How long does an effective steroid cycle last?

Very often we are asked questions about how long to take steroids. On average, steroid users do 2 short cycles a year. A 2-3 month for each cycle and another 2-3 months is spent for recovering. This is the most common regimen around the world. Beginners and those who have been training for years do so. Today I’m going to tell you why it’s not good and how to do it right.

Why shorts steroid cycles give bad results?

First, let’s agree on the terminology. Any combination of drugs is commonly referred to as a cycle or a stack. It doesn’t matter if it’s for bulking or for muscle definition. It’s not quite right to say so. To be more accurate, it’s called a SHORT. [test-bold-tbol] or [tren-test-stan] or some other combination is a short. The length of a short is eight to 12 weeks. Why so long? – Because after 10-12 weeks the effectiveness decreases and there is no point in continuing on the same combination.

The weights begins to grow 2-3 weeks after the start of the cycle. The user is happy – weight gain has begun. He works hard, eats well, does hard workouts. The weight goes well, but when the short run out, a big loss of muscle mass begins. Frustrating, isn’t it?

So what really happens? Fluid goes out of the body and there is much less muscle left than desired. Because there was not enough time. This is called “post-cycle loss”. The user takes a PCT, spends another 2-3 months, then history repeats itself again. Good changes from short to short happen oooh very slowly. Skinny people can gain mass for YEARS. Sound familiar?

MACROCYCLE. What is it and what is it for?

We’ve already agreed that the combo of steroids is called “short”. The effectiveness of a short is about 10 weeks. It makes no sense to continue taking the same drugs after 10-12 weeks. A MACROcycle is several shorts that follow each other like wagons. For example: [test-bold-tbol] –> [tren-test-stan] –> [PCT].

The MACROcycle allows you to stretch the total duration of steroid use to the necessary time to get the desired effect. MACROCYCLE = a full cycle. In the MACROcycle, short = MESOcycle. A MACROcycle may consist of a minimum of 2 MEZOcycles, the maximum is unlimited. To illustrate, the scheme is as follows:

MACROcycle = [MESOcycle-1 (short)] –> [MESOcycle-2 (short)] –> [MESOcycle-N (short)]… –> PCT

Every steroid user eventually realizes that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all short. It’s not going to work for bulking and cutting at once. And even if you manage to make a good muscle definition, the mass will not be enough.

The beauty of the MACROCYCLE is that you can make ANY combinations and achieve any result within one cycle. Even a lean beginner can get in good shape in 3 MEZOcycles if you do the first 2 bulking. Like this:

[meso-1(bulking)] –> [meso-2(another bulking)] –> [meso-3(cutting)] –> PCT

How long should the MACROCYCLE last?

To make a good shape you need at least 4-6 months. The longer the better. Macrocycle allows you to achieve the desired result in one cycle with one PCT. In addition to saving time and money, the macrocycle saves a MUCH LESS amount of your hormones. As I said before – steroids don’t like speed. Newbies charge high doses and do shorts for 2-3 months, 30 pounds gained and only 10 left after the finish. That’s always a shame.

Which is more effective, 2 shorts a year or a macrocycle?

Example 1 – 2 “shorts” a year.

test+bold+tboll (3 months) -> pct + rest (another 3 months) -> test+tren+stan(3 months) -> pct and rest (another 3 months).

This is exactly one year. The result will be bad. Why?

• we force our body (PCT) twice, libido is low, the mood is unstable and so on
• higher doses in order to squeeze out more, “overpayment” and worse result
• we lose 3 months, instead of which we could have had a good rest or work
• twice a big post-cycle loss, because there was NOT enough time!

Here we are deliberately making things worse, hurting ourselves + losing time and overpaying

Example 2 – MACROCYCLE.

test+bold+tboll (3 months) -> bridge (1 week) -> test+tren+stan (3months) -> PCT and rest(3 months)

9 months + 1 week. The result will be MUCH cooler and more stable. And we have 3 months left in a year!

• we DO NOT force the body twice with PCT
• we SAVE money due to much lower dosages of the same drugs and minus the cost of the extra PCT
• we save 3 months of time, keep our hormones stable and take care of our health
• and most importantly – we get great results because we have ENOUGH TIME to build quality muscles

It was absolutely the same two short cycles or mesocycles by the steroids, which would give ABSOLUTELY different results. They often say “the cycle was a waste”, referring to “shorts”. And that makes sense. So, an excellent combination (if it’s a mesocycle, not a short) is not considered for the same reason – there wasn’t enough time. The moral is simple – don’t screw up a good combo, you need to change your approach.

What about health?

A macrocycle (2 or more mesocycles) always gets rid of unnecessary PCT drugs (nolva, clomid), which are much heavier drugs than steroids. After the macrocycle you need to do just one PCT, when you could do 2-3-10 mesocycles inside of it. After a short there is always a PCT and stupid bullying of your body each time.

There is an opinion that long steroid cycle strongly suppress hormones. Actually any “short” will reduce testosterone production in 4-6 weeks to almost zero. Macrocycles do NOT suppress hormone production more. A long cycle at low dosages is much safer than the usual shorts with regular or high dosages. The lower the dosage, the safer it is.

Recovery from the MACROCYCLE

You need the same PCT after 8 week cycle as after 50 week cycle. There is no difference in recovery time. There can be pitfalls if you ignore the rules. And the rules say that gonadotropin is needed during the cycle. We recover much faster after cycle if we use gonadotropin. Conversely, if the testicles are severely reduced, even after the “short”, recovery will take longer.

Is this suitable for a beginner?

Blood monitoring should be done while taking steroids. It is enough to take blood chemistry, monitor liver enzymes, HDL, cholesterol, bilirubin and sugar. It doesn’t matter how long the cycle is. If you want to be okay, you have to watch your blood counts. We give advice and help to manage steroid cycles here (link).

The best thing a beginner can do is to get the most out of his first steroid cycle. The body gives the best results in gaining weight to beginners.