For several months I was struggling to focus on my training for a variety of reasons. I still trained every week and I trained hard and heavy when I did. But when you measure your performances like I do it makes it very hard to lie to yourself that you aren't going backwards when the numbers prove that you are, in fact, going backwards. So I decided to do something new just to do something new. Ideally I needed to change my training so that I COULD lie to myself that I wasnt going backwards, and not know otherwise. So I decided to do bodybuilder training.
Bodybuilder training means I train more often and do more 'stuff' but never worry about how much weight I lift because apparently weight doesnt matter. Apparently worrying about the weight on weight-based exercises in the activity known as 'lifting weights', well, that is 'powerlifting'. And Bodybuilding is not powerlifting... and that is all... You don't need to know why weight doesnt matter other than to know that weight=powerlifting and bodybuilding is NOT powerlifting!!!
So I strut around commenting on my "insane pump" and "feeling the burn" and how its all about the "quality contractions". I keep reminding everybody that "this is bodybuilding, not powerlifting" as I put really light weights on exercises they all know I can lift more on. Then I explain how I'm "carving in the separations" by "squeezing the muscle" and that I'm "using my mind to make 20lb feel like 200lb" because the "muscle can't see the weight". And though I'm quoting verbatim all the stuff thats written in bodybuilding magazines, people still look at me with a knowing smirk that I am being a dickhead and everything I am saying is idiotic rubbish.
But I can't help that a tinge of sarcasm comes through in my voice when I announce during 15kg dumbell curls that I am "visualising my biceps being like the craggy mountain peaks of the Alps". I'm trying - Im trying hard - to do the bodybuilder thing and say the bodybuilder things but it really is the most ridiculous crap. So its hard to keep a straight face.
I do like that when I just cannot be bothered working hard that I can blurt out some random, stupid, closed-statement like "2 plates per side is enough for growth". Because with bodybuilding your statements dont even need to make sense. Like I can say "Im using a close grip to make my pecs go more outwards and not so much wide" and in bodybuilding gyms, people seem to nod like its the spoken word of Confucius. So long as its always "about the quality contractions and not the weight", its all good. But when I say it, people laugh at me and the stupidity of the statements. What AM I doing wrong?
I also like the ridiculous excuses I can make for pathetic performances. Like the other day after I'd "smashed my pecs til they were totally on swole, man" and I then "destroyed my delts". I started with rear laterals to bring out the rear head of the shoulder and get that "real cannonball" look to the delts. Yeah, those rear laterals really round out my delts. Then I "worked on my width" with a few sets of laterals to "bring out the side head" and build the "cap" on the delts to emphasise my V-taper. Of course I made sure to twist my little fingers to "work the trap-delt tie-ins" (to be honest, I still dont actually know what it means to 'work the tie-ins' assuming the 'tie-in' is the gap between 2 muscles. But hey, who am I to use common sense)? I pyramided up each set, of course, and kept my reps in the "8-12 range for hypertrophy" (cos 7 reps is powerlifting - and bodybuilding is NOT powerlifting!!! - and 13reps would be... I dunno... triathlon or something).
After I "pre-exhausted" the delts I went to the Military Press for "my main mass builder". I was "smashed" so I barely got 9 reps. Phew. I just made it into the growth range. Nevermind that I'd normally do the same weight for 30. Weight doesnt matter and 30reps is aerobics. Military Pressing 110% of bodyweight for 30reps aint impressive; its just... confusing. 9 reps with a weight I can normally do 30 reps with is making my muscles increase in size - but not strength - cos I stopped at 9 and thats between 8 and 12 which is hypertrophy. And hypertrophy is good; like brocolli. Its just good. See, its all about doing the right number of reps and stopping. You don't want to go over or...um... honestly, I have no idea; but you just don't!
Next set I only managed 6. Damn. No growth. 6 isnt enough for growth. But I did get some strength. 6-8 for strength see. Or was that 3-5 for strength? Dammit! I got it wrong and now I won't know what I got til... again, I'm not really sure when I am supposed to actually 'get' something out of this? Oh yeah, "the mirror never lies"... I don't know how that relates either but bodybuilders seem to just throw in those closed statements all the time as though the relevance was self-evident; though it never is.
