TLDR: 20 week lean bulking cycle. 600test/400eq, 2.5iu GH, 50mg Anadrol for first 50 days. Gained 16lbs lean mass. BF% 9.5 to 13.
This is my first "real" cycle and my first actual attempt at bulking. My previous use of AAS up until this point have been what you might consider TRT++ and were aimed at recomping or maingaining (dabbling w test,primo,var,GH). I'm 41yo, 5'-9" and also participate recreationally in mountain and endurance sports. I started this cycle pretty lean and in excellent cardiovascular condition. The oils and tabs I used on this cycle were from SB Labs and the GH was from kits4less. I was not working during these 20 weeks and had almost full time to dedicate to training, rest and food prep.
9/1/2025 - Started cycle at 500test/400eq and continued to run my 2.5iu GH daily. I hired a "coach" from instagram. IFBB Pro with over 1m followers. He gave me cycle advice, workout programming, macros to follow and 15 min weekly check in calls. $900 for three months. The workout split was chest, shoulders, arms, back and legs. Each week the splits stayed the same but the movements varied along with the overall focus and rep scheme. About 2 weeks in, I started the Anadrol at his suggestion. I also experimented with GHRP2 to stimulate my appetite, but the GI discomfort from the extra food was too much for me. During these first few weeks, I felt I was rapidly getting stronger and fuller. Cardio was kept to an absolute minimum, 10mins walking warmup PreWO only. Worth noting, I tried to ramp up my GH to 4iu/day during the first half of my cycle but the hand pain/tingle was affecting my sleep, so I stopped and resumed at 2.5iu after a couple weeks off.
MidCycle - Labs came back with E2 at 15, so I bumped my test from 500 to 600. Other than that the typical markers were out of range like lipids, AST with Hematocrit only slightly out (50.4). At this point I started a cycle of BPC/TB500 because I could feel the strain of my joints and tendons. Progressive overload is still occurring but my body is complaining. At this point in my cycle, my body has finally adjusted to the increase in calories and GI distress is minimal. I experimented with Testosterone suspension incrementally as a PreWO when trying to hit certain PRs. I never pinned more than 50mg and can't say I felt anything substantial from it. I am now up 20lbs and started using a CPAP machine. I had very mild OSA precycle that got worse as I put on weight.
Latter 1/2 of Cycle - Getting frustrated with my coach. My expectations did not match reality. I expected this guy to be keeping notes and spreadsheets to continually adjust my programming and keep me fully optimized. What I got was updates to my workouts in the app and words of encouragement in my weekly checkin calls. I felt like I was initiating all of the tweaks that were keeping me on track. So, I quit working with him. The other challenges at this point were dealing with forearm tendonitis, tearing my quad in a scooter accident, going on vacation for two weeks and maintaining stoke for training and eating. I felt super bloated all the time, so I began to incorporate more walking which helped. Leg days are shot due to the torn quad, which put additional training load up top and hence more strain on those joints and tendons.
End of Cycle - My body is begging for rest. l feel strong but the joints and tendons need recovery. I'm so fucking tired of eating. My body is craving cardio. End of cycle labs came back with lipids further skewed, AST still elevated, Hematocrit actually dropped to 47.9 and my E2 raised from 15 to 20 with the extra 100mg/wk of test. Throughout cycle I did monitor BP, which was elevated by 10 points at times but never high enough where I wanted to take telmisartan I had on hand. I feel big, bloated, tight and very not-nimble. Can hardly reach around to wipe my ass properly.
Lessons Learned: Do more cardio and stretching throughout entire cycle. DO NOT slack on hydration. I do not regret working with my coach but I don't think it was money well spent either.
Currently - I ate at maintenance calories and took time away from the gym for a couple weeks. I resumed taking reta at 2mg/wk and am in a slight deficit. My joints and tendons are still recovering and my torn quad is still healing. My workouts now are higher rep, lower weight and I am getting alot more steps and Z2 cardio. Dropped my test to 250 and keeping GH at 2.5iu/day. Also continuing BPB/TB500. Goal is to cut down to 5-6% BF and see WTF kinda scary veiny freak I look like.
Questions for the Vets? - After this 6-8 week health/recovery phase, I plan to run an 8-10wk cutting cycle and resume hard weight training. Goal is to reach peak shredz and do a fun photo shoot, kinda pretending im prepping for a classic physique show. Thinking 300test/400primo/70tren. Hoping to get a nice polished dry look without orals or crazy high cycle. FYI, from previous experimentation, Primo does not impact my E2. Appreciate any feedback from the community.
