Fat % before cycle

[scott221179]

What is the ideal fat % to get down to before going on cycle?

Does having a higher fat % give you more sides?

Does it make a big difference being 8% over 18% ?

I am cutting/ dieting at the moment and planning my second injection cycle in April but as I put on so much unwanted fat last time ( way to many calories ) that I want to get down to a lower % this time and see if that helps with gains.
What % has worked best for you and why?

Thanks for anyone's input its appreciated.

 

[Digitalash]

Yes there is a huge difference between 8-18%, imo you should be under 15% and ideally more like 12-13% or less

 

[hypo_glycemic]

Yes there is a huge difference between 8-18%, imo you should be under 15% and ideally more like 12-13% or less

I agree. 18pc leaves you to start with to much fat and or water in the fascia. I start around 12-14pc myself.

 

[scott221179]

Digitalash: I do know that fat should be a low % but what are the reasons for this how does it effect the cycle? have you ever had a high % of fat and done a cycle if so what happened?.

I am just wondering really as I am aiming for 15 % before I start but thought I would ask

Thanks

 

[scott221179]

Hypo 12-14 would be nice but I want to get on cycle this year not next year lol

 

[Dath]

Fat is full of estrogen receptors. High fat % more likely to develop sides such gyno, also there's high risk for blood pressure increase.

 

[vannesb]

Digitalash: I do know that fat should be a low % but what are the reasons for this how does it effect the cycle? have you ever had a high % of fat and done a cycle if so what happened?.

I am just wondering really as I am aiming for 15 % before I start but thought I would ask

Thanks

15% is not bad if it is really 15% if you have it checked by calipers add another 3%. AAS is not a fix all, and you need to start with a good foundation diet, training etc. If you are over weight that would mean you could have higher blood pressure, other medical isues, more sides as was mentioned Gyno etc. Can't say if the results are better at a lower BF to many variables. The key is if you are 40lbs over weight that will come off by Diet, cardio and not AAS. I would shoot for between 12-15% VERY FEW people truly walk around with 8% BF. I would say the normal person that is a gym rat and uses AAS is between 10-to 12%. I have seen people use as high as 20% BF but each to there own. I would work on diet and trim up and then run a cycle. Also you gave no stats age, heigh, weight etc. In my avitar I am around 12%bf

 

[Digitalash]

high levels of aromatase in fat tissue means more of your test/dbol whatever will be converted to estrogen, and that causes alot of the side effects associated with aas. 15%'s fine, pay close attention to your AI dosage and any estrogenic side effects you might be having and adjust accordingly

 

[scott221179]

Vannesb thanks that all makes sense I just hate cutting lol

Sorry stats

Age : 32
Weight: 14 st 8
Height: 5 ft 11
fat%: 18% with hand held electronic tester ( at gym )
Years lifting: 9 years on and off ( solid last 2 years )
Cycles: in past SD, DBOL, EPI and DBOL with sust 250 10 weeks always Nolva for pct.
At present day I am on Ostarine with eca stack ( don't want to loose to much muscle )

I was 14% fat before my sust cycle and at the end I was 17% I did have a lot of estrogen issues puffy nips sore to touch.

So this time I wanted to do it right.

Thanks for all your comments very interesting

Vannesb congrats on the 12% dude.

 

[XYZ]

15% is not bad if it is really 15% if you have it checked by calipers add another 3%. AAS is not a fix all, and you need to start with a good foundation diet, training etc. If you are over weight that would mean you could have higher blood pressure, other medical isues, more sides as was mentioned Gyno etc. Can't say if the results are better at a lower BF to many variables. The key is if you are 40lbs over weight that will come off by Diet, cardio and not AAS. I would shoot for between 12-15% VERY FEW people truly walk around with 8% BF. I would say the normal person that is a gym rat and uses AAS is between 10-to 12%. I have seen people use as high as 20% BF but each to there own. I would work on diet and trim up and then run a cycle. Also you gave no stats age, heigh, weight etc. In my avitar I am around 12%bf

 

[vannesb]

Vannesb thanks that all makes sense I just hate cutting lol

Sorry stats

Age : 32
Weight: 14 st 8
Height: 5 ft 11
fat%: 18% with hand held electronic tester ( at gym )
Years lifting: 9 years on and off ( solid last 2 years )
Cycles: in past SD, DBOL, EPI and DBOL with sust 250 10 weeks always Nolva for pct.
At present day I am on Ostarine with eca stack ( don't want to loose to much muscle )

I was 14% fat before my sust cycle and at the end I was 17% I did have a lot of estrogen issues puffy nips sore to touch.

