First Cycle Log: Test Cyp 500 mg/wk

[TheTaxMan]

just caught up on your log mate, dont worry too much on the loss of defination

its your first cycle and your doing great imo! u seem to b piling on the mass

keep it up

[USVet81]

Well, I was for a bit but haven't gained weight now for about 2 weeks. I'm still getting stronger though so I'm not too worried. My goals were much more around getting stronger without putting on 50lbs. I'm at the front side of a strength/conditioning plan that's going to take me a good 2-3 years to achieve. Once I wrap this I will take 3 months off then plan on another Test C cycle @ 700mg/wk for 12 wks. Goals there will be increasing strength further around the same basic compound movements I have been working on here but will also heavily focus on snatches and clean and jerks for higher weights. Before I start trying to work towards developing a 275-300lb snatch I want to get a much deeper foundation in place with my legs, back, and shoulders.

[chefjmo]

GREAT progress man!

[Kyle1337]

Well, I was for a bit but haven't gained weight now for about 2 weeks. I'm still getting stronger though so I'm not too worried. My goals were much more around getting stronger without putting on 50lbs. I'm at the front side of a strength/conditioning plan that's going to take me a good 2-3 years to achieve. Once I wrap this I will take 3 months off then plan on another Test C cycle @ 700mg/wk for 12 wks. Goals there will be increasing strength further around the same basic compound movements I have been working on here but will also heavily focus on snatches and clean and jerks for higher weights. Before I start trying to work towards developing a 275-300lb snatch I want to get a much deeper foundation in place with my legs, back, and shoulders.

Why increase the dose, more isn't always better. If you're seeing good gains on this cycle, it's good to try again. No need for the 40% increase in usage.

If you really want strength, try some dbol for 4 weeks. That stuff is much cheaper too.

[USVet81]

Why increase the dose, more isn't always better. If you're seeing good gains on this cycle, it's good to try again. No need for the 40% increase in usage.

If you really want strength, try some dbol for 4 weeks. That stuff is much cheaper too.

Hey man. I will private message you on this one.

[USVet81]

Day 47
Weight 232

So, right about halfway through the cycle and have gained 30 lbs. Trust me though... There's a fair amount of fat gain. I've been going back and forth in my mind about how to close the second half out. Honestly this is because of seeing posts of others experiences and reading elsewhere where I see people talking about losing muscle gains during PCT and winding up with a ton of fat left over from bulking but nothing to show for it. That makes me nervous and I am toying with increasing my cardio, daily, from here on out. Earlier in the cycle I did a little cardio here and there just to gauge what I had lost on the endurance side but I have not made it consistent in lieu of focusing on strength gains.

So therein lies the question. Can I continue to make strength gains while also adopting a cardio program that effectively will cut about 12 lbs that I otherwise would not lose over the next 6 weeks? I remember when I was younger I had no problem getting bigger while running several miles a day at the same time... I was just always in the gym back then. As long as motivation holds I'm going to give this a shot... If I don't see strength gains continuing I will back off.

Workout today:

Cardio for 1 hr and 10 min (1000 calories)

Rest and stretch for 30 minutes

Flat Bench:

225x16
225x14
225x12
225x10
135x20

Machine Fly

180x10
190x10
200x10

Single arm Triceps extensions
35x10
40x10
50x10

Preacher Curls
135x10
145x10
155x10

Lateral pull down
180x10
190x10
200x10

[88MVet]

excited to see your final results brother. Starting soon with the exact numbers. Done several PH stacks but side effects are too harsh for less results. Good reads

[Kyle1337]

From my understanding, it is not wise to cut after gaining new muscle. It will simply be burnt off. Maybe someone else can chime in on this. However, it's not a very mature muscle and you may risk burning it off to quick. Compromising gainz is never a good thing. Maybe on your next cycle work on trimming fay and dialing in a diet for a small gain but a excellent cut at same time.

