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Standard PCT's
It seems lately alot of people have been inquiring about the best way to run their PCT. Hopefully this thread will clear up a few things and simplify it.
There are only about 4 ways to do a proper PCT. The differences simply relate to how many cycles you've done and how suppressive your cycle will be.
PCT is a learning process, all ancillaries will have a varying degree of effectiveness from person to person. The trick is finding whats right for you.
SERM's or Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator. HPTA Restart Article
clomid
Nolva
Torimefine
The idea of a SERM for PCT is simple. SERM's act like an estrogen or anti-estrogen in our bodies. How they act will depend on the compound and the tissue it is in.
Basically a SERM competes with estrogen for the estrogen receptor and wins. This means it will attach itself to the estrogen receptor before estrogen has a chance to. Estrogen will still be circulating in your blood but it will not be able to attach itself to the estrogen receptor's.
This action tricks the body into thinking that there is no estrogen. Our body decides that it needs to make more. The only way we can make more estrogen is by producing more testosterone to convert to estrogen. This is how a SERM stimulates LH and FSH. LH and FSH are hormones in our body that regulate testosterone production. The higher the amount of these hormones per blood volume simply means the signal is more abundant. This will attempt to speed up the process of testosterone production.
Recap: SERM stimulates LH and FSH.
HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
HCG comes in a powder form. It is then mixed with certain type's of water to make the solution. This solution is then injected into the subcutaneous tissue.
HCG mimics the LH signal. Basically what you are doing when you inject HCG is injecting an exogenous source of counterfeit LH.
This counterfeit LH will signal the testes to produce testosterone even though your on other suppressive compound's. Keep in mind it is LH and FSH that are suppressed by AAS.
Since the body recognizes this compound as its own LH it will simultaneously tell the body not to produce LH. Therefore HCG is suppressive to our endogenous LH signal.
HCG will also stimulate the pituitary. GNRH is a hormone recieved by the pituitary. Once the pituitary receives this hormone it will send out the LH and FSH signal.
HCG will stimulate pituitary but it will stimulate pituitary at a much higher rate when total serum T levels are on the decline. Basically when you stop injecting suppressive compounds the level of that compound in our body will slowly decline, at a rate that depends on ester length.
These alpha sub-units control factors that provide the material that our testes need to produce testosterone, not just the signal to do so. It provides this material through various metabolic pathways.
AI or Aromatase Inhibitor
For this discussion we will only talk about Aromasin (Exemestane).
Since Aromasin is a suicidal inhibitor its effectiveness is not altered by the use of a SERM. When type II inhibitors such as letro and Adex are used in conjunction with a SERM their effectiveness is substantially weakened.
AI's will attach themselves to the aromatase enzyme. This will slow the conversion of testosterone to estrogen, therefore lowering total estrogen levels.
Once a suppressive compound has left our bodies (during SERM treatment) the testosterone to estrogen ratio is imbalanced. This means our estrogen is higher than our testosterone. This is why we feel like crap during this time.
In an attempt to keep this ratio somewhat normal I suggest taking Aromasin alongside your SERM. This should help ease the "pain" during SERM treatment. Aromasin has also been shown to raise testosterone levels, although only temporarily.
Ok now that we got that out of the way we can talk about the different types of protocol's you guys should be running for your PCT.
First we will talk about SERM treatment. SERM treatment will be a part of every single cycle you ever do. It is the most basic form of PCT. SERM dosages will never change depending on the cycle, only the timing of when to start your SERM treatment changes.
Light cycles and first and second timer's
A light cycle to me is a cycle with testosterone only, Anavar or Primo. Since I would never recommend any cycle without testosterone I will only provide timing for the different ester's of testosterone.
This is a PCT for guys that do not wish to play with HCG on their first cycle. Many many guys use only a SERM to recover form testosterone only cycles and recover rather quickly.
Testosterone propionate
5-7 days after last injection start SERM treatment.
Testosterone enanthate and cypionate.
14-21 days after your last injection start your SERM treatment.
Sustanon
21-30 days after your last injection start your SERM treatment.
Choices
#1 clomid 50mg every day for 4-6 weeks.
#2 Torimefine 30-60mg every day for 4-6 weeks.
#3 Nolva 40mg for 14 days and then 20mg for 14-28 more days.
#4 clomid and Nolva combo.
clomid 50/50/50/50
Nolva 20/20/10/10/10/10
It is my opinion that everyone should run 25mg of Aromasin every day during there SERM treatment. Right from the beginning to the end. You do not have to do this.
As I said before every cycle will have one of the SERM treatments above. You will start your SERM treatment depending on the ester length of your testosterone. HCG will not have an impact on changing your SERM treatment. We will simply add HCG to our current protocols.
HCG for light cycles. Choose one of the following. #2 is best buts it not always practical for new guys.
#1 Use 500iu's of HCG every day for the 10 days leading up to 4 days before your SERM treatment.
#2 Use 500iu's a week of HCG for your entire cycle. Then use 500iu's every day for the 10 days leading up to 4 days before SERM treatment.
HCG for heavy cycles.
I consider any cycle with a progesterone, 3 or more compounds or any cycle that includes any compounds that are not in the light cycle category, a heavy cycle.
Use 1,000 iu's a week during the cycle. Do this for 5 consecutive weeks, take a week off and start again. If you get 5,000 iu bottles of HCG you will simply run 1,000iu's a week until the bottle is gone, then take a week off and start a new bottle. Do this the entire cycle.
Blast Phase Part 2 of HCG for heavy cycles. This phase should be ran in addition to the weekly dose during the heavy cycle.
Blast your HCG during the time period you are waiting for the suppressive compounds to leave your system. This is the time period starting the day after your last injection up until 4 days before SERM treatment. The blast Phase should consist of one of the following:
#1 500iu's every day.
#2 750iu's every day.
#3 1,000iu's every other day.
#4 1,500iu's every other day.
Since HCG directly stimulate's aromatization in the leydig cells some people can develop Gyno when taking high doses of HCG. You need to get a sense of how sensitive you are to HCG when determining how you want to run your blast phase. If you are sensitive start with every day dosing.
There are 3 reasons to run a blast phase of HCG
#1 To test the testicles to see if they are still able to produce testosterone at their maximum capacity. If they can not produce testosterone at their maximum capacity you have developed hypogonadism. It would be wise to get a blood test done during this time to see if the testicles are producing enough testosterone to get your testosterone levels within physiological range. If they are not, there is no point in SERM treatment at this time and more HCG is needed. When I say more, that may mean a higher dose for longer duration, or just a longer duration.
#2 By blasting during this time we are ensuring that our testosterone is within physiological range, thus attempting to prevent going catabolic.
#3 To stimulate the pituitary. This will provide the material the testes need to produce testosterone.
I hope I covered everything. This was meant to simplify the PCT process, in hopes that guys will understand its really not that complicated.
Edit 3.31.2013
The updated HPTA Restart article is now available, this article is written by Daniel @ IMT. I worked in conjunction with him gathering all of the research. Click on the following link to get your hands on it!!!!
The is the absolute latest research on getting your testosterone production up again naturally!!
HPTA Restart Article
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Originally Posted by Jusselin
