First cycle, 12wk Test E. 500mg, strength building

[workmachine]

Hello.

As the title says. I will be starting a 12-week cycle next week with Testosterone Enanthate 500mg per week, injecting 250mg every 3.5d. Well, the cycle is pretty much what Austinite is suggesting in his thread for a beginner.

Current stats
Age: 23
Height: 182cm / ~6ft
Weight: ~95kg / ~208lbs
Bodyfat: 13%ish, getting close to 12 (tested)
Training exp: 4 years on/off. 1,5 year with a solid diet and a program. A bit over 6 months strength-oriented exercises only.

Goal: Add as many weight as possible on the big 3 lifts with minimal fat gain. Getting some serious conditioning in as well. Will be eating clean ~90% of the time. Strictly tracking/counting macros. No drinking, except if I will have a beer or two while sitting out with a friend once in a week or two, no more than that.

Current 1RMs:
(tested every lift while being on a diet for 1m+)
Squat: 165kg / 363.7lbs (tested on a lousy day, maybe -10kg)
Bench: 110kg / 242.5lbs
Deadlift: 200kg / 440.9lbs
OHP: 75kg / 165.3lbs

Big 3 Total: 475kg / 1047.2lbs


I will be getting my bodyfat percentage checked tomorrow. Injecting for the first time next monday. Unfortunately bloodwork cannot be done pre-cycle, but I will be getting mid-BW and post-BW. Taking a risk there, but I've been living a very healthy lifestyle for a couple of years, so everything should be good to go. Feel free to comment anything! I will MAYBE post pictures/videos, not promising anything, but I will surely keep you posted.


I attached my program/cycle plan into this post. The workout program might and probably will change upon how I feel when the stuff starts to kick in. Wish me luck!

[workmachine]

Week 1
Day 2

Weight: 95kg / 209,4lbs

I did my first pin of 250mg Test E. yesterday morning in to my right outer quad. I was super nervous doing it, hands trembling, sweating, feet getting cold etc.. But I managed to do it anyways. I don't like the feeling of the substance pouring in to the muscle, the slight pressure that you feel. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable for sure. I was 24 hours late with my first hCG shot, but I did it just a minute ago in to my bellyfat. That was a bit painful/uncomfortable too. Will be doing both of them at the same time from now on. I will get more used to this, that's for sure. Just takes a couple of shots I think. First 0,25mg of aridimex taken today as well. Next pin thursday evening. Right quad a bit sore, but that's normal I guess. Virgin muscle and all, as many guys seem to call it.

I'm going to schedule a bloodwork to be done at like 8 weeks into the cycle, about halfway through. It's gonna cost a lot of money, because I need a doc's referral and all, but it is worth it for sure.

Today will be the first training session "un-natural", but most definitely I won't be feeling any effects yet. Will keep you guys posted!

[bermich]

Do you have a friend or someone you trust knowing what you are doing? I had my female room mate do some of my ass shots. Shed just stick the pin in and done in 5 seconds. Took away some of the anxiety. I still get nervous at times. I stopped doing quads though. Just delts and glutes

[workmachine]

Do you have a friend or someone you trust knowing what you are doing? I had my female room mate do some of my ass shots. Shed just stick the pin in and done in 5 seconds. Took away some of the anxiety. I still get nervous at times. I stopped doing quads though. Just delts and glutes

Yes I do have a girlfriend who is willing to give me the shots, but I can't rely on her being there every single time I need to pin, so I might as well try to suck it up and pin by myself.
Thanks for the comment though!

Oh, tomorrow night is the 2nd pin. Also I made some changes in to my workout routine. I'm squatting five days a week. Three times heavy 3x5s, two times lighter front/box squat. Will post the updated routine tomorrow, now I just wanna eat and chill out after a nice gym sesh!

[AR's King Silabolin]

You got your pct on hand yet?

[fxrjuiceman]

Yes I do have a girlfriend who is willing to give me the shots, but I can't rely on her being there every single time I need to pin, so I might as well try to suck it up and pin by myself. Thanks for the comment though! Oh, tomorrow night is the 2nd pin. Also I made some changes in to my workout routine. I'm squatting five days a week. Three times heavy 3x5s, two times lighter front/box squat. Will post the updated routine tomorrow, now I just wanna eat and chill out after a nice gym sesh!

