posted Sat, 09/30/2023 - 14:26
1793
How long between cycles for those that cruise
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For those that cruise or are on TRT, how long of time off is typically recommended between cycles assuming bloodwork comes back ok?
I am planning a test/HGH bulk cycle this winter followed by a 20 week test/primo/var cycle going into the summer. If bloodwork and lipids all look good as there any reason not to just take 2-3 weeks between? Is time on=time off just for those worried about pct for retaining natural test production?
Sorry if this is a noob question, most of the info and books I read are just a lot of speculation around this or the advice is structured around pct. Thanks!
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2-3 weeks is not nearly long enough. It will take that long just for the drugs to clear so you are still technically running a cycle during those weeks while the drugs are still elevated and clearing. Normal bloodwork is one key, but another thing you have to consider is myostatin. This is basically what prevents your body from growing additional muscle. It is your body's natural defense mechanism from getting to big to quickly. Studies have shown that myostatin levels take about 8 wks to go back down to normal after running a cycle. I give my cycles at least 2months in between so that I am not fighting myostatin and can actually build some muscle next cycle instead of just gaining weight from glycogen loading.
Thank you, I was looking for the science behind the wait time. Is there a good comprehensive book to read about these kinds of things for better cycle planning. I feel like you don’t know what you don’t know and I would rather not learn by wasting cycles missing things like this.
I have not run across any comprehensive books about cycling. Just experience and talking with others that have been there and done that and finding the occasional PubMed journal that seems to kind of back things up from what we were all experiencing. Unfortunately, what you hear on most of the internet is complete bull shit and just others parroting what they have heard from others that were parroting what they heard from others and so on. You hear the wrong info from enough people and eventually people take it as gospel because it seems like everyone is saying it so it has to be true, right
Be careful who you listen to on the net. You probably have the best resource right here on eroids.
Something I think about is “how harsh was the previous cycle” like if it was sub 1g of gear total I believe the recovery from that could be better 1-2 months (depending on what you were running). Pros take 3-6 months off after their contest prep cycles. I think if someone is running a light cycle sub 750mgs of total compounds it would not be unheard of to take 4 weeks off get bloods see if things are back to normal and rock on to the next cycle.
I used to take a good bit of time off between cycles. The last cycle I ran though was 10 months and by about month 8 I think my body was fighting back. Diet was still on point sleep was good but I started looking worse and gaining weight but not muscle. It was either bloat or fat. Dropped all drugs the beginning of August just to clear everything out and promised I would take 2 months off. Dropped 8 lbs within about 3 weeks so I'm sure the weigh gain was bloat but now.i feel great and ready to start up again. Also being on cycle seemed to hide alot of small injuries. When I quit and they all cleared I started noticing alot of nagging pain and soreness.
I didn’t think about it hiding small injuries. 10 months is a long cycle, what were you running?
Main key here is bloodwork. Obviously if it’s off then the smart thing to do is wait until you get things back in range. If everything is good then in my opinion 6-8 weeks is sensible. I don’t pretend to be an expert though I’m just a guy who loves the lifestyle