AthleticEngineering's var only cycle

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-13-2008, 11:52 AM

Hey everybody. First of all, please don't post if you're just going to flame me. I know a test base is recommended but I chose not to do that. I know var won't add a lot of mass if any. I know a lot of you will regard this cycle as worthless. Despite all of this, I chose to do this anavar only cycle so if you're just going to post to tell me add something, please don't. Other then that I'm welcome to any comments or criticism.

Background:
I just had knee surgery in January. Things are progressing nicely, but I still have to work in the higher rep range and lower weights when working legs. My knee kept me out of the gym for a while before and after surgery so I lost some muscle and gained more fat then I would like to have. It sucked cause it was about Christmas time when it really started to keep me from working out so my diet diet suffered as well. I just got certified as a personal trainer but I can't work until May because of school, so in the meantime I need to get into personal trainer shape so that I can find work. I'm taking this cycle to lose fat, gain some strength, and maybe add a little mass while keeping the sides to as little as possible.

Stats:
22 yrs old
5'10"
200 lbs
16% BF
trained seriously for 3 years, 4 years on and off before that

Lifts:
squat(before knee issues) - 275 x 10 - never tried to max
bench - 255
deadlift - 315

Cycle:
weeks 1-10: Anavar 50mg ed
weeks 11-13: nolva 20mg ed

Other supplements:
creatine
durastride
multivitamin
milk thistle
cholesterol support
fish oil
CoQ10
green tea
fiber supplement(some days)

Diet (typical day):
B: 2 cups coffee
protein shake
orange

Snack:
protein shake

lunch:grilled chicken breast, brown rice, fat free sour cream and hot sauce in a Mission carb balance tortilla(these are awsome, look them up - 21g of fiber each), banana, carrots, skim milk

Snack:
tuna packet
kashi nut bar

Post workout:
Muscle milk

Dinner: whole wheat spagetti, grilled chicken breast, raw broccoli, fruit salad, skim milk

I'll post picks when I get some

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-13-2008, 12:12 PM

I actually started this cycle a week ago so here are my observations thus far:

I'm super paranoid about mpb because I'm extremely prone to it and I would be bald already if I hadn't been on finasteride since I was 18. I recently learned dht derivative steroids (var included) can themselves bind to hair follicles so the dutasteride probably isn't going to do me much good in regards to this. Because of this I bought some anti-dht shampoo yesterday and started using spray on minoxidil. It might be overkill but I don't want to take any chances.

I can't attest to any strength gains yet but I've been having some good intense workouts and good pumps. There doesn't seem to be much effect on cardio.

My appetite is gone. I usually can eat anything in sight but now I have to force myself to get enough calories.

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-13-2008, 03:20 PM

Forgot to mention that I can up the dose or extend the cycle if I need to, I got a wicked deal on powder.

**dupa95** · 03-13-2008, 04:29 PM

Looks good and good luck!!!!!!!!!

**thai007** · 03-14-2008, 09:43 AM

Sounds nice.... Im starting a var only cycle myself... Im wondering how long you are running var for and how much?

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-14-2008, 12:49 PM

Thanks for the interest guys. I'm running 50mg every day for 10 weeks. I noticed my acne seems to be flairing up a bit today. It could be the var but I have no way of knowing for sure. It was there already and it's just a few more zits in the same problem areas. I'll try to get some pics up after class today.

**oneshot** · 03-14-2008, 04:53 PM

WHAT, NO TEST!!!!! just kidding, i have no room to criticize anyone for not doing test only as their first cycle. Ill be following this. good luck.

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-14-2008, 08:08 PM

Yeah, I actually have some test c on hand just in case I start losing libido etc. but I'd prefer not to use it. My brother (who's done 4 or 5 cycles) bought it and is planning to run it in early May and I don't want to mess up his cycle for him unless I really need to. In all his cycles he's never had any problems with testicular shrinkage so I'm hoping my genetics will carry me through. Besides, I'm only looking for strength and to lean muscle (hence the var cycle) with as little sides as possible. Some more observations from today:

-Pumps are getting crazy. I got a good shoulder/arm pump from brushing my teeth this morning, haha. While lifting today, even my synergistic and stabilizer muscles were getting some good blood flow. Awsome.

-I think I'm starting to feel some strength/endurance gains. I've upped my intensity at the gym but I feel like I can go forever. This could just be psychological from my excitement. I've only run through my muscle groups once since I've been on cycle so next week will be more telling.

-It's definitely time for some rest. I seem to be recovering normally muscle to muscle but my overall energy is low. I'm ready for some sleep this weekend.

This will probably be my last post till Monday. I'm going to see my woman this weekend and she doesn't know about my aas usage so I need to stay on the down-low. I didn't get a chance to take pictures today as I have to borrow my brother's camera but I promise I'll have them by early next week. Have a great weekend everybody!

**ToonPaul** · 03-15-2008, 05:45 AM

Whats your training split look like?

