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I just wanted to give my experience as a former serious cyclist who still rides and had started running intensely.
I am 34 years old and found that I had a very low testosterone level after a blood test I got because I was having low sex drive and my fitness was really bad ( I was training a lot and hard, but making almost no gains). The doctor prescribed a testosterone cream, but it didn't seem to have any effect. My good friend who is a body builder recommended I try Testosterone Cypionate at about 200mg injection per week.
Immediately on starting this my body improved by leaps and bounds (I also started working out in the gym at the same time, figured I would take advantage of all that testosterone!). When i was racing seriously back in the day, I was only one small step away from turning pro with a euro team. I realized now, that if I was doing this test. back then it would have been the extra bit I needed to perform at that level. I knew most of the pros I trained with were doing testosterone or HgH and now I am kicking myself for never having gotten in on that. This test. made me super strong, and I had amazing recovery. I would work out super hard and barely even feel it!
At the same time I bought the test. I also bought a short cycle's worth of Anavar and winny, since I had read that would reduce my body fat (I was probably around 23% when I started). My body fat reduced nicely on just the test. though. But after 5 to 6 weeks of test I figured I would give the AAS a try to see what happened. At this point I also increased my intake of test. cyp. to about 300mg a week and started taking about 10mg a day of winny and anavar. I weekly increased my intake of anavar and winny to a max of about 30mg a day, and the total cycle of AAS lasted about 8 weeks (and I was still taking the test. at about 300mg a week).
A few weeks in, I began having pain in my joints and ligaments, especially in the lower legs. At the time I thought it had to do with the amount I was running (about 7 miles every other day or sometimes once a day, which I was more than I was doing before i began the test. and AAS cycles). I cut back on my running a bit, but everytime I would go I would still have pain, even if I had taken a week off with icing and ibuprophen to rest. I also noticed that towards the end of the cycle I began having serious cramping in my leg muscles when I would go on bike rides, even if I was totally hydrated and wasn't riding anywhere near as long as I should have to produce cramping. I started taking potassium supplement in case that AAS was messing up my levels.
After the cycle ended, I stopped running completely because of the pain, and also because I had increased my bicycling a lot. It took about three weeks of no running for the pain in my lower legs to get better and about 6 weeks (which is right now) for the cramping issues to get better. I got a blood test last week to see where I am at, and will get the results tomorrow. I'm curious about my liver function, testosterone levels and any vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
After doing more research (what I should have done in the first place!) i have come to a couple conclusions.
Stay away from Winstrol if you are a endurance athlete! It might make bodybuilders look ripped, but it seems to have a reputation for drying the joints and ligaments out A LOT which is terrible for an endurance athlete. It can make your tendons bigger, but much more brittle and and weaker. This is part of the reason I was having such pain while running.
I also learned that testosterone above 200mg per week will increase muscle mass but will reduce collagen synthesis, resulting in more muscle but weak tendons.
So that is why I went from feeling super strong on 200mg of test. a week, to completely injury prone on 300MG of test. a week and 10 to 30 mg of winny. The anavar on the other hand should help me with collagen synthesis, but was probably outweighed by the test. and winny.
Still don't really know why I was so susceptable to cramping for so long after I stopped the cycle... maybe the winny dried things out, my liver was damaged by the winny (it is highly toxic to the liver, yet another good reason to stay away) which would result in cramping, or my vitamin/mineral levels were way off. I'll know more when I get my blood test back.
But I felt so good and made such great gains while on this cycle, despite the extra pain, I plan to do another one. This time I'll probably start with test. cyp. or maybe sustanon, but keep it at lower doses. I'll then do an AAS that won't dry me out or reduce collagen sysnthesis. Sounds like Deca-Durabolin or Primobolon is the way to go. And I'll add the anavar in there since it should also aid in collagen sysnthesis (and I have a bunch left over
I'm also currently doing a hormone replacement therapy of HgH (just started a couple weeks after teh AAS cycle was over), so i will continue that since it should help in collagen sysnthesis.
Also, around when I increased my test. doses to 300mg a week I started getting bad skin. I'm not sure if it was a result of the increase in dose of test., or just that it was inevitable with any testosterone injections, or maybe it was the AAS. My skin is only starting to recover now. So during the next cycle I am thinking of taking Accutane to keep this under control. I had acne when I was younger and took a cycle of accutane which made it pretty much go away. I have read that some people will take low doses of Accutane to keep their sking under control. However, I'm not sure if this really will work, or if it's better to take a real cycle of Accutane that lasts about 4 months at 40MG or so a day.
Also, at the end of my AAS cycle I took two weeks of HCG to help boost my own testosterone levels. I have since read that some people get good results taking low doses of HCG every few days of the test. / AAS cycle. Not sure if I am going to try that, but I think I'll at least take three or four weeks of it at the end of my AAS cycle. At the end of this one I lost probably 25% of the gains I made (probably from the drop in natural testosterone), so perhaps more HCG will help prevent this.
