Critique for first Test E cycle

[titans2857]

Hello gurus,

I am planning for my first Test E cycle, have been gathering information, knowledge and hoping for further guidance for a successful cycle. I am posting the details below, please provide your critique:

Male, 33 years old (married, have 1.5 year old kid)
5' 7" tall
66kg
17-18% BF(guessetimate) - working on to reduce further.

This will be my first 12 week cycle.
Training exp: 4+ years, 2+years real hard and where I am really seeing some results
Goal: Add approx 5Kg muscle if possible, not to much concerned with BF since I am ectomorph and can easily get rid of it.
Workout: I have been training 4 times a week for a long time with progressive overload, for cycle I am either thinking to continue the same for first 6 weeks and push/pull/legs (6 times a week) for last 6 weeks or start with push/pull/legs(3 on 1 off) and last 6 weeks(6 on 1 off)
Diet: Usualy I am on par with my Diet, cook my own meals(4 solid, 1 shake, 1 casein+greek), track all the macros on MFP, currently consuming arrpox 2400, but for cycle I am thinking to start with 2700/2800 and increase 50-100 calories each week.

Proposed cycle:
Week 1 to 12: Test E 300mg per week. (150mg twice weekly)
Week 1 to 12: hCG @ 250IU twice weekly
Week 1 to 14: Anastrozole @ 0.25mg every other day

PCT:
Week 16: Clomiphene @75mg & Tamoxifen 40mg
Week 17-19: Clomiphene @50mg & Tamoxifen 20mg

Let me know what you think. Attaching pictures to show my base.



Thank you very much.

~Titans~

[Windex]

Hello gurus,

I am planning for my first Test E cycle, have been gathering information, knowledge and hoping for further guidance for a successful cycle. I am posting the details below, please provide your critique:

Male, 33 years old (married, have 1.5 year old kid)
5' 7" tall
66kg
17-18% BF(guessetimate) - working on to reduce further.

This will be my first 12 week cycle.
Training exp: 4+ years, 2+years real hard and where I am really seeing some results
Goal: Add approx 5Kg muscle if possible, not to much concerned with BF since I am ectomorph and can easily get rid of it.
Workout: I have been training 4 times a week for a long time with progressive overload, for cycle I am either thinking to continue the same for first 6 weeks and push/pull/legs (6 times a week) for last 6 weeks or start with push/pull/legs(3 on 1 off) and last 6 weeks(6 on 1 off)
Diet: Usualy I am on par with my Diet, cook my own meals(4 solid, 1 shake, 1 casein+greek), track all the macros on MFP, currently consuming arrpox 2400, but for cycle I am thinking to start with 2700/2800 and increase 50-100 calories each week.

Proposed cycle:
Week 1 to 12: Test E 300mg per week. (150mg twice weekly)
Week 1 to 12: hCG @ 250IU twice weekly
Week 1 to 14: Anastrozole @ 0.25mg every other day

PCT:
Week 16: Clomiphene @75mg & Tamoxifen 40mg
Week 17-19: Clomiphene @50mg & Tamoxifen 20mg

Let me know what you think. Attaching pictures to show my base.



Thank you very much.

~Titans~

- drop another 3% body fat before cycling

- bloodwork before cycling

- should post a detailed meal plan beyond what you've stated. A shake as a meal is bad and "solid" is a very loose term to describe a meal.

- Pictures are dark so either you are way off your body fat % or don't know how to eat properly because 145lbs @ 17-18% is a red flag. Get calipers or dexa scan to track your body fat %

- you are light weight and still have quite a bit of room to gain weight. Without feeding the body properly you are going to lose all you've gained after PCT

- test up to 400 or 500mg per week

- buy pharmagrade for all ancilliaries. Ideally test being pharmagrade would be ideal but ugl is fine

- 5kg of muscle is not a realistic goal. 4-5 lbs of muscle with a 2-3% drop in body fat is more attainable. The scale might go up 5,7 or 9kg but it's going to be a combination of water/bloat, fat and muscle. I would recommend checking out member pictures or finding people at given weight+body fat so you get a better idea of what a physique looks like. Setting realistic goals is important not only to avoid disappointment but as a tool accurately track progress.


Between diet, blood work, and ordering gear you are probably 8-12weeks before being ready to cycle. You should focus on diet and gain another 8-12kg before considering cycling

[Arcânn]

Just looking at the cycle itself, it looks good, although I'd probably do 350mg/week Test E at the bare minimum. I plan on doing 350-500 but I'm still at least a couple weeks from starting, myself.

