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Greetings,
I am 40 year old male currently about halfway through my first cycle. Have gradually been getting more into fitness over the last ten years or so, but since September 2025 really dedicated to it. I wasn't a problem drinker, but decided then to give up alcohol as I couldn't find any plus sides to using it. I am hypogonadal and have been on TRT for about the last 6 years (usually around 125mg week of test cyp). I have a bad L5 disc that I'm looking at getting replaced in June/July timeframe. Debating how much more bulking I want to do prior to surgery. May push out surgery and do another cycle, uncertain. It is manageable with current exercise regime just can't do anything that loads the L5. Belt squats saved the day for quads, and the only muscle I really struggle to target are hamstrings since I am basically limited to only sitting and lying leg curls.
Last 10 years I mostly did BJJ and Muay Thai and gradually shifted to weightlifting as my back injury progressed. I did 5/3/1 for about 1.5-2 years and had what I considered good progress at the time but wasn't really locked in hormonally or from a diet perspective. I did at least spend a lot of this time learning the movements and getting better at the skill of lifting weights.
First part of my plan in September 2025 was to lose weight. I started around 193 lbs and estimate around 23-25% bodyfat. I used Retatrutide and CJC/IPA blend from September through December 19th and got down to 169 lbs and 9% body fat (per Dexa, not 100% sure on accuracy?). During this time I started shifting to a PLP split and got really dialed in by January. I maintained for about 2 weeks and then started my first cycle running Test cyp at 400mg a week, 40 mg Anavar daily (4 weeks) and NPP 200mg. Around February 5th after all my bloodwork came back fine and feeling good I decided to increase test to 700mg a week and NPP to 350mg. I had blood work again early march and had nothing concerning going on. I am taking Arimidex .25mg EOD and .5 EOD (awkward dosing but can only quarter the pills) Currently that keeps my E2 at approximately 30 pg/ml. I've gained about 19.8 lbs since I started bulking.
Current Stack finishing May 13th:
Pin daily, dosages shown weekly.
700mg Test Cyp
350mg NPP
50mg Anavar (last 10 weeks of cycle, assuming liver values stay OK)
Current Levels:
AI:
Arimidex - ~2.5mg per week split daily
Supplements:
Super EPA fish oil
LiverStabil
LipidStabil
Curcumin Phytosome
Advanced Nutrients Multivitamin from Thorne
Bloodwork:
Will continue getting full blood panel every 4-6 weeks.
Sleep: I give myself an 8 hour window but I've always struggled to sleep that long. Right now average 6-7 hours. Considering starting 2 IU of HGH to help improve this.
Diet:
3400-3600 calories per day.
5 Meals a day, try to have protein, clean carb and veggies with every meal. Mostly chicken breast, chicken thigh, ground turkey, lean cuts of beef. Fruit and super greens.
Workout: PLP rest, PLP rest
Most exercises are 8-12 reps, some push to 15.
Rest day is usually incline walking or assault bike then sauna.
Try to get 10,000 steps a day.
I do core every day to help with back
Following progressive overload and will chase reps up to 10-12 depending on the movement and once I hit 3x10-12 I go up in weight.
Core:
Pallof Press - Weighted holds 60s each side x2
Cable Crunch
McGill Curl Uphold 60s x2
Push:
Bench press
Chest Fly
Weighted Dips
Shoulder Press
Cable Cross Over
Bicep dumbbell curl - heavy
Curl bar preacher curl - light
Legs:
Belt Squat
Leg Extension
Lying leg curl
Standing hip trust machine
Standing hip abduction
Seated calve raises
Pull:
Lat Pulldown
Chest supported T-Bar Row (omni grip)
Low row cable machine
Face Pulls
Cable Cross over
Curl Bar Curl - Heavy
dumbbell curl preacher - light
Questions I have now:
My legs are getting stronger, but I can't really tell if they are growing. if i'm consistently adding weight/reps should I just stay the course and trust the process?
Anything else I can do for hamstrings that would not put stress on the L5 disc?
As far as I can tell I have put on very little fat, but I also struggle to imagine I've put on nearly 20 lbs of actual muscle in this short time frame. For a relatively novice weightlifter, is there any value is trying to stay leaner vs trying to get the newbie gains?
Currently taking ZPHC Anavar 50mg, about 7 days in and honestly can't even tell. I got from an alleged reliable source (not sure if I can share source?) but unsure if I should just wait it out or what? My first 4 weeks was on DragonPharma Anavar and it was very obvious it was working after just a few days.
