Theotherone55
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I feel like i see a pattern from 95% of the posters on this forum and about 99.9% of the threads. Had to call it out and at least explain my thought process here to help ANYONE who might be in this situation.
One of the biggest mistakes I see from guys on here newer to PEDs isn’t dosage, compound choice, or cycle length. None of that...It’s starting the whole process from the wrong place. There’s a weird widespread belief, especially among newer lifters, that drugs will create a physique rather than amplify one. And that belief usuallly comes from impatience. Because the sad fact is that most guys who are new to cycles aren’t lean. They’re often hovering closer to 18–22% body fat, even if they train hard and “look big in clothes.” And instead of seeing that as something to fix first, they want to jump straight into using drugs to speed everything up. The problem is that gear doesnt skip steps. They just make the outcome of those steps more extreme, good or bad.
WHY BEING LEAN CHANGES EVERYTHING
When someone starts a cycle already lean, the first thing that changes isn’t physiology, it’s psychology. You can actually SEE the work paying off. Muscles fill out, lines show up, shape improves. Week by week, there’s visual confirmation that what you’re doing is working. That feedback loop is innsaaanely powerful. It reinforces consistency, adherence, and patience.
When someone starts heavier (around 15% body fat or higher) that same progress is probably happening under the surface, but it’s hidden. The muscle being built is buried beneath existing fat, so the mirror doesn’t reflect the effort. That disconnect is where frustration starts. People immediately start thinking, "wait, I thought gear was MORE powerful than this? Why am I not jacked right now?" It also reinforces the idea that, "well maybe im just not taking enough..." No, its not that. You're just fat. Just plain old fat.
There’s also a real physiological advantage to starting lean. Leaner individuals tend to have better insulin sensitivity and better nutrient partitioning. Food goes where it’s supposed to go more often, toward muscle, not fat. The drugs themselves tend to “work better” because the body is already in a more favorable state to use them. Same compounds, same dosages, same training, but a wayyyy different outcome. And it sucks, but body fat also plays a role in aromatization. Higher levels of body fat mean more aromatase activity, which increases estrogen conversion. For newbies especially, this creates a bunchhh of issues they’re not prepared to manage. Instead of focusing on training, recovery, and progress, they end up chasing symptoms and reacting emotionally to every fluctuation. That’s not advanced bodybuilding, it’s just shitty and unnecessary chaos.
THE REAL PROBLEM: INSTANT GRATIFICATION
Most resistance to getting lean first comes down to impatience. Newbie guys want the fastest route to looking different, not the smartest one. They assume that if drugs are involved, the usual rules don’t apply anymore. Fail. And let's be real here, most of these guys, TONS on this forum, fall into the skinny-fat category. They train hard, eat inconsistently, and carry more fat than they realize. They’re not out of shape—but they’re not lean either. And they believe PEDs will magically rearrange their body composition. That NEVER happens. Drugs don’t reorganize a body that hasn’t been organized yet. They don’t teach structure. They don’t replace discipline. They simply amplify what’s already there.
This is why aiming for around 10% body fat before a cycle is so important. For most new users, that means dieting down from closer to 20%. That process alone teaches them more about their body than any compound ever will—how they respond to food, how much they can actually eat, how their training feels when they’re lean, and what their real baseline looks like.
HOW I FRAME IT TO NEW GUYS AND CLIENTS
You've read my replies before. I've posted the same message 100 times over. I don’t sugarcoat it. I tell them this: if you start a cycle at 20%, you’re going to get bigger—but you’re probably going to stay soft. If you start it at 10%, you’ll finally see what your training has been building underneath. Same drugs. Same time. Completely different outcome.
Most guys who commit to getting lean first are shocked by two things. 1. how good they already look before ever “pushing” anything. And 2. how much better they respond once they do. Everything feels cleaner, more controlled, and more predictable.
So basically, you have 2 choices with your cycles.
1. Get lean first...then use the gear to grow.
2. Use the gear as you get lean, get off/cruise/trt, THEN cycle again to get big.
It's that simple.
WHY DIETING TO 10% ISN'T DELAYING ANYTHING
I tell this to any client i'm coaching...getting lean first isn’t wasted time. It’s preparation. It improves insulin sensitivity, lowers aromatization, sharpens feedback from the mirror, and creates a baseline you can actually build on. For new users especially, it turns the first couple cycles into a learning experience instead of a confusing blur of weight gain and second-guessing. I promise you, PEDs are not the starting line. They’re the gas pedal. If you hit the gas while your body composition is still a mess, you don’t get results faster, you just magnify the mess.
