difference in training

[osmosis]

After reading for about 2 hours a day for the last week I have decided to take the leap from natural training to using steroids but first I am going to train hard for about a year. The question is should I train differently while natural as apposed to when on roids? And also should I wast my money on suuplements for a year?
p.s I didnt just decide this last week I have been thinking about it and studying if for the last 2 years and have decided to go ahaid and do it. But I want to do it the right way and not just jump into something without more advice and knowledge and this board is full of it. Thanx . I shall return.

[osmosis]

also what about diet?

[Tock]

After reading for about 2 hours a day for the last week I have decided to take the leap from natural training to using steroids but first I am going to train hard for about a year. The question is should I train differently while natural as apposed to when on roids? And also should I wast my money on suuplements for a year?
p.s I didnt just decide this last week I have been thinking about it and studying if for the last 2 years and have decided to go ahaid and do it. But I want to do it the right way and not just jump into something without more advice and knowledge and this board is full of it. Thanx . I shall return.

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Assuming you're in the over 30 forum 'cause you're over 30 . . .
Training differently when on as opposed to off . . . For your initial few cycles, you'll want to train just as hard, but maybe not quite as much. You'll be able to handle an extra few sets while on, and maybe able to workout an extra day per week while on, but that's about it.
When you come off, you'll want to keep the intensity high (no need to reduce weight unless you absolutely have to), and you'll want to cut 5 or so sets out per workout.

Supplements . . . the only ones I've heard (or used) that actually do anything is creatine and glutamine, and glutamine is iffy. The big thing is to eat lots of good food, and supplement with a bit of protein powder so you're getting around 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean bodyweight.

You're on the right track, though . . . keep reading, picking up info here and there, and when you're ready to start life on the "dark side" you'll be well prepared.

[osmosis]

I Guess to put my question a different way is my preperation year. I understand that protien is the best way to go with supps. But should I diet as though I am using? And should I lift for strength or size during my prep year? As of now my workout is kinda generic. Still trying to find out what is best for me.Should I try to gain or lose weight during this period. I dont know my body fat at this time,but I know it needs to come down.
And also should I eat as though I am on a cycle or what?And yes I am 34.Have had a physical and everything is good. I am 5 foot 10 and fluctuate fromm 200 down to 190.

[Tock]

But should I diet as though I am using?
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In general, it's easier to either gain mass or lose fat, and very difficult to do both. If I were you, I'd probably concentrate on losing any fat you were unhappy with. For that, if you're a morning person, the best way to go is to do cardio right before breakfast, on an empty stomach. Start with fast walking for an hour several times a week, then graduate to running. Or find some other forms of cardio you're happy with, do enough to burn excess fat, but not so much you dut into your regular workouts.

As far as "diet" goes, figure out how much food it takes to maintain your bodyweight without doing any cardio. Then, to figure out how much weight you'll lose doing cardio, find one of those charts (somewhere on the net) that shows how many calories you burn doing bicycling, running, walking, etc. One pound of fat weighs 454 grams, each gram of fat contains 9 calories of energy, so 9 X 454 = 4086, so there are 4086 calories in one pound of body blubber.
So, say running burns 690 calories an hour (see http://pwp.value.net/~fitness/runcal.htm), then 4086/690= 5.9 It will take about 6 days to burn off one pound of fat. If you have a year to do this, you can likely get rid of 50 lbs while still providing adequate nourishment to the rest of your body for lifting.

And "Should you eat as if you were on a cycle?"
Not really . . . A "general rule of thumb" I've seen is

eat 30% protein 40% carbs 30% fat on-cycle
eat 40% protein 40% carbs 20% fat off-cycle
eat 50% protein 40% carbs 10% fat for losing fat

but the problem with these rules of thumb is that not everyone's thumb is the same size, and the above rules have to be customized to fit your circumstances. That pretty much means trial and error. And that is something else you can explore over this next year. Figure out what percentages work best for you while off the sauce for regular working out. Then when you go on, you can decrease the protein a few % and increase the carbs a few %, and use that as a starting point from which to determine what ratios are best for you.

Yah, it's lots of numbers and calculating, but after a while you get so you know how many grams of protein and carbs and fat are in half a lb of chicken, or beef, or etc etc, and it becomes pretty much an intuitive sort of thing.

But first figure out how many calories of prot carbs fat you need to maintain your current bodyweight, how many calories of fat you need to burn, and how much cardio you need to do, and either (1) don't eat anything more and just do the cardio and drop in total bodyweight, or (2) increase your daily calories by the amount of calories you burn with cardio and you'll lose fat, gain muscle, and keep the same bodyweight.

One last issue -- lifting for strength or size? I personally lift for strength, it's my karma, I guess. For you, I'd say pick your path and see where it takes you.
I'd check out the Workout forum and get some pointers on how to construct a good workout program. There's reasons why you should do some things and reasons for not doing other things; the guys here are pretty smart on this stuff and can clue you in and save you a lot of grief and aggravation on learning the theory behind workouts.

That's it . . . my tapeworms are telling me it's time to eat again . . . I hope all this was helpful . . .
ttyl,
--Tock

[tag]

lift just like you would if you were not planning to gon on. go hard for size and strength because you need to strengthen up all your tendons and other connective tissue. you are gonna get strong as a beast and your muscles will get strong faster than your connective tissue. you need to ensure that they are ready for the extra stress you are going to be able to put on them.

[LewdTenant]

Train hard, just make sure your workout program when you start AS is different than what you have been doing to prepare to do AS. You should be making changes at least every 8-12 weeks evein if not on AS.

Lewd

[LewdTenant]

If generic means basic exercises do not worry. I only do the basics but rotate in exercises, change my splits, change rep and set schemes, change rest period, etc every 8-12 weeks. I am able to gain muscle/size OR lose weight doing this. I adjust my cardio to help reach my goals.

As of now my workout is kinda generic. Still trying to find out what is best for me.