Is 22 to young?

[chuck2600]

I've been lifting for 18 months without missing a single workout with maybe 1 year of inconsistant lifting since I was 16. My prs are bench 315X6 touch chest on the smith machine, deadlift 455X4 squat 325X6. I'm 6'2" 217 mabye 16% bf (I have a faint 4 pack). If I do in fact plan on going through with it I plan on running test E for 10 weeks with a proper pct. I still have allot to learn so it woudn't be for a while.

[TheClinch]

sounds to me like you are on the right track. You may still be a little too young so it would be better to wait another couple years before using AAS. I have included an article written by Marcus300 explaining why.

You could work on your bf% right now that would be a greatgoal to set while waiting for your hormonal system to mature.

Keep reading and contributing around here, you will learn a lot.

The young and Steroids

Due to the recent number of PM's ive been receiving regarding age and steroids I thought i'd write this thread to try and help some of our younger members. Ive also been having a conversation with my Endocrinologist who may give a more profession opinion on the subject:

There isn't an exact age were we all stop developing and growing because this is determined by our genes and DNA, we are all genetically programmed individually and we inherit our genes from our parents. To give an exact age we stop growing would be incorrect because everyone's genetic blueprint is different.The main development of our bodies is up to the age of 21yrs of age but this can vary between individuals. There are parts of our bodies what carry on developing and adjusting slowly up until the age of 25yrs old, an example of this is the brain. The Endocrine system is a part of the brain what is very complex and keeps our bodies in a homeostasis state. Our testosterone levels start raising and roughly peak around 25yrs old and then start to slowly decline, so even though some of us may have stopped growing at the age of 21yrs old, others may still be developing up until the age of 25yrs old.

I have recently spoken to my Endo regarding this matter and he tells me that the HPTA is very sensitive and as many pathways how it regulates the human body, he states steroids disrupt the normal balance of hormones in the body which can cause reversible and irreversible changes at any age but risks are far more if you administrate exogenous androgens during development, this will put you in a very unnatural environment at a crucial time and your hormones should be treated with care especially in the early stages of maturity. The adverse effects can be erratic behaviour of the HPTA and potentially therapy when your older.

I did ask him what age he would think would be the safest as far as risk to damages and he said many endocrinologist suggest full maturation is reached by 25 years of age and this would also give the HPTA time to be established with your natural hormone balance and patterns. I personally feel 24-25yrs old would also be ideal starting point to get bloodwrok drawn to see exact what your natural levels are before starting any kind of cycles and waiting till you have reach your testosterone peak would be a good starting point, for me there is to much evidence over the forums and what I've seen personally over the last 25yrs I've been bodybuilding . Obviously it isn't going to be all 19- 21yr old bodybuilders who suffer side effects what are irreversible but I am edging on the side of caution what age I advice to the newbies.
Marcus

[chuck2600]

Is there anything wrong with just running Test E?

[chuck2600]

Also I was thinking about getting up to 225-230 before I cut in Jan. Everytime I start to cut I feel to small and bulk I feel to fat, I think not sticking with just one goal for a long period of time has been the biggest factor in not optimizing my progress. This time around I'm focused on finishing my 8 month bulk.

[ScotchGuard02]

Chuck, Marcus300 has written many post about taking AAS too young. One of them are posted above. You should listen to Marcus300 he knows his stuff.

[Vullfromsc]

22 is too young by many people's standards, but it really depends on the individual.. if you have been done growing since you were 16 years old and stopped maturing at the same time you are PROBABLY good.. but if you have been growing and maturing still within the last year, you should strongly consider waiting a year or two longer.

the bottom line is to not let impatience make the decision for you

[cb714]

Most people will say you're too young but your stats are definitely going in the right direction. How about this bro? Make a goal for yourself like cut down to 10% bf, hit a certain weight and size first. Once you hit those goals you will probably be turning 24. At that point go for it. The consensus here is that 25 is the magic number. With that said,everyone is different. Just try to stick to the closest you can to 25 because you never really know when your system stops developing.

Good luck bro.

[chuck2600]

I've grown about 1/5" since I was 16 if that's any indication of anything but on the other had I've had new body hair appear since I was about 18 (upper chest, then onwards to upper then lower back feelsbad)

[songdog]

Bro cant you read! AAS can mess you up.But its your body.