question about if i'm ready to cycle

Whats up guys. I've been working out since I was 14. I'm almost 23 now. I got serious 2 years ago, and have been working out consistantly 5 times a week for the past year and a half. I started competiting naturally in May. I'm bulking now. My diet averages 230-250 grams of protein day and I usually get about 3300 calories a day. I eat 6 times a day(every 2.5-3 hours). I was just wondering what you guys think if I would be ready to start a cycle. I also put on some of my contest pics from my show. I just wanted to know what you guys think? Thanks

Lifting Stats(max)
Bench-300lbs
Squat-420lbs
Deadlift-505lbs
Bodystats

contest / offseason
height 5'9" / 5'9"
weight 161 / 200
bf 4-5ish% / 13.5%

well..... 1st off - congrats on competing! Takes guts to get up on stage like that.... and you look good!

Only you can say if you are ready to start using aas. The "general rule of thumb" around here is to wait until one is 24/25 years old - most people here are not going to be competing tho. You have to evaluate where you are, where you want to be, and when you want to be there..... only you can make the decision to start.

You have come to the right place though. There is a ton of information here and there are quite a few guys here that do compete and are willing to help out. Stick around and learn.... and maybe even help out with competition and diet info!

Welcome to the board,

~Haz~

Man great body you need to do something else with your hair. Maybe style it in a different way. You would have looked alot better with a better hair style

nice pics. good job on competing.

as hazard said most say wait til 25 because of hpta/endocrine function. plus most havent trained hard enough long enough, however you have.

i say you are borderline age wise. my question to you is are you ready to take the step? you obviously have been thinking about it so you ready to take the plunge? done your research? know what you want to accomplish? off season bulk, precontest prep? if youre not sure then i say take time and do more research first. if you know then go for it.

Thanks alot guys. I've decided to stay natural for at least another year or two. I feel even though I'm fairly ectomorphic there is still alot more muscle to put on my frame naturally. I want to get my deadlift to over 600lbs, squat over 500lbs, and bench over 350lbs. I would like to be an IFBB pro and I've noticed the best pros were also great naturals like Kai Greene. I plan to try to be like a sponge and soak up as much info as possible. Thanks guys for the input