+ 2 Rookie Mistake - Importance of Off Cycle Training
40yrs old, 200 lbs, 5'10"
I did a lot of reading on this forum before I even created my account. With all the info I found here, I felt confident enough to safely start my first cycle ever.
Part of the reason I started thinking about gear is because I plateaued at the gym. I'm an ectomorph & gains are hard to come by for me. For example, I went from 191lbs to 200lbs in over a year of consistently working out 5 days/wks & eating healthy. I wasn't making any gains in weight, muscularity, or strength.
After plenty of consideration, last fall, I started the following cycle:
1-4 test p 100mg eod
1-12 test e 300mg/wk
4-pct ai
11-15 test p 100mg eod
16-19 clomid 100/100/50/50
16-19 nolvadex 40/40/20/20
I was consistently working out 5 days with 1 day off every week and went up to 4000 cal per day (had difficulty with this diet). I started my cycle in Sept and ended mid Dec.
At the end of my cycle, I weighed 215lbs, made strength gains in my all my lifts, and got lots of compliments on my new body.
Truth be told, when I started my pct, I slacked off on my training...plus, the holidays didn't help. I took 2 weeks off from the gym. I also switched jobs. I now have 10 times more work and work longer hours. The stress has gone up. Thus, my training has suffered since January.
Needless to say, by now, I have lost most of my gains. Currently, I am 205. Have lost inches from my biceps, chest, etc.
NOT TRAINING WHEN YOU'RE OFF GEAR IS SUCH A ROOKIE MISTAKE!
I know better. Yet, didn't stick with it. I can blame it on mentally not wanting to train once my pct started, or that my body needed a rest, or Christmas, or my new job, or a bunch of other BS excuses...but bottom line, I busted my ass to break my plateaus, spent hard earned cash on quality gear, and then lost most of my gains (and $) by dropping the ball afterwards.
DON'T REPEAT THIS MISTAKE.
I'm happy to say that I'm back on that horse...back to training daily. Going to focus on the my weak areas...rotator cuffs, lower back, legs, etc.
My 2nd cycle is set to start mid March.
I'm sticking to the cycle on+pct = time off schedule.
Stay safe, keep lifting, and you are guaranteed to reach your goals.
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Interestingly enough I always take a week off after I finish my cycle... I keep the diet going though, just take a week off from the gym. I've never felt that my gains were held better when I didn't take a week off v. when I did. Granted, I end up increasing my caloric intake post cycle by a few hundred extra calories to help keep some of the gains, and once that week is up, gym-ethic wise it's back to business as usual. I am curious as to whether other people follow a similar protocol and what their experiences with it are, similar to OPs or similar to mine?
The only time I take off is when I go on a vacation. To make up for that week off or however long I'll be gone for, I will basically overtrain for the preceeding week or two and then use that week off to recuperate. I don't seem to miss a beat doing it that way.
On my first ever cycle I remember when I finished saying to the guy that set it up for me that I'd lost motivation and couldn't be bothered to train as hard for a couple of weeks. He told me plain and simply that this is "what sorts the men out from the boys", the ability to give more in the gym and work harder on your diet when you're "off" than even when you're "on". That's 14 years ago and I still follow the same methodology now. I believe it's the main reason I hold onto my gains better than most I see.
That is great advice. I will make sure to follow it.
Good reminder for everyone. For me this is my lifestyle. I live it and breathe it every single day whether I am on cycle or off so I am continually making gains even off cycle (albeit not as much) but I am still making significant progress. It just comes natural afterwhile. Many people like yourself seem to learn the hardway that the work and dieting doesn't stop after your cycle. Hopefully your example here will sink in for alot of people. It just doesn't make any sense to me why people become less committed after their cycle. I call them yo-yo's. They puff up for three months and then a month later they look like their old self. Why put your body through that if you are not going to follow up and maintain it. So I think the moral of your story here is don't become a YO-YO. Thanks for sharing
+2
You nailed it. Don't become a YO-YO is exactly why I wrote this. Thanks.