Bodybuilding Area Tips

Like so many of you, I started out believing in order to gain mass I had to eat lots of clean food. What I am about to tell you may shock some of you.
I have been bodybuilding for more than 20 years, I can speak from personal experience, eating 6000 clean calories is super hard.

For the Mr. universe my diet consisted of 6000 calories, I went through a jar of peanut butter every second day, I added MCT and olive oil to just about everything and still I struggled.
I read about guys, claiming how they’re eating 5000 or 6000 clean calories in the off-season. I’m sorry I have a hard time believing, I believe they are eating clean, but I doubt they,re eating 5000 or 6000 calories.

Some of the pros who weigh 300+ pounds, need to come consume 8000 or 9000 calories to maintain that much mass, I doubt they are doing that with rice and tuna. Truth be known they’re not. They are doing it with junk food, lots of junk food, that’s right I am talking about big Macs, ice cream, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies, it’s hard to believe but it’s true. With so much muscle mass these guys aren’t worried about getting fat, and most likely they are using GH anyway. 200 g of uncooked rice yields about 750 calories, that is equal to one big Mac, 200 g off uncooked rice is a shit load of rice.

Seriously, how many times have you seen a Pro in the off-season looking like a glazed doughnut, how can this be if they claim they are eating clean foods, it’s because they’re not. I often get a shocked look from people when I tell them I go to Mac Donald’s at least five or six times per week, I make sure I eat lots of good protein, for the rest I am not to strict, so long I reached my target calories I don’t really care.

          

People in the caring professions mean well and therefore tend to be irritatingly arrogant. Care workers know what’s good for you, and by definition they also know better than you. And they know what you are allowed to know – and what not.

This arrogance becomes painfully obvious on reading the study that British analysts carried out for the WADA, which was published in Drug Testing & Analysis. The researchers analysed 19 orals and 38 injectables, which they got hold of through bodybuilders. The bodybuilders had bought the substances on the British black market.

So let’s come straight to the point. The orals come out of the tests better than the injectables. The only bad tabs the Brits could find were products that were supposed to contain stanozolol, but that an unreliable workshop had added other things to: either nothing at all, DHT or a cocktail of methyltestosterone and caffeine.

The only information the researchers provide is the list above. There are no batch numbers, and the researchers don’t even say anything about the producers. As far as they are concerned, this is not information that you should have.

In fact, the researchers are not out just to inform you, their mission is to educate you. They want you to learn that you shouldn’t be using anabolic steroids. Steroids are dangerous, is their message. The researchers are worried that if they give you too much precise information, all you’ll do is avoid that particular product. And that’s not what they want. And because the researchers know what’s good for you, they have the right to withhold information from you. That’s why you don’t know whether the maker of that stanozolol product, for example, is a reliable one or not.

OK, but maybe there’s still something to be gained.

The list below shows 18 test results for injectables that do indeed contain the ingredients listed on the label. This means that fifty percent of the tested injectable substances are what they say they are.

The researchers found eight products that contained other ingredients than those listed on the labels. Boldenona 50 contains ordinary testosterone propionate, a nandrolone decanoate only contained testosterone enanthate, a primo contained nandrolone, a fake Sustanon had a slightly different ester mix than it should have – that kind of thing. The sachets are a false alarm. These are made to get round customs. The buyers will obviously know that they don’t contain aromatic oil. Somewhat more suspicious is the faulty growth hormone component. The right stuff gives a peak at 22.1 kDa.

And then there are still the injectables that contain nothing at all. With Boldabol, Boldebal-h, Testabol depot, Trenbol 75-r, Youth gh and Norditropin you’re being duped.

The researchers analysed the injectable preparations for microorganisms. They looked to see if they could find bacteria in them, and if so which ones. And in some products they actually found bacteria, but they just don’t think you should know which ones. “Microbiological culture of the vials revealed the presence of contaminants, identified as skin commensals,” is all the researchers are willing to say.