2 things bro..... If your squating 5xs a week you Probly don't need anabolics yet. You should be focusing on training a muscle group so hard that the next day your legs or chest etc are dead there's no way your still hitting. A same body part 5 days a week I'd really question your workout routine


Second I would not pin my quads as a first or second pin definetly the glute especially if you only have to do 2xs a week. U can easily hit a nerve or the wrong spot and u will have a dead leg and won't be able to walk or train for a few day. I no from experience

[workmachine]

You got your pct on hand yet?

Yes.

2 things bro..... If your squating 5xs a week you Probly don't need anabolics yet. You should be focusing on training a muscle group so hard that the next day your legs or chest etc are dead there's no way your still hitting. A same body part 5 days a week I'd really question your workout routine


Second I would not pin my quads as a first or second pin definetly the glute especially if you only have to do 2xs a week. U can easily hit a nerve or the wrong spot and u will have a dead leg and won't be able to walk or train for a few day. I no from experience

I want to get my squat up, so why not train it a bit more than usual, especially when I'm enchanced and thus I should be able to recover faster and put even more weight on the bar? Also the high volume of squats will really get me used to squatting even more, which is my main goal of squatting a lot. My motto goes: more is more. Also, I love squatting, so why not?

Yeah I will be going to pin my glute tomorrow night, since my right quad is still a bit sore from the last pin. I do a lot of stretching and foamrolling and usually do some walking/light cardio after the injection, that seemed to help the soreness. On a side note, I found it pretty easy to find a good pinning spot on my quad, because I have a lot of meat in my legs. But still, I get your point bro. Going for glute for now. Thanks for the comment

[bermich]

5x a week for the legs? They need recovery time. You keep working them and they dont recover and they dont grow. So, youre working them too much especially for such a big muscle group. OR, youre not really working them enough making you feel you need to hit them each day. You should be squating 2 to 3x a week Not 5

[workmachine]

Week 1
Day 6

Weight: Idk, not much change in the mirror though.

I did my 2nd pin two days ago, Thursday night before bed. I changed my mind about going for the glute just before pinning. It felt kinda awkward and I didn't feel confident pinning back there on my own. So I went for my left outer quad, and the injection went in just fine, really good actually. No pip, just a mild soreness on the spot. Gonna do my right quad again on Monday.

Training's been fine, I haven't seen much effect yet though. Yesterday's back extensions got me thinking though. I had a sick pump going on for like 20 minutes afterwards, but I really doubt that it had anything to do with the test. Today I will be doing some squats, overhead press and rows along with chinups and core work thrown in. As for a warmup, I'm gonna do Yoga for 1hr to get myself very limber and ready for a beating.

I will post the updated training routine tonight, now I gotta get to the gym.

5x a week for the legs? They need recovery time. You keep working them and they dont recover and they dont grow. So, youre working them too much especially for such a big muscle group. OR, youre not really working them enough making you feel you need to hit them each day. You should be squating 2 to 3x a week Not 5

They've been recovering just fine, and I'll be just fine. And I'm still hitting them hard enough, weight is going up steadily and I feel like I'm making progress.

[bermich]

Cool. No more advice from me needed.

[workmachine]

Week 2
Day 9

Yo. Been pinning the quads, they've went really well. Some minor soreness afterwards, nothing big.

Do I see any changes yet? Yes. Weight has gone up like 4 pounds, although most of it is water weight. Started to measure my waist as of this morning.
Last night when I was showering, I checked my chest hair, and was like "Wtf, do I have more chest hair? Naahhh, probably just in my head..". Then I went to bed and my girlfriend says: "Hey I think you have more chest hair". Nope, not just in my head. Not any noticeable changes with the weights regarding to the test, although I'm progressing all the time nevertheless.

Btw, I actually started squatting every day now (day 9), and I'm loving it so far. Can't wait to see the results after two months. Dreaming of dat 440 squat. I'll probably start benching 2 times a week, along with 2 times a week deadlift too. I'm eating at least 4000kcal/day at the moment. Getting 200+ protein and the rest comes from carbs & fat. Doing steady cardio 2-3 times a week and gonna throw in one HIIT workout at some point, preferably sprints or something. Not doing ropeskipping for a while, because my ankle started acting up. I'm gonna let that heal. Stay tuned for more updates.

