If you are already ok w/ the general androgenic sides that are inevitable w/ any steroid, and it sounds like you also have a solid history and very consistent regimen already in place, and further you are want to compete, but want to prepare in terms of your 'off season' before worrying about an actual prep cycle, I feel like you are a good candidate to be looking at the next step. IMO all of these are critical before you start playing around w/ male hormones - basically already have the established habit, history and discipline of balls-to-the-wall training, and also have reasonable expectations in terms of timeframe and goals before looking to jump onstage. (For many people the goal is "what do I need to take to get onstage in 3 months? I just started training.". This is the person who needs to NOT even think about steroids, much less consider using them any time in the next 3 years.)
So if your goal is hypertrophy right now, I'd recommend the test prop. It is a short-acting ester and the only flavor of testosterone I'd ever suggest for a woman. The value of a short-acting ester is that it clears your system quickly. For women especially this means the aromatization (water retention) is much lower, and the estrogen contribution from aromatization is much lower in general. Also the shorter time the compound stays resident in your system, the less pronounced the sides are. And when we say "sides", we're not just talking about the physical things like acne, hair loss, etc, but also increased blood pressure and lipids, etc. There is a cost to extended use of steroids that people forget about because they aren't the usual androgenic things we think of.
A cycle I'd suggest would be 25-35 mg Prop E3D. Easy to run this for 8-10 weeks. I would run this for 3-4 weeks and see how you feel if you want to add more. You can think in terms of a regular cycle of injectable for women generally runs around 100-150 mg / week. More isn't better but rather finding the sweet spot for the compound you're using with your particular body chemistry.
As Shan mentioned, as a first-timer you don't really want to start stacking stuff that you've never used before so you can get familiar w/ how your body handles each individual compound. For ex, if you were stacking prop + win and then experienced the cysts like one of the posts above, how would you know which compound caused it? You'd have to stop both to know if either was the cause, and still wait for both or either to clear your system. (Ref: steroid detection time for each compound to know how long it can potentially be in your system causing issues - particularly for injectables, this can be several weeks to months).
When you are looking at what compound to use - always start w/ your goals, and then look at the nature of each compound. (*And of course, your degree of risk aversion in terms of the sides you are willing to accept.) For hypertrophy, Test Prop is nice because it retains a little water - water is actually a good environment for muscle growth - so a good option. It is short-acting, so regardless of everything else, if you experience bad sides, you can stop and it will clear in a reasonable amount of time, and since it is a short-acting ester, lower side occurrence in general. And because you aren't on a tight schedule into a show date, you're less concerned about the androgenic and more concerned w/ the anabolic effects (i.e .you want to grow primarily , not lean out to show level), and again, the concern for water retention, etc. is less.
With Winstrol - it is significantly more androgenic in terms of focus on leaning out versus hypertrophy. It actually has an anti-estrogenic effect that would help w/ water retention and promoting lean muscle mass over bodyfat, but also will dry out your joints. If you're looking to increase your lifts, the dry joint effect could actually produce greater chance for injury in terms of tendency to drop form if your elbows or wrists start to hurt more on curls, etc. Great opportunity to start developing tendonitis. (And that shit never really leaves once you get it!) If you were looking to dial into a competition, I might suggest prop for the 20-6/8 weeks out and then switch over to winstrol to dial into your show date. But for your stated purposes, I'd go w/ the prop.
And just a side note, if you're interested in running a particular cycle - look at your goals and what will best get you there versus what is available. Frequently women find themselves w/ access to the stuff their bf/so/hubby/ guy they know has left over from their cycle and wonder what they can do with it. MUCH better to get what you need, versus run a cycle just because you have access to something.
And a few notes on supporting stuff to run w/ this cycle:
- acidophilus - helps w/ any cycle or use of an anti-estrogen (e.g. nolvadex or aromasin / arimidex / letrozole) - they all can screw w/ the balance of vaginal bacteria and promote yeast infections.
- Nizoral shampoo - if you experience any hairloss (prop is not particularly harsh on hair so probably not an issue, but just in case), and also works great as a bodywash if you start to experience hormonal acne.
- you don't need an aromatase inhibitor - i.e. if a guy suggests aromasin / arimidex / letrozole or an OTC aromatase inhibitor - to deal w/ any water retention - you really don't need it. These work the same as winstrol does in terms of drying out everything including your joints - again not something you want if you plan to lift heavier. The AIs most guys use are brutal to women's estrogen levels and could produce some early menopause type sides as well. Its just not necessary - part of what you accept when you decide to run a cycle is the sides that come with it - e.g. water retention - particularly if it helps you get to your goal - as mentioned above - well-lubed joints and more water in the muscle helps grow more muscle (yes you do need estrogen to build muscle!). Inhibiting estrogen will impact any hypertrophy as well as cause more extensive issues as women are supposed to have estrogen in their systems! The only time I'd even remotely suggest an AI is if you were dialing into a show, and even then, for a very short period of time, and then expect a rebound of sorts as your body works to re-establish its natural levels (homeostasis).
give it a bit, a lot of smart girls here who have real world experience to answer your questions.