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Cardio just bores the hell out of me, I try not to do it, I understand the health benefits but as a pure fat loss activity do you really need it?

There’s a lot of debate regarding cardio, some guys will swear without it it’s impossible to get lean on the other side guys are adamant all you need is diet.

I’m one of those guys who believe in diet, to me cardio burns more than just fat, I won the Universe doing once a day cardio, but to be honest I used a shit load of product everything and anything, GH, insulin, Test you name it I was on it, so I wondered could I still get lean with no cardio and with very little product, there was only one way to find out I guess.

Week 1 – 8

HGH 4 Iu’s six on, one off
Sustanon 750mg
Deca 500mg

Week 9 – 12

HGH 4 Iu’s six on, one off

Week 13 – 14

HGH 4 Iu’s six on, one off
Jetepar 6 capsules daily
Kidney Clean 4 capsules daily

Week 15 -20

HGH 4 Iu’s six on, one off
Oxandrolone 60 mg daily
Sustanon 500mg every two weeks

My diet was simple, 5 meals a day, plus a pre-work snack and a post -work meal.

Meal 1:
Oat Meal 120g with water
Raisins 30g
10 egg whites plus 2 yolks I also added coconut oil

Meal 2:
100g white rice (the weight is before cooking)
120g Tuna
50 ml coconut milk

Pre-workout
2 mars bars (shocking isn’t it)

Post- workout
50g Whey protein
20g Bcaa

Meal 3:
50g white rice
100g Chicken breast

Meal 4:
Same as meal 2

Meal 5:
60g Whey protein
2 tablespoons coconut oil

I would follow this from Monday till Friday however if I was out I would pretty well anything I wanted.

Saturday and Sunday
Most guys including me will have cheat meals but what I did was eat less rather than more, my reason is simple I’m giving my liver a chance to clean itself, kinda like a motor mechanic fixing your car he can’t very well do it if you’re using it. I would only eat three solid meals and three liquid BCAA’s meals this way the liver had a chance to catch up.

If your liver is sluggish in processing food it’s will take longer to supply the muscle of much needed nutrition’s, remember it does more then just process food, from the heavy training the liver is a very busy organ so give it the weekend off.

Like I said the diet is simple, I placed no restrictions on the diet if I felt like eating pizza I did.

          

Testosterone is a steroid hormone that is from a group called androgen. Men make testosterone in their testes. Women secrete testosterone from their ovaries. It is a big player in your health and your well being. For men, it is the main sex hormone. While known to be in men, many do not realize the women have it to. But, for your well being it needs to be there for many reasons. For example, testosterone plays a large role in enhancing libido, immune function, in energy levels as well as in protection of osteoporosis.

What Can Testosterone Do?

Since it is found in both men and women, it plays a great deal of a role in the human health. It is available in a much lower dosage in women than in men, though. There are many things that it can do to your body. Here are some of them:

• As an anabolic effect, testosterone can help with the growth of muscle mass as well as increasing strength. For this, many individuals looking to enhance their body’s muscular structure take testosterone supplements.
• It can also help in increasing the bone density and strength of them as well. Supplements of testosterone in aging women, for example, that have gone through menopause may help to provide more strength for weakening bones.
• It can also help with the individual’s height growth and bone maturation.
• For men, testosterone helps with the maturation of the sex organs including the penis and the scrotum in the fetus as well as during puberty later on in life.
• In puberty, testosterone can be responsible for a male’s voice deepening and the growth of hair on the body especially on the face and on the chest.
• In individuals that are transsexual, testosterone can be given to the opposite sex to help provide characteristics to these individuals of the opposite sex. They can take either enhancing testosterone (for female to male transgenders) or medications that lower testosterone output (for male to female transgenders.)

You can see the occurrences of testosterone increasing during puberty in a number of ways. Body odor is an indication of puberty and of testosterone increases. Also, pubic hair formation, axillary hair, growth spurts during this time, skin that is more oily than it was, acne and even upper lip and sideburn hair as well are all signs of increased levels of testosterone within the body.

