First cycle. Anavar, testosterone, eca, with an Ai. 6'2" 250lb - 212 cut - 232 today. Dexa scan and results inside.

[Ninjaturtle2020]

2020 happened, covid bs, and I broke my collarbone in October 2020. Couldn't have surgery until January 2021 reaching 270lb. I decided to begin cutting my body fat and began fasting in April 2021. Thankfully this wasn't a complete n00b endeavor and I have been working out natty for 15 years.

At 250lbs there's no way I'd of began a cycle, don't kill me yet guys.

3/31/21 250lbs.


Using a mixture of fasting, eca, and a major caloric deficit I manage to cut down to a low of 212lbs in late may 2021.

5/22/2021 216lb


So at this point I decided it's time for a dexa scan to really conclude what my bodyfat % is.

6/8/21 Dexa scan. 221lb 22% body fat.

6/8/21 first Test C injection, front loaded. With a plan of 300mg/week.




6/24/2021 230lbs. 2 weeks into frontloaded Test C: begin anavar with caffeine.



25mg for 2 weeks, then 50mg 2 weeks, finishing off with 3 weeks at 25mg.

7/28/2021 232lbs and to me a huge change.

2 weeks left of anavar on my 8 total week cycle. Looking for any suggestions, I have a pct plan with clomid. Should I focus on a deficit for last two weeks?

Follow up dexa scan is 8/10/2021. Should I try to keep building muscle until then?

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

I'm hoping I dropped from 22% bodyfat to 15% or so with a 10+ lb muscle gain on dexa scan #2.

 

[wsmwannabe]

There's an awful lot of personal info left on that sheet. I would recommend blurring out all of that info next time.

Otherwise, good job on the weight loss. I'm not sure I would've started with an ECA stack, but it looks like you made good use of it.

Also, I'm going to burst your bubble here, but that certainly isn't 15% BF. Looks more like 18%. I do not say this to take away from the obvious hard work you have put in, but you might be disappointed with those expectations of your next DXA.

Good job and keep up the hard work AND consistency

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

I'll be thankful for 18%, I know I put on a lot of muscle. I haven't taken many pumped photos, these weight loss photos are all taken in the morning. I've noticed my water weight fluctuates pretty good depending on my metabolic consumption. I've charted my calories burned and weight for the last 3 months.


Fingers crossed. I burned 4100 calories yesterday and certainly didn't eat that much 229 today.

 

[Antic]

Good job dropping the fat NinjaT. Keep pushing! I'd say start bringing your calories gradually back to maintenance next few weeks and make sure you're at maintenance by 4 weeks after your last injection when you start PCT. Stay at maintenance till your T levels are back up and you're not as catabolic. If you want to keep cutting then slowly start dropping calories again once your body has reached homeostasis. If you stay in deficit then you will lose the muscle you put on during recomp and will once again put on fat when you don't have those muscles boosting your metabolism. I wouldn't recommend over a 500 calorie deficit daily for extended periods of time.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

After about a week of taking anavar my strength went through the roof. From 20-25lb bicep sets to now 45lb. The endurance is insane. I can finally bench my body weight . My veins are huge like a road map. The pump lasts for awhile as well, ~4 hours

Mandatory gym selfie

 

[Ryu82]

Very solid progress man. What's your next step/steps?

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

I'm nearing the end of the cycle. I increased my test dose from 300 to 400mg/week for the final two weeks(biweekly split dosing test c). My last pin is tomorrow.

I have 4 50mg var left, been taking 25mg 1-1.5hr pre workout with 300mg caffeine. So that's 8 days, tempted to stretch it to 10 or 12 days with the final pill(12.5mg for the last 4 days)

I'm still leaning out my weight is bouncing between 227-229, making sure to consume at least 200 grams of protein a day. Generally pretty low carb but not truly keto. I'm still in a caloric deficit but also making sure not to starve myself. Eating lots of eggs(most yolks removed), trout fillets, chicken, beef, with green vegetables. No salt added mixed nuts, rotisserie chickens. Greek yogurt, 1 carb tortillas and keto bread. Mini peppers and hummus are good af. Occasional starches/refined carbs like small amounts of rice, few of the gfs french fries, etc. At least 1 50gram whey protein shake /day with pbfit and 3 eggs added(2 yolks removed). I've read raw egg protein is only 50% bioavailable but I still like the addition to the shake and eggs are cheap as heck in the 60 pack.


