Twice a year is kinda standard advice. TBH, I am overdue. I would advocate that you get some labs about 2 months after starting (don’t start TRT unless you need it). Then maybe 6 months after that. Some do it once a year. A TRT clinic will mostly have guys do bloods twice a year, but I have been told by some that some providers only require once a year after a year or two of stable blood work.
1 Like
Okay cool! Would you recommend during a cycle or post cycle?
To me it comes down to what the cycle is. If a reasonable beginner to moderate cycle I would just do bloods during the cruise, unless I want to characterize how a compound impacts me (see what effect something like EQ has on E2, or HCT). Now if doing something more harsh Test, Tren, Drol (won’t likely ever do a stack like this), then I would probably get labs pulled half way through to ensure I didn’t have terrible blood markers that could indicate a high probability of a bad outcome down the road.
All I’m doing is Test and possibly HCG to prevent shrinkage and I have Clomid for a PCT.
Wait, don’t cycle trt. Trt you normally do for life. Are you looking to do a cycle for a few months, it trt?
Well really just TRT. But is there a safe way to do a cycle and when I’m off cycle to still take enough test for TRT?
And with what I stated above that i have, should I still do bloodwork? I don’t ever plan on taking anything else besides the Test, and if needed, the HCG, clomid, and e2 blocker.
It is called blasting and cruising. You blast with higher amounts for a specified amount of time, then go back down to TRT doses (generally, you want to be on TRT doses at least as long as blast doses). It is what I am doing, but was on TRT before blasting. I cruise or TRT on 200 mg/wk. I am blasting at 600 mg/wk right now. Once I am done, I go back to TRT dose of 200 mg. No PCT. I do occasionally use HCG, but I haven’t gotten much shrinkage, and plan to stay on TRT for life. I don’t plan on blasting for life. Probably a couple years total while I am still powerlifting. I’ll use HCG a lot more if my wife and I try for a kid, but we haven’t been thinking about that much, and it is still likely a few years away.
Blasting and cruising is a big decision. Make sure it is what you want to do. I started on TRT, so it was a lot easier decision. I wouldn’t go this route unless you actually have low T.
So what about blasting and cruising make it’s a big decision? Like specifically what makes it that? All this is a big decision anyway.
Also a curiosity question. Is there a way to figure out what 250mg of test a week will get your levels al? Or is it different for everyone?
Blasting and cruising is long term. That makes the possibility of going back to not taking testosterone less likely. The longer you are on the less likely you are to recover normal testosterone levels. I have been on testosterone now for 2 years (most of it being TRT). This isn’t a big concern for me because I actually had low T before hand. I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing now if not for that.
A cycle is a period of 8-16 weeks typically, with a PCT. After the cycle you no longer inject hormones. Because the duration of time is lower your chances of recovery is better.
It is individual, and depends on frequency of injection and when the blood test is taken in relation to that injection. I would guess a guy pinning twice a week with 250 mg total and pulling labs right before the next pin would be somewhere between 1500-2500 (it varies a lot person to person). Now the only way to know for you is to pull blood work on that protocol.
thread starter needs to do alot more research , yes its good hes asking questions but read read and read … theres so much info out there
1 Like
I agree. It is a big decision to do a cycle. Blast and cruise is a step further. One needs to consider a lot of factors before jumping into something like this. I can’t spell all that out.
So for now I’m think of just doing TRT, 250 once a week. And 250 cause it easy to measure since my vials are 250 for each mil…I’m deff doing my research hence asking all these questions. But for the 250 a week is there anything else I should be concerned with?
Also a question about HCG. I have received what I ordered and have not mixed it yet. The powder seems to be stuck together. Can I still mixed it good if it’s like that?
I do think it’s worth mentioning that a TRT cruise at 200 mg isn’t maintaining natural levels for most people.
At 200mg a week with 1mg of arimidex. Even a year later Into this. I feel better than I ever have before and maintain looking stronger with less work sometimes taking a break from serious lifting for as long as a month.
Not intentional but seriously I can work half as hard now and look twice as good. Definitely not the point or use of the drug. Just saying a constant 200mg is more significant than people realize sometimes.
My last blood work came back at greater than >1500 test didn’t even go past that. Probably because on record for legal/ethical reasons my doc doesn’t need to know how high I choose to make that number sometimes.
He said 1500 thats great thats right where we want to see you. Sure dude. Whatever you say.
Keep in mind bud that at this point I’m taking drugs for life to keep my boys fertile. Almost 2 years of constant TRT with intermittent blasts and im not at all confident that my dudes can ever go back to 100% of their previous function.
Sometimes I try things and endup a couple days to weeks into it going what the hell am I doing. I feel like shit. I didn’t really think that combination /dosage ratios through.
I’m okay with that but you gotta do some more research too. And try to be smarter and really try to understand it. You’re fucking with your body. Alot of systems are very sensitive. You dramatically and utterly overwhelm a feedback loop past its set point and it tries to compensate so much that it never quite goes back to normal.
