Thanks for answering my last question. I’ve been bodybuilding for 7 years and the muscles on my left arm are smaller then on my right arm. Is there anything I can do to be more symmetrical? And what would you recommend for someone who is thinking of taking steroids for the first time?
Shadow,
Have you ever personally experienced or witnessed any steroid related horror stories?
Hey Mr. Shadow Pro! Itâ??s an honor to have you on board! Iâ??d like to know your thoughts on this cycle theories shared by Rich Piana in one of his videos on youtube (- YouTube, itâ??s a 5 min video, I know you are a very busy man but watching it would be very helpful).
He basically says that in order to keep the body from adapting you should change your cycle compounds after a small period of time and than changing it back, so it would be something like A+B for 3 weeks, than C+D for 3 more weeks, than A+B again and so onâ?¦. The reason he says is that since the body isnâ??t getting used to it you donâ??t have to up the dosages, and therefore you are doing it in a much safer way.
I have never done any cycle in my life but Iâ??m starting to consider it, and this seems to be a safe and good way to do so. Please let me know if you approve it and the few compounds you would suggest for a first timer (I was thinking Test E+ Hanavar, switching it up to Deca + Stanozol). Since you asked the other guys for a proper background here it goes: Iâ??ve been training here in Brazil for almost 7 years, and have tried almost everything.
At the moment Iâ??m doing a Mountain Dog based program designed by myself, with only a few different things, usually 4 different exercises done for 6 sets each or 3 for 6, and 1 superset for only 3 sets, Iâ??m hitting the gym 4 to 5 times a week, always training hardcore. Itâ??s working pretty well for me and I think I finally understood to what my body responds well.
Bodyfat levels are about 8-12%, guess Iâ??m eating about 2.500-3.000 calories a day, and my goals are to reach perfect aesthetics. Thanks a lot for your patience and helping me.
Why are steroids banned in every other sport, and steroid users are stripped of their titles, and everybody seems to accept the fact that bodybuilders use steroids? this is exactly what’s wrong in the sport, all the illegal stuff that goes on.
The winner of a bodybuilding competition shouldn’t be a genetically engineered mountain of muscles, it should be the natural guy who achieved an awesome physique with hard work.
I’m going to speak for everyone here when I say that’s an extremely ignorant comment.
Steroid use is RAMPANT in professional sports. If you don’t think so, then you’re blind. Also note that steroids are illegal in the US, not just in sports. Do you think the winners of the Superbowl each year are natural? What about the NBA Championships? Olympic Sports? They aren’t, just FYI.
ALSO NOTE FOR NEW READERS: Shadow Pro has answered a TON of questions so far (500+ replies in this thread). Chances are, unless your question is extremely specific, he’s probably touched on it / gone in depth. Go back and read this whole thread.. even if you don’t see your exact question, there’s countless posts of valuable info that you will probably benefit from.
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]55amg wrote:
hey bro Thanks for signing up here! I have a question on water bloat/cutting. No matter how I try my stomach always stays distended and bloated I feel like im holding water. I have gone 6-7 weeks drinking nothing but water, clean food, low carbs 4-6 meals a day, cardio 3-5 time a week on top of my job which is also physical, and my stomach seems to stay the same size according to the tape measure.
I know cutting takes a while (12 weeks at least) but in 6-7 weeks i should have lost at least 1.5 inches off my waist or something like that. The only thing that changes is that i lose strength and size but my waistline is always the same. I cant tell u how frustrating it is. One guy pm’ed me on another message board and said its all about estrogen control he told me he had the same problem, he said to run nolvadex 20mg a day to cut estrogen down and 12.5 mg of aromasin eod to kill the estrogen so I dont get a rebound.
what do you think bro? sorry about the poem here I don’t know what else to do, Im currently 205 5’9’’ 19% bf or so. I must add that my leanest was when I was on test enant and proviron @ 75mg a day and also during pct using nolvadex my waist shrunk a lot. I havent been ON in 3 years.[/quote]
Can you post a picture for me? At 19% bf I don’t think you need to worry about a lot of water retention, you need to concentrate on losing fat. Once you start to shed the fat your waist will come down with it. If you were on test-e at 19% bf all it will do is make you hold more water and it will not help you burn fat.
Get your diet and training 100% first of all. Indigo-3G and HOT-ROX would be an excellent supplement stack to take immediately. If you have good overall health you could do an ECA stack as well. Indigo will be your best friend from now on… If anything can get you down to 10% bf in a respectable amount of time this is it… Combined with a good diet and training of course.