[USVet81]

Day 52
Body Weight (224) -8
250 mg test
.25 mg anastrozole

So, have modified my diet and cardio per my previous post 5 days ago. Had been originally consuming 4000 calories a day until 5 days ago and have reduced to 2800. Also increased cardio to 1000-1500 calories a day and have continued the same lifting regimen. The net difference is -2200 to -2700 calories a day. So far I have dropped 8 lbs (in 5 days) but some of this of course is water. I've continued to gain strength this week with no impact.

Flat bench:
Still not going for a true max increase but at 225 have increased from 16 to 18 reps... Damn close to 19.

Back squat previous max posted was 380 about 10 days ago. I did 395 today with great form. Sadly my form didn't hold at 400+ but I will give it another shot in a few days. Had I not gone for 395 I'm sure I would have done 400 fine.

Deadlift (no wraps) has increased from 435 to 455.

Current Big 3 (assuming the same 340 bench I had weeks ago) is 1190. Very much looking forward to breaking 1200 lbs this week.

Again if I see a loss of strength I will increase calories... If I don't I will continue on this path.

[USVet81]

Day 61
Body Weight 220 (-4)

Still putting up higher weights. Went for a true 1RM flat bench today and put up 365. Also put up 225 x 20 unbroken.

Broke 400 in back squat. Made 410 a few days ago.

Dead lift is at 465.

Big 3 is at 1240 now.

Starting to wonder if I will make 400 on bench...

[USVet81]

Day 62
Body Weight 222 (+2)
Pinned 250mg Test C Right Glute
.25MG Anastrozole
Pinned 250iu HCG left side of belly button

Sitting in my barn getting ready to work out... Feeling a little bummed that I am inside of a month of being done with this. I suppose I'm just expecting the worst and have a vision that strength gains made over the last few months are going to quickly go to shit. We shall see I suppose... Will post my workout in an edit to this post once I'm done.

I never really posted about libido but I have seen some folks ask for it on other threads... Yeah, it went through the roof a month or so ago. Bedroom life had somewhat stagnated at my house but that really took off again. It doesn't take much more than a strong breeze and I feel like I popped a Viagra. I guess it's good to know that I haven't broken anything down there, so far, yet. lol.

On another note I still have no clue if the stuff I received to add to my PCT is good or not... Pulled this from the PCT forum in case anyone sees this post but doesn't visit that forum much:

"Received my order for Nolva today... Got 90 20mg pills of Zutam (tamoxifen citrate) manufactured by zuvius life sciences pvt ltd in India instead. Packaging looks professional, exp date is fine, has a batch #, and mfg date."

Any experience with "Zuvius Life Sciences" would be appreciated.

Workout today:

Lower Body

Back Squat:

PVC Pipe X 10
135 X 10
225 X 10
315 X 8
365 X 6
365 X 6

Dead Lift
135 X 10
225 X 10
365 X 8
405 X 6
405 X 5

Calf Raises (dumbbell)
80 X 15
80 X 15
80 X 15
80 X 15 (It's the heaviest dumbbell I own... eh... )

Front Squat
135 X 8
225 X 6
275 X 6

Updated photo

[USVet81]

Day 73
Body Weight 223
Missed yesterday... Pinned 250 mg test and 300 iu HCG today.

Things have somewhat leveled out over the last 10 days or so.

On 4/5/2016 I was at:
Flat Bench: 365 X 1 and 225 X 20
Back Squat: 410 X 1
Dead Lift: 465 X 1
Front Squat: 315 X 1

Took yesterday off, did a warm up, and came in today at:

Flat bench: 370 and 225X22
Back Squat: 410
Dead Lift: 490
Front Squat: 315
Shoulder Press: 225 X 5
Big 3: 1270lbs

Again, compared to where I was on Feb 3rd when I started:

Bench 275
Back squat 230
Dead lift 300
Seated Shoulder Press: 155
Big 3 total: 805

Went and bought a concept 2 rower on craigslist about 2 weeks ago. Holy crap my hips are tight. Have been doing 5000 meters every other day and it's just taking a bit to get the joint loose.

