As some of you know this is a topic of a competition on my SI page. For those that don't know I made up a imaginary brother named Toby that had some questions about the differences in PCT vs AI's what to they do ect. Check out below as some brothers step up and get him the knowledge he needs.
1.) Milkin helped toby with-
Toby bro knowing how to run pct and use ai is very important to protect yourself and gains. Let's define a few things
1) pct stands for post cycle therapy. This is a must if you want to kick start your natty. It is important to know that if you cruise then no pct is needed. Pct you use a s.e.r.m. which is a selective estrogen receptor module. This kickstarts your natural production. Novelex and clomid are the two that you use.
2) Aromatizing inhibitors - These are estrogen blockers and scavengers. They are use during your cycle to help.co teo estrogen buildup. Most common are anex and aromasin.
Here we go. When you do a cycle you shut down your own production this is why your nuts turn into peas because the think you are over producing. So once your cycle is over you need to kick start or prime your production again. This is done with pct. Standard pct is nova and clomid 100/100/50/50 and nova 40/40/20/20. The / marks stand for week number and the numeric value is the daily mg. You should start your pct two weeks after your cycle to let juice clear unless you are doing shorts then 5 days.
You use a ai during your cycle to control estrogen. Adex or aromasin is used but not both dude. Adex you start at .5 mg every third day OR aromasin 12.5mg every third day. The 3 day thing is just a baseline and Toby you should learn to identify high estrogen signs before they get out of control. Once you see the signs then you need to throw in a ai. Use caution bro because too low of estrogen will leave you feeling like shit. Too high estrogen will hinder your gains.
Last thing is your pea sized balls. Yes man monitor your balls or you will end up with something that looks like a dired up peach pit between your legs. Hcg is used to to help your balls from distorting and looking like snow peas. 500 ui every three days unitl your ball make a appearance again. I like to run with every cycle as a prevention and throw hcg in the second half of cycle.
Oh last thing is if you do run hcg at the end of your cycle wait 7 days for hcg to clear before running pct they have negative effect on each other and are far less effective.
KP helped him out with-
Once again Aromasin is my fave
Dosage of 20-25mgs/day Aro can block the estrogen enzymes at 65 % and increase the testosterone production substantially. Its use during PCT lasts 2 weeks, while Nolvadex are recommended to be taken for 4 weeks. The alone use of Aromasin is not recommended and it has always to be combined with a SERM like Nolvadex or Clomid. Aro use is not limited to PCT only, it can be a part of your steroid cycle too. It outperform Arimidex with about 12 % when it comes to estrogen inhibition it will even cause an increase of testosterone level as well. Aro is a steroidal drug, which mean it carry on androgenic effects too. That’s why the best will be to let ti for PCT time, when this trait would be even beneficial.
Outlaw helped him with -
Ok Toby quit talking to gym rat and make an intro in the mg and we will get you pointed in right direction first off ai's are used to block or kill the aromatose enzyme which keep your estro in check during a cycle by not letting test be converted causing unwanted sides
for pct we want to use a serm selective estrogen receptor modulater It keep the body from making estrogen it just keeps it from binding to the receptors. The rea this is better for pct is because it doesn't effect estrogen production so your body thinks it has enough and doesn't try to make more serms also block estrogen in the feedback loop causing the pituitary to release lh and fsh which in turn tells the body to make test.
So in laymens terms ai keep estrogen sides at bay while on a cycle serms block receptors causing your brain to not get the I'm making enough test signal so it tries to make test
Get bloods before cycle to see where your test levels are
test only cycle 500mg split in two doses weekly
get you some adex after all you may need it
bout week 5 get bloods to see where test and e2 are then start ai if needed
for pct get clomid and nolvadex
run clomid at 100 / 100/ 50 / 50 per week for four weeks
nolvadex at 40 / 40 / 20 / 20 per week for for weeks
do not start pct for 3 weeks after last test injection this varies some give ir take you will know when it's time cause you will start feeling like crap. After pct get bloods to make sure test has came back to normal Don't want to loose gains
remember ai is for high estrogen sides
serms used to block estro at receptor causing body to react by release of lh and fsh to make test
Pank helped him out with-
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Great pile of info here gentlemen, thank you to all that contributed.
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OK, from what I remember. A/I's block and/or kill estro. Some A/I's rebound I prefer Aro over Arimidex or Letro. Most will tell Toby to begin his A/I two weeks after and some will tell him to begin 2 weeks before but I use my Aro a day after I pin heavy Test in my system. If not a day or so later my nips become irritated, an A/I will help with estro control and can be used during cycle and PCT. The reason for PCT is to bring our own testosterone production because synthetic test haults you own production, you can use both during PCT and some use Nolva while on Dbol which I do not recommend. Aro during cycle and Nolva/Aro/Clomid after, maybe some HCG a week before, but all depends on the compounds use. There! I can't beat Sensei but threw it out there. Just the difference between the two. Test only cycle should be ok with only Nolva and Clomid as PCT but Aro all should be used throughout the cycle.
Mr Miagi helped him with-
AI's (Aromatase Inhibitors) prevent the buildup of estrogen which is the female sex hormone. Males have it, but we do not want too much of it. When running cycles there is a risk of estrogen levels getting elevated, causing bad side effects we do not want as males (gyno, bloating, acne, impotence, etc...). AI's work to prevent this risk of elevated estrogen and should be taken during a cycle and at times during PCT.
PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) is a combination of drugs to restart your bodys HPTA system. When we cycle, our body stops producing testosterone due to the abundance of extra testosterone (or other chemicals) we have added. When we stop our cycle, our body needs time to recover from this change. Naturally, it will take our body much longer to recover from this cycle (and start producing its own testosterone) than it takes for the injected chemicals to leave our body. This poses a problem and can cause a "crash" (a period of time when we have NO, or LOW testosterone in our body...resulting in loss of muscle/strength/any gains achieved during cycle. PCT is done to reduce the time it takes to recovery so the transition from "extra testosterone" to "nomal testosterone" is as seamless as possible.
Examples of AI's are arimidex and aromasin. Both serve same function in different ways (stop or kill estrogen). In addition to above mentioned side effects, excess estrogen can also inhibit your ability to recover quickly during PCT, which is why some will use AI's during PCT as well as during cycle. Dosing needs to be monitored as AI's can also "crash" (kill all) your estrogen which is not ideal either.
Example drugs used for PCT are clomid and nolvadex. Both of these drugs are typicall taken after the cycle is complete and act as specific estrogen blockers to kickstart your natural production of testosterone (HPTA). Although these drugs do block estrogen at certain receptors, they are not effective used as an AI.
For your cycle Toby, arimidex would he used as an "during cycle AI". It would be appropriate to dose it at .25mg every 3rd day to start. This dosing should begin on your 4th or 5th week of the cycle. You also have the option of NOT using an AI until/unless you start to see typical high estrogen side effects, however given this is your first time you should either use the every 3rd day protocol, or have bloodwork drawn periodically and decide on when/if to start AI on that.
For a cypionate cycle PCT should start 14 days (approximately) after your last injection. You should purchase clomid (50mg) and nolvadex (20 mg) at least 42 tabs of each. Run the clomid at 100mgs every day for the first 14 days. Run the nolvadex at 40mgs every day for the first 14 days as well. The next 14 days you split that dose in half and run 50mg clomid and 20mg nolvadex daily. After you complete the 4 week PCT your body should be producing testosterone again at or close to precycle levels.
Good luck Toby!