when i hear 'first timer' and 'prep cycle' in the same sentence 💉 'wait what did he say?' 'nah this can't be' 'oh he's serious' i strongly encourage any budding young competitive bodybuilder to make sure they compete at least once naturally, before they decide to embark on any sort of steroid dabbling. i've coached hundreds of people, probably thousands by this point, and I've seen many clients come and go, clients crumble under the pressure of a normal diet or improvement phase, let alone a prep. some of the most enthusiastic, thoroughbred bodybuilding fanatics will change their mind on the whole idea of competing in an instant. and that is absolutely fine, unless they've already caused themselves a nice amount of hormonal, cardiovascular, and cosmetic damage through the use of anabolics. that's why, it is our job as responsible coaches, who actually care for our clients' health and longevity, to advise on the smartest, safest and most risk averse possible route for them to take. AKA: the opposite of here you are mate take this cocktail of drugs for your first ever prep so you can (maybe) say you came first in a class you were the only one in... if you can complete the prep. coaches: take responsibility for your actions. clients: carefully consider that step to the so called dark side. for the vast majority, the juice will not be worth the squeeze. my recommendation is that you compete, and succeed in that competing, naturally first. there are plenty of great opportunities to do so 🙏🏼