Intermediate Steroid Cycles
(Cycle #3: Lean Bulk)

By Anthony Roberts

If you´re anything like me, you took a look at the title of this article and wondered what an intermediate is. It´s relatively easy to figure out what a beginner is, because chances are if you haven´t done steroids, you already know that you´re a beginner. And if you´ve been using steroids for nearly a decade (as I have), you would probably have assumed you would need an advanced cycle. But if you fall in this grey area in the middle, then you´re probably wondering what kind of cycles you need.

Well, I´m going to set up some guidelines to figure out whether you´re an intermediate, ok? You´re an intermediate if you´ve been lifting for at least 3 years and have done at least 3 cycles. And I think, to make my definition of intermediate a little easier to understand, I´ll also suggest that you need to have done at least 3 different anabolic steroids, and stacked them in at least one of your cycles. You with me, so far? What I´m saying is that in order to be an intermediate, you have:

• Done 3 cycles or more
• Used three different Anabolic steroids
• Stacked 2 steroids in at least one cycle
  

If you´ve done all of the above then you are (at least) an intermediate steroid user, and the cycle I´m going to outline here is for you. SO let´s take a look at a sample intermediate bulking cycle, and then I´ll give you the reasoning behind it.

Ok, so what we have here is a cycle that uses moderate amounts of anabolics. A cycle like this, which makes use of Testosterone as well as Equipoise will produce noticeable results in both strength as well as size, and will produce a nice, hard look to the physique. Since this is a lean bulking cycle, I´ll assume that the user will be following a diet which is high in quality calories. Protein intake will need to be high to take full advantage of the steroids being used. Conversion to estrogen is not much of a problem with Equipoise, although it´s going to happen with the Testosterone. Keep some Arimidex on hand, and if your nipples get sensitive or you are retaining too much water, use it at .5mgs/day.

The suggested testosterone in this cycle has a long ester, meaning it is released into the body very slowly after it is injected - and is therefore usually injected once or twice a week. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone, and stacks well with anything because it produces both a nice anabolic (muscle building) effect, as well as an androgenic effect. Both of these effects will be helpful on a cycle where maximum lean mass is the goal.

Since you´re going to have to inject the testosterone once a week, you may as well include another product that has a similar ester length. For this cycle, that would probably mean using Equipoise. Equipoise is a relatively cheap injectable steroid, and will increase your appetite substantially, allowing you to easily consume enough calories to make your cycle worthwhile. It will also provide an additional anabolic effect with very little conversion to estrogen, which will help to keep water retention to a minimum.

I´ve decided to include orals for four weeks in this cycle, separated by four weeks in between. A modest dose of Dianabol is suggested at the outset of the cycle so you can begin seeing results immediately. The longer esters in the injectable products typically mean that noticeable results won´t occur until a couple of weeks into the cycle or more. This can be offset with the use of an oral compound in the beginning which will produce rapid increases in strength and weight gain. Dianabol is a nice choice for this. While the Dianabol is giving you rapid results, your blood plasma levels of the injectable steroids will be building up. When you discontinue the use of Dianabol at week four, you shouldn´t experience any drop in strength or lean mass, since the injectables have had more than enough time to begin exerting their peak anabolic effects. The four week break from orals in the middle of the cycle is included because it gives your body (your liver) a break from metabolizing the oral steroids. Then, Anavar is included after your body has had a little break and does not convert to estrogen at all, so water retention is quite low with this steroid (if there´s any) and gynocomastia is never reported. It is very popular for addition into a many cycles and provides a nice ending for this cycle, over the last four weeks, where the user may have reached a plateau in body fat loss. In this particular case, it will help solidify gains at the end of the cycle.. Its principal drawback is its price, which is why many users may opt to include Winstrol in a cycle in its place. Although Winstrol shares many of the properties that Anavar boasts, it just (anecdotally) doesn´t seem to provide as much muscle gain or strength increases. It is, however, very cheap in comparison to Anavar.

A cycle like this will give the user a lot of muscularity and possible loss of body fat, if a proper diet accompanies it. Overall weight should increase, as should strength. Bodyweight may not actually not change much when compared to traditional bulking or cutting cycles, as there should be some noticeable fat loss while muscle is being gained.