How To Plan Your Cycle

When planning a cycle, especially if it’s your first, it is important to take the time to make sure you have everything planned out well in advance. Previously, we’d provided a helpful Cycle Checklist to aid in ensuring you’ve thought of everything. Today, we’re going to look at a more real-world example to show how this applies to your upcoming cycle. Lets assume for a minute that there is a bodybuilder named John. John wants to administer a cycle to boost his strength and muscle size. He’s thirty years old, his girlfriend is also a bodybuilder, he’s been working out since college but he’s still not quite happy with his physique. He’s well built, healthy, but not the biggest guy at the gym and not the strongest. John feels he can do better. He’s heard that with the help of anabolic/androgenic steroids he can achieve far greater gains than with exercise alone and he’s interested in giving them a shot.

Do You Even Need Steroids?

The first thing John should do is sit down and seriously consider whether or not he needs steroids to get where he wants to be. As mentioned, he’s thirty and he’s in good shape. He just had a physical three months ago that came back clean and he’s been working out regularly since he graduated from college 8 years ago. He’s concerned that he’s been pushing himself more lately and feels like he’s hit a plateau. So he’s in peak form without drugs and as far as he knows he’s in good health. Steroids are looking a viable option to exceed that plateau and reach further. John has been online and read up thoroughly on how long a cycle is and what type of time frames he’s looking at. He’s also asked around a bit to friends and other gym members to get an idea as to what he’s in for. He wants a simple cycle without much fuss and has opted for the beginner cycle detailed in our article on Your 1st Cycle. He wants to begin on the first Sunday of July so his cycle will begin on the 6th of July. Below you can see the beginner cycle mapped out to actual calendar days starting July 6th 2017.

Legend:

◼ 250mg Testosterone enanthate (in the A.M.)
◼ 250mg Testosterone enanthate (in the P.M.)
◼ 0.5mg Anastrozole
◼ 250iu HCG

Fit Your Cycle to Your Schedule

John usually attends church Sunday mornings so he doesn’t want to schedule an injection at that time and he knows he’ll follow a cycle more closely and more accurately if it’s not inconveniencing him in anyway. To accommodate this, the Sunday testosterone injection can be swapped with the Wednesday injection. This means John will administer a dose on Sunday evening and Wednesday morning. The HCG is also an injection, but can be done in the evening, the same time as the testosterone so it shouldn’t interfere with John’s existing schedule. If there are any other events of scheduling conflicts during your schedule, always try to resolve them ahead of time and you can check another item off the list right away.

Don’t Forget the Bloodwork

The next thing John needs is detailed blood work. There are many independent laboratories that do blood work and many will do so with out an appointment. John doesn’t want to waste time however so he calls ahead and books an appointment for his lunch hour so he doesn’t need to miss work. At the same time he books appointments for during and after his cycle in order to keep a clear view of the effects of the steroids on his body. The pre cycle blood work is used as a baseline to monitor progress. It will also alert you to any abnormalities that may be exacerbated by steroid use. John’s test comes back indicating a slightly lower than normal estrogen level. This is nothing to be too concerned about as estrogen is usually suppressed during a cycle anyway.

Choose Substances That Will Work For You

Because of it’s already lowered level, John will opt to go with a SERM for his estrogen control needs rather than an aromatase inhibitor like Anastrozole. This ensures that he’s not preventing the production of estrogen but rather it’s impact on his body. The SERM will prevent gynecomastia while still allowing the positive impact of estrogen on cholesterol levels as well as other areas. As a result, John has opted to switch Anastrozole for Nolvadex in his cycle. That means 20mg of Nolvadex taken daily through the course of the cycle. The resulting cycle is somewhat more involved, with administration on a daily basis now, but it will prevent estrogen levels from dropping too far and increasing risk of osteoporosis and cholesterol related effects. Now that John has a clear schedule set for his cycle, he needs to acquire the appropriate supplies. Looking at his schedule, John knows he has 38 injections lined up over 12 weeks. Because he has done his homework, he also knows that he shouldn’t use the same needle to withdraw the medication to also inject it. To avoid confusion and mistakes, John has ordered two different sizes of needles that come conveniently color coded. He has also ordered a bulk box of syringes because he knows it’s cheaper to buy more syringes than to pay for an extended hospital stay in the event something goes wrong. His needles and syringes now in the mail, John turns his attention to the medications. Steroids are not legal in John’s area without a prescription but he’s confident in getting them shipped. He has visited a few forums in his research and has found a reputable supplier with a good track record. A little further research, as well as some personal experience, leads John to develop a diet plan as well. The steroids will drastically boost hit ability to grow muscle so John wants to make sure he’s got enough protein, vitamins and minerals to support the rapid changes.

Enjoy the Peace of Mind

At this point, John is confident he has prepared for his cycle to all reasonable extents. He’s done his homework, ordered his supplies and adjusted his schedule appropriately. His blood work is in order and he has two further appointments scheduled. John can confidently wade into the world of steroids knowing that his bases are covered and when his orders arrive, he’ll be ready to go. His cycle is now tailored to his needs and his schedule so he can be sure he’ll get the most out of the experience. John can rest easy knowing he’s well prepared for the cycle ahead. Below you can view a complete schedule of John’s cycle mapped to actual calendar days.

Legend:

◼ 250mg Testosterone enanthate (in the A.M.)
◼ 250mg Testosterone enanthate (in the P.M.)
◼ 20mg Nolvadex ◼ 250iu HCG

Testosterone Enanthate is available under such trade names: Testoxyl Enanthate, Testosterone E, Testodex Enanthate, SP Enanthate, Enantat 400, Enantat 250.

Anastrozole is available under such trade names: Arimixyl, Arimidex, Balkan Anastrozole.

HCG is available under such trade names: HuCoG 5000, Fertigyn.

The big thing to remember when planning your cycles is not to take them lightly. Anabolic steroids can exert a huge positive impact on your life, but you need to run the cycle, don’t let the cycle run you. John was smart, he did his research, got his blood tests done and made sure he knew what he was getting himself into. don’t let yourself get lazy with a cycle, especially your first. Some simple planning can be the difference between a successful cycle and a trip to the ER. Be smart. Plan ahead.