I can't decide on a second cycle

I am a powerlifter looking to grow into a higher weight class. I do not have physique goals, but like everybody else, I want to be bigger. I am more comfortable with bodyfat and water retention than other gymrats. I mostly need to increase strength, particularly on my bench press. I've always been naturally stronger and tend to bias my training towards the squat and deadlift.

I did my first cycle 1.5 years ago, which was a simple beginner dosage or 500mg/weekly Test E with HCG for 12 weeks, Aromasin daily, with Nolva/Clomid for the PCT. I kept around 50% of my gains after coming off, losing more strength in my bench than my squat. I wasn't doing regular max effort deadlifts at that time. I had no side effects and felt fantastic both on cycle, and through PCT. It was overall a great experience and I got the results I wanted.

I plan to do roughly the same cycle again, this time making a smal adjustment to get more experience. I'm considering adding 250mg weekly of Deca, which seems to be a modest dosage in my research. The other option is to increase the Test E and stay away from a second compound, maybe 1000mg weekly. That could be too much considering it's only a second cycle. These seems like the two most sensible options. The other coming from a lifting partner who has been doing this longer than me. He is on test as a high dosage TRT, then brings in tren/dbol leading up to a competition. Both of these steroids seem to have rough side effects and are not for beginners, but he swears by them. I also understand he's more of a 'gym learned' individual while I'm more wary and like to read/research, if that makes sense. He knows I'm likely not going to be doing tren by says D-Bol is a must for strength gains, and was his first cycle. I don't plan on starting the cycle until June/July timeframe, so that's plenty of time for me to learn.

I have little knowledge of other steroids and I'm open to suggestions for compounds that are particularly conducive to strength performance. I can do some research but as a beginner the options outside of th standards are overwhelming. I am comfortable with doing a basic Test E cycle and adding a little of something to learn what other compounds can do for me, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew wth anything.

So, do you more experienced guys think adding a small dose of deca wild be a great second cycle, or do a little more Test E instead? Or should I not be brushing off the dianabol suggestion from my friend? Other avenues out there worth researching?

Also has anybody here done Smolov for bench alongside AAS? It looks absolutely crushing on paper but with the increased recovery of AAS, it might be worth switching over my training while on cycle.
 
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I'm a fan of the lower test dose + higher anabolics like deca. Sides have been pretty much nonexistent for me with those cycles. If you do go that route I would use more deca than that though. 400mg or more is when I start to see gains with deca. Your joints will love it.
 
I can get deca at 250mg/ml. The only concern with doing a higher dosage of deca is its ratio with the test base. I have done some searching around and 2:1 seems recommended and common. If I went with 500mg deca weekly, do I need to increase my test too? Going from 500mg test on the previous cycle to 500mg deca and 1000mg test seems like a huge leap on paper. Would I be more at risk for some unwelcome sides? I want to be cautious, but I also don't want to pump in 250g of a compound that's not going to do enough to be worth the effort.

I forgot to mention that I'm planning on a 12-week cycle.
 
I would not recommend tren for a second or even third or fourth cycle. For powerlifting deca is a good fit. but 250 will not get you much results. Keep in mind with deca the detection time is like forever and a day. Meaning once you cycle deca it'd detectable for up to 6 months later. Also you have to do a rather long run on it because it is slow to get going. You won't even get anything out of it for the first 4 weeks

D bol is a good choice it has been known to aromatize a lot more than other compounds so up the dose on your AI if you do it. If your just starting out in your AAS use then enjoy the benefit of using less and getting good results no need to ruin that effect with going to a 1000mg dose of test. So a decent cycle with test, d bol, and deca would look like this.

12 week run
test E 500mg a week
Deca 500-600 a week
Dbol at 20-30mg a day. for the first 6 weeks only
Aromasin 12.5mg a day
HCG at 250iu 3 times a week.

Another option would be to use NPP with is the same active compound in deca but with a faster metabolizing ester so it will hit in 1 week instead of 4. Usually a lot less bloating with NPP but being a powerlifter you guys don't mind that and the extra water makes you stronger. Only downside to NPP is you need to pin it at least EOD. ED is better.

Alot of people will tell you to never run deca higher than test. This is from guys that would run these with out the HCG and a good AI. As long as you have those 2 in there you won't have issues. In the days past powerlifters would welcome the huge bloat deca would bring but then cry about it when their dicks wouldnt get hard anymore. The huge bloat was from letting the Estrogen get way too high which triggers the Prolactin to creep up as well. But as long as you have the HCG and the Aromasin you G2G.

Let us know what you decide:)
 
Nothing wrong with running same cycle over again for you 2nd go round monitor sides, up the dose a little or maybe add an oral. I would go simple the first few times myself and focus on diet. My second go round was the same as first just dialed in my diet and it changed wonders for me.
Hope this helps.
 
A good basic strength cycle IMO

Test E - 500 mg weeks 1-14
NPP - 300 mg weeks 1-6
Deca - 500 mg weeks 1-12
Dbol - 30-40 mg daily weeks 1-4


You'll gain some water weight quickly, this will add to the strength (just keep e2 in check with a conservative dose of AI),, the nandrolones will help with the joints as well .. But apart from the water weight to start the deca/NPP will build quality muscle mass and strength
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys, and that incredibly detailed post SoCal. I'll be seeing what's availabke from my source and doing some additional reading over the next couple of months. I need to get more familiar with sides of dianabol since I haven't read as much about it.
 
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