I’m 100% okay with my situation but thats my choice.
Basically the nutshell is bruh, people cycle to prevent excessive ventricular hypertrophy of the heart. (Hearts so big it actually starts to really suck at pumping blood)
People cycle to let the very resilient liver drop those ast/alt lab values.
People cycle to get the kidneys to relax with that fluid management from intracellular fluid shifts. From fluid retention, to take the load off the cardiovascular for a bit. Letting the RBCs drop a little and that BP
High BP will kill your kidneys over years dude.
High doses of HGH with high long term doses of anabolic has shown hypertrophy and hardening of most organs. Liver intestines heart etc.
Alot of steroids and especially HGH will raise your blood sugar. You could become diabetic if your genetics screw you.
The point isn’t to be scared. The point is you need to fully be aware of this. Because if your not and your taking some bro advice you could put yourself in a position you don’t want to be.
The cycle is for the health. And most importantly the longer the HPTA is shut down. The less likely it comes back. And if you have a good natural test production with low aromatase/low estrogen then you should take a LOT of pride in that and cycle to not destroy that shit.
Like my cholesterol is fucked. I dont really know what guys on the forum consider a reasonable risk or acceptable. But I went from being like 160 presteroids and TRT to 290 and last time I checked I had brought it down to 254.
You cycle to prevent arteriosclerosis dude. Hardening of the arteries. Which begins with fatty deposits and platelets clumping in weird ways and getting stuck on the arterial wall. They then grow as they accumulate more of the bad cholesterol until your having heart attacks and strokes.
Steroid hormones are synthesized from cholesterol. And really strange things happen to this when you take external steroids. Im not sure if the body is keeping it high because it figures its making that 200mg of test and needs the raw materials or if it has to do with cellular growth and division and using fatty molecules or lipids to build cellular membranes.
No clue bro bro but ya cycle to not have 290.
All of these things had advantages for survival in an evolutionary context if ya reproduced at 12 and died at 25 as a Neolithic hunter.
But if your trying to remain fertile and live past 50 be a family man some day, your not going to cruise on any kind of dosage unless you have a lifelong game plan have labs done routinely and are taking your gonadotropins. And your 200% okay with this. Because you cruise for a year. Decide to come off. Don’t do it right. Your genetics hate your HPTA feedback loop. The depression lack of energy and all of that other fun stuff is going to hit you like a train.
And despite that. Some guys really do bounce back pretty smoothly.
Ya also cycle to maintain androgen sensitivity. You can strategically time your cycles and drugs to your program. Because part of the magic isn’t the physiologic changes in the muscle tissue. Its the affect it has on your brain and behavior/energy/mood. That hard aggressive mental drive to go apeshit on a bar diminishes and relaxes on a constant steady dose.
That mental energy is an important part of the package for alot of people and proper cycling can maintain a really strong response.
Apologies for the book, just started back on EQ again and can’t sleep haha. Also not an expert. Quite possibly I said something really stupid in there, listen to the collective advice of everyone. But I am in the medical profession and know enough to tell ya just keep reading the forums. Other peoples questions and others responses to it.
Another edit: With what I said earlier I just mean TRT is a high amount of test to have to just compare two average natrual people people. Its still never really recommended you just do 200 mg for a cycle thats a waste of money. 500 is a pretty standard entry dose. Conservative and a good number to try. Will feel great but shouldn’t be hard on the sides. But cruising on 500 is real iffy dude. Maybe if I had shredded vascular abs at 230 bodyweight and competed for a living. Not judging anybody. The point is if thats your decision, nobodies going to respect you if you have 0 idea about any of this, the consequences, don’t know what you’re doing and you tell people you’ve been on 500 a week for 2 years. If your knowledgeable are fully aware of any risks take steps to mitigate problems before they happen, then i respect you and your decision.
3 Likes
I think @kevin14 has said a lot of good things.
250 is not a cycle, but it is also not TRT. It is a cruise dose. TRT would be somewhere between 150-180 for MANY people, but not everyone. 250 is still a high dose to maintain for a long period of time.
Also, I am not sure if you already mentioned this but depending on the ester of test you’re using will determine how frequently you can pin. MOST esters should be pinned more than 1x/wk to help keep blood levels stable .
How about working with a doc if you’re going to start from zero knowledge jumping right to TRT? You’ll probably start lower than 250mg, but you’ll have someone to help when shit goes sideways
You may not have picked up on it, but his motivation is not health related. Working with a doc requires diagnostic evidence of low T, not the desire to do better at the gym.
Yeah guess I missed it, he was asking about cycles, then decided on TRT, so figured maybe he was low (or thought he was). But if it’s BBer TRT then it makes sense to do it on his own
1 Like
You guys have deff really helped a lot of provided a lot of good info. I do appreciate it. I would much rather do TRT. But it actually seems to be more complicated in the long run. So maybe a cycle of 500 a week and the PCT seems to be the smartest decision to allow my body to get back to doing things on its own again. That was my initial plan and may just be the best one so far. I have Test E 250 for the one that was asking.