42 yr old - first cycle. Should I do it?

[Made Of Stone]

Hi all, this is my first post and would be grateful for some advice.

Background

I am 42, 145lbs, type 1 diabetic for 18yrs with IBS. I have been working out for 5 months at home with free weights and do 2 x 2 hour work outs a week, I workout my whole body in each session. I have put on about 13 lbs in this period but have plateaued.

I have always been around 145 lbs and recently (12 mths ago) dropped to about 126 lbs after going on a completely carb free diet due to my diabetes, I never felt healthier but I looked ill so I started eating a lot more protein and minimal carbohydrate to stop body going into ketosis and to put on weight.

My Diet

I have pretty much the same thing every day to give me around 150 grams of protein which is

Breakfast

2 eggs and 3 slices bacon and half slice toast

Lunch

Salad with 200g chicken

Tea

Steak and salad or veg or 2 chicken breasts with salad or veg

Night

One protein shake and some random snacking

MY ISSUES

I have plateaued regards putting on bulk although my physique is looking more impressive, I don't want to be huge but would like to get to around 170lbs.

I know food is what I need however......

I am highly knowledgeable around diabetes and I refuse to eat more than minimal amounts of carbohydrates (including fruit) as this does huge long term damage to the body if diabetic. Also due to my IBS if I start eating big portions of food it becomes very unpleasant, I won't go into detail.

So as eating large portions of food/carbs etc is not an option can I reach my goals by going on a cycle. I was planning on a first cycle that looks like this....

Wks 1-6 30mg Dianabol ED
Wks 1-12 500mg TestE EW
Wks 15 and 16 40mg Nolvadex ED and 17 and 18 20mg per day
HCG wks 1 - 15 500iu per week
Armidex wks 1-14 0.5mg EOD

QUESTIONS

1) if I can't make big changes to diet can I achieve my goals through the planned cycle
2) Bearing in mind my weight, is it dangerous for me to do this cycle and is there a better cycle for my weight
3). Is there a better workout I can do to maximise gains.
4). If I have to eat more food what is the minimum extra low carb food I need to eat

I hope I haven't bombarded you with too much info and I really appreciate people taking the time and effort to read through this and give me some guidance. This forum has proved invaluable so far in getting me to this point.

Thank you

 

[Burrr]

Hopefully you can get some help from other diabetics, I'm not sure how a cycle will impact your current health issues.
With diet ( and the consumption of lots of Kcals and Protein) being the root of a good cycle I'm not sure how you'll do with your dietary restrictions.

Also, sometimes a cycle or two of steroids is enough to make a 40 something guy go from having average test to low test. Are you ready for another health problem? ie, Low T and weekly injections for life?

 

[Made Of Stone]

Hopefully you can get some help from other diabetics, I'm not sure how a cycle will impact your current health issues.
With diet ( and the consumption of lots of Kcals and Protein) being the root of a good cycle I'm not sure how you'll do with your dietary restrictions.

Also, sometimes a cycle or two of steroids is enough to make a 40 something guy go from having average test to low test. Are you ready for another health problem? ie, Low T and weekly injections for life?

Thanks Burrr....with the right PCT would that still mean there is a strong possibility of long term low T as a result?

 

[Ach3r0n]

Short answer: In my opinion, no.

First, you're only working twice a week. While you will essentially gain regardless on cycle, your gains are going to be quite limited if you're not working out sufficiently. They will also be lost fairly quickly if not working out sufficiently post-cycle. Second, you stated that you've only been working out for 5 months. There is no way you have reached your maximum genetic potential in that timeframe. If you've stopped making progress, it's time to change your routine. Perhaps you need more volume, different exercises, different rep ranges, etc - or maybe you simply need to eat more, which brings us to the third point. While you can gain on cycle without eating copious amounts of food, doing so will limit your gains. Moreover, any gains you make will be lost (rapidly) post-cycle if you are not eating sufficiently to maintain the new weight. Lastly, there is the matter of your health. Consider that you may come out of your cycle with a permanently lower level of T than when you began. It's already difficult to gain when you're a diabetic and a lower level of T is only going to compound your problems.

 

[Burrr]

^^^ as stated above, 5 months is not much time to have reached a plateau.
You probably just blazed through your noob gains ( the first 10 to 20 pounds of muscle come fast)
I'd give it more time before jumping on the juice, you can still get some good diet and training advice from the folks here on meso. When the day comes where you decide to juice, you'll have a working knowledge of the subject.

As far as the odds of you getting low T after one cycle, probably not too high. But the chance of a poor recovery are always there. And like most drug habits, everyone starts off thinking they only will do one cycle of steroids.... and next thing you know they are injecting for life. ( that's me)

 

[Benny]

In your situation I would have to agree that this may not be a smart move. I'm 43 and cycling, but don't have the type of health issues you have. It's hard enough on me, and I have a feeling it will be much harder on you. When I'm cycling to build mass, I eat all I can and most days it's a huge struggle to meet my target macros. You can only gain mass by eating more. If you can't eat more, the cycle will risk your health for no benefit. Just my two cents.

 

[Made Of Stone]

Thanks guys, I know it's subjective but what kind of gains should I expect continuing my current routine on a cycle

 

[Burrr]

twice a week workouts w/ not enough food...... probably not too much more gains.

