Hey guys! What’s up? I’ve been a reader of T-Nation’s articles and forums for five years now, and this is my first-ever post. I’ve been training for the past eight years, and I started using gear after four years of hard work. I stopped using gear and really had to cut back on training to 1-3 days/week two years ago due to life, but now I’m back and ready to go all-out once again. I’ve done probably six or so cycles.
I’m 24 years old, and I just graduated with a masters in exercise physiology. My undergrad was in exercise physiology, and I am CSCS certified (along with some other less important certifications) as well. I used to work at GNC in college, but I am now a trainer/strength and conditioning coach at mostly the collegiate level, and I have a lot more free time on my hands now that school’s over although I may go back for my PhD someday.
Substances that I have used in the past consist of testosterone enthanate, trenbolone acetate, dianabol, anadrol, clenbuterol and T3 along with ancillary drugs such as cabergoline, arimidex, nolvadex and HCG (along with some legal supplements), and I look forward to using these again. I know that a lot of forum members are almost dogmatically insisting on newbies using something along the lines of 500mg/week of testosterone enthanate as a stand-alone.
That’s a great cycle, but please keep in mind that I’m not a newbie and have a large background in all things related to exercise, which includes steroids. I could also care less what others have to say about my relatively young age at which I began using steroids (age 20), so keep such comments to yourself and know that I used them responsibly and with literally hundreds of hours of research, four years of solid training and two years of a degree in a directly related field, exercise physiology, under my belt before touching anything, which is much more than many could say.
I’m posting because I like encouragement from others who understand what I’m doing and what I’m about, and I’m also seeking opinions that are respectfully articulated to me should I need them. I am additionally using this thread as my official steroid cycle log. Feel free to chime in with any helpful insight, but flaming comments, as always, are unwelcome. A preemptive thank you to all who adhere to this request.
Ok, without further adieu, I present to you my current situation.
Height: 6’3"
Weight: 260 lbs
BF%: Somewhere in the 15-20% range
Arms: 18.5" pumped
Chest: 53" pumped
Didn’t bother to measure anything else. I’ll post some more later though.
I have just started getting back into serious lifting after having taken a hiatus for several months. In the past six or seven weeks, I’ve stayed the same weight, but my BF% has dropped significantly. I was probably around 25% BF. Embarrassing, I know. The lost fat was replaced with previously lost muscle. So right now, I’m in muscle memory recovery mode.
I plan on keeping a maintenance level of calories until I’ve regained most of (if not all) of my lost strength and mass. It seems to be working well so far, so I’m going to keep at it for a little while longer. Just to clarify, I am completely steroid-free right now and intend to be until I am in single digit body fat and am ready to bulk. I may use clenbuterol and T3 to cut down at some point.
Once I’m back into my previous form or something close to, I plan on dieting down to somewhere in the 6-9% BF range, whatever body weight that may be, before starting any form of a cycle. Sorry, folks. It may be several months before I stick a needle in me or pop a pill, but it’s the best thing for me right now. My insulin sensitivity is still improving, but it is nowhere near where it needs to be for me to have an effective bulk. Also, at my body fat %, bulking is definitely a no-no and would look horrible especially if I take on any water although I may try faster ester test like propionate this time around since word is that it reduces edema.
When I finally am ready to do another cycle, it’ll probably consist of what I’ve stuck to in the past and found most effective: test, tren, dianabol and anadrol as well as all necessary ancillary drugs. I’ll post a more complete and detailed idea of a cycle once I’ve formulated one. I’m aware that, after having been off steroids for two years, I’m going to have more upregulated androgen receptors than I had in past cycles (save for my first one) and that some of you may tell me to start off light, but I’m in the same school of thought as the forum member, Prisoner, where one must strike while the iron is hot.
There’s nothing wrong with starting guys off light, and I’ve recommended it many times, but that’s not necessary for me at least. My androgen receptors are prime once again for steroids to be effective, and I’m not about to mitigate that advantage with a light cycle of test alone. I’ve used all of these steroids before, and I know how they interact in my body when using all four at once. I even used to take blood tests, and everything was relatively normal up to the end. And yes, I am a fan of the test taper and HCG use.
As for my diet, it’s nothing written right now, but I eat mostly eggs, whole wheat bread, brown rice, chicken, oats, cottage cheese and some other cheeses, milk, greek yogurt, all types of nuts as well as peanut butter, your typical fruits and vegetables and a plethora of different oils such as olive oil, safflower oil, coconut oil, etc. I’ll be posting a very strict diet (which is more typical of me from years past) in the near future for when I plan on cutting.
I usually keep macronutrient ratios to about 40/30/30 for carbs, proteins and fats respectively, and it seems to work out well. The cutting diet should be somewhere in the 3,000 calorie range. Just off the top of my head, here are my following supplements: Multivitamin, whey protein, casein protein, creatine monohydrate, beta-alanine, HMB, fish oil (sometimes cod liver oil instead), CLA, a greens supplement, and a preworkout. I try to stick to things that have clinical backing.
Oh, and just to quickly comment on my workouts, I generally do a split of four days on, one day off. Right now, I’ve been doing a routine like this: day 1: push/pull, day 2: legs and lower back, day 3: shoulders and traps, day 4: arms, day 5: off or calf/forearm work. I’ll get into more detail with that later, but know that training parameters change pretty consistently.
So yeah, that’s it for now. Again, this is going to be my log for my near-future steroid cycle as well as the time leading up to that point and in between. Feel free to say “hi,” “welcome,” or your thoughts/recommendations/questions so long as they are not flaming and are respectful toward me. Thanks for reading, guys, and I hope you all enjoy my log as well as my presence on this forum.
Oh, as for pictures, I’ll post some in the near future as well–probably once I’ve cut down some. I’m still getting back into the swing of things. 