Your First Cycle

ABMonkey

ABMonkey

PCTing.
Trusted Member
Please note: I am not the original author but do have permission to repost this. Original author(s) unknown but likely a combination from the mods over on r/steroids. Anything in italics I have added (including links to articles/threads on our own forum). Edited to fit the word restrictions.

So, you got interested in steroids and are now trying to figure out where to start. Beginners have one rule: KISS.

That stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid. The more chemicals you toss in at once, the bigger your chances of going down in a flaming fireball. A big, bloated, gyno-y fireball. BUT most potential side effects can be avoided entirely if the cycle is followed correctly and the proper precautions are taken.

It is recommend that you are under 15% body fat and ideally closer to 10%.

Can I Just Do An Oral Only Cycle?
You can. Should you? Probably not. Oral steroids are still going to suppress your natural Test pretty hard. You may find you don't feel the best or have symptoms of low testosterone. If you choose to do a oral only cycle, you should still look into getting a SERM (like Nolvadex/Clomid or the sorts) for a proper PCT, as well. You should consider reading through this page and potentially doing a real cycle, complete with Testosterone, as you'll find better results, as well as feeling better overall too.

The Basic Bulk
The Basic Bulk, that is recommend, is a 12-15 week cycle of Testosterone while running a moderate calorie surplus with emphasis on gaining as much lean muscle tissue as possible and progressively adding weight to your lifts.

Testosterone is a powerful tool, if used correctly and can put a good +12-15lbs of LEAN mass on you (excluding water and fat gain) over the course of the 15 weeks. It is also a relatively mild compound and causes little to no issues with side effects. Again, most potential side effects can be avoided entirely if the cycle is followed correctly and the proper precautions are taken.

When purchasing your AI (Aromatase Inhibitor) and SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator) it is advised to buy pharmaceutical grade products when possible. Your Testosterone can be pharmaceutical grade or from an underground lab (UGL) – just make sure you do plenty of research of the brand before you spend any money to make sure they have good reviews. Just a reminder. This forum is not the place for you to do research or request source information.

What You Will Need
Essentials
  • Testosterone Enanthate or Cypionate - 3x 10 mL Vials (generally dosed 250-300mg per mL)
  • An Aromatase Inhibitor (AI) like Arimidex or Aromasin
  • PCT Medication
  • Syringes and Needles:
    |--- Luer Lock Syringes
    |--- 21g Needles (1" to 1.5") for drawing
    |--- 25g Needles (1" to 1.5") for injecting Glutes
    |--- 25g Needles (1") for injecting anywhere else (Not necessary if only injecting Glutes.)
    |--- Alcohol injection swabs
Optional Items
  • HCG
    |--- Bacteriostatic Water
  • SERM (in case of gyno flair-up)
    |--- Raloxifene
    or
    |--- Nolvadex
Why 3 Vials of Testosterone?
On a lot of forums the first cycle advised to new steroid users is 10-12 weeks. 10 weeks is slightly too little. 12 weeks is fine, but you will have Test left in the vial. For this reason, you may go up to 15 weeks. Given this is your first cycle and will likely yield some of the most dramatic results, (assuming diet, training and rest are on point) you want to strike a balance between maximizing your gain and minimizing the time it will take to recover from the cycle and any potential side effects. It is always recommended to at least PCT for your first cycle vs. Blast & Cruise.

Testosterone Enanthate Or Testosterone Cypionate?
What's The Difference?
Approximately nothing. Definitely nothing that is going to make a difference in choosing one or the other for our purposes. Read the specifics below:

  • The ester weights are almost identical, with Cypionate being ever so-slightly heavier.
    Meaning there is ever so-slightly more actual testosterone hormone (~1%) in Enanthate.
  • The terminal half-lives are also almost identical.
    Enanthate is 4.5 days.
    Cypionate is 5 days.
    This will result in ever so-slightly more stable bloods with Cypionate.
  • For some, they may experience a slight difference in potential Post Injection Pain (PIP). This is due to Cypionate having a higher melting point than Enanthate, making Cypionate more prone to being able to cause PIP. This all depends on how your Testosterone was brewed by your source/supplier.
 