[/quote]
Hey bro thanks for the reply here is a pic of me about 6 weeks ago im about 5 lb lighter now
But when those professional sports users get caught they are banned from the sport and lose all their titles. Everyone knows pro bodybuilders are using steroids and no one is doing regular drug controls on them.
That’s what is wrong with the sport. Allowing cheaters to pass as great athletes. Fuck them, they are trash! and now someone comes and says but but they also have to train and lift heavyblahblahblah… shut your fucking mouth and stop giving excuses for being a wuss drug user and cheater.
[quote]mrbuffcat wrote:
But when those professional sports users get caught they are banned from the sport and lose all their titles. Everyone knows pro bodybuilders are using steroids and no one is doing regular drug controls on them.
That’s what is wrong with the sport. Allowing cheaters to pass as great athletes. Fuck them, they are trash! and now someone comes and says but but they also have to train and lift heavyblahblahblah… shut your fucking mouth and stop giving excuses for being a wuss drug user and cheater.[/quote]
You’re 12 years old and its the year 2014.
no i’m likely older than you and with way more knowledge of health and drugs
[quote]mrbuffcat wrote:
But when those professional sports users get caught they are banned from the sport and lose all their titles. Everyone knows pro bodybuilders are using steroids and no one is doing regular drug controls on them.
That’s what is wrong with the sport. Allowing cheaters to pass as great athletes. Fuck them, they are trash! and now someone comes and says but but they also have to train and lift heavyblahblahblah… shut your fucking mouth and stop giving excuses for being a wuss drug user and cheater.[/quote]
they have tested and non tested federations so the natural bodybuilders aren’t competing against assisted.
You’re entitled to your opinions, but this forum is to educate people on how to use steroids effectively and safely. If you don’t have a question regarding that then there’s no need for you to waste anyone’s time by being here. So fuck off.
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]Yogi wrote:
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]Yogi wrote:
Shadwell,
What do you think about short term GH use? Do you see any value in adding it to a 12 week cycle? My cycles tend to be fairly modest (1g of test-ish, a little dbol here, a little anavar there) but I’ve always been intrigued as to whether adding a couple of iu of GH daily would make much of an impact.
The typical bro-mantra tells us that anything less than 6 months is pointless, but I just can’t justify the expenditure. I could maybe stretch to a 12 weeker + PCT if there was going to be a significant benefit.
I have never used GH before, in case you were wondering.[/quote]
Thank you for asking this… And just when I thought you’d disappeared from the thread you come back with a quality question.
I DEFINITELY think it would give great benefits, even in a 12 week window. When using GH, usually the longer you can stay on the better it is but using it for 10-12 weeks will give you some nice benefits. What you could expect to see is fuller and “rounder” look (like a ninja turtle) it’s hard to pinpoint it but it’s the only drug that will give you this unique look. If you are using a quality GH(pharm… No Chinese BS) you will see these changes almost immediately… Most people report finding tighter skin with a better tone, fat loss and the ability to increase calories without gaining fat. You will notice an huge difference in recovery from training and better sleep quality. One of the biggest things I’ve found for people who are serious in the gym is that it helps a lot with existing injuries… I have always had shitty knees and I never have any issues when I’m on GH.
As for dosage, I would start with 6iu/day (to see these specific benefits that I listed) for people who are just looking for fat loss or skin improvements when 3-4iu will be sufficient.
So it does work in short term for sure, it’s optimal to stay on it longer if possible but I think taking it for a short period is better than skipping it all together.
[/quote]
Don’t worry big fella, I’ll be popping in and out to keep it interesting!
So 6iu for 12 weeks it is then. Looks like I’m going to have to start doing some overtime. 12 weeks of that’s going to cost me like Ã??Ã?£800![/quote]
Ã?£800 for 12 weeks, pharmaceutical? 1.52/iu… Are you sleeping with the pharmacist? If you are thinking about generics I don’t think I’d go with it, that sounds extremely cheap to me. 99% of the generics are not real so save your money and wait until you can buy the real thing. It seems ridiculously expensive to switch to pharm GH but it’s also insane to pay money for viles of sucralose and whatever kind of other shit they stuff in there.
Years ago when I decided to make the switch and spend more on GH was the year I made a huge jump in my career… And a huge hole in my bank account.
The difference isn’t something subtle, you notice it right away clear cut differences… Your reaction will be “WOW!” And you won’t be stuck wondering if it is/isn’t working. You can continue to waste money on generics or try and find a source for pharm, you’ll be happy you did. There is a smalllllll chance you can land some decent underground kits but have them tested in a lab before wasting more money.
