WB and GM Log............

[ltyson]

Day 45 of CL Stack:

2/19/07 173.5lbs. Got to bed at 8:30pm last night. Not the best night sleep. Woke up again exhausted and still with the pain in my chest. Had an appt with the Dr. already scheduled for Tuesday to discuss my blood work from a week or so ago so I called them this morning to see if they could fit me in today instead of tomorrow. They agreed. Ran an EKG and all came back normal. They could not explain the pain or lack of energy etc. Just to be safe they are sending me for a stress test in the morning. I am sure all is fine (I take that back, something is not right but I am sure it is not serious) but rather be safe then sorry.

Did not train today as I wanted my body to rest one more day. I am happy my weight has not dropped from the last 2 days of low calories. I am very surprised but I will take it. Was able to get things diet wise back on track somewhat today. Took my 1 scoop of GM at my normal time. It is killing me not to train but tomorrow if all goes well I am back in there to wrap this phase up on a high note.
Total: 3012
Fat: 74 22%
Carbs: 327 44%
Protein: 253 34%
1 gallon of Water

[ltyson]

Day 46 of CL Stack:

2/20/07 173lbs. Got to bed at 10:00pm last night. Did my Stress Test this morning- blood pressure was a little high but other than that they say I have no problems with my heart at all based on the EKG. My next question was then why does it hurt and why do I feel like crap..... the Cardiologists answer.... " I don't know". He further explained to say that my heart was healthy and he was not sure what the pain was. He mentioned possible strained or pulled muscle in the region, but was really unsure. So who knows. For now I will just keep on as if all is normal.

I missed my morning meals as I could not eat or drink since midnight before the test. But as soon as I was done I started getting on track with my water and food intake. I had a headache starting which I am sure was due to the lack of food and water. Could not wait to train back and bi's today since I was off they last few days. Took 1 scoop of GM 30 minutes before training. Workout went great. Nice pumps and weight felt good. Water intake was really good for me today along with my total calorie intake.
Total: 3359
Fat: 77 21%
Carbs: 430 52%
Protein: 232 28%
1 1/2 gallons of Water

[ltyson]

Day 47 of CL Stack:

2/21/07 174lbs. Got to bed at 10:30pm last night. Only remember waking up once. Work was okay, was able to eat and drink as I needed to. Water intake was good for me today again. Took 1 scoop of GM 30 minutes before training. Today was my leg and calf night. Workout went very well. Good pump from squats in my quads.

Today was my last workout of this phase. Tomorrow I train chest, shoulders, and tris and go for my working 1rm's to see what kind of progress I have made and also set up my weights for the next phase. Looking forward to that session. Then I have back and bi's the day after that followed by legs and calfs to wrap it up. Then it is the final body measurements and weight to end this stack. I will post the final results and my thoughts on the last few weeks.
Total: 2815
Fat: 66 21%
Carbs: 292 41%
Protein: 266 38%
1 1/2 gallons of Water

[ltyson]

Day 48 of CL Stack:

2/22/07 173.5lbs. Got to bed at 10:30pm last night. Woke up twice that I remember for brief moments. Work was good and I was able to drink as needed but missed one of my mid meals. I was excited about training today as I am testing my 1rm's for chest, shoulders, and tri's. I took 1 scoop of GM approx 45 minutes before training. Training went very well.

Lets see my progress since 1/6/07:
Flat Barbell Bench Press 300 (+45) very happy with this. The weight felt great.
Incline DB Fly 115 (+30) again very happy with this.
Barbell Upright Rows 110 (+10) did not expect a big increase as it is not a power movement.
Barbell Shrug 315 (unknown) will replace the Upright Rows with this exercise in the next phase.
Standing Side Laterals 50 (+5) did not expect a big increase as it is not a power movement.
Skull Crushers 145 (+25) Very happy.
Tricep Cable Pressdowns 100 (+20) Very happy.

Some huge increases on chest and tris for me in these 8 weeks. I am very happy with the results and while I know these gains are partially due to newb type gains from taking all those years off, I owe quite a bit to the GM and WB stack for sure.

I will go deeper into it in my final wrap up but I feel the WB gave me great recovery and the GM gave me the nice weight gain. Combine those two together and things just click.

I did have one minor (I hope it is minor) issue. I was doing barbell shrugs. Went for 365 and on my 3rd rep I felt a small "pop" in my bicep/forearm area. Not enough to cause me to drop the weight uncontrollably but enough to cause it to hurt the rest of the time pretty bad. Was chatting with the owner who power lifts and he thinks I tore my bicep tendon a little bit or what he called a class 1 tear.

