Testosterone is widely deemed the best steroid for beginners given its milder nature that makes it more tolerable than more potent compounds.
Test brings the gains most beginners seek as by the end of the first cycle, most achieve significant strength gains along with twenty to thirty pounds of new lean muscle mass. Simply said, Test puts rapid results within easier reach and with none to very mild side effects.
For one, Testosterone does not have a negative impact on the liver – as shown in most liver function tests, and it only raises LDL cholesterol by low amounts when taken in sensible and tolerable doses.
Given this, hepatotoxicity and cardiotoxicity are of little danger and concern with Test, so most people are able to use it without having to undergo post-cycle therapy, unless it is taken with another steroid.
As a first-time steroid user, do your health a favor and cycle it for no longer than seven weeks in doses of three hundred and fifty or less milligrams weekly as a longer dose or cycle will not bring any further gains than already achieved. It is this reason many stack it with anabolic-androgenic steroids as doing so enhances gains even more. This, however, makes side effects more intense and pronounced so newbies who have never used steroids before should cycle Test alone and not stack it.
In some cases, an elite bodybuilder whose body has a tolerance from years of exposure to such steroids may take seven hundred milligrams of Test weekly, but this is not suitable for newcomers that have yet to build a tolerance.
This said, there is a way to accelerate the gains Testosterone produces without taking another steroid and that is to use a testosterone ester. The most popular options are Cypionate and Enanthate as these are affordable and easy to inject. Plus, they do not require injections as frequently as other test ethers, making them the most tolerable and convenient option for beginners.
Note: While Oral Testosterone can be bought in oral form under the brand name Andriol – or Testosterone Undecanoate – it is most commonly bought in the costlier injectable form named Andriol.
Endogenous testosterone production will slow down from the presence of this compound in the body so upon ending a cycle, it is often a good idea to run a PCT protocol to help the body more quickly recover.
Natural recovery can take many months but with effective post-cycle therapy, it may take only thirty to forty-five days for test levels to rebound to healthy pre-cycle levels.
Despite testosterone not causing huge blood pressure spikes, most still supplement the cycle by taking four grams of fish oil daily as doing so will ease stress on the heart.
One thing to know with this steroid is it aromatizes.
As such, increased water retention is to be expected as Test converts into estrogen, which will spike levels of this female hormone in the body. This can have repercussions, like gynecomastia, which is why many take an AI or SERM as these prevent the conversion process from taking place.
SERMS, or Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators, are often the better option as AIs, or Aromatase Inhibitors, can and likely will have an adverse impact on cholesterol levels. This is due to the fact it lowers estrogen, which will lower good cholesterol while increasing bad (LDL) cholesterol in the process.
As such, SERMs are often preferred as they pose less harm to the body and can prevent gynecomastia with high effectivity as it blocks estrogenic effects within mammary glands, and while causing no drops or rises in blood pressure!
However, one downside of AI is acne and hair loss on the scalp are common given their androgenic nature, so those who genetically deal with hair loss or thinning will likely want to avoid taking them.
This is a mild, beginner-friendly steroid used by both men and women as it causes minimal side effects and can be taken in oral form with no injections required.
Anavar is great for people not focused on huge muscle and strength gains but rather modest results and rapid fat loss. It is ideal for beginners as its side effects are often well-tolerated by most first-time users.
Most steroids, like Testosterone, are not suitable for women as they cause virilization and symptoms of masculinization to occur, like:
However, while the risk of such side effects companion most steroids, Anavar rarely causes the above symptoms in women who take it in mild doses over short cycles.
Cycling Anavar can cause huge amounts of fat to be burned, and most first-time users add ten to fifteen pounds of new lean muscle by the end of their first cycle! One benefit of Anavar worth noting is it is less anabolic than bulking steroids like Anadrol, Dianabol, and Testosterone – so side effects are often mild and largely kept at bay.
However, its milder nature means it will not bring as huge of muscle gains as the three bulking steroids mentioned above, which is why most use it is as a cutting steroid instead as its fat-burning traits make it the ideal compound for ripping season.
Anavar is an oral compound known for hepatic toxicity. However, in contrast to steroids like Anadrol, Winstrol, and Dianabol, it raises liver enzymes to a much lower extent as it is not only processed by the liver but also the kidneys too, which is all the less strain and stress posed to the organ.
On this note, Anavar raises cholesterol levels too so higher blood pressure is likely to follow doses of it, albeit to a rather mild extent on lipid profile tests. However, it is a good idea for those taking Anavar to supplement it with four grams of fish oil daily as doing so will help to support the cardiovascular system.
Adding to this, Anavar will also cause the production of natural test in the body to slow down but it is not as suppressive as most anabolic steroids. As such, post-cycle therapy may be undergone but most times, natural test levels tend to rebound quickly from an Anavar-only cycle. However, taking Clomid is a popular PCT treatment that can help restore test levels to healthy pre-cycle levels even faster, so it may be worth trying if you do not want to minimize the crash and its side effects as much as possible.
On a closing thought, women too are susceptible to post-cycle symptoms of Anavar as testosterone is an essential hormone to the libido and sense of well-being of women. As such, women who cycle Anavar usually take DHEA once the cycle ends as it can help accelerate the recovery of natural test production.
Join us below as we cover queries most commonly asked by those wanting to try their first steroid cycle – and if you ever have any questions – feel free to contact us any time as we would be happy to help out!
Some people take Dianabol as their first cycle but this is not safe or ideal.
Beginners who choose to cycle Dianabol despite the risks often do so for the huge strength and significant muscle gains this steroid is known to deliver. However, with it raising blood pressure and liver enzymes to unsafe levels, Anavar and Testosterone are safer and more suitable for newcomers.
There is good news, though, as while Dianabol can elevate liver and blood pressure values, these effects tend to quickly recover in a month or so of ending the cycle, and sooner if an aggressive PCT protocol is adopted. All this said, if a beginner is going to take Dbol despite the harsher side effects that will follow, the below cycle would be safest:
Those who cycle Dianabol often take five hundred milligrams of TUDCA daily as this supplement can stabilize liver enzymes and prevent their excessive rise, which in turn limits hepatic strain. If you want to use a SERM, Nolvadex is a good option as it protects the liver while lowering the risk of gynecomastia.
Turinabol, Primobolan, and Deca Durabolin are newcomer-suitable steroids often used by beginners. However, these compounds are still not suitable for first-time steroid users as a lack of tolerance will endure them with harsher and longer-lasting side effects.
Deca Durabolin is a powerful muscle-gaining steroid yet the results it brings when cycled alone are nominal compared to when it is stacked with another compound. However, stacking steroids during a first cycle is never wise or advised, it is best taken in follow-up cycles once the body had enough time to build a tolerance.
Next we have Primobolan – a mild anabolic steroid with side effects that are usually very well handled by first-time users. However, its muscle-building effects are inferior to Testosterone, nor does it burn away as much fat as Anavar. As such, using Primo alone during a first cycle may not give the gains one is after.
Lastly, we have Turinabol – a powerful anabolic steroid that brings lean mass gains like Dianabol but with no increased water retention. This said, yes, Turinabol is first-cycle suitable but with harsher side effects than Anavar and Testosterone, which means newcomers would be better off with a more gentle steroid.