Watching the diet more tightly I have noticed that I am keeping muscle and losing fat. In the last 2 1/2 months I have gained 17 lbs of muscle according to tape. A few weeks back when I went above 230 lbs I couldn't see abs whatsoever... Now they're back. In the morning it looks decent before I start drinking a lot of liquids.

I don't "feel" bigger now, but I get comments from a lot of people. Dude stopped me in walmart last week to ask what he should take for supplements... A guy did the same last night randomly at a restaurant, and a few others in between. Had to go buy a new wardrobe because nothing fit anymore... Last fall when I was in the 185lb range I could wear a medium shirt from most brands. Now I am in X-Large comfortably. Large shirts look like compression garments.

Maybe it's all in my head but I physically feel better an hour or two after I pin on Test/HCG days. My head feels clearer and I just feel more focused and alert afterwards.

Lets, see... that's about it. I'm going to really really really hit it the last 2 weeks here. Honestly I have slacked a tad but I'm going to go hard and close this out as good as I can.

[USVet81]

Day 78
Body weight 225

So, curiously, still running far fewer calories (high protein low carb) and not losing weight. Not sure what's up there other than water retention.

Got stuck out of town this week so missed my Wednesday pin. Didn't get home till today so did 300mg test, 300iu HCG , and .25 mg anastrozole.

Got labs back today also from Monday.

Total test was 2545 ng/dl
Free Test was 790 pg/ml
Bio Available was 1620 ng/dl

Cholesterol was up... Resting heart rate is still up almost 100%.

Haven't lost any hair, thankfully, through this process as I have stuck to finasteride (which I've taken every day for 3 years this week) and rogain which I started daily a few months ago. That's key for me because I am extremely predisposed to hair loss and I'm fighting that battle. I know from the service that bald I look like an absolute psychopath... So trying to beat it. Lol

This week I've had mixed results...

Flat bench 360 (-10) 225x20
Back squat 420 (+10)
Dead Lift 500 (+10)

Total 1280

Had to take a photo of my dead lift... 500 was a good barrier mentally so I was happy about that.

Chest felt weird the last few days. Going to give it a week and come back to that. Just going to do back and legs the next 7 days.

[USVet81]

Day 84
Body Weight 225
275 mg test
250 iu HCG

Welp... My previous pin was my 24th. Today I used up the remaining overfill in each vial and pinned Test for the last time this cycle (25th and final).

Not much to say I suppose. I feel good today. Happy with my body fat percentage considering weight gain (around 15% at the moment), look good, feel strong... Two nights ago I was standing next to a guy I work with, at work, and there was a mirror across the room on the wall. I've really put on a lot of size that I hadn't noticed. In photos at the beginning of the year I was about the same size as this dude and he just seemed small next to me. I hadn't really realized I had put on that much size this year until just then.

On Tuesday I did a one hour very intense HIIT workout just to see where I stood coming out of this. My RHR has been in the high 80s lately (compared to high 40s prior to starting) and I had to stop to catch my breath after about 35 minutes. I just got very hot... I guess I expect that somewhat. Also have some insane DOMs in my quads from the 600+ squats I did during that hour so I took yesterday off. Still need to workout today and tomorrow to see where I am this week.

I guess my mind and focus more than anything is PCT right now. I've got everything lined up and am starting the clock today to beginning Clomid and the Nolva knockoff I received several weeks back. Will post this weeks lift numbers on Saturday I suppose.

[AKD_FitChick]

Great log! You look great! Size is awesome.

[InternalFire]

good log, I must read this trough carefully, good stuff man, looking forward to the end of your pct, so far seems you done well and it should be speedy. Are you gonna do bloods after pct is over and body is clear of stuff?

[USVet81]

good log, I must read this trough carefully, good stuff man, looking forward to the end of your pct, so far seems you done well and it should be speedy. Are you gonna do bloods after pct is over and body is clear of stuff?

Hey man. You bet I am... I wouldn't risk having screwed up test levels after this cycle and just guessing that things are fine.