October 2025: 193 lbs
Current: ~190 lbs
I am 40 year old male currently about halfway through my first cycle. Have gradually been getting more into fitness over the last ten years or so, but since September 2025 really dedicated to it. I wasn't a problem drinker, but decided then to give up alcohol as I couldn't find any plus sides to using it. I am hypogonadal and have been on TRT for about the last 6 years (usually around 125mg week of test cyp). I have a bad L5 disc that I'm looking at getting replaced in June/July timeframe. Debating how much more bulking I want to do prior to surgery. May push out surgery and do another cycle, uncertain. It is manageable with current exercise regime just can't do anything that loads the L5. Belt squats saved the day for quads, and the only muscle I really struggle to target are hamstrings since I am basically limited to only sitting and lying leg curls.
Last 10 years I mostly did BJJ and Muay Thai and gradually shifted to weightlifting as my back injury progressed. I did 5/3/1 for about 1.5-2 years and had what I considered good progress at the time but wasn't really locked in hormonally or from a diet perspective. I did at least spend a lot of this time learning the movements and getting better at the skill of lifting weights.
First part of my plan in September 2025 was to lose weight. I started around 193 lbs and estimate around 23-25% bodyfat. I used Retatrutide and CJC/IPA blend from September through December 19th and got down to 169 lbs and 9% body fat (per Dexa, not 100% sure on accuracy?). During this time I started shifting to a PLP split and got really dialed in by January. I maintained for about 2 weeks and then started my first cycle running Test cyp at 400mg a week, 40 mg Anavar daily (4 weeks) and NPP 200mg. Around February 5th after all my bloodwork came back fine and feeling good I decided to increase test to 700mg a week and NPP to 350mg. I had blood work again early march and had nothing concerning going on. I am taking Arimidex .25mg EOD and .5 EOD (awkward dosing but can only quarter the pills) Currently that keeps my E2 at approximately 30 pg/ml. I've gained about 19.8 lbs since I started bulking.
Current Stack finishing May 13th:
Pin daily, dosages shown weekly.
700mg Test Cyp
350mg NPP
50mg Anavar (last 10 weeks of cycle, assuming liver values stay OK)
Current Levels:
AI:
Arimidex - ~2.5mg per week split daily
Supplements:
Super EPA fish oil
LiverStabil
LipidStabil
Curcumin Phytosome
Advanced Nutrients Multivitamin from Thorne
Bloodwork:
Will continue getting full blood panel every 4-6 weeks.
Sleep: I give myself an 8 hour window but I've always struggled to sleep that long. Right now average 6-7 hours. Considering starting 2 IU of HGH to help improve this.
Diet:
3400-3600 calories per day.
5 Meals a day, try to have protein, clean carb and veggies with every meal. Mostly chicken breast, chicken thigh, ground turkey, lean cuts of beef. Fruit and super greens.
Workout: PLP rest, PLP rest
Most exercises are 8-12 reps, some push to 15.
Rest day is usually incline walking or assault bike then sauna.
Try to get 10,000 steps a day.
I do core every day to help with back
Following progressive overload and will chase reps up to 10-12 depending on the movement and once I hit 3x10-12 I go up in weight.
Core:
Pallof Press - Weighted holds 60s each side x2
Cable Crunch
McGill Curl Uphold 60s x2
Push:
Bench press
Chest Fly
Weighted Dips
Shoulder Press
Cable Cross Over
Bicep dumbbell curl - heavy
Curl bar preacher curl - light
Legs:
Belt Squat
Leg Extension
Lying leg curl
Standing hip trust machine
Standing hip abduction
Seated calve raises
Pull:
Lat Pulldown
Chest supported T-Bar Row (omni grip)
Low row cable machine
Face Pulls
Cable Cross over
Curl Bar Curl - Heavy
dumbbell curl preacher - light
Questions I have now:
My legs are getting stronger, but I can't really tell if they are growing. if i'm consistently adding weight/reps should I just stay the course and trust the process?
Anything else I can do for hamstrings that would not put stress on the L5 disc?
As far as I can tell I have put on very little fat, but I also struggle to imagine I've put on nearly 20 lbs of actual muscle in this short time frame. For a relatively novice weightlifter, is there any value is trying to stay leaner vs trying to get the newbie gains?
Currently taking ZPHC Anavar 50mg, about 7 days in and honestly can't even tell. I got from an alleged reliable source (not sure if I can share source?) but unsure if I should just wait it out or what? My first 4 weeks was on DragonPharma Anavar and it was very obvious it was working after just a few days.
October 2025: 193 lbs
Current: ~190 lbs
. Normally do 3x9/10 with 30 lbs and then do some negatives to failure. First time trying to do 3x15 with just body weight.
. I also adjusted my belt so squats are deeper, below parallel. My calves are disproportionately large so not really trying to focus on them much until quads and hamstrings grow.
.