Just how many kcals can u consume before your IBS flares up?
What's the reason you are limited to twice a week?
What do your macro's break down to? ( myfitnesspal.com food calculator)

 

[viking23]

Don't do it! You will only regret it in my opinion. First off, you don't eat enough to really gain anything more than you can by training the right way! Gear isn't magic, it takes proper training and dieting to achieve worthwhile results.

That being said gear allows you to increase your gains meaning you should be making them without it and by adding it will increase them. Like training a years worth in only 3 months. And if you can't make more gains after only 5 months you need to change something. And that's okay because that's part of the game.

What works for you might not work for me and vice versa so you have to try and not rush it and find what works best for you by researching and learning what some guys do, incorporate it and then decide to keep it or move on to something else. Eventually you will probably be doing your own type of routine with a bunch of things you learned from all different programs or maybe you will just find one that works for you with out change.

Also by working out only twice a week is not enough. I would at least break those 2 two hour lifts into four one hour lifts and split the workouts into muscle groups. Maybe do legs/shoulders, back/bi's, chest/ tri's, and the last day can be light day to hit whatever isn't sore + abs or cardio day etc.

Or you can do 4 day split shoulders, legs, chest/tri, back/bi. There are so many different workout plans just got to pick one and make it happen!

 

[viking23]

Sorry for the long post! My thoughts just kept spilling out

 

[johnnyrotten94]

^^^^^Well stated by these vets above...you always always, have to eat big, train big to get the optimum gains, with, or without AAS. You do have a lot of health issues, that unfortunately hinder what you are trying to attain, and is there a particular reason you only train twice a week? I would shoot for a minimum of 4 days a week, if it's at all possible...that said, I realize that when a grown ass man gets his mind set on something, he's going to give it a run, come hell or high water. I personally, would discourage using any AAS, but if you decide you're going to, try a Testosterone only cycle. Adding Dbol, and other compounds, may do your health more bad, than good. Just my 2 cents...good luck man!

 

[Made Of Stone]

Getting some real good advice here and have taken everything on board, thanks guys.

Ok, I am going to hold off the steroids for the next 3-4 months and then look at it again. The main things I need to do is change my workout and keep accurate records of what I am eating.

I am going to look at doing 3-4 45 min or 1 hr sessions a week focussing on compound exercises training a different muscle group each session.

I realise I need to be much more scientific about what I am eating so am going to work out how much protein, fats and calories I am eating at the moment and then keep increasing amounts of each trying different things that hopefully wont upset my IBS. I will keep written records of everything I eat and make some meal plans focused on target amounts. I think it is here where my biggest challenge is.

It seems that unless I can address the above changes to diet and exercise steroids would be pointless anyway as the ends wouldn't justify the means.

If anyone has any advice on good compound routines or apps to help record diet etc, that would be great.

Also if I did go down the steroid route, for my weight (145lbs) what volume of protein and calories do I need to be eating for it to be worthwhile.

 

[johnnyrotten94]

Well, depending on how much weight you are trying to gain. Generally, you should shoot for 2 grams of protein, per pound of body weight...so, if you want to be 175, for instance, you would want to take in 350 grams of protein a day. And the more calories you take in (not shitty calories) the better. I, personally try to hit around 4000 a day, on a bulk. It's not an easy thing to do, but you can do it. You're pretty much constantly eating. And A LOT of water intake 1/12-2 gallons a day, if possible. Good fats, and complex carbohydrates are an essential, as well...

 

[Genghis K.]

If you haven't had your test levels check, I would suggest that. You might should be on TRT.

 

[johnnyrotten94]

And even 4000 calories may not be enough...you HAVE to eat huge, to get huge.

 

[heady muscle]

Proceed with caution being diabetic. Maybe hit up a "friendly AAS" doctor and get advice. Keep us posted please.

 

[manafest]

At age 42 you should be able to read about pros and cons and make up your mind without directly asking in a forum...

 

[heady muscle]

At age 42 you should be able to read about pros and cons and make up your mind without directly asking in a forum...

There is NOTHING wrong with asking and he went the right way of doing it. Somethings are not that cut and dry for most folks especially beginners. Compassion is a good tool to hone in most cases.

@Made Of Stone ask as much as you need. You made the first correct step.

 

[johnnyrotten94]

There is NOTHING wrong with asking and he went the right way of doing it. Somethings are not that cut and dry for most folks especially beginners. Compassion is a good tool to hone in most cases.

@Made Of Stone ask as much as you need. You made the first correct step.

Well put. Why the hell does this board even exist, if we can't ask questions, or other people's points of view, or personal experiences...I'm pretty new here, too, and it's a really helpful tool to bounce questions and ideas off of other guys. That, along with doing research, and searching this forum, there's a lot of helpful things, and people on here. But when someone comes across like a jackass, it discourages newer members to even ask...and it defeats the entire purpose. IMO

 

[pumpingiron22]

I dont know about the diabetes part and you might want to get with some one that is. Imo a first cycle I would do test only i would dose it at trt dosage. your body will respond well with a first cycle so no reason to over do it. less is more