First Cycle Outline

[Dunk]

Here is a great post that I came across from another site- some really great info, may be of use to some. I know the information in the post may be redundant, but nevertheless it is certainly useful. Please feel free to add your two cents should you feel you have something to suggest.

Dunk.

First Cycle - All You Need to Know

Here is what I think is a good starter cycle for just about anyone. Please feel free to add to this or comment as you wish. This is an open forum for educated members so I'd like your feedback. These are my own words, not taken from anywhere, so feel free to comment away.

*Note - If this is truly your first cycle experience, please read all the way through and watch the videos*

Part 1: The Cyle (Injection will be discussed later in the post)

Ingredients: Testosterone (Cypionate or Enanthate ), Dianabol 10mg tabs

Testosterone 500mg EW Weeks 1-10 (two 250mg shots per week)
Dianabol 30mg ED Weeks 1-4 (3 separate doses, 4-6 hours apart)

The first 4 weeks should be plenty of time to make great gains on Dbol . The first time I ever took dbol was at 25mg ED and I had awesome gains, so 30mg ED should be more than enough for a beginner. Also, that dose should be free of really painful back pumps for most people. By week 5 the Test should be reaching peak blood plasma levels and really kicking into gear.

Part 2: Protection & Maintenance

Ingredients: Arimidex or Exemestane and HCG

Aromatase Inhibitors (AI) - Use as needed when gyno starts to develop
Arimidex at 0.25mg to 0.5mg EOD and Exemestane at 12.5mg EOD or E3D

Testosterone and especially Dbol can cause male breast tissue to develop during the course of your cycle. This can be treated by using a suicide inhibibiting AI. This will actually stop the conversion to estrogen, thus limiting gyno growth. Nolvadex can also be used, but it merely blocks the receptor by occupying it and will not stop the aromatase process. You can run an AI throughout the cycle to help avoid getting gyno in the first place, but I choose not to because it can cause joint soreness and irritation if taken too often.

Part 2b: HCG

Ingredients: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)

HCG 250 IU Twice Weekly starting at week 4 or 5

I am a huge advocate of HCG. It mimics Leutenizing Hormone (LH) in the testes and will keep them from atrophying (shrinking), thus increasing the chances of full recovery for the Hypothalamic Pituitary Testicular Axis (HPTA).

HCG is administered most commonly through subcutaneous (subQ) injection with an insulin needle (slin pin). It comes as a lypholized powder and needs to b reconstituted with bacteriostatic water (bac water or bac). It's much easier than it sounds. SubQ injections are also much easier than the Intramuscular ones you will need to perform when injecting gear.

Here is a video on how to inject subcutaneously:


Part 3: Post Cycle Therapy (PCT)

Ingredients: HCG and Nolvadex and/or Clomid

For a 10 week cycle as such, 4 weeks of PCT can be recommended. I like to use a combination of the drugs Nolvadex (Nolva) and Clomid. However, beacuse of the half life of the Enanthate or Cypionate ester in the Testosterone, you must wait at least 3 weeks for your blood levels to drop below normal. At this point, your body will attempt a recovery of your suppressed HPTA. So, your PCT will start week 14.

In weeks 11-13 there will be no injections of any hormones. Blood plasma levels will peak somewhere in the middle of that time frame and then decline to the end. Herein lies the possibility of backloading a cycle with Testosterone propionate . However, I don't think it's necessary or appropriate for a new user to worry about doing this the first time around. Here is the HCG schedule for weeks 11-13:

Week 11: 250 IUs twice that week
Week 12: 250 IUs EOD
Week 13: 500 IUs EOD

*Note - DISCONTINUE use of HCG prior to commencing PCT

Week 14: 100mg Clomid ED and 40mg Nolva ED
Week 15: 100mg Colmid ED and 40mg Nolva ED
Week 16: 50mg Clomid ED and 20mg Nolva ED
Week 17: 50mg Clomid ED and 20mg Nolva ED

*Note - Either drug may be used alone, but I believe both used together are of greater value than either by itself

After week 17, if you've done everything correctly, you should be almost fully recovered. Your body may take a few more weeks to kick back into gear, but you should be well on your way.