EDIT: Also, libido has been increased since day 7 or so. Thank god I have a girlfriend.

[workmachine]

Week 2
Day 12

Been pinning the quads without any issues. I definitely feel a small boost strength-wise, but hard to tell if it's just the caloric surplus or the AAS. Libido is fine, nothing extraordinary though.

Like I said I've squatted every day now, and it's the 12th consecutive day for me. Squatting is becoming a bit easier mentally. I'm slowly easing myself into heavier weights and lower rep ranges. Doing lowbar squats 3 times/wk and front&highbar 4 times with a bit lower weight. Benching 3 times a week, one being closegrip and deadlifting twice. Doing some strict OHP and rows as well. Abs/core every day with hanging legraises and ab-wheel. Chins/pullups and dips as well. Ain't doing nothing fancy, except some stuff for rear delts and overall shoulder health.

[workmachine]

Week 3
Day 21

Hello all! Just a quick update. I am on the road at the moment, visiting my parents this weekend with my gf. Been feeling a bit sick, mild flu, this week, but haven't really affected my training in any way. My strength levels are going up for sure now, and it is not just the bulk, an program I think. It's the test starting to do it's trick.

Past couple of days I've started to get massive sickening pumps, especially on my forearms. Was doing couple of curls for fun two days ago and my forearms were absolutely pumped. I can also see some changes in the physique, but most of it is water retention I guess.

My last 1rm squat was on a diet, 165kg just below parallel, lowbar, In Flames blasting from the earbuds, amped af.
Now I did 165kg two days ago, complete ATG highbar with a shitty bb-belt, calm, focused lift w/o music. And it was easy.
Yesterday I did 160kg lowbar ATG without belt, feeling a bit under the weather due to flu. Didn't want to push too much.

Now today I'm heading to the gym again, to do some squats (who wouldv've guessed) and bench!

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a nice day!!

[workmachine]

Week 5
Day 29

An update! This morning I pinned for the 9th time, again in my quad (rotating between right and left quad) and it went smoothly. The injections are going very well and I've gotten used to the process.

My testies have shrunk a bit even though I've been shooting ~260iu's of hCG with my test e. shots. Any idea why is that? It is a bit over 250 because I did not do a perfect job mixing and preloading the medicine in to the syringes, which I have in my freezer. I also upped my AI dosage last week to .25mg ED, but I felt like I started getting sides so I went back to .125mg ED. Been taking it every day just because it's easier to remember.

No drastic changes with strength/physique. Been getting some size definitely since I am like +12lbs. Squat, dl and bench been going up but not THAT much. I've been getting pretty intense pumps past week, especially in my forearms and lower back. The lower back pumps are almost unbearable when I go all out on hyperextensions. It hurts, but I kinda enjoy the pain.

Girlfriend told me that my butt has definitely grown. Well, I am squatting every day to daily max so it was kinda expected. My bodily hair has also increased some.

The next following weeks will be very interesting, because people are saying that around weeks 5-7 you really should notice the difference. So far so good. Stay tuned!


Edit: forgot to mention that I had to take couple of days off last weeks because of flu. But it has gotten better now.

[Kyle1337]

I would recommend going to the .25mg EOD of the adex... it stays in the body longer than a day that's why it's usually dosed at EOD.

Testies will shrink no matter what unless you're gifted and they magically don't... which they're lying anyway. Even with HCG , it doesn't keep from shrinking, it just keeps them from turning 'off'.

[workmachine]

I would recommend going to the .25mg EOD of the adex... it stays in the body longer than a day that's why it's usually dosed at EOD.

Testies will shrink no matter what unless you're gifted and they magically don't... which they're lying anyway. Even with HCG, it doesn't keep from shrinking, it just keeps them from turning 'off'.

Alright, thanks for the input man! So there is nothing to worry about with my a bit shrunken testies, good to know.