I do not have any bruising at this point but I have come home and iced if for 15 minutes off and on. If someone can chime in and let me know the best way to take care of this that would be great. I do not want an injury now (or ever for that fact) and better yet I want to make sure if it is a tear I heal it properly so any advice or info would be great.

I am a little worried about back and bi's tomorrow and depending how I feel I may do legs instead to give it more rest. Please let me know if you guys have some secret recoup method.

I listed 315 as my max for shrugs instead of 365 so that way my next phase uses lighter poundages to avoid this happening again but I may replace the shrugs with either DB Shrugs or maybe DB Overhead Presses. I'll see what happens with my forearm and play it by ear. Small joints suck At 365 my traps were fine but oh well.

Other then that water intake was good and I am happy with my gains on this stack. More to follow for back and bi's and legs calfs, then a final wrap up with bodyweight and measurements. Thanks again for sticking with me.
Total: 2748
Fat: 63 21%
Carbs: 301 44%
Protein: 241 36%
1 1/2 gallons of Water

[ltyson]

Day 49 of CL Stack:

2/23/07 172lbs. Got to bed at 10:30pm last night. Work was okay was able to drink and eat as need be. My forearm hurts but still no bruising so I guess that is good. I decided to lay off training today to let the injury rest some more. It sucks but in the long run it is probably the right thing to do. Took 1 scoop of GM at my normal time. Calories and water not quite as high today as a few of the past days. Weight is going in the wrong direction recently but hopefully that will change.
Total: 2364
Fat: 40 15%
Carbs: 329 54%
Protein: 183 31%
1 gallon of Water

[Spartan]

Day 49 of CL Stack:

2/23/07 172lbs. Got to bed at 10:30pm last night. Work was okay was able to drink and eat as need be. My forearm hurts but still no bruising so I guess that is good. I decided to lay off training today to let the injury rest some more. It sucks but in the long run it is probably the right thing to do. Took 1 scoop of GM at my normal time. Calories and water not quite as high today as a few of the past days. Weight is going in the wrong direction recently but hopefully that will change.
Total: 2364
Fat: 40 15%
Carbs: 329 54%
Protein: 183 31%
1 gallon of Water

Be careful with that. Just because it doesn't bruise doesn't mean you are kosher. A bruise is simply broken blood vessels. However, a pull won't exhibit the same noticble symptom. Check range of motion, how lighter weight feels when applied to the arm, etc. A small tear/pull can get big and ugly pretty quick.

[ltyson]

Be careful with that. Just because it doesn't bruise doesn't mean you are kosher. A bruise is simply broken blood vessels. However, a pull won't exhibit the same noticble symptom. Check range of motion, how lighter weight feels when applied to the arm, etc. A small tear/pull can get big and ugly pretty quick.

I will heed your advice and keep a close eye on it. A little bit of bruising showed up this morning but very light. The pain has gotten better though so I think a little time and caution will do the trick. Sucks to end such a great few weeks with an injury. I think it effected my mindset a little today in my leg workout causing me to not feel as strong but that's okay. There are many more days and years to come.

[ltyson]

Day 50 of CL Stack:

2/24/07 172lbs. Got to bed at 11:00pm last night. Little bit (very light) bruising noticed this morning on my forearm but the pain is not as bad so that is a plus. Instead of doing back and bi's, legs and calfs sounded good to help give my injury another day of rest. Took 1 scoop of GM 30 minutes before training. Workout went well, but the increases were no where close to some of the ones on chest, shoulders, tris.

Smith Machine Squat 275 (+20)
Leg Curls 90 (+5)
DB Stiff Leg Deadlift 115 (+15)
Standing Calf Raise 165 (+10)
Seated Calf Raise 135 (Not sure of the increase as this was a new machine)

Diet was standard weekend meaning I was low on calories and water. Was out of the house most of the day doing some work so that keep me from eating and drinking as I should have.
Total: 1720
Fat: 24 12%
Carbs: 177 41%
Protein: 201 47%
3/4 gallon of Water

[ltyson]

Day 51 of CL Stack:

2/25/07 174lbs. Got to bed at 11:00pm last night. Typical Sunday. Was able to train back and bi's though. Worked around my injury and showed some nice gains:
Lat Pulldown 140 (+20)
DB Row 115 (+15)
EZ-Bar Curl (Close Grip) 105 (+20)
DB Curl 55 (+10)
Took my last scoop of GM approx 30 minutes before training. Overall I am very happy with this phase and I owe a lot to the CL stack. GM will now be one of my staple supplements and I look forward to adding WB in the future again. I will give my final post and review tomorrow.
Total: 2201
Fat: 25 10%
Carbs: 257 47%
Protein: 232 43%
1 gallon of Water

[pu12en12g]

Awesome updates !!

