Steroid Cycles

Probably ectomorphs are those who put this question more often as they are those who look weaker if we can say so. They train hard eat a lot but the weights are showing just litlle progress. That is when your motivation is down and you are ready to try everything just to bulk up quick. In these moment you are more exposed to be affected by the opinion of other guys. But you shall not!!! It is important to understand the differences of all types of bodies and accept it as it is. Believe me this way of thinking will make you more happier and it is better than frustrating yourself with questions such as: Why I am ectomorph?, or Why I grow slower?.

It’s the same in life – someone is businessman, other is football player and third is bodybuilder and this is normal as if everyone will be the same it would not be interesting.

In any circumstances in your life it is important to understand where you are, what you are and what are your chances to be where you want. Then think about steps you need to undertake and forces you need to confront.

In any sphere of life until you win you will meet many forces which will try to stop you. Some are psychological some will come from friends and people near you. But if you know what you want and you see yourself there you shall not listen to anyone or at least do not permit them influencing you.

So should ectomorph use steroids or no? Bros, the question itself is not correct because:

1. it depends on what your goal is

2. steroids are not the panacea

3. you still can grow without steroids

So before taking any decision you must think for what you need it? And is it the best solution.

As Tom Prince stated he took “gear” when he was 24 but until that age he trained as hard as possible, eat as correct and clean as possible and slept as much as possible.

So take into consideration that if you do not grow it is not because you are not taking steroids but because there is something wrong with your training regiment/diet/or recovery.

Thus please take an advice from someone who is more experienced. Ask him to help you creating a good training schedule then eat sufficient and sleep as much as needed. And believe me results will come….however there are no limits…

Source: musclesprod.com

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Advanced cycles are very different from intermediate and beginners cycles. This is because by the time a bodybuilder or athlete has reached the level where they could be rightly called advanced. They´ve probably reached a point in their career where they are very able to identify the compounds which work best fort them, as well as the dosages they respond best to. In fact, that´s almost what I would consider the defining characteristic of an advanced steroid user. Advanced users have typically done a decent amount of steroids, and know what dosages they´ll need to use in order to achieve their goals. I think in order to be considered an advanced steroid user, you must meet certain criteria: eulogy

* You´ve done over 5 cycles
* You´ve stacked 2 steroids and one other drug (an anti-estrogen, clen, etc…) in one cycle
* You´ve done cycles for at least 2 different reasons (i.e. cutting, bulking, strength gain, etc& )
* You´ve done Post Cycle Therapy and kept more than 50% of your gains

Most of my recommendations for considering yourself an advanced steroid user are self-explanatory. Basically, my worry here is that no matter how many cycles you´ve done, if you´re losing half of your gains from each cycle, then you have a lot of work to do to figure out what you´re doing wrong after your cycles end. There´s really no way around that fact & if you´re not keeping half of your gains, then something is going wrong when you end your cycles. Before you jump into an advanced cycle, with multiple compounds and drugs, you need to get your post cycle in order. If you´re losing more than half your gains from every cycle… then something isn´t in check. You aren´t an advanced steroid user you´ve just used a lot of them. But, if you keep most of your gains from each cycle, and meet the other 3 criteria for being advanced, then this cycle is for you!

Here´s a sample of an advanced bulking cycle:

Week 1 – 6 Testosterone Enanthate @ 500mg Each Week
Week 1 – 12 Tren Enanthate @ 600mg Each week
Week 1 – 6 Dbol @ 50mg Each Day
Week 7 – 14 Testosterone Prop @ 100mg Each Day
Week 7 – 14 Winstrol Injection @ 50mg Each Day
Week 1 – 14 – Nolvadex @ 10mg Each Day
Week 15 – 17 – Nolvadex @ 20mg Each Day
Week 15 – Clomid @ 100mg Each Day
Week 16 – 17 – Clomid @ 50mg Each Day

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This is the question each bodybuilder have to answer. However the answer is simple in the same time there are many factors which should be taken into account.

1.First thing is your age. If you do not have at least 22 years do not even think about steroids.

