Anavar 10mg split BID - 1st cycle
I am on day 3 of 5mg AM and PM (10 mg/day), this is my first cycle. I will only be running it for 5 weeks, at which point I will be 2 weeks out of being possibly tested. Debating if I should give myself 3 weeks for it to clear, but also not sure if 4 weeks of var would be worth it, other than to see how sensitive I am to sides.
Lifting history of 4 years solid training, no history of AAS use. I am more interested in strength gains, and for this particular short cycle to keep scale weight down (weight class) and hopefully increase strength/recovery in the gym. Especially upper body, as I am still recovering from an old injury and old bench #'s still not reached. After these 5 weeks on/off, I will go on a longer cycle (depending on how this goes) while eating at a surplus.
Today was my first gym session since starting, but have not noticed any strength changes aside from those usually expected at this point in my training. Was hoping for, but not really expecting any increase this early on. Noticed as of yesterday and also today that I'm not as hungry as I usually am (srsly, I'm hungry even bulking on 3k+ cals), and today seemed to feel more "refreshed" in general and less DOMS.
I was cutting at 2400 cals from the mid-160s (5'6") from about Jan, hit 148 in April and pretty much maintained there for a month. Ate a whole lot just over a week ago with graduation celebrations, etc and while I'm mainly still holding water, know I put on probably 1-2lb of fat as well (I can eat TONS). I lose compliance when I'm close to goal, and need to buckle down and stay at or below 148, though I know with var I may hold more water and will take that into consideration and that I will drop some during my 2-3 weeks off.
Not sure about how to put pics in posts here, but I put some in my profile that I will probably take down soon. If the more experienced ladies can give input on what kind of short/long term progress I can get based on them, that would be cool.
April, 148lb, about 15.5% BF (collage and abs shot), and today, 159lb, holding water/bloat still and ??BF%
Thanks for reading, and any input appreciated 
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looks like the gals here have given you some good advice.. you can do a lot in 5 weeks depending on your training .. strength training looks quite a bit different than your "usual" body building or even power building will look like.. so gains made in five weeks on such a short cycle depend on A) training and B) caloric intake. Weight class issues may come into play here and to be honest isn't something I ve ever really worried about as mostly I worry about losing weight. You will have some water weight and bloat from the var.. it seems to be rather common with women even though anvar does not aromatize .. The best I ve been able to come up with, talking to other women, is that the endocrine system is trying to balance itself out and estrogen production rises with the introduction of androgens. that is merely theory since there aren't and won't be any studies to actually tell us .. ;-(
progress is going to be rather subjective and based on individual responses and issues. Given that the var is real, your training is such that you are not over training, and you are eating enough, you WILL see strength gains.
Thank you so very much for your reply! You made some good points about training and nutrition, which IMO are so important for strength gains regardless of added "help", but I'm sure with the hormonal changes really need to be dialed in for maximal effect over the cycle.
I've also heard that although technically var isn't supposed to lead to water retention, and I'm sure with the guys and lack of aromatizing that is one case...but us ladies have to make things more complicated of course with our delicate balance ;). I'm holding a bit of water still, but nothing too crazy (yet...). Won't worry too much about that as I'll have a few weeks to drop it after stopping var, and I've gotten to know how my body responds with water changes (and how to drop it if need be) over the years.
Pretty sure my var is good - from what my research tells me (of course taken with a grain of salt...) my source/lab seems legit and I also labmax tested it. Came up as anavar, but I realize that won't tell me if it's underdosed. However, I will say that not only has energy and recovery been good - my work capacity for the past two workouts has been astounding. As of today (day 6) I noticed a definite increase in strength over what I usually get with my natty ebbs/flows at this more advanced lifting age. Also more definition/hardness/vascularity, which is just icing ;)
Can't say again how much I appreciate you posting your thoughts on this. Thanks!
I just got done running my first var cycle. 10mg split 8 wks. I felt it about week 2-3. It's a little different with everyone and also the purity level of your gear. I loved it and can't wait to go for another cycle.
Grrl is awesome and super helpful she's kind of our lady leader here.
Welcome to the site! It's really supportive and I've only gotten better since joining. Good luck with making weight and your strength increases!
Thanks for the info on how your cycle went too! I'll see how it effects me going on, if anything it can be a bit of a learning experience. Well, I suppose even a long cycle will be a learning experience!
So far it's another day where my hunger is less than it typically is, alert and have nice energy, and recovery seems to be faster than it has been lately.
It will take me some time to get used to this forum layout, not used to these typed of threads/boards. But a ton of info here, thanks for the welcome and pleased to meet you!
Recovery time is amazing! I miss not being so sore post workout lol Sides weren't to bad cause my dose was so low. Sex drive peaked then crashed. My guy is in PCT so he didn't mind. I did lose my voice at concert and I'm thinking why it took weeks to recover is the var. Loss of appetite wasn't really an issue I really do t look forward to eating anymore it eat cause I have to at this point. But your natty disapline will take you far with your cycle before warned it's addicting lol
Welcome to the boards. I saw your photos, very impressive.
I would run it, that's actually exactly what I did with my first cycle. I felt it early with in a week. But you're in far better shape than I so it might take longer to feel stronger. And IronB is right Grrrl will have all the answers
Thanks for chiming in with your experience, and the welcome
I will probably stick with it for now unless Grrrl shows up and gives me an official strong lady "no no", lol.
I did it to try it out, wanted to know how I handled it before planning a longer cycle. Good luck
AnonI would hold off on the cycle, personally. It can take a couple weeks for the effects of anavar to be felt. You won't see any large changes in under that time, aside from a potential placebo effect. Why not hold off until you can run a full cycle (8 weeks +) so you can really see results and not waste it?
Thanks for the reply! As I am not particularly interesting in seeing mass or aesthetics changes for now, just strength increase during the next two months, would that still be a bad idea? Honestly, if I could put on even 5 pounds more in just one lift than what I would while training without, as well as be able to assess sides, I would be quite happy. From the few logs I have read, strength seems to go up relatively shortly - around a week or a little more in, and can be significant. But then again, I have not read a log of a woman who already has pretty high lifts before starting AAS so not sure if putting another 5 lb on a 315+ squat would be as feasible as one who currently squats under 135.
Are there other long-term downsides to running a short cycle other than little gains and possibly lost $$? As in, would this be shooting me in the foot for future cycles as long as I don't go high on dosage at this point? I definitely would like to run a longer mass+strength building cycle down the road.
ETA: I am not relying on var for losing bodyfat, for clarification. I have gone through multiple cut/bulk cycles without any "help" and am confident in my ability to change scale weight via diet. Though the potential to retain more lbm on a cut or recomp at maintenance, as well as maintain/increase strength above my natural potential (at least until I bulk again) is the main reason I wanted to run this short cycle before my next meet.
AnonKodiakgrrrl is going to be your go-to person. She is a beast & throws around pretty serious weight- and can give you better instructions on gear for strength purposes alone. I could spew a bunch of shit at you that I regurgitated from different sources but it would be a waste of both of our time, as i dont use for solely strength purposes. Im sure she will chime in here soon.
On another note, welcome! Great job on posting pics as well.. It def takes balls.
Haha, thanks! Yeah was a bit nervous about pics, but what the hey. You are rockin it yourself tho, and good luck with your upcoming show ;).
Thanks for the heads-up about Grrrl, I have read some of her stuff and yeah she seems like she knows her gear and strength info as well. If it really is pointless to run it this short, I'll surely bail. But if there can be some benefit without much downside aside from wasted $$, I might stick with it.