So try as I might, I can't pretend NOT to know that everything I just said there was just plain stupid. Its ridiculous stupidity. I'm honestly TRYING to say it the same way that the bodybuilders do but I just cannot help notice that it still sounds idiotic.
And yet apparently I am the crazy, radical one. I have crazy ideas about training because I believe that training hard and eating perfectly is the most effective way for looking your best. Apparently THATS crazy. Apparently what I suggest is really confusing. But all the bodybuilding stuff I wrote above, that makes sense? I just don't know what I am missing?
Visit www.BiologicLabs.com.au for Body Recompositioning diets, training programs, strength coaching, supplements and hormone balancing. Extreme fat loss and muscle development that Personal Trainers and Fitness gyms cannot achieve.
Friday 20 May 2011
Tuesday 10 May 2011
GHRP-6 & The Peptide Hormone Craze
It seems everyone is raving on peptide hormones as the amazing 'new thing' in lazy, drug-induced muscle growth and fat loss. The fact is, injectable peptide hormones have been around for decades. The diabetic hormone Insulin is a peptide hormone and it was first available in the 1920's!
When Peptides Came To Fame
But Growth Hormone (GH) was the peptide hormone that changed everything. GH was credited to creating the new era of muscular bodybuilding monsters from around the time Lee Haney arrived in the 80's. And demand for the drug - and its reputation as being THE underground 'secret of the pros' - was bolstered by its mind-blowingly expensive price and rarity.
Then IGF-1 hit the black market before it was even an approved drug and the mystery and rumors surround GH, Insulin and IGF reached fever pitch. Steroids were old news. Now, if you want to look like a pro bodybuilder you just need to get enough of the right peptides.
GHRP-6
Which brings us to GHRP-6. GH Releasing Peptide is cheap and... well, currently not illegal to purchase over the internet. As the name suggests, it causes GH release; so people figure it must be exactly the same as GH and therefore will make them look like a pro bodybuilder in no time, with no effort and without all the rest of the drugs. Unfortunately, you won't look anything like a pro bodybuilder from using GHRP-6. The only reason it is so HUGELY popular is because finally Mr Average can AFFORD something that looks like the hardcore 'gear' the pro's use... except not.
I don't know anybody who got anything out of GHRP-6 whatsoever! At least, nothing over and above what might be expected from the other 'things' they were doing/taking at the time. In fact, when really pressed, nobody I know seems to know of anybody else who got any great benefit out of it either. All of the guys I know who still use it only do because it is cheap and they don't want to risk not taking it, 'in case it helps'.
So Why Use It?
Everybody knows that pro bodybuilders use lots of drugs and, these days, are as lazy as sin in the gym. The conclusion for many people is that drugs or injecting/boosting your naturally occurring hormones is the only way to build muscle.
Supplements are selling like crazy in response to the belief that the solution to an awesome physique is in a bottle. And if your muscles don't arrive you don't blame your hopeless training or disgraceful diet. You just got the wrong bottle of magic potion.
Many young guys will inject anything they possibly can afford and get and then strangely believe they are transforming into a pro bodybuilder just by being so 'hardcore' as to be taking a drug. I knew a guy who kicked in the door of his own car in a claimed 'roid rage' only minutes after injecting himself with some cooking oil that he thought was a steroid.
Here is a story to illustrate what I mean about the seriously deluded misrepresenations that bodybuilders make about their drugs and supplements:
The PGF Experiment
A few years ago I followed with interest the writings of a hardcore drug abusing bodybuilder as he did a 4 week experiment with PGF-2; one of the newish growth factors that is one of the most potent muscle building hormones in the body and WAY more significant than GHRP-6 could ever dream of being.
He wound up having to take most of the 4 weeks off work because the explosive diarrhoea and acute flu-like symptoms that he - and everyone using PGF - got after each of his 5 daily injections made work impossible.
The whole time he couldnt hold down any of his food or it went straight through him and 'out the back door'. He could hardly train either because the drug caused massive muscle pain; not to mention the muscle pumps from minimal training were apparently crippling.
He had stacked the drug on top of an especially 'heavy' cycle of very high dose steroids, GH, Insulin, T3 and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. He did so to give the PGF the "best chance of working". But he used all of these drugs all year round so they "weren't doing anything" for him any more.