Anyway, that's all. I'll post any new from my blood tests. I am obviously new to all this, but figured what I have learned might help those out there that are thinking of trying a cycle. There is tons of info for bodybuilders but it doesn't always relate well to endurance athletes.
of course, I'd love to hear other's comments or experiences as endurance athletes that have done cycles
I am 34 years old and found that I had a very low testosterone level after a blood test I got because I was having low sex drive and my fitness was really bad ( I was training a lot and hard, but making almost no gains). The doctor prescribed a testosterone cream, but it didn't seem to have any effect. My good friend who is a body builder recommended I try Testosterone Cypionate at about 200mg injection per week.
Immediately on starting this my body improved by leaps and bounds (I also started working out in the gym at the same time, figured I would take advantage of all that testosterone!). When i was racing seriously back in the day, I was only one small step away from turning pro with a euro team. I realized now, that if I was doing this test. back then it would have been the extra bit I needed to perform at that level. I knew most of the pros I trained with were doing testosterone or HgH and now I am kicking myself for never having gotten in on that. This test. made me super strong, and I had amazing recovery. I would work out super hard and barely even feel it!
At the same time I bought the test. I also bought a short cycle's worth of Anavar and winny, since I had read that would reduce my body fat (I was probably around 23% when I started). My body fat reduced nicely on just the test. though. But after 5 to 6 weeks of test I figured I would give the AAS a try to see what happened. At this point I also increased my intake of test. cyp. to about 300mg a week and started taking about 10mg a day of winny and anavar. I weekly increased my intake of anavar and winny to a max of about 30mg a day, and the total cycle of AAS lasted about 8 weeks (and I was still taking the test. at about 300mg a week).
A few weeks in, I began having pain in my joints and ligaments, especially in the lower legs. At the time I thought it had to do with the amount I was running (about 7 miles every other day or sometimes once a day, which I was more than I was doing before i began the test. and AAS cycles). I cut back on my running a bit, but everytime I would go I would still have pain, even if I had taken a week off with icing and ibuprophen to rest. I also noticed that towards the end of the cycle I began having serious cramping in my leg muscles when I would go on bike rides, even if I was totally hydrated and wasn't riding anywhere near as long as I should have to produce cramping. I started taking potassium supplement in case that AAS was messing up my levels.
After the cycle ended, I stopped running completely because of the pain, and also because I had increased my bicycling a lot. It took about three weeks of no running for the pain in my lower legs to get better and about 6 weeks (which is right now) for the cramping issues to get better. I got a blood test last week to see where I am at, and will get the results tomorrow. I'm curious about my liver function, testosterone levels and any vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
After doing more research (what I should have done in the first place!) i have come to a couple conclusions.
Stay away from Winstrol if you are a endurance athlete! It might make bodybuilders look ripped, but it seems to have a reputation for drying the joints and ligaments out A LOT which is terrible for an endurance athlete. It can make your tendons bigger, but much more brittle and and weaker. This is part of the reason I was having such pain while running.
I also learned that testosterone above 200mg per week will increase muscle mass but will reduce collagen synthesis, resulting in more muscle but weak tendons.
So that is why I went from feeling super strong on 200mg of test. a week, to completely injury prone on 300MG of test. a week and 10 to 30 mg of winny. The anavar on the other hand should help me with collagen synthesis, but was probably outweighed by the test. and winny.
Still don't really know why I was so susceptable to cramping for so long after I stopped the cycle... maybe the winny dried things out, my liver was damaged by the winny (it is highly toxic to the liver, yet another good reason to stay away) which would result in cramping, or my vitamin/mineral levels were way off. I'll know more when I get my blood test back.
But I felt so good and made such great gains while on this cycle, despite the extra pain, I plan to do another one. This time I'll probably start with test. cyp. or maybe sustanon, but keep it at lower doses. I'll then do an AAS that won't dry me out or reduce collagen sysnthesis. Sounds like Deca-Durabolin or Primobolon is the way to go. And I'll add the anavar in there since it should also aid in collagen sysnthesis (and I have a bunch left over
I'm also currently doing a hormone replacement therapy of HgH (just started a couple weeks after teh AAS cycle was over), so i will continue that since it should help in collagen sysnthesis. Also, around when I increased my test. doses to 300mg a week I started getting bad skin. I'm not sure if it was a result of the increase in dose of test., or just that it was inevitable with any testosterone injections, or maybe it was the AAS. My skin is only starting to recover now. So during the next cycle I am thinking of taking Accutane to keep this under control. I had acne when I was younger and took a cycle of accutane which made it pretty much go away. I have read that some people will take low doses of Accutane to keep their sking under control. However, I'm not sure if this really will work, or if it's better to take a real cycle of Accutane that lasts about 4 months at 40MG or so a day.
Also, at the end of my AAS cycle I took two weeks of HCG to help boost my own testosterone levels. I have since read that some people get good results taking low doses of HCG every few days of the test. / AAS cycle. Not sure if I am going to try that, but I think I'll at least take three or four weeks of it at the end of my AAS cycle. At the end of this one I lost probably 25% of the gains I made (probably from the drop in natural testosterone), so perhaps more HCG will help prevent this.
Anyway, that's all. I'll post any new from my blood tests. I am obviously new to all this, but figured what I have learned might help those out there that are thinking of trying a cycle. There is tons of info for bodybuilders but it doesn't always relate well to endurance athletes.
of course, I'd love to hear other's comments or experiences as endurance athletes that have done cycles
