First Bulk Cycle, 20 weeks planned. Any Tips?

[Smokeythabear]

What’s up guys!?



I’m starting this log to document my first intentional bulk. A few of you reached out after my last post to offer some guidance and I really appreciate the backup. I know I’m still the new guy here, but I’ve fallen in love with the lifestyle over the last year and I’m ready to put in the work to do this right.

For a little background, I’m a former HS offensive lineman. After college, I spent years being the guy who bought a gym membership, went for a month, and quit. I did the keto and Atkins thing, lost 20lbs, and gained it right back. A huge change for me was cutting the drinking down from 4-5 nights a week to just twice a month.

I started this journey in December 2024 at a lethargic 270lbs. I got on Tirz, cleaned up the diet, and found out my T was in the gutter (Total 230 / Free 30). I started 150mg TRT with my PCP in January and haven't looked back. Between Feb and June, I dropped 45lbs of fat and added some decent (20lbs) lean mass. I looked at this as an opportunity to not just loose fat but transform into someone that I never had the discipline and consistency to be. I didn’t just lean on Tirz to control my appetite. I tracked macros and hit my protein goals with a diet of mostly clean/whole foods. I’ll admit, I played around with a "sexy" stack during the cut with GH, Mast, Primo, even a tiny sprinkle of Tren and Winny at the end, but the honeymoon phase with the compounds is over. I ended the cut at 185lbs.

I’m much more interested in the nutrition
and longevity side now. I want to do this the right way and for years to come. I’ve cruised for the last 6 weeks and my body feels primed to grow. My HOMA-IR is 0.5, so I’m ready to partition these nutrients the right way.

Current Stats

38 YO | 6’1 | 200lbs | 9.2% BF (DXA)

I'm definitely holding some glycogen and water, but I've got plenty of runway before I sniff 15% body fat.

The Goal

I want to gain 0.75-1% of body weight per week for the 20 weeks. The goal is to put on about 35lbs total, keeping the fat gain under 10lbs. Eventually, I want to be 205lbs at 7% BF after the next cut. I want the size and mass, but I still need to be athletic enough to play basketball and golf with my kids and the guys.

The Plan

Daily Pins (Started 11/25):

• Test C: 50mg

• EQ: 20mg

• Injectable Proviron: 1.5mg

• Anavar: 25mg (First 4 weeks only)

• HGH: 4IU (Pre-bed)

Ancillaries/Health:

• Reta: 4mg (Keeping insulin sensitivity high)

• Rosuvastatin: 5mg / Ezetimibe: 10mg

• Telmisartan: 40mg / Tadalafil: 10mg

• Accutane: 20mg

• TUDCA: 2g / Inj. Glutathione: 400mg (2x weekly)

• Standard vitamins (Milti, Fish oil, D3/K2, Mag, CoQ10)

Nutrition & Training:

• Macros: 250P / 400C / 100F

• 10k steps daily

• 6-Day Split: Focusing on lagging areas (Chest, Back, Legs). Pushing progressive overload and keeping it under 2 RIR.

I’m open to any constructive advice from the veterans who have been through a few of these. If you're here to help, I'm glad to have you. If you just want to vent your own frustrations, please take it somewhere else. Let's grow bros.

 

[Smokeythabear]

@Dial It In @The Answ3r @Civdiv @trynagains

 

[dinfaralt]

• Injectable Proviron: 1.5mg

why the injectable proviron? im guessing ur shbg is already low on the trt++ cycle you're doing + oral

 

[Smokeythabear]

why the injectable proviron? im guessing ur shbg is already low on the trt++ cycle you're doing + oral

SHBG was at 17. Low end of the range but not bottomed out like you may expect. I honestly like the feels, mood, libido, and neural drive. Seems relatively mild on health markers. I’ll pull labs at the 6 week mark and reevaluate the next phase.

 

[dinfaralt]

SHBG was at 17. Low end of the range but not bottomed out like you may expect. I honestly like the feels, mood, libido, and neural drive. Seems relatively mild on health markers. I’ll pull labs at the 6 week mark and reevaluate the next phase.

people are doing alot of exotic injections, injectable anavar, proviron, yk-11 etc. if it works for u be happy. i personally would never touch them unless i needed and edge to grow and i was too big already 110/120kg lean.

would simply add more safe anabolics in, just asking of pure interest.

 

[Smokeythabear]

people are doing alot of exotic injections, injectable anavar, proviron, yk-11 etc. if it works for u be happy. i personally would never touch them unless i needed and edge to grow and i was too big already 110/120kg lean.

would simply add more safe anabolics in, just asking of pure interest.

No doubt that the source lists have grown with more non traditional injectables. The Proviron one is interesting because the oral bioavailability is shit, it’s like 3%. It’s also not C17-alpha alkylated, which is great news for the liver. More anabolics would potentially put more strain but honestly, once I pull the Anavar kickstart I think I may need more Test/EQ. Obviously the check ins will help determine that but what do you think?

Some of those other exotic injectables have excellent oral bioavailability, so I’m not sure of why you’d inject them.

 

[dinfaralt]

Test/EQ. Obviously the check ins will help determine that but what do you think?

just stick to your plan.

350 test or 500 you'll grow about the same.

i see friends popping alot of anavar and they're really really strong. like doing 45kg for hammer curls (100lbs per hand) but not being that big.

focus on training right, if you're stalling question your training aswell are you doing enough volume as a enhanced guy? are you deloading right? are you bulking right? and that will get you so much farther than adding more aas.

you have plenty of stuff in your stack, plenty of ancilliaries. you just need to bulk for a long time putting alot of muscle mass on with good bloodwork and good consistent gains.

that 10 lbs of muscle u want will come in no time. you can maintain this on trt for a long time. body fat will realistically be closer to 10% tho

 

[trynagains]

Congrats on losing the weight bro. I know what that’s like. I gained a lot of weight eating with my wife while she was pregnant. (She needed ice cream and pizza like every night) it is hard to lose. I’m kind of right behind you right now but with some similar goals. I’m at 12% bf right now and only plan to get to 10% before the bulk. Nice job getting to 9.2. I’ll let the experts here weigh in on your bulking cycle. I’m just here to learn.