There are also many reasons why you may need a testosterone treatment. The first testosterone was removed from a bull in 1935 and since then, there have been many ways in which it can be made pharmaceutically. Today, it can be purchased in several forms including testosterone cypionate and enanthate in an oil that is injected into the body, in methyltestosterone tablets that are used for oral use, and even skin patches.

But, why is it used? There are several conditions which can benefit from it. These include the uses of testosterone to treat men that have little to no natural level of testosterone in their body. This will help with the relief of anxiety, depression and even tiredness. Other benefits may take longer to happen.

But, there are other conditions in which testosterone can be given. These include infertility, penile enlargement, height growth, osteoporosis, and erectile dysfunction. It can also help in reversing anemia, be used as appetite stimulation and be used to stimulate bone marrow growth as well. In some individuals, it is also a way to fight the signs of old age.

There are many conditions in which testosterone treatments can help. But, there are others that can hurt the body as well. Anabolic steroids such as the use of testosterone can increase the size of muscles and strength.

If you wish to purchase Testosterone please visit the online store

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Benefits of Whey Protein

In recent years, the subject of whey protein has come up often in health discussions. Know what whey protein are its possible benefits and side effects and more as you read on.

What is Whey Protein

Whey protein is actually a term used to describe a group of globular proteins that can be separated from whey. When cow’s milk is used to manufacture cheese, it also leads to the production of whey, which may or may not be discarded. It is a mixture of lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin and serum albumin.

Similar to protein found in egg white, whey protein can also be irreversibly changed by heat. When made part of the pasteurization process, it becomes less bio-active. If not, whey protein naturally becomes bio-active which basically means it contains a high concentration of cysteine and consequently glutathione, an antioxidant that is essential to improved fitness and health.

Bio-active whey protein is an active source for protein but exposure to extreme heat can easily reduce the amount of cysteine in it without affecting its protein content and basic food value. Native whey protein

What Makes It Good for the Body

Because whey protein contains an inordinate amount of essential and non-essential acids, it frequently plays a prominent role in most low-carb and high-protein diets. Another reason for this is because of its low content of fats and of course, carbohydrates.

Why Pregnant Mothers Love Whey Protein

A number of OBs have advised their gravid patients to increase their intake of whey protein because it will provide the basic amount of amino acids needed by the growing infants inside their bodies. An increased intake of whey protein will naturally improve and speed up the development of the baby. Also, increased intake of whey protein will indirectly improve the immune system of the baby. In its growing stages, it is highly vulnerable to different types of illnesses. With the help of whey protein, it grow faster and better and more equipped to defend itself against any health complication.

Whey Protein for Bodybuilding Enthusiasts

For bodybuilders, muscle growth is everything and that’s why they love whey protein so much. Studies have satisfactorily proven that whey protein can lead to acceleration of muscle development. This is welcomed news especially for bodybuilders who are only a few weeks away from the date of competition but is still in high need of muscle growth.

How it Helps Athletes Busy Recovering from Old Injuries

In this case, whey protein saves the day once more because it can be used to supplement diets of individuals who are suffering from compromised immune systems. Basically, it helps athletes heal faster and feel better.

A Weapon against Degenerative Diseases

Although you can’t truly say that any disease is less painful than the other if both have life-altering consequences, it is an inarguable fact however that degenerative diseases are one of the worst health complications to suffer from. These illnesses tend to subject people to a protracted form of suffering and with symptoms with increasing levels of severity. They commonly affect three systems in particular: the nervous system, the muscular system and the skeletal system.

Although rarely curable, degenerative diseases can be treated through chemotherapy, surgical operations and the proper diet. Whey protein is often a part of this diet because of its rehabilitative benefits especially when it comes to muscle growth. Cancer, diabetes and AIDS have symptoms that causes muscle strength and growth to deteriorate – an undesirable effect that can be combated with increased intake of whey protein.

Where to Buy Whey Protein

Are you sufficiently convinced of the benefits of whey protein then? If so, you should be happy to know that you can avail of commercial whey protein product in most supermarkets and specialty food stores specializing in healthy food.

