Let’s solve the problem in parts. And let’s start with the testicles. During the cycle of taking anabolic steroids, they “shrink” in size and often limit the production of natural testosterone later, even if gonadotropins are produced in sufficient quantities. How to deal with it?
For this, we have HCG or artificial gonadotropins. It is important for you to understand that HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) PREVENTS testicular atrophy caused by a decrease in the production of your own testosterone from steroids. It’s all very simple.
- The less testosterone is produced, the smaller the testicles become.
- The longer you stay on the cycle, the smaller the testicles.
- The longer the cycle, the longer it takes to restore the testicles.
- Any AAS (even light) are hormone analogs and they cause a decrease in testicle size.
But the size itself is not a particularly important fact. As one coach said: “Why the hell do I need elephant testes?”. But there is a practical negative point. The fact is that the hypothalamus almost immediately after the cycle catches a low level of testosterone and gives orders to produce the releasing hormone, which causes the luteinizing hormone (LH) to be released by the pituitary and leads to the production of testosterone, in theory.
But in practice, if a person had a long cycle (for example, 12 weeks), then his small testicles are simply not able to respond properly to stimulation with gonadotropins. They atrophied not only in size but also in functionality. And in this case, it takes a lot of time for the testicles to accelerate after a long sleep. All this time, the level of the test will be lowered and will lead to significant losses in muscle mass and strength.
Practice
The prudent decision is to use HCG during the AAS cycle. This will prevent the atrophy of your balls. Many advise using Gonado after the cycle. I am against such a scheme because HCG “deceives” the hypothalamus (by acting without an order from releasing hormone) and thus the axis of the H-P-T (hypothalamus-pituitary-testes) is not restored. In doing so, you thereby postpone the full recovery period after the cycle. Also, if you are using HCG, it is useless to use Tamoxifen and Clomifen (important preps for recovery), but more on that later.
Most often, it makes sense to use 500ME of HCG per day for 7-10 days. Why do you need to inject it a short while (1-2 weeks)? The fact is that the testicles can “get used” to HCG and become insensitive to the luteinizing hormone. So it is permissible for less than 3 weeks (1-2 weeks), but more is undesirable!
Antiestrogens for recovery
It will be about the two most popular antiestrogens: clomiphene citrate (Clomid) and tamoxifen citrate (tamox). Both of these drugs are important for recovery after the cycle of AAS because they help to put the hypothalamus into active work.
As it said before, during the cycle, not only the amount of testosterone but also of estrogen (female hormones) changes, which greatly slows down the recovery after you stop steroid therapy. Why? The fact is that although the hypothalamus almost immediately begins its work (the release of releasing hormone for the pituitary gland) in the case of a reduced amount of testosterone (which we observe after the cycle), however, estrogens that suppress the production of LH interfere with this process. Our task at this stage is to reduce the activity of estrogen for the fastest recovery of the entire arc.
Well, someone will say. And if I used non-aromatizing steroids on the cycle (those that do not turn into female hormones)? Ok, friends. In this case, you still need to use an anti-estrogen to block the aromatization of your own testosterone, or testosterone, which was produced in response to stimulation of HCG.
Practice
You should wait for the termination of the action of artificial androgens (AAS) before using Clomid or Tamox because androgens inhibit the work of the hypothalamus (production of LH). I.e. if you chow Clomid with a stimulating goal to restore the arc, then consider the half-life of anabolic steroids (wait until they stop working). However, this does not apply to the situation when you use anti-estrogens to combat the increased background of female hormones on the cycle (gyno, etc.).
Usually, bodybuilders take an immediately “boot dose” of CLOMID 50 mg x 4 = 200 mg during the day. And then they switch to the “increased working” dose of 50 x 2 = 100 mg per week. After that, for three weeks, they eat a “normal working” dose of 50 mg per day. If you use TAMOXIFEN, then the dosage will be 80 mg (first day), “increased working” – 40 mg, and “normal working” – 20 mg per day. Although personally, I usually start immediately with 20 mg (one tablet) per day.
What else will help?
I would also like to mention a sports supplement such as Tribulus, which affects the hypothalamus, forcing the arc to recover faster. This additive will not be superfluous, in any case.
It is often advised to use creatine after the cycle to maintain results. Well, this can really work. On the other hand, after the cycle, you need to give your body a very small load for recovery, and it often makes sense to use creatine at the peak, for new records. In general, you decide.
