[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Hey Shadow, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve read this forum. Glad to see such a dedicated donation of time on the part of a busy pro. I’ve got a couple general questions for you here that might be able to help me coach some people out of making some sizable mistakes:
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For a short term (4-6 week) cycle aimed at really just improving 1 body part in size quickly for a specific look–as opposed to a contest prep or overall bulking goal–what do you like and why? Essentially a quick body part specialization cycle.
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What, in your view, is the right time to start digging into the more exotic side of contest prep (cytomel, clen, etc) for a young competitive male bodybuilder or figure/physique girl looking to make a career out of it? I have my own view on this but I’m interested to hear yours from your years of experience.
I know that quite obviously if someone wants to hit IFBB level that AAS use–as well as gH, etc–is required. No problem with that. But as opposed to someone just training hard for fun and using, where in the competitive career would you start messing with the thyroid hormones and other things?
Frankly, my personal opinion is that you should be able to get into contest condition without either cytomel or Clen–i.e. just stuff like HOT-ROX–and really nail your conditioning down hard for peaking before diving into the more exotic stuff so that you don’t rely on the gear for peaking. Unless, I suppose, you’re a young athlete in an NPC show with a pro card on the line (ala winning Nationals or something)…in which case it would probably be time to pull out most of the stops if you think you have a solid shot at taking the show and winning your IFBB card by doing so.
- Just out of curiosity, a) what is in your view the 2 most important supplements (regular supps) for contest prep for someone who is strapped for cash and has to budget and b) what is your personal favorite cycle you’ve ever done?[/quote]
Hi. Thanks for following and great post.
- I’m not a big fan of short blasts. The shortest cycle I’ll do is 8 weeks in length (only short esters) as I think less than this won’t give you all of the benefits that you could gain from a full cycle and still you may experience all of the side effects/risks that you’d have from the full cycle. I would also usually do 2-3 compounds rather than just 1. One is usually an oral and the injectables are very short acting drugs.
A few options that I can think of:
Test Suspension & Tren Suspension - inject 60-90min preworkout
*its very potent, fast acting and is in/out of the body quickly
Depending on the goal you could add an oral to this. If strength is the main goal then halotestin would be a good choice. And if strength and size are the main goal (without worry of water retention) then dbol or Anadrol can be good. Take these preworkout as well.
Another mild option that could work for this purpose is test susp OR prop AND oral/injectable winstrol. It’s a great combo for strength and size.
Dosage is obviously based on the persons experience.
In theory you can run these for 6 weeks but I do believe from my own experience that 8 weeks is a better option for maximal results. If you’re going to go with 6 weeks then definitely go with the suspension.
- First and foremost I would make sure that whoever wants to use these drugs is not using them to create a shortcut… They need to make sure their training, diet(meal timing & macro tracking) and supplements(things like HOT-ROX, Carbolin 19 & indigo-3G)are all on track because if not I wouldn’t even consider letting them use these drugs especially for figure or physique. I do believe that bodyfat levels of figure, physique and obviously bikini are achievable without the use of these drugs… However, bodybuilding is a different story!
Since we aren’t living in a perfect world and most athletes will ask you to use drugs from the first show they’re doing. My answer would be to make sure that they can prove that they’re working their ass off for a long period of time and prove that they can place well (top 3) in a novice level show without using drugs. If you think that they have good enough genetics to actually do something at a national level then I might start them on a very low dose of the drugs you mentioned to see how their body reacts. If they have a chance to win a pro card then you could try something a bit more aggressive but use extreme caution and make sure they taper up and down properly.
Before a national level I don’t think anyone needs to touch anything… But who listens to me anyways! Lol.
If you know how to use t3 properly and keep on top of your health by getting regular blood work done then I think it’s a drug that can be used very safely (as long as you’re not going crazy with the dosage)
Bodybuilding is a different story. If we are talking about true stage condition of an IFBB Pro I don’t think it can be done without these drugs. If trying to achieve this condition without these drugs the athlete would risk losing too much size during the process. It’s something that a bodybuilder will definitely need to use if they want to reach this level.
Before using it I would make sure all other factors are on track as I mentioned above AND make sure the bodybuilder actually has some sort of decent genetics and size to reach the final goal. Starting at the lowest dose possible is recommended. Emphasis here is on size… I would not send a bodybuilder into a contest prep if I don’t think he’ll have enough muscle to look like a true bodybuilder on stage and not a men’s physique competitor.
- Plazma. I’ve been hooked on this product for a long time now and it’s made huge improvements in my recovery, ability to train longer and eat more carbs without the worry of gaining fat. I am using it year round during contest prep and off season. It’s the easiest way for me to increase my food intake in the off season and when I’m dieting I’ve been able to consume a lot more carbs than usual without gaining any fat.
Indigo-3G. The best supplement for body composition. I find it literally impossible to gain fat in the off season when I combine this with the Plazma. It’s the perfect supplement for female competitors to use when trying to increase their food intake.
Favorite off season cycle:
Test-e
Tren-e
Eq
Dbol
GH
Insulin
Favorite competition cycle:
Test-p or suspension
Mast-p
Tren-a
Halo (last 6 weeks only)
T3
GH
Primo
*dosage and duration of each substance will depend on what I’m doing, my current condition and goal.