Advice for First Cycle

[dangerboy857]

hi all,

i'm a newb, this is going to be my first cycle. i've tried to research as much as i can, but there's a lot of conflicting advice and bro science out there, which doesn't make it easy to figure out the right way to go.

i'm 37, male, 5'11", 180 pounds, guessing my bf% is about 15%. have trained at varying levels of intensity for last 20 years. my current routine has me lifting 2-3 days a week doing full body circuit training workouts, train yoga once a week, hiit cardio work 2-3x a week, and in addition i train muay thai and mma 3 days a week.

i'm not a pro fighter, but i spar and train with pros, would be nice to keep up with the guys almost half my age. i've always been physically strong (10 reps with 275 on the bench) but have also always had poor endurance (after just 3 rounds of sparring, i'm seriously lagging relative to my fellow fighters).

my diet is a mixed bag. when i'm alone, i eat pretty clean, focusing on fiber and protein. my social and business life however entails a lot of unhealthy eating and constantly drinking booze, beer, and wine. i usually try to make one meal a day a meal replacement loaded protein shake (bsn syntha 6, peanut butter, greek yogurt, fruit, milk). on a regular weekday right now i'm probably consuming under 2000 calories and about 100 grams of protein. i know i'll probably need to increase my protein and calories during my cycle (and cut back on alcohol). but if i'm not looking to blow up in size, how much protein and calories should i be consuming?

Cycle
(perhaps pre-cycle prime with clomid for couple weeks for t boost or jumpstart with m-sten or 6-mdrol)
1: test e @400mg for first frontload injection of week, 150mg for second pin of the week
2-8: test e @150mg x twice a week for 300mg total per week
2-8: anavar @50mg x once a day (i only have 50mg capsules, so i can't split into 25x2)
1-8: aromasin 12.5mg x twice a week, day after pin
6-9: HCG @300iu 2x/week (insulin pin IM or SubQ) + Vitamin E @1000iu ED (seems to be a debate over whether HCG should start right at beginning of cycle or not and if too much HCG reduces testes’ sensitivity to LH and lead to inevitable shutdown)

PCT
9-12: aromasin 12.5 mg once a week
9-12: forma stanzol - 2 x ED - 5 pumps am, 5 pumps pm
10-11: clomid @50mg ED
12: clomid @50mg EOD
13-20: bottle of Bridge

i'm paranoid about gyno and shutdown with the PCT so i also have nolvadex in my order in case i don't react well to the clomid. at my low test dosages, should i scrap the aromasin and just stick with forma? i'm also concerned what the buildup of estrogen will do to my personality. i'd like to not find myself watching "the real housewives" or crying during romantic comedies. also, what should i expect post-cycle for my sex life? will my dick still work? how long until it returns to normal? i'm thinking about swapping out the HCG for a bottle of HCGenerate instead bc of concerns about diminishing my LH sensitivity.

my hair has been thinning the last 10 years, would like to keep the current full but thinning head that i currently have so i ordered a bottle of nazarol shampoo hoping that will be enough to offset the dht from the test. i don't like the side effects i've read about with oral dht blockers, so opting not to get any fin.

my fitness goals are not size, but rather to lower my bf% (under ten would be great), increase my endurance, strength gains, and the lean hard look. i want improvements but i don't want to deal with the side effects, hence my low dose of t stacked with the low sides of anavar. i'm hoping 300mg a week of t will be enough if it's stacked on var. is it ok if i just do var once a day instead of twice?

i'm curious about deca, equipose, dbol, and hgh for future cycles. tren sounds awesome, but i love kickboxing and don't want to sacrifice my performance at my fight gym.

i appreciate any feedback. thanks very much.

 

[dangerboy857]

nothing?

also, i'm looking to add ostra in for a 4 week cycle. when's the best time? was thinking weeks 6-9.

