I hear alot of guys say that you should be training with the same intensity during your pct but u should just decrease the volume and frequency. Well to me this sounds stupid. Now hear me out:
1-during pct your test levels are extremely low, if you break down the muscles how the hell is your body going to be able to recover them?
2- during pct you enter a sudden catabolic phase, also your cortisol receptors which were blocked by the androgens suddenly get released, so to me breaking down the muscles during PCT sounds retarded because you will just add more stress to the body and you break down the muscles without them being able to get repaired
3- IMO the first week of PCT there should be no resistance training, infact it would be a good time to rest and then from the 2nd week a 3x a week 45 mins sessions (moderate intensity) should be added and when the PCT ends and if one feels that their test levels are once again back (no way to tell they are back to normal level unless bloodwork is done, however there are some signs which indicate low/high test levels) then the trainings should become intense but not the same volume as on cycle.
all these 3 points are my own opinions and mmy own logic. they maybe completely incorrect and i may have missed some other factors. If i am wrong about this please correct me, as I want to have the perfect strategy for my off period.
[quote]cnobari wrote:
I hear alot of guys say that you should be training with the same intensity during your pct but u should just decrease the volume and frequency. Well to me this sounds stupid. Now hear me out:
1-during pct your test levels are extremely low, if you break down the muscles how the hell is your body going to be able to recover them?
2- during pct you enter a sudden catabolic phase, also your cortisol receptors which were blocked by the androgens suddenly get released, so to me breaking down the muscles during PCT sounds retarded because you will just add more stress to the body and you break down the muscles without them being able to get repaired
3- IMO the first week of PCT there should be no resistance training, infact it would be a good time to rest and then from the 2nd week a 3x a week 45 mins sessions (moderate intensity) should be added and when the PCT ends and if one feels that their test levels are once again back (no way to tell they are back to normal level unless bloodwork is done, however there are some signs which indicate low/high test levels) then the trainings should become intense but not the same volume as on cycle.
all these 3 points are my own opinions and mmy own logic. they maybe completely incorrect and i may have missed some other factors. If i am wrong about this please correct me, as I want to have the perfect strategy for my off period.
Thanks [/quote]
I kept my workouts to about 40 minutes. I went twice a day half an hour each for the larger muscle groups. I kept the intensity high and the volume considerably lower.
that plus plenty of food and rest (and I ran a short cycle) made for a pretty smooth recovery.
OP, your probably over analyzing things a bit. Things like cortisol aren’t all evil, and catabolism and anabolism are always occurring, on and off cycle…the balance shifts but it’s still not all of one or nothing. Take stock of your body’s condition and make appropriate decisions based on that. Dropping volume but maintaining intensity are good general rules, as is continuing to eat well and get plenty of sleep. If you’re paranoid about cort, try taking a little PPS before your lifting session.
As to your 3rd point, I certainly disagree with the idea of staying away from lifting during the first week of PCT. Typically I feel great and have ongoing strength increases at that point in time. YMMV, obviously.
[quote]buddaboy wrote:
Training during PCT: Less volume, less carbs but, and invariably for me less masturbation and sex…[/quote]
and what about intensity of the workouts? surely it is not a great idea to do heavy weight, low reps to failure? cause I mean really i am still trying to understand how you would recover from breaking down your muscles from such workout when test levels are low
[quote]buddaboy wrote:
Training during PCT: Less volume, less carbs but, and invariably for me less masturbation and sex…[/quote]
and what about intensity of the workouts? surely it is not a great idea to do heavy weight, low reps to failure? cause I mean really i am still trying to understand how you would recover from breaking down your muscles from such workout when test levels are low[/quote]
Heavy weights, absolutely.
Failure? No.
You are over complicating and oversimplifying this stuff at the same time.
If you want to do an experiment than you should just do it and report your findings, not ask people to play guessing games.
Your last line in this post is just causing me to shake my head. You are completely underestimating the complexity of the human body.
Rule of thumb is to increase training volume by 20-30% while on cycle. Slowly dropping it back down to normal without going to failure is a good idea for PCT and a few weeks after.
Listen to Bonez, and listen to your body. You certainly don’t want to train to failure whilst your ability to recover is compromised do you?
If you are concerned about getting training volume right then I’d say during PCT its better to do a little less than a little too much.
I used to drop any intense cardio (like sprints or 45 min sessions on the X trainer) and go for 3 lower volume workouts a week until I got back to normal, doing only walking for CV.
I hope this helps, but remember ultimately you are the one who knows your own body best…
thx for the advices. I guess I am underestimating the complexity of the human body. But I am a final year accounting student which means my knowledge of human biology only comes from bodybuilding and what i’ve been taught at school when I was younger. I guess the longer u train the more u learn about human biology. it is a system of trial and error. bonez don’t blame me for trying to ask people for the best way to train during PCT.
It is never a bad idea to ask other people about their training experiences in order to look for the best strategy to train. nevertheless I am doing short cycles and not more than 4 weeks off period. I guess it was the guru bill roberts who said u don’t even need a pct for cycles as short as 2-3 weeks however having done a short cycle with high doses (for a beginner) of test prop I didn’t want to risk not going through a mild PCT. anyway started training 3xa week heavy weight, not to failure and only compound exercies. I’ll see how that goes