After 8 years off, my next cycle begins (enan/var)

[m16a2]

It has been a LONG time but I am finally ready. I had good experiences with my previous cycles and I stopped because the priorities after college shift. 8 years later, I'm in a great place in my life to run a cycle. I am obviously more mature and have a ton of knowledge archived in my mind that is waiting to be recalled.

So I'm ready to start my first pin and wanted to share my final plan and see if I have any obvious errors or omissions. Otherwise, this will become my cycle log.

Age 29
Weight 178
Bf (estimate) 15%

Here's the breakdown:

test enan 600mg wk1-12 (week 1 is front-loaded at 1000mg)
var 70mg ed wk 7-15 (*adjusted from 80mg to 70mg)
l-dex - wk 1-15 .25mg ed
nolva - wk 1-15 10mg ed
hcg 250 iu 2-3x / week (*added wk 3-15)

PCT wk 15-18
Clomid 100,100,50,50
Nolva 40,40,20,20
l-dex - .25mg/day


Alright. Let's bring back... that loving feeling.

[m16a2]

Week 3 began on 4/9 and I wanted to post the updates so far.

Updates to the plan:
- Added HCG 250iu 2-3x/wk starting week 3-15. After a lot of research and literally feeling my own natty test shutdown, I finally was convinced that HCG should be used during almost any cycle. I never thought it was necessary and I still don't think it is absolutely necessary but it keeps your natural test production going during the cycle which, making for an easier recovery since you don't suffer an extended period of atrophy. There are other benefits, such as having your balls work and probably an increase in overall test (natty+supplemented)
-Changed Anavar from 80mg@7 weeks to 70mg@8 weeks. The reasoning is that I think 80mg is pretty high since the highest I've taken before was 40-50mg. Also, 8 weeks is fine for a var cycle.

Okay, now for the more interesting notes...

Within 24 hours, I felt some of the sides of the test - in other words, increased sex drive. That has gotten stronger.
on 4/8 (almost 3 weeks into cycle), I felt the first psychological sides - increased anxiety, slightly more aggressive (nothing like fina, but I could tell). Also, my shoulders felt heavy... For me, this is one side effect that always happens when supplementing test. My shoulders feel broader and like I just did pushups, even though I didn't.

Last night in the gym, I think the cycle showed some results in the gym. I was working out my legs and my strength had substantially increased. 30% higher than a month ago. I am anxious to see how the increases to my upper body have been. Last week, I had noticed marginal increases in bi's, tri's, lat's, and compounds but nothing like last night's workout. I am fairly confident that my cycle has kicked in right just before the 3-week mark.

My weight has slightly increased from 176-178 +/- 1lb. The daily pictures show a little more definition in my core and upper body. I think that the l-dex/nolva combination has been effective in limiting my water retention.

I've been low-carb for a long time now but in order to get my macros, I've added oats to help me get the carbs. My diet should be in check. As for cardio, I have suspended the jogging for two reasons - first, my increased BP makes it difficult. And more important, I agree with everyone else about running on cycle limiting the gains. Instead, I've added core and ab exercises every workout between sets to keep my mid-body in check (and diet, of course).

No sides to report. Everything looks good so far.

[PumpMasterFlex]

Update? I was looking forward to this.

[m16a2]

Cool, I wasn't sure anyone was paying attention so I didn't post the updates. I've been tracking many different metrics the entire time. Here's the update:

Week 5 started 4/23:
Notes
- the HCG definitely works but it seems to get less potent as it sits in the refrigerator (obviously, ymmv).
- experienced unusual muscle fatigue in week 4. Added creatine mono and BCAA to diet. The creatine might help to get an extra pump but I'm skeptical about the BCAA's despite the buzz
- I've increased each pin to 1.6 cc, which is closer to 750mg/wk. The reason is that I felt like weeks 1-3 were better than 3-5 and I credit the front-load on week 1. I don't think that I was responding as well to 600mg/wk. Also, my gear is UGL so I only know for a fact how many CC's are being used, not necessarily the effective mg.

Strength
- Between week 3-5, there was a slight increase in strength but it isn't dramatic. I'm hoping that the addition of var will unlock the power.

Weight Gain
- there's been a slight weight gain from 177 to 180 (which is a gain of about 4 lbs from start).
- weight gain isn't the most important metric for me but some factors to consider with the weight gain are: 1) stopping cardio, 2) consuming more food and carbs, 3) starting creatine. These could be responsible for some of the weight gain along with the cycle.

Hopefully in the next update, I will have some more interesting news.

[Times Roman]

how long have you been lifting this time pprior to your starting this cycle?

[PumpMasterFlex]

How's it coming along, dude? How are the strength gains?

[m16a2]

Week 12 started today and I have 6 weeks to summarize in this post...

Strength
- The strength substantially increased beginning week 6. There was no doubt that the cycle was in full swing since each workout pushed me past my previous week's limit.
- I began var in week 7 and I'm confident that some of the explosive strength was a result of adding var into my cycle
- The strength increases continued until present (beginning of week 12).

Weight Gain
- 4/23 - 180, 5/7 - 181, 5/14 - 184, 5/28 - 185, 6/4 - 190, 6/11 - 191
- I did notice that some additional fat was resulting from this cycle, so I resumed a little jogging into my routine. My BP is elevated, causing shin splints and limiting cardio in many ways.
- Muscles have hardened and grown, especially around shoulders.
- Overall, good size and muscle gains. I will need to have a controlled PCT to maintain the gains and prevent additional fat gain. I'll definitely need to cut after my levels are restored.

This was a good cycle and I'm counting down the days until my PCT begins. There are some solid gains that will benefit nicely from cutting.