Though I still have 2 more months in this blast phase before finally switching over to a cutting phase for the first time in over 18 months, I am basically set in my approach for the remaining 2 months. Sure, I will tweak a few things here or there but the adjustments will be minor.
Everything I have learned since the start of this blast phase to add as much size as possible in September of 2018, has culminated with almost certainly my best gains in almost 20 years. I totally understand that this is a bold statement and I also understand that a lot of us "seasoned" guys like to make such bold statements and then you see pics and they look the same as they always have. However, I am realist and I am my harshest critic. I would be the first to admit if things simply went "meh" or average over this phase but that just isn't the case.
At the same time, I do not look unrecognizable with 20 more pounds of muscle, either. Again, I'm a realist. I am, though, bigger than I have been since the early 2000s and POSSIBLY better than I have ever been -- though this will not be determined until I get much leaner, again, in the cutting phase that will take place in 2020.
Some things I have learned during this last bulk-phase:
*Just because something worked or didn't work years ago, doesn't mean you can simply shelf it and forget about it. Had I done that, I would not have come back to evaluate a lot of things that may not have worked in the past but did this year.
*I thought I had a shitty metabolism for years. This was primarily due to preconceived notions about getting older and being relatively sedentary. Those 2 things certainly contribute BUT more importantly, the metabolism can be built if you are methodical, disciplined and highly structured. In the past I had times where 100g of carbs would prove too much for me to stay lean. I am now 3 times that just on training days and then 8 times over that every 3rd day on NON-training days and leaner with ZERO cardio.
*I do not need a ton of cardio to get lean. In fact, I have not done one cardio session in almost 18 months and have maintained my leanest off season condition ever. And for me, "ever" means in the last 35 years of training. I have never been this big and this weight at this level of body fat.
*With added caloric intake, recovery is increased. I still don't have great recovery relative to most other people but it is significantly better than it ever has been and this has allowed me to train more frequently. Training more frequently allows for more opportunity for growth.
*Having higher IGF levels significantly has increased recovery and has helped considerably with my condition this off season. In the past, I downplayed compounds that increased IGF levels because they didn't seem to work well for me. Again, one more thing that I am fortunate that I revisited.
*Though my strength levels are higher than they have been in years, they have certainly been higher when I was younger. This is important to note because I have been stronger years ago but nowhere near this big. You can take that any way you want to. My point is that I grew like fucking crazy this year and I was stronger 20 years ago. Increasing strength is only ONE way to get bigger. Plus, I feel this has helped to keep my injuries to a minimum.
*Epstein didn't kill himself
My blood work has not been this good in over 15 years, including my BP.
*Though I am still battling to bring up my back and my legs, my back is probably the best its ever been and my legs continue to get better as I try to regain the leg size I had 10 years ago before my back injuries. I won't be 100% for legs before I start my cut phase but the changes have been dramatic.
*I will never stop trying to improve. I will be 50 in March and I have been training since I was 14. Though my motivation has ebbed and flowed (as it will if you do this as long as I have), I have not been this motivated and focused in years. The process is fun again where at times over the last 10 years it has felt more like an obligation than something I enjoy doing.
*I love South Florida.
I have no plans to change much of anything for the next 2 months. I have finally gotten to the point where I feel that all cylinders are firing and I have my nutrition, training and supplementation as efficient and productive as I possibly could have it. I don't fix what isn't broken and right now, everything is working so I will let it ride until it isn't. In fact, it is working so well that I have considered not even doing the cutting phase and just continuing to ride out this growth phase but I am excited to get ridiculously lean so that I can see what I look like with very low body fat.
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