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- 36yrs old
- 6’1” @ 265lbs
- Not sure of body fat %. I’m not ripped but I don’t look “fat”, and people guess I only weigh 200-220lbs.
- Lifting for 20yrs, and very steady for the past year
- Received some good guidance from a former mr jr. NA when I was 18 that got me out of the typical weight room bs and gaining whenever I put my mind to it.
- earlier this year I botched up my first cycle a little, but all things considered it seems to have turned out ok
Concerns:
- gyno
- nut shrinkage that could cause long term sides and a more difficult PCT
- setting myself up for as efficient of a PCT as possible
- hair loss
- loss of gains
- Not really concerned about bloating.
Expectations:
- recover faster between sessions so I can hit the weights more often and bulk up
Over the last 6mo I’ve read hundreds of pages on this and similar boards, and have to start by saying thanks for the awesome info posted here. I've read a LOT and learned very valuable information.
This first post is more for other newbies to read, since when I started reading I loved hearing about others who were just starting out, and not just the guys that made me aware of how little I knew. That being said, I’d really appreciate some feedback from the vets on the second post below. I’ve read almost all of the sticky posts, but feel anyone who takes the time to read the novel below and has experienced something similar may have advice specific to my experiences so far.
I’ve learned first hand that some people can react very differently to certain drugs than others, and feel it’s part of the reason why there can be such a wide range of contradicting advice given about certain topics and substances. To be honest, it can really overload the newbie that’s just dying to take the plunge and do “something”. For instance, I have a large bouncer looking buddy that was recently taking 50mg/d of Var for 6+mo straight and had no apparent decrease of test levels or liver function after quitting cold turkey and getting it all checked out… I on the other hand started a Var only cycle almost 8 months ago, and was forced to quickly learn about test, needles, PCT, Nolva, Clomid, etc.
I wanted to add something to my everyday lifting experience, and one day had an opportunity to access “whatever” I wanted. I was told Var would give me great results without having to think about the “scary side” of steroids like needles, harsher sides, PCT, etc, and that it would even shed a few pounds effortlessly as a bonus. Being an ignorant newbie I started down the road of reactive decisions instead of education and preventative measures.
I started off “cautious” with 30mg/d for the first 5d, then 40mg for 5d, then 60mg for 10 days and was loving it! I saw some gains that I thought may be from the Var, (although I was also working out harder than ever). I definitely felt my muscles recovering faster, and they got very very hard, (which felt cool to the touch but didn’t do much else for me). I increased to 80mg/d for 5 more days until I started noticing a severe drop in (what I later realized was) test levels, as well as a noticeable increase in blood pressure, and being winded from a short flight of stairs, and horrible back pumps. I got pretty concerned about my cardio state (since I’m not in bade shape overall, but felt like a 400lb couch potato all of a sudden). I also experienced greatly increased sweating during exercise and sleep. I started taking taurine and potassium for the back pumps, but still found myself collapsed and stretching on the floor between squats and back exercises. I also couldn’t down half a beer without feeling really buzzed. I’m a very light & casual drinker, but felt I had to give it up completely for a few months until things went back to normal.
Being stubborn and not wanting my efforts so far to be a waste, I decided that instead of starting a PCT to get my natural test levels back up, I’d cut the var dose in half to 40, and start Test E every 5d at 280mg/wk. I ended up dropping the Var completely a few weeks later as I was really tired of feeling like complete shit all day. Around this time my nipples were also getting sore, so I started taking a small dose of Nolva for pretty much the rest of my cycle – just enough to make the soreness go away.
At almost 8wks in I started to feel better so I upped the test to 525mg/wk and for the first time started LOVING the results! Ironically, just when it started feeling really good I figured I should only do 4 more wks since that would be 11wks total since starting Var, and getting shut down. I was realizing just how little I knew about what had been going on in my body and that this needed to end well if I ever hoped to try future cycles.
I waited 14d after my last shot, then started Nolva@40mg/d & Clomid@50mg/d for 4wks. That month I felt like complete shit, and it wasn’t until the very end that my nads size came back. I also got backne for 2mo after that, noticed a little extra body hair, possibly a little hair thinning up top (not sure yet), and definitely lost some gains and put on a little fat. All of those negative sides came AFTER starting PCT, and none while on the Test.
This made it all net out to about the same result as if I hadn’t even done a cycle in my mind, except for the unique experience and a little extra size I had gained. Don’t get me wrong, I’m currently bigger than I’ve ever been but I worked my ass off extra hard for the past 8 months to get here, so it’s hard to say if I would have achieved this without the cycle.
Overall it may sound like there were more negatives than positives, and an observer outside of the AAS world might think I’m crazy for wanting to try it all again… but for those last 4wks of test it was AWESOME!!! My sex drive was through the roof!, and I felt all the typical pros you read about. Looking back, the biggest “practical” benefit was how quickly I healed between workouts – it was insane to me. What normally takes 3-4d took 1-2d no matter how hard I pushed. If I had the time I could have worked out 6d/wk instead of my typical 3x and made even more gains.
My hope of course is to find a way of extending those 4 “good weeks” into a full 10-14wk cycle, and to experience a much better PCT to round it all off. IF that is possible, I could see doing a cycle once a year for the foreseeable future. Just the added drive it gave me to hit the weights consistently was awesome, and knowing that I didn’t want to waste the potential that was flowing through me.
On that note, I also went from being a guy that might have fainted when giving blood, with zero needle experience, to successfully giving myself about 12 shots and after the first few actually looked forward to them in a slightly sadistic way.
