Anyone have any experience with short cycles?

[live_evil]

They're actually advocated by quite a few experienced users and knowledgeable physicians. Bill Roberts advocates 2 week cycles while taking 4 weeks off inbetween cycles. The idea is to do large doses of AAS with short half lives in order to maximize gains, while stopping at 2 weeks in order to minimize side effects.

I recently did a 2 week cycle of test prop and Anavar (var) -- 150mg EOD of test prop (front loaded 400mg) and 75 mg ED of anavar, which yielded 8 lbs. of new weight, which is great for 2 weeks and I'm pleased because I've always been a hard gainer. I don't know if I retained all of that because I started creatine after the cycle and I always hold a ton of water while taking creatine so my weight is no indication of how much muscle I retained at this point because I've kept gaining weight from the creatine. I normally hold 5-7 lbs. of water while I use creatine so I won't know how much muscle I kept until I cycle off of the creatine before my next AAS cycle.

I did see some sides though. Sensitive nipples the last couple of days of the cycle as well as anxiety from the Anavar (var). Aggression after the front load as well. Also the inability to have an orgasm throughout most of the cycle, but nothing too severe or intolerable. The really great thing was that my HPTA didn't seem to be all that shut down after the cycle was done. I'm still waiting on blood work results (my doc is crazy slow and a pain at times) but honestly my balls didn't change size at all and my sex drive seemed completely unaffected. I didn't notice any DHT sides what so ever and I never noticed any water retention.

It was my first cycle so I didn't want to get too crazy, but for the next 2 weeker I think I'll double the test dosage, I may even add a bit of anadrol to synergize with the anavar. I would rather just go with d-bol and test, but my source doesn't carry d-bol and I'd rather stick with him since he's been great to deal with and super reliable.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried such cycles and what their results were like. I know they're not very popular, but it seems like that would stem from the amazing results you get in rapid succession from prolonged usage and longer cycles where short cycles are more about a desirable muscle mass to side effect ratio than out right muscle mass.

 

[Matt0071]

nope cant say i have run a 2 week cycle lol

 

[live_evil]

nope cant say i have run a 2 week cycle lol

I read another article (can't remember the author) who said that he believed that 4 week cycles produced the best gains to sides ratio. He was able to consistently add around 15 lbs. per cycle while experiencing very little side effects and a short recovery of 2 weeks every cycle, but he would still take 6 weeks off inbetween cycles. So it's not just 2 week cycles, but even 3 or 4 week cycles.

 

[brother bundy]

dont shut yourself down for anything under 12 weeks

 

[live_evil]

dont shut yourself down for anything under 12 weeks

And why would that be? It seems like a week of recovery would be alot easier than 4 or 6.

 

[brother bundy]

And why would that be? It seems like a week of recovery would be alot easier than 4 or 6.

You know what bro u sound like u know it all do what ever u want

 

[live_evil]

You know what bro u sound like u know it all do what ever u want

Huh?

You gave me your opinion and I was curious as to why you had that opinion. I didn't mean any offense at all. I am genuinely interested in why you don't like anything less than 12 weeks for a cycle.

Opinions on AAS are always incredibly varied so it should simply be expected that elaboration on one's opinion is pretty standard. I've seen really lengthy, well written articles stating that myostatin spikes so high after week 8 that anything longer than that is an out right waste of an AAS cycle because your gains taper off so dramatically, yet here you are telling me that 12 weeks is the only way to go.

I really don't think that asking you to elaborate rather than taking your word as the gospel truth is really all that unreasonable. Isn't that what forums are for?

 

[cool dude]

I like the idea buddy. It makes sense. Im doing a short ester 8 wk. cycle right now and LOVE the hell out of it. A good idea might be to do a long (12-14wk) winter cycle then do those shorties the rest of the time. Thanks for sharing that

 

[DADAWG]

i just dont understand the whole thing , even a 2 week cycle would at least shut you down partially so you make gains for 2 weeks then you lose mass for a few weeks while your hpta recovers ,it just doesnt make sense. IMO if your going to use something that messes with your natural test then do it long enough to make it worth your effort.

 

[cool dude]

i just dont understand the whole thing , even a 2 week cycle would at least shut you down partially so you make gains for 2 weeks then you lose mass for a few weeks while your hpta recovers ,it just doesnt make sense. IMO if your going to use something that messes with your natural test then do it long enough to make it worth your effort.

You make an excellent point and one I didn't even think about cause I blast and cruise. From my perspective it makes sense for someone who doesn't blast and cruise it doesn't make much sense at all

 

[justin h]

Its 1 outta 10 studies for the most part. The other 9 would state to just run a typica 8-12week cycle for optimal results. I doubt you'll get the help your looking for here.