Despite the pain and discomfort he was in, he persisted with the PGF because he was quickly "blowing up" AND getting "shredded" all at the same time. In all his years of drugs he'd never seen anything like the transformation that was taking place. He was getting bigger and leaner everyday. Muscle was literally piling on him as the fat melted away. It was incredible.
At the end of 4 weeks of diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, headaches and all over muscular pain his conclusion was that it had been more than worth it. He had grown so much muscle and lost so much fat that it had transformed his physique. He even measured it; his total body composition change totalled:
2 pounds of muscle gain and 1 pound of fat lost.
Yep. All that hell and he gained 900grams of muscle while losing 450g of fat. Yet in his own mind, he got MASSIVE and RIPPED!
When Peptides Become Relevant to Bodybuilding Training
It all comes back to what I've always said: its all about your training. Train and diet properly and a drug-free athlete should be able to achieve about a 260kg deadlift before things become extremely hard to go further. If you can't get a natural 260kg deadlift then you are training and eating wrong. Some guys can even acheive a 260kg deadlift without ever actually doing a deadlift or training hard!
But if the physique of a lean 260kg deadlifter is not muscular enough for you (eg typically around 95kg at 8% bodyfat at 180cm) then you are going to probably need unnatural means to achieve your unnatural goals. Very low dose, testosterone optimisation therapy can help a successfully training athlete to achieve a 300kg deadlift and a great physique (eg around 105kg at 8% at 180cm).
If you still want more unnatural levels of muscle then you probably need to break the law and cycle higher doses of testosterone and/or add GH. Beyond a 340kg deadlift (growing bigger than around 115-125kg at 8% at 180cm) you'll probably need to stay on higher doses of steroids year round.
By the time you reach the muscularity capable of a 360kg deadlift (ie over 130kg, lean at 180cm) as a career-criminal steroid user, then progress will probably be determined by cycles of insulin with GH and IGF-1 and all the rest.
This is the point at which these peptide growth factors become relevant: the pro-bodybuilder level. Without the heavy base of steroid hormones, though, they are a mostly a waste of time and money. And if you are already using all of these drugs to achieve a lesser physique then you need to take a serious look at yourself, your diet and your training!
Conclusion
When you hear from a bloke that GHRP-6 is MIND-BLOWING AWESOMENESS in a bottle, just remember my story above about exactly how mind-blowing PGF2 was! Whoever you are, GHRP-6 is definitely NOT the solution to ANY of your physique or training problems!
Visit www.BiologicLabs.com.au for Body Recompositioning diets, training programs, strength coaching, supplements and hormone balancing. Extreme fat loss and muscle development that Personal Trainers and Fitness gyms cannot achieve.
When Peptides Came To Fame
But Growth Hormone (GH) was the peptide hormone that changed everything. GH was credited to creating the new era of muscular bodybuilding monsters from around the time Lee Haney arrived in the 80's. And demand for the drug - and its reputation as being THE underground 'secret of the pros' - was bolstered by its mind-blowingly expensive price and rarity.
Then IGF-1 hit the black market before it was even an approved drug and the mystery and rumors surround GH, Insulin and IGF reached fever pitch. Steroids were old news. Now, if you want to look like a pro bodybuilder you just need to get enough of the right peptides.
GHRP-6
Which brings us to GHRP-6. GH Releasing Peptide is cheap and... well, currently not illegal to purchase over the internet. As the name suggests, it causes GH release; so people figure it must be exactly the same as GH and therefore will make them look like a pro bodybuilder in no time, with no effort and without all the rest of the drugs. Unfortunately, you won't look anything like a pro bodybuilder from using GHRP-6. The only reason it is so HUGELY popular is because finally Mr Average can AFFORD something that looks like the hardcore 'gear' the pro's use... except not.
I don't know anybody who got anything out of GHRP-6 whatsoever! At least, nothing over and above what might be expected from the other 'things' they were doing/taking at the time. In fact, when really pressed, nobody I know seems to know of anybody else who got any great benefit out of it either. All of the guys I know who still use it only do because it is cheap and they don't want to risk not taking it, 'in case it helps'.
So Why Use It?
Everybody knows that pro bodybuilders use lots of drugs and, these days, are as lazy as sin in the gym. The conclusion for many people is that drugs or injecting/boosting your naturally occurring hormones is the only way to build muscle.
