Okay Boys and Girls, It's Official :)

[holly ann]

I have decided to run the Var cycle I've been asking about here at AR. I am starting tomorrow @ 5mg/ed for the first week and then moving to 10mg/ed for weeks 2 through eight.

I'm planning on taking half the dose in the morning and the other in the afternoon but am open to suggestions

Starting Stats:
Weight: 148
BF: 29% (per one of those bathroom scales so I don't know about accuracy. I'll have the guys at the gym caliper me on Monday)

Workout will be as follows:
German 3x3 Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Treadmill Cardio and Ab-work on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Diet: 100mg Protein/ed, lots of fruits and veggies and no calorie restriction for the first month (Will cut for the last month by restricting excess carbs as needed)

I promise to post pics soon and I will keep this thread updated with weekly update pics as well. Promise promise promise!

Current 3x3 lifts are:
Deads: 105 x5 x5
Squats: 105 x5 x5
Bench: 50 x6 x8

Okay VERY EXCITED!!!!!!!

[Roidal]

Good luck, and work hard.

[AdamGH]

Look forward to hearing about your results, gl!

[Pinnacle]

Good luck with the cycle. Hmmm..your diet doesn't sound so good though. You'll need complex carbs if you fear gaining body fat. Fruits replenish liver glycogen but really doesn't make it to muscles well at all. Actually after liver glycogen is full, any excess sugars from fruit will be store as fat, as opposed to going to the muscle to be stored a glycogen

You'll want to consume carbs from sources like sweet potato, lentils, barley, quinoa, ezekiel bread to name a few. If your macros are spot on, you should be able to consume plenty of carbs throughout the day to promote muscle growth without putting on excessive body fat. Without adequate carbs, and even healty fats in your diet, you WILL NOT grow well at all.

[swol_je]

10mg a day?

[swol_je]

sorry I didnt look at who was posting. let us know how it works

[holly ann]

Good luck with the cycle. Hmmm..your diet doesn't sound so good though. You'll need complex carbs if you fear gaining body fat. Fruits replenish liver glycogen but really doesn't make it to muscles well at all. Actually after liver glycogen is full, any excess sugars from fruit will be store as fat, as opposed to going to the muscle to be stored a glycogen

You'll want to consume carbs from sources like sweet potato, lentils, barley, quinoa, ezekiel bread to name a few. If your macros are spot on, you should be able to consume plenty of carbs throughout the day to promote muscle growth without putting on excessive body fat. Without adequate carbs, and even healty fats in your diet, you WILL NOT grow well at all.

What an honor!! My boyfriend says you ROCK and I should listen to you One thing I am still seeking is advice on is what time of day to take the var - should I try to split the initial 10mg dose into two 5mgs, then split the 5mg in half and take it at two separate times during the day?

So tomorrow I'm going to Whole Foods to buy sweet potato, lentils, barley, quinoa, ezekiel bread!!!

Thanks again for the advice - I will post my diet log as well...

[Pinnacle]

Glad to see you are taking the proper attitude and fixing your diet right away. When you get it together, post it up and send me a PM with the link. Post your current stats as well, and I'll help you tweak your diet. Ok? I work with many figure competitors so female diets are common place for me.

As for dosing your Var, when you hit 10 mgs, do split up the dose. 5 mgs AM/ 5 mgs PM. This is imperative for the fact Var has a short half life and if you want optimal results, you'll need to dose according to the half life of any given drug. 12 hrs is the approx half life of Var, so dosing every 12 hrs is a must to keep blood levels stable.


Good luck and get that diet together!

Pinnacle

What an honor!! My boyfriend says you ROCK and I should listen to you One thing I am still seeking is advice on is what time of day to take the var - should I try to split the initial 10mg dose into two 5mgs, then split the 5mg in half and take it at two separate times during the day?

So tomorrow I'm going to Whole Foods to buy sweet potato, lentils, barley, quinoa, ezekiel bread!!!

Thanks again for the advice - I will post my diet log as well...

