This August marks the fourth anniversary of beginning my first, and to date only, cycle. A lot of people claim that they are only going to do one cycle when they start…and I’m proof that sometimes that actually happens. I thought it might be interesting to look at what effects from it I still have. It was a 12-week cycle followed by PCT, and I used:
Weeks 1-4: 20 mg D-bol/day
Weeks 1-10: 300 mg Deca/week
Weeks 11-12: 50 mg Winstrol/day
When I started, I had reached my natural potential. I had been working out very hard with a great training partner for a number of years, and had made good gains naturally, and more with the help of non-hormonal supplements, such as creatine and HMB. I was in good shape, and happy with my body, but was getting no more gains and still wanted to add a bit more muscle. I had no interest in competing in bodybuilding or other sports, and really didn’t feel like cycling was something that I had to do for any reason. My goals were:
1. No serious side effects
2. Moderate, keepable gains
I have to say that I succeeded. Over the course of the cycle, I gained 20 pounds of muscle and kept 15 of them. To this day, I have also kept about 2/3-3/4 of my strength gains. This has involved continued regular training, although for the last year or so at a less intense level, and decent calorie and protein intake. Also, no severe or lasting side effects. The Deca/Dbol combination did shut down my natural testosterone production while I was on cycle, but my natural test levels were back to normal within a few months. Likewise, my liver values were elevated while taking Dbol, but were still within the normal range. I actually have a very good doctor, so I was able to be honest with him about what I was doing and have him check both my liver values and test levels during the cycle and afterwards. This is a lower dosage than many people advised me to take. Nonetheless, I am happy with the gains. Maybe I could have gained more, and possibly even kept more, but the risks weren’t worth it to me.
Am I glad I did it? Yes. I got what I wanted, with no damage. Would I do another cycle? Probably not, but I’m not ruling it out. I really enjoyed the gains, but I am at a different place in my life now. I’m in a long-term relationship and am very focused on my career these days. While I still work out, I am not nearly as intense as I was before, and my recreational interests have shifted. For example, you are much more likely to find me on BBs devoted to food and wine than to lifting. Would I recommend it for anyone else? Depends on lots of things. Why do you want to? What sorts of gains do you want to get? How high is your risk tolerance? In the end, the decision, and your dosage levels need to be your decision
So that’s my view of juicing 4 years after the fact. YMMV.
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