First cycle advice

[Muscles96]

Hi,

 

Wondering if I could get some advice. Wanting to start my first cycle. I am 40 years old, have 12% body fat and have been hitting the gym 3-4 times per week for the last year. Managed to get fit but am limited in my muscles gain due to my slim body type. 

 

Was thinking of using 250mg enanthate for 8 weeks and taper last two weeks at 125 and 62.5mg. Wanting to start slow to minimise side effects rather than hitting my virgin receptors hard. (Will still hit the gym hard)

 

My questions:

1. How many calories should I consume above my basal metabolic rate? (Read many stories of people not having clean gains while pouring down the gainer shakes)

2. How can I protect my gains after my cycle?

3. Can I get away without pct?

 

Thanks....

[Daz69]

1 hour ago, Muscles96 said:

Hi,

 

Wondering if I could get some advice. Wanting to start my first cycle. I am 40 years old, have 12% body fat and have been hitting the gym 3-4 times per week for the last year. Managed to get fit but am limited in my muscles gain due to my slim body type. 

 

Was thinking of using 250mg enanthate for 8 weeks and taper last two weeks at 125 and 62.5mg. Wanting to start slow to minimise side effects rather than hitting my virgin receptors hard. (Will still hit the gym hard)

 

My questions:

1. How many calories should I consume above my basal metabolic rate? (Read many stories of people not having clean gains while pouring down the gainer shakes)

2. How can I protect my gains after my cycle?

3. Can I get away without pct?

 

Thanks....

 

1. How many calories should I consume above my basal metabolic rate? (Read many stories of people not having clean gains while pouring down the gainer shakes) Try 500, don't eat shite..

2. How can I protect my gains after my cycle?  You can't..

3. Can I get away without pct?  Don't use it.. (i've explained why in another thread)..

[trainlikeafreak]

For once someone with a smart first cycle lol. Only thing I’d recommend is just stop after 10 weeks rather than tapering but not a biggie. I’m also gonna go and say that you’re probably not ready for a cycle given your training history and the fact that you’re blaming a slim body type for your lack of muscle gain lol but you’re probably gonna do it anyway so here goes.

 

calorie wise just eat in A way in which allows your body to gain at the pace you want it to. Keep track of what you’re doing and as weight gain stops add in 100g carbs etc... don’t over think the numbers just be consistent.

 

protect gains by continuing to eat perfect and train hard, with recovery as a priority. Anyone who says you can’t keep gains once coming off is drug reliant and lazy. Sure you might lose a couple kg but you should be able to keep the majority ESPECIALLY after only running 250mg.

 

PCT... well I’d suggest talking to a doc. To be honest a lot of people don’t bother with PCT after a cycle such as the one you’ve listen but if you want to be safe 2 weeks of clomid and 4 weeks of a natural T booster should have you covered...

[Daz69]

50 minutes ago, trainlikeafreak said:

For once someone with a smart first cycle lol. Only thing I’d recommend is just stop after 10 weeks rather than tapering but not a biggie. I’m also gonna go and say that you’re probably not ready for a cycle given your training history and the fact that you’re blaming a slim body type for your lack of muscle gain lol but you’re probably gonna do it anyway so here goes.

 

calorie wise just eat in A way in which allows your body to gain at the pace you want it to. Keep track of what you’re doing and as weight gain stops add in 100g carbs etc... don’t over think the numbers just be consistent.

 

protect gains by continuing to eat perfect and train hard, with recovery as a priority. Anyone who says you can’t keep gains once coming off is drug reliant and lazy. Sure you might lose a couple kg but you should be able to keep the majority ESPECIALLY after only running 250mg.

 

PCT... well I’d suggest talking to a doc. To be honest a lot of people don’t bother with PCT after a cycle such as the one you’ve listen but if you want to be safe 2 weeks of clomid and 4 weeks of a natural T booster should have you covered...

 

Only thing I’d recommend is just stop after 10 weeks rather than tapering There is a methodology to tapering, ie: to allow blood testosterone to reduce at a slower rate, so as not to  reduce the negative feedback signal by becoming too estrogen dominant as you come off.. That's why a low dose AI might be prudent as he tapers also..

 

Anyone who says you can’t keep gains once coming off is drug reliant and lazy.  Over the longer term if all things equal, homeostasis will determine you eventually return to pre-cycle levels (unless something changes, like diet, training intensity etc)..

 

PCT... well I’d suggest talking to a doc.  Most Dr's won't have a clue... Most Endo's seem to know very little..

 

To be honest a lot of people don’t bother with PCT after a cycle such as the one you’ve listen but if you want to be safe 2 weeks of clomid and 4 weeks of a natural T booster should have you covered...  Two weeks of clomiphene isn't enough to do anything,  not that it's proven to raise levels permanently anyway..(If damage has occured it is too late, although unlikely on 250mg testosterone).. I wasn't aware there was a natural testosterone booster that actually worked..??

