Considering going on cycle

[ab14]

Hey guys - I wanted to first thank every one here for all the information that is on this site. I have been reading this site off and on for several years (in conjunction with some other sources) to give my self a decent knowledge about AAS.

I had a few questions and I was hoping that some more experienced/knowledgeable members could help me out.

I have always had a healthy respect for AAS and never believed the media hype/BS about them, but never really got serious enough in my training to go for a cycle.

I have been an and off/on again weight lifter for several years, about 4+ years ago when I got much more serious with lifting and got my diet under control for a while I went on a testosterone only cycle - but only got about 4 weeks in to it. The reaction it had to my body was AMAZING. I had no side effects that I could see and my strength gains were beyond any thing that I expected.

Due to some things that happened in my personal life though I had to put my training on hold and eventually fell off from working out - long story short I ended up gaining a huge amount of weight and getting fat over a period of about 2 1/2 - 3 years. I ballooned up to 285 pounds at 6'1.

Any way over the last year and a half I have been working out and regulating my diet and have come down to about 205 pounds.

Currently I am 28 years old, stand at about 6 foot 1 and weigh about 205 pounds. I don't know what my body fat % is, ive never bothered to measure it with calipers, and I understand that scales are not accurate.

I have body fat, I dont know how much exactly, but if I were to venture to guess I would guess its some where around 17-18% (may be less) I have fairly well defined arms and shoulders, but I still have a gut, some fat on my back, and some fat on my chest. I have very little fat on my legs though and they are pretty sold.

I have my diet in check, especially the last 4 months or so (where I have seen the best results).

I am cutting at 1800+ calories, and I consume 200+ grams of protein a day. I get a decent amount of carbs/healthy fats as well. ( avocados/cottage cheese/lots of veggies - broccoli/kale/spinach etc).

I take a few supplements - flax seed oil/cod liver oil/multi vitamin/chlorella/spirulina - daily.

I feel very good about my diet and I have been able to stick with it for about 4 months now with out faltering.

I have also dialed in my training to 3x a week (doing compound lifts) get plenty of sleep and rest, and I do some (minimal cardio).

I am also currently on an EC stack (in my 3rd week).

Now - I am considering doing a cycle of AAS. I would like to list out my goals first and foremost, and then my concerns.

My goal:

Maintain as much muscle mass as I can while cutting down. I would like to cut down to around 185 pounds (20 pounds from where I am now) and I would like to be around 10-12% body fat when I get there). I am not looking to put on allot of mass.

I am trying to cut down slower than I have been, I plan to up my calorie intake to slow down the cut, so I can lessen muscle loss.

I wanted to take a cycle to help me maintain my current muscle mass - with out retaining too much water weight or having adverse effects.


My concerns:

- Since I am still some what over weight - I am very concerned about side effects. How serious of a concern would that be for some one in my position?

I am scared shitless of getting gyno breasts.


I have some gear that a friend of mine had from back in the day when I was doing my test cycle. Ive never touched it, its just been sitting there. Its been stored in a cool/dry place - but it is old. It was manufactured back in 2006.

Is equipose 200 - i have about 9 200mg bottles. I have attached a photo as I am not sure how legit it is, and I am semi concerned over the manufacturing date.

If i go forward with this cycle my plan would be to take this EQ at 200mg a week and suppliment with test as well (how much I am not 100% sure - i figure some thing around 300mg a week). I know this is a very low dosage of both EQ and Test - but my goals arnt really mass gains, mostly muscle retention, if i got some muscle gain tough- I would not complain.

Due to the fat that I have I want to make sure i take a good AI. I know there are different ways to combat this, looking at Mick Hart's laymens guide to steroids - he swears by Nolvadex through out a cycle to stop estrogen effects - is it effective as he says? Is there better stuff out there?

I know this is a long post, huge thanks in advance to any one who will take the time to read this and respond.

[Euroholic]

Keep working on your diet and cardio and wait. And when you get below 15% just start a simple test only cycle. You can use armidex as your ai and tamox and clomid as your pct. hcg is not a must but it is a good idea. Take your pick of a 8 week prop or a 12 week e/c cycle.

And dont stress about gyno. Ive had it. Plastic surgery took care of it.

[Cuz]

bullshit, DO stress about gyno and cycle properly. Take an AI, HCG , and proper pct. first cycle test at 500mg a week. that's it, all you need i don't know how old you are but you need to be over 25 to do it right and safely know you are through growing.. plenty of "my first cycle threads" on here. Didn't read your whole post, too long and don't have time at the moment but i will get back.. good luck.

[Euroholic]

bullshit, DO stress about gyno and cycle properly. Take an AI, HCG, and proper pct. first cycle test at 500mg a week. that's it, all you need i don't know how old you are but you need to be over 25 to do it right and safely know you are through growing.. plenty of "my first cycle threads" on here. Didn't read your whole post, too long and don't have time at the moment but i will get back.. good luck.

Why stress about gyno? If you control your e2 youl be right and if you dont just cut your glands out. Nothing to stress about there.

[Cuz]

not everybody has your money to go get plastic surgery euro, I agree he should control e2, bit ur statement contradicts itself. control e2 but dont worry about gyno? doesnt make sense.

[Euroholic]

not everybody has your money to go get plastic surgery euro, I agree he should control e2, bit ur statement contradicts itself. control e2 but dont worry about gyno? doesnt make sense.

Correct!!! Just contriol your e2 and you wont get steroid induced gyno. Its so simple nothing to stress about tho. Just pop a pill ed or eod and youl be fine. Get a simple blood test. Take some ralo if you get a small lump but worst come to worst theres always surgery. So all im saying is gyno is nothing to stress about...

[kelkel]

AB14 hell of a first post! Welcome to the forum. In my opinion, based on the goals you mentioned, you don't really need AAS at this time to achieve them. You simply need more time focusing on your diet / cardio, etc. I really don't see the need to risk your health with AAS to lose weight. Why don't you visit the Nutrition forum here and work with the guru's to tweak your diet and/or training to more quickly get where you want to be. Pretty much free nutritionists waiting for you.

Good luck! Tour the rest of the forums, read, contribute, learn, pay it forward.

[fit2bOld]

Yeah welcome AB14. Kel is spot on. You may just want to get rid of the EQ as it is pretty much a waste of time and money. Creatine is a better value.
Keep working the nutrition and also visit our nutrition forum.

[Igifuno]

Agreed.. You'll want to get an accurate measure of your bf% and make certain you're no more than 15% before starting. Great job on the weight loss.. hats off to you there.

With respect to controling E2, there are many more prevelant things you'll need to worry about then just gyno. I'll post a link momentarily to help you understand.

I don't like the EQ dose you proposed, and with more research, you'll understand why. EQ does not get a lot of love these days anyhow. If you are going to run it, you'll want to do so at 6-800mg/wk. But I also would not use the gear from 2006. Chances are its lost a lot of its potency over the past couple years.

Stick around and continue to reasearch, more importantly, continue your training and I'm sure you'll be ready in due time. Best of luck and again, welcome!

[Igifuno]

The Dangers of Elevated Estrogen in Men

[ab14]

Thanks allot for all the replies guys, you have given me allot to think about.

I feel it would be best to wait a little bit before I consider jumping on to AAS.

I want to accelerate my performance and my results, but patience is a virtue for sure.