Need help with first cycle

[TripMcnealy]

So i've never done steroids before. Know about every other drug group but very ignorant in this case. I am at a point where I need some help. I've been working out since I'm 14 (29 now) and I'm very experienced with training and diet. However my chronic pain (fibro), depression, and energy levels have really caught up with me.
I got out of hand with my pain medication but over the last few months I've barely been taking them. Any WD's are long gone. So now I've been getting back to the gym but having a very tough time losing weight and having adequate energy/positive mood. I put a lot of weight on from post acute wd syndrome.

Anyway I was thinking about trying Test Enanthate for the first time to get lean and tighten up. I cant seem to get rid of my tits or fat on my sides, even with proper training and diet. Should I try anything else? Anti estrogen or any other stacking?

I'm not looking to bulk up or power lift. I'm 6"2, 254 lbs. I just want to use until I shape up and lose about 30lbs. Short term, light use. I've heard certain anabolics can increase breast tissue and a little worried about that because I'm already embarrassed, even with my shirt on.

Any help or guidance about dosage and types to use will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[CFC]

Hey there. AAS are very good at building muscle (protein synthesis). Unfortunately they're not very good at burning fat. The fat loss that does occur while using AAS is generally more relative than absolute - ie fat mass shrinks as a proportion of total mass because muscle mass is increasing. Regular fat-burners (caffeine, ephedrine etc) are thus more effective for pure fat loss.

Consequently I don't think using test enanthate is really going to help you reach your goal of losing that stubborn bodyfat. And as you point out AAS can cause gynecomastia which is where breasts begin to form. That can be blocked with anti-oestrogens, but are you really willing to go down this road given the number of side-effects you're potentially going to come up against?

Why don't you post up your diet and training routine and we'll see if there's anything we can suggest?

 

[TripMcnealy]

Hey, thanks for response. I've been a pescatarian for over 3 years, and I recently cut out most carbs. Pretty much living on greens, protein shakes, and one normal meal a day. I have somewhat of a cheat day, but nothing crazy. Also I rarely drink alcohol.

My workouts are high intensity circuits, training everybody part 5 or 6 days a week (sometimes almost 2 hours). I keep a high heart rate throughout. Also run 2.5 miles few times a week or ride bike. I can't do too much because of my chronic pain.

I've lost weight throughout my life through training and diet. Was 265 and dropped to 210. Has never been a issue for me. This time is different. I have such little energy as my condition is worsening and can't seem to metabolize like I could even 2 years ago. The extra weight makes it harder to do just about everything and is decreasing my energy levels while increasing my pain.

I've never considered using steroids before now. I honestly think it will be worth it to just get me to a nice lean weight. Also, a HUGE part of this is the pain. Aside from needing the energy to work through the pain and constant fatigue, I want to quickly build on my problem areas and drop fat that's weighing my joints down and keeping my pain levels up.

I'm still new to not being addicted to opiates. I honestly don't use to get high. Strictly for pain. So the fitter I am, the less pain meds I will end up using. I want to get to "that" level quickly so I can increase my odds of keeping my addiction away.
Appreciate it.

 

[CFC]

Pretty much living on greens, protein shakes, and one normal meal a day. I have somewhat of a cheat day, but nothing crazy.

Protein shakes aren't a good choice when dieting - you're creating insulin spikes and thus fat gain because they're so highly processed. Make all your meals solid. And eat lots of fibre (fruit, veggies), good fats (eg nuts, avocado, fish oils) and protein with each meal to slow digestion and reduce insulin levels.

Ideally you need a proper written-up diet plan, with every meal structured and calories and macronutrients calculated precisely so you know exactly what you're eating. Without this knowledge, it will be hard for you to judge how your body responds to different strategies, and too easy to cheat. Plus most people wildly underestimate how much they're eating.

Ultimately the only way you have any hope of losing fat and keeping it off after is perfecting your diet and training.

My workouts are high intensity circuits, training everybody part 5 or 6 days a week (sometimes almost 2 hours). I keep a high heart rate throughout. Also run 2.5 miles few times a week or ride bike. I can't do too much because of my chronic pain.

You may being training with too much high intensity too often and for too long. You don't need that amount; an excess causes a rise in catabolism, cortisol and inflammation and lowers metabolic rate and lean body mass, and will thus make it harder to lose bodyfat in the long run, especially in the stubborn areas.

For pure bodyfat loss, high volumes of low intensity exercise (eg walking 30 mins 2-4 times per day) is better, mixed in with 3-4 sessions of mixed-high intensity training per week (eg some running, circuits, sprints, weights etc) to maintain muscle mass and keep your metabolism elevated, inflammation low, and heart healthy.

I've never considered using steroids before now. I honestly think it will be worth it to just get me to a nice lean weight.

As I said, steroids won't make you lean. Too many people assume steroids will make them shredded because bodybuilders look shredded. But bodybuilders get shredded by following the most rigorous and difficult diet and training programs out there. Those who don't usually just end up muscular and fat.

I'm still new to not being addicted to opiates. I honestly don't use to get high. Strictly for pain. So the fitter I am, the less pain meds I will end up using. I want to get to "that" level quickly so I can increase my odds of keeping my addiction away.

