it higher once before and the bloating was pretty rough, so I am curious to see what it does at a lower dose. That, and I am not a fan of higher doses anyways. 

Thanks for you the continued support from team NL. 

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Solid read @Corey5150

Really appreciate it. HMG is something I have seen tossed around in several protocols, but Im holding off a little bit do to it being hard to get and not cheap. 

I know Dave Palumbo lists it in his 'protocol".  I guess I'm just hoping my balls are not that fried at this point. My last check did come back with improvements so....slow and steady.

 
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I didn't see that you were seeing a fertility doctor in your post (or maybe I'm just blind lol), but if you're doing this yourself - here's an interesting study to look at, that looks at infertility from a variety of angles.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4708300/

Something that I've done a good amount of reading on, in cases of severe infertility has been hMG alongside hCG
I have to agree with you. I've read quite a bit myself as I am hoping to make another miniature human sooner than later. HMG and HCG have been run together severe cases of infertility. Definitely an interesting subject that gives hope to many who have done some long term damage to their fertility.  Good read on that study also!

 
Never tried HMG, but had success with HCG, after 10 years of trt, still popp'n em out. HCG might have done something strange though because me and my wife are white and my kids all came out half black.....

All joking aside, if you try HMG let us know, im done with kids but know a lot of guys who are trying after years of hormone use (abuse lol), nice log btw, trying to do one myself and was checking out the other logs on here.

 
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Just a note about yesterdays intake and training. 

Made some food swaps on the fly including adding a little natty peanut butter into the mix as well as an avocado with a little soy and wasabi. Again, calories are hard to get in on this IF round and seem to be sitting around 1500Cal/Day which is pretty low. Then again, Im pretty fat but I hope I dont bottom out my metabolism any more. I might add in some more fat sources and try to get it up to around 2000Cal/Day.

Hit heavy squats yesterday and with the addition on the N1 pre-workout I dont know why but the tingles from the beta really made me want to push hard....ended up seeing spots and sparkles. Overall a solid workout though with 30min incline treadmill at the end. 

I did step on the scale last night for giggles and came in at 102.4kg, which is odd given it was an night when I should be my heaviest....but will wait to see my AM weigh in and photos come Saturday/Sunday. 

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Update:

A good week overall. Keeping the calories above 2K has been tricky but thanks to the wonder thing that is natural peanut butter as well as avocado/soy/wasabi, it has been going much better. Given that my carbs are so low most of the time the extra fat should, in theory, be OK. 

Weight as of the AM: 100.6kg/221.8lbs (so a long way to go still, but I have 4-5 months) 15% here I come lol.

Training has be spot on and I actually feel really good in the gym right now. Not as strong weight wise but I find mentally I'm really pushing for extra reps with balls out much more. Cardio is 20-40min post weights depending on how I feel.  If the weight loss stops ill set the min to 25 and see if it picks up. 

Couple rough progress photos (be gentle) and I also threw in the single bicep for no real reason at all. 

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Update:

Weight: 98.6kg / 217.41lbs

Last week was pretty solid in terms of diet and training. I am still finding it hard to hit calorie goals in the 2K range so I guess for now I will be in the 1500-2000K range pretty steadily. Its not a good thing but then not a bad thing. My cheat meal was Saturday and did include about 80g of carbs and a lot of deliciousness. The rate of weight of rate loss is much faster than expected and that is probably not such a good thing as a wall is inevitable. This is the main reason I have been keeping my cardio limited to 20min post weight training most days.  Just so I have some place to go as things slow down.

In the gym, my endurance has been really good.  Really really good actually. Strength is holding.  I wish I had something in my system for a little extra kick but until my wife has a bun in the oven that's a no go. Anyway, dieting down "natural" is not a bad way to go either. Aside from my pre-workout and "fat burner" supplements.  

I have changed my weight training program up, as I have been doing Push/Pull/Legs for a long time and a change is always nice. PPL is my favorite split though by far.

Yesterdays gym session:

Barbell Bench - Medium Grip: 2 warm up sets followed by 4 sets of 8-10.  If I can hit 11, I add weight, but I doubt ill be adding any weight during this time, god knows Ill try though.

Incline DB Press - 3 X 8-10

Decline DB Press - 3 X 10-12

Dips - 4 X Failure (body weight) with a gymnast tuck and the top of each. 

Close Grip Bench - 4 X 8-10

DC Style Cable Chest Stretch 60-120 seconds

DC Style Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Stretch 60 seconds 

I always use maximum control and squeeze on each rep to the best of my ability. 

20min 10 incline/5 speed treadmill.  I was dripping buckets for some reason. 

I will probably update with photos at the end of this week to see if you guys notice any physical change.  

Here is the diet break down from Sunday, post cheat meal day: (foods included round steak, shrimp, scallops, chicken breast, red and yellow peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, avocado, natty peanut butter)

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Just to post outside of the update, I have been having a lot of fun planning my next blast (which wont be until May), but there are a lot of fun looking items that I have been reading about on here that were outside of my scope before. I will post that plan up as soon as I have it all figured out and everything arrives. 

I was considering a 6 week run of some LGD-4033 (10mg Pre-Workout) or RAD140 (20mg Pre-Workout) come February with possibly 50mcg of T3, the T3 being on the radar if my metabolism stalls out and my latest test comes back low.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on that as I have not used SARMS much outside of MK677 and Carnadine almost a year ago. 