I am well aware that adex has a longer half-life, something like 50hrs? But I am still getting the same amount of the drug if I am doing .125 ed, am I not? I understand that it is recommended to take it eod, but I don't understand the reasoning behind it? Longer half-life yes, but how does that affect you? I will have to research when I get home today.

Btw, I've gained like 15 pounds overall and lost about an inch from my waist. Wtf? Gotta admit, the steroids do work.

[s4nchez]

im keep following your progress bro, before i start my first cycle

[kelkel]

Testies will shrink no matter what. Even with HCG

Not true at all.

[kelkel]

5x a week for the legs? They need recovery time. You keep working them and they dont recover and they dont grow. So, youre working them too much especially for such a big muscle group. OR, youre not really working them enough making you feel you need to hit them each day.

I would agree with this. Your legs are growing when your resting, eating, etc. Not by working them 5 days per week. What it indicates is that you're not working them that hard. If you were you would not even consider more than possibly two times per week, regardless of what anabolics you may take. Cut your sessions back, train balls out and I'll bet you'll see great progress.

[Kyle1337]

Not true at all.

I would ask to explain, however after more mixed responses online it still is a hit and miss. However, according to austinite, it should prevent atrophy. I guess nobody really knows for sure, or there's just too much BS online.

[workmachine]

I would agree with this. Your legs are growing when your resting, eating, etc. Not by working them 5 days per week. What it indicates is that you're not working them that hard. If you were you would not even consider more than possibly two times per week, regardless of what anabolics you may take. Cut your sessions back, train balls out and I'll bet you'll see great progress.

I will post a better update tomorrow after pinning about strength gains so far and training in general. So far no major sides, only oily face and bodily hair growth. So far so good.

I was supposed to donate blood this week, but turns out that they don't accept my blood because I've injected myself with needles. Well, their loss.

[Chadcon09]

Yeah legs everyday lol. Recover man if you dont, you will do more then good

[Kyle1337]

I will post a better update tomorrow after pinning about strength gains so far and training in general. So far no major sides, only oily face and bodily hair growth. So far so good.

I was supposed to donate blood this week, but turns out that they don't accept my blood because I've injected myself with needles. Well, their loss.

[kelkel]

I was supposed to donate blood this week, but turns out that they don't accept my blood because I've injected myself with needles. Well, their loss.

How on earth would they know that unless you told them?

[zejj]

Intresting thread can't wait to see the results

[workmachine]

How on earth would they know that unless you told them?

Well, only me being honest and telling about it, but I've come to conclusion that I don't give a thing about it at this point. The blood goes through many filters until it's put to use, and if it's not usable, they will just throw it in the bin. I will donate blood tomorrow, but I'll have to drive like ~270 kilometres to donate, but it'll be worth it. A nice little roadtrip with girlfriend


Week 9
Day 59

Still squatting every day and I'm alive and doing well. Benching 2-3 times, rowing 1-2, pressing once, deadlifting once and rack pulling once. Then I throw in some rear delt, rotator cuff, armstuff, chin/pullups when I feel like it. I've been sick once during the cycle which was unfortunate, so I had to take 3 days off to get the fever down. Then I think one sunday couple weeks ago I had a restday as well. I really love squatting everyday and I will keep going with this even after my cycle. Probably just taper down the volume a bit, since my recovery won't be the same anymore at that point.

So I squat every single day to my daily max, which I can get up with ease without getting my heartrate up with aggressive music or anything. So it's usually more like ~90-95%ish of my real max. I have a minimum number in my head that I want to hit and go by feel. Then 3-4 times a week I do some volume dropsets, pause squats etc. after that.

So, everyone's probably interested about the gains, so here's some numbers for you fellas:
Before cycle -> Now

Squat: 165kg (363,8lbs)x1 lowbar JUST at the parallel + got hyped with In Flames and crazy thoughts -> 185kg (407,8lbs) 100% ATG highbar while listening to ads from radio. I'm hitting 5-7 reps for sets with that 165kg ATG highbar. I only do highbar/frontsquat because I felt like lowbar was taxing my lower back a bit too much at daily squatting. And also because I love ATG highbar.

Bench: 110kg (242,5lbs)x1 (got super hyped and busted a mega grinder with a spotter, who might've actually helped super slightly -> 110kg (242,5lbs)x4 with ease. Haven't tried a single in a while. Bench has always been a weak spot for me, but I'm confident that I'll hit 272,5lbs in the end of the cycle, maybe more.