[holly ann]

Glad to see you are taking the proper attitude and fixing your diet right away. When you get it together, post it up and send me a PM with the link. Post your current stats as well, and I'll help you tweak your diet. Ok? I work with many figure competitors so female diets are common place for me.

Pinnacle

I'll post my diet plans in the members cycle results threads and PM you with the link. Thanks again for taking the time to critique, I really appreciate it

holly ann

[Pinnacle]

I'll post my diet plans in the members cycle results threads and PM you with the link. Thanks again for taking the time to critique, I really appreciate it

holly ann

Certainly...it was my pleasure.
Few tips :

Your protein portions will most likely only need to be 3 ounces

Shoot for 5 meals per day

Make sure to supplement with fish oil gels caps( 2 per meal is ideal for you)

All your food should be weighed. Say you are having sweet potato 3.75 ounces is 25 grams of carbs, but that 3.75 ounces is cooked weight.

Here's a link to help you figure out what food sources at certain weights yield X amount of calories, carbs, protein ect. This site is invaluable to you

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/


Pinnacle

[holly ann]

So far I've incorporated the following in my diet:

3/4 cup cooked steel-cut oats with one tsp of honey and two thimbles of half/half
right after the workout, one scoop of EAS protein powder
20g protein split up throughout the day
6 caps of fish oil - 2 caps per meal
2 multi-vitamins a day
3 eggs a day
2 servings a day of leafy greens or various veggies

I'm adding to my grocery list the food scale and also milk thistle. Do you have any suggestions regarding other supplements?

holly ann

[Pinnacle]

So far I've incorporated the following in my diet:

3/4 cup cooked steel-cut oats with one tsp of honey and two thimbles of half/half
right after the workout, one scoop of EAS protein powder
20g protein split up throughout the day
6 caps of fish oil - 2 caps per meal
2 multi-vitamins a day
3 eggs a day
2 servings a day of leafy greens or various veggies

I'm adding to my grocery list the food scale and also milk thistle. Do you have any suggestions regarding other supplements?

holly ann

Yes, there are two other supplement that women need

1) Evening Primrose
2) B-6

Make sure to weight out your oats. 40 grams dry weight is 26 grams of carbs. That's more than enough for you. You can drop the honey, and use splenda instead. I can't stress enough to follow a tight diet. There is absolutely no reason to get fat on cycle. You can and will grow very well staying lean. This is something most guys haven't had sunk into their thick skulls. I never exceed 10-11 % body fat at any point during the year and I always make great improvements, and when I go into contest prep, it makes it all that much easier to get shredded for a show

[KatsMeow]

I love Var but just be prepared to gain weight. I've seen a lot of people on here who think that it helps females loose weight but I gained a good 15lbs during my var cycle, of course it ended up being muscle gains, but I know women are just really concerned with the scale, including myself. Are you concerned that your BF might be a little high to start?
I hope you get the results you want, and good luck!
I myself won't do another cycle until I drop down to 20% BF, which I'm at 25% right now.

[KatsMeow]

I guess I should add that I was also taking 25mg everyday so that is a huge difference in the dosage you will be taking.

[xXDevilDogXx]

Good luck!

[spywizard]

I guess I should add that I was also taking 25mg everyday so that is a huge difference in the dosage you will be taking.

really?? lets assume you have run that high of a does before?? i hope that you have..

let us know.. different thread though..

[holly ann]

Thanks, CatsMeow! I'm being conservative on the dosage to see how my body responds with each increase. My thought is to take 5mg ed for a week, then increase to 7.5mg the 2nd week and so on. I promise to post results at the end of each week, including weekly pictures as well.

[Mooker]

Hey Holly Ann

My lil lady will be starting her first var cycle in two weeks. Also, basically runnin the same dosage that you have posted too. 5mg for first week then up to ten. I have heard that you do need to spread out your doages thoughout the day. So 2.5mg in the moring and 2.5mg in the evening.

Good luck with your cycle...I will also keep you posted of her results as well. She is super excited to start too. One good thing about her being a diabetic is she has her diet in check already......

