I’ve been doing Test E only cycles for a few years. I’ve got it down pretty solid, but I want to run something by everyone.
As I approach the end of a cycle I taper off rather than cold turkey and PCT a couple weeks after last injection.
On cycle - 125mg to 250mg M/Th ( I gave a range because I vary it depending on the purpose of the cycle or what I have on hand)
Taper - 50mg M/Th for 3 weeks
Nothing for 2 weeks
150mg Clomiphene ED - 1 week
100mg Clomiphene ED - 1 week
50mg Clomiphene ED - 2 weeks
Then I’m off cycle.
I do blood work at various times throughout and at the end to make sure I’m back to baselines. I tolerate everything quite well. However, I start feeling the effects of Low T in the 2 week period of nothing, especially the second week.
My blood work shows that I am at my baseline total and free T about 4-5 days after the last 50mg taper injection.
So… What I’m wondering is does it make sense to start the Clomiphene at day 5? I think conventional wisdom is to wait 14 days since much of the Test E is out of your system at that point. Since I’m already down to my baseline natural level by day 5 is there really any benefit to waiting for more of the Test E to clear from my system, which also means my total & free T are dropping below my baseline since I’m shut down at that time?
How much time off you need to start PCT depends on the ester and the dose (many people seem to miss the importance of dose). Going straight from 500 mg/wk to PCT, you probably should wait 3 weeks. From 100 mg/wk, you could probably wait a week or week and a half, since you wouldn’t be at high test levels probably normal or slightly low.
Wow why? Good way to feel like crap for 3 weeks. Why not just forget the taper, let the ester control the release of test into your PCT. Wait 3-4 weeks of nothing, then take the Clomid?
For blast and cruise, I am a fan of tapering down to cruise. Less rate of change on the hormones. I think doing this is good for avoiding acne and gyno, but I am not sure if it is worth it for guys doing traditional cycles. The trade off being longer time shut down.
I guess if I was going to do it, I would probably do a taper more like 250, 125, off for 1-2 weeks, then PCT.
This makes more sense, however I see some guys assuming that when they stop their shots the test is all gone, not realizing there’s weeks before these esters clear. So they think going down to Sub 100mg is the way to start their PCT one week later.
I’d say take your 500mg, wait 3 weeks, start PCT rather than do 500 400 250 150 etc etc, you could have been clearing test and prepping for the PCT during that time.
I think it makes more sense for guys doing traditional cycles just to let the Test clear on it’s own. Blast and cruise, I don’t see a reason not to taper down. No worries about time being shut down longer, and a few weeks at dosages between blast and cruise dosing isn’t the end of the world IMO.
I have heard of blast and cruise guys ending the blast and waiting 2-3 weeks to start their cruise injections. That doesn’t make sense to me. These guys sometimes get some acne or gyno popping up during that time. At the minimum, I’d just start pinning cruise dosages right away.
I’ll taper down to my cruise after this blast. I am doing 875, I’ll probably do a week at 700, 500, 300 then cruise.
Yeah one YouTuber has mentioned doing this. He does his last shot then waits 4 weeks to go back on his TRT dose. He claims he never has any issues doing it that way
I don’t really see the point in that I guess. Take steroids to gain muscle, then wait 4 weeks to get to almost 0 hormones in your system (catabolic), then have to build up hormones to a cruise dose. He may not have issues, but I would think he would hold gains a bit better tapering down to cruise or just start pinning cruise dosage after the blast.
It also seems like gyno and acne are very common during the off period. I just wouldn’t do it that way. I am sure it works for some though.
There is only 1 good PCT option and its called - cruise.
Thats why i also think this is stupid and ruins the whole point of a bnc (not being a retard who does cycles and pct).
Kinda gets worst of both worlds, haha.
Yeah not sure I would either. I just start my blast dose one week and when I’m done go right back to pinning my TRT the next week. I know I’m gonna enjoy a couple weeks of elevated TT when the blast is over
I know this is a bit old, but thought I would answer. At 50mg 2x/week my blood work showed my total T and FT hovered right around my natural levels. I didn’t feel like crap. My sexual function was okay and my performance in the gym/on the field was good while on the taper. It was the two weeks prior to Clomid where sexual function declined and why I came here for advice. In hind sight, the taper was fine, but waiting to start PCT was not.
I like to experiment with different protocols. I get blood work with everything I try and maintain meticulous notes. My main goal is to achieve no drop off in sexual function while coming off cycle. The wife and I are very active in that regard and it is the last thing I want to screw with.
I’ve now tried the taper with starting Clomid with no waiting 2 weeks. That seemed to work okay. Only a minor drop in sexual function from what I can tell. Labs showed my total T was in range, but FT was a bit low along with a slightly high SHGB at the end of the Clomid. I’m waiting for a few weeks of nothing then I’ll get blood work done again. Then I’ll try a cycle with just coming off T, waiting a couple weeks, then jumping on Clomid.