Burly's Mechabol Experiment

[VayneZ]

I agree with everything you said, and I do not do it for any of those reasons. However you did get me thinking.

I do HIIT 4 times a week, first thing in the morning on empty stomach. I believe it helps with my metabolic rate, and that's the main reason I keep them short, just to trigger my system and get out. Always under 20 minutes but intense to the point of vomitting.
In your opinion is this also a waste of time? (because honestly, it can be so overly brutal that I would NOT want to continue if it serves no solid purpose).

I have lost 30 pounds since I started this way of cardio-ing back in October, but then again, it could also be the fact that I lowered my cals...

I know you have WAY more experience and knowledge in leaning out than I do. So I'm open to burly's personal advise here ! Spare me the mistakes bro

[burlyman30]

I agree with everything you said, and I do not do it for any of those reasons. However you did get me thinking.

I do HIIT 4 times a week, first thing in the morning on empty stomach. I believe it helps with my metabolic rate, and that's the main reason I keep them short, just to trigger my system and get out. Always under 20 minutes but intense to the point of vomitting.
In your opinion is this also a waste of time? (because honestly, it can be so overly brutal that I would NOT want to continue if it serves no solid purpose).

I have lost 30 pounds since I started this way of cardio-ing back in October, but then again, it could also be the fact that I lowered my cals...

I know you have WAY more experience and knowledge in leaning out than I do. So I'm open to burly's personal advise here ! Spare me the mistakes bro

Sorry for the delay in responding. As far as your intensity, I would certainly take it down a notch. I don't think there's anything to be gained by feeling like you have to vomit. If you are doing it to jack up the metabolic rate, then I am sure it will work for that purpose. Just ease up a bit. It will still serve the same purpose.

You mentioned a valid point about your weight loss... you started cardio this way but also lowered calories, so both items are responsible for the results. Ultimately it is about calories in vs. calories burnt, so adding the cardio allows you to either 1) eat a bit more and lose the same amount of fat as without cardio OR, 2) eat the same amount as you would to lose weight, but amplify results because of the additional caloric burn.

The last study I saw showed that HIIT training kept the metabolism elevated for a number of hours afterward. So is it valuable? It can be. Would I use it if I wanted to get super lean? I might have to, because at a certain point, caloric restriction might mean that I am eating very little. Can you get by without it if you want to get "beach lean"? I think that depends on the person, but I think for the most part, yes. Diet will just become more critical at that point.

[burlyman30]

It has been a few days since I updated this thread. I am currently 3.5 weeks into this mecha cycle. I feel like I am building some lean tissue. My bodyweight has escalated a bit and I think that is from 2 factors. I have been hungrier lately, so I have let my appetite be my guide and have eaten either an extra snack or meal prior to bed over the last couple of weeks.

Though I can still see my abs, my waist measures about an inch more at this point. I have gained some weight. All this week I have consistently weighed 187. Interestingly, my arms look bigger visually, but still only stretch the tape to 17". My chest is thickening up a bit, which is a weak area for me. It is encouraging to see some activity there.

Overall, my strength hasn't increased much except on tricep pushdowns, where all of a sudden I added 25 lbs last week and another 20 lbs this week. Lat pulls had been stalled out for months until a couple days ago when I made a 30 lb jump to 300 lbs for sets of 6. Bench has remained stalled out since prior to the mecha. Odd.

I am still doing 75 mg, 3x/day. I get a little heartburn sometimes, but I think it is because the mecha is making me get hungry sooner and the stomach gets acidy before I've had a chance to eat. Overall, though, I feel good.

I have just a few days of mecha left in the last of 3 bottles, so I will just finish them out. This might carry me closer to 4.5 weeks, or almost 5, but there is no sense stopping if it's just a couple days different than my original plan.

[VayneZ]

I appreciate the points you made on HIIT Burly, thanks for that. Good tips to keep in mind, and makes complete sense. These days I'm slowly (and carefully) lower my cals a bit more because I feel I've reached a plateau. Although I am seeing the veins coming out more and more and definition.

As for your update... go for 5 bro!!! I am so motivated and moved by your results that I really believe that this summer (hopefully if I get lean enough) I will run Mecha high dosed. So I'm following your journey through till the end bro. You are my guinea pig

[burlyman30]

OK... I am willing to hear your guys' opinion on something.

I just counted up all the remaining mecha capsules. I can remain at 225/day for 7 days to make a total of 4.5 weeks, drop to 175/day for a total of 9 days, or drop to 150/day for a total of 10.5 days. Dropping the dose would take me from 4.5 weeks to 5 weeks.

Any feedback? I am leaning toward keeping dosage the same and just finish out 3 or 4 days sooner, but I'm open to discussion on this.

[Scope75]

I'd just keep the dose the same and let it end a few days short.
I don't see any reason to drop the dose just to milk a few more days on.

[VayneZ]

^^ Same Thing Scope said! 225 is the way to go till it's done

[burlyman30]

Thanks guys. You confirmed my thoughts on this. 225 it is.

[burlyman30]

Shirts are definitely fitting tighter. I wore a shirt today that was snug when I was weighing 200-205 a couple years ago but hasn't felt snug since then. It felt just as snug today, though.

The real bonus is that the pants don't feel any tighter in the waist from the size gain. I have worked over the last two years to go from size 36 pants to 32s, so I'm happy to not go backwards again in that respect.

Chest is looking better. Nice to see some improvement there. Arms are looking good. Shoulders are getting more of that cannonball look to them.

Measured chest size on a whim. 45" relaxed, which is probably a 1-1.5" gain. To be honest, I don't recall it ever measuring that large. Lats continue to grow and are likely the driving factor there.

Appetite has been pretty high all week and I have simply let appetite be my guide, so I've probably been eating between 500-1000 cals a day extra. That explains the jump in bodyweight. I had to feed the growth. I'll get an end of cycle weight for you in another week.

Vascularity has increased on mecha. It was getting more prominent pre-mecha, but has increased more since. The bicep vein can be seen all the way up into my delt and then disappears into/under the pec.

[Scope75]

Sounds like a sick run and makes me want some mechabol since it seems pretty side free and your progress has been killer too.