So this time I wanted to do it right.

Thanks for all your comments very interesting

Vannesb congrats on the 12% dude.

No problem bro!

 

[Pssssstyo]

15% is not bad if it is really 15% if you have it checked by calipers add another 3%. AAS is not a fix all, and you need to start with a good foundation diet, training etc. If you are over weight that would mean you could have higher blood pressure, other medical isues, more sides as was mentioned Gyno etc. Can't say if the results are better at a lower BF to many variables. The key is if you are 40lbs over weight that will come off by Diet, cardio and not AAS. I would shoot for between 12-15% VERY FEW people truly walk around with 8% BF. I would say the normal person that is a gym rat and uses AAS is between 10-to 12%. I have seen people use as high as 20% BF but each to there own. I would work on diet and trim up and then run a cycle. Also you gave no stats age, heigh, weight etc. In my avitar I am around 12%bf

i think your right. but everyone is different. for example: my older brother is 28. he has always been a little overweight. has been working out for around 3 years.. and he has build a lot of muscle.. but his diet has sucked so he still stayed with around 20 % body fat. mainly his stomache. well he insisted on doing a cycle last year around august. his first cycle consisted of 500mg test-E/dbol35mg for the first 4 weeks/deca400mg. he ran the test for 14 weeks and the deca for 12. he had a ptc also i forget what.. but i think nolva.. he was working out like he always did.. but added 3 days of cardio. 45-60 mins treadmill. 600-900 calories burned. im telling the transformation was amazing. he went down to at least 10% body fat .. buld muscle and in the end kept most of it. i think he started at 220 5'11.20%bf maybe more. after cycle he was 205...10% measured at the gym.. and he had build a lot of muscle.. you could tell in his frame.. as of right now he is 200 i would say same BF% . he lost a little muscle but remained leaned... diet and cardio where probably the main cause of this. as of today his diet is straight and narrow... so i do think that AAS can help anybody overweight or not.. its all about doing it right and knowing your goals...

 

[Xtroy]

Yh 12/14 is best bro

 

[Dath]

Seems 12-14% is widely accepted for test, Deca, Etc.
Winny, anavar ..results from these are better noticed @ 10% or even lower.

 

[FordFan]

Like everyone said, 15% max. I've seen people a lot higher (20%) do a cycle. I dont recommend it.

 

[Xtroy]

There's aguy in my gym his over 20% bf but he just looks normal looks abit tonk but in a decent way he don't look fat or nothing, he on test 500 and his diets just shit he nix looks fat as fuck I mean yh he has muscle and can bench press good but no define in him what so ever just get bf down .

 

[hypno]

I understand all this but reading it made me think of a question.

If you have high BF% and you do cycle, of course the chance for gyno, water bloat and so on... is higher. AI's may not help much so what about Letro? I know there is rebound with it but maybe someone can share more knowledge and we learn more.

Not even trying to say its a good idea to cycle when you are not ready but just curious.

 

[9mm]

Vannesb thanks that all makes sense I just hate cutting lol

Sorry stats

Age : 32
Weight: 14 st 8
Height: 5 ft 11
fat%: 18% with hand held electronic tester ( at gym )
Years lifting: 9 years on and off ( solid last 2 years )
Cycles: in past SD, DBOL, EPI and DBOL with sust 250 10 weeks always Nolva for pct.
At present day I am on Ostarine with eca stack ( don't want to loose to much muscle )

I was 14% fat before my sust cycle and at the end I was 17% I did have a lot of estrogen issues puffy nips sore to touch.

So this time I wanted to do it right.

Thanks for all your comments very interesting

Vannesb congrats on the 12% dude.

Did you take any anti e's while running your cycle ie. nolva or lethro during your cycle as that might explain why you had estrogen issues while on?

 

[SFW]

What is the ideal fat % to get down to before going on cycle?

Does having a higher fat % give you more sides?

Does it make a big difference being 8% over 18% ?

I am cutting/ dieting at the moment and planning my second injection cycle in April but as I put on so much unwanted fat last time ( way to many calories ) that I want to get down to a lower % this time and see if that helps with gains.
What % has worked best for you and why?