[Controlled Labs]

keep it coming, this is one of the best logs around

[ltyson]

keep it coming, this is one of the best logs around

Thank you. It is my very first public log so I hope it helps someone. I acctually thought I posted my final wrap up but with everything else going on I must not of. Below are my final thoughts. Thanks for eveyone that took the the time to stay with me.

[ltyson]

Well on 2/25 I had my final workout with the CL stack finishing off my GM. I did have a small muscle tear in my forearm as I expected back on 2/22. I have been able to continue to train around it but it did effect my mental attitude for a few days as we all hate injuries.

I am lucky that I can still do curling type motions but certain positions of my wrist cause some pain. For example DB Side Laterals cause me issues when my arms are extended at the top of the movement but I seem somewhat okay with DB curls. Odd.

It's been about 2 weeks now and things are getting better which I am happy about. I started dosing Super Cissus on 2/25 and have stayed with that to give my joints, tendons, and muscle tissues all the help I can. I think that supplement has helped my recovery so far and look forward to the even more benefit as i continue it's use.

I think the tear was a combination of things but one leading cause was the awesome strength increases I saw while on this CL stack. The strength increase in my chest, shoulders, and tris was great. It also taught me though that I need to stay tight and focused at every second, especially on my working 1rm days where I am dealing with maximum loads. Lesson learned.

So what do I think of GM and WB............ the increases in both bodyweight and training poundage's speak for themselves:

From 1/6 to 2/25:

Bodyweight 165 to 174 (+9 lbs)

Flat Barbell Bench Press 300 (+45)
Incline DB Fly 115 (+30)
Barbell Upright Rows 110 (+10)
Barbell Shrug 315 (unknown, new exercise)
Standing Side Laterals 50 (+5)
Skull Crushers 145 (+25)
Tricep Cable Pressdowns 100 (+20)
Lat Pulldown 140 (+20)
DB Row 115 (+15)
EZ-Bar Curl (Close Grip) 105 (+20)
DB Curl 55 (+10)
Smith Machine Squat 275 (+20)
Leg Curls 90 (+5)
DB Stiff Leg Deadlift 115 (+15)
Standing Calf Raise 165 (+10)
Seated Calfli Raise 135 (unknown, new machine)

I feel the GM was responsible for the weight gain primarily and the WB gave some great recovery, especially between sets. I noticed a difference in recovery ability when I completed my 1 bottle of WB midway through, In hindsight I should of had 2 bottles and ran the WB all the way through.

The GM was really helpful to me. I was even more impressed that I saw the weight gain that i did from it. Impressed because my body was already loaded with creatine as I was taking a different version prior to starting this stack. So I expected weight gain to be minimal as i figured I was already loaded and would just maintain but that was not the case. I was also impressed with how the weight trend had very little up and down fluctuation in it along the way. I took my weight each morning at the same time (upon waking, naked, after my s,s, and shave routine). I know some people see 3-4 lb weight swings from day to day but in my case it was primarily just a steady incline.

The WB really helped my recovery. Once it really started to kick in I had days where I felt like I was ready for my next set in 30 seconds or less. I had to force myself to rest longer between sets at times. I saw that diminish as I ran out of my 1 bottle on this stack. As mentioned I now feel that i should of had 2 bottles and ran it all the way through with my GM.

Other notes of interest:
I never did get use to the taste of GM. Some people love it but for me it was just to strong. I tried all combinations of mixing it with lots of water to no water and everything in between but never got used to it.

What I found worked best was mixing it with 1 oz of water, downing that like a shot and then following it up with a larger glass of water to wash it down.

WB did not seem to help my sleep as it has in others logs. In fact I think the GM actually hindered my sleep. Based on feedback in the log I tried to dose my GM earlier in the day and that did seem to help my sleep some.

So again, very happy with the results. GM has become a staple creatine supplement for me and I look to add WB to the mix again in the future. Now I need to get my hands on some of the other great products from CL. Maybe some of the Test Boosting supps or things like PW.

