-
11-30-2008, 10:17 AM #1
AAS: Things to consider before starting a first cycle
This is a article I wrote for MD online, due to all the newbies around here i feel I should post it here.
Discipline and dedication are principles that you are going to have to master if you are serious about bodybuilding, being consistent with your diet and training will help you succeed in achieving your goals. Don't have tunnel vision in thinking you will only build muscle if your taking AAS, below are some of the main principles you need to consider before taking any AAS
AGE
In humans your Endocrine system is not fully functional until an average age of 25yrs, although the main development is up to around 21yrs it still fluctuates a little bit up to its fully functional age. There is a risk of permanently damaging your HPTA if you take AAS to young and you could end up with symptoms of andropause and HRT for life. Symptoms could be Limp dick, low libido, depression, low energy, low endurance, erection problems and many more but.......are these the types of symptoms you want to have in your 20's?. Believe me its hard to cope with these in your 40's yet alone in your prime of your life.
Around this age your Testosterone levels are the highest they going to be in your life naturally, so use what you have and don't take the risk of damage, I am passionate about this because ive seen it many times with young kids wanting to looking like their heroes and they think the answer is in an injection/tablet.
Taking AAS to young can also cause problems with development, one other main problem is premature sealing of your epiphyeal bone and the consequences mean that you wont grow as big as your genetics could allow you to, there is a test which can be done to see if your growth plates have sealed yet but the average age is around 21yrs old.
TRAINING
You need a few years of hard training under your belt before even considering taking any kind of anabolic support, people who jump on a cycle to soon without having some quality years under their belt usually results in injuries, it takes time to develop your connective tissue, tendons and nervous system to heavy overload training. Slowly getting your own system use to these kinds of extreme's will only help in muscle growth later on when you do decide to start taking AAS.
Build a solid foundation for muscle tissue to grow and maintaining and development will be far greater than without it. Many younger guys will start cycling before they have reached their genetic potential which is crazy when a good solid diet and training program will be far beneficial and productive to muscle building.
Workouts should be mainly focused on basic movements with a priority of over loading the muscle each and ever time you train, increasing your strength and ability to lift in proper form will help with building the foundation for future development
DIET
A lot of younger bodybuilders don't know how to eat. Researching and understanding how your own body responds will help you get to your natural limit, the right food at the right time and a full understanding of proteins,carbs, and fats will only help you succeed in achieving your natural goals. Keeping a diet diary will also help you understand the importance of macro, nutrients, calories and should help you see in which areas you could be going wrong in adding lean muscle tissue.
No matter how much anabolic support you have it will be worthless without proper nutrition, food will help build and maintain your valued muscle weather its natural, cycling or in PCT. Adjusting your food intake and consuming muscle building foods coupled with a solid training program will help you achieve your natural limit and foundation before you start AAS use.
This area is a huge problem with the younger guys and I can't express enough how important diet/food is when first starting out, post and pre training nutrition are very important and understanding how to load and feed the body will help push growth and create a very natural anabolic environment.
-
11-30-2008, 10:27 AM #2
-
Good read, to bad the young are sometimes to young and bullheaded to understand. We have to try anyway.
-
11-30-2008, 10:53 AM #4
great post, i'm gonna add it to my database as well
-
11-30-2008, 12:06 PM #5
-
11-30-2008, 12:21 PM #6
-
11-30-2008, 02:40 PM #7Associate Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Somewhere
- Posts
- 209
Good start. Needs refinement and citations.
-
12-01-2008, 10:32 AM #8
Bump for the newbies.........
-
12-01-2008, 12:32 PM #9Junior Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2008
- Posts
- 90
Nice post bro, if only i knew ahead of time....lol
-
12-01-2008, 12:41 PM #10
awesome. wish i would of been smarter and not started AAS so young and without proper knowledge and training under my belt
-
12-02-2008, 08:34 AM #11
Bump
-
12-31-2008, 01:07 PM #12
Bump
-
12-31-2008, 02:07 PM #13
can't you just sticky it?
-
12-31-2008, 02:13 PM #14
-
12-31-2008, 05:37 PM #15
i find myself trying to explain this to young lifters frequently, funny how the only thing that really seems to get their attention is this part
"if you take AAS to young and you could end up with symptoms of andropause and HRT for life. Symptoms could be Limp dick, low libido..."
-
12-31-2008, 06:19 PM #16
-
12-31-2008, 06:42 PM #17
I would like to add how important sleep is to a healthy mind and body. IMHO its every bit as important as diet and training. 7-8 hours every single night.
-
12-31-2008, 06:58 PM #18
Yes sleep is a key component. It is the time where we rebuild muscle and natty release GH to make our gains.
-
01-02-2009, 12:53 AM #19New Member
- Join Date
- Dec 2008
- Posts
- 18
Good advice. Thank you.
-
02-04-2009, 04:41 AM #20
Back up to the top!
Great post as always Marcus!
-
02-05-2009, 03:46 AM #21
-
02-05-2009, 07:15 AM #22
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Scylla and Charybdis
- Posts
- 15,474
- Blog Entries
- 1
bump.
great post.
-
02-05-2009, 07:49 AM #23
I LOVE this POST !! YAAAY !!
I just wish I had known all of this before I rushed right into things and maybe I wouldnt be on TRT as of right now at 27.
Life is full of Trials and Tribulations and we learn from our past transgressions and mistakes !!
Oh well I love being on TRT !! But I wouldn't recommend this to people my age.. so listen up Younger peoples.... do it the right way... your MANHOOD will appreciate it later !!
-
02-05-2009, 08:33 AM #24
-
02-05-2009, 08:37 AM #25
Another great post Marcus...I also really appreciated your insight on frontloading as well!
Thanks!
-
02-05-2009, 08:46 AM #26
Great post for newbies!!!
-
02-05-2009, 09:05 AM #27
B
u
m
p
-
02-05-2009, 10:30 AM #28
Thank you !! Yah i messed myself up bad not knowing what I was doing when I was younger.. typical mistake ... taking DECA all by itself... what an idiot.. God was I dumb... now that I actually know pretty much everything you need to know.. Basics.. knowing everything that was involved in this post well being well versed like that gives me the knowledge to succeed and do well with how to do it CORRECTLY. And that is the most important thing.
-
02-08-2009, 09:21 PM #29
for the YOUNG newbies
-
02-28-2009, 04:50 AM #30
bump
-
03-04-2009, 10:01 PM #31
Great thread b to tha ump
-
03-04-2009, 10:08 PM #32Associate Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2008
- Posts
- 182
Great post and great read.
-
03-30-2009, 09:08 AM #33
Bump
-
03-30-2009, 09:30 AM #34
bump x 2
-
03-30-2009, 06:49 PM #35
to the top...
-
03-30-2009, 10:13 PM #36
Nice Summary
-
05-08-2009, 12:08 PM #37
Bump
-
05-19-2009, 11:08 AM #38
Newbies please read
-
05-19-2009, 11:12 AM #39
This is a Great Read. Everyone should Read.
-
05-19-2009, 12:20 PM #40
Nicely done Marcus! Now if someone could just hold down these young guys while we force feed them this great info.
Thread Information
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
First Test-E cycle in 10 years
11-11-2024, 03:22 PM in ANABOLIC STEROIDS - QUESTIONS & ANSWERS