Ending with a Warning

Whey protein is good for the body – no doubt about it – but too much consumption of anything is never beneficial. Too much intake of whey protein can lead to unnecessary complications of your liver. And need we remind you that the liver is the next most important organ in the body? Lastly, lactose intolerant individuals must consume whey protein isolate rather than the normal variety as the former has less lactose content.

          

While doing a moderate cycle I found myself getting sluggish and with no appetite, I remember sitting with a friend having a chicken salad and unable to finish it, yes a frikken salad.

My buddy quickly pointed out my liver was too toxic a condition called “Fatty Liver” and suggest a detox.

Detoxification is the removal or elimination of toxic substances from your body particularly the toxins stored in your kidneys, liver, intestines, lungs, and lymph and body fats.

Over the many years I’ve used liver cleanses especially when using orals, thinking this all I needed to do, I couldn’t have been more wrong

The liver has many functions. Some of the functions are: to produce substances that break down fats, convert glucose to glycogen, produce urea (the main substance of urine), make certain amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), filter harmful substances from the blood (such as alcohol), storage of vitamins and minerals (vitamins A, D, K and B12) and maintain a proper level or glucose in the blood. The liver is also responsible for producing cholesterol. It produces about 80% of the cholesterol in your body.

The liver is responsible for the mainstay of protein metabolism, synthesis as well as degradation and the liver also performs several roles in lipid metabolism, if you want to know more about what your liver does do a google.

I will add in one more, if you pee and see lots of foam, this is a sign that you are having some form of protein in your urine, most commonly albumin, in other words you’re pissing out protein, not much good in the bowl is it.

I decided to go for a liver and kidney detox, with betaine glucuronate combined with diethanolamine glucuronate and nicotinamide ascorbate, studies have shown this combination to reduce a fatty liver (hepatic steatosis) by 48%, the only product currently on the market containing all three was Jetepar. Next I needed something for the kidneys I opted for a OTC since I had never done a kidney cleanse I was left in the hands of the pharmacist, oddly enough I was handed a bottle called Kidney, how befitting.

Now what’s important to note I did not consume any food during this period my period only lasting two days, to stop my body going catabolic I used BCAA’s for every meal, if you’re still eating food the liver is still at work, kind of like washing a car while driving. You need to give the liver a complete rest. I had only one meal on the second day last one of the day just to start shuttling some glucose.

My detox regime:

Day one
6 meals liquid BCAA’s
1 Jetepar with each meal
1 Kidney with each meal
5 liters water

Day two
5 meals liquid BCAA’s
Last meal steamed fish 50g rice
1 Jetepar with each meal
1 Kidney with each meal
5 liters water

Day three
Began eating normal meals
2 Jetepar with first and last meal
1 Kidney with first and last meal
5 liters water

Day four to six
Same as day three

The first day with no food wasn’t a problem I had no appetite from being toxic, by the second day I was plenty hungry, by day three my appetite was back

To my surprise on day three I was super vascular, I thought I would look smooth I put it down to the fact my liver was finally able to transport glucose to my much needed muscles.

I cannot say for certain but I contribute my body getting leaner because of the detox, to me this makes senses, if the liver is all clogged up its unable to send nutrients to the muscles, my muscles are starving and are unable to recover, one of the functions of the liver is to process fats with a fatty liver it’s unable to do this.

With a clean liver and kidney your bodies ability to process food is easier and faster, remember 80% of bodybuilding is diet this goes for anyone wishing to loose fat IMO.

Since my detox I have continued doing a small one with 3 meals BCAA’s and three solid meals every weekend, my body fat subsequently reduced from 11% to 7.5%, no diet and no cardio, believe it or not I eat junk food everyday.

          

By: Juicecop

The title for this article says it all I believe, years ago you would hear about a new brand every great once in a while mainly due to the fact that gear from legit, well know, real manufactures was readily available.