If I have left anything out please feel free to let me know. I look forward to recovering from my injury and working towards my goals. I should mention that today I am at 176lbs. My last dose of GM was 2/25 so that is approx 2 weeks with no drop in weight (an increase for that fact). Being that creatine causes some weight gain through fluids I figured I would see a drop in weight after I discontinued it but so far that is not the case.

I have some more GM on order and should have it by Monday. Now i just need to plan out my next log.

Thanks for sticking with me.

[pu12en12g]

Well on 2/25 I had my final workout with the CL stack finishing off my GM. I did have a small muscle tear in my forearm as I expected back on 2/22. I have been able to continue to train around it but it did effect my mental attitude for a few days as we all hate injuries.

I am lucky that I can still do curling type motions but certain positions of my wrist cause some pain. For example DB Side Laterals cause me issues when my arms are extended at the top of the movement but I seem somewhat okay with DB curls. Odd.

It's been about 2 weeks now and things are getting better which I am happy about. I started dosing Super Cissus on 2/25 and have stayed with that to give my joints, tendons, and muscle tissues all the help I can. I think that supplement has helped my recovery so far and look forward to the even more benefit as i continue it's use.

I think the tear was a combination of things but one leading cause was the awesome strength increases I saw while on this CL stack. The strength increase in my chest, shoulders, and tris was great. It also taught me though that I need to stay tight and focused at every second, especially on my working 1rm days where I am dealing with maximum loads. Lesson learned.

So what do I think of GM and WB............ the increases in both bodyweight and training poundage's speak for themselves:

From 1/6 to 2/25:

Bodyweight 165 to 174 (+9 lbs)

Flat Barbell Bench Press 300 (+45)
Incline DB Fly 115 (+30)
Barbell Upright Rows 110 (+10)
Barbell Shrug 315 (unknown, new exercise)
Standing Side Laterals 50 (+5)
Skull Crushers 145 (+25)
Tricep Cable Pressdowns 100 (+20)
Lat Pulldown 140 (+20)
DB Row 115 (+15)
EZ-Bar Curl (Close Grip) 105 (+20)
DB Curl 55 (+10)
Smith Machine Squat 275 (+20)
Leg Curls 90 (+5)
DB Stiff Leg Deadlift 115 (+15)
Standing Calf Raise 165 (+10)
Seated Calfli Raise 135 (unknown, new machine)

I feel the GM was responsible for the weight gain primarily and the WB gave some great recovery, especially between sets. I noticed a difference in recovery ability when I completed my 1 bottle of WB midway through, In hindsight I should of had 2 bottles and ran the WB all the way through.

The GM was really helpful to me. I was even more impressed that I saw the weight gain that i did from it. Impressed because my body was already loaded with creatine as I was taking a different version prior to starting this stack. So I expected weight gain to be minimal as i figured I was already loaded and would just maintain but that was not the case. I was also impressed with how the weight trend had very little up and down fluctuation in it along the way. I took my weight each morning at the same time (upon waking, naked, after my s,s, and shave routine). I know some people see 3-4 lb weight swings from day to day but in my case it was primarily just a steady incline.

The WB really helped my recovery. Once it really started to kick in I had days where I felt like I was ready for my next set in 30 seconds or less. I had to force myself to rest longer between sets at times. I saw that diminish as I ran out of my 1 bottle on this stack. As mentioned I now feel that i should of had 2 bottles and ran it all the way through with my GM.

Other notes of interest:
I never did get use to the taste of GM. Some people love it but for me it was just to strong. I tried all combinations of mixing it with lots of water to no water and everything in between but never got used to it.

What I found worked best was mixing it with 1 oz of water, downing that like a shot and then following it up with a larger glass of water to wash it down.

WB did not seem to help my sleep as it has in others logs. In fact I think the GM actually hindered my sleep. Based on feedback in the log I tried to dose my GM earlier in the day and that did seem to help my sleep some.

So again, very happy with the results. GM has become a staple creatine supplement for me and I look to add WB to the mix again in the future. Now I need to get my hands on some of the other great products from CL. Maybe some of the Test Boosting supps or things like PW.

If I have left anything out please feel free to let me know. I look forward to recovering from my injury and working towards my goals. I should mention that today I am at 176lbs. My last dose of GM was 2/25 so that is approx 2 weeks with no drop in weight (an increase for that fact). Being that creatine causes some weight gain through fluids I figured I would see a drop in weight after I discontinued it but so far that is not the case.

I have some more GM on order and should have it by Monday. Now i just need to plan out my next log.

Thanks for sticking with me.

Nice work