Researching cycle for beggining at 40

[unrealistic]

Vets,
I'm the poster child for waiting untill your older I've tried all the "legitimate" supplements and so far the only one that works is Creatine. The rest of my "results" went to the city's sewage treatment plant.

I'm ready to research my first cycle. I have variouse reference books on their way, but I realize that you guys are the ones that know firsthand and I don't want to get fu**edup.
I'm in the biology field so you can relate it in med terminology.
You can't give me enough information because I'm just a sponge but, I will research your suggestions.

STATS:
I'm a 40y/o male, 5'11 1/2 and 240 Lbs. Although I don't know my BF% I'm sure I'd be considered clinicaly obese with observation alone. Been lifting x ten years but only heavy workouts in the off season, and I have layed off for almost two years

I've just come off a long layoff(no sh*t) after a shoulder injury.
I want my life back and I know cardio and OTC "fat burners" will only take me so far.
I'm going to train for a few months to get into shape before going on the juice....do you think that's nesscesary? I think all the connective tissues and joints should be strengthened and the CV system checked out, but hell, what do I know.
I'm not greedy. I don't plan on getting huge. I just want some results.

QUESTIONS:
What should I cycle
how long the first time
What do you think it will cost?( or a reliable reference material for that.)

there're alot of references for this kind of stuff, but not for forty year old fat dudes.
Thanks.

[kizer_soce]

As you know diet and cardio will be necessary first. I would suggest get a solid diet down and workout routine and stick with it for at least a year.

With your stats there is ALOT of room for improvement without turning to gear at such an early point in the game.

Find out your bf% if it is at all possible and i will do my best to come up with a diet/workout routine for you.

[TNT]

Welcome to the board, o' 40-year-old fat dude. By the way, I rarely find myself ROTFLMAO when reading a profile, but your's did the trick. Subtle, but funny as hell.

Anyway, you are correct - there is not much out there for those beyond "kid-stage." I usually don't recommend other boards, but one that you may want to check out (secondary to this one, of course, since A.R. is the best ) is http://www.bodybuilding.com - specifically because it's the only board with a forum specifically for people over age 35. You won't pick up much more information than you would here, but it's good to see that there are others like yourself.

You are, unfortunately, correct about something else: that you are clinically obese - not because of your B/F ratio, but due to your height-versus-weight ratio combined with your physical condition and age. Based on those factors, the first thing I would do is head for a doctor's office for a basic exam with lab work and an EKG - in fact, at 40, preferably a cardiac stress test (for non-medical types, that's an EKG taken while you're on a treadmill). Incidentally, that's a standard recommendation for anyone who has hit 40, regardless of any preexisting medical conditions or weight issues.

I would do two other things: First, in conjunction with an exam, get your doctor's feedback about the feasiblity of using AS. You won't necessarily get suggestions or a prescription, but you will (if you have a decent doctor) be able to get specific feedback about how they will impact you in light of any preexisting conditions. Second, pending an exam, lay off the fat burners - as I'm sure you're aware, many of them can have implications regarding blood pressure and cardiac conditions; get yourself checked out before you continue with these or other supplements that might contain "the usual suspects" (ephedrine, caffeine, etc.).

One thing I'm hearing is two separate sets of goals. On one hand, you talk about obesity as if you want to lose weight, then talk about lifting in terms of gaining (although "not getting huge"). IMHO/FWIW (okay, newbies, that means, "In my humble opinion, for what it's worth"), when you hit the 40's it's important to think about health first and size second. Therefore, I would not even consider an AS cycle until you've developed, implemented, and seen some results for losing some of the excess baggage. (Why? Simple - Because AS will make you add pounds, not lose them. And it's easier to tone what's already on your body than what will be added to your body through an AS cycle.)

One word I didn't hear you mention is diet. (Duhhhhhhhh . . . ) I won't even begin to speculate on what you've been eating, but at 6' (sorry, I round things off, and 5'11-1/2" is too much to type) and 240 lbs., I think we can guesstimate that you haven't been following healthy eating patterns. As a health professional, you know the risks of diabetes increase profoundly at your age and weight (as well as the usual other conditions). Assuming you're not diabetic at this stage of the game, now is the time to adjust your eating patterns so you can take off weight and begin to reverse your lean-muscle-mass-to-body-fat ratios. Without lightening up on the food, neither the exercise nor AS will do any good.