Today it’s all about the roaches. Every where you look all you read about is the latest underground lab to hit the seen, its just about every week someone ask me if I’ve heard of some new “brand”, Great I say to myself, another jobless jackass trying to make a few bucks before words out its crap or he ends up getting free “room & board”

To further the problem you have overtly biased “advocates” (some try to be slick) on EVERY FORUM out there saying how great this or that dog piss is. Granted, there are many well intended people out there giving their opinion of what they tried (or often times repeating what their friend told them) but with all the counterfeiting going you can even say what the hell it is that is being commented on?

Who’s to blame? Many, let’s start at the top.
The all knowing US Senate;
They realized there were no more headlines to be grabbed catching cocaine lords, heroin smugglers, producers of child porn, ect, ect… even news on Iraq is dead boring (so to speak) I can hear them a mile away, dam what can we do to out shine the rest of the crap on every brain numbing 24hr news channel? I got it, lets tear downs some idols, lets piggy back my no name media grubbing ass off the fame of the sports hero’s. How much is the war costing? How many illegal aliens crossed the boarder (Just last night)? How many people died from pain killer each year? How fat is Brittney? Nah, All boring. Any way, most of those have big pockets and might kick my ass. So they launched a crusade against the juice. They made the call in spite of the DEA, FDA & FBI all objecting to making it such a serious crime. Hey, it was news in a day and age when nothing is new, and no one in the group would fight back.

The manufactures;
No surprise they came into existence for one reason, the boys above create a void. All producers of course are motivated by money, – a few actually do care about the quality they produce because they care about what they put out there for people to use. – A step down the latter are the “homemade” producers that will put out an acceptable product just good enough to make a sale to the desperate masses, sometimes it contains what they claim, some times its not very contaminated, other times this isn’t the case. None have real plants, none, they heat & stir somewhere from site. – Take a step on down and we have the unimaginative group that have just enough wit to ‘try’ to copy what ever brand sells. This group usually makes their special sauce in a spare bedroom or garage with what ever they can. Often a few of these types start thinking they are cleaver, start feeling proud and want to fly their own brand of poison.

Bodybuilding Forums;
Many started off with bodybuilders wanting a platform they could call their own and express there opinion and allow friends and others to share. Others were covertly created with the sole purpose of promoting a brand under the guise of a neutral, open venue.
Sad, but so predictable that as soon as a Site/Forum gets popular companies will pay to promote their brand. That is the end of the sites neutrality. Either thru banner ads, talking up a brand as “unbiased member” or trashing another brand as a ‘good Samaritan” trying to help a brother out. Trust none of it.

Moderators;
Impossible to say where a moderator’s interest lay, once a site is viable for advertizing morals take a back seat. They have the power to remove a post that is in conflict with a meal ticket, talk up one brand over another or ban members for what ever reason.

Forum Members;
This is a very mixed group of people. Many readers most likely got started with a Google to a forum in search of questions in an effort to learn how to achieve their goals and avoid problems. Then there are those who have been around just long to mistakenly feel qualified to give advice. I can’t tell you the last time I read something new, everything is a rehash from someone else. The bulk of information/advice always originates from one of the many Steroid profiles online in one way or another. Many times the readers sharing their experience or opinion on gear is faulty to begin, there are so many trash products out that they honestly don’t know what they used, now they give advise on it? Wow. As usual I save the lowest Roach for last, they are the jobless weasels that talk up a brand or trash a brand because someone is giving them a bit of free gear and maybe some protein powder. Some are resellers of what ever brand they can get access to.

Online Pharmacies;
This bunch will sell what ever you will pay for if they have it, if they don’t they talk down the brand and try to get you to buy something else.

Mighty Joe;
That leaves us with the average guy that just wants something safe that will help him look good, what ever his idea of good is. Who to trust? What’s real, what’s not? What info is correct, what’s rubbish? Who’s my online buddy, who a jackass just trying to sell cocking oil? There’s a ton of misinformation out there, much of it unintentional, some of it not.

All I can tell you know is buyer caveo!