[/quote]
hmm well that’s interesting! It was £200 for enough Growth to run 5iu for 20 days (that’s 100iu for those of you whose maths ain’t so good) and I was assured it was pharm grade! The guy that uses it swears by it and he’s a nationally ranked BBer, although I know that’s never an indication that people actually know what they’re talking about. He’s the dude I get my oils off as he gets them at a pretty decent knock down price and the quality is good. I just assumed the GH would be kosher as well.
I know we’re not supposed to discuss prices but what would the ballpark figure be for real growth then (sorry mods if that’s not cool to ask).
[quote]Yogi wrote:
[quote]mrbuffcat wrote:
But when those professional sports users get caught they are banned from the sport and lose all their titles. Everyone knows pro bodybuilders are using steroids and no one is doing regular drug controls on them.
That’s what is wrong with the sport. Allowing cheaters to pass as great athletes. Fuck them, they are trash! and now someone comes and says but but they also have to train and lift heavyblahblahblah… shut your fucking mouth and stop giving excuses for being a wuss drug user and cheater.[/quote]
they have tested and non tested federations so the natural bodybuilders aren’t competing against assisted.
You’re entitled to your opinions, but this forum is to educate people on how to use steroids effectively and safely. If you don’t have a question regarding that then there’s no need for you to waste anyone’s time by being here. So fuck off.[/quote]
I second that.
[quote]55amg wrote:
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]55amg wrote:
hey bro Thanks for signing up here! I have a question on water bloat/cutting. No matter how I try my stomach always stays distended and bloated I feel like im holding water. I have gone 6-7 weeks drinking nothing but water, clean food, low carbs 4-6 meals a day, cardio 3-5 time a week on top of my job which is also physical, and my stomach seems to stay the same size according to the tape measure.
I know cutting takes a while (12 weeks at least) but in 6-7 weeks i should have lost at least 1.5 inches off my waist or something like that. The only thing that changes is that i lose strength and size but my waistline is always the same. I cant tell u how frustrating it is. One guy pm’ed me on another message board and said its all about estrogen control he told me he had the same problem, he said to run nolvadex 20mg a day to cut estrogen down and 12.5 mg of aromasin eod to kill the estrogen so I dont get a rebound.
what do you think bro? sorry about the poem here I don’t know what else to do, Im currently 205 5’9’’ 19% bf or so. I must add that my leanest was when I was on test enant and proviron @ 75mg a day and also during pct using nolvadex my waist shrunk a lot. I havent been ON in 3 years.[/quote]
Can you post a picture for me? At 19% bf I don’t think you need to worry about a lot of water retention, you need to concentrate on losing fat. Once you start to shed the fat your waist will come down with it. If you were on test-e at 19% bf all it will do is make you hold more water and it will not help you burn fat.
Get your diet and training 100% first of all. Indigo-3G and HOT-ROX would be an excellent supplement stack to take immediately. If you have good overall health you could do an ECA stack as well. Indigo will be your best friend from now on… If anything can get you down to 10% bf in a respectable amount of time this is it… Combined with a good diet and training of course.
[/quote]
Hey bro thanks for the reply here is a pic of me about 6 weeks ago im about 5 lb lighter now
[/quote]
brother you are way too fat to be cycling. Get your diet in check/
Hey Shadow,
What is your opinion on protein and calorie consumption on a cycle versus not. I know the standard theory is 1-1.5 g per pound for protein and 15-20 cals per pound for calories.
I read theories that are all over the place, one article I read says more than 0.8 g of protein is a waste and another article stated not to go below 1.5grams.
I know when on cycle your protein synthesis is elevated, and you’ve gotta eat big, but HOW big? 500 cals over maintenance? 3000 cals over maintenance? 1 x bw for protein? 3 x bw?
Thanks so much for your information and time. Very much appreciated.
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
For a physique competitor your doses are plain and simply way too high! These are amounts that high level bodybuilders are taking. Why are you taking so much, if I may ask?
Also, this cycle is way too long. My best advice at this point is to come off and get clean with a good PCT and stay clean for a good 3-4 months. Once your body has repaired and blood tests come back norm then you can come back on a sane cycle that suits a men’s physique competitor. I think your body is just worn out and this is why no matter what you are trying, you are not getting your desired look. Cut your loses and think about next season… Whatever you do now is just going to set you back further so think long term.