**ecto9** · 03-15-2008, 05:58 AM

Nice to see a var log. I ran it for 8wks and had great results. Actually var only is a popular cycle to run. Yeah I started getting insane pumps by the 3rd or 4th wk! I started at about 40 -50 mg and finally settled on 70mg. Gains are long lasting from this compound. 20mg Nolva X 2wks was my pct. Recovery was easy.

Keep us posted bro and happy lifting...

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-17-2008, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by ecto9

Nice to see a var log. I ran it for 8wks and had great results. Actually var only is a popular cycle to run. Yeah I started getting insane pumps by the 3rd or 4th wk! I started at about 40 -50 mg and finally settled on 70mg. Gains are long lasting from this compound. 20mg Nolva X 2wks was my pct. Recovery was easy.

Keep us posted bro and happy lifting...

Yeah when I was doing my research I couldn't find very many var only logs and that's partly why I decided to create this thread in the first place. To anyone else who has done a var only cycle, feel free to post your results here. Maybe we can get a little more literature out there for those trying to do some research.

Toon, my training split is as follows:
Monday:
chest/triceps/upper abs

Tuesday:
back/biceps/lower back

Wednesday:
upper abs/lower abs/obliques

Thurday:
deltoids/traps/triceps/lower back

Friday:
legs/lower abs

I am currently lifting for strength so heavy with low reps. I also do cardio most days but lifting is my first priority. I can start posting day to day workouts if anyone wants to know.

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-18-2008, 01:03 AM

Man, this stuff is starting to kick in! I thought I felt the pumps last week but that was nothing compared to this. I trained chest today and it was probably the craziest feeling I've ever had lifting. If all this stuff did was give me pumps like that, it would still be worth what I payed. My strength is on the rise as well. I usually do bench press at the beginning of my workout and last week I got 225 x 5 on my last set. Today, started off with weighted dips and bench second. I didn't have a spotter so I had to go little lighter than usual but for my last set I easily cranked out 10 reps of 205. I have some pec symmetry problems I'm still working on so the rest of my workout wasn't terribly impressive but the weights seem to be going in the right direction.

It was a tough weekend to stay strict with my diet and I did end up cheating a bit. Its hard being a college student who "just doesn't like to drink", but my concern for my liver triumphed over the temptation of alcohol. I told my girlfriend I was thinking about using aas and she freaked out on me. That could have gone better but I had some dirt on her as well so things ended up alright.

The biggest thing to report from the weekend though is anger. I'm not at all an angry person but I had some full on rage and for no apparent reason. I was at a friend's house on Saturday night when it just swept through me so much that I was thinking about who in the room I wanted to punch most. I haven't been in a fight since early high school but I was so mad that I went outside and punched the shit out of a fence. I've never hit a wall before in my life. Just as fast as it came on, it went away. Now I have no idea if this is linked the the var in any way and I've never heard of it causing increased aggression, but when tampering with body chemistry, who knows what can happen on an individual basis. I will be keeping a close eye on this as my actions are far more important then my physical state.

The only other things I have to report are that my appetite seems to be back to normal and took some pictures on Saturday that I'll put up tomorrow. Sorry I'm writing novels and telling every detail about possible sides. Like I said before I hope that this can be a resource so I feel like I should try to do it as scientifically as possible given the situation. Hope all is well and I'm looking forward to hearing some feedback.

**Hudson** · 03-18-2008, 01:04 PM

Hey Athletic, good to see a var only log, i'm gonna start a cycle soon and can't decide between Var and Tbol so i'll be checking on this thread with interest. Sounds like things are going pretty well apart from the rage, hope that was just a one off so you can carry on with the cycle and get some good gains.

Good luck!

**dupa95** · 03-18-2008, 01:48 PM

Looks good bro keep up the good work. And the anger CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF. Be a a man and keep it in control!

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-19-2008, 01:13 AM

Sorry, not much time to post today. Had an awesome workout. Strength is definitely going through the roof. I didn't try but I'm sure I could have set some PRs today the way I was lifting. The pumps are great too. Lower back pumps are the coolest feeling ever I think. I'll go into more detail tomorrow and I think I'm going to start posting my actual workouts (only if anyone cares to know). Hope all is well.

**Posideon** · 03-19-2008, 07:56 PM

Are you noticing a decrease in your body fat % ? Var is pretty good for that...

**Obro** · 03-20-2008, 09:06 PM

Keep it up AE. You write well and it's enjoyable to read. Where's those pics?

**ecto9** · 03-20-2008, 10:00 PM

Keep it up bro. Glad to read about your experiece with this compound.

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-26-2008, 10:13 PM

Hey everybody, sorry for the lack of posts lately. As I've mentioned I'm an engineering student and the last two weeks have been tests left and right. Sorry, school comes before the steroid forum (but not working out of course, haha). I haven't noticed much of a decrease in body fat, but it's pretty high at the moment so it's a little hard to tell. Looking at my pictures I don't believe that I'm 16% body fat, but that's what the gym trainer told me a two weeks before I started this cycle. I'd guess that I'm more like 20%. Stupid knee injury.