Take care, Juicecop

www.bodybuildingarea.com

          

Has anyone ever wondered when and how steroids got into the sporting world? It’s interesting to know that steroids were first discovered to have a profound improvement on weightlifters in the mid 1950s. From no other than the Soviets.

Could it be by accident?

The 1954 World Weightlifting Championship held in Vienna revealed some insights on why the Soviet weightlifters totally outclassed the competition, breaking several world records in the sport and as expected, winning gold medals in all the weight classes. There was this anecdotal account that a certain Dr. John Ziegler, the US weightlifter team physician, got his Soviet counterpart drunk in a bar after the competition and got him to confess the secret to the Soviet’s dominance in the sport. The good doctor revealed he had his weightlifters injected with testosterone during training and before the competition.

That anecdote created the spark that would ignite the western world on its quest to defeat Soviet dominance in just about all the major sporting events. The US contingent returned home and the western sporting world was never the same again. Here are some chronological highlights on the use of steroids thereafter:

• In 1956, the giant pharmaceutical firm CIBA created a synthesized testosterone said to have strength enhancing quality superior to testosterone called methandrostenolone or more popularly, Dianabol. The following year, Dianabol tablets ended up in Ziegler’s weightlifting team that catapulted them to every major event in the US.

• The years after that saw a number of tests conducted to confirm that steroids have enhancing effects on athletes. They were not conclusive. But this did not prevent the Internal Olympic Council (IOC) to ban anabolic steroids. By 1975, almost all sporting organization worldwide had banned the substance.

• In 1972, the IOC launched its formal drug-testing regimen for Olympic athletes. By 1982, the IOC had perfected steroid testing known as the “Testosterone: Epitestosterone test”. It compared testosterone levels with that of epitestosterone, and if the testosterone levels are six times more epitestosterone level, it can be concluded that testosterone was administered to the athlete. That is because testosterone is never more than six times that of natural epitestosterone found in the body.

• During this period, contingents form the German Democratic Republic (GDR) has been pummeling US and Soviet athletes because they knew how to get around the tests. The IOC seemed always one step behind them.

• Until 1989, when news about the GDR government-sponsored anabolic steroid training regimen and concealment was leaked to western media. In the succeeding years, the GDR athletes were eventually caught with one scandal after another that finally gave anabolic steroids their notoriety.

The rest is history as they say. Entering the 21st Century, anabolic steroid use is far from over though. A recent clinical study published on the internet found out that the substance is very much alive among weightlifters and bodybuilders, with so sign of abatement. It is ironic that steroids have profound medical benefit for cancer and AIDS patient. But it remains a controlled and banned substance for all sporting events of note.

Written by Michael Smythe

          

Water Weight – The Ultimate Brainwash
By: DarkKnight www.bodybuildingarea.com

An obese woman goes on a new fad diet and, within a week, is singing its praises to her ladies at the beauty parlor. “I’ve lost 10 lbs in the first week alone!”, she loudly proclaims; but one of the “more-informed” hairdressers is quick to reply, “oh honey, that’s just water weight!.” And true enough, two weeks later, our embittered subject is back to eating doughnuts while sheepishly admitting to her friends that she hit a brick wall on her diet. Bodybuilders too, before their competitions, resort to various methodologies (and usually with the help of diuretics) to “shed” water weight to make their weight class and/or achieve that paper thin look.

The difference between the bodybuilder and Miss Doughnut Popper is that the former seems to have a more pragmatic hold on the concept than the latter. This withstanding, even the more experienced bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast among us often have a very limited and over-simplistic view of “water weight”. This article is not intended to elicit any kind of direct behavioral change, but to put the concept in an appropriate context that would help us perhaps discern the relevant variables from the irrelevant ones in determining our future health goals.

