just another cycle critique want to make sure everything looks good before i start. wont be starting until mid april want to be on a roll as far as training and diet and just keep going through the cycle.
height:6ft2in
weight: 225
bf %:14 (drop down to 12% or below before starting)
history: been training for as long as i can remember wrestled my entire life have studied pharma as well as currently majoring in excersize science so do not consider myself a newb to aas or training by any means. done 4 cycles over the past few years with several compounds including epi, trenazone, pmag, ultradrol, and prostanozol.
lifts: bench350 deadlift500+ squat350
Goals: durring this cycle my goal is to recomp and maintain as much size as possible while losing fat and stay as dry as possible trough out without inhibiting gains from lowered estrogen
cycle layout
test prop: 150mg eodX8 weeks
epi 56mg ed for the last 6 weeks (using epivar so it has 18mg caps thats 4 a day)
liquid arimadex: 0.25mg eod starting in week 3
pct
liquid nolvadex: 40/40/20/20
DAA:3g/3g/3g/3g
erase:0/3/3/2/2/1cap ed
(thinking of adding a cortisol supp at week 2 of pct but not sure witch one is best)
supplements durring cycle and pct include animal pak, protein, fish oil, creatine,…etc.
any comments or suggestions greatly appreciated thanks in advance
Why would you include a cortisol supp during PCT?
To preserve the anti-catabolic environment that test creates? It’s a good thought, maybe.
It’s never been clear to me if test actually reduces cortisol, or if having supra-physiological levels of test just negates the effect of normal cortisol levels.
[quote]hockeysledder wrote:
To preserve the anti-catabolic environment that test creates? It’s a good thought, maybe.
[/quote]
I don’t understand what you mean, since too much cortisol is catabolic. So adding a supp (which I assume means to increase cortisol) would result in more catabolism, not less.
Add to that the fact that fucking around with your adrenals is about 10x more dangerous than fucking around with your HPTA, I can’t see at all why this would be a good idea.
But I would be curious for OP’s thoughts.
[quote]
It’s never been clear to me if test actually reduces cortisol, or if having supra-physiological levels of test just negates the effect of normal cortisol levels.[/quote]
Its actually the opposite. Cortisol is the body’s mechanism for reducing testosterone output. More cortisol results in less Test.
I don’t understand what “negates the effect of normal cortisol levels” means. Normal cortisol levels are a vital thing for living. You can live without test, you can’t live without cortisol. I’m not sure what you mean are the effects of normal cortisol levels.
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
[quote]hockeysledder wrote:
To preserve the anti-catabolic environment that test creates? It’s a good thought, maybe.
[/quote]
I don’t understand what you mean, since too much cortisol is catabolic. So adding a supp (which I assume means to increase cortisol) would result in more catabolism, not less.
Add to that the fact that fucking around with your adrenals is about 10x more dangerous than fucking around with your HPTA, I can’t see at all why this would be a good idea.
But I would be curious for OP’s thoughts.
[/quote]
I guess I assumed that when he said “cortisol supp” he meant something to lower cortisol (like phosphatadylserine) or otherwise modulate it (various adaptogens).
Agree that taking something to increase cortisol during PCT is incredibly stupid in any situation except e.g. Addison’s disease.
[quote]
[quote]
It’s never been clear to me if test actually reduces cortisol, or if having supra-physiological levels of test just negates the effect of normal cortisol levels.[/quote]
Its actually the opposite. Cortisol is the body’s mechanism for reducing testosterone output. More cortisol results in less Test.
I don’t understand what “negates the effect of normal cortisol levels” means. Normal cortisol levels are a vital thing for living. You can live without test, you can’t live without cortisol. I’m not sure what you mean are the effects of normal cortisol levels.[/quote]
I guess I’m working under the assumption that most people don’t handle stress particularly well, and so tend to be walking around with cortisol levels higher than necessary for optimal health.
Does it go both ways? Does exogenous test downregulate cortisol production? If so, then taking something to lower cortisol to prevent a catabolic rebound during PCT isn’t a terrible idea.
by cortisol supplement i meant one to control it such as Phosphatidylserine i dont think any compay would ever make a supplement for increasing cortisol. i thought this was common practice to add one in around week 2 or 3 of pct to help control it especially when ur body is already catabolic due to the low test levels. i was more looking to see if someone could just recomend an otc product. other that that how does the cycle look. my biggest concern waas the arimidex dosage thanks
[quote]beefcakes wrote:
by cortisol supplement i meant one to control it such as Phosphatidylserine i dont think any compay would ever make a supplement for increasing cortisol. i thought this was common practice to add one in around week 2 or 3 of pct to help control it especially when ur body is already catabolic due to the low test levels. i was more looking to see if someone could just recomend an otc product. other that that how does the cycle look. my biggest concern waas the arimidex dosage thanks[/quote]
There are actually a couple supplements out there to increase cortisol. One is called Isocort, and it is available OTC without an Rx. Then of course there is Cortef (hydrocortisone) and prednisone, but those are prescription only. We discuss these in depth in the TRT forum, where many of the members are struggling with low cortisol which seems to downregulate all the other hormones, especially testosterone and thyroid (your body can’t survive without cortisol so it is diverting its hormone making resources to the most crucial one).
I would not fuck around with cortsiol if I were you. If you do an ok job at managing stress, there is no way your cortisol is elevating itself to the point of being catabolic. No more so than while off cycle (hence being no reason to add it during PCT).
That was the only comment I had to the cycle.
I take that back, if I were you I would start the AI immediately. The test prop has a short half life so you will be at peak levels pretty damn quick. No reason to delay.
i guess theres alot i dont know about cortisol i appreciate the info and ive heard from others to wait to start the ai but your reasoning makes sense. i know .25mg of adex eod is a pretty samdard dose but is it high enough to lower estrogen to the point of inhibiting gains.
Its hard to tell–it varies between individuals. Some are more prone to estrogenic sides than others. But 0.25 mg EOD is a good starting point. I probably wouldn’t go lower than that. If you feel like you need more (lots of bloat, low libido, itchy nipples) then increase it.