1st cycle, 14 years training... help please

Greenreaper

New member
Hi guys i'm new here and have been training for 14ish years and after much thought and deliberation i have decided to jump in and do a bulk/strength cycle. So i contacted my friend and he got me 20ml of deca 300mg and 20ml of test 400 plus 100 d/bol 10mg tabs also some Hcg, so here is where i need help, i basically need some advise on what pct to take after the cycle has finished and dosages plus would i need an AI?

I will state bloat or water weight would not bother me i'm happily married and have three kids so attracting females is not a concern plus my wife is a trained nurse and has giving intramuscular injection before so i'm sorted for that. Before i forget i am 6ft tall and weight 102.5kg around 13% BF and 34 years old
 
You should always run an AI while you cycle! What was your thoughts on hoe you were going to dose your gear? How long you planning on running?
You should drop the deca for this cycle and just run 500mg of test only for 14 weeks. I suppose you could run your dbol to kick start your cycle, just run low dose 30mg/day.
As far as pxt just run nolvadex and clomid for 4 weeks. Do you know when you would start your pct?
 
You should always run an AI while you cycle! What was your thoughts on hoe you were going to dose your gear? How long you planning on running?
You should drop the deca for this cycle and just run 500mg of test only for 14 weeks. I suppose you could run your dbol to kick start your cycle, just run low dose 30mg/day.
As far as pxt just run nolvadex and clomid for 4 weeks. Do you know when you would start your pct?
Yeah probably 12 to 16 weeks
 
For the safest route follow the stickies. But yeh a test only cycle, with a long ester (cyp or enth), for around 12-14 weeks. The dbol to kickstart at 30-50mg ED. Running an AI like Aromasin from day 1 to avoid sides (around 12.5mg ED seems like the norm, but start low and find your sweet spot). A good PCT would be Clomid 75/50/50/50 and Nolva 40/20/20/20.
 
THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO STEROIDS AND PROPER NUTRITION
BY: 3J

3J's Nutrition | Diet and fitness consulting to get you to the next level.


So I'm going to make this article as simple and straight forward as I possibly can. This article's purpose is to serve the mass population of amateur steroid users who lack the proper knowledge necessary to get the most out of their cycle and progressive instinct toward their individual goals. Having been on various steroid forums for years I have seen a countless number of members come and go asking the same questions; "I'm too skinny, what steroid can I use to get big?", or "I'm overweight, is there a steroid out there that can help me lose weight?"

The notion that there is a "magic pill" has been grossly over popularized through a mixture of misconceptions leaked by the mass media and the flawed human psychological necessity that is instant gratification. Since there is great pressure applied socio-psychologically to have a certain "look" in our culture, many will resort to extremes without the proper knowledge of what, when, and why they should be taking steroids. What comes secondary to such goofs is the steroid "myth" that you cannot keep the gains that you make on cycle. We shall discuss and debunk such notions later in this article.

Having said all that, I am making a step by step program here with certain requirements that have to be met in order for one to move forward to the next step. If at any point you have not met a requirement, you're not ready for steroids. Furthermore, once you are ready for steroids there will be certain requirements set for the cycle which I will discuss. Simply speaking, this is a step by step for the use of steroids and proper nutrition.



Table of Content
1. Age
2. Training Experience
3. Nutritional Set Up and Experience
4. Basic Steroid Knowledge (including compound knowledge and post cycle therapy (pct))



AGE

The first and most important requirement of running a cycle is your age. Through my years as a nutritionist I have seen some very athletic young men with ages ranging from 18-23 who look more ready for a cycle then most who are at the proper age. Regardless, someone who is young has a very high natural testosterone level of 800-1000ng/dl. Getting to the root of the issue, there are two major reasons why running a cycle at a young age is unacceptable and risky. Running a cycle at that young of an age will only risk the recovery of those high levels of testosterone, even if the user runs a perfect post cycle therapy (pct) (we will discuss that later) one could end up with subpar levels of natural testosterone for life after the fact . Secondly, between the ages of 18 and 23 one still has room to grow in height. When a surge of testosterone runs through the body at a supra-physiological dose your growth plates fuse and you're at the tallest you will ever be.