[heaven_lee]

Thanks, CatsMeow! I'm being conservative on the dosage to see how my body responds with each increase. My thought is to take 5mg ed for a week, then increase to 7.5mg the 2nd week and so on. I promise to post results at the end of each week, including weekly pictures as well.

Hey,

I too an considering an Anavar cycle. I have been going back and forth on the dosage and read soo many contradicting statements about women and dosages. I was thinking about starting @ 10mg and bumping up to 15 mid cycle after I found how my body reacted. I know the profiles say 10mg is more than sufficient but they are very $$$ and I don't want to spend all that money and get minimal results

[Strategus]

Hi Holly Ann!

How long have ya been lifting? Have you been at a plateau for a while?

Only reason I asked is that I'm wondering if you can bump your bench up a bit more naturally? Everyone's different of course, but I have a feeling you might be able to bump it up a little more.

I thought my bench would stop going up after a year of lifting, but it's still going up slowly by maybe a rep each week or so. Same with D/L and squat.

I'm not sure - do you do your squats and D/L's before benching? If so, GREAT!!! You are taking full advantage of the testosterone release from working the legs.

Here's a favorite trick for those who do a "chest day." Plan your workout like this:

1. Warm up on bench with the bar and/or your warmup sets.

2. Do first work set. Write down how many reps.

3. Walk over to hack squat or squat rack, whichever is available. Do two sets at medium weight - not all-out - just enough to work legs somewhat. The purpose of this is to release your natural testosterone.

4. Wait maybe 3-5 min - drink water, chat whatever.

5. Go back to bench and it's time to ROCK & ROLL!!!! Do the remaining work sets. Bet your reps will go UP from that first set!!! You may feel more motivation to lift, too.


Good luck!

Will you be doing a log?

[Pinnacle]

really?? lets assume you have run that high of a does before?? i hope that you have..

let us know.. different thread though..

Nothing wrong with that dose for an experienced user. Mostly all my female trainee's(athletes) use that dose or slightly higher. None have ever put on 15 pounds of muscle like was claimed in the post above. I say complete bullshit to that. The human body can not accrue that kind of muscle tissue on a 6-8 week Var cycle. Hell, 99% of men put on 5-6 pounds of pure muscle tissue running testosterone. So, for all those reading "that" post, I assure you it wasn't 15 pounds of muscle tissue. She might have gained 15 pounds of body weight though. At 25 % body fat she IS NOT lean by any means. Actually very sloppy in terms of off season conditioning in regards to bodybuilding.

Oddly enough, all the women I have trained over the years grow far better on winny.

[KatsMeow]

LOL...7lbs ended up being water weight after all. But still great gains. And yes you are correct 25% isn't lean...of course I'm not cutting at the moment. I put my BF% because Holly Ann is at 29% and I thought that was a little high to start.
I've used winny and didn't get the results like I did with Var. I spent the past couple of weeks fighting some serious water retention.
My trainer keeps track of my gains with a VERY controlled diet, i get a printed day to day diet daily with nutritional breakdowns, BF is calculated weekly, measurements and photos every 8 weeks.
I have always had some hormonal imbalances making me gain muscle much faster than most women. Not everyone is wired the same so everyone will react differently to things. I don't think I will use Var again until I'm down to atleast 20%

[edmen2]

I love Var but just be prepared to gain weight. I've seen a lot of people on here who think that it helps females loose weight but I gained a good 15lbs during my var cycle, of course it ended up being muscle gains, but I know women are just really concerned with the scale, including myself. Are you concerned that your BF might be a little high to start?
I hope you get the results you want, and good luck!
I myself won't do another cycle until I drop down to 20% BF, which I'm at 25% right now.

my wife had this problem she was miserable for the first 4 wks cause she just kept lookin at the scale. i finally made her understand that muscle outweighs fat. it also helped that she saw herself naked in the mirror and was impressed by the results.

[KatsMeow]

For sure, it's all about how you feel. women need to focus more on inches, and the overall "look" I feel 10x's better now that I got most of my excess water off.