My concern being that the LGD-4033 solo might not be recommend even though you always ready about people and their wonderful solo SARM experiences lol.  That and of course any negative impact on fertility but then again, February is a couple months out and god I hope she is cooking something in the oven by then. She has been an animal with the fertility APP scheduled hook ups and honestly it kind of takes the fun out of it. Cialis is the win for that btw. 10mg EOD. 

 
Got the Xmass gym session in.  Good times. Diet was on par all day as I spent Xmass alone this year. 

Standing Shoulder Press: 4 x 8-10

Seated Bi-lateral DB Press: 3 x 10-12

Single Plate Upright Rows: 3 x 10-12

Squats: 4 x 8-10 + Two Doubles

Single Leg Press: 4 x 10-12 + 1 Burn Out

Walking Lunges: Around the track, bodyweight, until failure. 3 Sets

Deadlifts: 4 x 8-10

Standing Calf Press: 6 X 10-12

Treadmill: 10 Incline, 5 Pace x 25min

You know that feeling when your entire shirt is soaked in sweat except for your faking love handles. FML lol.

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Update:

No change in weight to report from this last week. I did have a few extra calories this week but it could also be my body adjusting.

I will be increasing my post lift cardio to 30min per session to see if that helps at all. 

Stats say my BMR is around 2200CAL at my current weight, but its probably not super accurate. Anyway, Im in a deficit so all will be OK.

Training has been good. Still good energy and strength. Fertility treatment is making me a little more moody than usual but nothing that can not be compensated for with a little extra focus. 

Todays session: 

Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs: 2 + 4 x 8-10

Underhand Cable Pulldowns: 3 x 8-10

Straight Arm Pulldowns: 3 x 10-12

Behind the Back Shrugs: 4 x 10-10

Incline DB Curls: 3 x 10-12 + 1 DC Stretch

High Cable Curls: 3 x 10-12

Cable Hammer Curls: 3 x 8-10

Wrist Curls Palms Down: 3 x 10-12

Wrist Curst Palms Up: 3 x 10-12

30min Incline Treadmill, 10 Incline, 4.5 Speed. 

Really looking forward to adding some additional fat loss accessories come March with some goodies from one of the board sponsers. Ill update that when the time comes and I guess it can also serve as a mini review until I run my blast around May which will be some more fun items. 

Some pics, again; AM, depleted, crap lighting. But I want to keep them consistant. Not that I see much change from the start point, but I dont expect to see anything major from Day 1 until I reach about the 10-12 week mark. 15% here I come. 

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Todays gym session:

Barbell Bench: 2 + 4 x 6-8

Incline DB Press: 3 x 10-12 + DC Stretch 60 seconds

Decline DB Press: 3 x 10-12 (unilateral) 

Dips: 4 x BW failure

Close Grip Bench: 4 x 10-12

Hip Raise: 3 x 10-12

Treadmill: 30min, 8 incline, 4.5 speed (I will increase the incline next week vs. adding time)

Strength and focus are good. Solid contractions. Good energy. Only odd note is I find during cardio, some sessions I am dripping wet, others even with the same specs, almost nothing. Hydration is the same so, not sure about that one yet. 

Onward we go. 

 
Hit a 7 point calliper test today and it has me coming in at 19.87%...seems way off. 
 

I would put me up more in the 25% range from my photos. That said I’m sure the test was not done that well. Ah well. 
 

Lets get it done in 2020. 14-15% or bust lol. 

 
Quick update. 

Weight: 98.0kg / 216.09lbs

Not a huge move on the scale but I do look a little better in the mirror, maybe, I think.  Anyway, with New Years in the mix, keeping the diet tight was a little tricky but was around 95% successful. Going to bump up LISS to 35 min this week post workout to see how it goes. Always followed up by about 10-15min of static stretching. I find that really helps with mobility and just general feeling of well being. Getting old and such. 

May 10 is my target date to hit 15% and really hoping I can get there. 

In theory I need to drop at least about 20lbs / 9kg. Give or take. 

 
Just random note.

I hit the scale this morning because, well, yolo - 100.03kg.

Im guessing this is due to me adding in some extra carbs this week, hopefully; as I have been looking pretty full and veiny in the gym. Yes, my fat ass has visible veins.

I have actually had an increase not in strength, but in intensity. Either from the carbs or from being traumatized by GD into always hearing "Train how hard? Harder than last time.."

Ill update pics this weekend and hopefully there will be some notable changes vs. day 1. 

Honestly, hell or high water, as much as I want to put some extra "supplements" into the mix and start putting on size and strength, I wont until my BF is at least 15% or sub. 

I do however have some Clen, LGD and T3 on standby should I hit a hard plateau beyond the 60min LISS post workout improvements. Current at 35min, going to 40min next week. 

For that, I would start with the clen low around 20mcg titrating up +20mcg every 2 weeks to peak at 8 weeks and then drop it. T3 may or may not be added along with the LGD (because I worry about T3 eating me alive) about 2 or 3 weeks into the clen with again, a small titrate up from 20-25mcg but not exceeding 50mcg. I need to pick up a good thermometer to track my Am temp to look for a drop in metabolism.  I cant run test or anything until post wife knock up, as I dont want any form of "hard shutdown" and the data I have read about LGD is that it is pretty gentle on that side of things at around 10mg/day.  Thoughts from the NL big dogs?

If I do end up adding the above in, Ill drop a review of the goods into this log. But the fun review will be much later when I can start to run a "welcome back" pre-trt blast.

Anyway, back to poking this sexy avocado.