I do appreciate your struggle. But are you not concerned that maybe you're kinda dropping one addiction and seeking something else as a crutch? Steroids can also be addictive, though in a different way to opiates; in particular, when you finish a cycle, your hormone levels crash and you feel worse than when you started, encouraging many to stay on forever with all the attendant health problems.

If your issue is a matter of needing TRT due to hypogonadism and lack of energy/motivation post-opiates, that's a completely different issue and you may be able to get a legitimate RX of test from your doctor to bump your levels up to normal and recover that way.

Of course you're an adult and will do what you want. If you do decide to do a cycle regardless, you might benefit from reading our beginner's guide first.

 

[TripMcnealy]

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Bunch of interesting points, especially the negative aspects of training too much. The only reason for that is because I'm limited in what I can do cardio wise. Maybe i'll go to 2 a days? Weight train early for less than an hour and do a low impact cardio in the evening?

I'm pretty solid on diet, obviously room for improvement and more structure/balanced meals like you said. The more I progress, the better my diet becomes if that makes sense. Definitely need to switch to an organic protein shake.

As for addiction, I do have a shit ton of discipline but still take precautions. For instance, I now have a family member hold my meds so I cannot abuse them even if I wanted to. I've actually spoken to my family about this as well, so the same would hold true. "Mom can you hold my steroids?" Haha. The idea was to only use short term to get increase muscle growth rate, metabolism, and energy to increase fat burn from that, not directly from the test. I've already lost 10 lbs of fat, but my "lady" fat remains, even with training focus. So weird.

And I think you're right. Starting to believe I have low T, whether it's due to the opiates or not. I'm a little hesitant to discuss with my doctor, because the way the system is now they don't want to prescribe anything aside from Cymbalta and Lyrica. Plus the docs are VERY suspicious when you are on meds already. But I will bring it up during the next visit.

Either way, if I end up trying it short term or not, you have given me lots of good advice and info. As for now I'm going to follow your advice and see the results of stricter dieting and training changes.

Thanks again man.

 

[CFC]

Can you not just go outside for a few walks a day? Or dance to some music at home? Or take up some mildly physically active hobbies/sports/martial art? When I say low-intensity, it doesn't take a lot. But definitely try to keep the high-intensity stuff and/or circuits and weights sessions under an hour.

Opiates cause secondary hypogonadism, so you're quite right to suspect you have low T, and that will probably impact on your metabolism and lean body mass. However the female pattern fat deposition issue is really common to lots of men, especially those who've recently lost weight. It does go with time, but it does take an unusual amount of effort the first time.

Unfortunately fat cells contain a high concentration of the aromatase enzyme, which causes them to churn out oestrogen and inhibit fat loss. So in a sense, once you've become obese, the fat fights back attempts to lose it, additionally because it becomes inflamed and no longer responds to hormones like insulin or releases leptin efficiently. Getting your T back into normal range would help, as would (potentially) a very low dose aromatase inhibitor to reduce peripheral T>E conversion.

However beyond that, high doses of exogenous T still aren't going to shift the fat as easily as a reduced calorie diet and optimised training programme. Anyway glad you're taking on board the ideas. Really consider ditching all the shakes and replacing with solid food though if you can, it will help.

 

[RedLeader]

Trip: Ya, I will echo the point that if you dial in your macros and your training, you will notice improvements both in strength and in body composition. If you figure out a 10-20% caloric deficit, fix protein and fats based on bodyweight and then set carbs per the deficit, and do this consistently, aside from mini-reverses to break plateaus, for months on end, you will shed fat. It's how the body works. There are a lot of apps that help with this, though I do it old-school with a pocket notebook and calculator. Planning, writing stuff down and really incrementalizing everything and eating the proverbial elephant one bite at a tine is how you have to do it if you want to really pull this off naturally. I notice that if life catches up to me and I stop logging my workouts or start trying to guess my macros, I lose a certain edge. I also get disappointed in myself for slacking and you have to feel confident in who you are when you walk through that gym door. And most importantly, if/when you do become "enhanced," you want to already be firing on all cylinders. Steroids are not magic, but they absolutely will take the dedicated natural to the next level if you give them the respect they deserve (they make a good person better, not solve a struggler's problems).

I have been pescatarian for about nine months now. I also haven't bought protein power in about as long. Tuna, salmon, swordfish, shrimp...the protein adds up so fast that I actually spill over with protein more than I need a powder to make my daily goal.

CFC: Have you ever listened to Jerry Ward talk about his days trying to balance recreational drug abuse and hardcore bodybuilding? He talks about being on a liquid diet non-stop as the only way he could get the calories down. Ya, he was on a lot of PEDs, so the insulin dynamic would be different, but it's still crazy to listen to him talk about his twenties.

 

[CFC]

CFC: Have you ever listened to Jerry Ward talk about his days trying to balance recreational drug abuse and hardcore bodybuilding? He talks about being on a liquid diet non-stop as the only way he could get the calories down. Ya, he was on a lot of PEDs, so the insulin dynamic would be different, but it's still crazy to listen to him talk about his twenties.

Never heard of him. Sounds interesting though, I'll go take a look. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[RedLeader]

^ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_UvdOmO1N08

He has dozens of videos about his addict years mixed in with everything else on that channel.