+ 1 Is It Possible To Naturally Maintain Gains If You Only Run One Cycle Ever?
The title is a pretty good tl;dr here, but I'll give a bit more backstory. I am looking to do one cycle to bulk then try to keep whatever gains naturally, indefinitely. I don't really have a need to be super huge, I am no athlete. I'm scientist by trade and nature enthusiast when I am not working . I am in my 30's, recently started going back to the gym after 7-8 years off. I make it to the gym like 3 times a week, but I definitely don't love it like I bet most of you do. Even after doubling my calorie intake to 3200 and adding an extra day, I am just really not putting on any weight. It was much easier putting on weight in my youth.
I was planning on taking 10 week of 500mg Test E, and possibly 5 weeks of TBol to kickstart it, proper PCT at the end. Commit to 5-6 days of strength training + a day of cardio a week. 4000+ calories a day. Do this for a 180 days taking the gear at the beginning of it. Then slowly transitioning back into my 3 days a week. So my question to all you experience folks is it possibly to keep those gains? Is this a silly endeavor, and in order to keep your gains you need to keep doing cycles?
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jayisk" I am looking to do one cycle to bulk then try to keep whatever gains naturally, indefinitely."
Yes if your one cycle is for the rest of your life.
"I don't really have a need to be super huge"
Yeah dont need to worry about that. Cause you dont just wake up one morning jacked and huge.
You will keep all muslcles within your natural limit if you train/eat properly.
No it’s not possible. You will not look the same like you do on cycle. It’s impossible and your body doesn’t naturally produce test e and Tren or any other anabolic. Nor does it produce the high test levels that these anabolics cause. Will you keep the gains. You will keep some Gains. It all depends how you recover as well.
I was natural until two years ago. When I hit 40 I couldn’t even keep my natural gains. Guess I’m getting old. This is why I like the gear. Makes me feel and look younger. I’m happy.
In theory, yes it is. But in your case I wouldn't recommend it. At the absolute minimum you would have to diet and train hard enough to maintain the gains you put on during the cycle naturally.
Another huge problem here is that you won't gain anything other than water and possibly gyno while on cycle unless you know enough about diet and training to achieve your target goals naturally.
What you really need to do - and this is at a bare minimum- is naturally gain the amount of lean muscle mass you hope to gain on cycle to prove to yourself that you have the knowledge and determination to make real gains on cycle and maintain them after.
Then be sure you are comfortable of the risk of being infertile, with gyno and taking testosterone shots at least once a week for the rest of your life. Yes, that is a rather extreme case from one test cycle but it is extremely possible.
Point being, juice amplifies the results of good diet and training but it's as useless as injecting peanut oil without it.
BigCactus"Another huge problem here is that you won't gain anything other than water and possibly gyno while on cycle unless you know enough about diet and training to achieve your target goals naturally."
It has been proven that even without working out you will gain some muscle while on steroids.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199607043350101
Lol but lets not give him hope, those gains will be sub-optimal and he'll lose it all during his pct anyway haha.
Ok, so based on that study it's possible to gain a marginal amount of size and strength bu juicing and not training. It doesn't say shit about keeping any of it when you come off and have low test levels initially and assuming a full recovery maintaing any of it without superhuman test levels. What's the point in running gear if you don't maintain the gains post cycle?
BigCactusIt was a joke no need to downvote over a joke...
I'm going to quote what I said in my post:
"but lets not give him hope, those gains will be sub-optimal and he'll lose it all during his pct anyway"
Still, young /inexperienced/uneducated users reading posts like that are likely to take it to heart and make bad decisions based off of it. This is a safety first forum that is also big on education. Unless your posting about educating yourself on proper diet and training and mastering them prior to using gear and then continuing to practice them on and off cycle you don't need to be posting about it. Especially in the comment section of a post looking for a co-sign on a really bad idea that I am sure numerous young, inexperienced individual lurking on here are considering doing. That's why you got down voted. Doesn't matter if it was just a joke.
The ONLY part of your post that someone who really wants to do your will retain is...
"It has been proven that even without working out you will gain some muscle while on steroids."
We REALLY try to discourage that line of thought around here.
BigCactusYeah I understand what you mean, my bad.
It's all good bro. Your still new here and learning the ropes.
BigCactusDoublet the post
BigCactusIt's only possible if you start juicing before you hit your natural max. If you then reach your natural max it's possible to keep the gains you made. But anything above that will not be kept. It does require hard work a good diet and test level optimization (which would be the result of a good diet).
You don't love to lift!!
At 5'8 145 pounds you should probably try to make some natty gains first. Contrary to what a lot are saying keeping gains depends on a lot of factors. How much you gain, really good PCT. Even then you will only keep a percentage of the gains. It is impossible to keep it all.
An diet. Don't forget about the diet.
If he got massive while cycling he can keep most of the gains for around 6 months if the diet is correct. He won´t look 3D, he will look much softer, he wont look anywhere close as he did on cycle but he will still have the muscle tissue. Its like being in a hibernating mode.