When you have a great off season and a carefully planned program you can consider back to back shows. It’s never easy on your body to do shows this way and if everything isn’t optimal in your program it can be disastrous. It’s easier for a men’s physique to do back to back shows because their stage condition and drug protocol is much easier on the system and they are able to maintain this look for longer periods of time. There’s no reason why a men’s physique competitor should ever take 1g of test, 600mg of eq and 600mg of tren…there’s no logic here. It will make you hold a shit load of water and put unnecessary pressure on your system making it much harder to get to your desired look. More is not better!
T3 and Clen are not mandatory, they are used in certain amounts and dosages depending on the specific case. I know a lot of men’s physique competitors who don’t use it at all… A good diet and training program can get you to this point. You aren’t trying to get to 3% bodyfat so there’s no need for extreme measures.
I’m not saying to run diuretics 1-2 days before or to run them at all for that matter. It’s completely individual. Some people cut water completely and some don’t cut it at all… Some people use diuretics and some people don’t use them at all… You keep mentioning water pills, are you talking about an over the counter diuretic? Some of these can cause different side effects and taking them for days on end may not be a good idea. The last week leading up to a show is individual and there is NO formula that exists… This is why people hire coaches because the last week is crucial and needs to be well thought out and planned on an individual case.
Regarding your diet… I can’t give you any specific advise because you aren’t my client therefore I don’t know how your body works but I can tell you that I’m a big believer in high carbs and carb cycling in general so it might be something to look into. I count all of my carbs, even veggies.
I think the biggest issue here is the drug protocol… Too much for too long with wrong decisions.everything else is an easy fix but if you don’t clean your body to have a fresh start, I really doubt you will look any better in the next show. Sounds to me like your body is in a big mess right now. If you want to do it long term, i would think about cleaning up now and looking towards a show next year instead.[/quote]
Again, thanks for the response. I think you misunderstood though- I was NOT taking all that stuff at once. The first half of the cycle was Test and EQ, then I dropped both of them and switched over to the Tren/Test/Mast. That’s all I’m on now. I would never run that much gear together. Right now I’m roughly on about 800-850mg/wk altogether. Nothing crazy.
Honestly just within the last week of adding in 25-30 min of cardio a day (6 days a week) and doing some carb and fat cycling I’ve already noticed some big changes in fat loss. It gives me hope and I want to keep it up over the next couple weeks and see how it goes. I know you advise against this, but I feel like those are some very important aspects I neglected the first time around.
I’d like to send you a couple pics maybe in like two weeks to see where you think I stand and whether or not at that point I should call it a day. I’ll be slowly tapering off calories over the next 4ish weeks. Looks roughly something like this right now:
(6’ 1" 210 lbs)
2500 cal/day for this week
Today (Thursday)
High carb day 270 carbs
29g/fat
315g/protein
Friday:
190 carbs
50g/fat
315g/protein
Satuday:
160g/carbs
65g/fat
315g/protein
Sunday:
160g/carbs
65g/fat
315g/protein
Monday:
65g/carbs
95g/fat
315g/protein
Tuesday:
65g/carbs
95g/fat
315g/protein
Wed.:
160g/carbs
65g/fat
315g/protein
I can go lower on some of those carb days if need be, and definitely lower on fats. That’s kind of a rough plan, and then subtract an additional 150/cal each week. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks again.
Hi Shadow Pro,
First, thanks for all you replies, it’s really appreciated. I’ve learn a lot.
Age : 31
Height : 182 cm
Weight : 84 kg
Bf : 12%
Morphology : Ecto/Endo : fast metabolism : I can loose and gain weight quickly but with fat.
6.5 inch wrist.
1/ For a start and with only orals, what do you recommend ? (strength + size goal with no or little retention) Anavar, windstrol ? I’m just asking for future, I’ve not reached my natural potential.
2/ What do you think about IF ? Do you recommend it ?
3/ Can you write a typical meal plan for a day as a guideline plz ?
4/ What do you think about Stuart McRobert training (Brawn, Beyond Brawn) ?
He promotes full body routines twice a week with small increments each workout (with microplates).
Example :
Day 1
- Deadlift : 1 x 5 reps
- Bench Press : 3 x 5 reps
- Leg press : 3 x 5 reps
- One-arm dumbell Row : 3 x 8 reps
- Side Bend : 3 x 8 reps
- Curl : 3 x 8 reps
Day 5
- Barbell Squat : 3 x 5 reps
- Weight Dips : 3 x 5 reps
3.Weight Chin-up : 3 x 5 reps
4.Overhead Press : 3 x 5 reps
5.Calf Raise : 3 x 20/18/15 reps
6.L-fly : 3 x 8 reps
Thank you.