This is my first "real" cycle and my first actual attempt at bulking. My previous use of AAS up until this point have been what you might consider TRT++ and were aimed at recomping or maingaining (dabbling w test,primo,var,GH). I'm 41yo, 5'-9" and also participate recreationally in mountain and endurance sports. I started this cycle pretty lean and in excellent cardiovascular condition. The oils and tabs I used on this cycle were from SB Labs and the GH was from kits4less. I was not working during these 20 weeks and had almost full time to dedicate to training, rest and food prep.
9/1/2025 - Started cycle at 500test/400eq and continued to run my 2.5iu GH daily. I hired a "coach" from instagram. IFBB Pro with over 1m followers. He gave me cycle advice, workout programming, macros to follow and 15 min weekly check in calls. $900 for three months. The workout split was chest, shoulders, arms, back and legs. Each week the splits stayed the same but the movements varied along with the overall focus and rep scheme. About 2 weeks in, I started the Anadrol at his suggestion. I also experimented with GHRP2 to stimulate my appetite, but the GI discomfort from the extra food was too much for me. During these first few weeks, I felt I was rapidly getting stronger and fuller. Cardio was kept to an absolute minimum, 10mins walking warmup PreWO only. Worth noting, I tried to ramp up my GH to 4iu/day during the first half of my cycle but the hand pain/tingle was affecting my sleep, so I stopped and resumed at 2.5iu after a couple weeks off.
MidCycle - Labs came back with E2 at 15, so I bumped my test from 500 to 600. Other than that the typical markers were out of range like lipids, AST with Hematocrit only slightly out (50.4). At this point I started a cycle of BPC/TB500 because I could feel the strain of my joints and tendons. Progressive overload is still occurring but my body is complaining. At this point in my cycle, my body has finally adjusted to the increase in calories and GI distress is minimal. I experimented with Testosterone suspension incrementally as a PreWO when trying to hit certain PRs. I never pinned more than 50mg and can't say I felt anything substantial from it. I am now up 20lbs and started using a CPAP machine. I had very mild OSA precycle that got worse as I put on weight.
Latter 1/2 of Cycle - Getting frustrated with my coach. My expectations did not match reality. I expected this guy to be keeping notes and spreadsheets to continually adjust my programming and keep me fully optimized. What I got was updates to my workouts in the app and words of encouragement in my weekly checkin calls. I felt like I was initiating all of the tweaks that were keeping me on track. So, I quit working with him. The other challenges at this point were dealing with forearm tendonitis, tearing my quad in a scooter accident, going on vacation for two weeks and maintaining stoke for training and eating. I felt super bloated all the time, so I began to incorporate more walking which helped. Leg days are shot due to the torn quad, which put additional training load up top and hence more strain on those joints and tendons.
End of Cycle - My body is begging for rest. l feel strong but the joints and tendons need recovery. I'm so fucking tired of eating. My body is craving cardio. End of cycle labs came back with lipids further skewed, AST still elevated, Hematocrit actually dropped to 47.9 and my E2 raised from 15 to 20 with the extra 100mg/wk of test. Throughout cycle I did monitor BP, which was elevated by 10 points at times but never high enough where I wanted to take telmisartan I had on hand. I feel big, bloated, tight and very not-nimble. Can hardly reach around to wipe my ass properly.
Lessons Learned: Do more cardio and stretching throughout entire cycle. DO NOT slack on hydration. I do not regret working with my coach but I don't think it was money well spent either.
Currently - I ate at maintenance calories and took time away from the gym for a couple weeks. I resumed taking reta at 2mg/wk and am in a slight deficit. My joints and tendons are still recovering and my torn quad is still healing. My workouts now are higher rep, lower weight and I am getting alot more steps and Z2 cardio. Dropped my test to 250 and keeping GH at 2.5iu/day. Also continuing BPB/TB500. Goal is to cut down to 5-6% BF and see WTF kinda scary veiny freak I look like.
Questions for the Vets? - After this 6-8 week health/recovery phase, I plan to run an 8-10wk cutting cycle and resume hard weight training. Goal is to reach peak shredz and do a fun photo shoot, kinda pretending im prepping for a classic physique show. Thinking 300test/400primo/70tren. Hoping to get a nice polished dry look without orals or crazy high cycle. FYI, from previous experimentation, Primo does not impact my E2. Appreciate any feedback from the community.