You could consider taking low dose nolvadex , 10mg/day, just in case you might be gyno prone or have the wrong dose of AI. You won't really know for sure until you get your bloodwork done anyway so it couldn't hurt but that's optional. I plan on doing that as well.

[fit_deskjocky]

For first cycle go 400 or 500, depending on the mg of your test. If 250mg/ml it makes it easier and more consistent blood levels to use 1ml, 2x a week. Other than that with anciliaries all looks good. Hopefully your diet is on point and have a good lifting plan. Without either the gear won't do shit and you'll gain more unwanted BF

[titans2857]

- drop another 3% body fat before cycling

- bloodwork before cycling

- should post a detailed meal plan beyond what you've stated. A shake as a meal is bad and "solid" is a very loose term to describe a meal.

- Pictures are dark so either you are way off your body fat % or don't know how to eat properly because 145lbs @ 17-18% is a red flag. Get calipers or dexa scan to track your body fat %

- you are light weight and still have quite a bit of room to gain weight. Without feeding the body properly you are going to lose all you've gained after PCT

- test up to 400 or 500mg per week

- buy pharmagrade for all ancilliaries. Ideally test being pharmagrade would be ideal but ugl is fine

- 5kg of muscle is not a realistic goal. 4-5 lbs of muscle with a 2-3% drop in body fat is more attainable. The scale might go up 5,7 or 9kg but it's going to be a combination of water/bloat, fat and muscle. I would recommend checking out member pictures or finding people at given weight+body fat so you get a better idea of what a physique looks like. Setting realistic goals is important not only to avoid disappointment but as a tool accurately track progress.


Between diet, blood work, and ordering gear you are probably 8-12weeks before being ready to cycle. You should focus on diet and gain another 8-12kg before considering cycling

- drop another 3% body fat before cycling

- bloodwork before cycling

- should post a detailed meal plan beyond what you've stated. A shake as a meal is bad and "solid" is a very loose term to describe a meal.

- Pictures are dark so either you are way off your body fat % or don't know how to eat properly because 145lbs @ 17-18% is a red flag. Get calipers or dexa scan to track your body fat %

- you are light weight and still have quite a bit of room to gain weight. Without feeding the body properly you are going to lose all you've gained after PCT

- test up to 400 or 500mg per week

- buy pharmagrade for all ancilliaries. Ideally test being pharmagrade would be ideal but ugl is fine

- 5kg of muscle is not a realistic goal. 4-5 lbs of muscle with a 2-3% drop in body fat is more attainable. The scale might go up 5,7 or 9kg but it's going to be a combination of water/bloat, fat and muscle. I would recommend checking out member pictures or finding people at given weight+body fat so you get a better idea of what a physique looks like. Setting realistic goals is important not only to avoid disappointment but as a tool accurately track progress.


Between diet, blood work, and ordering gear you are probably 8-12weeks before being ready to cycle. You should focus on diet and gain another 8-12kg before considering cycling

Thank you for useful guidance, appreciate it.

- I'll go for blood work, once decided to start as I am still in planning and in no rush to start.

- I just guessed on the BF%, not 100% sure. I will try to go for Dexa scan here, attaching another clear picture for a rough gauge.


- I have Test and all the ancillaries on hand, all are pharma grade. (Test E are 250mg ampule, i got 30) but still wants to run 300mg after watching JP's video, lol. Only waiting for BAC water, will recevied in 1 to 2 weeks.

- Attaching my current sample meal plan, as I was trying to lean down a bit before cycle:


- I can increase my calories again to gain more weight but i'll end getting a bit more fat than i am currently.

[Windex]

Thank you for useful guidance, appreciate it.

- I'll go for blood work, once decided to start as I am still in planning and in no rush to start.

- I just guessed on the BF%, not 100% sure. I will try to go for Dexa scan here, attaching another clear picture for a rough gauge.


- I have Test and all the ancillaries on hand, all are pharma grade. (Test E are 250mg ampule, i got 30) but still wants to run 300mg after watching JP's video, lol. Only waiting for BAC water, will recevied in 1 to 2 weeks.

- Attaching my current sample meal plan, as I was trying to lean down a bit before cycle:


- I can increase my calories again to gain more weight but i'll end getting a bit more fat than i am currently.