TRAINING EXPERIENCE

The worst thing someone can do is hop on a cycle when they have little training experience. Besides the obvious fact that you cannot learn how to properly train overnight (this includes form) it also means that you have not brought yourself anywhere close to your genetic potential. Simply put, someone who has been training for a little amount of time has not primed his body for what steroids will do. With that being said many armature and first time steroid users bring upon themselves injuries due to the undeniable fact that joints and ligaments do not grow on cycle like your muscles will. As these users increase the amount of weight they can move in their exercises at an alarmingly fast rate, their tendons will start to wear and tear bearing a load that they are not used to. This causes many injuries that are usually not repairable without surgery. Separation of or degeneration of the cartilage in the acromioclavicular join (a.k.a the AC joint) is a perfect example of a very common injury that occurs to beginner cycle users who get bench press crazy and lift weights much higher than their body can handle. So, if you dont have years of training under your belt stay away from gear. You simply are not ready.





Nutritional Set Up and Experience

By far, the most important part of your struggle in reaching the set goals you have in mind will be your diet. Diet is everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING. Its the deciding factor in whether your body will change or not. Anyone can get into a gym and, with a little help, get some type of basic training routine going on. Over the years in multiple forums I have seen the same thing over and over again. People seem to focus too much on anabolics and their training routines. I see skinny guys jumping on a 5x5 or 5/3/1 workout routine only to find out that they stall in progress in a very short period of time. The simple truth is that 80% of your goals will be met in the kitchen. It won't be met in the gym and it won't be met in the needle that you are filling either. Because of a lack of nutritional experience, a lot of people end up right where they started or worse after a cycle. This brings about the "myth" that you cannot keep your gains from a cycle. It's not that you cannot keep your gains; it's that you have not eaten the correct amount to keep your gains. As you grow, your bodies nutritional needs also grow. Nutrition is by far the most decisive factor in whether or not you really make the change your looking for. Now there are a lot of different types of dieting philosophies out there and it can be extremely confusing. People are using different weight to protein and carbohydrate ratios. There are fad dieting prospects like IIFYM and IF dieting (both of which I dont personally condone). You can run a traditional bulk and cut or you can do more advanced dieting like carb cycling. Remember guys, being on cycle without proper nutrition is like sitting in a Ferrari without gas in the tank. It feels amazing to sit in the car, but you're never going to get anywhere. My advice to those starting out is simple, keep it simple. Here is a basic way to get started with dieting.

You need to figure out your BMR (this is the basal ********* rate of your body... which means if you were to do nothing all day, your body would burn these many calories)

Once you've figured out your BMR, you need your TDEE (this is your total daily energy expenditure, it's based upon your activity level)

BMR (men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)



In order to figure out your BMR, you need to know what your lean body mass is.. so, in turn, u need to know what your body fat percentage is...

If you don't know your body fat percentage, go to your gym and get tested (please don't use electronic scales to get your bf checked, they're horrible)

if you cannot find a gym to get tested at, please post up a picture for estimates on the forum

Total weight x bf in decimal form = total bf weight

Total weight - total bf weight = total lean body mass

if your total lean body mass is in lbs, u can divide it by 2.2 to get it in kilograms..

For example..

I am 6'4 275lbs at 14% bf... so I would multiply 275 by .14 (converted from percent to decimal)= 38.5lbs

275 - 38.5 = 236.5lbs lean body weight

236.5 / 2.2 = 107.5 lean mass in kg

370 + (21.6 x 107.5) = 2692 BMR (this is high for the average person, I'm a big guy)

TDEE

Once you have you BMR, you need to calculate your TDEE, this is simply done with some multiplication...

you can multiply it by an activity number to figure out your daily caloric expenditure, be honest here as this is the very cornerstone of your diet, if you are between two of the below activity levels then just multiply by a number in between them

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:


If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Once you have your TDEE, we can make some simple choices.

If you're going to bulk start by adding 500 calories to your TDEE.

