I have been reading a couple threads around here with differing opinions on when it is best to start using steroids. Some claim it is ok to start at around 20 while others claim to wait until you are atleast 25 or older.
Being someone who is nearly 23 and interested in starting steroids, I am very interested to hear what some more experienced people may have to say. i.e. what age you think is ideal, required lifting experience, your reasoning, and when you started.
Also, I was under the impression that taking steroids would not reduce your natural testosterone production once you had completed a PCT and your natural test had kicked back in. The way some talk, it seems that taking steroids will reduce your natural testosterone for the rest of ones life, and the only way to maintain adequate test levels is to continue to take steroids. Has anyone had problems with this or is this, in fact, false?
I’d imagine that you can still get terrific gains at 23, without AAS. I was 28 and had been stuck between 175-185 for a couple of years and could have said that was my “natural limit” until I decided to record every calorie I ate and then systematically upped the calories and, BAM!, I gained another 20 lbs of lean mass. Gains are slowing down for me now (I gain more fat compared to muscle the more I up the calories) and so I am just about to start my first cycle next month. I am almost 32.
As regards the second half of this post, I am curious, as well, I’ve heard P22 mention something about libido never again being what it was before AAS, and some other folks say something of that sort. Is this for real?
[quote]Anabolical wrote:
I have been reading a couple threads around here with differing opinions on when it is best to start using steroids. Some claim it is ok to start at around 20 while others claim to wait until you are atleast 25 or older.
Being someone who is nearly 23 and interested in starting steroids, I am very interested to hear what some more experienced people may have to say. i.e. what age you think is ideal, required lifting experience, your reasoning, and when you started.
Also, I was under the impression that taking steroids would not reduce your natural testosterone production once you had completed a PCT and your natural test had kicked back in. The way some talk, it seems that taking steroids will reduce your natural testosterone for the rest of ones life, and the only way to maintain adequate test levels is to continue to take steroids. Has anyone had problems with this or is this, in fact, false?
Thanks for any information you can provide.[/quote]
I was your age (23) when I started AAS. I made good gains but honestly I wish I would have waited until I was 25 at least. I have learned a lot about training and diet and could have advanced myself naturally to a higher level without AAS. Get yourself as advanced as possible in regards to training, diet and recovery before you plan out an AAS cycle.
Hang around the steroid board and you will learn a lot in the waiting time, so when you finaly make the plunge you will be truly ready.
I think it has more to do with training and educational age instead of biological age. People say you shouldn’t use when you’re too young because you can gain naturally, which is true to a certain extent though I won’t get into my thoughts on that. It also has to do with recovery. You can recover from a cycle at almost any age be it 15 or 30 years of age, so this doesn’t really matter. In the end I think biologically it doesn’t matter. If you actually know your shit you can gain naturally well into your 30s and 40s if you take care of yourself, however gains will slow. So then it would be a moral decision to start when you’re older when the gains slow down or to use when your younger to speed up the gains you’d already be getting. It’s all about gaining faster, which is fine regardless of age in my opinion.
Anyway, back to the original idea, training and educational age are important. If you know your shit well enough to make gains then AAS will help you make gains faster. If you don’t know your shit and you aren’t making gains then AAS will likely do nothing for you, or if they do the gains will be transitory until you’re done with your cycle.
Think of AAS as an accelerator. If you’re making a lot of progress then AAS will accelerate that progress and you’ll gain a ton of muscle and strength. If are making moderate progress then AAS will help you gain an above average amount of strength and muscle. If you are making no progress then AAS won’t do shit, as accelerating nothing will result in nothing. Point is, make sure you know your shit or you’ll be wasting your time. Beyond that there are physical adaptations with training that are necessary before using AAS to avoid injury. I would suggest a minimum of two years of hard-core education and training, preferably three as most people are more casual about it. Five would be optimal in my opinion.
I was 29 when I first started researching steroids and now at 36, I still am. I plan to use one day, probably TRT, but once I start I don’t plan to stop. I still continue to make strength and mass gains, albeit slower now. My theory is, the longer I can wait, the better my payoff will be.
Schwarz, had a lot of good points. It depends primarily on your training and nutritional knowledge, not your biological age. Some men have their routines dialed in by 18, some still don’t know what they’re doing at 50.
I think the primary factor should be if one is done growing. The potential increased estrogen from aromatising steroids and poor management of this area can prematurely and permanently stop any future height increases.
In terms of development of the brain and so forth, there is not a lot of research in this area to conclude damage. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so a conservative approach by many are taken.
But, look at all the girls being presribed birth control pills as low as the age of 12. In my opinion it’s a little hypocritical to give young women hormones without regard of consequences but be up in arms when young men want to do the same.
I don’t see any backlash about girls taking powerful hormones, expect maybe from the religious sect, but that’s for another story.
I agree with some of the above posters… as long as you are making good progress, it doesn’t seem like it’s really that great of an idea. I would probably suggest lifting like you mean it for many years before trying stuff out, as well as making sure you are fully grown, which for some people isn’t until they are around 24 or 25.
I’m 29 and have been lifting since I was 14. I am considering doing a first cycle soon.