 

[GreenBastard]

I think you should be okay it seems like a pretty decent cycle to me. The aromasin should handle any gyno concerns you have, and the dosage of test isnt that much I think you could up it to 500mg and not have any issues. Do not drink on cycle. Do whatever you can to avoid alcohol. Drinking while on a cycle, let alone a cycle with orals will be very hard on your liver. Your not going to notice any estrogen related side effects pyschologically lol you wont turn into a "girly man" or anything like that. You seem to have a pretty decent pct planned out. I would up the calories to around 2500, since you arent looking for any crazy bulking gains. Protein, I'd shoot for at least 250g per day, 300 is more like it. Do you want to cut or bulk here? Im not entirely sure that anavar with 300mg of test would be the idea combo, im sure some moderators and other members with LOTS of experience have several recipe's for cutting or lean bulk, but test with var is a good start IMO

Primobolan, Masteron, Equipoise are all good choices for cutting. Again it depends on your goals. The diet needs to be clean and kept in check not only on cycle but post cycle as well. That is one of the biggest factors as to wether you'll maintain any of your gains. Diet is key.

With that being said, I have seen guys run similar cycles with no PCT and lower dosages and come out with good results. Remember that not too long ago, cycles like this were common, PCT did not exist and most of the guys who cycled ended up fine afterwards. It may seem overwhelming at times, like you need 20 different compounds and PCT drugs and this and that and whatever, but if you keep the dosage and duration reasonable you shouldnt have any problems. In the event that you do (which I feel is very unlikely though not impossible) you can always stop the cycle.

Good luck! Let is know how it goes
GB

 

[dangerboy857]

I think you should be okay it seems like a pretty decent cycle to me. The aromasin should handle any gyno concerns you have, and the dosage of test isnt that much I think you could up it to 500mg and not have any issues. Do not drink on cycle. Do whatever you can to avoid alcohol. Drinking while on a cycle, let alone a cycle with orals will be very hard on your liver. Your not going to notice any estrogen related side effects pyschologically lol you wont turn into a "girly man" or anything like that. You seem to have a pretty decent pct planned out. I would up the calories to around 2500, since you arent looking for any crazy bulking gains. Protein, I'd shoot for at least 250g per day, 300 is more like it. Do you want to cut or bulk here? Im not entirely sure that anavar with 300mg of test would be the idea combo, im sure some moderators and other members with LOTS of experience have several recipe's for cutting or lean bulk, but test with var is a good start IMO

Primobolan, Masteron, Equipoise are all good choices for cutting. Again it depends on your goals. The diet needs to be clean and kept in check not only on cycle but post cycle as well. That is one of the biggest factors as to wether you'll maintain any of your gains. Diet is key.

With that being said, I have seen guys run similar cycles with no PCT and lower dosages and come out with good results. Remember that not too long ago, cycles like this were common, PCT did not exist and most of the guys who cycled ended up fine afterwards. It may seem overwhelming at times, like you need 20 different compounds and PCT drugs and this and that and whatever, but if you keep the dosage and duration reasonable you shouldnt have any problems. In the event that you do (which I feel is very unlikely though not impossible) you can always stop the cycle.

Good luck! Let is know how it goes
GB

thanks bro for the advice. i might play with the test dosage, but i think i'll start low but with a frontload, which may also include some test transdermal. my ideal is a recomp, def not some huge bulk. i'm not looking to get huge. i'd like to stay somewhere between 165 and 185, with low bf%. how much will aas' help me lower bf% with a clean diet vs without?

it is not easy getting that much protein down without a lot of calories. i'm drinking 50g protein shakes already to get myself to break 150g of protein a day right now without doing it high calorie. i'll try to get to 250g. if i'm not looking to add 15 pounds though, do i really need that much?

i appreciate the advice.

i'm definitely interested in primobolan and eq. i don't know enough about masteron. i'm also looking hard at a sarm cycle of osta and gw.

 

[sledhead09]

My first cycle was test only 250 a week 12 weeks. Second was test 250 and then Winny weeks 9-12. It was a good cycle and I learned what my body would react on the gear. PCT was clomid. I was on this site for about 1 year before I did my cycle. ALL the information is here and the support is top notch. Keep it Basic for your first cycle.

 

[RickRock13]

it sounds like you need a lot of changes to your lifestyle before ever considering using steroids. You can't go into a cycle and half ass it and expect any dramatic results. You can't have a shitty diet and drink alcohol. Having one shake a day, then eating whatever the rest of the day isn't going to cut it. If you decide to cycle, I think you will be very disappointed in your results if you don't make some serious changes.