[quote]Yogi wrote:
[quote]55amg wrote:
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]55amg wrote:
hey bro Thanks for signing up here! I have a question on water bloat/cutting. No matter how I try my stomach always stays distended and bloated I feel like im holding water. I have gone 6-7 weeks drinking nothing but water, clean food, low carbs 4-6 meals a day, cardio 3-5 time a week on top of my job which is also physical, and my stomach seems to stay the same size according to the tape measure.
I know cutting takes a while (12 weeks at least) but in 6-7 weeks i should have lost at least 1.5 inches off my waist or something like that. The only thing that changes is that i lose strength and size but my waistline is always the same. I cant tell u how frustrating it is. One guy pm’ed me on another message board and said its all about estrogen control he told me he had the same problem, he said to run nolvadex 20mg a day to cut estrogen down and 12.5 mg of aromasin eod to kill the estrogen so I dont get a rebound.
what do you think bro? sorry about the poem here I don’t know what else to do, Im currently 205 5’9’’ 19% bf or so. I must add that my leanest was when I was on test enant and proviron @ 75mg a day and also during pct using nolvadex my waist shrunk a lot. I havent been ON in 3 years.[/quote]
Can you post a picture for me? At 19% bf I don’t think you need to worry about a lot of water retention, you need to concentrate on losing fat. Once you start to shed the fat your waist will come down with it. If you were on test-e at 19% bf all it will do is make you hold more water and it will not help you burn fat.
Get your diet and training 100% first of all. Indigo-3G and HOT-ROX would be an excellent supplement stack to take immediately. If you have good overall health you could do an ECA stack as well. Indigo will be your best friend from now on… If anything can get you down to 10% bf in a respectable amount of time this is it… Combined with a good diet and training of course.
[/quote]
Hey bro thanks for the reply here is a pic of me about 6 weeks ago im about 5 lb lighter now
[/quote]
brother you are way too fat to be cycling. Get your diet in check/[/quote]
Never said once in my post that i was going to cycle.
[quote]mrbuffcat wrote:
no i’m likely older than you and with way more knowledge of health and drugs[/quote]
You are likely a fucking loser, get the fuck out of here with your ignorant horse shit. If you don’t support AAS or untested bodybuilding federations then bring your keyboard heroics somewhere else.
We are trying to learn here.
This is a question about BB competition, but really about professional sports as a whole. What do you feel the percentage of importance split among genetics, diet, training, pharmaceuticals, etc.?
[quote]55amg wrote:
[quote]Yogi wrote:
[quote]55amg wrote:
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]55amg wrote:
hey bro Thanks for signing up here! I have a question on water bloat/cutting. No matter how I try my stomach always stays distended and bloated I feel like im holding water. I have gone 6-7 weeks drinking nothing but water, clean food, low carbs 4-6 meals a day, cardio 3-5 time a week on top of my job which is also physical, and my stomach seems to stay the same size according to the tape measure.
I know cutting takes a while (12 weeks at least) but in 6-7 weeks i should have lost at least 1.5 inches off my waist or something like that. The only thing that changes is that i lose strength and size but my waistline is always the same. I cant tell u how frustrating it is. One guy pm’ed me on another message board and said its all about estrogen control he told me he had the same problem, he said to run nolvadex 20mg a day to cut estrogen down and 12.5 mg of aromasin eod to kill the estrogen so I dont get a rebound.
what do you think bro? sorry about the poem here I don’t know what else to do, Im currently 205 5’9’’ 19% bf or so. I must add that my leanest was when I was on test enant and proviron @ 75mg a day and also during pct using nolvadex my waist shrunk a lot. I havent been ON in 3 years.[/quote]
Can you post a picture for me? At 19% bf I don’t think you need to worry about a lot of water retention, you need to concentrate on losing fat. Once you start to shed the fat your waist will come down with it. If you were on test-e at 19% bf all it will do is make you hold more water and it will not help you burn fat.
Get your diet and training 100% first of all. Indigo-3G and HOT-ROX would be an excellent supplement stack to take immediately. If you have good overall health you could do an ECA stack as well. Indigo will be your best friend from now on… If anything can get you down to 10% bf in a respectable amount of time this is it… Combined with a good diet and training of course.
[/quote]
Hey bro thanks for the reply here is a pic of me about 6 weeks ago im about 5 lb lighter now
[/quote]
brother you are way too fat to be cycling. Get your diet in check/[/quote]
Never said once in my post that i was going to cycle.
[/quote]
I apologise, I thought you were asking about a cycle