Thanks for anyone's input its appreciated.

Youre saying that an excess of cals last cycle limited your gains? thats not possible. You might look worse after those 10 wks but still be larger and stronger. Are your goals aesthetics or strength? Plenty of fat powerlifters who use gear obviously. You never did mention what your goals were.

You could be 30% bf and use gear during a cut using a protein sparing diet, drop down to 10% and then switch gears into a bulk.

Imo anything above 15% and you wont see striations, vascularity etc but you'll see mass. it all depends on your goals. theres no set bf% for gear use.

 

[Xtroy]

Youre saying that an excess of cals last cycle limited your gains? thats not possible. You might look worse after those 10 wks but still be larger and stronger. Are your goals aesthetics or strength? Plenty of fat powerlifters who use gear obviously. You never did mention what your goals were.

You could be 30% bf and use gear during a cut using a protein sparing diet, drop down to 10% and then switch gears into a bulk.

Imo anything above 15% and you wont see striations, vascularity etc but you'll see mass. it all depends on your goals. theres no set bf% for gear use.

No that's true in some sense but there's more of a risk of gyno more water weight I mean why would you use gear for something so easy ? I'm all for saying that footballers rugby players extra should not use them but if it's on your own goal then all for that but why use them for something so easy where diet and some good old training can do ? You might not even need or want them.

20% bf let's say your that would a good diet and training you could lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat a week easy!

 

[GMO]

Seems 12-14% is widely accepted for test, Deca, Etc.
Winny, anavar ..results from these are better noticed @ 10% or even lower.

^^^This

Don't even waste your time with mast, winny, var, etc, unless you are sub 10%.

OP: You may run a cycle of test at 12-14%, so diet and cardio is key for you at this point to shed a few lbs.

 

[scott221179]

Youre saying that an excess of cals last cycle limited your gains? thats not possible. You might look worse after those 10 wks but still be larger and stronger. Are your goals aesthetics or strength? Plenty of fat powerlifters who use gear obviously. You never did mention what your goals were.

You could be 30% bf and use gear during a cut using a protein sparing diet, drop down to 10% and then switch gears into a bulk.

Imo anything above 15% and you wont see striations, vascularity etc but you'll see mass. it all depends on your goals. theres no set bf% for gear use.

No I didn't word it very well, I put on 24lb last cycle I looked huge but I put on a lot of fat, I had lots of sides including sore nips.

I was bulking but got so hungry on cycle that I ate the fridge, hence the fat increase.

I did not and have nether used AI on cycle but will be from now on.

My fat % is coming down quite quickly so gunning for 15% or lower before I start cycle.

Thanks for all your comments all valid points.

 

[the_predator]

Have to agree with SFW. I have done cycles at 10% and at around 28% bodyfat when I played football and during my time in the military. No real big sides either way. And I am talking sust 250, dbol, tren, winny, deca, primo, test e, cyp, hgh, clen etc...you name it I have probably done it. I have been cycling since 1999. I can't even remember how many cycles I have ran. Now don't get me wrong I have battled gyno, tren night sweats, and a little deca dick and a few other things so I can't say I never had any sides but for the most part everything has been smooth. And yes I have done some pretty high doses to see what my body could handle(1750mg for a few weeks) so don't think that I have always been safe with the doses. Like SFW said "there is not any set Bf% percentage for steroid use."

 

[ANIMALHAUS]

I know some juiced up powerlifters with 40+ inch waists. They can throw around a ridiculous amount of weight, but good luck trying to tell me their bf% is below 30%.

 

[Xtroy]

Gd luck trying to get girls on that level lol

 

[((Vibe))]

I think most people would be more pleased with their results if they were sub 15% at the beginning of any mass building cycle.

 

[the_predator]

I agree with you Vibe! I definitely looked better after my cycle at 10% then 28%! They were two different cycles for two different reasons...looks(10%) and strength(28%). Everybody is looking for different goals at different times so, to each his own.

 

[Xtroy]

^^ this

 

[Calves of Steel]

You'll notice the effects way more if you don't have a thick layer of fat hiding them. The filling up of the muscles will look way more dramatic, and you will be at a much lower risk of sides. That being said, I started at 16%. Was 18, but cut down to 16. I just didn't want to be any thinner than that. Some people like feeling bulky. Being bulky is never healthier, but in my case I didn't mind the sacrifice.