Hello Shadow,
I’m 21 year old and I’ve been training for 5 and a half years I’m standing at 172cm and 81kgs
I would like to ask you two things
1: By all honesty what do you think about my physic for a men’s muscular physic competitor (because of a injury in my right leg bodybuilding or classic physic seems like a disadventage)
2: What would be my starting cycle (I want to look hard, dry muscular)
Thank you for your time
Also how important is it to run HCG? Can I do my first test cycle without it or is it a must have?
You don’t look bad - good work so far.
As for your questions…
- Nolva - it goes through your liver just like any other oral and isn’t better or worse for it. You should take liver protection no matter what cycle you’re on (Tudca, NAC, etc)
- it is just a difference in absorption - it doesn’t really matter.
- cycle looks descent. Drop the Deca (you don’t need both EQ and Deca)
Of course take anti estrogens and HCG (and liver protection).
Yes next time lets talk about this with more notice - I would love to give you guidance and it’s so hard when so close to the show.
How did everything go?
If you did 2-2.5 gallons per day for 7-9 days and then cut water 16-18 hours out (or just sips depending on your condition) it should have gone ok.
Diuretics are tricky - aldactone is pretty mild and can only make you flat in higher dosing (sounds like you were pretty low).
Hope everything went well. Post pics from the show if you want!
Well not bad for 21 and if you’re natural even better.
Decent mass for man physique - you can work on your proportions and obviously when you are going to actually do a show you will need to lean out.
Shoulders and back can be wider to give you a better shoulder to waist ratio.
Upper pecs need a little work to be proportionate to the rest of your chest.
Decent arms.
Posing you posted is for body building rather than man physique so it’s hard to tell but I think the key word for you is width (back and shoulders) and then lean out.
Cycle suggestions:
probably I would start with a basic test cycle of 500 mg per week for 12 weeks and see how your body reacts. Also add a little bit of arimadex (maybe .5 every 3rd day) or nolvadex (10mg every other day).
After that you can add things like Primo, Anavar, or masteron with some Anti estrogen to harden you up but I would add only in your second cycle - you can come back and check in with me prior to that.
Most importantly keep your diet clean, train hard, cardio on point, and use intraworkout (Plazma) and Indigo to help with food and carb absorption.
If you want kids or if you’re young and want your balls to keep functioning off juice then it’s very important. If these things don’t matter then skip it.
I would take it from the first cycle personally - 250iu twice per week.
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addition to my previous reply - I would also add 250 iu twice per week of HCG just to keep your balls working properly and ensure kids are an option for you in the future 
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Dude thank you so much! I cant remember if I asked you this, but atm im on clomid monotherapy 12.5mg eod…can I add any oral to this and still have some test going cauz of the clomid? Or should I go off clomid before I do any cycle at all?
Hello again,
I posted about month and a half ago about a cycle. I started on tren/prop 100mcg EOD and 75mcg of masteron + 20mcg nova ED and all went pretty well untill i added in winstrol tabs of 50mcg a day like 2 weeks ago. I started having crazy mood swings and feeling super depressed almost up to a point of suicidal. I also feel sleepy thruough the whole day and somewhat lethargic? I searched for info on the net but I’m not too sure. Could it be winstrol causing all this? I felt perfectly fine the first 6 weeks w/o the winstrol. However it does not affect my gym performance, but I can feel a decrease in apetite aswell.
Hi Shadow,
first of all thanks for being here and taking our questions!
I’m 28, 180cm (5’11) and 85kg (188lbs), BF 14%, training for 10 years naturally.
I’ve started TRT January this year due to low T with my GP here in Germany, dosage 160mg/week (80mg on Monday/Thursday). I’ve noticed little difference in the gym (a little bit of strength gain), but otherwise feel a lot better.
Now it’s time for my annual cut and I thought what the hell, my endogenous production is already surpressed so why not try out my first cycle/blast. I’ve started 4 weeks ago with 125e3d, increased to 250e5d 2 weeks ago and plan on increasing to 250e4d (437,5/w) for the next 12 weeks starting next week. I pyramided up because I wanted to test how I feel with higher levels at first - still feel good and no sides at 250e5d (I use Arimidex 0,25mg e3d, will increase to 0,25mg e2d when switching to 250e4d).
