Help get my life back on track. Post neck surgery & first cycle in 12 years

[Bigo181979]

First off here are is my basic info:
1) Age 32
2) Weight, Percent BodyFat, height: 255 and aprox 23% and 6'4"
3) Years of Consistant Training experience: 10, but have been away from it for 12
4) Previous Cycle experience: test win and decca
5) Training routine and Diet: lift 3 days a week with 15-30 minute cardio warm up and I am doing the paleo diet
6) Cycle Goals: bigger leaner stronger...


Well back in March I had cervical spinal fusion done on the c4,5,6 and 7 vertebres in my neck and after 90 days I was cleared to return to activity, although i was told i probably wouldn't be fully healed until November/December. So I decided it was time to start working out again. I have been going to the gym 2-3 a week, doing a combination of anywhere from 15-30 minutes of cardio and lifting. Due to my surgery I lost a lot of upper body strength and I still feel soreness when doing sertain lifts with my upper body, so i have to start light and increase weight every time and just kind of be carful as I go.

I picked up some test this week and decided to start simple as its been a long time, I also have some synthroid available to me as well, but not sure when to take this to benifit me in regards to a cycle. Also I take/have adderall as well

So please help me do this right. My biggest goal is to get a bigger and leaner, I want to look athletic again, not looking to be a monster... yet anyway I have a lot of questions and things I want to be sure of so that I know I am maxamizing the effects of my gear and doing things the most proper way that i can!

So some of my questions:
I am doing 1 cc of Test 300 on mondays, is that enough? Should I stay at that level the whole cycle?
How long should I be on and how long off of gear?
How frquently can/should I lift a particular area?
What # of sets and reps are best for my goals?
What other over the counter supplements should I add (obviously protein, what about creatine, vitamins, amino acids, fish oil, whatever)
How many calories should I be consuming per day?
Any other gear that would be recommended to help speed recover and stack in the future?

Any other suggestions/advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[hypno]

Wow, I am not sure I can add any valuable advice but just the same, Good luck to you!

 

[MrSaturatedFat]

First off big props for wanting to do this right. You've been off for 12 years, so you shouldn't do anything crazy. You're still young and have plenty of time to get back into it slowly and safely.

So some of my questions:
I am doing 1 cc of Test 300 on mondays, is that enough? Should I stay at that level the whole cycle?
300mg test a week is a low dose for our standards, but depending on your goals, it could be just enough. I'll get into that later

How long should I be on and how long off of gear?
The 'rule of thumb' is the amount of time ON = amount of time off + PCT

How frquently can/should I lift a particular area?
A good start would be 1 major body part a week + a few days of cardio thrown in there. Ultimately, you have to find what works for YOU

What # of sets and reps are best for my goals?
You'll get endless answers to this question. Personally, I do the movements and reps that put on muscle. Why would I do anything else? "toning" the muscle high reps low weight.. eh I'm not a fan of. I'll go as low as 5 reps for a movement, and as high as 15. Intensity I think is most important thing.

What other over the counter supplements should I add (obviously protein, what about creatine, vitamins, amino acids, fish oil, whatever)
This is another endless answer question. I think there's only 5 supplements you should take. Whey, BCAA's, Fish oil, Multi's, and Creatine. Now I do take liver supps when i'm "on" but all those N.O Xplodes, Jack3d, N.O vapors, etc etc... just have no real long lasting effects. Think about if, if they did work, EVERYONE would take them and nothing else. But no, you see walls of supplements in the stores. Just stick to the basics.

How many calories should I be consuming per day?
Well this is where your goals conflict. if you want to be leaner, you need to be in a calorie deficit, low carbs, lots of cardio. But, you also said you want to be bigger and stonger.. that means high calorie, lots of protein/carbs, not as much cardio. Some people like to "lean bulk" which is to put on muscle, but at a slower rate, so you dont add to much fat. Personally, if I'm 'on', I take full advantage and do 1 or the other. Add as much muscle as I possible can, or loose as much fat as I possible can. This decision is up to you.

Any other gear that would be recommended to help speed recover and stack in the future?
Adding HCG to the cycle is supposed to aid with recovery and help make PCT go smoother.

Based on your questions, and the fact you've been off for 12 years. I would say you shouldn't cycle at all. Get back in the gym slowly, you can still make great gains since being off for so long. Plus.. at 23% body fat, you can easily loose that without gear.

Get a good diet plan going, hit the weights, do lots of cardio, and get that BF down bro. And all the while doing that.. keep researching and asking questions here. If your going to do it, do it right.

