23 y/o Combat Sports + Gym Athlete – 16-Week Test E + Drosta Cycle + 8-Week PCT (Bloodwork + Pics Every 4–6 Weeks)

[MLX]

1. Starting Stats​

Age: 23
Height: 184 cm
Weight before cycle: 82 kg
Body fat: 9.5%
Lean body mass: ~44 kg

Sports background:

• Combat sports: 5×/week (90 min, high intensity, sparring, conditioning)
• Gym: 5×/week (60–90 min, mornings, push/pull/legs rotation)

Goal:

Lean mass gain / recomp — maximize muscle while keeping fat low, achieve a harder, drier look in the final phase.

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2. PEDs Protocol​

Total Duration: 16-week cycle + 8-week PCT

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Frontload Phase – Week 1 (for instant steady levels)

• Test-E: 85 mg every 48h (~298 mg/week)
• Test-P:
  • Day 1: 50 mg
  • Day 3: 50 mg
  • Day 5: 25 mg
  • Day 7: 25 mg
• HCG: 250 IU every 3 days (Mon/Thu/Sun)
• AI: Exemestane 12.5 mg EOD only if symptoms occur

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Weeks 2–9

• Test-E: 85 mg every 48h (~298 mg/week)
• HCG: 250 IU every 3 days
• AI: Exemestane 12.5 mg EOD if needed

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Weeks 10–16 (Hardening Phase)

• Test-E: 85 mg every 48h (~298 mg/week)
• Drosta-E: 85 mg every 48h (~298 mg/week) — mixed with Test-E in same syringe
• HCG: 250 IU every 3 days
• AI: Exemestane 12.5 mg EOD if needed

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Weeks 17–24 – PCT (8 weeks)

• HGH: 1.5 IU ED (morning, empty stomach)
• Enclomiphene:
  • Weeks 17–18: 25 mg ED
  • Weeks 19–24: 12.5 mg ED
• Tamoxifen:
  • Weeks 17–20: 20 mg ED
  • Weeks 21–24: 10 mg ED
• No HCG during PCT
• AI: Exemestane only if estrogen symptoms occur

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3. Bloodwork Plan​

Pre-cycle: Done 1 month ago — all values perfect
During cycle: Every 4–6 weeks (Test, E2, lipids, liver, kidney, hematocrit)
Post-PCT: Full panel 4–6 weeks after completing PCT

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4. Training & Nutrition​

Training:

• Combat sports: 5×/week (90 min, high intensity, sparring, conditioning)
• Gym: 5×/week (60–90 min, mornings, push/pull/legs rotation, progressive overload)
• Cardio: Built into combat sports sessions

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Nutrition Targets:

🍽 Calories: 3,500–4,000 kcal/day
Protein: 220–250 g/day (split into 4–5 meals, every ~4 h; ~40–60 g per meal)
Fat: ~100 g/day
Carbs: remainder = ~400–550 g/day (adjust to training load)

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Macro math:

• 3,500 kcal with 220–250 g protein + 100 g fat → ~400–430 g carbs
• 4,000 kcal with 220–250 g protein + 100 g fat → ~525–555 g carbs

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Carb Timing:

Morning: Small carb portions, focus on micronutrients/fiber, moderate fat
Pre-workout (≈2 h before): ≥100 g carbs, low fat, 30–40 g protein
Post-workout (30–60 min): 50–100 g fast carbs + 30–40 g protein
Fast carb examples: Rice cakes + honey, white bread + jam, cream of rice, jasmine rice, pasta, bagel + honey, cornflakes + low-fat milk, honey toast

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Fat Timing:

Keep fats ≤15 g in pre- and post-workout meals for faster digestion & carb absorption.

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Example Day:

• Meal 1: Eggs/egg whites + fruit + bread (40–60 g carbs, 40–50 g protein, 15–20 g fat)
• Meal 2 (pre-workout): Cream of rice + chicken (≥100 g carbs, low fat)
• Post-workout snack: Rice cakes + honey + whey (50–100 g carbs, 30–40 g protein)
• Meal 3: Pasta or rice + lean meat/fish + veggies (80–120 g carbs, 40–50 g protein, 10–15 g fat)
• Meal 4/5: Balance remaining macros, add veggies & healthy fats to reach ~100 g fat total

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5. Support Supplements​

Daily stack for health & performance

Supplement	Dose	Timing	Purpose
NAC	600 mg	Morning, empty stomach	Liver health, antioxidant
TUDCA	500 mg	Evening	Liver support
Citrus Bergamot	1,000 mg	Midday	Lipid profile
Fish Oil (EPA/DHA)	3 g total	Split meals	Heart & lipids
Vitamin D3 + K2	5,000 IU + 200 µg	Breakfast	Hormones, bone health
Magnesium	400 mg	Evening with carbs	Sleep, muscle function
Zinc	30 mg	Evening	Testosterone, immune
Bor	6 mg	Breakfast	Free testosterone
CoQ10	200 mg	With fatty meal	Heart health
Ashwagandha	600 mg	Evening	Cortisol↓, sleep
Creatine	5 g	Around training	Strength, ATP regeneration
Astragalus	500 mg	Morning	Kidney health, immunity
Curcumin	1–2 g	Midday	Anti-inflammatory
Calcium + Zinc	As per label	With meals	Bone & immune health

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6. Progress & Notes​

Updates: I’ll post every 1–2 weeks with weight, pics, and bloodwork.
Goal: Make this a clear, evidence-based reference for similar cycles.

 

[MLX]

Pre-Cycle Bloodwork – July 2025​

 

[SalvatoreCorvus]

Fuck.

