The “Test” Test: Day 1
Today’s the first day of John’s IsaTest trial (read the backstory here). He had his blood drawn yesterday morning, although it will take about 10 days to get the test results. I’ll post the numbers as soon as we receive them.
We did a body comp test on him this morning, using the skinfold guidelines and calculator on exrx.net. His weight and body composition have both been pretty steady: last month, he was 216 lbs. x ~17.5% body fat. Today he was 214 lbs. x ~17.8% body fat. This is actually pretty good, under the circumstances. We moved from Ohio to Washington (state) in February, and the preparations started weeks earlier…so our lives were in a state of near-total disruption from Jan. – Mar. During this period, we ate out a lot and missed some workouts – but he got through it all without gaining any weight or fat. Of course, it probably helped to have me sitting right there in the restaurants, as no one in his right mind would order a platter of baby back ribs, french fries and cheesecake right in front of me, but still…credit where credit is due.
Here’s what we’re looking for over the next two months:
- modest changes in body composition – primarily fat loss. I’d like to see him drop under 210 lbs. x 15% body fat.
- strength increase – his progress has been uneven: decent for lower body, but upper body strength has been stagnant.
- increase in either total or free testosterone.
As far as #1 goes, he’s not going on a strict diet – I don’t want him cutting calories to the point where it might negate a T increase. We’re shooting for a clean 2300 – 2500 calories. He’s an office worker, and pretty sedentary outside of workouts, so this should be a good level for him…between a strict fat loss level and maintenance. He’ll be keeping careful records using the diet planning software available on the forums I moderate. I’ll post a weekly summary of his average daily cals, and protein, fat, and carb intake.
For #2: he’ll be doing a workout plan devised by Will Brink – who’s both a client and bud of mine. Will came up with a “Hybrid Workout” plan for the last update of his e-book, “Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed.” It involves cycling between pure strength workouts (using 5 x 5 and 6 x 6 set/rep schemes) with hypertrophy-oriented workouts and cardio. It’s been a popular and productive workout for the BBR members who’ve used it. I’ll also post some of his workout details over the course of the IsaTest trial.
And for #3??? Well, the blood tests will be the ultimate measure of whether IsaTest gets the job done. Personally, I’d like to see an increase in T or free T, although I do have my doubts. Nonetheless, I think it’s possible that IsaTest may have positive effects on strength, libido, blood chemistry or body comp even without it. As I noted in a previous post, the various herbal extracts in IsaTest are loaded with bioactive compounds, which may have positive effects even if there’s no significant change in T. Paul feels it’s a worthwhile supplement and has gotten good feedback from others, so we’ll see.