No clue who JP is but running Test barely above TRT is a waste of time. People who are deficit in Testosterone receive up to 200mg per week, so shutting down your natural testosterone production for 300mg is not effective in a risk/reward analysis. 300mg of Test gives you the same level of risk as 400mg or 500mg of Testosterone. All 3 doses will require an AI, HCG , and PCT. Despite steroids having a ceiling for maximum doses, there is also a floor for minimum doses to be effective relative to the risk.

Running 300mg of Testosterone per week as a standalone cycle is the equivalent of going to Honda, and seeing a brand new 2017 Honda Civic for $20, 000.00 and seeing a brand new 2018 Honda Civic for $20, 000.00 and buying the 2017 model.

Legs are the biggest muscle group and your pic hides them. Not asking for a Speedo pic but I would guess you are around 14-15% but I may be wrong given your height/weight. Again, calipers or dexa scan.

Your diet as an average health conscious dude is fine but from a bodybuilding perspective it's a 3.5/10. Here are all the problems

- Your carbs macro doesn't make sense. You either need to drop carbs more and up the fats then use Ketostix to track Ketosis and go the Ketogenic route or up the carbs and run closer to the more cookie cutter 40/40/20 split of Pro/Carb/Fat. If the goal is to build muscle, the second approach is going to be more benefical more often than note. Muscle requires glycogen, found in carbs, not ketones found in fats.

- Aside from 3 eggs in the morning and 5g from Steak all your fats are coming from Olive Oil. You need all 3 types of fats - Monounsaturated, Saturated, and Polyunsaturated. You need to replace some of the olive oil with other types of fats. Easiest way to get healthy saturated fat is from red meat.

- No vegetables is a giant no-no. Vegetables are neglected and is just as important as the other macros for muscle building. If you can't digest the food (micronutrients) or the body can't partition the nutrients to the muscle, they are not going to grow. All the protein in the world will not help if it just sits in your intestines. You should be looking at 4 or 5 meals to have vegetables, if not 6.

- Sodium is way too low. Sweating causes more loss of Sodium than water. Also lack of sodium is part of the reason of muscle cramping. It also reduces fluid volume making the muscles appear "flat". In addition, Sodium has Iodine, which is responsible for stimulating your Thyroid, which is responsible for metabolism. Stan Eferding has some great seminars where he talks about the importance of sodium backed by research.

- A protein shake only meal is junk. If there is a conflict in your day-to-day schedule that requires a quick meal then make your own protein shake - popular ingredients include (but are not limited to): instant coffee, cocoa, oats, frozen or fresh fruit, egg whites, milk (cow's, almond, or coconut), ice, and if you are feeling frisky blended chicken

- With Meal 6 you are better to replace the Casein powder, either adding more Greek Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, or anything really

- You don't need to track dietary cholesterol

- Of your 2,418 calories only 1632 calories are actually being eaten (67.4%). Eating only 67% of your food and having the rest come from oils, powder, shakes, etc means when it comes time to add calories you are just giving yourself an uphill battle to eat more.

- Pancake mix is basically chemicals and processed food in a box. Should be replaced by real food. Common breakfast carbs include: cream of rice, grits, oats, ezekiel bread, and P28 bread.

- It's unclear which meal is preworkout and postworkout. The 3 most important meals of the day are first meal, preworkout meal, and postworkout meal which should have the most calories. You want to start your day with your gas tank full (meal #1), fill up the gas tank before the workout (Preworkout Meal) and after expending all your energy, refill your tank (Postworkout).

[ScotchGuard02]

You're body fat is in the ball park for a cycle. You could drop a few % bf if you want to reduce the chances of gyno. You should think about running 500mg/wk of Test for your cycle. You're going to experience sides anyway so why not go for better gains?

Train hard, eat clean and good rest and you'll have a good cycle experience. Get some acne body wash in case you break out. Have fun

[titans2857]

You're body fat is in the ball park for a cycle. You could drop a few % bf if you want to reduce the chances of gyno. You should think about running 500mg/wk of Test for your cycle. You're going to experience sides anyway so why not go for better gains?

Train hard, eat clean and good rest and you'll have a good cycle experience. Get some acne body wash in case you break out. Have fun

No clue who JP is but running Test barely above TRT is a waste of time. People who are deficit in Testosterone receive up to 200mg per week, so shutting down your natural testosterone production for 300mg is not effective in a risk/reward analysis. 300mg of Test gives you the same level of risk as 400mg or 500mg of Testosterone. All 3 doses will require an AI, HCG , and PCT. Despite steroids having a ceiling for maximum doses, there is also a floor for minimum doses to be effective relative to the risk.