1. The Right Kind Of Water

Our bodies are made up of 70% water, or so we have been told by men in white lab coats. This being the case, what is “water weight”? Surely, if you were to lose ALL the water weight, you’d be 30% of your current weight, not to mention crispier a than sun-dried potato chip. There’s water in every single organ and every cell inside our bodies, serving as a medium to hold cell structures together, conduct electricity (nerve synapses and heart rhythms), transport nutrients around and mediate chemical reactions. Certainly, we don’t want to compromise hydration in any of these departments, although many a bodybuilder have ventured into these territories with diuretic abuse and never made is out alive. Culprit? Heart Attack caused by electrolyte imbalance. The water we are seeking to shed here is, in fact, subcutaneous water. It’s the water that sits in the subcutaneous region between the dermis and the fascia, bloating out our adipose tissue and giving us that smooth round appearance. Also, the more adipose tissue we hold, the more water it CAN harbor, and the more “water weight” you must seek to shed. Another pesky thing about adipose tissue is that, unlike muscle tissue, it can readily undergo hyperplasia once reaching critical mass: and guess what? It’s irreversible.

2. Collateral Water Damage

An interesting thing to note is that adipose tissue works in an energy-storing capacity. Like a computer “zip” file, whose data is compressed (by discarding redundancies) to fit a limited space, our fat cells are compressed storage facilities and don’t need much water to sustain. Unlike fat however, proteins and carbohydrates need to hold onto a lot more water in order to work at full efficiency. Since our muscles are comprised of protein fibers and glycogen stores, they hold a significantly more amount of water than our subcutaneous fat. This too, is considered the second component of what we refer to as “water weight”. Intra-muscular water, unlike subcutaneous water, is the water than we bodybuilders shudder to lose because it gives our muscles “size”, strength and that “pump” we so love. However, on a restricted carb diet, our muscles get dehydrated even as our fat cells are shrinking, and we end up looking small and flat in the mirror. There is no way to preserve one while shedding the other; it’s a package deal that we have to live with.

3. Oh Narcissus!

Narcissus was a Greek man who used to admire his reflection in the water until he died of thirst. This analogy serves our purpose on more levels than one. As bodybuilders, we pride ourselves in looking “big”, a sentiment that, taken to the extreme, can become a psychological case of “Bigorexia”, thought of as the opposite of “anorexia”. As such, the thought of looking “smaller” and seeing our scale readings drop week after week is bound to give us nightmares. At this juncture, it thus becomes relevant to contemplate the true meaning of “lean muscle mass” (LMM). Why is it that on one hand, a professional bodybuilder will say a net gain of 5-8 lbs of LMM a year is excellent and yet, on the other hand, we see so many people boast about how they gained 20 lbs of muscle (adjusted for fat) in their cycle? That’s because a pro-bodybuilder will tell you his progression from LMM measurements made prior to consecutive competitions while an amateur/recreational bodybuilder will tell you his progress from a post-bulking perspective. In the former case, the subject is “dry”, meaning he has negligible amounts of subcutaneous water and his muscles are extremely dehydrated (pre carb/shit loading). In the latter, our subject is rife with water bursting in his muscles and to be sure, some under his skin. So who is right? When water is 70% of our bodies that it becomes impossible to draw a line between how truly “dry” you are, what is true LMM? Aye, herein lies the rub. From personal experience, I have gained 20 lbs of fat-free mass during a cycle which will likely turn out to be roughly 9 lbs of “dry” weight by the end of the cutter I am currently doing. This means that for every pound of dry “comp” muscle mass I gain, my body can hold more than twice that weight in water in a fully hydrated state!

Once again, I must leave you without a conclusive answer to the last point. I myself tend to use the “dry” weight as an ultimate measure of progress, although, ironically enough, in the mirror I tend use the fully hydrated look as a benchmark. If anything, I hope you have at least gained an appreciation for the effect that “water weight” can play on our psyches, especially in the last leg of our “cutters”. Having this basic understanding should equip you with the fortitude to see your diets through, without throwing in the towel too prematurely. After all, once you are completely dry and shredded, there’s nothing like “loading” right before you step on stage to blow you back up minus the fat and subcutaneous water, allowing you to look bigger than ever before!