Cycle lengths?

[ironmaster73]

Hey guys.
I have been using gear for over 30 years and was a competitive bodybuilder from 1991-2006 winning a few state titles and 3 x r/up at national level during those years.

Back in the early years I would do 6-8 weeks on using test stacked with either deca or EQ. Then would come off for 6 weeks and repeat. When I mean off I mean off no hormones. If I was 12 weeks out from a show I would run the cycle for a total of 12 weeks using injectable winstrol the last 4 weeks before shows. Then off for 12 weeks. This served me well from the age of 19 - 27 years of age. Then I got into cycling 12 weeks again with 3-4 months off but would use hcg and clomid for recovery post cycle.

Now over time you gain more knowledge on using compounds. I think back in the day doing 6-8 week cycles were maybe not the best idea as most long esters take about 4-5 weeks to reach steady state. Once I finished competing, I would run my cycle longer and found much better results and found I would gain more and go up in size each cycle. Back in the day when I did shorter cycles I would always be 95kg off season and cut down to 80kg and was stuck there for years. Once I started doing longer slower cycles I got up to a 110kg and was lean at about 92-94kg.

So by doing only 6-8 weeks cycles and comming off was not even giving enough time for the drugs to reach peak levels.

My advice to myself if I could go back in time would be to run 4-6 months cycles and never worry about pct unless I was wanting to come off for a long time. I think just coming down to low trt for a couple of months then ramp back up again is the way to go.

What have you guys found works well?

 

[Fleezy]

what's pct

 

[hawkmoon]

I started a little earlier than you and did 10-12 weeks on and off back then.
Dabbled in HCG in 89-90, then no PCT. We didn't even consider PCT then as they started to later.

Needless to say once over 40 or so there is no "off", TRT at least 100% of the "off" time.

I still do 12 weeks as the keystone, but may go longer if all health markers are where they should be.
Then I step down to 250-300mg (one cc) for a month or two and then bump it back up, depending on goals.
I still compete after gaps away from the stage, so my "cycles" reflect that.

 

[ironmaster73]

I started a little earlier than you and did 10-12 weeks on and off back then.
Dabbled in HCG in 89-90, then no PCT. We didn't even consider PCT then as they started to later.

Needless to say once over 40 or so there is no "off", TRT at least 100% of the "off" time.

I still do 12 weeks as the keystone, but may go longer if all health markers are where they should be.
Then I step down to 250-300mg (one cc) for a month or two and then bump it back up, depending on goals.
I still compete after gaps away from the stage, so my "cycles" reflect that.

Nice. Love reading info from other guys that have been doing this along time. Thanks for the info.

 

[massephase]

What have you guys found works well?

Logically, the more area under the curve you have, the more effect you should have so probably taking as much gear as you can without compromising short and medium term (10-15 years) health will yield maximum results. So most likely the answer is stay on moderate doses all the time and never or very rarely take such high doses that it affects your health severely.

That’s just logic, not experience.

 

[Mufasa123]

Started in 90s. Shorter cycles that didn't make sense from half life in some cases (test cyp and deca). Used a lot more dbol then and Tren when Fina came out. Time on was time off or extra. No pct back then just natural recovery. I'd certainly do it differently with drug and diet knowledge today.

Now I'm on HRT so blast/cruise. Access to bloodwork is great. Too bad I'm older! Most blasts are 12+ weeks (I've done 6 months with fine bloods but I'd rather break it up even purely for focus). I don't/can't stay on tren very long (4 to 6 weeks before cns fatigue sets in) so it's more like orals which I don't use often and keep lower dose and shorter. Mostly longer esters test and deca plus some mast (occasional primo). Bloods on test/deca are same as HRT up to 750/600 and I don't really go higher so good enough. Brought my weight down last 6ish years so don't need much and muscle memory is kind of a cheat code so good training, moderate enhancement via aas, and diet focus does what I need. Just enjoying training and quality of life.