Post-Cycle Therapy
What is the essence of "post-cycle therapy"? Even better to formulate this question as follows: what needs to be done to properly recover after the "cycle"? Again: not only AAS, but also other hormonal agents used by fitness enthusiasts. In fact, there are two tasks:
- restore the level of the hormone analogs that you used during the "cycle" (most often this is testosterone);
- prevent the "crash" - that is, a sharp decline in muscle mass, endurance - including strength endurance, and strength indicators.
Thus, by PCT we understand the complete restoration of the "hormonal background", but in a way that does not nullify our achievements gained from the "cycle".
I will immediately say that if your "achievements" were mainly based on water retention, it will be impossible to maintain them.
However, with the activity of cortisol, which will inevitably increase as soon as the levels of both testosterone and growth hormone in the blood sharply decrease, it is possible and necessary to fight. But I am going to dedicate the last chapter of the article to this struggle, and for now, I will focus exclusively on restoring the "hormonal background".
When PCT is not needed
When is restoring the "hormonal background" definitely unnecessary? First of all, restoring what we usually call the "hormonal background" is completely unnecessary for women - it happens, so to speak, automatically, and very quickly.
Secondly, in the case of short "cycles": if you used anabolic steroids for no longer than 3-4 weeks in a row, your own testosterone production will recover without additional intervention - you will not need anything at all.
Full (or almost full) recovery will take three weeks, and during this time cortisol will not have time to cause significant damage (although it is still worth fighting its activity).
Finally, if during the "cycle" you used only growth hormone or its secretion stimulants, such as ibutamoren (plus some accompanying drugs, but not androgens or anabolic steroids), then recovery will also not be needed - the secretion of somatotropic hormone recovers very quickly by itself.
When PCT is necessary and important
When is PCT not just necessary, but essential? Complete restoration of the HPTA function is not just needed, but vital for all men who want to preserve their fertility - the ability to fertilize.
In this case, there can be no compromises: the duration of the recovery should be at least 5-6 weeks, while the full range of means necessary for complete recovery will be used.
The maximum duration of the "cycle" in this case should be 6-8 weeks: and during this period, certain achievements can be made, which need to be maintained during the break. And then - start all over again.
Well, the drugs that extremely negatively affect spermatogenesis (nandrolone and its derivatives, trenbolone, oxymetholone) should be strictly prohibited.
Yes, of course: complete restoration of the "hormonal background" is possible even after 2-3 years of continuous AAS use. But it will be very complex, costly, and take a lot of time. So, if you are definitely set on continuing the lineage, you should not take it to extremes.
What to do with cortisol? So far, I have only talked about restoring hormone levels, but have not mentioned suppressing the activity of cortisol, which during the break between "cycles" can be quite bothersome, sometimes taking away a significant part of your "cycle" achievements.
If we are talking about the fastest possible recovery, then even the mildest (oxandrolone, metenolone) anabolic steroids should not be used. An excellent option is growth hormone, which wonderfully suppresses cortisol activity. Another cortisol antagonist is insulin, which, by the way, makes sense to use with growth hormone.
But if it is decided to do without hormones at all (and without SARMs that mimic their action), then the choice should fall on clenbuterol - it also has activity that can be called anti-catabolic. And the most common BCAA amino acids can become an assistant to "clen".
When you can skip PCT
When can you refuse "classical" PCT? Here is a situation I encounter quite often: a man over 45 years old, not planning to have children. He asks if he needs complete recovery. Most often the answer will be negative: a break in the use of hormonal agents should be made, but very short.
There is no need to achieve a complete recovery of own testosterone production in this case. Moreover, with age, this task becomes more and more difficult.
Another situation: between "cycles" - due to various reasons - a very short break is possible, while the duration of the "cycle" itself is about 6-10 weeks.
In this case, you can spend no more than three weeks on rest, during which it will be impossible to fully restore testosterone secretion. Therefore, you should not particularly strive for it, but postpone the task of complete recovery for the future.
Situation "number 3": the "cycle" is built exclusively on SARMs. As a rule, even after 5-6 weeks of continuous use, for example, of ostarine, complete suppression of own testosterone production does not occur - the level, although it falls, continues to remain within the normal range.
So, even without outside help, it will be possible to quickly restore the "pre-cycle" level of your main hormone. But if you want to be sure that everything is in order, you will still need to take some measures.
The same can be said about the use of metenolone: "Primobolan", whose active ingredient is this anabolic steroid, acts on the HPTA axis very gently, without leading to complete suppression of luteinizing hormone secretion - and therefore, testosterone.
True, in the end, everything depends on the weekly dose of metenolone: the above is true if it does not exceed 500 mg.
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