2. Second thing is your experience. If you have not trained at least 3 years naturally then it is still not the time for steroids. The idea is that you must get maximum of your genetics after which you can start taking steroids to move to another level.

3. You must have progress without steroids. If during your years of training you have not experienced good growth it means you do not know a lot about your body, training and nutrition so do your homework and when you will add at least 12Kgs of muscles without steroids then move to another step.

4. Knowledge. By this I mean you must know what you are taking and why. For this you must read a lot use forums and talk to experienced people.

When all these points are ok you can start your first cycle.

Good luck!

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Anabolic steroids are drugs that resemble androgenic hormones (sometimes called male hormones) such as testosterone (Figure 1). Athletes consume them in the hope of gaining weight, strength, power, speed, endurance, and aggressiveness. They are widely used by athletes involved in such sports as track and field (mostly the throwing events), weight lifting, and American football. However, in spite of their tremendous popularity, their effectiveness is controversial. The research literature is divided on whether anabolic steroids enhance physical performance. Yet, almost all athletes who consume these substances acclaim their beneficial effects. Many athletes feel that they would not have been as successful without them.

There are several possible reasons for the large differences between experimental findings and empirical observations. An incredible mystique has arisen around these substances, providing fertile ground for the placebo effect. The use of anabolic steroids in the “real world” is considerably different from that in rigidly controlled, double-blind experiments (in a double blind study, neither the subject nor experimenter knows who is taking the drug). Most studies have not used the same drug dosage used by athletes. Institutional safeguards prohibit administration of high dosages of possibly dangerous substances to human subjects. Subjects in research experiments seldom resemble accomplished weight-trained athletes. Under these conditions, we must assess the results of sound research studies, as well as clinical and empirical field observations, in order to obtain a realistic profile of the use, effects on performance, and side effects of these substances.

How Anabolic Steroids Work

Male hormones, principally testosterone, are partially responsible for the tremendous developmental changes that occur during puberty and adolescence. Male hormones have androgenic and anabolic effects. Androgenic effects are changes in primary and secondary sexual characteristics. These include enlargement of the penis and testes, voice changes, hair growth on the face, axilla, and genital areas, and increased aggressiveness. The anabolic effects of androgens include accelerated growth of muscle, bone, and red blood cells, and enhanced neural conduction.

Anabolic steroids have been manufactured to enhance the anabolic properties (tissue building) of the androgens and minimize the androgenic (sex-linked) properties. However, no steroid has eliminated the androgenic effects because the so-called androgenic effects are really anabolic effects in sex-linked tissues. The effects of male hormones on accessory sex glands, genital hair growth, and oiliness of the skin are anabolic processes in those tissues. The steroids with the most potent anabolic effect are also those with the greatest androgenic effect.

Steroid Receptors

Steroid hormones work by stimulation of receptor molecules in muscle cells, which activate specific genes to produce proteins. They also affect the activation rate of enzyme systems involved in protein metabolism, thus enhancing protein synthesis and inhibiting protein degradation (called an anti-catabolic effect).

Heavy resistance training seems to be necessary for anabolic steroids to exert any beneficial effect on physical performance. Most research studies that have demonstrated improved performance with anabolic steroids used experienced weight lifters who were capable of training with heavier weights and producing relatively greater muscle tension during exercise than novice subjects. The effectiveness of anabolic steroids is dependent upon unbound receptor sites in muscle. Intense strength training may increase the number of unbound receptor sites. This would increase the effectiveness of anabolic steroids.

Anti-Catabolic Effects Of Anabolic Steroids

Many athletes have said that anabolic steroids help them train harder and recover faster. They also said that they had difficulty making progress (or even holding onto the gains) when they were off the drugs. Anabolic steroids may have an anti-catabolic effect. This means that the drugs may prevent muscle catabolism that often accompanies intense exercise training. Presently, this hypothesis has not been fully proven.

