10/18/2008 - daem
To begin, I am writing this thread with hopes it can help those new to performance enhancing drugs make better decisions and improve their experiences. The questions I observe most individuals ask when they arrive at this site are generally about specific drugs they are already using. Very few people are asking if performance enhancing drugs are right for them, and what they should be thinking about before they start down the road that many of us have traveled for quite some time.
I think this is an important issue that can’t be stressed enough in our tight-knit community, and I’m both shocked and disappointed at reading the sheer volume of new members that “lept before they looked” without looking at the some critical angles before beginning. This subject troubles me, so I've decided to share my thoughts.
While no one on this board has all the answers to every question they may have had before using performance enhancing drugs, the real power of a community like ours is that certain unique members have advanced their knowledge in niche performance enhancement areas. Even though the distribution of performance enhancement knowledge is wide and far-reaching, there is a similar decision making process I believe is the cornerstone of each of these distinguished members lives regarded as veterans, hall of famers, and respected contributors. I will repeatedly refer to this unique group of people as “High-Achievers” and everyone else as the “General Population” to contrast the behaviors and thoughts I think are inherent to each group. I’ve decided to outline the common thread between these distinguished individuals to help new members understand how important it is to be thorough in their preparation and execution before using performance enhancing drugs.
The High-Achievers on our site have dedicated their lifestyle to training and hard work, but that is no coincidence. The common foundation that I feel each of these members base their decisions on is simple framework I will call The 5 D’s.
Every rookie in the performance enhancement scene on our board should take a hard look at each pillar of the 5 D’s before committing to swallowing a single pill or injection a single milliliter of any drug.
I am going to describe each of the 5 D’s in detail to outline how I navigate through the decision-making process to help people challenge their own decisions. Before you move through each D, I’ve included a set of questions that challenge you to prove to yourself you have thought about the things I feel our High-Achievers all think about and live by every time.
Here are my D’s, short and sweet:
Diet / Discipline / Drugs / Duration / Dosage
The First D: Diet
I’ve chosen Diet as the first D because this is the single most important aspect of achieving any fitness / bodybuilding goal, in my opinion. I am a firm believer that 99% of the General Population doesn’t examine this aspect of their lives before deciding to use performance enhancing drugs, and that is a critical mistake. High-Achievers are masters of their diets and have them down to an exact science. This is what you should be thinking about before anything else.
Critical Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving On
1. What are my fitness / bodybuilding goals? (Do I want to cut, bulk, maintain, etc.)
2. What am I eating today that is in direct conflict with those fitness / bodybuilding goals?
3. What foods should I be eating to enable me to realize these goals?
4. How many meals should I be eating per day to realize these goals?
The Second D: Discipline
Now that you’ve taken a hard look at your Diet and answered the critical questions, it’s time to think about how Disciplined you are. All High-Achievers have discipline, and it shows with their commitment to sticking with difficult diets, training plans, work schedules, and rest regardless of their situations. Without discipline, you will ultimately fail in some way, and we don't want that.
Critical Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving On
1. What is my motivation for using performance enhancement drugs (Strength, Size, Body, Gaining respect, etc.)
2. Do I find myself quitting in other areas of my life? (If so, you need to figure out why you quit)
3. Do I have any distractions I need to eliminate to maintain discipline? (Crazy GF, Playstation 3, etc.)
4. What am I willing to sacrifice?
5. Does my current lifestyle enable me to live with discipline? (Are there negative factors in my life or environment that are in direct conflict with my fitness / bodybuilding goals, ie. Drugs, alcohol, lack of time, lack of money, etc.)
The Third D: Drugs
When you have the answers to the first two sets of critical questions, you can begin to think about what drugs you should take. This is the D that REALLY separates each High-Achiever from the General Population. Whether or not they are experts on every compound that is mentioned in our community is irrelevant. They have devoted countless hours of research to understand what certain compounds will do to their bodies. This means knowing the common benefits and possible side-effects of each drug they might consider running. This is the D that will require the most patience and longest time to get by if you are new to the game, but can’t be overlooked. I don’t care what Johnny Steroid at your gym tells you about his cycles, or what he thinks you should take. High-Achievers know that they have to collect a wide-variety of anecdotal and factual evidence before they would ever spend hard-earned money on compounds.
Critical Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving On
1. Do I understand the basics of how performance enhancing drugs work? (ie. Mechanism of action, half-lives, etc.)
2. Do I understand ALL of the documented side-effects I could experience? Do I know how to deal with those side effects? (ie. Gynecomastia, Water Retention, Acne, High Blood Pressure, Lipid Profile, Insomnia, etc.)
3. Have I selected drugs that are aligned with my goals?
4. Do I have a reliable way of acquiring them?
5. Can I truly admit to myself I did significant research and could answer basic questions about each drug?
The Fourth D: Dosage
Once the performance enhancing drugs have been chosen, the Dosage(s) need to be selected based on the first three D’s. High-Achievers know what the common minimum and maximum dosages for their chosen drugs are. They buy the right amount of drugs that allow them to utilize specific dosages they planned from start to finish. Many times, I read about the General Population buying only a portion of their main compounds or ancillary drugs with intention of getting them later after they’ve started, or they start taking the drugs without knowing what dosage is effective. This leads to panic or the need to change mid-stream, and we don't want that.
Critical Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving On
1. Do I understand what the minimum and maximum recommended dosage is for the drug (s) I want to run?
2. Do I know what quantities I need to achieve those dosages? (ie. Drugs, needles, ancillaries, etc.)
3. Will I be able to accumulate all I need at once, or will it be partial? (If partial, you should NOT begin)
The Fifth D: Duration
The last D might seem to blend in with the fourth, but it’s my opinion that the General Population overlooks duration more frequently than dose. Judging by the number of poorly timed cycles and durations I observe, Duration is the final checkpoint to pass before you decide you are ready. High-Achievers know exactly how to time the compounds they run, and do so with great success. They understand how long it takes the drugs to take effect, and maximize the window they are “on” cycle. Your goals will largely dictate the duration you suspect will give you the results you desire.
Critical Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving On
1. Do you have any major conflicts that would prevent you from running your cycle for your intended duration? (ie. Holidays, vacations, big work projects, travel, family, etc.)
2. Is your duration in line with what you have read or does it appear to be too long / short?
If you have made it this far in the decision making process, you should feel comfortable knowing you’ve thought like a High-Achiever. It should be pretty clear whether you need to return to the drawing board to learn more & plan better, or you are ready to begin using performance enhancing drugs. In either case, it's a learning experience that might take you years to perfect, but knowing what to think about before you start can save you a lot of hassle, money, time, and health problems. We are all learning new things all the time, or making tweaks to hopefully improve our experiences.
If you apply this framework to your life before beginning any cycle you want to run, you’ll be well on your way to thinking like a High-Achiever!
Cheers,
daem
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