First Cycle. Lurked the forums for awhile. My goals and stats below

[Xilo]

First, a little about me. I've read quite a bit about what many steroids do (and have seen the effects from numerous buddies at the gym on them) I watch them grow and shrink because they just take things all "willy nilly". I want to do this right. I've read about side effects and PCT. I've also read just about all I can take of the stickies.

I am 31 years old, 5'8" 189 lbs. 16% BF. I have been lifting for years.. all through High school, college, while in the Marines. A few breaks here or there but mainly in the gym. I can cut and get down in the 170s with very low body fat and look great, I can let my diet go or watch my diet and bulk... However for the last 2 years I decided to just bulk and see how strong I can get. ( Ive done this numerous times over the years and never getting any much stronger than this.) I feel like Im at my natural peak..

my bench is 325, squat 380. (some days Ill just throw on 225 and rep it till I die if my back is bothering me)I do not dead anymore and wont go any heavier on squats. Two pinch nerves in my back and couple disks messed up (from the Marines mostly, but probably due to bad form in high school who knows). Im comfortable with 380 on squats to keep my form and my back in good shape. I stopped doing deads 3 years ago and wont go back to them either.

I take everything that is recc. Ive read so many things.. BCAAs Glut etc you name it. I understand how fat is important in a diet etc. Dont want to spike insulin levels etc... its just no matter how hard I try I never get any stronger than what Im at.

Sorry for the wall of text but Im just trying to answer some questions that you pro gear users might ask. This will be my first cycle... I plan on ordering ASAP. I have my blood test coming up in a week (which I only get every other year) for my job. After that its on.

my goals:

Gain strength/mass without alot of water weight. However I dont want to look like crap come summer. I want to stay away from Dbol etc. Would prefer only inject because of liver. (although it will be my first time ever sticking myself with a needle. They dont bother me really so I guess Im just worried most about hurting myself by hitting something)

what ive been thinking of ordering:

Test-E as a base.. cant really think of anything else.... maybe arimidex and some good PCT. Nolvadex? Clomid?

I honestly have no idea how to cycle it all etc. I def want to prevent gynocomastia. I also want my body to produce test naturally after my cycle. If I gain enough strength I am happy with I will consider another cycle for strength or right to cut.

Truly appreciate the time anyone takes out of their schedule to help a gear noob out. Ive waited until Im in my 30s to do it, hoping it pays off.

edit: I recently had a cortisone injection for my back. If cortisone is bad to mix with anabolics I wont get my next one.

[jasc]

Welcome to the board mate.. cheers for doing a lot of research before posting.

An ideal first cycle would be something like:

Test E or C 350-500mg/wk for 10-12 weeks (1/2 dose E3.5D)
I prefer prop because of less water retention/sides from the shorter ester and I like pinning daily, but many beginners chose E or C due to less frequent injections.

AI: Either Aromasin or Armidex, should be taken EOD for the duration of the cycle. This will prevent gyno/minimize sides and will keep estrogen levels within a normal range.

PCT: Will be started 2 weeks after last test shot, 3 days if you choose prop. Nolvadex and Clomid or Torem should be used for 4-6 wks.

You may also want to look in to HCG. Pin 250 iu 2x a week during cycle to prevent testicular shutdown/shrinkage.

[gearbox]

agree with above...but I do not like pinning ed or eod, so I chose test e...but everyone is different.. good luck

[Xilo]

Thanks for the responses so far guys really appreciate it. Especially the detailed post jasc. You say 350 - 500 mg a week. With Test E should I cycle that up and down? Or just pretty much same dosage throughout the course of the cycle because of the way it works? Ive also read a few things today referencing some people starting PCT 2 weeks before the end of the cycle. And just to understand you correctly, your saying Arimidex every other day? So would that be 1mg every other day?

One more question reference the nolvadex and clomid for dosage. I found info for nolvadex but not when you take both. Do I need both and if so should I match the same dosage for the clomid that I use with nolvadex?
nolvadex:
Week
1: 40mg every day Week
2: 40mg every day Week
3: 20mg every day Week
4: 20mg every day

[gixxerboy1]

Thanks for the responses so far guys really appreciate it. Especially the detailed post jasc. You say 350 - 500 mg a week. With Test E should I cycle that up and down? Or just pretty much same dosage throughout the course of the cycle because of the way it works? Ive also read a few things today referencing some people starting PCT 2 weeks before the end of the cycle. And just to understand you correctly, your saying Arimidex starting from day1 of cycle and EOD?

keep the dose the same throughout the cycle
arimdex during cycle eod to control estrogen while on
You still need nolva and clomid for pct. With test e you start pct 2 weeks after last injection

[Brohim]

If you want to regain natty test levels after make sure you take HCG

[Xilo]

Ill look into the HCG as well. I know nothing about that yet. I also edited my post above with questions about dosing of pct and arimidex. Thanks again!

[Xilo]

Well I looked into the HCG. Above said during cycle and some sites say after cycle during PCT. Others say in between cycle and PCT. So yea... can the HCG hinder the Test-E at all? Im finding differing dosing recc too. Need help with that and the clomid dosing combined with the nolva. Also the Arimidex. .25mg every other day?(not sure to mirror the nolva dosing or not) and then Im set guys

[Xilo]

Alright well I think I got it all straightened out. I thank anyone who participated! Ill do a brief overview of my plan before I click order. (im not ordering through my boy at the gym b/c well his prices are high and I dont want to tell people just yet)

weeks
1-12 - Test-E 500mg/wk.(250mg on mon&thurs)
1-16 - Arimidex .25 mg EOD (If I see gyno a factor for me. I might increase dosage.)

2 weeks after last test shot = PCT
Nolvadex 4 weeks = 40/40/20/20 ED
Clomid 4 weeks = 100/50/50/50 ED

Planning on using 21g 1" to pull and 23g 1.5" for glut or 1" if I rotate elsewhere

Thats pretty much it. I was undecided on running Arimidex all the way through or not... but from what I read it seemed sufficient. I also took the advice of jasc above about the 2 weeks with test-e before starting PCT. Ive read some places that people start right away and other places its better to wait because of the life of test-e. The second part seemed logical to me so I went with that.

Ive decided to skip out on the HCG just because I have too many questions/concerns about it.. and I figure this cycle will let me know how my body reacts to the test. I would really love to be repping for sets of 10 what I currently do for 5. But... well see. Already got my diet dialed in, vitamins, and supplements. Here goes force feeding myself!