Anabolic steroids may block the effects of hormones such as cortisol involved in tissue breakdown during and after exercise. Anabolic steroids may prevent tissue from breaking down following of an intense work-out. This would speed recovery. Cortisol and related hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex, also has receptor sites within skeletal muscle cells. Cortisol causes protein breakdown and is secreted during exercise to enhance the use of proteins for fuel and to suppress inflammation that accompanies tissue injury.

Anabolic steroids may block the binding of cortisol to its receptor sites, which would prevent muscle breakdown and enhances recovery. While this is beneficial while the athlete is taking the drug, the effect backfires when he stops taking it. Hormonal adaptations occur in response to the abnormal amount of male hormone present in the athlete’s body. Cortisol receptor sites and cortisol secretion from the adrenal cortex increase.

Anabolic steroid use decreases testosterone secretion. People who stop taking steroids are also hampered with less male hormone than usual during the “off” periods. The catabolic effects of cortisol are enhanced when the athlete stops taking the drugs and strength and muscle size are lost at a rapid rate.

The rebound effect of cortisol and its receptors presents people who use anabolic steroids with several serious problems: (1) psychological addiction is more probable because they become dependent on the drugs. This is because they tend to lose strength and size rapidly when off steroids. To stave off deconditioning, athletes may want to take the drugs for long periods of time to prevent falling behind. (2) Long-term administration increases the chance of serious side-effects. (3) Cortisol suppresses the immune system. This makes steroid users more prone to diseases, such as cold and flu, during the period immediately following steroid administration.

Psychological Effects

Some researchers have speculated that the real effect of anabolic steroids is the creation of a “psychosomatic state” characterized by sensations of well being, euphoria, increased aggressiveness and tolerance to stress, allowing the athlete to train harder. Such a psychosomatic state would be more beneficial to experienced weight lifters who have developed the motor skills to exert maximal force during strength training. Diets high in protein and calories may also be important in maximizing the effectiveness of anabolic steroids.

Anabolic Steroids and Performance

The effects of anabolic steroids on physical performance are unclear. Well controlled, double blind studies have rendered conflicting results. In studies showing beneficial effects, body weight increased by an average of about four pounds, lean body weight by about six pounds (fat loss accounts for the discrepancy between gains in lean mass and body weight), bench press increased by about 15 pounds, and squats by about 30 pounds (these values represent the average gains for all studies showing a beneficial effect). Almost all studies have failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect on maximal oxygen consumption or endurance capacity. Anabolic steroid studies have typically lasted six to eight weeks and have usually used relatively untrained subjects.

Most changes in strength during the early part of training are neural: increased strength is mainly due to an improved ability to recruit motor units. Anabolic steroids affect processes associated with protein synthesis in muscle. Studies lasting six weeks (typical study length) would largely reflect neural changes and could easily miss the cellular effects of the drugs.

The gains made by athletes in uncontrolled observations have been much more impressive. Weight gains of thirty or forty pounds, coupled with thirty percent increases in strength, are not unusual. Such case studies lack credibility because of the absence of scientific controls. However, it would be foolish to completely disregard such observations because the “subjects” have been highly trained and motivated athletes.Please see the articles on pharmacology of sport and sports medicine in the countries of the former Soviet Union for more information on anabolic steroids.

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INTRO:
So you want to create the perfect cycle for yourself. So how do you go about this? Well there’s a lot of things you need to know before you can sit down and create yourself a perfect cycle.

The most important thing you need to know is what your EXACT goals are for THIS cycle. From here you can figure out exactly what steroids are right for you and at what dosages.

BASICS:
So what about steroids, ancillaries, and other drugs do you need to know? You need to know the basics of the most popular drugs available.

