1042Avery's picture
1042Avery
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Does your diet change when you go on/off a cycle?

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I'm wondering if your diet and training change when going on and going off of a cycle. For instance, do you increase or decrease calories when you start or end a cycle? What about exercise intensity? I've heard of increasing duration and intensity when going on and decreasing it when coming off. What's your take? What do you find best for making and keeping gains?

johnmarshall12's picture

It's an individual thing based on you age, goals etc. After cycle I usually cut carb calories a bit, but maintain protein intake.

1042Avery's picture

Damn guys! Exactly the type on info I was looking for, thanks heaps. Appreciate the link Iron game.

Makwa's picture

From a bulking perspective my cals increase when on cycle compared to when I am bulking off cycle. They are still above maintenance obviously but you can get away with higher cals when on-cycle due to the increased nutrient partitioning and the greater assimilative capacity you have with AAS. I use my cyclic bulking approach whether on or off cycle and bulking. On cycle my cals will start at 500 above TDEE and increase by 250 cals each week and when off cycle I bulk starting at 250 cals above TDEE keep the weekly increases at 250 cals.

Training as far as volume and intensity in the gym stay the same. The only difference is I have to take an extra day or two off because recuperative ability isn't the same compared to when on cycle. On cycle it is 7 days/wk in the gym. Off cycle it is 5-6 days in the gym.

I don't really cut off cycle.

Fangsharp's picture

Good info here. Been reading and searching for diet approach post PCT. Thx.

irongame427's picture

I try and start my diet for my cycle about two weeks before to make sure its sufficent in calories to make gains so i dont get stuck figuring out my diet and wasting time the first few weeks on cycle. So my calories will be much higher then when im on then when im off. Im pumping large amounts of hormones into my body that allows a great percentage of those nutrients to go towards muscle tissue opposed to fat. Off cycle If I was eating 1000+ calories over maintience I would get fat as hell, my calories will drop but not right away. They will stay high for a month after the cycle and then i will slowly start decreasing them to the point where im 300-500 over maintence. So im still in a surplus to make sure i hold that muscle and continue to make slow progress just not a massive 1000-1500 calorie surplus. As for training my intensity will not change, but the number of sets and exercises I do will decrease off cycle due to the much lower recovery capacity. On cycle ill hit chest with 20+ sets, off cycle ill keep it between 12-16, and depending on the type of split ive been doing i might add an extra rest day. It just depends, i go off how my body feels, I push it as far as it will go but when i push it to far I stop making progress. But when youre on you want to push it all to the max, training, protein, total cals, flood your body with good food and train like a madman and youll do great. Heres a good write up on how to keep everything you gained. https://www.eroids.com/forum/steroids-qa/pct-anti-estrogens/how-to-succe...

Drock_357's picture

Thanx for posting the link sir!.....definatly a few points I'll b changing during the "off" time...thanx again

Makwa's picture

Good info on how to go about it during PCT to help maintain gains. To many people jump right into a cut immediately after cycle which is probably one of the worst things they can do.