I workout 5-6 days a week. Spending at least a couple hours a day there including 15-30minutes of cardio (200-450cal) calories depending on how I feel. I was doing 60 minutes in the beginning but after 3 weeks or so I could feel It, i was overtraining. The last week I've made sure to add in an afternoon activity post workout. Like going on a bike ride or mild hike. Swimming, etc. My lifts are still going up, I'm really amazed at how quickly I've been able to change my whole body in 4 months.

Added some fitbit data. They're times I forgot my watch before working out and thus some days are low. The 2000 calorie day was no watch at all.

The plan is to stay at a consistent deficit for the next and final 8-12 days before getting a Dxa scan. Anavar is truly amazing. My veins look suspect on anavar though lol . I've always been vascular but they're like a freeway system now.

My test-c cycle length will finish at 8 weeks. The final 2 weeks I've bumped from 300mg/week(split) to 400mg. Last 200mg prick is tomorrow.

The length of time on anavar( will have been between 53 - 57 days. Making the overall aas cycle 10 weeks long. I extended my anavar cycle from original 6 week plan by ramping it up a bit then down. I know stable blood levels are preferred but seem to have been somewhat successful. I was doing daily split dosing on the anavar for the first 5 weeks but it really fucked my sleep so I switched to 1-1.5hr pre daily workout with caffeine

The deficit will end with the cycle as suggested by another member. I'm going to try and keep as much muscle as I can.. Our mask mandate begins indoors again today. Ugh not too happy about it. I honestly don't believe cloth masks do much of anything, n95/99 sure.

I've taken aromasin 12.5mg 4 times or so when I've felt sudden water retention and seen it on scale. My nipples were a tiny bit sensitive in the beginning prior. Plan to pct with clomid and have some lab work done including lipid panel as well. Maybe add hcg? I had testicular pain the first couple weeks as shutdown began.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

Can lateral fly 30lb dumbells and biceps with 50lb x 5 reps 4x dumbells now. Too bad it's coming to an end, I guess the switch from 300mg test to 400mg/week increased my strength a bit more? It's pretty epic to be in the gym slowly working my biceps with 50lb dumbbells while someone is throwing them up using half their body to look strong

I've always had huge calves genetically but now they're incredibly lean. If I could wear shorts everyday of my life I would. I guess being fat and outdoorsy built them up.

I have veins popping out in my shoulders and groin now along with the freeway system of veins on my arm.

Today I think is my last day at 25mg anavar. Have 2 pills left, could be 4 25mg days or 8 12.5mg days.

I'm leaning on the 8 12.5mg days(with 300mg caffeine). Ending the whole cycle August 15th and have given myself an extra week of muscle growth/fat loss before my 2nd dxa scan. Spending the last 8 days watching my water, and not consuming anything after 5pm.

I imagine if pct goes well(I've since read the pct guide on this particular forum) I can hold onto most of the muscle and leanness. Then maybe do it again in a year.

The lighting is different as I took this at my girls house but it's still a follow up. My biceps and shoulders are getting pretty circular. I don't have birch tits anymore, something I've had since I was a preteen. I don't think it was gyno, just crappy fat accumulation combined with parents overfeeding their children anti depressants/a.d.d meds.

 

[wsmwannabe]

Today I think is my last day at 25mg anavar. Have 2 pills left, could be 4 25mg days or 8 12.5mg days.