Steroids:
-Testosterone (Enan, Cyp, Prop, Sust, Omna)/Test
-Deca-Durabolin/Deca
-Equipose/EQ
-Dianabol/D-bol
-Winstrol/Winny
-Anadrol/Drol
-Halotestin/Halo
-Anavar/Var
-Tren/Fina
-Primobolan/Primo

Ancillaries:
-Nolvadex/Nolva (Tamoxifen)
-Arimidex/Arim (Anastrozole)
-Femera/Fem (Letrozole)
-Aromasin (Exemestane)
-Clomid
-HCG
-Proviron (technically a steroid, but oft considered an ancillary)
-Finasteride/Proscar
-Bromocriptine/Bromo

Other BBing/Performance Enhancing Drugs:
-Clenbuterol/Clen
-Cytomel/Cynomel/T3
-DNP
-Insulin/Slin
-Human Growth Hormone/hGH/GH
-EPO

There are of course many other types of steroids, ancillaries and sports enhancing drugs, but they are extremely rare. I won’t go into a full discussion about each of the drugs above, but will just list properties of the drugs and state which steroids have those properties.

- Large Mass Steroids: Test, Deca, Drol, D-bol and to a lesser extent: EQ, Primo
- Strength Steroids: Test, Drol, D-bol, Tren and to a lesser extent: Halo, Var
- Steroids that have low/no aromatization: Drol, EQ, Primo, Halo, Var, Tren, Winny
- Steroids that raise red blood cell count: EQ, Drol and to a lesser extent: most others
-Low -Lean Mass Steroids: Winny, Halo, Var, Tren -
- Steroids with direct fat-burning properties: Test, Tren, Var -Mostly Androgenic Steroids: Halo, Methyltest
- Mostly Anabolic Steroids: Deca, EQ, Primo, Winny, Var
- Highly Anabolic Androgens: D-bol, Drol, Tren
- Mostly even Androgenic/Anabolic Steroids: Test
- Steroid most likely to cause aggression: Tren
- Liver Toxic Steroids: D-bol, Winny, Drol, Halo, Methyltest, Var
- Short Acting Steroids: Test Prop, D-bol, Winny, Drol, Halo, Var, Tren
- Long Acting Steroids: Test Enan, Test Cyp, Deca, EQ, Primo, Sust, Omna
- Progestins: Deca, Anadrol
- Prolactins: Tren
- Acts like an estrogen: Anadrol
- Anti-Progestin: Winny* (anecdotal evidence)
- Drugs for Mass (excluding AAS): Slin
- Drugs for Strength (excluding AAS): Slin, GH
- Anti-Aromatases: Arimidex, Femera, Aromasin, Proviron
- Anti-Estrogens: Nolvadex, Clomid
- Anti-Androgens: Finasteride
- Fat Burners: Clen, T3, DNP, GH
- Anti-Prolactin: Bromo
- Stimulates LH release: HCG -Aids HPTA recovery: Clomid, Nolva, GH
- Drugs that increase red-blood cell count (excluding AAS): EPO, GH
- Drugs that raise IGF-1 (excluding oral AAS): Slin, GH

THEORY:
Ok so now that you know what drugs do what, we can begin to discuss what properties a cycle should have. From there we can begin to see how these drugs can be combined to form a “stack.” The idea behind the stack is to create a synergy between the drugs involved to give an effect that’s greater than the sum of the parts.

Mass Cycles:
These are cycles were all out mass is required. Here we give no consideration to fat gain, water gain or any of that stuff. We are just looking to pack on as much muscle as possible (don’t forget, water and fat are GOOD for muscle gains).

To get all out mass, we need to attack our system from all angles. We need steroids that are highly androgenic and highly anabolic. We need steroids that are known to pack on a lot of mass. In general, steroids that do not aromatize, do not activate the AR and do not pack on a lot of mass aren’t needed. For injectables we would rather have long acting esters than short ones, as the long acting esters tend to pool up in your blood and generally leave you with more hormone at any given point. For orals we prefer those that either aromatize heavily, or cause an explosion of mass by similar estrogenic properties. The use of orals is mainly to kick off the mass cycle, gives you near instant results and puts your body in a good anabolic state when the long acting esters kick in.

With all that said the best steroids for mass are: Test Enan, Test Cyp, Deca, D-bol and Drol. Advanced users can also use things like Insulin and GH.