 

[adrenalytic]

By your macro count, you're pushing 3500 kcals. that's not a lot of food for a bulk. What's your BMR?

 

[Smokeythabear]

By your macro count, you're pushing 3500 kcals. that's not a lot of food for a bulk. What's your BMR?

Correct, I was initially thinking of 500g carbs to get it to 4k but thought I would ramp up if the scale wasn’t moving. My BMR should be about 1850 since my RMR on the DXA is 2049. Do you think 500g carbs and 4k cals out of the gates and then dialing it back if the rate of gain is too high makes more sense than vice versa?

 

[Ricardovrol]

Why take accutana? My personal experience is that it result in dry skin

 

[Civdiv]

I'm about a month behind you, starting my mass gain in mid January. Following and looking forward to seeing how you progress.

 

[Dial It In]

Alright let me start with this question. What was your weekly AAS use up to this point of starting the bulk? Compounds, weeks, mg a week? The ancillaries I’m not curious about yet. Also, thanks for posting this despite getting your Nutz busted and you definitely tagged some good bros. I’ll see if I can get another to join in. @AllGoodThings

 

[adrenalytic]

Correct, I was initially thinking of 500g carbs to get it to 4k but thought I would ramp up if the scale wasn’t moving. My BMR should be about 1850 since my RMR on the DXA is 2049. Do you think 500g carbs and 4k cals out of the gates and then dialing it back if the rate of gain is too high makes more sense than vice versa?

some guys are more conservative but that is what I would do, yes. Do you do daily fasted cardio? that should keep some of the fat accumulation away. Doesn't have to be fasted but that helps with insulin sensitivity too. Two birds, one stone. But if time is a limiting factor just get 30 mins in a day when you can.

 

[Civdiv]

Correct, I was initially thinking of 500g carbs to get it to 4k but thought I would ramp up if the scale wasn’t moving. My BMR should be about 1850 since my RMR on the DXA is 2049. Do you think 500g carbs and 4k cals out of the gates and then dialing it back if the rate of gain is too high makes more sense than vice versa?

Your lean mass isn't that far off from where I'm at and I'm running around 3400-3500 kcal on maintenance. I'd definitely start closer to 4k.

If you're gaining sloppy weight I'd cut back on the fat macros some and target around 65-75 before I cut the carbs back down. That's just me though.

 

[dinfaralt]

Your lean mass isn't that far off from where I'm at and I'm running around 3400-3500 kcal on maintenance. I'd definitely start closer to 4k.

sadly people are different, some can burn 6000 calories at same lean mass while others burn 2000 calories.

just bump calories by 10% until u gain at a pace you like.

 

[Civdiv]

sadly people are different, some can burn 6000 calories at same lean mass while others burn 2000 calories.

just bump calories by 10% until u gain at a pace you like.

What about fats? I run mine lower and push higher carbs. Is that pretty individual also? I've wondered my my fats are too low sometimes. I run about 0.35g/lb body weight.

 

[dinfaralt]

What about fats? I run mine lower and push higher carbs. Is that pretty individual also? I've wondered my my fats are too low sometimes. I run about 0.35g/lb body weight.

everyone is different, i also run lower fats. above 40-50g gets me diarherra and farty.

some people are happy with 80g or above fats

 

[Smokeythabear]

Alright let me start with this question. What was your weekly AAS use up to this point of starting the bulk? Compounds, weeks, mg a week? The ancillaries I’m not curious about yet. Also, thanks for posting this despite getting your Nutz busted and you definitely tagged some good bros. I’ll see if I can get another to join in. @AllGoodThings

All good, I stepped on my dick a bit on the other post but I’m here to learn and adjust. I know there’s lurkers in a similar spot to me, so hopefully this helps others. Appreciate you helping me out and bringing along more good dudes.

Here is the breakdown so you know the history.

Jan – March: 150mg Test C (split M/W/F). Added 3IU GH daily in March.

Late April – June: 150mg Test C (split daily) and 3IU GH, plus 20mg Mast daily (290mg total weekly injectables).

July – August: Originally tried 35mg Test, 35mg Primo, and 10mg Mast daily. E2 tanked to 12.8 and I felt pretty numb. I titrated everything until I landed at 40mg Test, 15mg Primo, and 40mg Mast daily(665mg weekly total injectables). E2 came back up to 23.3.

Sept – Oct: When I got a bit too adventurous… Kept the 40mg Test, 15mg Primo, 40mg Mast daily base . Added Tren Ace at 5mg daily for 2 weeks, then 10mg daily for the final 2 weeks (700-735mg weekly total injectables). Added 25mg Winny daily for that last week. GH was at 5IU.

The Cruise: Pulled the plug on everything for one week in early October. Then ran a 6-week cruise on 4IU GH, 30mg Test C daily (210mg/week).

 

[Smokeythabear]

Here’s where I got my macros from. I thought this video from John Jewett was extremely helpful for off season diet planning. He touches on everything you need to know. @Civdiv @dinfaralt @adrenalytic

He recommends .5-.65g fat per lb of bw. Protein at 1.2g per lb of bw seems to be sufficient. The rest is carbs with a balance of fiber. Per his suggestion, I got my total calories by multiplying bw times 18 for my starting point.


View: https://youtu.be/F1gpe_VHJwo?si=jHIZENMAErow_23P