Couple of newbie questions

[nomoreskinny]

Hey Everyone,

First, I really appreciate your time in reading this and helping me out. Also please forgive my likely ignorance.

I'm planning to start my first cycle soon. I'm 26, 5'10", 155lbs, ~6% body fat. I've been a runner my whole life. I lifted with my hockey team in high school, I have lifted semi-regulary since high school and very regularly since Christmas. I have always had a hard time putting on any weight.

I have 4000mg of Test E. I've been planning on sticking to just the Test (hoping to minimize side effects?), but am wondering if I would be better off stacking with something else?

What is a good starting point in terms of dosage? Do I need to taper up and then back down?

At what point do I need to start Nolva or the like? I've read conflicting reports with advice ranging from starting nolva as soon as you start the AAS all the way through not starting the Nolva until you are all the way done with the AAS.

Will HCG, or anything else for that matter, help minimized the "withdraw" at the end of the cycle?

Do I need to stop running? I have heard that aerobic exercise while on AAS can cause an enlarged left ventrical (makes since your heart muscle would also expand)? My other concern is just a matter of caloric intake. I'm wondering if I would be better off not running just to make it easier to pack on some pounds?

THanks a lot for your help,
C

[CheddaNips]

Wow this read gave me a Headache.

5'10 155. No AAS for you till you take a serious look at your diet. You are not gonna hear different from many others.

well, you wanna run a 12wk cycle at 500mg/wk to start. but you need more test. right now i would go at 400mg/10wks if you couldn't get more.

NO TAPERING. IMO

I only use Nolva During my PCT or when i get signs of estrogen related sides. On the other hand, there are people on here that use AI's during their cycles so they only see muscle gains and no water.

WOW. please research PCT. HCG Clomid and other drugs MUST be taken at the end for the sake of keeping gains and your Physical Health.

I do 2 30min sessions of cardio a week during the summer and no running when bulking in the winter. The caloric intake comes into wether you want size/definition/fatloss during a cycle. Look at this equation. Taken from the diet forum on how to bulk

Harris Benedict Formula for Men
BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kilos) + (5 X height in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

Any other ?'s PM or ask here.

just my .02

[CheddaNips]

DIET and PCT FORUMS are a must for you. Please take some time to read through them. they are more important to a cycle than how much AAS you inject.

[nomoreskinny]

I will read more on PCT.

My diet is solid. Two summers ago I worked out and ate meal for meal with my roommate. He gained like 15 pounds and I think I gained two. Last summer I ate 5k mostly high-quality calories a day while triathlon training just to maintain weight. I'm skinny and come from a family of skinny people. I also run 25-35 miles a week.

[CheddaNips]

well you are burning more calories than you need to put on weight. there is no way someone can eat 5k calories and not grow. Unless you have a prescribed medical condition. Dont run so much then.

[MATTMAN01]

Unless you eat more you will always be skinny! Good luck.

[Bulldog1115]

chillout with the running man if u wanna put on weight, maybe cut ur miles down to 10 miles a week!

[Big]

if your diet was solid you would weigh at least 50lbs more than you do.

[illwillogical]

I know diet is important, but genetics are too, I have known people that eat like horses and train hard, do everything they can to gain and still don't gain weight.

I personally top out at 195, and it seems like no matter how much I eat, how hard I train, I get stuck on that weight.

I'm sure laying off the running would help, but I believe this guy is definitely a hard gainer.

[Reed]

Honestly there really is no excuse when your 5'10'' and over to be weighing under 170 lbs and doing steroids. I think Big wrote a entire thread on this. Its simple you gotta eat more the you burn and make sure your doing basics squats, deads, bench, stay aways from the machines. I thought I was a hard gainer but I found out you gotta diet right. Eat whole foods and minimize the use of shakes and supplements. Steroids aren't what make you bigger, its FOOD!!!!

[Big]

Honestly there really is no excuse when your 5'10'' and over to be weighing under 170 lbs and doing steroids. I think Big wrote a entire thread on this. Its simple you gotta eat more the you burn and make sure your doing basics squats, deads, bench, stay aways from the machines. I thought I was a hard gainer but I found out you gotta diet right. Eat whole foods and minimize the use of shakes and supplements. Steroids aren't what make you bigger, its FOOD!!!!

Amen brother.
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=344896

[nomoreskinny]

Reed,
Are you implying there is a good reason not to do steroids because I weigh under 170 pounds?

