Women-Only First cycle ever

[Hazelnut]

Hi ladies,

I recently introduced myself briefly in the New members thread.

Just some quick Infos about myself, so you don't need to jump back if you are in a rush.

I'm in my mid 30s, tiny 5'2" / 130 lbs.
I have been involved in sports pretty much for my entire life (mainly gymnastics and a bit of climbing and Tae Kwon Do back in my teenage life) and fell in love with barbell training back in 2017.

I did my first powerlifting meet in 2018 and since then a couple more. Last one was back in 12/2019

So far my best 1 RMs are:
squat 245, bench 150 and deadlift 300.

Currently I'm training 5x week and eating in a deficit, as I got a little chubby over the last months. ( I still can see my abs shining through, but with 4 lbs less I'd like my look more)

I have read a lot in Meso and ordered some Var from a big source from here.

Not sure, if I need to get it analyzed… Any opinion on that?

I'm planning on starting with 2,5mg am/pm and see how I react.
I might increase it up tp 7,5mg am/pm during the cycle, I'll just see how I feel.

I'm not on hormonal birth Control, but injecting a TNF Alpha blocker once a week due to a chronic desease. (which is under control thanks to these meds)

I get my blood work done every 6-8 weeks, including liver Enzyms etc, so if there are some changes due to the AAS, Ill post it here.
Any other side effects that occur, I'll post as well.

Once I start the Var, I'll bump up my calories a bit more, at least to maintenance.
Goal is to increase strength in squat, bench and deadlift and I'd love my quads to grow more.

Not sure if I'll do a peaking at the end of the cycle to compare my strength to my last competition or if I'll just check it by comparing the weight I can move for reps.

I'll post that once I've made my mind...

Any questions or tips for a first timer are very welcome!

 

[Hazelnut]

So I'll definitely have the Var tested then.

Regarding the side effects:
I'm okay with temporary acne ( I used to have heavy breakouts as Teenager, so it might come back) and faster hair grow (but not in the face). I shave anyways daily while I'm in the shower.
As for voice deepening and clit enlargement: This is a bit scary to me, so once I feel my voice crack, I'll lower the dose (if possible) or stop it.
As for clit enlargement, I'm not sure how to feel it? ( If that makes sense)
I mean, e.g. a swelling due to increased blood circulation isn't the same as a "grwoing" process.

Will I feel nothing in week 1 and 2 until the Var kicks in?

I'm already training high volume atm, and plan on doing another volume block to get the most out of it.

Normally I drink about 2,5 l, so I definitely have to increase water intake.

From doing only Var at a low dose, do you have any idea of what I can expect approx. for strength gains?
Like 10 lbs in squats? Or 20?

I've seen you are running pretty long cycles.
I might start with 8 weeks (all depending on side effects).

I'm already so excited to see what I can achieve
Can't wait to start!

 

[leggodess]

What are your current muscle measurements?
CALVES
Quads/hamstring
Hips
Waist
Chest/back
Shoulder
Bi-ceps/Tri-ceps
Forearm

 

[leggodess]

Calves and abs can be trained 4-5 days per week.
All other muscles can be trained 1-3 days per week.

 

[Hazelnut]

What are your current muscle measurements?

I've never taken any mesurements before and for shoulders, Quads and back I wasn't sure where to put the tape exactly...
Guess it's okay as long as I keep using the same spot.

All the mesurements are in cm:

CALVES:33
Quads/hamstring. 56 (in the middle of the thigh)
Hips. 96
Waist. 70
Chest/back 82 (just below shoulder blades)
Shoulder 45
Bi-ceps/Tri-ceps 30
Forearm: 23

I never train calves I like them to be small. The smaller they are, the tighter sleeves I'm able to wear for squatting

 

[Hazelnut]

Calves and abs can be trained 4-5 days per week.
All other muscles can be trained 1-3 days per week.

I do Quads and Glutes 3x per week, Hamstrings 2x, Back and Chest 3x (used to Benchpress 4x a week but still recovering from a biceps tendinitis) , so I'm slowly Building back up to my former volume.

From time to time I do some core work (yes, I could do more , I know) and low intensity cardio 3-4 x week for 30 minutes.

 

[Hazelnut]

I really hope to recover faster, this is def. something I'm struggling with lately. I do sleep enough and have like 130g Protein, but my legs are always sore. Don't know why and that makes pushing really hard some days.

More energy sounds even better. I constantly running on low energy, feeling tired by early afternoon even though I sleep 8-9 hours.
Not only when I'm in a deficit like atm, also when I'm eating in a surplus.

But I'll increase calories like you suggested to get the most out of the cycle.

Have been deadlifting two days ago and maybe it was the excitement that I'm starting soon, but I've hitted a huge volume PR.

Given that my best 1RM is 300lbs, it was scary that I could lift 265x9 , without even grinding.
So I can't wait to see how much I can push this with the Var
I know 385 isn't really realistic in the first cycle, but it's still a weight I'm chasing since I've started… So every lbs I'm closer to it, will make me a little happier

 

[Hazelnut]

UPDATE:

I finally got my Var tested, it’s good2go and I’m ready as well.

Started today with a 2,5 mg dose am/pm.
Calorie intake in a surplus.

Will put focus on main lifts (squats, bench and deadlift) and start in a 5 rep range, with squats 2x week, bench 4x and deadlift 2x.

I have some numbers in my head, no idea how realistic they are.

Squats: From 245 to 275

Bench: From 147 to 165

Deadlift: From 300 to 340

I’m hoping to increase my Deadlift the most, as I worked a lot on technique and already pulled 265x9 some weeks ago.