Supplements are selling like crazy in response to the belief that the solution to an awesome physique is in a bottle. And if your muscles don't arrive you don't blame your hopeless training or disgraceful diet. You just got the wrong bottle of magic potion.
Many young guys will inject anything they possibly can afford and get and then strangely believe they are transforming into a pro bodybuilder just by being so 'hardcore' as to be taking a drug. I knew a guy who kicked in the door of his own car in a claimed 'roid rage' only minutes after injecting himself with some cooking oil that he thought was a steroid.
Here is a story to illustrate what I mean about the seriously deluded misrepresenations that bodybuilders make about their drugs and supplements:
The PGF Experiment
A few years ago I followed with interest the writings of a hardcore drug abusing bodybuilder as he did a 4 week experiment with PGF-2; one of the newish growth factors that is one of the most potent muscle building hormones in the body and WAY more significant than GHRP-6 could ever dream of being.
He wound up having to take most of the 4 weeks off work because the explosive diarrhoea and acute flu-like symptoms that he - and everyone using PGF - got after each of his 5 daily injections made work impossible.
The whole time he couldnt hold down any of his food or it went straight through him and 'out the back door'. He could hardly train either because the drug caused massive muscle pain; not to mention the muscle pumps from minimal training were apparently crippling.
He had stacked the drug on top of an especially 'heavy' cycle of very high dose steroids, GH, Insulin, T3 and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. He did so to give the PGF the "best chance of working". But he used all of these drugs all year round so they "weren't doing anything" for him any more.
Despite the pain and discomfort he was in, he persisted with the PGF because he was quickly "blowing up" AND getting "shredded" all at the same time. In all his years of drugs he'd never seen anything like the transformation that was taking place. He was getting bigger and leaner everyday. Muscle was literally piling on him as the fat melted away. It was incredible.
At the end of 4 weeks of diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, headaches and all over muscular pain his conclusion was that it had been more than worth it. He had grown so much muscle and lost so much fat that it had transformed his physique. He even measured it; his total body composition change totalled:
2 pounds of muscle gain and 1 pound of fat lost.
Yep. All that hell and he gained 900grams of muscle while losing 450g of fat. Yet in his own mind, he got MASSIVE and RIPPED!
When Peptides Become Relevant to Bodybuilding Training
It all comes back to what I've always said: its all about your training. Train and diet properly and a drug-free athlete should be able to achieve about a 260kg deadlift before things become extremely hard to go further. If you can't get a natural 260kg deadlift then you are training and eating wrong. Some guys can even acheive a 260kg deadlift without ever actually doing a deadlift or training hard!
But if the physique of a lean 260kg deadlifter is not muscular enough for you (eg typically around 95kg at 8% bodyfat at 180cm) then you are going to probably need unnatural means to achieve your unnatural goals. Very low dose, testosterone optimisation therapy can help a successfully training athlete to achieve a 300kg deadlift and a great physique (eg around 105kg at 8% at 180cm).
If you still want more unnatural levels of muscle then you probably need to break the law and cycle higher doses of testosterone and/or add GH. Beyond a 340kg deadlift (growing bigger than around 115-125kg at 8% at 180cm) you'll probably need to stay on higher doses of steroids year round.
By the time you reach the muscularity capable of a 360kg deadlift (ie over 130kg, lean at 180cm) as a career-criminal steroid user, then progress will probably be determined by cycles of insulin with GH and IGF-1 and all the rest.
This is the point at which these peptide growth factors become relevant: the pro-bodybuilder level. Without the heavy base of steroid hormones, though, they are a mostly a waste of time and money. And if you are already using all of these drugs to achieve a lesser physique then you need to take a serious look at yourself, your diet and your training!
Conclusion
When you hear from a bloke that GHRP-6 is MIND-BLOWING AWESOMENESS in a bottle, just remember my story above about exactly how mind-blowing PGF2 was! Whoever you are, GHRP-6 is definitely NOT the solution to ANY of your physique or training problems!
Visit www.BiologicLabs.com.au for Body Recompositioning diets, training programs, strength coaching, supplements and hormone balancing. Extreme fat loss and muscle development that Personal Trainers and Fitness gyms cannot achieve.
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