Your first steroid cycle

Intro

Everyone needs to start somewhere, and the question of what to do for a first steroid cycle goes through the minds of many who choose to go down the path of experimenting with PED’s (performance enhancing drugs).

At some point you’ll need to make a decision as to what to do, and the aim of this post is to provide clarity on the best options available to you.

I’m in agreement with the general consensus that your first steroid cycle should be a singular compound.

This is purely to reduce the number of variables in play and to make it easier to isolate and fix problems if and when they arise.

I can see where the whole “take your 500mg test enanthate and STFU” comes from, but it’s my belief that this is outdated advice and 500mg is too much for a beginner and much more likely than a smaller dose to cause potential hormonal issues such as…

• Acne
• Rapid hair loss
• Gyno
• Increased blood pressure
• Aggression & mood changes
• Unpredictable changes to libido and sexual function

Make sure you read this post thoroughly before continuing so you fully understand the impact steroids can have on your life and who I think should not be using steroids to begin with and the reasons why.

What will be required of you

Your first steroid cycle should be one of your best and most memorable, so why put anything less than 100% into making it as successful as possible.

I strongly recommend that you are lean (<12% bodyfat) before starting, this is for multiple reasons and in my opinion a prerequisite before using steroids.

If you are not, then get yourself into reasonable shape first and then come back to this.

Being lean can offset a lot of the issues that PED’s can exacerbate such as high blood pressure, also insulin sensitivity is improved at lower bodyfat levels and the rate at which your testosterone will convert to estrogen will be more favourable.

Check out my ultimate fat loss guide for help.

You will need to…

Train hard for the duration of the cycle, ensuring that you hit every major muscle group at least twice a week.

Steroids are going to greatly boost your body’s ability to recover from workouts and increase muscle protein synthesis rates, so it’s best to take full advantage of this and increase your training frequency.

There’s no point starting a cycle and potentially damaging your health if you’re not going to go all in and make the most of it.

You should be training hard and not half-assed anyway, but this becomes even more important when you take steroids.

Don’t think for one minute that you can take your foot off the gas and let the drugs carry you to your dream physique. They won’t.

PED’s act as a force multiplier for what you’re already doing, and the habits you already have.

Do 20 minutes of fasted cardio daily.

This is very important to keep health markers in check, such as blood pressure, cholesterol and to keep you highly sensitive to insulin.

It doesn’t have to be intense, zone 2/zone 3 is adequate.

In A LOT of cases, simply doing fasted cardio can replace the need for blood pressure medication, blood donations from high hematocrit and statins due to skewed lipids.

So it’s definitely something that’s worth doing.

I like to take a brisk walk around my neighbourhood as soon as I get up as my form of fasted cardio, this also is good for getting early morning vitamin-D and sunlight which helps regulate your body clock. Or if the weather is shit, I’ll head to the gym and do 20 minutes on the stairmaster while listening to a podcast.

Adhere to a relatively clean and high-protein diet model and increase hydration.

Steroids or not, you need to provide your body with the raw materials it needs to build muscle mass. I’d recommend you aim for 2g of protein per 1kg of bodyweight to get optimal growth.

Although eating a perfectly clean diet is optimal, it’s not realistic for the vast majority of people.

The health impacts of bad foods like sugar and saturated fats are amplified by steroids because they tend to inherently damage cholesterol – for this reason I’d strongly recommend limiting junk food/cheat meals the best you can.

I like to have a 80/20 approach to diet (providing I’m not cutting) – whereby I’m eating clean 80% of the time.

BUT if I feel like a 12-inch, stuffed crust meat feast pizza all to myself on Saturday night while watching UFC after eating chicken and rice all week, I’ll do it.

Drinking enough water is critical and helps to keep kidney function intact. Also in a lot of cases you can avoid having to do blood donations as proper hydration helps to keep hematocrit favourable.

Items, compounds & equipment

One of the worst things you can do is start a cycle without being fully prepared.

This is a list of what I believe to be non-negotiables that you should have available and on hand before you start:

• Access to a gym
• Access to cardio equipment
• A blood pressure monitor
• Enough of the compound(s) of choice to last for the entire cycle (+ extra testosterone if you plan to cruise after)
• Aromatise inhibitor – Arimidex or Aromasin
• SERM – Tamoxifen or Raloxifene
• Clomid or Enclomiphene (if choosing to PCT)
• Enough syringes and alcohol swabs for the entire cycle (+ extra if you plan to cruise after

Technically not required but highly recommended:

• HCG

HCG acts as an insurance plan for your testicle function. If you’re not using a 19-nor (you have no reason to be using one on your first cycle anyway!) then I highly recommend HCG.

You can read all about HCG and it’s benefits here

• Tadalafil

Tadalafil is a lot more than just a drug for erectile disfunction.

For a PED user it can have many, often overlooked benefits including better endothelial function, the ability to lower blood pressure, the upregulation of androgen receptors and it also acts as a mild aromatise inhibitor.