Some updates since I last posted:

My strength is through the roof; simply unbelievable. I'm easily the strongest I've ever been. Just Monday, two and a half weeks into my cycle, I bench pressed 225 ten times before I had to stop because I was giggling like a school girl. Awesome. Weights are up considerably for every lift.

I really need to get my body fat down so I've upped my cardio to an hour every day. Despite this, I'm up to 205 and I'm confident that it's nearly all muscle. I'm actually considering adding clen to the remainder of this cycle. Any opinions?

My hair seems to be falling out a bit faster then usual. Maybe I'm just paranoid. I'm on dutasteride, and using nizoral and minoxidil so there's not much else I can do anyway.

I've had a bit of a nagging shoulder injury that seems to be flaring up the last couple days. I just need to be more careful with my form and I'll be alright.

I have a test tomorrow so I need to go. Hope everyone is doing well.

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-26-2008, 10:27 PM

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-26-2008, 10:29 PM

There's the first of the long promised pictures. I'll upload some more later when I have more time.

**Hudson** · 03-27-2008, 06:06 AM

Hey Athletic, sounds like you're really enjoying your var experience. How long into the cycle are you now, a couple of weeks right? You keep going like this you've got some great gains to look forward to at the end. Be careful with that shoulder tho dude.

Keep it up!

**Obro** · 03-27-2008, 08:19 AM

Hi AE,
Sounds great so far.
Go the Clen or Winstrol for cut if your BF is that high. But take care mixing 17aa's.
Tip for your photos. You can crop them using MS office picture manager and what we see will be all body instead of 80% background.
I'll be following. Good luck mate.

**AthleticEngineering** · 03-27-2008, 11:07 AM

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, I really appreciate it. I have a test tonight that I'm putting off studying for so hopefully I'll be able to post more consistently after today. Yeah Hudson, I'm three weeks in today and I'm greatly enjoying it. I can already see growth, especially in my chest and shoulders. Thanks for the advice obro. I'm highly considering adding clen , especially now that I'm in a competition with my girlfriend to see who can get the nicest abs by summer, haha. I'm probably just annoyed with my bodyfat because I'm not used to carrying a lot and my knee surgery really set me back in that regard. Its hard to sit around for a month and be catered to and not gain weight. As far as cropping the pics, I will do that next time. I was going to add two more but I had trouble uploading them, maybe because they are too big? Anyway, I'll post after I work out today. Sorry if I'm rambling, I just really don't want to study. Hope all is well.

**Posideon** · 03-28-2008, 08:30 AM

Keep up the good work bro. Keep us posted.

**AthleticEngineering** · 04-01-2008, 02:21 AM

Hey all, sorry for the lack of posts, I've been super busy. Had a wedding to go to this weekend etc. Anyway, I worked chest today and I'm strong as hell. My schedule was really crazy today so I ended up lifting directly after an hour of cardio. Regardless, I cranked out 2 x 10 bench at 225 and another set of 8 at the same weight. I'm up to 206. So about 2 pounds per week so far... not bad considering the amount of cardio I'm doing. No new sides to report. Gotta run, I have homework to do, sorry.

**AthleticEngineering** · 04-07-2008, 12:25 PM

I just keep on getting stronger. Nothing too much to report other then that. No sides. I'm up to 207. Does anyone know how much of this strength will stick around after I'm off cycle?

**AthleticEngineering** · 04-09-2008, 12:24 AM

So I broke up with my girlfriend, which was the major reason I didn't add test to this cycle. I'm highly considering adding 10 weeks of test cyp starting this week.

**Facecrash** · 04-16-2008, 11:08 AM

that sucks bro, or does it? Good posts keep up the good work I'll be following!

**Posideon** · 04-17-2008, 07:19 PM

How mgs you taking a day bro?

**Posideon** · 04-17-2008, 07:20 PM

Dis reguard last post I got it..

**Obro** · 04-18-2008, 03:21 AM

Updates?

**overnightworker21** · 04-25-2008, 08:16 PM

bump for updates....noticed bf% go down much?

**millionairemurph** · 04-29-2008, 04:02 PM

dutas will do nothing at all when useing a dht based aas like var, only keep your natty test from converting to dht.

just thought id add that, good log.

**AthleticEngineering** · 05-12-2008, 01:30 AM

Alright, sorry for the lack of posts. This breakup hit me harder than expected and my life kinda went to shit for a while, but I'm pretty much back at it. I'm starting PCT today and I have to say I've made a lot of solid gains but probably not as much as I could have. I lost a lot of motivation for a couple weeks there. I'm still up considerably compared to pre-cycle stats. I have a seven am final tomorrow so I really need to stop procrastinating but I promise a complete follow-up post in the next couple days. Hope all is well!