That's a fucking solid log cycle !
Everything is well organized, readable and clear. I love it

Your blood is good.
Support supplement also

Just be careful with frontload. It can play tricks on you. For the e2 in particular.
And we don't normally take any AI without blood tests. Because identifying symptoms is sometimes false signals or it's too late.
If you feel something, bloodwork for the e2 and prolactin. And THEN you choose the dose of AI if necessary

 

[dr. Doping]

2. PEDs Protocol​

Total Duration: 16-week cycle + 8-week PCT
Frontload Phase – Week 1 (for instant steady levels)

• Test-E: 85 mg every 48h (~298 mg/week)
• Test-P:
  • Day 1: 50 mg
  • Day 3: 50 mg
  • Day 5: 25 mg
  • Day 7: 25 mg
• HCG: 250 IU every 3 days (Mon/Thu/Sun)
• AI: Exemestane 12.5 mg EOD only if symptoms occur

I think the frontload protocol like this is a mistake. It takes around 4 to 5 half lives of a drug to reach steady concentrations, in the case of test E with its half life of 4.5 days, the time until saturation (or flushing out of the system) is 18 to 22.5 days (about 3 weeks). Test P has a half life of 0.8 days and you plan on injecting it every other day. The test from test P would flush out of your system before test E even saturates. Also, according to dr. Todd Lee, you should not frontload anything aromatisable, because it will spike your estradiol too much. A simple graph on steroidplotter.com with test P at 50mg EOD for the first week and test E at 85mg EOD until the end og the cycle shows exactly what I mean.

If you want, I can now also make you a “Week 0” intro teaser using this bubble-heavy style to post right before you start —
so the thread gains followers from day one.
Do you want me to do that next?

HAHAHAHA (not meant as an attack, I just find it very funny when anyone forgets to remove chatGPTs additional notes after the answer to their prompt). In all seriousness, please don't use the bubbles, I can't quote what you write.

As for the supps (I can't quote because of the bubble), check if you even need TUDCA. I've found with myself and my clients 500-2000mg of NAC to be sufficient and I've heard TUDCA, when not needed, can cause more problems. I have not been able to dive into whether this is true though. As for the lipids, if citrus bergamot isn't enough, look into red yeast rice extract (with monacolin K), because it's a statin and it lowers cholesterol, LDL and raises HDL. Combine it with ezetimibe if you need even stronger effect. And when you do your next bloodwork, check your vitamin D levels. Go off bloodwork when determining the dose for supplementation.

As for the bloodwork: you blood glucose (I assume you did it fasted) is quite high for someone not using anything GH related. HbA1c also confirms this, I'd not suspect a 5.5 reading on a natural with no predispositions for diabetes. Your fasted insulin is fine though. Your IGF1 and CRP are very good. The only other things to note are that you are borderline vitamin D deficient and that you already have relatively high estradiol with 721 ng/dl testosterone levels, so you will very likely need to use something to control your aromatase.

Measure your blood pressure. That's the only other thing I can think of.

Big props for being comprehensive with bloodwork, supps and everything else.

 

[Alvin]

Very Accurate , informative post. @MLX

 

[MLX]

I think the frontload protocol like this is a mistake. It takes around 4 to 5 half lives of a drug to reach steady concentrations, in the case of test E with its half life of 4.5 days, the time until saturation (or flushing out of the system) is 18 to 22.5 days (about 3 weeks). Test P has a half life of 0.8 days and you plan on injecting it every other day. The test from test P would flush out of your system before test E even saturates. Also, according to dr. Todd Lee, you should not frontload anything aromatisable, because it will spike your estradiol too much. A simple graph on steroidplotter.com with test P at 50mg EOD for the first week and test E at 85mg EOD until the end og the cycle shows exactly what I mean.
View attachment 1190



HAHAHAHA (not meant as an attack, I just find it very funny when anyone forgets to remove chatGPTs additional notes after the answer to their prompt). In all seriousness, please don't use the bubbles, I can't quote what you write.

As for the supps (I can't quote because of the bubble), check if you even need TUDCA. I've found with myself and my clients 500-2000mg of NAC to be sufficient and I've heard TUDCA, when not needed, can cause more problems. I have not been able to dive into whether this is true though. As for the lipids, if citrus bergamot isn't enough, look into red yeast rice extract (with monacolin K), because it's a statin and it lowers cholesterol, LDL and raises HDL. Combine it with ezetimibe if you need even stronger effect. And when you do your next bloodwork, check your vitamin D levels. Go off bloodwork when determining the dose for supplementation.

As for the bloodwork: you blood glucose (I assume you did it fasted) is quite high for someone not using anything GH related. HbA1c also confirms this, I'd not suspect a 5.5 reading on a natural with no predispositions for diabetes. Your fasted insulin is fine though. Your IGF1 and CRP are very good. The only other things to note are that you are borderline vitamin D deficient and that you already have relatively high estradiol with 721 ng/dl testosterone levels, so you will very likely need to use something to control your aromatase.

Measure your blood pressure. That's the only other thing I can think of.

Big props for being comprehensive with bloodwork, supps and everything else.

Yes, I always use ChatGPT for summarizing. In the last 5–6 months, I’ve created 5–6 documents every day about cycles, products, supplements, etc., and ChatGPT has been a huge help in summarizing everything.

About the glucose the night before that blood test I had two pizzas around 11 PM, then tested at 10–11 AM, which gave the 101 result. A colleague lent me a glucose meter and I checked several times afterwards in a truly fasted state — always in the 80–90 mg/dL range. So it was just that one meal before the test, nothing abnormal.

 

[MLX]

Very Accurate , informative post. @MLX

thank i still need to find the perfect layout to make it easy to read and perfect it (to just make it better)