First cycle ever. Need help.

[sjamal1023]

Hi everyone.
I've been lifting for about 6-7 years now. I could confidently say that i am pretty strong for my height weight and age. 5'10" 200 lbs. 23 years old. My issue is that i stopped playing sports and rapidly gained body fat. (I used to weigh around 178.) I was never really that big muscular wise because i always had to gain and cut weight so frequently fro MMA and wrestling. But since i stopped, my physique has gone down the shitter. I went from that 178 to 190 in muscle mass from lifting heavy and taking in plenty of protein and creatine. But, my body fat rose up steadily and now i weigh 200 lbs. (sucks so bad.) So, recently i have been looking into steroids for bulking purposes. I want to gain as much muscle as possible before i start cutting and doing cardio again. I am looking to transform my body with hard work and dedication no matter how long it takes. I want to make it clear- I AM NOT TAKING STEROIDS AS A SHORTCUT. I AM MERELY USING THEM AS A HELPFUL TOOL TO AID MY HARD WORK AND NEW PROPER DIET. I know they're not magical and will not do everything for me, but I do know they will help. Also, I plan on going into bodybuilding so it could only help.
So, my goals are to gain muscle. But at the same time, i'd like to lose body fat because i am no longer comfortable with how much i have. (it's honestly ridiculous.) So, my friend advised me to use Test E and my post will be Nolva. What I want to know is this, how long should my cycle be? I hear 12 weeks is optimal. I was wondering if a half cycle is okay (around 6 weeks.) Also, should I be doing cardio while on Test E? Will it actually help that much or will it hinder my gains? I'd really appreciate any information you can give me. I've heard several answers here on the forums to these questions but would like honest opinions from users with experience. I really appreciate it guys, thanks. Also, diet info and training frequency info would be great. Thanks.
Here's some info on me.
5'10"
200 lbs.
Lifting 6-7 years
Bodyfat is on the higher end. Don't know exactly but i will update it ASAP.
max bench- 315
max squat- 405
max deadlift-455

Any info would be great. For now, I'm going to research the forums and other websites till i pass out.

[songdog]

You should wait until you are at least 25.Until then work on your diet they will help you with this in the diet section.

[BBrian]

Since you quit fighting, the key here is that you have stopped performing what should be considered to be extreme cardio. If you replaced fighting with some serious cardio workouts, you probably would not have gained much if any body fat. Like songdog stated, you should wait until you are 25 to start using anabolics, but that is obviously at your discretion and we all end up doing what we decide to do, hopefully based on an educated conclusion, regardless of other's objective opinions. So, as far cardio on testosterone, I would highly recommend it. You simply need to ensure that you replace the extra calories you're burning in contrast to resistance training. And as for length, I also recommend going a full 12 weeks with an ester as long as enanthate, because it takes several weeks to begin seeing and feeling the full benefits of the test in the first place. If you were to use suspension or propionate instead, you would see far more gains in a mere six week period of use. Reading your post, it's seems that burning fat is your primary concern, so again, I highly recommend doing cardio while on a cycle. The test will simply allow you to work much harder and in doing so, burn more fat than without the test.

[sjamal1023]

Thanks a lot for the concern for the age songdog and thank you thank you thank you for pointing me in the direction of the diet section it has great info.

BBrian, thanks a lot for tall that info its all so great. But of course, it raises questions. I know i ask too many questions but this is a big step for me. So, first and foremost, thank you all for the information it means a lot for the help.
Anyways, about the fat burning, yes it is important to me but it's not my primary concern. Building a great body is my concern. So, building muscle mass is just as important. I was hoping the steroids will help with this because cutting supplements like oxyel*te and shredmatr*x just tear through my muscle and when im off of them, my body forces me to yo yo back up, regardless of how good my diet is. So, would the test e actually help burn this body fat? And how much cardio do i need?
Next up, can i use suspension or propionate by themselves without test?
Next question, so will 6 weeks really not do anything for me? Or will it be sufficient for someone like me who's never used steroids before.

Thank you guys.

[BBrian]

Too many questions is a good thing. Let me answer some of your questions out of order though;
Suspension, Propionate, and Enanthate are all testosterones. The difference is the ester they contain. The amount of ester in testosterone regulates how long it takes for the testosterone to be completely absorbed into your bloodstream. Do yourself a big favor and read extensively over the steroid profiles on this site, as well as the sections in the forums outlining cycles, workouts, diet, etc. Notice how some of these words are underlined and blue? Just click on them to get started. You can get a slightly different opinion from each of us on these threads, but it would be far more beneficial to read over the in-depth material already available on this website. But on a side note, to answer "would the test e actually help burn this body fat?", the answer is yes, but for different reasons. One, because you are able to exercise much harder. Two, because of the consequences of your body being in a heightened anabolic and androgenic state. At any rate, again, I suggest just stopping right here and instead begin reading the great information already available here.

[Sgt. Hartman]

Aside from being too young, you really need to do a lot more research on steroids before starting a cycle. Propionate is an ester that the testosterone is attached to and suspension is testosterone with no ester, but both are testosterone. You shouldn't run a test E cycle for 6 weeks because the enanthate ester is a long ester so you will not see any results for about 4 weeks or more.

I'm glad you found the nutrition section, I look forward to seeing you start a thread to get your diet ironed out as that will be the biggest factor in achieving your goals. You need to focus on either gaining muscle mass or losing body fat, not both at the same time. If your BF% is as high as you say it is then you need to plan a diet to drop body fat while retaining as much LBM as possible. Think of it as starting over with a clean slate. Then once your BF is at an acceptable range you can change your diet and increase your calories to run a lean bulk, ie. gaining muscle while minimizing fat gain. If you were to try to bulk now with a high BF%, you would not be happy with the results. Your new muscle would still be covered in fat and you would just look like a larger version of what you do now.

Good luck and get that thread started in the nutrition forum.

[The Bear 79]

Ur not 23, ur 19 (let me guess......."typo" right....) Lieing bout ur age will only get u hurt & tarnish ur credibility & integrity. Hav u done any research on the effects of AAS on the undeveloped Endocrine & HPTA?

[sjamal1023]

No i really am 23. I just dont like to put my actual DOB into these things. It feels unsafe. But regardless, I know you guys would have to know my age and other info if i were to ask for help. Sorry about the mix up Bear.
But, regardless of even if i was 25, it seems most users here are against the use of steroids at my age. It's starting to make me regret it. And, yes, i really do take the warnings to heart. It seems as if diet is the one thing that matters to you guys and i guess the reason i never had the body i wanted was because i never had mine in check. I am starting to seriously reconsider steroids. So for now, it's back to the drawing boards and looking into how to improve my diet first and foremost. It just gets incredibly confusing and frustrating, because i put incredibly hard work into the gym but only gain strength and nothing to show for it physically. Bear, I will look into the effects on the endocrine system anyways just because i know even at my age, i could be still growing. Hartman, i agree that maybe i do need more information before i start this. i really dont want to do this irresponsibly and would MUCH rather do it naturally. Any info and direction would help guys. All i really know and what i have been doing is this- take protein once or twice a day, workout really hard, and my diet is just chaos. Thanks guys. And again sorry for the mixup bear i'll change that if it makes a difference to the users.