So, if I had a TDEE of 3000 calories, I would start my bulk at 3500 calories

If you're going to cut, you want to reduce your calories by 15 to 20%
So, again if I had a TDEE of 3000 then I would start my cut at about 450 to 600 calories below my TDEE


Here are some simple tips for setting up correct macros:

For bulking, you want to keep two things high, protein and carbs. For example, at a 3000 calories bulk I would personally have my macros look like this

250-300g protein
300-350g carbs
70g fats

Now you have to fill out six meals a day. Divide the protein by 6 and average each meal to that number, at 300g 6 meals would average about 50g per meal.
Divide your carbs into 5 meals; at 300g carbs you would need 60g carbs per meal. The last meal of the day should never have carbs. It reduces natural growth hormone production as you sleep.

When bulking on cycle keep in mind the calorie increase happens quicker.. i like to add about 150 calories (roughly) every other week after my initial 500 calories above my TDEE.. this ensures that your eating at the higher level of your bodies needs.. So that is correct guys, if you start at 3500 calories, expect to end around 4300-4500 calories


If you want to cut the ideal rule of thumb is to follow a PRN or as needed basis on the carbs. Carbs should be focused on breakfast, pre, and post workout

Ideally, your macros at a 2500 calorie cut should look like this
300g protein
150g carbs
80g fat

Again, divide the protein evenly throughout the day. Divide the carbs evenly into breakfast, pre, and post workout. Fill the rest of the meals with fats to get the necessary 80g fats that you need.




Basic Steroid Knowledge (including compound knowledge and post cycle therapy (pct))

Here is a brief understanding of a beginner's steroid cycle. If you do not at the least have a basic understanding of how steroids work you should not be using them. Reading the hundreds of pages of info on compounds can be confusing, so we are sticking to the basics for first time users.


Testosterone:

Your body naturally creates testosterone. Testosterone is the male dominant hormone. In a healthy young adult about 77mg of testosterone will be produced a week. As a steroid user, you inject synthetic testosterone into your system. When your system sees that there is an abundance of testosterone it simply shuts down your natural production.


Esters:

Now here is where a lot of inexperienced people get confused. Testosterone is Testosterone. What is different is what ester or oil the testosterone is mixed with. For example, testosterone Propionate has a oil that breaks down faster in the body then Testosterone Cypionate. When you inject testosterone, a depot is created in your muscle. The half life of the ester that you inject will dictate the rate in which your body will absorb the testosterone from the depot. The term "half life" means the amount of time it takes for your body to absorb the testosterone. For example, if you inject 250mg of testosterone enanthate, in 10.5 days 125mg will be left in the depot (or injection site). The recommended frequency of injection is half the half life of the compound. For that reason, Prop is injected every other day, while cyp an enanthate are injected twice a week, about 3-4 days apart from each other. The list below gives the half lifes of the most popular blends.

Testosterone Cypionate 12 days
Testosterone Enanthate 10.5 days
Testosterone Propionate 4.5 days
Testosterone Suspension 1 day

As a beginning steroid user, Testosterone Cypionate or Enanthate is recommended to reduce injection frequency. A first time user should inject between 400 and 500mg of testosterone a week. Usually, the dosage is split up into two injections. 250mg on Monday and 250mg on Thursday is the most traditional injection frequency. The first time cycle should range from 10 weeks to 12 weeks. Running a cycle any shorter than 10 weeks will reduce benefits unless its propionate that you are running. Due to the half life of cyp and enanthate it takes about 4-5 weeks for testosterone to reach its peak levels in your body.

It is very important for a first time steroid user to start with just injectable test. Stacking compounds the first time around makes it much more difficult to figure out which compound is causing problems if problems were to arise. But, if you were to just start with test and see that the cycle went well, then you can add a second compound to your next cycle. If adverse sides arise you could be fairly sure it is the second compound causing it. Also, as a first time user your beta receptors are very fresh and the need for a second compound is not justified.

So you have completed your first successful cycle, now it's time to recover. post cycle therapy (pct) (post cycle therapy) is one of the most important part of your whole cycle. In post cycle therapy (pct), we provide ancillary drugs which promote the body's natural testosterone production to restart. The ideal compound for restarting the natural testosterone of your body is clomid. If using testosterone cyp or e, you start post cycle therapy (pct) 14 days after your last injection. If it was prop, it would be about 5 days. Refer to the half life chart to better understand why we wait that period of time. Pct with clomid is simple. You take 50mg of clomid daily for 4 weeks. While in post cycle therapy (pct), you must increase your calories above your TDEE by 200 calories at the least. If you have been bulking, increase your calories by 200 calories from where your last intake was before you start post cycle therapy (pct).

