After countless hours of research on compounds, dieting, and training. I was continuously met with resistance from the body building community. I kept hearing that I had not been training long and hard enough natty. That starting a cycle at 180lbs 5'11" is WRONG. Don't do it. Train natty. You're not ready.
This perturbed me. No one was saying why other than you need a solid base. Like all new guys I'm thinking well why can't I just build my base with gear, then run more cycles. As if I already had the base to begin with?! After months of arguements like "you're telling me I can't use gear like someone would tell me I can't smoke weed because I haven't been drinking alcohol long enough"
I contacted an IFBB pro for advice. And it was the best advice I've heard after 8 months on forums. Here's what he told me.
"Bro, natural lifting promotes muscle hyperplasia as well as hypertrophy. When you are developing your muscle "frame" you want an increase in the number of muscle cells as well as an increase in cellular size and volume.
Steroid growth is confined to hypertrophy only. And, real permanent hypertrophy is only a fraction of what we perceive as "growth" on a cycle. It is the only lasting effect of any cycle. By far the greatest increase in muscle volume we see in steroid use is caused by the compounds pulling water into the muscle tissue for a limited time which also results in a great increase in strength and a significant increase in weight and makes the muscles fuller and rounder. But, steroids, with limited exceptions do not partition nutrients so they will not only drive hypertrophy of muscle tissue but also contribute to an increase in adipose tissue as well. So, after the cycle ends, the water will abate in diuresis flattening out the new tissue, and leaving new adipose tissue that must be burned off.
The less tissue you have on your frame as you start to cycle, the less steroids will be able to volumize and grow.
The bigger you are from a natty perspective, the bigger you will become with the use of anabolics
The stronger you are from a natty perspective, the stronger you will become with the use of anabolics.
It is the "big guys" that blow up on steroids and seem to keep their gains. An average joe who has been in the gym 2 years with a gym toned body and maybe a just above average volume of muscle is not going to get the permanent lift in bulk that a big natty guy would get.
I don't know exactly what the magic numbers are but it is related to how much lean dry mass or LBM you are carrying. If you are 185 lbs with a 15% BF you have a lean mass of only 157 lbs. Not a lot of tissue for steroids to work on.
If you are 230 with a 15% BF you have a lean mass of over 200 lbs. of solid muscle. Steroids will blow that up big time and long term.
I wish I could point you to scientific studies that explain this more rigorously. The only reason we don't have these kinds of studies is because steroid use is not that common in the general population and the government does not give grant money to fund research on steroids.
You should have no trouble in believing that I want you to succeed bro. Why would I not want that for you? Why would I even spend time here in the first place if it was not with the intent of helping people? Drugs will not allow anybody to "short circuit" the few years of agony and ball crushing training it take to build the foundation of a good physique.
If you build a bigger base, you will get what you want from the chemicals. If you don't, you won't. There is no reason on this earth I would lie to you bro. None."
I hope this helps some of you who were in the same shoes.
This perturbed me. No one was saying why other than you need a solid base. Like all new guys I'm thinking well why can't I just build my base with gear, then run more cycles. As if I already had the base to begin with?! After months of arguements like "you're telling me I can't use gear like someone would tell me I can't smoke weed because I haven't been drinking alcohol long enough"
I contacted an IFBB pro for advice. And it was the best advice I've heard after 8 months on forums. Here's what he told me.
"Bro, natural lifting promotes muscle hyperplasia as well as hypertrophy. When you are developing your muscle "frame" you want an increase in the number of muscle cells as well as an increase in cellular size and volume.
Steroid growth is confined to hypertrophy only. And, real permanent hypertrophy is only a fraction of what we perceive as "growth" on a cycle. It is the only lasting effect of any cycle. By far the greatest increase in muscle volume we see in steroid use is caused by the compounds pulling water into the muscle tissue for a limited time which also results in a great increase in strength and a significant increase in weight and makes the muscles fuller and rounder. But, steroids, with limited exceptions do not partition nutrients so they will not only drive hypertrophy of muscle tissue but also contribute to an increase in adipose tissue as well. So, after the cycle ends, the water will abate in diuresis flattening out the new tissue, and leaving new adipose tissue that must be burned off.
The less tissue you have on your frame as you start to cycle, the less steroids will be able to volumize and grow.
The bigger you are from a natty perspective, the bigger you will become with the use of anabolics
The stronger you are from a natty perspective, the stronger you will become with the use of anabolics.
It is the "big guys" that blow up on steroids and seem to keep their gains. An average joe who has been in the gym 2 years with a gym toned body and maybe a just above average volume of muscle is not going to get the permanent lift in bulk that a big natty guy would get.
I don't know exactly what the magic numbers are but it is related to how much lean dry mass or LBM you are carrying. If you are 185 lbs with a 15% BF you have a lean mass of only 157 lbs. Not a lot of tissue for steroids to work on.
If you are 230 with a 15% BF you have a lean mass of over 200 lbs. of solid muscle. Steroids will blow that up big time and long term.
I wish I could point you to scientific studies that explain this more rigorously. The only reason we don't have these kinds of studies is because steroid use is not that common in the general population and the government does not give grant money to fund research on steroids.
You should have no trouble in believing that I want you to succeed bro. Why would I not want that for you? Why would I even spend time here in the first place if it was not with the intent of helping people? Drugs will not allow anybody to "short circuit" the few years of agony and ball crushing training it take to build the foundation of a good physique.
If you build a bigger base, you will get what you want from the chemicals. If you don't, you won't. There is no reason on this earth I would lie to you bro. None."
I hope this helps some of you who were in the same shoes.