[trainlikeafreak]

4 hours ago, Daz69 said:

 

[Muscles96]

Thanks daz69 and trainlikeafreak for the great advice.

 

I'll spend another month first getting my body fat below 10%, so I don't have to do a big cut after my cycle (and loose some of gains) and keep my oestrogen conversion low. I will start with 500 good calories in excess  and adjust as needed.

 

Back to "training like a freak", no gains without sweat and some pain.

 

I'll update here to let you know how it works out.

 

Cheers guys....

[JimBo1732]

@muscles96 - good luck and do share your results please. I've been looking at running at the same level for a while and am keen to give it a go in the next few months. 

[Muscles96]

Quick update. Got down to 10% body fat and have done 1 week at 250mg of e. My pre cycle testosterone was actually low at 200, but my cholesterol was good. So far haven't noticed any side effects. A bit harder to sleep, but that could also be from sore muscles. Am enjoying eating again, just need to watch my weight gains 1,5 kg in first week. Not sure yet how much is muscle fat or fluid.

[Daz69]

2 hours ago, Muscles96 said:

Quick update. Got down to 10% body fat and have done 1 week at 250mg of e. My pre cycle testosterone was actually low at 200, but my cholesterol was good. So far haven't noticed any side effects. A bit harder to sleep, but that could also be from sore muscles. Am enjoying eating again, just need to watch my weight gains 1,5 kg in first week. Not sure yet how much is muscle fat or fluid.

 

Don't worry about LDL-C, it's not a problem unless it becomes small particle LDL,  and oxidised.. To reduce the likelihood of that occurring  obtain calories more from fats than high fructose carbohydrates, and don't combine sugary carbs with fats.. LDL-C from fats typically lingers in the bloodstream for about 12 hours, thus reducing the possibility of  oxidation,  LDL-C from carbohydrates can linger in blood for between 5-7 days therefore having a greater chance to become small particle LDL, and thus get oxidised and trapped in coronary endothelium as a plaque..

Fats also increase HDL, which removes cholesterol from blood and coronary arteries, which is what you want..

[Muscles96]

Not concerned about the cholesterol. Actually the best way to increase hdl is with fish oils which I am taking. That will hopefully keep my ldl/hdl ratio within reason.

[Daz69]

23 hours ago, Muscles96 said:

Not concerned about the cholesterol. Actually the best way to increase hdl is with fish oils which I am taking. That will hopefully keep my ldl/hdl ratio within reason.

 

Cholesterol is no issue over the short term, but ldl/hdl ratio means very little I'm afraid, unless the test is for oxidised LDL, and functional HDL there is no point to a test..

[Muscles96]

Here is an update as requested. Currently have done 5 weeks at 250mg of enanthate. Started off counting calories, but was gaining way too fast with extra fat (my calculations must have been wrong). Then I stopped counting and focusses on 6 good meals per day with 1:2 ratio of protein to carbs. I have had no side effects,although my sex drive may have increased slightly. Muscles have been sorer than normal, not sure if that is more hypertrophy or that I am hitting the workouts harder.

 

At week 5 I have gained 9kg, of which 5kg is muscles (not bad to gain 1kg of lean muscle a week). 

 

Now because I did my pre cycle bloods I know I have low testosterone to start off with. Therefore I am thinking of doing multiple 5 week cycles instead, to allow my t levels to recover in between. Now on the forums they talk about the second part of the cycle being the "hardening phase". Can't find any science behind that. Should I just continue or allow my hormones to recover first? 

[ratz99]

On 3/9/2019 at 4:13 PM, Muscles96 said:

 

At week 5 I have gained 9kg, of which 5kg is muscles (not bad to gain 1kg of lean muscle a week). 

 

Now because I did my pre cycle bloods I know I have low testosterone to start off with. Therefore I am thinking of doing multiple 5 week cycles instead, to allow my t levels to recover in between. Now on the forums they talk about the second part of the cycle being the "hardening phase". Can't find any science behind that. Should I just continue or allow my hormones to recover first? 

In my opinion, your calories sound too high, I'm extremely skeptical you've gained 5kg lean tissue in 5 weeks of 250mg enanthate. If not impossible. That would be insane. Lower you calorie excess a bit. You want the least amount of fat gain possible. Or you're gonna come off and be a big fat bastard with muscles that doesn't even look like they lift.

Also, don't do multiple 5 week cycles. Test E you wanna run for like 12 weeks. It's a slow esther, it's only just gotten up to a stable level in your body recently. Stopping and starting your bodies stuff all the time is probably more damaging in the long run. Stick it out for 12 weeks.