Cutting Cycles:
Realize that with the exception of Test, Tren and Anavar, no steroid has a direct impact on fat burning. Even Test, Tren and Var have limited effects on fat burning. You shouldn’t go into a cutting cycle with the mindset of “These steroids are going to help me loose fat.” Instead you should think of the steroids as muscle sparring. Basically you’re using them to preserve the muscle that you have, while cardio and your true fat burners (like Clen, DNP and T3) work on the fat. All steroids listed above meet the first requirement; they will all help you retain muscle in a calorie deficient diet. However, if you are cutting you certainly do not want your steroids to be in the way either. Some steroids (drol) actually make it harder to loose fat. Others can bloat you up so bad that even with a low body fat percentage, most of your definition can be lost. So what we need here is steroids that are more androgenic than anabolic. We need steroids that have direct fat burning properties and steroids that do not aromatize heavily. If we do use a long acting ester, we would prefer to use one that doesn’t aromatize heavily, if the injectable does aromatize significantly, we would prefer to use a short acting ester as short acting esters don’t pool up, and an anti-aromatase would be a good idea.

Best fat burners: Clen and T3. Advanced users may also use DNP and GH

Best steroids for cutting: Test Prop, EQ, Primo, Tren, Winny, Halo, Proviron, Var

Sports/Performance Enhancing Cycles:
Now I can’t claim that I know what’s really best for a non-bodybuilding athlete. But I can take a guess and you guys that do participate in sports can probably figure it out given my explanations.

First let’s look at sports that require strength without increased mass. Obviously any “mass builder” is out the door. Any steroid that aromatizes heavily is not desirable here, as the extra water will certainly make you put on weight. Your best drugs for this purpose would be: Halo, Winny, Var and GH. If you can afford a few extra pounds (like in the offseason or what not), Tren would also be a good steroid.

Now let’s look at cycles for sports that require endurance. As we’ve discussed before, some steroids increase red blood cell count significantly; this equals better endurance performance. The best drugs to use for this purpose are EQ, GH and EPO. Because EPO can have such a drastic effect on red blood cell count, it is NOT recommended that you use it along with steroids.

POST-CYCLE THERAPY (PCT):
When you use any steroid, your HPTA will be suppressed. What this means is that your system is not producing any endogenous testosterone, which means you won’t have any hormone to help maintain your gains. What good is a cycle if you can’t keep your gains? So the key to cycling is to get your endogenous test back on track ASAP.

One thing that will hinder HPTA activation is excess estrogen, whether it is from aromatizable steroids used in your cycle or whether it be endogenous estrogen. Using anti-estrogens like Clomid and Nolva will help prevent this negative feedback.

When your body sends out LH (leutinizing hormone), it signals your testicles to begin producing test again. During your cycle, LH release will be suppressed and will remain suppressed for a few weeks after your cycle. HCG mimics LH and helps your testicles start producing testosterone. For our purposes we should view HCG as a “bridge” between your cycle and the time your LH returns to normal function. However, HCG when used to heavily or for too long will actually suppress natural test production so it can be counter productive.

Different cycles will suppress your HPTA to different degrees. Cycles including Deca and Fina will be more suppressive than cycles including Var and Primo. I don’t have the energy to design a post cycle therapy for each cycle, so I will post here a post cycle therapy program that should help you recover from any sane and sensible cycle.

Before we outline the universal post-cycle therapy, we need to define when a cycle officially ends. If you are using long acting esters, your cycle ends 2-3 weeks after you take your last shot of the long ester (I wont explain why, just accept it). If you are using ONLY short acting steroids OR your last shot of long acting steroids was over 3 weeks ago, and the only thing you’ve been running since then is short acting steroids, then your cycle officially ends the last day of administration of your steroids.

