Hey guys - I wanted to first thank every one here for all the information that is on this site. I have been reading this site off and on for several years (in conjunction with some other sources) to give my self a decent knowledge about AAS.
I had a few questions and I was hoping that some more experienced/knowledgeable members could help me out.
I have always had a healthy respect for AAS and never believed the media hype/BS about them, but never really got serious enough in my training to go for a cycle.
I have been an and off/on again weight lifter for several years, about 4+ years ago when I got much more serious with lifting and got my diet under control for a while I went on a testosterone only cycle - but only got about 4 weeks in to it. The reaction it had to my body was AMAZING. I had no side effects that I could see and my strength gains were beyond any thing that I expected.
Due to some things that happened in my personal life though I had to put my training on hold and eventually fell off from working out - long story short I ended up gaining a huge amount of weight and getting fat over a period of about 2 1/2 - 3 years. I ballooned up to 285 pounds at 6'1.
Any way over the last year and a half I have been working out and regulating my diet and have come down to about 205 pounds.
Currently I am 28 years old, stand at about 6 foot 1 and weigh about 205 pounds. I don't know what my body fat % is, ive never bothered to measure it with calipers, and I understand that scales are not accurate.
I have body fat, I dont know how much exactly, but if I were to venture to guess I would guess its some where around 17-18% (may be less) I have fairly well defined arms and shoulders, but I still have a gut, some fat on my back, and some fat on my chest. I have very little fat on my legs though and they are pretty sold.
I have my diet in check, especially the last 4 months or so (where I have seen the best results).
I am cutting at 1800+ calories, and I consume 200+ grams of protein a day. I get a decent amount of carbs/healthy fats as well. ( avocados/cottage cheese/lots of veggies - broccoli/kale/spinach etc).
I take a few supplements - flax seed oil/cod liver oil/multi vitamin/chlorella/spirulina - daily.
I feel very good about my diet and I have been able to stick with it for about 4 months now with out faltering.
I have also dialed in my training to 3x a week (doing compound lifts) get plenty of sleep and rest, and I do some (minimal cardio).
I am also currently on an EC stack (in my 3rd week).
Now - I am considering doing a cycle of AAS. I would like to list out my goals first and foremost, and then my concerns.
My goal:
Maintain as much muscle mass as I can while cutting down. I would like to cut down to around 185 pounds (20 pounds from where I am now) and I would like to be around 10-12% body fat when I get there). I am not looking to put on allot of mass.
I am trying to cut down slower than I have been, I plan to up my calorie intake to slow down the cut, so I can lessen muscle loss.
I wanted to take a cycle to help me maintain my current muscle mass - with out retaining too much water weight or having adverse effects.
My concerns:
- Since I am still some what over weight - I am very concerned about side effects. How serious of a concern would that be for some one in my position?
I am scared shitless of getting gyno breasts.
I have some gear that a friend of mine had from back in the day when I was doing my test cycle. Ive never touched it, its just been sitting there. Its been stored in a cool/dry place - but it is old. It was manufactured back in 2006.
Is equipose 200 - i have about 9 200mg bottles. I have attached a photo as I am not sure how legit it is, and I am semi concerned over the manufacturing date.
If i go forward with this cycle my plan would be to take this EQ at 200mg a week and suppliment with test as well (how much I am not 100% sure - i figure some thing around 300mg a week). I know this is a very low dosage of both EQ and Test - but my goals arnt really mass gains, mostly muscle retention, if i got some muscle gain tough- I would not complain.
Due to the fat that I have I want to make sure i take a good AI. I know there are different ways to combat this, looking at Mick Hart's laymens guide to steroids - he swears by Nolvadex through out a cycle to stop estrogen effects - is it effective as he says? Is there better stuff out there?
I know this is a long post, huge thanks in advance to any one who will take the time to read this and respond.