5mg daily is all you need to reap the benefits of this great compound.

• Telmisartan

Telmisartan is an ARB (angiotensin-II receptor blocker) and is a prophylactic drug that can address and reverse most of the damage that PED’s can do to your heart and kidneys.

Check out John Jewett’s in-depth look at what Telmisartan can do for an enhanced athlete.

• Omega-3 fish oil

Omega 3’s are key for helping to prevent heart disease, which is more important in PED users where issues are more likely to arise.

Three options

After years of being an enhanced myself, doing thousands of hours of research, reading logs and looking at other people’s experiences – I’ve concluded that there are really *three best options for a first steroid cycle.

I’ll go over what those are and go into detail as to the pros & cons and the reasons why.

*There are more options but to keep it simple and stop you getting overwhelmed I’ve narrowed it down to what I believe are the best 3.

Option 1: Testosterone only

This is the tried and true first steroid cycle for many good reasons.

Testosterone is already a bioidentical hormone – your body produces it endogenously and knows exactly what to do with it. You will just be taking it exogenously in supraphysiological amounts.

As for dosage, here’s a few things to consider…

If you had a lot of acne during puberty, then supraphysiological amounts of Testosterone is likely to trigger breakouts.

For this reason I recommend starting at 250mg per week, waiting 6 weeks, then upping it slowly and carefully while monitoring your skin.

Also if you’re genetically prone to hair loss, like I am. Then more Testosterone is going to convert to DHT, so expect a higher rate of hair loss than you are accustomed to. This can be offset by the use topical agents like Minoxidil and a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor like Finasteride or Dutasteride providing you’re willing to risk the nasty side effects associated with them.

If you’re not genetically prone to acne or hair loss or you are and you just don’t care. You can start at a higher dose and slowly titrate upwards maxing out at 400mg per week.

Esters

Esters are attached to hormones to slow their metabolism in the body and extend their half-life. The most common esters of testosterone are:

• Testosterone Propionate – 24 hour half life
• Testosterone Enanthate – 4-5 day half life
• Testosterone Cypionate – 8 day half life

In my opinion, the best option is propionate because it allows the user to have a lot of flexibility that the longer ester don’t have. For example, propionate allows for rapid adjustments of dosage and tends to aromatise less than enanthate/cypionate.

However, propionate comes with the drawback of requiring more frequent injections.

If you have no fear of needles or don’t mind daily or every other day injections, then go for propionate as it’s the best option.

Some guys, myself included feel best on propionate in terms of the mental clarity, drive, confidence and libido.

The vast majority of guys that are new to this will have some apprehension and anxiety around the idea of having to inject themselves every day for up to 16 weeks.

This is perfectly normal and reasonable; I was the same way but it’s one of those things where it seems so much worse than it actually is.

If this is you, like it was me, then I recommend testosterone enanthate or cypionate initially which can be injected twice a week due to the much longer half life.

Pros of Testosterone

• Bioidentical hormone
• Mild side effect profile
• Solid size and strength gains
• Easy to manage side effects
• Users can see fast effects and rapidly adjust dose with the propionate ester

Cons of Testosterone

• Requires frequent injections
• Can exacerbate acne and hair loss in individuals genetically prone.
• Users can take up to 4-6 weeks to start feeling the effects of the enanthate or cypionate ester

Option 2a: Anavar only

For a more in-depth look at the Anavar only cycle, check out this dedicated post

I’m in no disagreement that Testosterone is superior to Anavar for a first steroid cycle, in terms of pure results, manageability and consistency.

While there is legitimacy to what they say, I think that it’s largely meme’d out of proportion and the vast majority of people parroting the line “take 500mg test or nothing” haven’t considered it fully from the perspective of someone who’s brand new to this and looking to test the waters.

What I propose is a 4 week cycle of oral or sublingual Anavar, with the intent on testing the waters and gauging response to exogenous androgens.

Alot of people online, particularly reddit.com/r/PEDs & reddit.com/r/Steroids will criticize Anavar only as a first steroid cycle.

Trust me, it’s a lot better than what most kids are doing by taking SARMS or getting scammed into buying bullshit like Turkesterone these days…

I would propose that dosage is set to 25mg. This is solid dose that will yield significant result as far as strength and visual effects, while minimizing potential side effects associated with higher doses of Anavar like;

• Acid reflux
• Cramping
• Acne
• Kidney/liver stress

Women can also use Anavar in small doses (2.5-5mg/day) due to its high anabolic (growth promoting) properties and low androgenic (masculinizing) properties.

Why only 4 weeks?

I believe 4 weeks is a good amount of time to learn how your body responds to exogenous androgens, and give you a good taste as to what being enhanced is like without being long enough to cause damage or significant shutdown of your HTPA and the multitude of problems that come with that like needing a proper PCT.

Most importantly to gauge whether this is for you.

