Whats your pick? Which have given you the best gains?
There are some great routines on this site, but most/all are designed primarily for the natural lifter. Which routines work best on AAS, which lend themselves to easy modification, how have you reworked them to take advantage of AAS?
Yes, so in consideration of a hypothetical first cycle in the somewhat near future (vague enough?) I’ve been thinking about what routine would best suit maximum size gains during the cycle. Having never used, I’m a bit unsure of how AAS will affect my workload tolerance and recovery ability. Obviously this is something one needs to feel out as they go along, but I’m not one to fiddle too much with my routines and favor established programs (if I fiddle a little bit it most often gets out of hand).
Anyhow, I’ve gone through quite a few of the routines on this site, and all have worked relatively well for me. Most recently I’ve been alternating between 5x5 and German volume training, gaining some strength and then jacking the volume way up to use that strength for added size. It worked some serious magic the first few rounds.
And now I’ve decided its nearing my time to Test out some new methods (pun intended). Basically I’ve seen/heard of people doing well with both the 5x5 and poloquin’s GVT that have worked well for me in the past, and unsure of where to go from here. I also made some very nice gains with CT’s HSS-100 a while back and very very strongly considering implementing that. But again, not sure of how or whether or not I should alter them in any way while on AAS. Recommendations?
There is not any need for different types of routines when using anabolic steroids.
You might prefer increasing the volume of low or medium volume routines by adding additional exercises and/or sets. But that doesn’t require any basic overhaul.
[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
There is not any need for different types of routines when using anabolic steroids.
You might prefer increasing the volume of low or medium volume routines by adding additional exercises and/or sets. But that doesn’t require any basic overhaul.[/quote]
Well I certainly feel blessed to have a response from you. Thanks so much.
IS THIS TRULY A HONEST TO GOD QUESTION? SORRY FOR THE CAPS FELLAS BUT ITS IS WHAT IS FOR THE TIME BEING. THE MODS WILL PROBABLY FIX IT WHEN THEY REVIEW MY POST FOR EITHER POSTING OR DELETION. BACK TO THE SUBJECT: TRAINING IS COMPLETELY USER SPECIFIC, IMO.
THE KEY DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU ARE A SUPERIOR ATHLETE IN COMPARISON TO YOUR MORTAL, INFERIOR COUNTERPARTS, BOUND TO SOME PATHETIC MORAL OF REMAINING ‘NATURAL’ IN A SPORT WHERE SPORTING EXTREMELY LOW BODYFAT LEVELS AND EXCESS AMOUNTS OF MUSCLE TISSUE IS THE GOAL, IS THE INCREASED RECOVERY RATE AND THE INCREASED AGGRESSION (IN THE GYM MIND YOU) AND THE INCREASE IN STRENGTH.
WHATEVER YOUR CURRENT REGIMENT IS, IT WILL BY DEFAULT BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE DUE TO THOSE NEW FACTORS. NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP ON PUSHING. ADD IN PLENTY OF CALORIES AND WATCH THE SCALE MOVE UPWARD.
Glad to be of any help!
Holy fucking shit! A Bill Roberts sighting!
Would increased frequency of workouts (say, 5 days/week instead of 3) theoretically provide more results? If AAS do indeed improve recuperative ability, would more frequent workouts not result in faster accumulation of muscle due to a larger number of workouts? Or is my logic flawed?
[quote]patricio2626 wrote:
Would increased frequency of workouts (say, 5 days/week instead of 3) theoretically provide more results?
If AAS do indeed improve recuperative ability, would more frequent workouts not result in faster accumulation of muscle due to a larger number of workouts? Or is my logic flawed?[/quote]
Ideally you want to work out as soon as your muscles are recovered. I’d still recommend off days though, unless you know you can train 7 days a week. 5 instead of 3 sounds reasonable for most people.
I workout 5 days a week on and off. I know I can not train 7 days a week though, so I don’t increase my frequency. AAS doesn’t improve my CNS recovery; or at least I don’t notice anything of the sort.
In practice there does not seem to be a trend of anabolic steroid users training bodyparts more frequently than when not using or compared to non-users.
If anything the reverse may be true – some degree of tendency to hit bodyparts harder and allow a little more time between workouts. But I wouldn’t say for sure that that is a trend either, just that it does seem more common to me than the reverse.
Basically, I don’t think there’s a discernible difference in the relative merits of one general protocol vs another according to whether one is using or not.
[quote]patricio2626 wrote:
Would increased frequency of workouts (say, 5 days/week instead of 3) theoretically provide more results? If AAS do indeed improve recuperative ability, would more frequent workouts not result in faster accumulation of muscle due to a larger number of workouts? Or is my logic flawed?[/quote]
I rarely take off days when I’m not on, and they are even less common when I’m using. You have a short window to pretty much kill yourself and eat a retarded amount of calories, maximize it.
I think only working out 3 days a week while on gear (unless you are doing some ridiculous TBT routine) is just a waste of time.
In the last sentence, were the words “while on gear” necessary? 
I gotta agree with the sentiments here. If you program you were doing with AAS is working (is it really?), why would you change it much at all when on?
Of course, people plataeu and hit their genetic ceiling and turn to AAS to get them over that hump, but I bet they’re using a similar program to what got them there with a few tweaks throw in (rest paused sets, etc)
I’m pretty sure I couldn’t train 7 days in a row despite improved recovery. I did add a day in, but it’s because I was squatting and deadlifting on the same day and wanted to improve both lifts.
[quote]patricio2626 wrote:
Would increased frequency of workouts (say, 5 days/week instead of 3) theoretically provide more results? If AAS do indeed improve recuperative ability, would more frequent workouts not result in faster accumulation of muscle due to a larger number of workouts? Or is my logic flawed?[/quote]
I feel, through the process of observation, that there is some truth in this statement. With the increased ability of recuperation, coupled with additional strength to move loads otherwise unmovable and during a bulk phase, I believe that new gains are inevitable.
A friend currently subscribes to this regiment and can testify to its effectiveness. Rest is still not to be neglected though. 1 day off is my motto.
Actually on your requoting the post I see I didn’t read it correctly.
On seeing the frequency part I jumped back to an earlier question on frequency of bodyparts.
My reply dealt with frequency of bodypart training.
The question was actually training days per week.
On this, yes, three days per week is more sub-optimal when using anabolic steroids than it is sub-optimal when natural.
[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
Actually on your requoting the post I see I didn’t read it correctly.
On seeing the frequency part I jumped back to an earlier question on frequency of bodyparts.
My reply dealt with frequency of bodypart training.
The question was actually training days per week.
On this, yes, three days per week is more sub-optimal when using anabolic steroids than it is sub-optimal when natural.[/quote]
OK, thank you, that’s what I meant, and you just answered my question. Three and five days were just arbitrary numbers used for the sake of argument. This is something I’ve always wondered.