With summer coming just around the corner, bodybuilders, gym rats, and even the average person is trying to get in their best shape – and for most, that means dialing in to lose a few extra pounds. Most people have attempted to intentionally lose weight and go on a diet for some period. After reaching that goal, whether it be a major weight loss or just a minor tune up, you may be asking yourself, what next?

Anavar (Oxandrolone) and Winstrol (Stanozolol) are oral steroids, and of which Winstrol can also be found in injectable form. Bodybuilders often have a hard time choosing between the two because they are so similar. To help you make the best choice for yourself, we will review the differences and key features of each. 

If you’re into the bodybuilding world, you have probably heard about the use of Growth Hormone (GH, or Human Growth Hormone-HGH). Also known as the fountain of youth, growth hormone affects your overall health, longevity, looks, physique, memory, and concentration. HGH can also preserve telomere length, which increases your lifespan! But did you know how growth hormone affects sleep? We are going to go into specifics about the role sleep plays in growth hormone secretion and athletic performance. 

In some areas, access to regular gyms can still be extremely limited. Perhaps you’ve started working out at home or in a smaller environment to keep up with your goals. But are your workouts as effective as they can be? Have you been only maintaining or even losing some lean muscle mass? Here are a few techniques you can incorporate to maximize and maintain your gains- even when you don’t have access to the gym. You can incorporate these methods using only bodyweight (yes, it is possible to maintain muscle with bodyweight exercises if you do it correctly and with intention), bands, or any weights you do have access to.
Last week we talk about the importance of deloading – taking a break from lifting or reducing weight/reps for a week or two to allow your body to recover from overtraining. Lifting to the max number of reps each set sounds good on paper. Many will tell you that it’s the only way to make progress – they are wrong. 
 
Lifting to your max number of reps all the time does indeed produce results; however, it also over taxes your system and can hinder progress. Your muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, even your CNS take a beating from lifting alone. To demand 100% from your body all the time is asking for disaster – well the need for a deload. It can also put you in situations where you injure yourself. If you had 2-3 reps left in the tank, do you think you would have gotten trapped under that bar? – probably not. 

Should each working set be at maximal effort every workout? There are many schools of thought here but the short answer is - no! Though a novice lifter may attempt their 1rpm max every single workout, they eventually plateau and we are often faced with the fact that your 1rpm changes day-to-day, week-to-week, and so on. With exception to newbie gains and PEDS, your body simply cannot achieve the same numerical level of greatness each workout - not forever.

Testosterone Cypionate is more prone to supersaturation when compared with Testosterone Enanthate.  This makes it more susceptible to crystallization under certain preventable circumstances, explained in more detail later.

Manufacturers of cypionate globally provide the universal advice to inspect your testosterone medication for crystal particulate matter before administering.  If crystals are present, they recommend warming the solution and shaking to dissolve.  Investigation reports have reassuringly confirmed that this process doesn’t negatively affect the testosterone in any way.

One thing is clear – without the proper guidance, the right rep range is UNCLEAR. When most start lifting, chances are good they are not following a program. If you are, you might have all your ducks in a row, making progress, as your bros just keep repping and repping over and over. 
 
Blood Flow Restriction, often referred to as “BFR”, has become increasingly popular over the last few years as a different way to train for hypertrophy. Its efficacy, under this application, has been a topic under debate for decades. Few have heard of it and fewer have tried it. 
 
The last 10 years of technological innovation has really help put Bodybuilding back on the radar. Though, Bodybuilding has always been a thriving industry, the advent of social media and smart phones have given the newest generation of bodybuilders more media coverage than the older guys could ever get.