Arimidex or Aromasin?
More reading here:
https://www.canadianbrawn.com/threads/the-estrogen-handbook-by-kreas.712/

How Much AI Do I Need?
How much AI is required can vary from person-to-person, as a guide it advised you get bloodwork to dial in your dose. You will basically need to use trial and error to find your ideal AI dose to get your Test:Estrogen balance at your personal ‘sweet spot’. MOST users will find .5 mg of Arimidex or 12.5 mg Aromasin E3D or E3.5D to be a good starting dose. Some may need more frequent (EOD) dosing or some may even need less than E3.5D; this is really something that varies person-to-person too much.

In The Estrogen Handbook, it gives an idea of side effects for both low and high Estrogen levels which may help you gauge an idea of where you’re at should you become confused and not want to have bloods taken, BUT blood work will be the only way to know 100%.

It is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that you will need this dose on 500mg of Testosterone, but it is suggested to have enough to run the Arimidex 1mg EOD or Aromasin 25mg EOD, this will give you more than what you realistically should need. REMEMBER:Get bloodwork to dial in the AI dose you may need.

How to adjust your AI located here:
https://www.canadianbrawn.com/threads/how-to-adjust-your-ai.1936/

When Should You Start Your AI?
Okay this seems to be hot topic for the past forever. Thing is, there’s no set way to do this. There are two different trains of thought here:

  1. Dose preventatively (i.e. before you get high bp, spicy nips, etc.)
  2. Dose when you start to notice sides (acne, bloating/water retention, high blood pressure, nips that are a bit zesty) — This may not be optimal for your first cycle.
  3. Dose when bloodwork you get your bloodwork back
To be cautious, we are just going to cover when you should start preventatively. We are also going to be presuming that this is your first cycle and as such we will be going by what’s outlined on this page.

What We Know
Testosterone Peaks
Testosterone will peak shortly after your first injection. See below:

  • Test E has been shown to peak as soon as ~6-10hr after injection [1][2]
  • Test C has been shown to have pharmacokinetics very similar to the pharmacokinetics of testosterone enanthate, with peak testosterone serum concentrations shortly occurring after injection.[1][3]
With the above, it may indirectly answer another question we see a lot. “When does the Test kick in?” and to which the research shows your levels will rise very quick to supraphysiological levels. You will build upon this with each shot. You probably will start noticing some increased recovery and some mild weight gain (depending on diet) around week 3-4. You probably won’t notice much outside of greater recovery unless you had low(er) T to begin with.

Estradiol Rise
With this testosterone peak, Estradiol (E2) has been found to correlate directly.[5] This is no surprise as aromatization will occur, causing Estradiol to peak shortly after as well. See below:

  • One study found that after a 200mg Test E injection, E2 values rose significantly in just 6hrs post injection in eugonadal men and that peaked at 2 days after injection (base serum E2 was 23 ± 4 pg/ml, peaked at day 2 (45 ± 4 pg/ml). Alternatively, hypogonadal men were also studied and found to increase significantly in just 6hrs as well and peaking the day after the injection, but bringing them to a more optimal range (base serum E2 was 7.2 ± 2 pg/ml, peaked at day 1 to 29 ± 4 pg/ml).[2] Another study supports this level of change in Hypogonadal men.[4]
  • Another study found that after a 200mg Test C injection, E2 values rose significantly from a mean of 26.2 ± 14.9 pg/ml to 76.9 ± 26.3 pg/ml on days 4 to 5.[3]
The above two studies are strange showing that despite them being similar, Test E seems to peak E2 much faster than Test C (side note: Test C is shown peaking Test levels much slower than seen in other studies as well.[1] I believe it’s important to remember how much variance we can have as individuals). It’s important to note that these peaks shown above are just that, the peaks — the levels begin to drop off after them, but with each new injection you will reach a new peak, until finally around the time saturation levels are reached. Note that you should reach close to ~94% saturation by the beginning of the 4th week and with that by week 5 you should know if your AI dosing is working for you or not, but week 5 or 6 get blood work done to confirm.

One factor that you’ll notice from the first bullet point is the difference between raise in Estradiol in eugonadal vs hypogonadal. For most individuals starting their first cycle it can be assumed you are eugonadal unless you have been properly diagnosed as hypogonadal, thus your Estradiol can spike close to the upper range after your first shot of Test. If you are doing the "Your First Cycle" outlined on this wiki page then your first shot will be 250mg — 50mg over that of the study.