I’ve stagnated the past 5 years training naturally - I’ve always been bulking to about 190 - BF 15% and then cutting to 175lbs at 10% for the summer. What can I expect now with the first cycle? Starting point is the same - I feel like I haven’t lost any muscle in my past natural cuts anyway (but also added almost zero during my bulk), so just preserving muscle and ending up at 175 at 10% wouldn’t be a success for me…
The past 3 weeks I’ve already noticed it is significantly more difficult to lose weight this year being on test, normally in my cuts I lose about 2 pounds/per week pretty steadily for 6-8weeks and I’m there. This year with the exact same calories I’ve lost only 2 pounds in three weeks (so only on third of the normal amount)… So I hope that’s because I’m gaining also a bit of muscle - so far it’s hard to tell… Metabolism should be the same or faster now that I’m on test…
I’m thinking about 2 options now: Now further lower the calories to speed up the cut and try to finish it (for me that’s when I’m at about 10% with a visible 8-pack and veins on my abs) within 6 weeks, then I could start mildly bulking the remaining 6 weeks of the cycle.
Or option 2 would be to stay with my current calories (about 2600 on training days and 1800 on non-training days, I train 5 days a week) and hope to build a bit of muscle while cutting with only a small deficit for 12 weeks - what would you recommend?
Shadow, I have three questions for you:
1 - In your opinion what is the best strategy for guys who want to achieve their maximum genetic potential (or staying slightly over it) and maintaining the results as long as possible?
Some say that an one epic cycle (and then staying off lifelong) yields the best results in terms of full muscle maturation, but on the other hand running mild cycles (like Test only) every now and then seems less scary for people who don’t want to take too many health risks and don’t want to get super huge.
2 - What’s the best option for long term health, other than results?
3 - What would be the main differences in training between natural lifters and the case I’ve described? I guess I should keep lifting heavy in order to achieve more myofibrillar hypertrophy, which is what it’s possible to retain after cycle (compared to increased glycogen and water that is gonna be lost after it).
Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply to all of us noobs.
Go off clomid, get blood work to ensure everything is balanced, and then go on cycle.
The thing with steroids of any kind is that they are very individual in their impact. Some people can take Winstrol without any issue, and others get joint pain, hair loss, lethargy and rarely yes I have heard about mood swings (although to be honest usually for the better)…can also impact some people’s dick and lower sex drive. It’s very individual but sounds like this could be a poor fit for you…first thing is get off and see if you feel better. If it’s better then know that Winstrol isn’t suited for you. If it doesn’t get better, the only other thing it could be is delayed response to tren…if when you stop Winstrol symptoms don’t improve within 2 weeks, also get off the tren and see how that goes (tren is by far the harshest steroid in terms of mental impact).
In the meantime because it can take a few weeks to see what’s going on after coming off, please ensure you have the support you need if you are experiencing suicidal thoughts of any kind.
Let me know how this goes.
First of all - I can probably give you a more thorough answer if you post photos.
A few points to consider and then you can make your own call:
- since it’s your first cycle and if I understand correctly by the end of tapering up, you will be running about 500 mg per week (this is generally a starting point for someone wanting to gain real muscle). I definitely understand and agree with your reasoning about gradually increasing to see how your body responds - this is smart with any steroid. That being said, I would probably stay 12 weeks on 500mg to see the full benefit you can get in muscle building (and the indirect impact of fat loss)
- when you take steroids that help with protein synthesis, you need more protein period (more calories than what you used to take in…your body is just more efficient during this time to utilize these macros).
- Test will cause water retention - you are probably having a harder time losing weight because of that - even with the arimadex. Water retention to an extent usually just goes with test usage.
- You will need a good eye or a coach to see what parts of the weight you gain is water vs muscle, and then according to the new amount of muscle (most likely if you train the same and add test you will gain some muscle) you will need to adjust your caloric intake to suit dieting or gaining.
- Especially when using juice, the scale is just a tool. You need to use your eyes, pictures, and the mirror (and a coach ideally) to see what changes are happening, as the scale can be deceptive. Body composition is the name of the game rather than just weight loss. You can look shredded and hard at 180 or you can look skinny and fat - depending on how much musculature.
Hope this helps make some decisions.
If you do want to post pics, I can probably give you a more clear opinion
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- Definitely not one epic cycle. Your body likes gradual change, as opposed to big hits. Steroids also impact everyone differently and so throwing one big cycle onto someone could, in some cases, cause irreversible damages…you want to test the waters before increasing dosages or adding new compounds.
