my first cycle- a work in progress

[Scott]

I am 9 weeks into my first cycle. Here's how it's gone:

week 1-4: 40mg anavar per day
week 5-6: 20mg var per day
week 4-5: 500mg sust/week
week 5-present 500mg teste per week
week 4-present .25mg arimidex per day
I'll continue the test 3 more weeks, and the arimidex another month

Pre cycle stats: I was about 10% body fat, 220 lbs, 6' tall, 34 inch jeans, abs pop out if dehydrated, but look more toned than ripped otherwise.

Present stats: I now weigh 233lbs, and have taken my belt in 1 notch.
I've blown past my plateaus on all my lifts; I can do over 20 pullups in a set; my abs stick out a lot more now.

Training: I lift 2 days on, 1 day off (for HIIT training). I do aerobics in the mornings.(tony horton's stuff).

Diet: is similar to what you'd find on body for life, or on john berardi's stuff, 6 small meals per day, mostly consisting of protein and veggie or protein and low glycemic carb, I'll eat sugar post workout; hell I had a dairy queen milkshake after my lift yesterday. I'm probabbly 80-85% perfect on this as far as my caloric intake is concerned. I'm not one to be a jerk in a social setting, or on a date. I'll have 1 drink in a social setting; but that hasn't been more than 1-2x per week; and a single glass of wine is good for you right? I supplement with 5g/day creatine, 10g/day fish oil pills. I frequently use flax oil as dressing on spinach salads topped with cottage cheese.
Originally, I was just going to do 6 weeks of var and follow with nolvadex... but, the var by itself made my balls ache and it made my balls shrink. It did this in the first few weeks of the cycle. I haven't heard anyone complain about aching balls from var but it definitely happened to me. Also, I found I was becoming less motivated; I was still working out, but the intensity wasn't there. That might have been in my head or because of stress from work, but it's worth mentioning. The balls were definitely absolutely smaller by day 21. I didn't want to lose my gains; I just wasn't ready to call it quits for my first cycle... so I went into a test cycle. I should note that the balls stopped aching once I dropped the var dose, and the test hasn't had any sort of problems like that either. I have a chiropracter friend who did a sust only cycle and said he had minimal palpable shrinkage. I'd say my balls are at least 30% smaller than before. So, first timers, here's what I've learned.

TP var makes me strong, really veiny, gives me pumps that are huge, and I love that... but it is also suspicious when you sport new veins in your arms and chest in the locker room after a lift. People stare. Everyone knows what's going on when you sprout spider veins in your chest. So keep that in mind if it is a concern. I told one guy I was taking NO2, and a stack from precision nutrition consisting of activate and rebound. I only said this because after a workout in the locker room he said "holy shit you're jacked; what are you on?" We've lifted at the same gym for some time, though we don't generally lift together. I think he's buying those products now though. Also, I tried to do a long run (>5 miles) with a girl over the weekend, and my calves did get pumped, made me look like a wuss. Var made my balls ache and get small... not so happy about that... maybe that's just my individual reaction, but that's what this post is about. Maybe my palpation skills are developed because of my line of work, or maybe I just like to feel my balls more than others, but var alone shrunk me up, much more than I expected it would... and that's a big deal to me, something first timers should know. I personally think it shrunk me up more than the test alone would have. The veiny chest phenomenon went away within a couple weeks after I stopped with the var. I'm still slightly more vascular than I was when natty, but no veins in my chest. The test kicked in a couple weeks ago. I've put on 5 lbs in the last 14 days. My lifts go up every workout. I find myself pushing the envelope in the gym, the intensity is through the roof. Outside the gym, my libido is way up. I've been eating more than I did on the var. I have had some really big pimples on my shoulders and upper traps over the last week. I can't tell for sure if I'm losing hair on my head; I think I am, but that's been a growing concern for the past few years without using test... so I probably am thinning.

As predicted by Mr. X; I woke up 5-6 days after my first sust shot to find my face looked bloated.

Stealth test E is way thicker and leaves me a bit more sore than eco oils sust or selene's gear. Also, first time stealth buyers, I highly recommend having an 18gauge needle to withdraw the test from the sachet and put it into a vial. I first tried with a 22 gauge and it was a wasteful mess. It's just too thick. I haven't baked the stealth test yet to see if that helps with soreness. I haven't had any crazy injection pain like some have described.

1st timers, it's been said before, but make sure to have the PCT purchased before starting anything. I bought my ancillaries from ag guys long ago, but I waited to buy the hcg and found out too late the domestic hcg sponser is not selling anymore. So I'm 9 weeks along and hoping and waiting for hcg from overseas... not a good place to be in... I'm considering just using nolva or maybe buying some IGF from a sponser, but I haven't done enough research on IGF yet to do it. I know I don't want anything to do with gh gut; I also know I want my balls back asap. I can't see a 25 day 40mg/day cycle causing any noticable gut... but then again, I didn't think the var would cause any noticable symptoms either. I've decided to go a total of 12 weeks on this cycle, so in 3 weeks if my hcg isn't here, I'll decide whether to send for a bottle of igf. I don't think a nolva only pct is going to make me happy, but it may have to do. Advise or comments are welcome, and take care.

[Adam F]

Good post. I have been hearing good things about Myogenex a product that A Robert pushes. I have read 4 cycle logs on other BB forums where they are using it on cycle to keep the boys from sucking up. I havent used it so I cant say for sure. If you cant get HCG why not maybe Clomid?

I know A Roberts PCT protocol is prob the best out there, but I think you can find yourself another AI somewhere. You are in the US should be easy

[advanced-stealth-rep]

Not to hijack your post but you are right about 18gauge needle to withdraw.

[SELENE]

Good luck to you, very well laid out

[iron man ang]

hmmm honestly to comment about your loss of motivation is most likely do to either stress, or mayb subconscious reasons, iam no psychologist, but i do kno that sumtimes wen i get less motivated its because of these reasons, wether iam supplementing or not.....i never did a cycle yet but iam about to, and i think iam more syked than ever......p.s. i never heard of ball shrinking from anavar, and now iam a lil nervouse bc iam doin an anavar only cycle....yikes

[Bogatyr]

Did you ever get your HCG from overseas? I am looking to start a cycle, but don't want to do it without HCG and have no clue of where to get it.

Thanks