Running 300mg of Testosterone per week as a standalone cycle is the equivalent of going to Honda, and seeing a brand new 2017 Honda Civic for $20, 000.00 and seeing a brand new 2018 Honda Civic for $20, 000.00 and buying the 2017 model.

Legs are the biggest muscle group and your pic hides them. Not asking for a Speedo pic but I would guess you are around 14-15% but I may be wrong given your height/weight. Again, calipers or dexa scan.

Your diet as an average health conscious dude is fine but from a bodybuilding perspective it's a 3.5/10. Here are all the problems

- Your carbs macro doesn't make sense. You either need to drop carbs more and up the fats then use Ketostix to track Ketosis and go the Ketogenic route or up the carbs and run closer to the more cookie cutter 40/40/20 split of Pro/Carb/Fat. If the goal is to build muscle, the second approach is going to be more benefical more often than note. Muscle requires glycogen, found in carbs, not ketones found in fats.

- Aside from 3 eggs in the morning and 5g from Steak all your fats are coming from Olive Oil. You need all 3 types of fats - Monounsaturated, Saturated, and Polyunsaturated. You need to replace some of the olive oil with other types of fats. Easiest way to get healthy saturated fat is from red meat.

- No vegetables is a giant no-no. Vegetables are neglected and is just as important as the other macros for muscle building. If you can't digest the food (micronutrients) or the body can't partition the nutrients to the muscle, they are not going to grow. All the protein in the world will not help if it just sits in your intestines. You should be looking at 4 or 5 meals to have vegetables, if not 6.

- Sodium is way too low. Sweating causes more loss of Sodium than water. Also lack of sodium is part of the reason of muscle cramping. It also reduces fluid volume making the muscles appear "flat". In addition, Sodium has Iodine, which is responsible for stimulating your Thyroid, which is responsible for metabolism. Stan Eferding has some great seminars where he talks about the importance of sodium backed by research.

- A protein shake only meal is junk. If there is a conflict in your day-to-day schedule that requires a quick meal then make your own protein shake - popular ingredients include (but are not limited to): instant coffee, cocoa, oats, frozen or fresh fruit, egg whites, milk (cow's, almond, or coconut), ice, and if you are feeling frisky blended chicken

- With Meal 6 you are better to replace the Casein powder, either adding more Greek Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, or anything really

- You don't need to track dietary cholesterol

- Of your 2,418 calories only 1632 calories are actually being eaten (67.4%). Eating only 67% of your food and having the rest come from oils, powder, shakes, etc means when it comes time to add calories you are just giving yourself an uphill battle to eat more.

- Pancake mix is basically chemicals and processed food in a box. Should be replaced by real food. Common breakfast carbs include: cream of rice, grits, oats, ezekiel bread, and P28 bread.

- It's unclear which meal is preworkout and postworkout. The 3 most important meals of the day are first meal, preworkout meal, and postworkout meal which should have the most calories. You want to start your day with your gas tank full (meal #1), fill up the gas tank before the workout (Preworkout Meal) and after expending all your energy, refill your tank (Postworkout).

Thank you Scotch and Windex, appreciate the help.

Sorry, didn't mention JP is Jordan Peters - https://youtu.be/p04YO7JkG1k
watched his few videos on the cycle suggestions, that's why I was thinking for 300mg, but I guess I am inclined to 400 or 500mg now.

To be frank, I used to be the guys who skipped the leg days, so my legs aren't that big compare to my uppper body(people assume I am 70+kg by looking at my upper body), now I am kindda kicking my ass to grow my quad/hams now.

The diet which i posted is what I was following to reduce some BF%, as you suggested i usually go 45/35/20 or 40/40/20 macros, sometimes even 50/30/20.

I didn't track my sodium in the past just tried to keep it moderate, I do use the salt/peppper/herbs/seasonings on 3 of my meals except breakfast in which i like to use some fruit(banana/berries).

I do take veggies with 3 meals though don't add them in macros or at MFP(feels like a chore), usually I either steam/saute the veggies and store with my containers or ask my wify to cook extra veggies every night which i use next day for meals.

As for the pancakes, I do use them sometimes as a change to Oats (a good receipe from Evan Centopani: https://youtu.be/cw1D8SWZ3kg )

- Good suggestions on the fat, I'll replace olive oil with walnuts in 1 meal and perhaps replace 1 chicken breast meal with Salmon.