- 6’1” @ 265lbs
- Not sure of body fat %. I’m not ripped but I don’t look “fat”, and people guess I only weigh 200-220lbs.
- Lifting for 20yrs, and very steady for the past year
- Received some good guidance from a former mr jr. NA when I was 18 that got me out of the typical weight room bs and gaining whenever I put my mind to it.
- earlier this year I botched up my first cycle a little, but all things considered it seems to have turned out ok
Concerns:
- gyno
- nut shrinkage that could cause long term sides and a more difficult PCT
- setting myself up for as efficient of a PCT as possible
- hair loss
- loss of gains
- Not really concerned about bloating.
Expectations:
- recover faster between sessions so I can hit the weights more often and bulk up
Over the last 6mo I’ve read hundreds of pages on this and similar boards, and have to start by saying thanks for the awesome info posted here. I've read a LOT and learned very valuable information.
This first post is more for other newbies to read, since when I started reading I loved hearing about others who were just starting out, and not just the guys that made me aware of how little I knew. That being said, I’d really appreciate some feedback from the vets on the second post below. I’ve read almost all of the sticky posts, but feel anyone who takes the time to read the novel below and has experienced something similar may have advice specific to my experiences so far.
I’ve learned first hand that some people can react very differently to certain drugs than others, and feel it’s part of the reason why there can be such a wide range of contradicting advice given about certain topics and substances. To be honest, it can really overload the newbie that’s just dying to take the plunge and do “something”. For instance, I have a large bouncer looking buddy that was recently taking 50mg/d of Var for 6+mo straight and had no apparent decrease of test levels or liver function after quitting cold turkey and getting it all checked out… I on the other hand started a Var only cycle almost 8 months ago, and was forced to quickly learn about test, needles, PCT, Nolva, Clomid, etc.
I wanted to add something to my everyday lifting experience, and one day had an opportunity to access “whatever” I wanted. I was told Var would give me great results without having to think about the “scary side” of steroids like needles, harsher sides, PCT, etc, and that it would even shed a few pounds effortlessly as a bonus. Being an ignorant newbie I started down the road of reactive decisions instead of education and preventative measures.
I started off “cautious” with 30mg/d for the first 5d, then 40mg for 5d, then 60mg for 10 days and was loving it! I saw some gains that I thought may be from the Var, (although I was also working out harder than ever). I definitely felt my muscles recovering faster, and they got very very hard, (which felt cool to the touch but didn’t do much else for me). I increased to 80mg/d for 5 more days until I started noticing a severe drop in (what I later realized was) test levels, as well as a noticeable increase in blood pressure, and being winded from a short flight of stairs, and horrible back pumps. I got pretty concerned about my cardio state (since I’m not in bade shape overall, but felt like a 400lb couch potato all of a sudden). I also experienced greatly increased sweating during exercise and sleep. I started taking taurine and potassium for the back pumps, but still found myself collapsed and stretching on the floor between squats and back exercises. I also couldn’t down half a beer without feeling really buzzed. I’m a very light & casual drinker, but felt I had to give it up completely for a few months until things went back to normal.
Being stubborn and not wanting my efforts so far to be a waste, I decided that instead of starting a PCT to get my natural test levels back up, I’d cut the var dose in half to 40, and start Test E every 5d at 280mg/wk. I ended up dropping the Var completely a few weeks later as I was really tired of feeling like complete shit all day. Around this time my nipples were also getting sore, so I started taking a small dose of Nolva for pretty much the rest of my cycle – just enough to make the soreness go away.
At almost 8wks in I started to feel better so I upped the test to 525mg/wk and for the first time started LOVING the results! Ironically, just when it started feeling really good I figured I should only do 4 more wks since that would be 11wks total since starting Var, and getting shut down. I was realizing just how little I knew about what had been going on in my body and that this needed to end well if I ever hoped to try future cycles.
I waited 14d after my last shot, then started Nolva@40mg/d & Clomid@50mg/d for 4wks. That month I felt like complete shit, and it wasn’t until the very end that my nads size came back. I also got backne for 2mo after that, noticed a little extra body hair, possibly a little hair thinning up top (not sure yet), and definitely lost some gains and put on a little fat. All of those negative sides came AFTER starting PCT, and none while on the Test.
This made it all net out to about the same result as if I hadn’t even done a cycle in my mind, except for the unique experience and a little extra size I had gained. Don’t get me wrong, I’m currently bigger than I’ve ever been but I worked my ass off extra hard for the past 8 months to get here, so it’s hard to say if I would have achieved this without the cycle.
Overall it may sound like there were more negatives than positives, and an observer outside of the AAS world might think I’m crazy for wanting to try it all again… but for those last 4wks of test it was AWESOME!!! My sex drive was through the roof!, and I felt all the typical pros you read about. Looking back, the biggest “practical” benefit was how quickly I healed between workouts – it was insane to me. What normally takes 3-4d took 1-2d no matter how hard I pushed. If I had the time I could have worked out 6d/wk instead of my typical 3x and made even more gains.
My hope of course is to find a way of extending those 4 “good weeks” into a full 10-14wk cycle, and to experience a much better PCT to round it all off. IF that is possible, I could see doing a cycle once a year for the foreseeable future. Just the added drive it gave me to hit the weights consistently was awesome, and knowing that I didn’t want to waste the potential that was flowing through me.
On that note, I also went from being a guy that might have fainted when giving blood, with zero needle experience, to successfully giving myself about 12 shots and after the first few actually looked forward to them in a slightly sadistic way.