If you plan to do another cycle, keep in mind that time off equals time on + post cycle therapy (pct). So if you had a 12 weeks cycle, expect to wait at least another 16-18 weeks before you cycle again.



Keep in mind guys, if you want to take your body to the next level, consider 3Js Nutrition Network and my personal professional services as a coach in mind. If interested, contact me at 3jdiet@gmail.com
 
THE STEROID AND NUTRITION CONNETION
BY: 3J
3J's Nutrition | Diet and fitness consulting to get you to the next level.


There seems to be this mythological idea in the amateur bodybuilding community that the use of steroids only allows for temporary muscle gain. In other words, many mistakenly believe that the gains that you see while using anabolic steroids are temporary and you will lose all the gains in or after post cycle therapy. I couldn***8217;t disagree more. There is a very strong sense of prerequisite in the anabolic community. Feature yourself as an 18 year old kid who wants to use steroids on any anabolic forum and you will see how quickly you will be told to stay away from any and all anabolics. Age, weight, height, current bodyfat, and training history are all factors in whether or not you are ready for the use of anabolics. The reason for such prerequisites is actually very simple. If you cannot get in shape without the use of anabolics, you will never get in shape with the use of it. You see, anabolics are secondary in getting the body you want. They only speed up the process of getting there. They are not some magic pill that you take and look like Arnold (wouldn***8217;t we love that) 12 weeks later. Bodybuilding is a lifestyle and one that many people cannot maintain. Of course if it were easy everyone would be doing it looking like they were ready for the cover of some muscle magazine. But it isn***8217;t easy, its actually very hard to get into and stay in shape. Our society has brought this unsurmountable pressure upon each and every one of us to fit this ***8220;cookie-cutter***8221; look of abs and muscles. It follows that many people want to take the easy road out and try to fast track their progress to a beautiful body.

So why do so many people fail? Its actually very simple in words, but a world apart on application. There is a sensitive balance that has to be kept between your diet and training in order to reach your goals. Its easy for most people to walk into a gym and, for the lack of better words, get somewhat of a workout in with decent form just by using machines or even hiring a trainer. That***8217;s not the hard part at all. The difficulty, especially with the American population, comes with the diet. Nutrition is going to be the beginning and end of what you make of your time in the gym progress wise. There seems to be a lack of basic principle understanding when it comes down to nutrition and bodybuilding. We have it backwards. Many think if they hit the gym they will see results. Have you ever gone to the gym and see the guy that has been working out for a year and hasn***8217;t made any changes? Do you ever wonder why that person isn***8217;t making progress? Could it be his training methods? He is in there pumping iron 6 days a week like he was an IFBB pro but yet the change isn***8217;t there. There is a saying that I came up with years ago to explain the scenario I have describe above: YOU CANT OUT TRAIN A BAD DIET!!

If your training is even half ass correct, your diet will be the main contributing factor in your progress. Yet, people are just not educated enough in nutrition to understand how to correctly set up their diets for progress and growth. It is this one main factor in all of the bodybuilding world that has brought upon the myth which states you cant keep your gains when you do a cycle. No, its not that you cant keep your gains, its that you want something from nothing. Let me explain, there is a basic law in physics that stats that mass cannot get heavier without the addition of mass and mass cannot get lighter without the taking away of mass. In our macro world, that***8217;s a truth that has to be followed. These guys who fall victim to the myth do so because they are not following that fundamental law. They hop on a cycle, eat 2000 calories a day, bloat up due to increased estrogen and a false sense of having ***8220;gained muscle***8221; and then lose it all in pct because their hormones and returned to a normal state and the bloat is gone. How disappointed must you feel when you have dedicated your life to the cycle and have nothing to show for it? There is no stronger connection in the bodybuilding world than the one between your diet and your progress. I cannot put enough of an emphasis on that truth. If you want to gain 30lbs and keep it, you have to eat like you are 30lbs heavier. If you want to lose weight and come down 20lbs, you have to eat less than what you burn. The basic principle of dieting is calories in vs. calories out. Though its not as simple as that (as some IIFYM practitioners may say), that is the fundamental law of nutrition.

