Just finished first cycle

[red28]

I have just finished my first cycle....50ml of deca a week. I had tremendous strength gains and have also noticed a nice change in physique. I didn't suffer from sides too bad. I had water retention (which I think is getting worse since I finished), a little more oil on face and hair and my voice started to get hoarse. My voice is getting better and so is the oily face and hair. The water is holding on and that is getting bothersome. I feel extremely tight and my muscles feel hard but I also feel sore alot. I was wondering if anyone else has dealt with any of these after they finished a cycle.

thanks!

 

[red28]

Thanks! Unfortunately I did not measure right before, but I have some measurements from a few months before I started. I will have to measure tonight so I can do some comparing. I can tell with my clothes, no shirts fit through my back and my pants are tight in my legs but loose in the butt. It is strange to me how my body has readjusted. The scale says I am 15 pounds heavier. I don't know how much is water, new muscle, fat. So that is a little discouraging. I have had people ask me if I am feeling ok because my face looks puffy! lol.
My strength went up...for instance, 40pd barbell curl to 80 pds, 90lb leg press to 270lb. That was great...not to mention the incredible pump my muscles would have after.
I am starting in increase my reps now and increase my cardio to 1 hour sessions. Does that sound right? I am looking to try and lean up a bit.
Any suggestions?

 

[red28]

Oh, ok. I will keep the weights heavy. What about cardio?
I eat 5-6 times a day and I think I have a pretty good regimen there, but I am sure I could clean it up a bit. I was so hungry while I was "on". It is so nice to feel like my appetite is not as high.
I didn't have my BF% measured, but I need to go and have it done. I never have, so I would be curious to see what it is.

Thanks for your replies Spatterson! I really appreciate any help I can get!

I have seen your cutting diet. I am going to try that and see what happens!

 

[red28]

I have been having this conversation with my man. I keep saying that I don't want to lose any of the muscle by doing too much cardio. He doesn't seem to think that is possible. I will have to just see what works for me. I enjoy cardio. I was doing 20-30 minutes after workout and maybe a longer workout one day on the weekend. I have never done a carb rotation diet, but I have read alot about them on this board.
This is probaly a dumb question, but what are your suggestions for keeping the muscle on? Just keeping up with the weights and a good diet?

 

[red28]

Great, sounds like a plan to me! Thanks for your help!! As far as the water goes, how long does it take to go back to normal?

 

[wyst]

My strength went up...for instance, 40pd barbell curl to 80 pds, 90lb leg press to 270lb. That was great...not to mention the incredible pump my muscles would have after.

Wow! That's pretty damned cool! How many weeks did your cycle last?

Wyst

 

[red28]

I went for seven weeks. My intention was to go 10 weeks, but I cut is short because I was getting really puffy and my voice was starting to crack a bit. I felt like I gained quite a bit and wanted to continue but I didn't know if the sides would continue to get worse. I didn't want to get any puffier!
All in all though, I felt like it worked pretty well for me.

 

[muskles]

very nice results, red

my muscles feel hard but I also feel sore alot.

my man felt sore a lot while on deca a few months ago... said it was joint pain that was a common side.

 

[red28]

Thanks Muskles! I'm glad to hear that someone else had that side. I feel alot in my shoulders and actually my ankles. I went to a yoga class last night and it actually helped me feel better. I guess doing some major stretching helped with the muscles, but the joints will get better with time I suppose.

 

[muskles]

no problem

i haven't read anything about it, but he said that doing the smallest thing like brushing his teeth could make him feel some minor soreness in his arm.. said something about how being on deca makes the muscles exhaust themselves easier.. i think that's what he said.

 

[red28]

Well I definitely feel exhausted! I have felt really tight in my shins and calves too when trying to do cardio. I have been wondering why I feel like I am just pooped all the time.

 

[Arioch]

my man felt sore a lot while on deca a few months ago... said it was joint pain that was a common side

Eh? Deca is commonly used by numerous athletes for joint pain. In the good old days (pre-anabolic steroid control act) the common rule was "Deca heals just about anything."

Deca has also been shown to improve glucose uptake, which would allow the muscles to recover more quickly from a workout asuming enough carbs were consumed.

 

[red28]

sorry, I didn't mean to confuse anyone. All the stuff I have read says that is supposed to lubricate your joints. It could be that I am training harder and my body is responding to that. I did Norandren 50. I don't know if anyone wanted to know that, but there it is!

 

[red28]

Ahhhh...too many names!!!!
thanks again for everyone's input!

 

[muskles]

sorry, I didn't mean to confuse anyone.

no, i'm sorry 4 the confusion.. i just thought that was what he said... i usually misinterpret what he says anyways.. him being a damn foreigner whose first language isn't english and all

 

[magdelana]

Red be careful to give yourself more recovery time between workouts now. With less T in your body it will take longer. Trying to work each muscle with the same intensity AND the same frequency will be catabolic and you might lose too much of your cycle gains. Plenty of protein and sleep are more important now too.

Cant remember the half life of the ester you used, but if you are just off so recent then there is still enough of the hormone in you body to make you hold the water still. After the level in your blood drops enough he water will come out.

Many AAS make cortisol levels go down so much that the joints will get sore. This is a big cause of losing gains after cycle. "I just cant train hard" and so atrophy. This will pass too with time. Dont stop however.

 

[red28]

I am going on my second week "off". I have still been working out hard and adding a little more cardio. How should I change that? I definitely like the more sleep part! But I don't want to lose anything either. I am pretty new to AS so I apologize if I seem "uneducated". I get most of my advice from my man, but I think I like hearing from women better.

 

[magdelana]

Yes AAS work very different on women. I trained in a hardcore gym for 12 years and was the ONLY hardcore female there for all that time. I tried to learn AAS from guys but with no women to talk to it was hard to learn what I should do.

Why do you add more cardio? To lose the water? I do not think you should increase cardio if you want to keep as much of your musclar bw gains as possible. Remember your biggest concern now, keeping your gains. You worked hard for them, right? You might want to increase your protein a bit since AAS makes your body able to use protein better and you dont have that now off cycle. (sorry dont know how to say this in english very well)

I am pretty new to AS so I apologize if I seem "uneducated".

Never a need to apologize! We all learn from each other. I am sure there are things you could teach me.

 

[red28]

Thanks Mag! I was going to increase my cardio because that was a suggestion made by my man. Also, because of the water. But from what I have been told, dont! So I won't. Yes, I definitely worked hard to get gains and I don't want to lose them. So I am going to keep working hard to keep them. I am going to try and add more rest like you suggestes. I think I get in the mode of if I am home, I should be doing something. I go to the gym in the morning, so I need to find something else to do in the evening. I understand that getting lean is not necessarily adding more cardio, but your diet. I will work harder on that part. I feel like I just look big, I would like more definition. I am sure diet will help that.

 

[red28]

I have seen HIIT talked about alot. Exactly what is that? I do interval training on the treadmill. 5 min easy, increase and decrease speed for 2 min intervals and then easy 5 minute cooldown. There is a track by my house so I can do them there, but I don't know what to do

 

[red28]

That makes sense to me...how long do you it for if you are on a machine or how many do you do if at the track. Unfortunately I am in Tx, so it is about to get hot here, so I will prob be on a machine for most of the summer. But for now I can get outside early in morning.

 

[red28]

Glad you understand my pain

Sounds great. I will add that in. Thanks for in info!!!