[Strategus]

Definitely go by the size of clothes, especially pants, and not by scale weight. Lifting + anavar will probably add scale weight (muscle) but your waist should stay the same or even maybe go smaller.

My results (natural - just lifting/diet/vitamins/whey) have been slow, but I have definitely gotten better results from lifting than from cardio alone.

Several months ago, before I cut back on calories, I set aside a pair of blue jeans that I had bought at a thrift store but they were too tight. I put them in the back bedroom in my house, which is used for storage.

Yesterday, I decided to dig 'em out and see if they would fit. Sure enough...they did.

They were just size 8's...I'm 5'3" so it's no big deal...still got a ways to go before bf% is really down, but...I started from size 10 and some 12's...

When I first started lifting, I ate a lot and went up to around 140. Now I'm 133 or so, after cutting back calories/doing cardio since the middle of March.

[holly ann]

So......Var seems at least quite fun It's probably just psychosomatic, but I felt very strong and energized all last week. Diet was in check, though my workout schedule was a bit off due to work pressure (I just finished 4 perfect weeks of 3x3 training and the time off was well received).

Today was the first day that I took 10mg of the Var. As I wrote earlier, I had planned to go the first week @ 5mg/day to see how I reacted and thankfully....NO SIDES.

First of all, Ezekiel Bread is the best: Thank you Pinnacle!

Couple of questions for the board:
1) When does Var usually kick in for girls (particularly on a first cycle)
2) Any advice re: how much Milk Thistle to take and when to take it (with meals etc.....

And Yes I will be posting a log and pics and measurements soon

[Grappler13]

Bump Bump Bump ;-)

[Mooker]

[holly ann]

So......Var seems at least quite fun It's probably just psychosomatic, but I felt very strong and energized all last week. Diet was in check, though my workout schedule was a bit off due to work pressure (I just finished 4 perfect weeks of 3x3 training and the time off was well received).

Today was the first day that I took 10mg of the Var. As I wrote earlier, I had planned to go the first week @ 5mg/day to see how I reacted and thankfully....NO SIDES.

First of all, Ezekiel Bread is the best: Thank you Pinnacle!

Couple of questions for the board:
1) When does Var usually kick in for girls (particularly on a first cycle)
2) Any advice re: how much Milk Thistle to take and when to take it (with meals etc.....

And Yes I will be posting a log and pics and measurements soon

[one8nine]

So......Var seems at least quite fun It's probably just psychosomatic, but I felt very strong and energized all last week. Diet was in check, though my workout schedule was a bit off due to work pressure (I just finished 4 perfect weeks of 3x3 training and the time off was well received).

Today was the first day that I took 10mg of the Var. As I wrote earlier, I had planned to go the first week @ 5mg/day to see how I reacted and thankfully....NO SIDES.

First of all, Ezekiel Bread is the best: Thank you Pinnacle!

Couple of questions for the board:
1) When does Var usually kick in for girls (particularly on a first cycle)
2) Any advice re: how much Milk Thistle to take and when to take it (with meals etc.....

And Yes I will be posting a log and pics and measurements soon

var "kicks in" within hours, thats why you take it twice a day. its in and out in less than a day.. you probably mean to ask when the results are noticable and that depends on diet and work out but from the girls i know personally at 10mg within a week or two.

i believe milk thistle will decrease the efficiency of orals on cycle- its better to save until after cycle

[holly ann]

I have been taking 2 capsules of 250mg (standardized to 80% Silymarin) of milk thistle a day, one with each meal - do you really think that such a low dosage would interfere with the Var efficacy?

[Pinnacle]

I have been taking 2 capsules of 250mg (standardized to 80% Silymarin) of milk thistle a day, one with each meal - do you really think that such a low dosage would interfere with the Var efficacy?

Possibly yes. Use the milk thistle after you come of. Think of it as PCT for your liver

[DontPlayByTheRules]

Dink lots of water!!! I cramped up durring a cycle of anavar (I am a female), other than that I have ran Test prop with it and have had awesome results. You should see great strength gains with just anavar..........good luck