Another point of thought is your age. It was shown in individuals ~65 y/o that the aromatization is far greater than that of someone in their 20s. This was even the case when controlling percentage fat mass as that can increase aromatase.[5][6]So if your Gramps is wanting to do his first cycle, you may want to start his AI sooner. Likewise If you are entering your 40s-50s, you may want to dose slightly early, if not I think you will be fine with the below.

Study Disclaimer
The problem with these studies for us as anabolic steroid users are we’re not just injecting once. We are Injecting weekly and with that we don’t have cold hard data for right at the beginning of the cycle — how E2 is affected injection by injection. The best we have is a table showing 300mg and 600mg injected weekly for 5 months, but the table with the data is just the average over the 5 months, this doesn’t show us each point of data that they took. It would be interesting to see the first few weeks of the study.

Putting It All Together.
Since we are focusing on dosing preventatively and:

  • Assuming you are a healthy eugonadal male
  • Assuming you’re using Test E or C
  • Assuming you are of decent BF% (ideal close to 10%)
  • Assuming that you are a young guy (in your 20s-30s).
  • Assuming your pre-cycle blood work did not show that you have borderline out-of-range high estradiol to begin with.
You will start dosing on your 3rd injection.

For Example:
You are injecting on Mondays and Thursdays:

  • You do your first injection on Monday
  • You will start your AI on or after the following Monday injection
Dosing Disclaimer
We are all different. You may need to dose sooner than the above (sometime between your 1st and 3rd injection) or you may feel symptoms of low E2 and skip a dose, but this preventative dosing works well for most.

Again we are all different. This is just a starting point for you. Get regular blood work if you are unsure of anything.

References
  1. Behre HM, Nieschlag E. 1998 Comparative pharmacokinetics of testosterone esters. In: Nieschlag E, Behre HM, eds. Testosterone: Action, Deficiency, Substitution, ed 2. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 329–348.
  2. Sokol R, Palacios A, Campfield A, Saul C, Swerdloff R. 1982 Comparison of the kinetics of injectable testosterone in eugonadal and hypogonadal men. In: Fertility and Sterility, 425-430
  3. Nankin H. 1987 Hormone kinetics after intramuscular testosterone cypionate. In: Fertility and Sterility, 1004-1009
  4. Nakazawa R, Baba K, Nakano M, Katabami T, Saito N. Hormone Profiles after Intramuscular Injection of Testosterone Enanthate in Patients with Hypogonadism. In: Endocrine Journal 2006, 53 (3), 305-310
  5. Kishore M. Lakshman, Beth Kaplan, Thomas G. Travison, Shehzad Basaria, Philip E. Knapp, Atam B. Singh, Michael P. LaValley, Norman A. Mazer, Shalender Bhasin; The Effects of Injected Testosterone Dose and Age on the Conversion of Testosterone to Estradiol and Dihydrotestosterone in Young and Older Men, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 95, Issue 8, 1 August 2010, Pages 3955–3964
  6. Cohan P.G.; Aromatase, adiposity, aging and disease. The hypogonadal-metabolic-atherogenic-disease and aging connection. In: Medical Hypotheses, Volume 56, Issue 6, June 2001, Pages 702-708
 
SERM On Cycle?
I thought SERMs were just for PCT, why do I need Raloxifene or Nolvadex for on cycle?

Raloxifene and Nolvadex will both bind to the Estrogen receptor at the breast site and be your first plan of attack against uncontrollable gyno sides. If your Estrogen is wildly out of control and you are developing puffy, sore, or itchy nipples, UPyour AI dose and start taking your SERM (Rolax - 60mg ED) (Nolva - 20mg ED). It usually will subside after a 7-12 days. Continue the SERM for 3 days after the symptoms have subsided before you drop the SERM.

Note: If you choose Arimidex as your AI, just be aware the blood levels of Arimidex can drop a bit when used alongside Nolvadex. To avoid this, you may choose Raloxifene.

This isn't required, but it is definitely RECOMMENDED. It's always better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it.

Injecting Your Gear
The injection process itself is relatively straight forward. Perhaps nothing causes more anxiety for AAS users than their 1st injection. This fear is far more psychological than physical, as the act of performing an injection, especially when utilizing proper technique and the correct pin size, can be relatively painless. Some muscle groups are more prone to causing discomfort than others and the possibility of hitting a nerve, scar tissue, or a sore spot is a reality, but in general, an injection should not be considered a “painful” experience.