(In light of that question and the inevitable responses you'll get on the level of "Yo, bulk up, bro," it's also a good reminder to keep a sane 40-year-old head on your shoulders. That kind of weight gain is for the young - meaning late teens and 20's. Or as William Holden said to Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, "Norma, there's nothing wrong with being 50, unless you're trying to look 20.")

So, to your specific questions . . . What should you cycle? IMO at this point, nothing. And that answers the other two questions. But do ask your doctor for his or her opinion. Hell, you may even find a little cooperation on your doctor's part. (Not that your doc will write for an entire cycle, but - surprising as this may seem to the younger guys - doctors are sometimes more cooperative with older patients than with younger ones.)

Good luck, and welcome to the board.

[unrealistic]

Kizer,
I'm a former athelete(I see we're in agreement on "former) that knows the difference between having the natural flow of Testosterone that keeps you full of power and fat free no matter what you do and the lethargic coma of having virtualy none.

I've felt it deteriorate over the years and have tried like hell to keep some of it. The last time I was on a strict diet/excercise routine I made advances for about three months then for the next three months no matter how I changed it I lost no more fat, gained no more muscle. During this time it was pure hell to drag my ass out of bed. I was making no gains and had no energy, I lost IT. You know that little spark that FEEDS a workout.
I had tried all the supplements, routines, different proteins, spaced out meals in smaller portions.....yada,yada,yada.

I decided that was it. The shoulder stuff just put the finishing touch on my atheletic obituary. I was tempted to try AS then but didn't have access to all this information. Like everyone else that's been lambasted by the media I did'nt beleive it was credible.
A few years of science courses and a little research later I discover that my oppinion was skewed with disinformation and the promise of "natural steroids " and "incredible breakthroughs".

Did you recommend such a conservative course because of my age?
Does it have to do with BF% and ester storage?
Since they give AS to aids patients I didn't think it would be a danger. Even though I'm fat, I'm in better shape than that.
Thank you. I appreciate your advice. Please don't think I'm questioning your advice. I,m really appreciative that you took the time to post.

[unrealistic]

TNT,
Thanks for the thumbs up on the profile. That's simply my smartass sense of humor.
Thanks for the heads up on the "geezer gosip" I'm going to check that out.
I agree compleatly. Lab values, if nothing else, would be an excellent baseline on which to base progress.
My doc would of course be my first supplier of choice, but I can hear my wife asking "why does your perscription bottle refer to livestock?"LOL

[TNT]

Originally posted by unrealistic
Lab values, if nothing else, would be an excellent baseline on which to base progress.
My doc would of course be my first supplier of choice, but I can hear my wife asking "why does your perscription bottle refer to livestock?"LOL

Actually, your response to Kizer_soce filled in a few helpful details, especially about your background in athletics and your awareness of test.

Needless to say, I'd recommend having your doctor run the gamut of test-related labwork, especially if this is a concern to you. You probably know the routine already - total testosterone and prolactin and, if the T/T turns out initially low, top it off with a free & weakly binding testosterone, FSH, TSH, SBGH.

Your test levels may or may not be low at 40, depending on our overall health picture. But if anything, that's the one AS that you would stand the best chance of having prescribed. (And if that's your goal, make sure you have your total test taken later in the day, keeping in mind that T/T levels are highest in the morning). And one thing of which I can assure you is that U.S. pharmaceutical-grade test (Delatestryl or Depo-Testosterone) is worth it when compared to the crap that comes from south of the border.

You're quite right about lab values serving as a baseline. If you do any kind of AS cycle, they will also tell you how the AS are impacting your values on the whole. Since we're talking about test here as well, your lab work should include a PSA since using testosterone can have an impact on the prostate.

P.S. You'll like the "geezer gossip." Some of those guys are in such tight shape that they make the kids look like . . . well, kids.

[Note to newbies - sorry for all the abbreviations, guys, but these refer to specific lab tests. I abbreviated them because Unrealistic is in a medical field, and I've discussed these tests in more informational detail in other threads.]