Drinking alcohol and taking liver toxic orals at the same time is a recipe for disaster and possibly even a trip to the ER.

 

[dangerboy857]

it sounds like you need a lot of changes to your lifestyle before ever considering using steroids. You can't go into a cycle and half ass it and expect any dramatic results. You can't have a shitty diet and drink alcohol. Having one shake a day, then eating whatever the rest of the day isn't going to cut it. If you decide to cycle, I think you will be very disappointed in your results if you don't make some serious changes.

Drinking alcohol and taking liver toxic orals at the same time is a recipe for disaster and possibly even a trip to the ER.

thanks for the tip rickrock.

i don't think my diet is shitty. i don't just eat whatever i want the rest of the day. it's not like i'm eating fast food. my diet is not nearly as good as yours. but the vast majority of the time, i eat lean proteins, fibrous veggies, no processed sugar, and healthy whole foods and supplement with protein shakes once or twice a day. i track my calories and protein, and am conscious of my other macros. but social obligations are hard. if i have 1 or 2 drinks once a week and a couple french fries at the bar, how bad is that on cycle? absolute no-no or is that ok once in a while?

i train cardio 4-5x a week and strength 3-4x a week. checked my bf today and i'm at 11.6%, which was a surprise to me, i guessed i was about 15%. i want to get under 10.

 

[dangerboy857]

My first cycle was test only 250 a week 12 weeks. Second was test 250 and then Winny weeks 9-12. It was a good cycle and I learned what my body would react on the gear. PCT was clomid. I was on this site for about 1 year before I did my cycle. ALL the information is here and the support is top notch. Keep it Basic for your first cycle.

thanks. how long did you wait between cycles?

 

[RickRock13]

thanks for the tip rickrock.

i don't think my diet is shitty. i don't just eat whatever i want the rest of the day. it's not like i'm eating fast food. my diet is not nearly as good as yours. but the vast majority of the time, i eat lean proteins, fibrous veggies, no processed sugar, and healthy whole foods and supplement with protein shakes once or twice a day. i track my calories and protein, and am conscious of my other macros. but social obligations are hard. if i have 1 or 2 drinks once a week and a couple french fries at the bar, how bad is that on cycle? absolute no-no or is that ok once in a while?

i train cardio 4-5x a week and strength 3-4x a week. checked my bf today and i'm at 11.6%, which was a surprise to me, i guessed i was about 15%. i want to get under 10.

The main thing is that if you are going to run toxic orals, you really just need to,cut the alcohol while on them. That is a lot of stress on your liver from the oral AAS alone. One or two drinks once a week probably isn't a real big deal, but I know how easily one turns into 5 or 6. Your health should always be your primary concern, and how big of a deal is it to cut drinking for a few weeks? It shouldn't be a problem for anyone that isn't an alcoholic. I know all about social obligations, and I know all about having self control too. You just have to sty focused if you want to do a cycle bro. I'm not trying to be an ass to you, but it sounds like you are trying to have your cake and eat it too. It just doesnt work that way. Pick whether you want to party and have a good time with friends or you want to cycle and diet right without the booze. You are definitely not going to get under 10% body fat doing those things. That's a lost cause.

 

[dangerboy857]

The main thing is that if you are going to run toxic orals, you really just need to,cut the alcohol while on them. That is a lot of stress on your liver from the oral AAS alone. One or two drinks once a week probably isn't a real big deal, but I know how easily one turns into 5 or 6. Your health should always be your primary concern, and how big of a deal is it to cut drinking for a few weeks? It shouldn't be a problem for anyone that isn't an alcoholic. I know all about social obligations, and I know all about having self control too. You just have to sty focused if you want to do a cycle bro. I'm not trying to be an ass to you, but it sounds like you are trying to have your cake and eat it too. It just doesnt work that way. Pick whether you want to party and have a good time with friends or you want to cycle and diet right without the booze. You are definitely not going to get under 10% body fat doing those things. That's a lost cause.

alright bro, i hear you. no getting buzzed and no drinking more than 1 or 2 drinks more than once a week while on cycle. i got that. thanks, i don't think you're an ass. i think you're someone who knows a lot more than i do and i'm trying to learn.