Pros of Anavar only

• No injections
• Noticeable effects immediately (with sublingual) or within days (oral)
• Fast in, fast out – users don’t have to put up with negative side effects very long should they arise

Cons of Anavar only

• Too short of a duration to yield meaningful and lasting results
• Typically more unpredictable than testosterone

Option 2b: Anavar + HCG

Adding HCG to Anavar allows endogenous testosterone production to continue, allowing Anavar to be run for longer up to 12 weeks.

HCG simulates luteinizing hormone, which sends a signal to the testes to continue to produce testosterone despite exogenous androgens being present.

However HCG requires an injection, albeit subcutaneous with insulin pins – it’s still an injection and at that point it begs the question… why not just use testosterone?

Pros of Anavar + HCG

• Noticeable effects within days
• Fast in, fast out – users don’t have to put up with negative side effects very long should they arise
• Continued endogenous production of testosterone

Cons of Anavar + HCG

• Requires injections
• HCG can be costly

Post cycle options

It’s a sad day when your cycle comes to an end…

But what to do next is also a very important choice you need to make, there are two options available.

Check them out here

Blast & cruise

Blast & cruise refers to going through two phases, A ‘blast’ and a ‘cruise’

A blast – this is when you use higher doses of androgens for 8-20 weeks with the goal of either putting on mass and strength or leveraging androgens in a calorie deficit to preserve as much muscle as possible while getting very lean.

An example of an intermediate bulking blast would be:

• 300mg Testosterone
• 200mg EQ
• 200mg Nandrolone

An example of an intermediate cutting blast would be:

• 200mg Testosterone
• 200mg Masteron
• 75mg Trenbolone
• 25mg Anavar or Winstrol

A cruise – This is your downtime between blasts and crucial to restore vital health markers. Typically a cruise should be equal length to the blast. Time on = Time off.

Typically guys will run a replacement dose of testosterone or slightly higher.

A common cruise would be 120-200mg testosterone per week.

You could also use something like 120mg testosterone and 80mg Masteron for enhanced drive and libido or 80mg NPP for slightly more strength and joint relief.

As long as dosage is kept low to give your body a break, any combination of compounds (aside from Trenbolone and orals with exceptions) can be used in a cruise.

Learn how you can use different compounds other than testosterone for various effects here

A big benefit of blast & cruise is that you’ll keep way more of your gains than if you were to PCT.

There’s also an argument to be made that blast & cruise is a safer option because of how stressful PCT can be on your body.

If you plan to run more than one cycle, blast & cruise is probably the best way forward with acceptance that you’ll be on TRT one day anyway.

PCT

PCT or Post-Cycle-Therapy is when you attempt to restart your own hormone production after a steroid cycle.

This involves using a combination of drugs to kickstart your HTPA.

A typical PCT includes HCG, arimidex, nolvadex or clomid.

The ester of testosterone you were using is going to determine how long you should wait before starting to use HCG at 500iu/daily.

Propionate – 1 week

Enanthate/cypionate – 4 weeks

Use HCG for 4 weeks and then switch to your SERMs (nolvadex/clomid)

Run the SERM for 4 weeks, slowly tapering down the dose to conclude your PCT.

Example of a full newbie cycle with PCT

Note: The dosage of arimidex is likely to be different for different people depending on their rates of aromatisation. In this example, I’ll just be using the dosage that I would need to keep estrogen within range.

Cycle

Week 1: 250mg Testosterone Enanthate

Week 2: 250mg Testosterone Enanthate

Week 3: 250mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 4: 250mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 5: 250mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 6: 250mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 7: 300mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 8: 300mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 9: 300mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 10: 350mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 11: 350mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 12: 350mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 13: 400mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 14: 400mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 15: 400mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

Week 16: 400mg Testosterone Enanthate, 0.5mg arimidex

PCT

Week 17: 0.5mg arimidex

Week 18: 0.25mg arimidex

Week 19: Nothing

Week 20: Nothing

Week 21: 3500iu HCG, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 22: 3500iu HCG, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 23: 3500iu HCG, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 24: 3500iu HCG, 0.25mg arimidex

Week 25: 40mg nolvadex, 100mg clomid daily

Week 26: 40mg nolvadex, 100mg clomid daily

Week 27: 20mg nolvadex, 50mg clomid daily

Week 28: 20mg nolvadex, 50mg clomid daily

What’s keepable post-cycle entirely depends on how you keep up with your training and diet, but expect to lose at least some of the muscle and strength gained on cycle when you do come off.

Final notes

I hope this has given you an insight into the best options available for a first cycle. While there are certainly others, I believe they disqualify themselves either by being too toxic or difficult to manage from a side effect standpoint.

A classic example is D-bol only.

D-bol converts to methylestradiol, which is a form of estrogen that’s much harder to manage than traditional estrogen that gets converted from testosterone.

This leaves the user at a greater risk of developing gyno and having blood pressure issues due to rapid influxes of water retention.

D-bol is also very harsh on the liver and requires an array of supplements to keep things in check.