To Learn Step-By-Step On How To Inject Safely, Click Here

For a first cycle, the easiest not to mess up is Glutes, a nice big muscle with decent circulation and low risk of hitting any nerve clusters. The twisting and turning can be a problem for some in which case shooting Ventro Glutes is another option. If that is too hard to find for you, try Quads, but there is a slightly larger margin for error in regard to hitting nerve clusters and puncturing large veins. But you should aim to have as many injection sites as possible to avoid building scar tissue. Visit our injection page to learn all about Safe Injection Technique.

Post Injection Pain
To Learn All About Potential Post Injection Pain, Click Here

Front Loading Test?
Front loading simply means to take a calculated, especially high dose on the first day (or week) for injectable AAS. This allows blood levels of the compound to reach a stable level faster. The problem is taking a large amount of Test can be hard to control estrogen.

Should I Front Load My Test?

No, this is your first cycle and we want to keep things as simple as possible, that includes managing sides; the optional oral is already pushing things.

How Often Should I Pin (Inject)?
It is suggested on /r/steroids that you should at least inject E3D or E3.5D to keep blood levels as stable as possible for Testosterone Enanthate or Cypionate. This will minimize side effects and make controlling estrogen easier. You may do once a week, but it is not optimal.

Here is an example of blood levels with 500mg of Test Enanthate injected once a week (E7D), this was plotted with SteroidCalc.

Here is an example of 250mg Test Enanthate injected every 3.5 days, also plotted with SteroidCalc. As you can see the release rate, in which Testosterone is released into your blood, is more stable.

Post Cycle Therapy (PCT)
After you did your 12-15 week cycle, you have to begin your Post Cycle Therapy (PCT). The first two weeks after your last injection you do not take any drugs, as the endogenous testosterone is still disrupting your natural endocrine system.

PCT info here:

Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG)
Why Should I Use HCG?
Running a small dose of HCG will help to keep the testes full and will aid with recovery once you come to the end of your cycle and need to PCT. It’s not 100% necessary, but if you have access to some and don’t mind spending a small amount of money to speed up your recovery then it is probably worth looking at. Learn more on the PCT wiki page.

How Do I Mix And Run My HCG?
An easy ratio for mixing is 1ml of bacteriostatic water per 5000iu of HCG which results in 10 units (5 small lines on a 1 mL insulin syringe or 10 small lines on a 1/2 mL insulin syringe) being 500iu of HCG.

Note: To find out dosing for HCG use this HCG calculator.

Blood Work
Regular blood work is STRONGLY encouraged. It is recommend getting blood work before starting your cycle (to assess your baseline Testosterone levels and general health), during your cycle (to confirm that your Testosterone is legitimate and properly dosed), and after your cycle (to assess how well you have recovered). The wiki page regarding blood work can be found here and some help in how to understand your results can be found here.

When Should I Get Bloodwork?

The standard recommendation for Test E/C injections is to get bloodwork drawn 36-48 hours after your last injection, in order to try to get a representative picture of your PEAK testosterone levels. Actual pharmacokinetic calculations speculate the peak plasma levels of testosterone will happen at about 35-40 hours post last injection, but you must remember that everyone responds slightly differently to gear and that injection site (ie glute or delt) may make a small difference.

For us Canadians, I believe the only truly anonymous service is www.letsgetchecked.com. It's expensive but well worth it.

The Dosing / Protocol
Note: For this example we are using the time frame for the 15 weeks. If you wish to end it sooner, obviously all your ending weeks will change and the week you start PCT will as well.

  • Weeks 1-15: Testosterone Enanthate or Cypionate, 250 mg, E3D or E3.5D
  • Weeks 16-17: Nothing (This allows the exogenous testosterone to clear your body to a reasonable amount).
  • Weeks 18-Til: Whatever PCT protocol you choose.
  • Throughout Cycle (or at least on hand): An AI like Arimidex or Aromasin. Again, dosing is user dependent and you should get blood work to dial in your dose, but MOST users will find .5 mg of Arimidex or 12.5 mg Aromasin E3D or E3.5D to be a good starting dose. Some may need more frequent (EOD) dosing or some may even need less than E3.5D; this is really something that varies person-to-person too much. Watch out for signs of low or high estrogen - especially high estrogen, like excessive bloating or itchy nipples.
 
Ah, the old r/steroids wiki.