Big,
I MIGHT get up to 200 pounds if I never left the couch. I guess it's hard to believe, but I eat like a horse and I really don't eat crap. My mom is a fitness/health food nut and that's the way I learned to eat. I was reading more on diet just before I checked back here and if you have any other diet ideas, I'm all ears. I'm here to learn.

Running is like my therapy, probably like going to the gym is for a lot of you so I've never been motivated to stop. I think giving up or drastically reducing the running while trying to gain weight is now obviously the way to go.

[Reed]

Reed,
Are you implying there is a good reason not to do steroids because I weigh under 170 pounds?

Big,
I MIGHT get up to 200 pounds if I never left the couch. I guess it's hard to believe, but I eat like a horse and I really don't eat crap. My mom is a fitness/health food nut and that's the way I learned to eat. I was reading more on diet just before I checked back here and if you have any other diet ideas, I'm all ears. I'm here to learn.

Running is like my therapy, probably like going to the gym is for a lot of you so I've never been motivated to stop. I think giving up or drastically reducing the running while trying to gain weight is now obviously the way to go.

No I'm not implying I'm telling you that it is a waste when you could do it naturally and not do drugs. If you wanna gain weight you gotta eat more the you burn. Its simple, lower the cardio and eat more I could show pictures from where I've gone from your weight to 218lbs at 14% bf then leaned down to 208 at 8%bf without the use of anything illegal. What are your goals and reasons behind using steroids??? You looking to be competitive or just trying to look good and buff. If its the latter no matter who you are I really see no need in using steroids. Its just plain laziness. Getting ripped and muscular doesn't happen over night. Its taken myself close to 5 years of busting my ass, dieting, and sacrificing a normal college life to get where I am at.

[CheddaNips]

its running or muscles bro. Cant have your cake and eat it too. Esp at 35mi a week.

Plus you are missing the whole point Big, myself and others are trying to get to you.

If you can not grow without AAS you will not grow while on them. At 5'10 155lbs you can not eat 5k calories a day and "eat like a horse" You are looking at AAS as a shortcut. But do what you want. It will be a waste of money and time and health issues.

EDIT: I hate to be a dick but i just did the bulking calculation and ran your stats and did the average mile burning stuff. At 5mi a day and 5k calories, you should easily grow. Theres no reason to tell us we are wrong.

[Big]

There are diets for hardgainers and good bulking diets listed at the top of the diet forum.

[nomoreskinny]

What I said was that I ate 5k a day last summer while I was triathlon training. I was doing double cardio 7 days a week.

Chedda,
You're right, I wasn't getting that point because nobody said just that. I really didn't know that if you couldn't gain weight without AAS than you won't gain with. That's a good insight and I appreciate you spelling it out for me. By that logic, though, would anyone who has plateaued be able to gain more weigt by adding juice?

Ultimately, you're right. It's a short cut. Wouldn't you agree that most people who use AAS could probably eventually get to that point without?

[Big]

it's not a matter of not gaining weight, it's a matter of keeping it. With your present diet and stats, any weight you gained on cycle you would likely lose at the same of faster rate than you gained it.

[CheddaNips]

WOW you just hit the nail on the head with your last few sentences. The whole point of this site is to ask questions and learn from the masses that have been in your situation. I am the same height as you and i was in the same situation. People aren't here to look down at your size. We are here to show you the best path for safe "use" not "abuse". Take the advice or don't.

[ottomaddox]

Did anybody actually read this post? He's only been working out regularly since X-Mas. Nine months of working out consistently hardly qualifies you to even be thinking about using steroids, and at your weight it would be a complete waste of a cycle. You need to build a solid foundation before jumping into the world of AAS. 5'10" @155lbs is far from your genetic potential, ease off the running and channel it into the gym and in a reasonable amount of time, as long as diet is in check too, you'll see the gains start to come.

I'm planning to start my first cycle soon. I'm 26, 5'10", 155lbs, ~6% body fat. I've been a runner my whole life. I lifted with my hockey team in high school, I have lifted semi-regulary since high school and very regularly since Christmas. I have always had a hard time putting on any weight.

[jc95605]

I agree with ottom. Change your diet up and see what happens, hopefully you'll start to grow. If not, then to AAS, but AAS should be further down the list. Believe when i say diet really effects you.