So given that, here is the universal post-cycle recovery program:

HCG
2 Weeks Before End of Cycle: HCG @ 1500IUs 3 times a week
1 Week Before End of Cycle: HCG @ 1500IUs 3 times a week
First Week Post-Cycle: HCG @ 1500IUs 2 times a week

Clomid
Day 1 Post Cycle: Clomid @ 300mg
Days 2-14: Clomid @ 100mg ED
Days 15-28: Clomid @ 50mg ED

Nolva
Days 1-28: Nolva @ 20mg ED

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Week 1 – 12 Testosterone Enanthate @ 500mg Each Week
Week 1 – 12 Boldenone Undecylenate @ 400mg Each Week
Week 1 – 4 DBOL @ 25mg Each Day
Week 8 – 12 Winstrol @ 50mg Each Day

Ok, so what we have here is a cycle that uses moderate amounts of anabolics. A cycle like this, which makes use of Testosterone as well as Equipoise will produce noticeable results in both strength as well as size, and will produce a nice, hard look to the physique. Since this is a lean bulking cycle, I´ll assume that the user will be following a diet which is high in quality calories. Protein intake will need to be high to take full advantage of the steroids being used. Conversion to estrogen is not much of a problem with Equipoise, although it´s going to happen with the Testosterone. Keep some Arimidex on hand, and if your nipples get sensitive or you are retaining too much water, use it at .5mgs/day.

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Here is a simple cutting diet and all the relevent training dieting information to go along with it.

8 Week Cutting Cycle

WEEKS 1-8 : Winstrol 50mg Every Day (mon – fri. Gives liver a break a weekends)
WEEKS 1-6 : Trenabol 75mg Every Day (mon – fri. Gives liver a break a weekends)
WEEKS 1-8 : Testosterone Propionate 100mg Every Other Day (mon, wed, fri)
WEEKS 4-8 : Masteron 100mg Every Other Day (mon, wed, fri)

YOU CAN GET ALL THE ITEMS FOR THIS CYCLE HERE !

PCT

With this cycle PCT should start at week 8

WEEK 8: 40mg Tamoximed/100mg Clomid daily
WEEK 9: 30mg Tamoximed/ 50mg Clomid daily
WEEK 10: 20mg Tamoximed/ 50mg Clomid daily

DIET WHILE ON CYCLE

Eat every 3 hours – 5/6 times a day

Calories should be aprox 1000 less than your normal daily intake using a 40/40/20 method (40% protein , 40% carbs , 20% fat)

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Here is a simple bulking diet and all the relevent training dieting iformation to go along with it. A complete giude for someone looking to increase mass!

10 Week Bulk Cycle

methanodex (Dianabol) – 50mg Each day – Half @ breakfast , Half @ lunch. Monday – Friday for weeks 1 – 4 BUY methanodex HERE

Testosterone Enanthate – 500mg Each week – 1ml/250mg Monday, 1ml/250mg Thursday – weeks 1 – 10 BUY Testosterone Enanthate HERE

Nandrodex 300 (decca) – 300mg Each week -  150mg Monday , 150mg Thursday – weeks 1 – 10 BUY Nandrodex 300 HERE

PCT

With this cycle PCT should start at week 12

Clomid – 300mg day 1 , 150mg day 2 , 100mg day 3 then 50mg for the next 11 days BUY Clomid HERE

Tamoxifen – 20mg Everyday for weeks 12 – 14 BUY Tamoxifen HERE

DIET WHILE ON CYCLE

Eat every 3 hours – 5/6 times a day

Calories should be aprox 1000 – 1500 more than your normal daily intake using a 40/40/20 method (40% protein , 40% carbs , 20%  fat)

TRAINING WHILE ON CYCLE
Try this routine for the 10 weeks you are on cycle (use a weight you will struggle to do 10 reps with)

MONDAY

Shoulder press – 3 sets of 8-10

Bicep Curls – 3 sets of 8-10

Overhead Tricep press – 3 sets of 8-10

Bent over flies – 3 sets of 8-10

Upright Row – 3 sets of 8-10

Close Grip Bench press – 3 sets 8-10

WEDNESDAY

Flat bench flies 3 sets 8-10

DeadLift 3 sets 8-10

Bench Press 3 sets 8-10

Bent over row 3 sets 8-10

Dips 3 sets 8-10

FRIDAY

Squats 3 sets 8-10

Lunges 3 sets 8-10

Calf Raises 3 sets 8-10

Leg Press 3 sets 8-10

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