Always a good read. They put a lot of work into this. Thanks for posting, it's easier to read here than it is on mobile reddit.

That subreddit is a gold mine for info. I've binged so many threads and the wiki there
 
This is a fantastic central repository for a beginner (such as myself) to learn from. Took me a while to piecemeal that overview from multiple sources, so it was nice to see all that info located elegantly in one place.

question -- you only mentioned nova and Raloxifene for on cycle serm protocol -- but not clomid. Is this due to clomids adverse effects when taken when androgen levels are high?
 
JTF84 said:
This is a fantastic central repository for a beginner (such as myself) to learn from. Took me a while to piecemeal that overview from multiple sources, so it was nice to see all that info located elegantly in one place.

question -- you only mentioned nova and Raloxifene for on cycle serm protocol -- but not clomid. Is this due to clomids adverse effects when taken when androgen levels are high?
Click to expand...
Lots of nasty sides associated with Clomid (which many people encounter).
 
ABMonkey said:
Lots of nasty sides associated with Clomid (which many people encounter).
Click to expand...

Clomid did not have any negative impact on me -- it was prescribe to me as a fertility boost to stimulate production. Did not have the typical side effects with regards to mood, vision, skin or prostate. However im reading that clomid as a on cycle serm is counter productive due to its interaction with high androgen levels.

Just wondering if someone can elaborate on that (since i already have a lot of clomid laying around)
 
JTF84 said:
Clomid did not have any negative impact on me -- it was prescribe to me as a fertility boost to stimulate production. Did not have the typical side effects with regards to mood, vision, skin or prostate. However im reading that clomid as a on cycle serm is counter productive due to its interaction with high androgen levels.

Just wondering if someone can elaborate on that (since i already have a lot of clomid laying around)
Click to expand...
Why would you use Clomid whilst on cycle?

If if its for gyno issues it seems Nolvadex & Ralox are more effective. Bear with me, I'm doing some further reading on this right now.

Great that you don't experience any sides with Clomid though - you can use all that extra Clomid for PCT.
 
ABMonkey said:
Why would you use Clomid whilst on cycle?

If if its for gyno issues it seems Nolvadex & Ralox are more effective. Bear with me, I'm doing some further reading on this right now.

Great that you don't experience any sides with Clomid though - you can use all that extra Clomid for PCT.
Click to expand...

I didnt know that (re: gyno)

Im not trying to be combative -- im a newbie and just trying to get as much info as i can on the do's and donts and the whys and why not.
 
JTF84 said:
I didnt know that (re: gyno)

Im not trying to be combative -- im a newbie and just trying to get as much info as i can on the do's and donts and the whys and why not.
Click to expand...
No sweat, I'm a newbie too. All the above is directly from r/steroids.

For gyno you will want to have Nolvadex OR Ralox on hand. Save your Clomid for PCT.

Nolvadex or Ralox (as I said above) is much more effective than Clomid for treating gyno.

"Finally, 50 mg/day clomiphene citrate has been used to treat gynecomastia, but it had limited and variable effects" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3987263/

"Clomiphene citrate in a dose of 50 mg/day resulted in only small decreases in persistent pubertal gynecomastia and was not a satisfactory medical therapy for the condition" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6637910

I just found this with a quick google. There are lots of studies out there showing the effectiveness of Ralox/Nolvadex. In saying that Clomid is pretty great to use as part of your PCT (if you're PCTing) so you will be able to use it since you have it laying around and experience zero sides. You'll want to control your estrogen on cycle with an AI (aromasin/arimidex) then also have Nolvadex/Ralox on hand for any issues you may run into.
 
Quick question: I know its proper protocol to use a new draw needle every time but do most actually do that? Anyone ever just reuse their draw needle multiple times? If so, how many times?

Also, do you reuse your syringe barrel? Again, if so, how many times?
 
JTF84 said:
Quick question: I know its proper protocol to use a new draw needle every time but do most actually do that? Anyone ever just reuse their draw needle multiple times? If so, how many times?

Also, do you reuse your syringe barrel? Again, if so, how many times?
Click to expand...

Crazy Talk
 
JTF84 said:
Quick question: I know its proper protocol to use a new draw needle every time but do most actually do that? Anyone ever just reuse their draw needle multiple times? If so, how many times?

Also, do you reuse your syringe barrel? Again, if so, how many times?
Click to expand...
🤦‍♂️
 
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