- Usually Meal 2 and 3 are my pre and post workout meals, shake+fast diesting carb(gummy bears) immediatly after work.
**Ataching another meal plan which I was following in July for bulking, please have a look and see if i can improve something there**


- Meal 3 and 4 are pre and post workout meals.

I'll try replacing meal-6 to a solid meal as you suggested.

Thanks again.

[titans2857]

Hi guys,

I have done the bloodwork before starting the cycle, please see the numers and comment:

Free T4 13.4 pmol/L
TSH 3.42 mIU/L

Testosterone 19.98 nmol/L
Prolactin 5.5 ug/L

Estradiol 117.0 pmol/L
LH 1.61 IU/L
FSH 2.0 IU/L


Haemoglobin 14.3 g/dL
Red cell count 5.0 x10^12/L
Total white cell count 4.5 x10^9/L



Free Testosterone's result is pending and will be available 4-5 days, the clinic told me that Path Lab doesn't do the test and had to send the sample to the hospital to examine.

If all looks good, then I am thinking to start from this week/weekend.

Please advise.

[titans2857]

Anyone?

[HoldMyBeer]

Hi guys,

I have done the bloodwork before starting the cycle, please see the numers and comment:

Free T4 13.4 pmol/L
TSH 3.42 mIU/L

Testosterone 19.98 nmol/L
Prolactin 5.5 ug/L

Estradiol 117.0 pmol/L
LH 1.61 IU/L
FSH 2.0 IU/L


Haemoglobin 14.3 g/dL
Red cell count 5.0 x10^12/L
Total white cell count 4.5 x10^9/L



Free Testosterone's result is pending and will be available 4-5 days, the clinic told me that Path Lab doesn't do the test and had to send the sample to the hospital to examine.

If all looks good, then I am thinking to start from this week/weekend.

Please advise.

You forgot to add the reference ranges. Hard to tell wo them, especially since the units can change region to region lab to lab

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk

[titans2857]

Sorry, I thought it was same everywhere. Adding the ref ranges below:

Free T4 13.4 pmol/L Ref. Range: (9.0 - 25.0)
TSH 3.42 mIU/L Ref. Range: (0.40 - 4.70)

Testosterone 19.98 nmol/L Ref. Range: (5.72 - 26.14)
Prolactin 5.5 ug/L Ref. Range: (2.1 - 17.7)

Estradiol 117.0 pmol/L Ref. Range: (<146.2)
LH 1.61 IU/L Ref. Range: (1.50 - 9.30)
FSH 2.0 IU/L Ref. Range: (1.4 - 18.1)


Haemoglobin 14.3 g/dL Ref. Range: (13.5 - 18.0)
Red cell count 5.0 x10^12/L Ref. Range: (4.5 - 6.5)
Total white cell count 4.5 x10^9/L Ref. Range: (4.0 - 11.0)

Neutrophils 40.4% Abs(1.82) x10^9/L Ref. Range: (2.00 - 7.50)
Lymphocytes 47.5% Abs(2.14) x10^9/L Ref. Range: (1.50 - 4.00)
Monocytes 9.5% Abs(0.43) x10^9/L Ref. Range: (0.20 - 0.80)
Eosinophils 2.2% Abs(0.10) x10^9/L Ref. Range: (0.04 - 0.40)
Basophils 0.4% Abs(0.02) x10^9/L Ref. Range: (< 0.21)

Haematocrit(PCV) 0.43 Ref. Range: (0.40 - 0.54)
MCV 86 fL Ref. Range: (78 - 98)
MCH 29 pg Ref. Range: (27 - 32)
MCHC 33 g/dL Ref. Range: (31 - 36)
RDW 13.0 % Ref. Range: (11.0 - 15.5)

Platelets 232 x10^9/L Ref. Range: (140-440)

Peripheral Blood Film : Red cells appear normochromic and normocytic


It seems my natural Test are on higher side, I wonder If I would make decent gains by running 300mg Test E per week?

[Testlolblast]

I completely agree with Windex, besides you have choosed almost a TRT dose of testosterone for your cycle and it should be 400 mg a week or more indeed.

[titans2857]

I have received my pre-cycle "Free Testosterone " result also:

Testosterone, Free 37.34 pmol/L 30.88 - 147.50

Can anyone please help me understand, are these numbers Ok? am i low/high somewhere?
It's my first BW and trying to make some sense out of these.

[titans2857]

I am currently in the middle of my cycle.
Please do comment / suggest there:

https://forums.steroid.com/members-c...has-began.html