I'm leaning on the 8 12.5mg days(with 300mg caffeine).

you’re greatly shortchanging the hard work you put into this cycle. You’re assuming the gear did all of the work to make you look and feel good. But you put in all of the hard work. Did the drugs help? Sure, but they didn’t make you work harder or eat cleaner. That was you.

just finish the cycle as planned with the anavar. No need to try to make it last 8 more days.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

Point well taken. Thursday is last anavar day, Friday dxa scan. Sorry if my last post seemed a little negative. I'm incredibly proud of the changes I made to my diet, tastebuds, body, and mental well being. I feel younger, healthier, and more agile. The weight loss and additional muscle have immensely helped my quality of life. Especially coming back from broken collarbone and covid lockdown that shut down our gyms for months.

Friday's Dxa scan will make for some interesting comparisons.

Bicep grew an inch in diameter to 16 1/2" flexed. Not bad for 2 months and 3 days.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

Wow! 13.2% body fat and a 26.3lb increase in lean muscle. I worked my fucking ass off. I'm really thankful I surpassed all my goals. Celebratory burrito and a day floating the river tomorrow. Life is good.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

you’re greatly shortchanging the hard work you put into this cycle. You’re assuming the gear did all of the work to make you look and feel good. But you put in all of the hard work. Did the drugs help? Sure, but they didn’t make you work harder or eat cleaner. That was you.

just finish the cycle as planned with the anavar. No need to try to make it last 8 more days.

Thanks man you helped keep my head up. 13.2% doesn't look like what I imagined lol. What a wild 8 weeks. Now to pct well, regulate, try to hold onto the leanness, and do it again in a year or so.

 

[wsmwannabe]

@Ninjaturtle2020 good job. Looks like I was wrong when you called 15% and I said 18

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

I was hoping for 15% so when I saw 13% I couldn't believe it. Kept pep talking myself about how 17% is okay on the days leading up to scan. Feels good to look okay without a shirt. I definitely am no model but at least I'm no fat fuck anymore lol.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

So Friday, Saturday, and today Sunday I've skipped the gym to give my body some recovery time and extra sleep. All the days I was pretty active, river float day out in the 100f sun was pretty satisfying. Still eating well, minimal carbs besides what's from nuts and veggies.

Tomorrow I'll begin back at the gym, I feel a lot better. I was pretty burnt out leading up to Friday's bodyscan. Finally became sore which is something I haven't felt much during the ~8 week cycle(yes I was pushing to failure, thing is I could just do it like 10 sets )

I know I have at least a couple weeks before beginning pct and the residual test-c drops off so I'll keep focusing on growing those muscles.

Here's a picture taken outside after being out in the sun for a couple hours. I've seen people say recomping doesn't work but my dxa scan seems to show otherwise.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

Had to give in and get vaccinated yesterday. Our state, and moreso local area is cracking down on where you can and can't go. Bars,nightclubs, gyms, limiting it to vaxxed only.

Soo I went with the j&j vaccine, went to bed feeling a bit sick, woke up with like 1/2 strength flu symptoms. Muscle aches, etc.

Thankfully I worked out yesterday as I can't really do much of anything today. The rest must be good, I have new muscle growth or I'm leaning out more. Not sure but damn it's a change.

I read LA county is gonna require outdoor mask usage at big events, concerts, etc regardless of vaccination status. This bs is never gonna end. It's bad for mental health. Nor do I think we can slow or stop the inevitable.

Hoping I can get a full body workout in tomorrow, I felt pretty fuckin good Monday.

 

[Type-IIx]

Excellent work, very solid progress

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

I'm honestly surprised. The several days of rest led to some growth. This was taken before I even worked out today.

 

[Ninjaturtle2020]

I have a 'trt' lab panel on Friday to check T, total, free, estrogen, etc I've lost 5lbs I'm assuming glycogen from anavar. It's ~3 weeks since last Test C pin and nearly time to begin pct(using this forums guide)

My strength is about the same and I still feel like a beast in the gym so that's all positive stuff.

One cool thing about the weight/glycogen loss is that my abs are a lot more defined and my tiny gut is almost gone.
Morning:

Night:

Week 11 pics: 8/25. This shows the difference in ab definition morning and night. 4426calories burned today I honestly didn't mean to Gym(no cardio, just weights and cables), and a strenuous hike.