At this point it is recommended that you give your body (and your endocrine system) some much needed time "off." Going by the book, you should take as much time off ans you spent on plus time for PCT. So, 13 weeks leading up to PCT plus 4 weeks of PCT equals 17 weeks off. On the 18th week off you can begin a new cycle if you wish to do so at this time. Many people take much less time off than is recommended, but to be on the safe side, this is what I recommend.

Needle selection and Injection

For most guys, a 23 to 25 guage needle thickness is perfect for injecting oil based AAS into the muscle. If you are of average BF% (15% to 20%) you will likely need a 1.5" needle length to get the job done in the glutes. For the shoulders, thighs, and ventroglute areas a 1" long needle will suffice.

Here is a good site that discusses different injection sites and techniques...

http://**************.com/

If you are drawing the oil from a vial, I always recommend using a different needle to draw and to inject. Use a 20 or 21 guage needle to draw, as it will be much easier than trying to draw with a 23g or 25g. Simply screw off the drawing needle and replace it with a fresh sterile injection needle. Pull the amount of air into the syringe that corresponds with the amount of oil you will draw out. Insert the needle into the vial, depress the plunger on the syringe to push the air inside. This will help you pull the oil out of the vial. This is much easier if you have the vial upside down.

Here is a video that discusses Intramuscular injections: Pay particular attention to the "aspiration" part. The only difference I would advise is that instead of taking "3-5 seconds" to inject, spread it out over 30 seconds or more. This will help to desrease injection soreness that may arise later on.



As a final note I would like to point out that this information is intended to educate you on the proper procedure for completing a successful cycle for the first time. However, it is not an authoritative guide for success. You alone determine the success of your cycle through your dedication to diet and training.

Prior to attmepting this cycle, you should have a number of solid training years under your belt, have your diet up to par, and be free from any injuries. AAS will increase your strength far more rapidly than when training naturally and this will put stress on your connective tissues. This is a terrible idea if you are aready suffering from an injury.

If this is the first thing you are reading about cycling AAS congratulations, you have more information than most people when starting their first cycle. HOWEVER, there is still more research to be done.

1. Know what side effects to expect from each drug and how to deal with them
2. What to do if something goes awry
3. Always have all of your gear (including PCT items) in hand before you start the cycle
4. Research testosterone esters and their "half-lives"
5. Feel like you're more than ready when you start
6. This is no joke....you simply can't half ass it and have even decent results

**IMPORTANT**
As a side note, you probably WILL NOT find a reliable source right out of the gate. Trust me, this is for the better. It will force you to get invloved in forums discussing AAS and you will learn more everyday and meet great people. Somewhere down the road (hopefully sooner than later) you will find a reliable source. The number one rule you should follow is never ask anyone directly for a new source (or on the open forum for that matter) that you don't personally know. They are either going to ignore, cuss you out, or scam you. Any way you look at it, not a good proposition.

[Ernst]

Nowhere do I see the name of the author. Did you have permission to use this? Lots of write-ups out there, and while most people write theirs for the benefit of all not everyone wants theirs leaving the site it was written for. Something to keep in mind.

[xeroxy]

There is some pretty poor advice in there (whoever wrote it) the HCG protocol could be be much better and there is never a need to use more than 20mg of nolva.
As for being fully recovered by week 17 that is just utter rubbish, PCT does not recover normal HPTA function, it helps towards the recovery which can take weeks or months after PCT has finished. Anyone who has cycled and had relevant blood tests done will attest to that.

[Flier]

There is some pretty poor advice in there (whoever wrote it) the HCG protocol could be be much better and there is never a need to use more than 20mg of nolva.
As for being fully recovered by week 17 that is just utter rubbish, PCT does not recover normal HPTA function, it helps towards the recovery which can take weeks or months after PCT has finished. Anyone who has cycled and had relevant blood tests done will attest to that.

How would you make the HCG protocol better?

[Tigershark]

He has been banned anyway.