Is There Life After Steroids?

[Farrar]

Well…I have decided it is time to get off this train and go natural for personal reasons. I am 42 years old and have used steroids for the last 24 months. I started out trying to get into shape in March of 2002 at the age of 40 wearing a size 40” in the waist and weighing in at 232 pounds and about 32% BF smoking two packs of Marlboro’s a day. I also started steroids then and have only been off twice-once for 4 months and this last November/December 2003 for 8 weeks. Here {http://www.rareredrock.com/me.htm} is the link to my “Before and After” pics with the before taken in March 2002 and the after taken in August of 2003. I was my measurements above in the “Before” picture and was at 210 pounds and about 12-14% BF in the “After” picture.

What I am looking for are suggestions for something similar, which is also legal. I have looked at Pro Hormones and NO2 but after quite a bit of reading STILL don’t have a clue. It appears that 1-Test stacked with 1-AD is a popular combo but a friend of mine is pushing N02 for the incredible pumps, which is what I think I’ll miss.

I am currently at 225, 5’10” tall and at about 15% BF. March 1st was the last injection of 1000mg of Test Enanthate and 600mg of Deca. I started post this Monday {2 weeks later} taking 100mg of clomid daily, 4 grams of tribulus daily, ½ mg of Arimidex EOD and Nolvadex at 20mg daily. I am also taking an ECA stack of 650 mg of aspirin, 50 mg of ephedrine, 400mg of caffeine, and 6mg of yohimbine HCL three times daily. I am on a diet of 12 calories per pound on a 55%/30%/15% ratio of protein, carbs and fat.

Any pointers on what to do would be great, guys and gals. I would to get some semblance of the “pump” to keep down the temptation of doing yet another cycle. I am anxious to see what I can do “steroid free” as I have been on cycle ever since I started working out.

Who knows-I might like going natural.

Thanks,

Farrar

[Remo]

Well not to add any insight but to say kudos to you. I think by the way you sound that you've made the right decision. Good luck and keep training my friend. I think after this cycle I'm on right now, I'm going to come off for a long long while too. I'm just tired of dealing with sides and not so great gains. I know for a fact that I can stay at 215lbs 12% without any gear and that's not too shaby.

1-test is a steroid though bro so your nuts will go and you won't technically be off cycle. Just a thought.

[FUZO]

SAW YOUR PICS GREAT JOB

[6p6]

don't quit man....JK....seriously though look into tribulus and creatine. Those are pretty much the only ones worth investing in. I'm only 27 and didn't get much results with the NO2 but my business partner is 41 and loved the stuff for between cycles...so give it a try...maybe it works better on you old dudes (no pun intended!)....

[Blackfoot]

Your before and after pics are fantastic bro. Good job man. As far as the pump? I think your best bet would be the new creatines coming out. I don't take them myself, but I've heard good things about Syntrax's Swole and SANN's V-12. Best of luck to you.

[6p6]

oh yah, try Power tabs by Nucare....its a chewable/flavored tab...the stuff is great. I didn't see the bloat like the powder has always given me....

[trip]

Farrar,

You'll do fine in the long run, of that there is no doubt.

It's the darn meantime that will be tough, IMHO, it's more of a mental thing.

And agree it is the "pump", the difficulty is those amazing pumps are so familiar and compared with a pump when coming off, well there just is no comparison.

Really when you come off you want to get clean and first get your natural test levels back up too their max naturally so your body can be in homeostasis, then after you do that you'll get back the good feel of a natural pump, hey, a pumps a pump, there all good.

Then after that experiment and find out what works for you.

In general all the pro-hormones are really steriods that never made it too market by big pharma's due to hundreds of reasons, and right now legally they get around the law loophole wise, ( not looking for arguement here, all for em ) , just stating for all intents and purposes their roids.

Best thing overall is let natural test get back up, cut down on INTENSITY of training so you don't overtrain and raise cortisol, and in 3-4 months ( yup ) it will take that long, you'll be fine.

glad to hear of all your updates and your hardwork defnitely shows

Hoped That Helped
Good Luck

[lxorl]

Good job... saw the pics and looked great. I would just go with creatine maybe. IM taking M1t right now and it is nothing to rave about. although i did just start itl. pm me in a few weeks.

[Farrar]

Thanks for all the help and good to hear from you again, Trip.

It's hard to lower the intensity level BUT I am working on it. I have left the gym everyday this week nauseated from the intensity of the workouts. It's just hard to go light after lifting heavy. It makes you feel like you're not working hard enough.

I have a friend who did steriods 9 years ago but has been natural ever since and he looks as good as anyone I know who is juicing. He has 19 inch arms and a 50" inch chest and some freaky-big bicep peaks. He is about to try the NO2 route. I think I'll just keep it simple and give my body time to recover.

This MUST be how Superman feels when he goes from Super Hero to mild-mannered Clark Kent it's going to be hard not to step back in the old "phone booth".....

Thanks Guys!

Farrar

[slowtwitch]

If you haven't reached your natural potential, don't sweat it...

Impressive work, But:

You haven't even come close to reaching your body's ability to build muscle and lose fat naturally.

Going off cycle is more difficult for someone who has passed that threshold and suddenly finds themself losing quickly. Since you have so much room to grow naturally, going off isn't going to rock your world the same way it would some chemical freak at 300lbs with single digit body fat.

The risk/side effect vs. gain equation just doesn't add up for somebody who is a novice.

Leave the juice to someone who has been training a few years and hit a plateau.

You may actually find yourself feeling better and therfore training and eating better if you aren't on...

You might have to pay a little more attention to your diet...

[Farrar]

Thanks guys!

I AM anxious to see what I can do natural. Like I said-I've never been there since I started so who knows?

Thank for the help,

Farrar

[warpalien]

just keep your brain right, thats all that will matter. if you dont think you can, you cant. if you dont know you can, you wont.

[{R}A{G}E]

Awsome pics man! that is what training is all about. Good luck with your decision. I probaby started my cycle a little too young but i did them 3x, crappy cyles and then have been off for a while now and getting ready to go up again@ you get used to it though after a while and its not that big of a deal anymore. Great job and keep working hard, keep us postedo n your progress.

[droid]

I think your biggest hurddle may be getting your test back to normal ie your age and the fact you've been on for 18 months out of 24. You have to be shutdown hard right now. Your current cycle is/was pretty heavy. What happened to you physically and mentally when you went off for the 4 months. Did you gain fat easy, lose alot of gains possibly depressed? Were you truly clean? Do you have any pre-gear baseline blood work telling your T levels? Have you had blood work since being on? Do you plan on blood work after your PCT?


DROID

[trip]

Re: If you haven't reached your natural potential, don't sweat it...

Originally posted by slowtwitch
Impressive work, But:

You haven't even come close to reaching your body's ability to build muscle and lose fat naturally.

Going off cycle is more difficult for someone who has passed that threshold and suddenly finds themself losing quickly. Since you have so much room to grow naturally, going off isn't going to rock your world the same way it would some chemical freak at 300lbs with single digit body fat.

The risk/side effect vs. gain equation just doesn't add up for somebody who is a novice.

Leave the juice to someone who has been training a few years and hit a plateau.

You may actually find yourself feeling better and therfore training and eating better if you aren't on...

You might have to pay a little more attention to your diet...

Excellent post, slowtwitch, and words of wisdom.