Bulking on Reta- starting to believe!

Nattybynature

Nattybynature

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Hey all! Just want to share my experience and hear from others on theirs!

I started taking Reta on Jan 10, I’ve been using peds for a few years and have build a very solid base of muscle. Starting weight was 228lbs at probably 18% bf I’m 5’9” 33 yrs old. Got myself all the way down to 197 and 13%bf by March 10th. Super happy with the results never went above 5mg per week. Used 4 weeks of mots c which I found increased fat loss quite a bit, I was also taking Trt and hgh the whole time! Only concerning thing is I know I have lost a decent amount of muscle in this time and my strength is way down.

Started my bulk on about the 12 of March. I am taking test, eq, gh and keeping Reta at 2.25mg per week for now. I am doing a clean and slow bulk keeping my same diet from cutting but adding in carbs slowly to try to stay lean. From 2700 a day while cutting to 3300 currently. May increase carbs even more as long as I don’t start gaining fat.

I was starting to get discouraged as the scale was not moving the way I’m used to when I bulk I am up to about 203lbs first thing in the am. Normally I’d put this weight on instantly. I took another body scan yesterday and it said I am down to 11.8% bf and have gained 4.5lbs of muscle! Incredible results for me and encouraging to keep going!

Anyone else have experience bulking with Reta? This stuff is a game changer for me.

**** I know these scans are not super accurate but still encouraging. Although I do feel 11.8 is a little generous! But adding muscle while losing bf is the holy grail!
 
I’m 9 weeks into a lean bulk. Test 450 mg/week + NPP 250 mg/week + Primo 200 mg/week + 3 IU HGH PM. Reta 12mg a week and KLOW. I’m seeing very similar results with 5-day split of Push/Lower/Pull/cardio/Lower/Upper/cardio. Weekly average loss of -0.71 lb/week; skeletal Muscle% +0.07 %/week. Mirror is showing mass accumulating even at a deficit. Planning on more of a bulk in Dec with EQ. How are you liking EQ, able to eat thru the Reta wall? I’ve also learned to time my carbs load pre and post workouts and don’t put on weight, just restoring glycogen in the muscles for energy. Also, high stim pre-workout collection is starting to get out of hand.
 
That’s awesome great results! 12 mg a week I don’t know if I could handle that how long have you been on Reta? Putting on muscle in a deficit is crazy! .07% per week I wonder if that change could be due to overall mass going down and muscle saying the same? Percentage should go up if overall BW comes down?

I was actually planning to use deca but decided to add some tren for the last 6 weeks possibly. How is the water retention on Decca?

Eq is great at controlling E2 and I prefer to use it at a 2:1 ration test to eq rather than an AI. No problem eating through the Reta but my dose is quite low compared to yours! I also time my carbs around. Workout and have even started adding 30 grams of dextrose intraworkout especially on heavy leg days.
 
I've been on Reta for 14 months now. Started at 2mg and eventually landed at 12mg. NPP/Deca so far has been great. First time running it so I went with the short ester just in case. Hard to tell if the joint support is there because I am also running KLOW and the KVP definitely helps with joints. Herd that Deca might be better than NPP for joint support, but worse on the mental effects even thou they are the same compound. No Deca dick to speak of really, nothing noticeable, maybe I last a bit longer. I use Primo for E2 control, it's very effective for me in that regard. I had to back down my weekly dose to raise my E2 numbers. EQ has me worried because I hear it's suppose to be an even stronger at suppressing E2 than Primo, but I don't want to go below the lowest effective dose. I want it to be worth the squeeze.
 
Yeah that fair. Very tough to find primo in Canada or I’d definitely be giving that a go!

Great to hear your progress! Keep up the good work!
 
14 months on Reta and my ALMI up from 8.9 to 9.3 (Kg/m2). That's a win.

This is Appendicular Lean Mass Index or muscle mass in arms and legs excluding trunk fat, organs, and visceral fat from Before and After DEXA. ALMI focuses on usable muscle that drives strength and metabolism.

Volume and intensity of training are the key drivers. Protein up a little but still only about 100-125 grams a day. TRT stable at 135 mg per week.
 
Dogmandu said:
14 months on Reta and my ALMI up from 8.9 to 9.3 (Kg/m2). That's a win.

This is Appendicular Lean Mass Index or muscle mass in arms and legs excluding trunk fat, organs, and visceral fat from Before and After DEXA. ALMI focuses on usable muscle that drives strength and metabolism.

