Thoughts on cutting without AAS

[Live for the PUMP]

I was getting ready to cut before my next cycle in a couple months.. Then I was reading where some members advising not to cut without AAS because it will cause some muscle loss as well. To cut or not to cut. I appreciate your responses to this.

[Atomini]

It all depends, really. Some amount of muscle loss is always expected when cutting without AAS, it is just the natural effect of placing your body in a hypocaloric state of extended periods of time. Anabolic steroids help to preserve muscle mass by way of the nutrient partitioning effects, and also serve to indirectly enhance fat loss through the nutrient partitioning as well.

I had actually always run AAS cycles as bulking or lean mass cycles for the longest time and didn't want to ever run a cutting cycle because I felt it was like a waste if I could simply use the AAS for adding mass instead. Bulking up and adding mass is always more fun too. But I eventually ran a 100% cutting cycle after 5 years of consistent bulking / lean mass cycles and I was extremely pleased with the results. Remember that when cutting, you do not require anywhere near the same doses of AAS that you would when bulking or adding lean mass simply because the purpose of AAS in a cutting cycle is that of a mucle mass preservative by way of increasing nitrogen retention in the muscles during a caloric deficit.

I see too many people run far too high doses of AAS during cutting cycles. Running things like 400mg/week or higher of Trenbolone is completely unnecessary. 200mg/week of Trenbolone with a little bit of Testosterone is MORE than enough (especially considering Trenbolone's immense strength that is 5x the strength of Testosterone, making 200mg of Trenbolone the equivalent of 1,000mg of Testosterone). Your body while in a caloric deficit will not be able to utilize higher doses of AAS in comparison to a caloric surplus. No need to run high doses, and it is easier on your expenses too.

[Brick]

It all depends, really. Some amount of muscle loss is always expected when cutting without AAS, it is just the natural effect of placing your body in a hypocaloric state of extended periods of time. Anabolic steroids help to preserve muscle mass by way of the nutrient partitioning effects, and also serve to indirectly enhance fat loss through the nutrient partitioning as well.

I had actually always run AAS cycles as bulking or lean mass cycles for the longest time and didn't want to ever run a cutting cycle because I felt it was like a waste if I could simply use the AAS for adding mass instead. Bulking up and adding mass is always more fun too. But I eventually ran a 100% cutting cycle after 5 years of consistent bulking / lean mass cycles and I was extremely pleased with the results. Remember that when cutting, you do not require anywhere near the same doses of AAS that you would when bulking or adding lean mass simply because the purpose of AAS in a cutting cycle is that of a mucle mass preservative by way of increasing nitrogen retention in the muscles during a caloric deficit.

I see too many people run far too high doses of AAS during cutting cycles. Running things like 400mg/week or higher of Trenbolone is completely unnecessary. 200mg/week of Trenbolone with a little bit of Testosterone is MORE than enough (especially considering Trenbolone's immense strength that is 5x the strength of Testosterone, making 200mg of Trenbolone the equivalent of 1,000mg of Testosterone). Your body while in a caloric deficit will not be able to utilize higher doses of AAS in comparison to a caloric surplus. No need to run high doses, and it is easier on your expenses too.

What would you say would be a good amount then if not running Tren ? Slightly above TRT levels? 300-350mg/wk?

[austinite]

^ that's plenty for muscle retention.

[Atomini]

Yup, Austinite has got it down pat.

300mg weekly of Testosterone is more than enough. In fact, that's more than enough for a beginner first-time anabolic steroid user to make great gains. It's what I used on my very first Testosterone-only cycle. Loved it.

Now, if someone is running a catabolic compound such as T3 for fat loss while cutting, that is a different story. 200mg/week of Trenbolone is still more than sufficient to stave off catabolism from T3 use, but Testosterone or even weaker anabolic steroids (such as Primobolan , for example) will need to be run a higher doses. This is of course dependent on individual response, T3 dose, as well as caloric intake. For general cutting cycles, this is not an issue.

[Soar]

For arguments sake what would you say about dosages on a cutting cycle of tren , test, t3 and clen ?

[Metalject]

In my opinion and I know it's not the majority opinion here, if I were only going to use AAS for cutting or bulking not both, I'd pick cutting all day long. Now if you're only looking to lean out a little bit, you're not looking to get to really low levels of body fat, then sure I'd probably pick bulking, that would be the exception. You can build a fair amount of lean muscle without gear but if you're really trying to lean out you'll always look better on gear than without every time.

[Brick]

For arguments sake what would you say about dosages on a cutting cycle of tren, test, t3 and clen?

I think the Tren at 200 would be more than enough to suffice and ward off the T3 muscle burn (along with test 200mg).

As for test only alongside T3. I would guess 500mg a week would be enough to stave off muscle burn if running T3 at 125mcg/day. This is just my educated guess.

[Atomini]

Yeah there really is no solid set in stone answer as to the appropriate doses to stave off catabolism from T3. That's why I said there are so many factors to consider: individual response, T3 dose, as well as caloric intake. When it comes to things like these, its more of a go-with-the-flow situation where you have to test the waters for yourself and adjust doses and caloric intake accordingly.

[Live for the PUMP]

I suppose I will just do some cardio and eat a little cleaner to help get my BF get down a few points instead of actually "cutting". Next cycle is Deca in summer so won't be cutting with that. Then after that my next cycle will be in winter. Looks like I will be bulking for a while, lol.

[marcus300]

I was getting ready to cut before my next cycle in a couple months.. Then I was reading where some members advising not to cut without AAS because it will cause some muscle loss as well. To cut or not to cut. I appreciate your responses to this.

Probably the best thing you can do, do not worry about if you cut properly and do it SLOWLY you can cut real good and retain a fair amount of tissue but what will happen is you will be in an excellent postition for when you do your cycle and you will be in a massive growth window and you will explode in gains. Check out my priming thread for more details and trust me to many people cut with aas when its not needed because the results from cutting naturally slowly can and are very good and the environment you have created by doing this is an excellent spring board for super gains when you do cycle. This all depends on how serious your going to be cutting but if you do the above correctly you will never look back

[Live for the PUMP]

Probably the best thing you can do, do not worry about if you cut properly and do it SLOWLY you can cut real good and retain a fair amount of tissue but what will happen is you will be in an excellent postition for when you do your cycle and you will be in a massive growth window and you will explode in gains. Check out my priming thread for more details and trust me to many people cut with aas when its not needed because the results from cutting naturally slowly can and are very good and the environment you have created by doing this is an excellent spring board for super gains when you do cycle. This all depends on how serious your going to be cutting but if you do the above correctly you will never look back

Thanks for the info. I'll check out your priming thread. Gives me more to think about.