Deadlift: 200kg(440,9lbs) snapcity supergrinder with heavy metal -> 210kg (463lbs) with ease after heavy volume front squats. Not a big increase, but my squats are the priority at the moment. The deadlift will surely bump up from all the heavy squatting. I haven't deadlifted heavy for weeks now since I tweaked something from the left side of my chest/oblique like 3-4 weeks ago while doing chinups. But I'm doing sets of 10-12 with 200kg with rack pull from the knee. I will do some heavy deadlifts next saturday if my body allows me to.

OHP: 60kg(132,3lbs)x2 with struggle -> 65kg(143,3lbs) for like 7-8 reps. I used to do 7-8 reps with 50kg(110,2lbs), now I'm pumping more like 15 with that. No half-repping or helping with legs, full ROM strict presses.



I've been pinning quads, rotating between left and right outer quad. Injections have been going good. Once I had to pin without alcohol swipes, because I was on the road during new year's eve, but I made sure I was clean as I can get with soap and water and had sterile needles. Still doing 250IU of hCG with every test e. shot. No major pips or any weird complications regarding the shots.

I've been eating around 4500-5500kcal a day, mostly clean, no alcohol apart from a beer or two. I've gained some nice size all around my body. Haven't stepped on the scale, been just watching myself from the mirror. I've obtained some flab for sure, but I can still barely see the abs. Veins started to pop from my quads some time ago, even though I'm at a bit higher bf%, around high 17 I think. I will check my weight after the cycle, if not before. For some reason I don't like scales.

No major side effects from the test. Bodily hair growth, some minor acne on my left shoulder/chest area. Oily skin, elevated libido, elevated RHR (like +10, what's up with that?), and I'm a bit more aggressive. I tend to get these moments where I got irritated for some stupid reason, but I've started to learn to let it go now. I've changed the Adex to .5mg EOD/E3D and I feel like it's in a good spot like this, I had an episode where I thought I was getting high/low e sides and I started to change the dosage. I haven't had a bloodwork and that's unfortunately out of question on this cycle, and there is really no other way to accurately measure my e2 levels. Might be taking an unnecessary risk there, but so far so good.




Here's my yesterday's workout so you can get a better idea what I'm doing:

Warmup/mobilization for 30min

Highbar Squat 1RM + Volume (in kilos)
3x10x20
3x5x60
3x100
3x120
2x140
1x160
1x175
1x185
5x160
6x160
3x3x150 (pause)

Incline DB Press
~5x8-12

Dips
10,8,7

Total time: 01:38:41

I was feeling super tired after squats so I took it easy from there on. I will report when there is something to report, probably next week! Oh and by the way, we got engaged with my girlfriend on new year's eve. Happy about that

[workmachine]

I'll quickly post today's workout as well:


Squat ED: 56

30min warmup/mobilization

Highbar Squat 1RM
3x10x20
3x5x60
3x100
3x120
2x140
1x160
1x170

Barbell Row
2x10x20
10x50
5x10-12x90

Z-Bar Curl
6x8-15
+ last 3 sets supersetted with some rear delt/rotator cuff cable pull, 3x20

Total time: 01:48:35

Notes

[workmachine]

A quick update from week 10. I got a flu this week and I've had a fever since last monday. Pretty unlucky to be sick twice already on my first cycle, but what you gonna do about it. Even if I had to take a full week or two off of training, I wouldn't lose that much anyways.

I'm trying to think in a positive way; if will have to rest now, my fairly beat up body and mind can have it's much needed rest at the same time. Maybe it turns out to be better in the end, who knows?

[45lb]

A quick update from week 10. I got a flu this week and I've had a fever since last monday. Pretty unlucky to be sick twice already on my first cycle, but what you gonna do about it. Even if I had to take a full week or two off of training, I wouldn't lose that much anyways.

I'm trying to think in a positive way; if will have to rest now, my fairly beat up body and mind can have it's much needed rest at the same time. Maybe it turns out to be better in the end, who knows?

Let yourself recover. You'll be back in it before you know it.