There is plenty of information around, alot giving form vets and long time members of the forum. I decided to write some tips for newcomers from the perspective of a newcomer.Beside if you were a vet who loves to help out the community and get you to your next level but you have not even taken the time to read all thats out there how is he/she gonna know that your gonna stick with what they tell you anyways.

STEROIDS ARE NOT A MAGIC PILL TO MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE ARNOLD!!!!!!!!!

First of all welcome to a world of RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH.

Just like when you start lifting if you don't have any knowledge or research under you you don't get the max results. Your form is sloppy, diet is sloppy, you over train or under train etc.

If you look at my profile I have been on here for just 2 weeks. Prior to that I lurked around and researched for months prior to joining. In febuary of this year I weighed in at 255 plus pounds...not the muscle kind either. I started recomping and using the knowledge I gained to help. 9 months later I am in the lowest body fat I have been in almost two years. My muscle mass grew back to my military deployment lifting size. This is when I truly began researching on AAS.

What to research?
Spend the time to look at each subforum there are many of them on here. Form cycle forums to diet and weightloss forums. Each one has a sticky (a post that always stays at the top) These things are gold nuggets for info and are there for a reason. Go through each forum and read these. Yes there is alot...and thats just the surface of knowledge around.

The search bar is easy and is your friend. once you hit the sticky start searching for specific info that you need to expand on.

The basics you absolutely need to start learning about.

1)Acronyms and terms: these you find out along the way while doing your research. Not all of these are in one easy spot. At times google is your friend too. If you have no clue what something means noone will take you seriously to help you. Why would they. thats like getting in a car to teach someone to drive and they ask where to put the keys in?

A few to get you started

1cc = 1ml
40/40/20/20= mg per day week 1/week 2/week 3/week 4
AAS = Anabolic and Androgenic steroids
ADEX= Arimidex
AR = Androgen Receptor
AS = Anabolic Steroids
CC = cubic centimeter (one thousandth of a liter)
CLEN = Clenbuterol
CYCLE= Length of time while using AAS
CYP = Testosterone Cypionate
DART = Syringe/Needle
DBOL = Dianabol (Methandrostenolone)
DECA = Nandrolone Decanoate
DHT = Dihydrotestosterone
DNP = Dinitrophenol
EBC= Eroids Body Challenge
ECA = Ephedrine/Caffeine/Aspirin
ENTH = Testosterone Enanthate
EQ = Equipoise (Boldenone Undecylenate)
ESTER = an organic compound added to steroids that break down quickly to cause them to break down more slowly and release the steroid over time. Different Esters allow for different time release.
FINA = Finaplix (Trenbolone Acetate)
GEAR = steroids
GH = Growth Hormone
GHB = GAMMA HYDROXYBUTYRATE growth hormone
GYNO = Gynomastica (Bitch tits)
HGH = Human Growth Hormone
HPTA = Hypothalamic Pituitary Testicular Axis
IGF = Insulin Growth Factor
LETRO= Letrozole
LH = Leutenizing Hormone
MCG = Micrograms
MG = Milligrams
ML = Milliliters
NO2 = Nitric Oxide Precursor Product
NOLVA = Nolvaldex
OTC = Over the counter
PH = Pro Hormones
PIN = Needle
PRIMO = Primobolan, Primobolan Depot
PROP = Testosterone Propionate
SUST = Sustanon
T3 = Thyroid Hormone
T4 = Thyroid Hormone
TEST = Testosterone
TREN = Trenbolone
WINNY = Winstrol-V (Stanozolol)
ED = Every Day
EOD = Every other day
EW = every week

2) DIET: This is the bread and butter of your hard work. You should know by now that 90% of what you gain or lose from your hard work is based on diet. There is a ton of info here on diets. IF you dont know your TDEE, BMI, BMR etc. you HAVE TO START with that. these are your friends. Don't look for some easy one size fits all calculator either. find out how to do the math on your own and use it.Ask for tweaks but learn it on your own. That way as your gaining peaks at week 8 and your wonder why its cause you have not adjusted your intake for the mass you have gained the last two months. as you gain muscle and lose bodyfat all of your previous counts have changed.

