Nooby needing advice

Fishhead

Hi All,

Please could i ask some advice regarding steriod use. I've been training hard now for a year and a half and managed to gain 2 stone of muscle in that time. i started off all wrong becasue i used to be a little podgy so i was dieting whilst training and often ended up dizzy or throwing up. ops:
After plenty of research i now eat as much as my body can possibly cope with. i'm always taking in at least 1lb of protein per pound of body mass. I weigh 12st 11 at the moment and i'm 5' 6 so im fairly stocky. i feel i'm still growing slowly but im not getting any stronger. i know i need to take on a little more protein (say about 1.5lb/body mass) but my appetite is taking a while to adjust. I'm currently training 4 days a week (mon, wed, fri, sun) as without the roids i need my rest days to grow. I do 6 weeks on and six weeks off of creatine as well.

My question is i would like to start taking steriods on a beginners course but was wondering if by my summary you felt i had a good enough base to be taking seriods yet. I've been reading loads on this forum and other publications and was thinking about taking sus/deca stack (say 250mg or will 500mg be ok for a beginner like me?) for 8-12 weeks with say nova during the course and clomid 2 weeks after the course. I know i still need to do loads more reading providing my body is a good enough base at this moment in time.

Thanks for your time.

GettinSwole

You're probably fine to do a course. It's up to you. 500mg of each of those per week for 10-12 weeks would do the trick. as i always suggest, use nolva for pct as it seems to be better than clomid or use both. don't start pct til 2 weeks after your last jab

GTForce

Gettin' Swole, I believe the PCT start times are 21 days for deca and 18 days for sustanon. Test enanthate PCT is to be started 14 days after your last shot.
First time I have seen you give someone less than stellar advice

Fishead, how old are you? What is your training like? Have you switched up your program?

You need variety in order to keep the body adapting. Some strength coaches feel one needs to change the training stimulus every three weeks, some say six weeks. This applies to intermediate and, especially, advanced athletes. Seeing as how you have been training for 18 months, I would classify you as an intermediate. There are many ways to vary your training such as ; sets, reps, exercises, splits, rest between sets, speed of movement, partials, drop sets, negatives, supersets, etc. etc.
It is good to see that you have paid such attention to diet...most people don't. Well done! That said, I have a suspicion that your lack of progress may have to do with a lack of knowledge/planning in the area of program design. I would tinker with my training and spend my time learning about the techniques/strategies of top athletes and coaches before turning to gear. No one reaches their genetic max in 18 months and the only people who plateau after a year-and-a-half are lazy, impatient or ignorant...you do not seem to belong to that group, there are other ways to improve before resorting to gear.

I am not badmouthing anabolic use...I just see guys turn to it before they know how to eat or train effectively. Once on gear, their lack of knowledge becomes less obvious because they make progress DESPITE themselves
The steroids cover-up glaring shortcomings in the area of diet/training. You may want to hold off a while...you have even admitted that your body has not quite adjusted to the increased calorie needs that bodybuilding requires. Keep in mind that you will need to up your protein a bit more when you go on gear and will require additional calories once your course is through in order to support your new muscle mass.

GTF

zx9rjas

I agree with GT force. I adjust my routine every 2-3 weeks. I change the exercises I perform for each bodypart and drop the sets by 3-4 then increase these sets over the 2-3 weeks. I then change again.

I have found that I never hit sticking points. Also if you are looking to increase strength you may want to drop your reps to 4-8 (with 6 reps being the best) and increase your rest period between sets to 2-3 minutes. Also if you want to solely concentrate on building strength, drop your total amount of sets per bodypart and concentrate on pure heavy compound movements and leave the single joint movements for a few weeks.

Also try and get some power movements in your routine such as power cleans and power shrugs. This will develop your strength and power.

I would say you need to leave the steroids and perhaps reduce the amount of sets per bodypart. You dont need them yet

J

GettinSwole

I just know if I'm running test, regardless of deca/eq, I always start PCT when the test is out of me. Reason being, once the test is gone, the estrogen related sides can rear their ugly heads. deca/eq will not keep the estrogen sides from happening. this was my reason for telling him to start 2 weeks after his last jab... even though he will still be shut down and natural test won't come, he will want the estrogen help during that week from the nolva.

GTForce

GettinSwole,

I see your point. I actually prefer to run proviron, with nolva on hand, during test-based cycles (which pretty much means all cycles) then switch to nolva & clomid for PCT. I would probably run the proviron at a double dose from day 14 until day 21 (from my last shot) and then start nolva/pct on day 22.
That said, your plan looks fine as well.

By the way, what does "thrice fan" refer to?

GTF

GettinSwole

one of my favorite bands = thrice :twisted:
their sign is also my avatar

Nick500

ahhh.... thrice is a band i like too!

Fishhead

Thanks for all your help guys, GTForce im 29 and i have recently changed my training around a little. I feel i was over training before by doing 5 exercises of 4 sets with 10 reps per body part. :shock: I now only do 4 exercises of 3 sets (10 reps) per body part (with a nice warm up set to start with/per body part). I normally do one large body part with a small body part (mon, wed, friday & sunday). I also include some really heavy (for me) dead lifts and squats, on seperate days as i've read so much that they are great ways to build strength. I value all your opinions about the roids and i'm more than willing to wait until i'm totally ready for them. Trouble is with all the food i'm eating and the shed loads of suplements i'm taking its costing me a fortune I was hoping to start the course after xmas but now reading all your valuable points and knowing that i'm still growing i think i will hold of for at least another 6 months. I will do best to eat even more than i am at the moment and start changing my routine every six weeks. I'm having real trouble drinking enough water what with the creatine/protein and weight gainer (progain) i'm always so full, how do you guys manage?

Any i thank you again for some really valuable advice.

I will keep you posted as to my progress.

GettinSwole

I don't use creatine, protein and weight gainer shakes don't seem to affect my hunger either. In fact I can eat a huge meal and top it off w/ a nice weight gainer shake and not feel sick at all. My g/f doesn't know how I pack it all down