Although steroids are primarily taken to treat a number of medical conditions, they are also used to promote muscle growth and enhance physical or athletic performance. Primarily used by members of the bodybuilding community, steroids are often injected intramuscularly.
However, they can be taken as oral capsules, too. In cases where they’re used to build muscle, they artificially add certain hormones to the body, suppressing the body’s natural production of testosterone in men.
Naturally, this can have important side effects, which means that you will need to follow post cycle therapy (PCT). But what is a PCT cycle, what does it do, when should you start it, and what are some of the most common drugs used during a cycle? Below, we offer answers and insights into these questions.
What is PCT?
For those new to the game, you’ll probably be wondering what is a PCT cycle? In short, a PCT cycle is an anabolic harm reduction protocol that is recommended to be followed after a period of taking steroids.
Such a cycle usually starts one week after taking steroids and continues for a period of one month to six weeks after the last artificially ingested or injected steroid was taken, depending on a number of individual factors related to your physical health.
Examples of these factors include the type of drugs and their dosage, your weight and height, your physical condition and more.
However, the PCT period can last longer, depending on the nature and speed of certain slow-releasing supplements.
What does PCT do?
As mentioned above, taking steroids, prohormones or selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) reduces the body’s natural production of testosterone, which is now substituted with artificial means of introducing it in the body.
So, what does PCT involve? Essentially, once you begin a post cycle therapy period, you give your body the chance to restore the production of testosterone naturally. However, this can have several side effects, among which include loss in muscle gains, fatigue,
When to start PCT after a cycle?
If you are concerned about retaining your muscle gains, you’ll want to know what is the best PCT cycle to keep gains. Embarking on a PCT after steroids should take place one week after the steroid has been taken. For PCT after SARMs, you can start the protocol immediately. However, it’s always advisable to get professional medical help in this regard.
And if you have taken testosterone enanthate and want to know when to start PCT after test E, it should be started at least two weeks after the last injection. For those who are interested in PCT after a testosterone cycle or how long after PCT before the next cycle, the answer is that this will vary in terms of each individual. However, the general period is one month to six weeks. This is the average time in terms of how long you should PCT for.
In short, if you want to know when to start PCT, consider all the factors in a holistic way, such as the type of supplement taken, your weight and height, any underlying medical conditions, whether you take the steroids in conjunction with certain medication, etc.
Also advisable is that you continue training during a PCT but that you do not increase reps or add extra weight to the bars but rather take the process in a slower and more controlled way as you give your body time to heal and recover more substantially.
What drugs are used during a PCT cycle?
As mentioned earlier, stopping taking steroids helps restore your body’s natural production of testosterone. But this means that you may experience side effects that may include mood fluctuations, fatigue, a lower libido, greater production of oestrogen, disturbed sleep and more.
In these cases, you may want to take specialised PCT steroids, such as Nolvadex and PCT Assist. Nolvadex, for example, is also known as tamoxifen citrate, a selective oestrogen receptor modulator (SERM), not to be confused with SARMs.
These modulators and their PCT cycle dosage should be determined and taken after consultations with your medical doctor. In some cases, it may be necessary to have blood tests done to ensure that you’re getting the right dosage for your body and health-related needs.
Conclusion
When it comes to achieving your muscle mass goals, you know how much effort goes into it. You do not want to lose your gains but you also do not want to negatively affect your body and its natural production of testosterone, which plays a critical function to many different physical aspects.
This is why you need to seriously consider post cycle therapy and use the right products after the discontinuation of prohormones. For this reason, we highly recommend that you try PCT Assist. It helps with liver regeneration and helps with heart and prostate health.
In addition, because it is used as a dietary supplement, it is a good way for you to restore the body’s natural levels of testosterone and ensure you retain your body’s good health.