Depending on the recovery, I’ll add more volume with isolation work (quads, glutes, back and arms)

Can’t wait for the magic to happen

 

[Hazelnut]

Just some baseline numbers from the first Training:

Paused tempo squats:
Topset 1x5@ 200 lbs / 90 kg for RPE 8.5
Back Offs 5' with 177 lbs / 80 kg felt super light (like RPE 7)

Bench:
Hit some sets of 10 with 100 lbs / 50kg just to get some volume in.

Now I'm off for some deadlifts and more bench

 

[Hazelnut]

DAY 5:

This is ridiculously funny . Just did some upper body stuff today and put 10kg on my lat pull down and horizontal cable row, 5kg on biceps curls and triceps extension. I feel like having fallen in a magic potion

 

[Hazelnut]

DAY 6:

No side effects. Feeling the same as always.

Strength is coming along the way! Haven't imagined it to be like that just one week in....
Bench ramp up (sets of 7) until 132lbs / 60kg @RPE 8ish

LOVE IT

 

[Hazelnut]

DAY 8:

Still at 2,5mg 2ED. Thinking about increasing to 2,5mg 3ED.
Or should I wait one more week?

I can feel strength coming, but mainly in the upper body.
Squats and Deadlifts still feel the same.

I've also changed my programming to deadlifting twice a week sumo and doing once a variation while cutting squats back to once a week.
I'm way more excited to see my pulling numbers going up right now

 

[Hazelnut]

I def feel more muscle pump, mainly in the back! But no cramps so far!
I'm having crea and taurine in my daily shake!
I feel more energetic so far, like having drunk to much coffee Like it a lot. Before I've always been tired...

 

[Hazelnut]

DAY 9:


Increased the Var yesterday to 2,5 x 3ED.
I’m starting to loose patience… I want to see some leg strength coming
I’m bumping up my calories, even though it’s with muffins and pies, probably eating like 300 more a day than last week.

Before the cycle, I knew what numbers I’m able to hit at a certain rep range / RPE.
For bench it’s completely different now.
One day, weight feels super easy, the next day it feels like 10lbs heavier and I have trouble recuiting all the muscle fibers if that makes sense…
The more sets I do, the better it gets though. It’s wired.

AND by yesterday evening I started to feel more emotional and a bit more aggressive. Tiny things drive me crazy. Like a guy doing this rope jumping IN A SQUAT RACK. I mean, c’mon, WTF?

 

[Hazelnut]

I eat only eat home made food, just the muffin was bought, the pie is home-made as well.
So that's basically the only processed sugary food I'm having.

I need to stay calm and Patient and wait for more magic to happen, otherwise it drives me crazy!
Will start with Dropsets! Hope recovery will get faster soon!

 

[Hazelnut]

DAY 12

Still absolutely no side effects.

Bench keeps treating me well.
Did a topset of 62,5kg x 5 (which used to be my meet max end of 2019) and 4*5*60kg as backoffs, which felt super easy.
Finally getting my groove back after having had shoulder issues for the last 6 months…

I’m confident leg strength will join the party soon

 

[BovaJP]

@Hazelnut Thought i'd chime in here, you are doing great! Also almost 2 weeks in and no sides, that is great too. Hope it continues for you. Every woman reacts totally different to these compounds. Its a guessing game as to how your body will react LOL.

I remember starting out on var the first time, i loved it (still do!). But i also started out at a low dose such as yourself. That is key. start out low and start to increase. But each time you increase, give it a week or two. You can always go back down.

Not sure if you have noticed changes "down there" or not yet. Again, every woman is different. I remember that at various times throughout the day I would feel it move down there lol. At least that is the sensation i can only describe lol. And orgasms on cycle are so intense and amazing.

Your gainz will come, keep it up.

 

[Hazelnut]

@Hazelnut Thought i'd chime in here, you are doing great! Also almost 2 weeks in and no sides, that is great too. Hope it continues for you. Every woman reacts totally different to these compounds. Its a guessing game as to how your body will react LOL.

I remember starting out on var the first time, i loved it (still do!). But i also started out at a low dose such as yourself. That is key. start out low and start to increase. But each time you increase, give it a week or two. You can always go back down.

Not sure if you have noticed changes "down there" or not yet. Again, every woman is different. I remember that at various times throughout the day I would feel it move down there lol. At least that is the sensation i can only describe lol. And orgasms on cycle are so intense and amazing.

Your gainz will come, keep it up.

Hey, thanks for joining
I'm still at zero sides, also "down there" everything is normal.
I even got my period yesterday... I was quite sure that wasn't going to happen, but well
No oily skin or hair, also this slight aggression from the other day went back to normal.

I stopped worring about when the leg gainz will come. Either they come or I do something wrong So I'll be more patient and won't up the dose for now. Gotta save something to the future
I'd prefer running this cycle low dose until end of the year, so 12 weeks in total, IF everything stays as smooth as it is right row from the sides perspective.

 

[BovaJP]

@Hazelnut awesome, you do you girl.
Don't let anyone pressure you into something either. You do your research and make decisions based on you and you only.
I sometimes see guys in these forums pushing women to up dose for maximum gainz LOL. When in reality a little goes a long way.....IF your putting in the work, which it sounds like you do/are.

 

[Hazelnut]

DAY 16

Ok, bench numbers went up further
Did working sets of 65kg*5!!!with a even lower RPE than this topset of 62,5*5 four days ago.

Added another 4kg to triceps extensions and 3 kg to biceps curls. Whopehoooop.

And SQUATS: FINALLY!

Tripled my former 1 RM of 110 kg.
Before that another triple of 107,5 at RPE 7.5ish

I finally can feel that legs are joining the party!
Back-offs 4*5*90kg felt like if there wasn't weight on the bar at all

HAPPY ME.

And still no sides