3)HPTA: This is one that takes alot of time to grasp and is constantly something to learn. The hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis and endocrine systems are a key part of what makes us develop, grow, age, reproduce..its a number of things and alot of the acronyms you will come across in regards to cycling are in reference to the effects AAS and compounds effect our bodies systems. It's not just about testosterone vs estrogen there is a whole lot more at work. Learning these systems and the temrs that go along with it. LHS,FSH, GnRH etc..(see above about studying acronyms) all of these are related to what your hypothalamus and gonads are producing or not producing. This is also a basis for reading labs and understanding what they truly mean. Its imperative to understand the workings of your hormones,so you can better understand how not to create irreparable damage to your system. Going too hard and too fast without thought will get you hurt in every aspect of bodybuilding/weightlifting.

4) compounds: these are the "gear" everyone's talking about. each one is specific in its makeup and how it effects the above systems.Each person is also different on how these compounds will effect them. Start your cycles and your research ONE COMPOUND AT A TIME. I'll say again one compound at a time. you will hear this time and time again and for good reason. What reasons you ask? Research them my brother

5) PCT: you use AAS, you shut down, its a fact of the game. PCT is probably just as important as your cycle, if not more. you can gain 20 ibs on a cycle and lose it all with the water weight if you dont do your research first. First off research these compounds (see #2) each one does something specific. Aromatose inhibitors, Anti estrogens, suicide inhibitors, gonadtripin....if you have no clue what these are...REASERCH them.

6) last yep I said last is CYCLES. You dont need to be here till all of the above has been done. Every vet on here will tell you the same thing. And so will every sticky you come across. Once you understand what your looking at look into cycles. As a newb though you will find out quick its not much to look at at first. Your doing one compound (testosterone only) at usuallly 500mg a week adding in basic protocols for AI and PCT. If that ruins the glory of it sorry. You didnt start out lifting the 90 ibs dumbells in the gym did you? Everyone starts somewhere. The great thing about this forum is you get to start without making mistakes that others without info had to make first. Otherwise why be here to begin with you can order whatever from whoever and do what you like till it crashes anyways. if you come for advice TAKE IT!

Research your source. Jumping on out of nowhere asking for a good source of rproduct A,B, or C is not gonna illecit a responce and worse yet can open you to spamming and scamming. Read source review and the source introduction pages see what others are saying. We all take a chance on sources its part of the game but like everything else if you research it you have a better chance!

You may try to say oh man this place hates newbies, a bunch of testerone filled roid ragers who hate everyone. Not true I have been welcomed and helped all along. But one thing stood out....my first +1 in karam was for doing my research. Trust me people notice. From there you get all the help you need cause you did the leg work. you showed the dedication it takes. Cause this isnt a one trick pony. you take some pills pin some oils and get big your done...if it was that easy we would have a nation of Kai greenes and Jay cutlers instead of a nation of obese out of shape people. Do the research and I Guarantee that you will learn from everyone.

ETIQUETTE WHEN RECEIVING OR ASKING FOR ADVICE: If you ask for advice, tips or clarification on something especially cycles there is a proper way to respond. IF you knew everything you would have researched a ton and truly knew all compounds, but still if you have not run it you don't truly know everything about it. So when you get advice be respectful to those who are taking there time to help you. Acting like you don't care, giving attitude if you hear something that might not fit in with your plans, or just ignoring someone is not the way to do things. If you knew it all you wouldnt have asked in the first place. If you ask for some advice take it or at least respond to it with more questions. and yeah a thank you is more than appreciated for the brothers here who are not getting paid to do this.

Now you may have noticed to things I did on purpose here.For one thing I turned this into a novel.If you can't read through this long posts on the basics of what to look for your in trouble. Sometimes even the stickies the information isnt just found on the original post. You have to read through pages to find out some good info and who truly is knowledgable. If you just jump on here and ask a question...anyone can answer you. They could be some 19 year old kid who has read some articles. lift twice a week and sounds like he knows what he is talking about but gives you crap advice. how do you know its crap advice vs good advcie...here it comes......RESEARCH!! yep gonna keep saying it.You also get a feel for who is a guru in one thing or another...Some like viking are good for contest prep and how to be a rock at any age...Tread is pretty much a guru on all things but when you read his thoughts on HGH prepared to be blown away..and even he loves discussion and learning and research still while he is helping the up and comers. GS9902 has helped me tweak alot of things thus far on many topics but mostly on my first cycle tweaks.you got power lifters here..you got diet experts..you got veterans of all shapes and sizes. Read and you will find them all out.

Second thing I didnt do was post links to all these things. That would defeat the purpose...I mean really,. this about researching so you don't have to be spoonfed so why would I spoonfeed my very limited knowledge of links for you. I read for months, time to man up and start reading.

*** I will be editing this for content and spelling and grammer. hey I can read didnt say I could write!