 

[hill450]

Um to start I wouldn't shoot only monday. Shoot monday and thursday at 1cc which would be 600mg/week which is a good cycle. Do some research for sure. You're going to need an AI(aromatise inhibitor) like exemestane or arimidex. Also need to have a pct lined out like clomid and exemestane together for 4 weeks. I'm sure you're rusty on how to protect your body if you haven't cycled in 12 years lol. I wouldn't forget about hcg either it makes recovery after cycle easier. I would run 12 weeks or so test e or c whatever you have then wait two weeks for the ester to clear and start pct. So it would be an 18 week cycle altogether. But you really need to research and know what you're doing/getting into to. I would start dieting and exercising now and start researching so you can start in a few months.

As far as diet I wouldn't say youre horribly over weight or anything. I'm 6'2" and 222 right now with about 14-15% body fat and I'm trying to cut down a lot. I'm not the greatest with diet but try to drop your calories to around 2500 slowly and go from there. I don't know what your diet is like now so I don't know how many calories you are consuming but drop to 2500 slowly so you don't want to die lol Also eat as good as you can. Vegetables, fruits, lean meats, whole grains if you eat bread/starches. Try to only cheat once a week. Also, I do not know your metabolism which probably isn't very high right now but you may and probably will need to go lower on calories at some point.

I would diet and exercise for a couple months or more before jumping on gear to be honest. Figure out what your body needs to lose weight that way when you get on gear you can really challenge yourself and cut the calories more and lose that extra amount ya know? Multivitamin and fish oil are good of course with protein to fill in the gaps. Try to get most of your protein from whole foods though of course.

Also, don't rely on the gear to change your body, its not magic. It will just help in muscle preservation and make you feel better while doing it.

 

[hill450]

First off big props for wanting to do this right. You've been off for 12 years, so you shouldn't do anything crazy. You're still young and have plenty of time to get back into it slowly and safely.





Based on your questions, and the fact you've been off for 12 years. I would say you shouldn't cycle at all. Get back in the gym slowly, you can still make great gains since being off for so long. Plus.. at 23% body fat, you can easily loose that without gear.

Get a good diet plan going, hit the weights, do lots of cardio, and get that BF down bro. And all the while doing that.. keep researching and asking questions here. If your going to do it, do it right.

I agree.

 

[TonyMack]

IMHO, unless you have a medical need for testosterone, ie. low testosterone, I'd take the advice above and get your training back on track before considering a cycle. If you need TRT, get your TRT program stabilized, your BF lowered, and training on track before considering a blast.

 

[blergs.]

I dont think you should start yet because you are not ready. there are some very basic things about this stuff you dont seem to know.

I would rec this after some reading:

wk1-14 500mg test ew
wk1-8 50mcg ed IGF1LR3
wk1-15 25mg proviron ed
wk15-19PCT
*AI on hand (I rec STANE or LETRO)

the IGF1 will help with tissue repair.

My back is all messed up also from a car accident. some of my disks are messed up. some buldging some "lossing fluid". one doc mentioned about fusing and by my reaction to that he didn't bother pressing it again. no freaking way I will do that if I dont need it.
also told me about getting corto injections in back to help with pain.. sure it will help pain. but I rather not.
anyway I wish you the best.

 

[Bigo181979]

Thank you everyone for the info, lots of great suggestions and things to think about for sure! Since orignally posting this my goals are a bit more focused at this point. I want to lean up and get in better overall athletic shape again, however I have always struggled with diet's and food... I love to cook and eat!

Speaking of diet over the last month or so I was turned on to crossfit and also the Paleo Diet by my workout-a-holic girlfriend (god bless her for helping get me motivated to get back to the gym). I have since added crossfit 2 times a week in the morning at 6am before work and I am also lifting 2-3 times a week in the evening and I am eating a paleo diet but I am not doing a low cal diet yet.

So what are you best suggestions to help me obtain my goal? I know there's no magic pill or shot to transform you over night, I'm not looking for that. I am however frustrated by the amount of strength I have lost from time and surgery and by how slow I have been progressing over the last 3 months.... So I am looking for something to "help" me get there a bit faster... So whats recomended? Just diet and keep plugging away? What would test do? What would HGH do? Would there be something else like Winny or Tren that would be more benificial to my current goals?

One other thing I want to see if you guys can help me out with. One of my biggest problem now, and has always been, recovery time. The burn after you do a set, it takes forever for it to subside to the point where I can do another set, I mean as much as 2-3 minutes and sometimes it can be down right painful. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Suggestions?


Oh and please try to dumb down the abbreviations (or if theres a link to a place I can find them that would be good lol) I am not quiet current on all the acronyms lol.