Volume and intensity of training are the key drivers. Protein up a little but still only about 100-125 grams a day. TRT stable at 135 mg per week.
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Damn! How much of a calorie deficit are you in and what’s your weight loss?
 
Nattybynature said:
Damn! How much of a calorie deficit are you in and what’s your weight loss?
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Not much of a calorie deficit. I have months when weight goes sideways. I'm Ok with that because I'm small-framed and I've lost about 15 lbs of fat. Gained 5-10 lbs of muscle. Lost 4" around my waist. Weight loss was never my goal but body recomp and strong metabolic correction were - and I'm achieving that nicely. Difference is mostly around the middle and on the inside.
 
Anyone have any before and after pics? Looking to recomp. First get TRT dialed in. Then add Reta. Once that is stable I will add 1-2 HGH. Simple but that’s how I like life.
 
MTSpace said:
Anyone have any before and after pics? Looking to recomp. First get TRT dialed in. Then add Reta. Once that is stable I will add 1-2 HGH. Simple but that’s how I like life.
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For reta and testosterone, Reddit is mostly before and after pics, with the face covered for privacy. To me, it seems I had a touch of moon face on 1-2 iu of HGH, not noticeable to my spouse. Using Jardiance as a diuretic seemed to prevent the issue. But it was another reason for me to want to swtich to tesa, which I start this weekend.
 
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MTSpace said:
Anyone have any before and after pics? Looking to recomp. First get TRT dialed in. Then add Reta. Once that is stable I will add 1-2 HGH. Simple but that’s how I like life.
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I would personally love to post mine. But I have some very recognizable tattoos and very much value my privacy. Just on the off chance someone I know is around this board. Lots of fitness coaches on insta posting their clients before and after though.
 
Calm Logic said:
For reta and testosterone, Reddit is mostly before and after pics, with the face covered for privacy. To me, it seems I had a touch of moon face on 1-2 iu of HGH, not noticeable to my spouse. Using Jardiance as a diuretic seemed to prevent the issue. But it was another reason for me to want to swtich to tesa, which I start this weekend.
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Keep us posted on your Tesa substitution. Did you find any benefit from HGH? And were you using 191aa? And how long were you on HGH?
 
I’m just finishing up week 7 back on Reta. Also on test and growth. Definitely starting to see a difference in the mirror and how my clothes fit.
Also getting a good amount of vascularity.
 
Vash_ said:
I’m just finishing up week 7 back on Reta. Also on test and growth. Definitely starting to see a difference in the mirror and how my clothes fit.
Also getting a good amount of vascularity.
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Yeah I’ve got veins in places I never have before!

If you’re titrating up slowly you’re probably just getting to the sweet spot!
 
Nattybynature said:
Yeah I’ve got veins in places I never have before!

If you’re titrating up slowly you’re probably just getting to the sweet spot!
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Currently at 3mg of Reta and 2iu growth. Plan to up each next week.
 
Such1943 said:
Reta/Test/HGH/KLOW is my forever stack. I like to cycle SS-31/NAD+/Mots-C.
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Good stuff man! I am hoping to run ss31 soon as well. If anyone ever gets it in stock in Canada. The boarder over here is a bitch and don’t feel like risking 100s of dollars in customs.
 
Nattybynature said:
5mg was the highest I went and the weight dropped like crazy! Also was on 4iu of gh
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I went upto 7.5mg my first go-round but had to go off because of the sides. Hoping the growth will help enough to keep reta at a lower dosage.
 
MTSpace said:
Keep us posted on your Tesa substitution. Did you find any benefit from HGH?
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No obvious benefit from a very short cycle of HGH, just using a vial of 36 iu. The first time, the same kind of vial seemed to temporarily help my Achilles tendonitis, which is possible just from water retention since it was more pronounced then. Of course, people say to take HGH for 6 months or whatever. I'm too risk averse.

The small amount of facial "edema" that I thought was from HGH was all in my head (no pun intended). It was just subq fat, so I still need to lose weight/fat, so in theory I should stick with HGH since it's better for subq fat and fat in general. No obvious sides from HGH really for me, at 1-2 iu.

I tested my IGF-1 before starting (it runs about 190 naturally), but I didn't afterwards because I didn't feel like waiting at LabCorp and had discontinued anyway due to imaginary facial edema. But I will do a new baseline before starting tesa.

I have a backlog of peptides I am dealing with for "recovery." Like I am experimenting now with a stack of KPV and TA-1, in addition to the more obvious ones like BPC and TB-500 (which were not impressive so far and may take more time for effects to be noticeable). GHK/Cu is next.
 
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