 

[mlupi319]

At the end of your 4weeks off I'd love to see how much more you weigh...I highly doubt you gained 8lbs of muscle in 2weeks, maybe 2-3lbs of muscle and 5-6lbs of water and/or fat.. Did you run an AI? if not it's prolly all water

Lets say you have 5grams of test, you can run it @500mg/week for 10weeks or 1gram/week for 5weeks--> you think double the dose of test will double your bodies ability to add mass--> ever hear of the law of diminishing marginal returns

Plus how do you know if you are shut down? your ball size? Your balls producing sperm and test only accounts for a few % of the total size of your scrotum so don't think your not shut down cuz your balls are sagging... You are hypothesizing that a short cycle won't shut you down but we need proof that your HPTA was unaffected. Because once you are shut down it makes little difference if you run a 2-4week cycle vs a 10-12week cycle in terms of pct--> you will just get less gains. I mean if you are comparing a 2-4 week cycle vs a 20-24week cycle than ya pct will be easier but short vs medium cycles I need proof your HPTA is unaffected and that you actually put on muscle and not just some test bloat

 

[live_evil]

At the end of your 4weeks off I'd love to see how much more you weigh...I highly doubt you gained 8lbs of muscle in 2weeks, maybe 2-3lbs of muscle and 5-6lbs of water and/or fat.. Did you run an AI? if not it's prolly all water

Lets say you have 5grams of test, you can run it @500mg/week for 10weeks or 1gram/week for 5weeks--> you think double the dose of test will double your bodies ability to add mass--> ever hear of the law of diminishing marginal returns

Plus how do you know if you are shut down? your ball size? Your balls producing sperm and test only accounts for a few % of the total size of your scrotum so don't think your not shut down cuz your balls are sagging... You are hypothesizing that a short cycle won't shut you down but we need proof that your HPTA was unaffected. Because once you are shut down it makes little difference if you run a 2-4week cycle vs a 10-12week cycle in terms of post cycle therapy (pct)--> you will just get less gains. I mean if you are comparing a 2-4 week cycle vs a 20-24week cycle than ya post cycle therapy (pct) will be easier but short vs medium cycles I need proof your HPTA is unaffected and that you actually put on muscle and not just some test bloat

Yeah, all that stuff certainly ran through my mind as well. I'm still waiting on my blood work results, so I'll post them when I get them back.

I've never done AAS before this so I don't know, but I always imagined water retention would make the muscles appear smooth and puffy. Well my muscle are incredibly defined and hard, so it doesn't seem like there's any water retention at all. Correct me if I'm wrong in that assumption.

Also, Bill Roberts reported that the severity of how bad your recovery time is actually dependent on the amount of time you were on cycle, but you have a window to take advantage of and it's the two week cycle that really takes advantage of it. According to him anything over two weeks is a waste unless you plan on doing 8 weeks or greater.

But that's the thing, every "expert" you read up on is going to say something different. That's why I'm posting here and hoping that others have experience with the short cycles.

 

[builtbeast]

I prefer longer cycles at a lower dose. Even if gains slow down after 8-10 weeks the additional time spent on helps to solidify gains for me. Sure, you can run a 2 or 4 week cycle then 4 off and another 2-4 on but will the final gains be any different than running it consistently for 12 weeks at a moderate dose. And one has to wonder if this short duration, high dose cycling would lead to greater HTPA inhibition as others have suggested.

 

[lifter85]

if your shut down, your shut down, doesn't matter if 2 wks or 12wks. 2wk cycle is retarded and a waste.

 

[live_evil]

if your shut down, your shut down, doesn't matter if 2 wks or 12wks.

I'm not even sure what you're saying...

Are you honestly saying that being shut down for 2 weeks is the same as being shut down for 12? Or are you saying that your HPTA is effected the same by a 2 week cycle as it would be by a 12 week cycle? Either way, you have some reading to do bro...

 

[Roid The Lloyd]

Lol at gaining 15 lbs in 2 weeks.

As others have already mentioned, the minimum amount of time you should cycle for solid gains is around 8-12 weeks. 8 weeks for short estered test like prop, and 12 weeks for something like Enanthate or cypionate.

 

[live_evil]

Lol at gaining 15 lbs in 2 weeks.

Who said anything about 15 lbs. in two weeks?

Although I would bet money you could easily put on a lb a day with large doses of Test Prop stacked with either Anadrol or D-bol with all the fat and water retention you would acquire.

 

[Rida5d]

Huh?

You gave me your opinion and I was curious as to why you had that opinion. I didn't mean any offense at all. I am genuinely interested in why you don't like anything less than 12 weeks for a cycle.

Opinions on AAS are always incredibly varied so it should simply be expected that elaboration on one's opinion is pretty standard. I've seen really lengthy, well written articles stating that myostatin spikes so high after week 8 that anything longer than that is an out right waste of an AAS cycle because your gains taper off so dramatically, yet here you are telling me that 12 weeks is the only way to go.

I really don't think that asking you to elaborate rather than taking your word as the gospel truth is really all that unreasonable. Isn't that what forums are for?

Even it's late I d like to say that he was a jerk
Where is the science in the (not less than 12weeks)
I ve ran 8 week cycles with super gains ,
Short cycle - less shut down time - easier recovery- another cycle sooner

 

[Vino 1]

You sure do know a lot for only having done one cycle in your life. And that was only two freakin weeks long.