One of the biggest mistakes I see from guys on here newer to PEDs isn’t dosage, compound choice, or cycle length. None of that...It’s starting the whole process from the wrong place. There’s a weird widespread belief, especially among newer lifters, that drugs will create a physique rather than amplify one. And that belief usuallly comes from impatience. Because the sad fact is that most guys who are new to cycles aren’t lean. They’re often hovering closer to 18–22% body fat, even if they train hard and “look big in clothes.” And instead of seeing that as something to fix first, they want to jump straight into using drugs to speed everything up. The problem is that gear doesnt skip steps. They just make the outcome of those steps more extreme, good or bad.
WHY BEING LEAN CHANGES EVERYTHING
When someone starts a cycle already lean, the first thing that changes isn’t physiology, it’s psychology. You can actually SEE the work paying off. Muscles fill out, lines show up, shape improves. Week by week, there’s visual confirmation that what you’re doing is working. That feedback loop is innsaaanely powerful. It reinforces consistency, adherence, and patience.
When someone starts heavier (around 15% body fat or higher) that same progress is probably happening under the surface, but it’s hidden. The muscle being built is buried beneath existing fat, so the mirror doesn’t reflect the effort. That disconnect is where frustration starts. People immediately start thinking, "wait, I thought gear was MORE powerful than this? Why am I not jacked right now?" It also reinforces the idea that, "well maybe im just not taking enough..." No, its not that. You're just fat. Just plain old fat.
There’s also a real physiological advantage to starting lean. Leaner individuals tend to have better insulin sensitivity and better nutrient partitioning. Food goes where it’s supposed to go more often, toward muscle, not fat. The drugs themselves tend to “work better” because the body is already in a more favorable state to use them. Same compounds, same dosages, same training, but a wayyyy different outcome. And it sucks, but body fat also plays a role in aromatization. Higher levels of body fat mean more aromatase activity, which increases estrogen conversion. For newbies especially, this creates a bunchhh of issues they’re not prepared to manage. Instead of focusing on training, recovery, and progress, they end up chasing symptoms and reacting emotionally to every fluctuation. That’s not advanced bodybuilding, it’s just shitty and unnecessary chaos.
THE REAL PROBLEM: INSTANT GRATIFICATION
Most resistance to getting lean first comes down to impatience. Newbie guys want the fastest route to looking different, not the smartest one. They assume that if drugs are involved, the usual rules don’t apply anymore. Fail. And let's be real here, most of these guys, TONS on this forum, fall into the skinny-fat category. They train hard, eat inconsistently, and carry more fat than they realize. They’re not out of shape—but they’re not lean either. And they believe PEDs will magically rearrange their body composition. That NEVER happens. Drugs don’t reorganize a body that hasn’t been organized yet. They don’t teach structure. They don’t replace discipline. They simply amplify what’s already there.
This is why aiming for around 10% body fat before a cycle is so important. For most new users, that means dieting down from closer to 20%. That process alone teaches them more about their body than any compound ever will—how they respond to food, how much they can actually eat, how their training feels when they’re lean, and what their real baseline looks like.
HOW I FRAME IT TO NEW GUYS AND CLIENTS
You've read my replies before. I've posted the same message 100 times over. I don’t sugarcoat it. I tell them this: if you start a cycle at 20%, you’re going to get bigger—but you’re probably going to stay soft. If you start it at 10%, you’ll finally see what your training has been building underneath. Same drugs. Same time. Completely different outcome.
Most guys who commit to getting lean first are shocked by two things. 1. how good they already look before ever “pushing” anything. And 2. how much better they respond once they do. Everything feels cleaner, more controlled, and more predictable.
So basically, you have 2 choices with your cycles.
1. Get lean first...then use the gear to grow.
2. Use the gear as you get lean, get off/cruise/trt, THEN cycle again to get big.
It's that simple.
WHY DIETING TO 10% ISN'T DELAYING ANYTHING
I tell this to any client i'm coaching...getting lean first isn’t wasted time. It’s preparation. It improves insulin sensitivity, lowers aromatization, sharpens feedback from the mirror, and creates a baseline you can actually build on. For new users especially, it turns the first couple cycles into a learning experience instead of a confusing blur of weight gain and second-guessing. I promise you, PEDs are not the starting line. They’re the gas pedal. If you hit the gas while your body composition is still a mess, you don’t get results faster, you just magnify the mess.