I Also Think genetics would play a role . The bigger guys tend to hold on to alot more than a guy smaller to begin with . Myself being an example there
RustyhookerAgree ^^^^^^
Even after doubling my calorie intake to 3200 and adding an extra day,
3200 is not enough if youre killing it at the gym. Fast metabolism or poor foor choices. Considering a double cheeseburger meal is 3200 cals
I’ve been eating 2 cheeseburgers everyday for lunch
Yes it’s a silly endeavor.
No you won’t keep your gains.
Here’s the thing, your first cycle is basically you learning about side effects and how your body handles androgens and how to pin properly. IMO you shouldn’t expect much. Can you make crazy gains? Sure, compared to natty, but I wouldn’t expect you to really transform. I though I would and I was definitely disappointed. Steroids are not a one and done thing and the risk to your HPTA isn’t worth it.
Try posting a self pic, let’s see where you’re at.
your getting all kinds of good info spoon fed to you bro, and to answer your question in my opinion no you will not keep the gains .
AnonDefinitely don't do the tbol..
1. Go to doc and get blood work done, check your hormone levels. If your natural testosterone levels have dropped it will be harder to lose fat and gain muscle. Also, after your PCT if your natural testosterone was on the low side of normal, you won't hold much extra muscle after you cycled.
2. You took 7-8 years off? Are you planning on working out and watching your diet forever now? It seems to be a back burner issue.
3. 100% do not need steroids to see amazing gains for the first year back to an immaculate diet and lifting routine. You'll grow great if your natural hormone levels are in the healthy range. Adding steroids to speed up the process is tempting, and youthfully stupid lol. Steroids help your body recover after you exercise, if you don't have a good pattern down, you're simply stressing your already aging hpta. Steroids take your training to the NEXT level, after you've established a decent base.
Great post +2
I'd be willing to bet if you did that training regiment and added boku good calories you would see the change you're looking for and would be more likely to keep it long term. If after you do this your still looking to gain then talk about running gear.
Hey! What’s up buddy. Long time no see
Living the dream bro. I've been around, lurking in the shadows. Just haven't had much to say
If you don’t love being in gym there’s no need to do a cycle
If I don’t like it I don’t do period
Let’s go back to your post
I would start with blood test
If you have training before and now going back to training there’s something called muscle memory that will speed things up
To keep most of your gain from the cycle
1- you have to be in good body before starting the cycle
2- depends on how you’re training and dieting
My advice to you don’t do a cycle and follow a good diet and training and at least train 5 times a week
Good luck to you
X 2 I don't love her but I'm going to marry her anyway!!
Hahahahaha I know right lmao
Or just try 4000+ calories per day and hitting the gym 5 days a week and see how that goes.
LooplokI know the general sentiment here and other bodybuilding forms is to hit your natural plateau before ever taking steroids. Then use them to push past that plateau. But we have different goals, I don't want to push past my plateau, just want to get there quicker and stay there. Steroids will help me achieve that goal right? If every thing equal I am going to gain faster on a cycle right?
And here's my logic, maybe its dumb, I don't know. I've been using illicit drugs for years. I wasted a lot of my teens and early 20s irresponsibly doing hard drugs. Then I grew up and got a real job, but still did softer drugs responsibly. I still do empathogens and psychedelics from time to time. So if I am willing to do drugs for fun, why not to achieve a goal and better myself. It seems like a lot more noble of a reason to be doing drugs.
Hate to break it to ya but your genetics might Fuck you over ass is not magic and takes years of sacrifce and dedication you need a base to build on other wise youll maybe look Good for say a month or 2 after cycle stops and Then youll be back to square one having wasted Money and time
I dunno man I think I might have to disagree there. I’ve done some pretty stupid shit for ass. Magic is the only logical explanation.
Lol
AnonOmg the utter laziness you just spewed out here is fucking disgusting.
LooplokWe live very different lives my friend and have different priorities. If there were more hours in the day I'd gladly spend them in the gym.
I'm going to do something I don't often do. I'm going to help you find more time to get to the gym... maybe rethink your priorities.
Lol I see what you did there.
Anyone who says they don’t have time is just prioritizing differently. We all got 24 hrs.
AnonDo you know where you are right now? The people in here that are serious about this stuff utilize something called discipline. Eating food when you're not hungry, pushing your body to do painful exercises even when you're sore and tired. I spend 200 a week on groceries..A fucking week! I miss dinners with friends, hanging out with my family, hunting, all of these sacrifices to try and force my body to do something it absolutely does not want to do, because I want the rewards. I don't have a quit button, you are a walking quit button.
200 a week on groceries. 50$ max a month on gear.
Boatloads of discipline, hours of research and a passion for achieving the goals I set.
Do you see how unimportant the steroids are? You get big from hard, consistent work and dedication.
If you run a cycle you will gain some weight, sure. But it's going to be gone just as fast as you put it on.
To sum it all up and answer your question, yes, it's a bad idea.
bbbbbbut rooooooooids
You can keep a lot of muscle tissue but you wont look as full as being on. Also you will probably lose some tissue and strength but if you truly do an amazing pct, keep up the diet perfectly, continue to train intensely every session, and get great sleep then yeah probably. That's if you keep up with the training and diet to an expert level. Also odds are you'll probably wanna jump back on cause you'll miss it.