[USVet81]

Day 94
Body Weight 219 (but its 93 degrees and I've been working in the sun all day long)

So, I'm 10 days post last test shot. I'm still taking anastrozole (.25 mg) eod, and still taking 250 iu HCG twice per week. I've gotta say, so far other than water weight drop and looking more cut I don't feel different. Then again I still have about another week and a half until my test levels theoretically bottom.

I'm still getting 300mg protein each day, and haven't lost any strength thus far. To this point there is zero decrease in libido or the functional capacity of those regions most often associated with libido. I'm not tired... Not grouchy... Not sore... Just losing water.

Just watching the clock to starting up clomid and tamoxifen .

[USVet81]

Day 100
Body Weight 220 (+20 from start)

Currently 16 days post test. Took .25mg anastrozole and 250 iu HCG yesterday. Once again, I feel completely normal. DEFINITELY less water retention. Zero loss of strength... <--- As I started typing that I got curious and walked over to my bench cold. Pumped out 225 X 22 just fine with no warm up (ironically that beats my previous high of 21 I think). My energy is good... My mood is good.... Libido is good.... I'm sleeping well... Quite literally the only thing I notice is I'm more toned than 16 days ago.

I know the "half life" for cyp is 19 days so I still have a fair amount of injectable floating around inside. I'm curious for feedback on something... I have read a lot of info saying to start PCT at 19 days post test cyp. Others, fewer, say to wait as long as 30 days because of the long half life. Any thoughts or experience here from anyone?

[USVet81]

Day 110
Body Weight 218

Currently 26 days post test... I'm 3 days into clomid 51/51/51/51 and the Tomoxifen Citrate (Zutam) 50/20/20/20 labeled "Zuvius life sciences pvt ltd" hasn't killed me or caused any weird sides. Have to be honest I was nervous about popping a couple of pills from India regardless of how professional the packaging was, but again, all is well. Seems legit enough so far.

On the fitness side my RHR has fallen dramatically. For a while it was 80ish but in the last 3+ weeks it is down to 47 (pretty close to normal). My blood pressure actually seems to be lower than before the cycle.

I've definitely hit a point where test is lower. I just feel more calm right now. I suppose libido is lower but I haven't had any crazy experiences with the hardware suddenly not working properly. I'm just in the mood quite a bit less than I had been and this is more a conscious observation than anything.

One area I am curious about is I was anticipating this crazy drop in strength. I was nervous about this actually, but I swear to God I am just as strong as when I came off. Now, I'm not one bit stronger, but I haven't lost anything either. My maxes are exactly where they were 3 weeks ago... maybe 5lbs less on bench. I never hit 400 lbs there, sadly, but I am still maxing in the 360-370 range and putting up NFL combine level rep ranges for 225. Back squat is still maxing in the 430 range. Dead lift is still around 510. This is damn near twice as high as when I started, and I am less than 20lbs heavier now than when I began.

[Blazini]

Good stuff, any updates?

[USVet81]

Good stuff, any updates?

Day 124 Body Weight 216 (+16)

Currently 40 days post test and 17 days into PCT.

The biggest thing I suppose is that I felt groggy for several days last week. I definitely felt more tired than I can recall for some time.

Weight has been pretty stable and lifts are just about the same. I'll be doing labs once I finish with the last of the clomid and tomoxifen. I suppose then I will find out what's what.

[Pasan_Doteldeo]

Awesome Log Man. Great work!!!

[Kyle1337]

Day 124 Body Weight 216 (+16)

Currently 40 days post test and 17 days into PCT.

The biggest thing I suppose is that I felt groggy for several days last week. I definitely felt more tired than I can recall for some time.

Weight has been pretty stable and lifts are just about the same. I'll be doing labs once I finish with the last of the clomid and tomoxifen. I suppose then I will find out what's what.

labs don't need to be done until 6 weeks post PCT. I mean, you can get them at anytime... but that's just what austinite recommended. vet, you should check out my status on my thread... Ugh. maybe you'll even get a good laugh haha.