So why fall into the trap? Why become a statistic of failure? Doing a bit of research, asking a vet for advice, or even putting your hard earned money towards a sports nutritionist before a trainer or a cycle will do far more for you in the long run. There has to be this shift in thinking in the bodybuilding world from iron to food. Food is the most anabolic thing on this planet. Why not use it to your full advantage. If you don***8217;t, I promise you wont get anywhere with your goals or at the least you wont do it in an optimal way.


I hope this has shed a little light on your path to your goals.. keep in mind its always diet first..



If interested in getting your diet set up professionally, please feel free to contact me at 3jsdiet.com or 3jdiet@gmail.com to become a client.
 
BULK, CUT, AND REFINE:
THE PROCESS OF GAINING YOUR IDEAL BODY
BY: 3J
3J's Nutrition | Diet and fitness consulting to get you to the next level.

Lets talk about something that, though obvious to the experienced, is missed a lot by amateur bodybuilders who are aspiring to get that model physique. I will write this article as if speaking of a person with statistically average stats and the process he has to go through to gain a wonderful body. Lets call Mr. Average Bob.

Bob is a 26 year old male. He has dabbled in the gym all his life but has never really gotten serious about his training or his nutrition. He is 5***8217;10 165lbs and about 14% bodyfat. Bob is underweight and needs to go through a process of bulking, that would be our step one

The Bulk

Running a 5 day basic compound movement training split, bob would commit himself to training every week while giving himself rest on the weekends. He would change his diet, allowing for 5-6 meals a day and aiming for about 3000 calories at first. Bob would see how the 3k calories was working for him by weighing himself weekly. Initially bob would see weight gain, ideally about 1-2lbs a week. At some point his body and metabolism would outgrow the diet and he would need to increase calories. Ideally, you want to increase calories so that you continually gain 1-2lbs a week. Usually an increase of 200-300 calories at a time is the right way to go. Not only will you continue to grow, but you will lower the chances of unnecessary fat gain. So Bob does just as I have said, and now, after about 3 to 4 months he has added about 30lbs. Not bad at all for bob, he now weighs 195lbs. Do we jump straight into a cut?? Absolutely not!!!

The Maintenance phase
So why not jump on a cut and bring all those wonderful muscles and abs out that we have worked so hard to get? Its because we have worked so hard to get them. Our bodies have a homeostasis that they like to keep. There is a target number, plus or minus 10lbs, which our bodies are used to. Our metabolism is used to that number, so it likes to keep at that level. If we were to cut after only 3 months of bulking our body is nowhere close to getting used to our new weight. Here is where the maintenance phase comes in. For the next 3 months at minimum, we have to keep our weight at 195. This gives the body enough time to adjust to the new weight and primes us for a much better cut.


The Cutting phase

OK, the 3 months are up. We are ready to cut. Taking into consideration Bobs new and improved weight, we can estimate that we should start cutting at about 3000 calories, which is what he started his bulk with. We will ride the cut out without cardio, looking for 1-2 lbs a week of weight loss until he stalls. Once bob stalls, we will add some cardio, very lightly at first. Losing weight is like an onion, it has to be done in layers. First you cut calories, stall, add cardio, stall, add more cardio, stall, and then cut calories again. Little by little you continue to do this so that you only lose 1-2lbs a week continuously. Having done it correctly you should have saved a lot of muscle you would have lost and made it to 8 percent bodyfat fairly easily.


Its no secret guys, this is how it should be done. Think again when you set up your goals and want to immediately jump into a cut. It will definitely do more harm than good.
 
any time.. remember its diet first then gear.. always have that in the back of your mind
yes i have been eating very well lots of protein and carbs and plenty nuts to get my healthy fats up, i am a ball hair away from what you recommended on macros so i will adjust it tomorrow so i'm spot on, and thanks again.
 
If you want to really take your bodybuilding to the next level, become one of his clients. 3J helped me with my diet and I went from 187lbs at 17% bodyfat to 198lbs at 12% bodyfat in 4 weeks (this is all in my current log). He made me see that nutrition is the most important factor! It's well worth your money
 
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