Anavar (facts from myths)

[x.ris.x]

Hey everyone!
First of all this is my very first post here on RX and the reason I'm posting is because some of you guys seem to really know your sh*t and will hopefully give me some good advice and FACTS!!
So a bit about me, I'm 24 and have been lifting for a couple of years but unfortunately was one of those chicks who thought they knew a whole lot about nutrition but was too scared to eat enough to put on a decent amount of muscle so was pretty much spinning my wheels. Anyway this past year is when I started to get a lot more serious about lifting and realising it has become more of a passion for me, so I finally decided to get my diet dialled in with the help of an amazing coach did a "bulk" and now am currently "cutting" to get that summer rigg haha.
I'm determined to be the best I can be and have been doing a lot of research on Anavar, although I'm not planning on doing a cycle until next year because I know I can still make some good progress natty but want to know EXACTLY what to expect and that I'm in the right place to start it.
My specific questions to those who have personal experience are when would you recommend starting a cycle during bulking or cutting or both? and will the outcomes be much different? When you started what was your body composition like? do you have to be super lean to start or just have perfect diet while on it to avoid getting that thick look? I guess to sum it up what are the IDEAL circumstances to be taking it to get the best results? Also would love to see before and afters if you guys have any!

[justine0101]

My specific questions to those who have personal experience are when would you recommend starting a cycle during bulking or cutting or both? and will the outcomes be much different? When you started what was your body composition like? do you have to be super lean to start or just have perfect diet while on it to avoid getting that thick look? I guess to sum it up what are the IDEAL circumstances to be taking it to get the best results? Also would love to see before and afters if you guys have any!

I've done var for the past 3 years and have experiences on both ends.

I prefer to do var while cutting because you get even harder, still have a ton of strength in the gym. The results are more noticeable

When I've done var not getting ready for a show and diet wasn't the greatest, I still get the amazing pump while lifting and endurance is amazing, but I looked smooth yet big. An acquaitance who saw me like that after normally seeing me lean & slim said I look "solid"

If you're okay with the bulky look then you can do it while bulking but to me (I'm no expert) var seems to be best at tightening up everything and when you're bulking you just won't see that effect

Everyone's IDEAL will be different. For me the worst effect was the acne I get once I stop it. The sex drive increase is a major plus and my menstruation is very light with no cramps on it

[sassy69]

I think it really matters what your goals are and also what it is that you expect out of a cycle. You can cut or bulk on any steroid, basically. It is always your diet & training that dictate and the compound supports it. A drug will never make up for poor diet/training /recovery program.

The greatest aspect of an anavar cycle is the recovery support it provides. That means that you can train harder, diet harder (or eat more shit if you are bulking), sleep better, better sense of well-being, etc. The compound will support muscle development to the level that your diet supports it. For ex, if you're running a cycle for a show prep for 16 weeks - I'd say for 8 weeks it will support muscle growth and at some point when your diet turns from supporting muscle growth to cutting fat, the cycle will go less from supporting muscle growth to preserving what you have while your body is subject to the restrictions in your diet (cals, macros, whatever you are doing) and the subsequent beating your body takes while on that restricted diet.

Equivalently, if you're using it while bulking, it will help promote muscle growth and thus manage bodyfat that tends to go w/ that. And while you are consuming more resources to build, the cycle supports the amount of training you can sustain to utilize those muscle-growing resources and lets you get away w/ a greater amount of output before you hit a CNS overload, need for more sleep, masks the normal pain you'd feel, etc.

When I see people deciding they want to use anavar to "lean out & tone up" or "lose weight" because they see competitors (or even more annoying - guys leaning out on a cycle) who someone told them were using anavar and ended up w/ a ripped stage body, and then start a cycle w/ that expectation - what they maybe don't see is the strict 4 month diet/ training /recovery protocol and the sacrifices of "normal life" these people use to get that ripped stage body. It wasn't just because they used drugs. There was a lot more involved, and they will be sorely disappointed w/ their results because they ran a cycle but had a slipshod / inconsistent / uninformed diet / training/ recovery protocol to go w/ it. And also to have expectations that they will get the same results as they see their bf / so/ hubby/ guy at the gym because women have estrogen as the dominant sex hormone and guys have testosterone. That fundamental difference means you wont' get to do the same thing guys do and get the same result. I'd also venture that most guys who are running steroids already have a pretty decent history and commitment to hardcore training that most women don't and are probably scared of anyway because they don't want to "get big".

So - that's my view of it. Results will be driven by your goals and what you do w/ your diet / training / recovery towards that goal. If you have silly expectations of the goals that aren't already supported by your diet / trainign /cardio, then you will probably end up very disappointed w/ the end result.

And just as a side note, going into it, you need to understand the impact of male hormones on your body and be responsible for all of it. It also comes w/ interrupted periods, potential water retention, acne, increased blood pressure and lipids, mood swings depending on how your body responds to the compound and the fluctuation in your hormone levels going on and coming off of the cycle.

[sassy69]

Sorry for the long response - I have no idea what your expectations are based on for an anavar cycle, but I have seen so many women start a cycle because someone told them it would make them lose weight, and that is simply all they care about. These same women will starve themselves and pop DNP to "lose weight" but won't simply eat a balanced diet and get in the gym every now and then. So just want to call out the need for "real" expectations of it.

[x.ris.x]

Thanks so much for your responses and advice.
I completely understand that no substance alone will give you the physique of your dreams and it takes a whole lot of dedication and hard work to go with it! This is why I want to have everything pretty much perfect before starting and I feel like I've finally got my diet and training right on point but still want to get as close to my goals without it. I'm ideally thinking of doing another good bulk and then coming down with it to retain as much muscle as I can. So would you say if you were to bulk with it and then cut naturally you will end up in a similar place to if you were to bulk naturally and cut with it? Or because your diet is supporting muscle growth during bulking would you end up putting more muscle mass on and retaining more after a cut anyway? I'm guessing everyone should also get full bloods done prior to starting?

[sassy69]

Yea, get the blood work. Its good to have a baseline.

I'd guess you're probably going to build more mass if you bulk on it - but that your ability to maintain that mass coming off is going to be dependent on your maintenance diet and lifting to sustain and establish that mass. But then what is your definition of "cut"? If you're cutting to a competition level, I think it will help more - but also keep in mind competition level cutting has a different goal than "bikini body" cut. Competition cut is not expected to be maintained.

IMO "bikini body" cut can be accomplished w/o the drugs. I can't tell you what i would recommend because I don't know what your goals are. But also keep in mind that this isn't a strict time - near term goal. The whole thing is a perpetual cycle of diet / training / growing / cutting. Depends on how fast you want to grow or cut.