- Tough one - depends what you mean by long term health? Some people can barely handle TRT dosages without serious side effects, and some can run 2-3 grams per week with minimal sides. It is completely individual, but if I had to "pick a side’, I would stick to the basics - relatively short cycles (8-10 weeks), low dosages as possible while getting results, and a perfect PCT and supplementation (liver protection, kidney protection, regular blood work, etc)…there is always a risk though in this world, and varies from person to person a great deal.
- Natural or not, lifting heavy is always a good idea for thick, dense, long term muscle gains. It should always be a priority (in most cases more important than “pump training”)
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1, shadow whilst using nolva to block receptors in a cycle of 750mg test,750 tren e, 750 eq would it beneficial to use say .5 adex once a week or possibly .5 every 2nd week or so to kill off unwanted estro , yet leave enough for maximum growth?
2, i had dhea come back on a blood test under range… is having a low dhea something to worry about?
okay i stopped the winstrol and the mood seems to went back to normal, not feeling lethargic anymore aswell. could it really be winstrol or is it just a mental thing?? i started feeling better like 2 days after cutting it out but i feel like im missing out on positives. altho i realize its not worth sacrificing mental health for a lil bit of gains it still bugs me lol. since u replied theres one more thing i wanna ask, my nipples were fine for the first 7 weeks aswell but now they look a little puffy sometimes and i can feel again some hard tissue around them, but not a lot. they seem to look normal tho on lower temperatures. i was and still am using 20mg tamoxifen daily. i could note that this on top of the world feeling is back again, i dont really seem to suffer any mental side effects from tren, it sits with me good at least at this dosage. i would also get crazy pumps on my foreams i think on winstrol (if that’s even possible?) and i couldnt perform as many reps anymore.
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@Shadow_Pro do you have any problem with switching from cypionate to enanthate mid cycle
Hi mate,
appreciate the answer!
Yes, I will end up at 437,5mg per week beginning this week, my intervall is 250e4d of Test E. I don’t want to go higher for my first cycle - my health is very important to me (also longterm), and I want to leave some room to go up for upcoming cycles. My goal is not to become a monster, I’m going for a fitness model look, 190-200lbs below 10%BF would be my longterm goal - I believe that doesn’t require extreme dosages, I also plan on sticking to test e only and never go above 600mg/per week for future blasts, and 160mg to cruise for most of the year.
For this cycle I will stay now on the 437,5mg for the next 8 weeks, I’ve been on 250-350 now already 4 weeks and I think 12 weeks total in the higher range should be enough for my first experience with steroids, now rush - I have no plans competing just do this because I love the sport and of course looking good.
to your point 2: I’m currently eating about 200g of protein a day (so a little over 1g/lbs of bodyweight) - should be enough with my dosage, correct?
My fat loss is already slower this year compared to my previous natural cuts as I mentioned, so I don’t want to go higher with my calories, actually I plan on decreasing my carbs a little further (on training days about 200 right now - I use carb-backloading, on non training days zero carbs). Your opinion?
point 3/4: Yes water retention is possible, however I feel that’s not the case. My weight isn’t really fluctuating, no marks from socks and my E2 tested 18 2 weeks ago so actually a bit too low.
My doctor also wants me to come completly off every year for 3 months for fertility reasons (that was his condition before he prescribed the test), I’m not sure if that’s the best approach for me… He doesn’t supply HCG or nolva, because he says with 160mg/week (he doesn’t know about the blasts) I will recover naturally within 3 months. I plan on using HCG the last 2 weeks with injections and then 2 more weeks, then continue with 4 weeks of nolvadex (1 table/day, I believe 20mg), then use DAA/Tribulus/Maca/Fenugreek and so on for the remaining 6 off-weeks. What do you think about this? How to best save all the gains I’ll hopefully make during my first upcoming cyclce and still preserve fertility? Running HCG ALL the time is out of the questions for me… so coming off every year for 3 months might be my best choice I guess.
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I see that you generally recommend nolvadex for use on cycle for estrogen issues and to prevent them. Is nolvadex better than arimidex for this purpose?
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If high blood pressure is an issue on cycle, what are the best ways/things to take to get it back to normal range?
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How should HCG be used for best results? During the cycle, towards the end, or during pct?
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What do you think is the best pct protocol with nolva and clomid?