[USVet81]

Day 149 Weight 217 (17 pounds stuck)

Currently 65 days since last pin of T and 12 days since the end of PCT. Prior to starting I ran labs and showed 352 ng/dl of test. Labs from a few days ago now show 290 ng/dl. All things being equal I am tired allllll the time right now. I go to sleep tired... I wake up tired... It doesn't matter how much I sleep. My test levels were low for 34 before I started and as I look at older guys in my family I realize this is right about the age where all of them went from being very fit to very fat. It occurs to me that maybe I have a genetic predisposition to natural T drop off in my mid-30s.

So, I'm starting a permanent HRT regimen of 200 mg Test C per week and HCG E3D.

With that... Just pinned 500 mg Test C and took some anastrozole. Will pin another 500 mg in 3 days to get levels up. Then will go to 200 mg per week until I do another higher dose cycle.

Oddly enough I am still lifting right where I was when I ended my cycle. Almost right on the nose for all lifts on all accounts.

[Proximal]

Congrats on your amazing cycle/progress. I'm at week 8 and particularly worried about the let-down post cycle - unfortunately comes near a time where I need the most mental energy. I'm hoping the let-down won't be as profound since I will return to TRT. Assumably you will be on TRT for the rest of your life and you are a young guy at 34. Curious if you feel that the 200 is on the high side?

[USVet81]

You know, I asked around quite a bit about this one to guys I know on the pro body building side, and who I trust as they have decades of personal experience here as trainers and whatnot. You're right, this will be a "rest of the life" kind of thing unless society collapses and I am just SOL. I've come to the realization that I'm not going to recover to a 500 ng/dl or 1000 ng/dl level naturally ever. Being at 300 ng/dl right now it's literally all downhill from here and I'm just glad I caught it. 200 will likely keep me in the high 1800s or 1900s and isn't high enough to generally create androgenic effects. That is, I'm not likely to develop gyno if I cruise on that for a while and for some reason stop taking an AI. The HCG isn't even "really" a needed thing. As it was put to me recently, "You don't plan on having more kids... You're in your mid 30s... who cares if you have huge nuts?". I was like, "you know... kind of have a point there." In truth I settled on the 200 mg/wk level because I have 6000 mg arriving every 6 months. That lets me bridge the period without running out or letting it go to waste. Still, the HCG comes with the test and since I'm paying for it I might as well use it for any positive effects it has. I am also keeping a full PCT supply of Clomid and Nolva in the event that my source dries up and I end up high and dry for a bit before I find another that I trust.

I guess in the end, my answer to your question is this. We each produce about 6 mg on average per day (in an ideal world) or about 42 mg per week. Is 200 mg high? Yeah. It's not a natural amount. Would 100 mg be enough for HRT? Yeah, probably. That would probably put me at 1000 ng/dl. Does it hurt doing 200 ng/dl instead? From the face to face chats I have had with guys in their 70s who have been doing this for 50+ years it shouldn't hurt anything. The consensus seems to be that the high high doses (1000 mg - 2000 mg/wk) for years and years and years is what may lead to the heart issues we hear about from time to time.

Of course, I'm no expert... I'm just relying on the input of others I trust, and not so much on those less reliable.

[Kyle1337]

I don't think you gave it enough time to recover. Blood test should be roughly 6 weeks after PCT. You didn't even wait 2 weeks. I would give it more time. I'm about a week ahead of you and I'm starting to feel a bit better.

[USVet81]

Deleted

[Kyle1337]

Fair enough. I can relate. My natural levels are even lower than yours at 330 or something. And, I'm only 26, Dr. said it's "low-normal). During my PCT and after I have never felt as worthless before due do the low T during recovery. I never wanna feel like that again... But, I don't want to be stuck injecting E3.5D for the rest of my life... Yet.

It's a tough dilemma. You are older than me so you wouldn't be doing it as long. I can only imagine my T levels in 8 years if they are already this low now. Some people do recover with higher test levels, I feel that's really rare, but yea; there's a chance. Good luck man.

[USVet81]

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