Cycling age

snake

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Depends on situation. Take a 20 yr old kid with potential to be a real elite lifter, and he wants it. And he does't want to be a USAPL or IPF guy - show him what's up. Why is he going to wait until he's 30? Makes no sense.

There's nothing wrong with competing natty. I personally have no regrets for my time in the USAPL. As for waiting until your 30, it does make some sense to me. You have years of training behind you and 5 good years ahead of you. There's a reason Masters division doesn't start until 40, guys in their 30's are that good.

A 20 year old comes here and wants to run a first cycle.....

I would give any 20 y.o. the same advise I'd I given my own sons. Here's what I know, here's what I don't know and they would need to decide for themselves. But to answer the question, I would advise against it at 20 y.o.

We should ask everyone about training experience, how consistent they’ve been and diet. Also goals. Maybe they don’t need aas maybe they do.

I have had these discussion with young men before. I ask what their goal is by doing their first cycle.

1. "I want to bench 300" No one needs AAS to bench 300 at say 200 lbs; you need time.
2. "I want to look like you" Yeah, they need to set their sights higher but I hear that a lot. They are not going to find lightning in a vial. Again they need time and there's just not enough in the few years of their training. Hell even if they start at 15, their damn balls haven't even dropped.
3. "I'm at a plateau" They have no idea what a plateau even is and that alone shows a lack of experience.
 

Bro Bundy

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For me personally i feel 20 is still too young but if his goals is to be a top dog and compete in the highest level then its his choice , at 20 my pp was on fire i can imagine my test was threw the roof, for me i didnt start till i was 30ish, and i dont regret it but to each its own.
why ? what is to young about 20
 

Bro Bundy

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this is the new era at SI..The big dose younger age era! Lets get it
 

automatondan

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I am tired, but my vote is Zilla's post get made a stickie.

I personally do not like the first study he posted because there is not much control/knowledge of what happens to the young men treated with high doses of AAS after the clinical time has ended... Did they all look like Snake or Seek when they got retested 20 years later...??? We don't know. They could have become nobody's with dad-bods, or they could have become obessed like many of us and gone down the same road that we have (once they tasted greatness).

That being said, the rest of the data Zilla posted all agrees (even so more convincingly) that juicing too early is a bad idea. On a big level.
 
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Help me understand why you SHOULD be juicing at 20 (other than you’re an elite)? Your body is making all the test in the world, you are naturally primed to build muscle. At 20 the odds of you having years in the gym is low, having real knowledge is low and you risk dicking up your natural production for the rest of your life. Again, for what?

That being said, do what you want. You can’t tell most 20 year olds shit anyway (can’t tell me shit and I’m twice that age) and they’re gonna do what they’re gonna do.
 
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PillarofBalance

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Is this someone who should be getting on steroids?

He is 18


GWrTeao.jpg
 

DieYoungStrong

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Do basketball players even take PEDs? You never hear of them getting popped.

NBA is pretty loose with testing. The whole league smokes weed so they don't want to be losing guys.

If I had to guess, they'd take stuff like adderall to stay focused. Adderall is huge in all the big 4 pro sports. It's like 2019's ripped fuel and ultimate orange haha.
 

Jin

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Is this someone who should be getting on steroids?

He is 18


GWrTeao.jpg

He didn’t even start bodybuilding until he was 23. You can start steroids at a reasonable age and still win the Olympia:)

unless he started juicing before he started bodybuilding
 

PillarofBalance

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He didn’t even start bodybuilding until he was 23. You can start steroids at a reasonable age and still win the Olympia:)

unless he started juicing before he started bodybuilding

I brought it up because of this idea that you can "see" genetic potential. Nobody thought this dood would be Mr. O.

So everyone is cool with making exceptions for future ifbb pro bodybuilders. But how do you know when someone is a future ifbb pro?
 

Jin

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I brought it up because of this idea that you can "see" genetic potential. Nobody thought this dood would be Mr. O.

So everyone is cool with making exceptions for future ifbb pro bodybuilders. But how do you know when someone is a future ifbb pro?


Great point!
 
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I brought it up because of this idea that you can "see" genetic potential. Nobody thought this dood would be Mr. O.

So everyone is cool with making exceptions for future ifbb pro bodybuilders. But how do you know when someone is a future ifbb pro?
Well wouldn’t he be a great example as to why you don’t need to be juicing at 20?
 

HollyWoodCole

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I brought it up because of this idea that you can "see" genetic potential. Nobody thought this dood would be Mr. O.

So everyone is cool with making exceptions for future ifbb pro bodybuilders. But how do you know when someone is a future ifbb pro?
A very good point Pillar.

Who among us is qualified to decide who is elite and destined for "greatness"? It's far easier to have a simple age defined policy set where we don't even engage at a certain level. Maybe one day we would figure out we turned down helping a future Mr. O. Doubtful. The greater probability lies with us not helping many young men do something reckless.
 

DieYoungStrong

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This is why I just don't say anything when young, dumb bucks come through.

Most of us were young and dumb at some point. Not everyone goes through their whole life as a true Renaissance Man like Snake haha.

If I came to this board as it is now when I started, everyone would have told me to wait a few more years and yada, yada, yada. Well I didn't, and I had a goal, and nothing anyone said was going to stop me anyways. Could I have gotten where I wanted at that time without drugs - most likely. Do I have any regret about it - not really.

So that is why I just don't say anything. They will figure it out. And its just my opinion, but some kid who runs a couple test and oral cycles and decides to stop....will come out on the other end just fine 90% of the time.

I was on for like 5 years of 8 weeks on and 8 weeks off, and then took about a 5 yr break. And was fine. When I went back on around age 30 - that's when it caught me and I couldn't recover. Needed trt after my 2nd cycle back in the game. And I was running tren, deca and all the bad stuff in my early 20s, and my first 2 cycles back in the game where test and var and then test and dbol.
 

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