First Pin vs. First Cycle... IS IT THE DECA?

[BCH13]

My very first pin was in the beginning of May... my brother in law was showing me how to pin, and I thought I was ready for my first cycle... anyways, I pinned .5ml deca (150mg) and .5ml of test e (150mg), before realizing I needed to do so much more research and I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was under the impression my brother in law knew enough about cycling that I could use his advice and run a safe, successful cycle.

Point of this story: the few lifts I had about 10-14 days after this first pin were... INSANE. I mean absolutely insane. I felt incredibly strong and I could have easily hurt myself, had I not known my body/strength and/or how much I should be lifting. Since this first pin (well, with about a 6 week break in between) I have been running my first cycle of 500mg/week test e (alone). I waited about a month and a half before starting my cycle; I did the necessary research I should have done before that very first pin. Anyways, I have not felt the same insane strength in the gym, and I am in the middle of my 4th week of test e. Does this mean my body reacts extremely well to Deca? Or, did I "waste" my first cycle from a simple 150mg deca/150mg test e pin because of the break I took before starting my cycle? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[chocolatemilk]

The insane strength you were experiencing was most likely a placebo/elevated hormones/good day in the gym.

Anyways, Test E kicks in around week 3-6. So keep hitting the weights.

Are you taking an AI? And what does your PCT look like?

 

[BCH13]

The insane strength you were experiencing was most likely a placebo/elevated hormones/good day in the gym.

Anyways, Test E kicks in around week 3-6. So keep hitting the weights.

Are you taking an AI? And what does your PCT look like?

Thanks for the quick response. I thought it could be partially a placebo effect, but wouldn't I have also gotten that 2 weeks after my first test e pin (going to the gym, thinking it should be kicking in)?

I'm still seeing good gains, so far. I'm 5'7, ~207lbs (started at ~199, 4 weeks ago), but my BF has not changed. I am taking in about 4,500-5,000 calories a day, with around 320-330g protein. I'm not going for a clean bulk, so I am eating some crappy food (i.e. calamari, french fries on occasion with my burgers, wings, some fried chicken), but also eating a lot of steak, lean ground beef, chicken, fish, etc. I am also making sure I have enough calories (hard during the day, working in an office where I can't leave my desk much because I'm always busy/hectic) through protein shakes w/ mass gainer (optimum serious mass).

I am running arimidex during my cycle... at first I wasn't (to see if I was gyno prone and because I am only running 500mg/week test e), but early on (day 12) my nipples felt sensitive and began to itch... not that badly, but bad enough to scare me into running an AI during my cycle. I took .5mg the first day, which took care of the sensitivity/itching, and I was going to run .25mg EOD. My first 2 weeks, I ran 300mg test e, but I bumped it to 500mg (I should have just started at this dose from the beginning, I know). I tried to "compensate" for the additional test, by adding .1mg of arimidex to my EOD dose... but my joints started to hurt in the gym; this just happened last week. I was up to dipping +90lbs for sets of 8 reps, but I could barely warmup (+0) without my joints hurting. My ejaculation was also noticeably less; one was almost a blank... not completely a bad thing, as I don't want to have kids just yet and my wife isn't on birth control. Regardless, these are both signs of too low of estrogen. I took a few days off of the arimidex (wanted estrogen levels to rebound) and slight sensitivity came back... and I am now cutting it back to .25mg EOD to see if this is the correct dose with 500mg test e/week.

I don't know exactly the dose I will be running for my PCT, but I have nolva/clomid ready to go. I am also looking into using clenbuterol to help maintain gains and cut since I am going for a bulk and will have a decent amount of BF to lose. Suggestions? Here is my cycle:

Week 1-2: 300mg/test e
Week 3-13: 500mg/test e

Thanks for your help.

Lifts thus far:

First pin: 6/22/11

Bench:
07/05/11 - 245x9
07/12/11 - 255x7

Squats:
07/06/11 - 285x12
07/13/11 - 305x11

Military:
07/01/11 - 155x8
07/09/11 - 165x6
07/16/11 - 175x5

Not posting deadlifts because I have had trouble with lower back pumps (not from the test e, but in general since I started deadlifting again)... I've tried 5-7g of taurine, but as long as I am doing high reps, it becomes a rock. I tried increasing reps and decreasing weight... but my grip gave out... chalk isn't allowed in my gym. Last deadlift (07/10/11) was 305x6.

 

[bboyflash]

Invest in a rosin bag bro, clean and works just as good as chaulk, cleaner and cheaper imo!

 

[BCH13]

Invest in a rosin bag bro, clean and works just as good as chaulk, cleaner and cheaper imo!

Damn, I never thought of using one... I'll probably order one today. Thanks man.

 

[BCH13]

275x5 flat bench and NO joint issues. Like night and day. Any other ideas regarding the first pin... or was it really just a placebo effect? Thanks