Quote Originally Posted by jackfrost88 View Post
Hey, so the standard advice you hear is time off + PCT = time off. Additionally, the more times you cycle the greater likelihood that you will not recover (especially as you get older) and will need TRT.

My question is, when your blood work shows a "full" recovery, and you hop back on cycle why would the chances of not getting your natural test back be increased? It must be that you are actually not fully recovered (whether blood work shows it or not). There is very little research I can find on this issue.

Can anyone explain a) if this is true b) why would this be? c) are there any studies on the issue that show how this may be?

Could it just be as we get older our testosterone falls anyways and this theory applied to a 40 year old man for example just shows a natural decline that would have happened anyway separate from steroids?

Thanks in advance!
The Time on+ester clear+PCT window is just a good rule of thumb. Obviously the younger you are the quicker and easier it is to recover for most but that doesn't mean you should jump back on a cycle as soon as your BW shows recovery. Exogenous hormones are a big shock to your HPTA and the longer the cycle, the longer the strain on it.

You get blood work 6-8 weeks post PCT to check for full recovery or atleast things are moving in that direction. However as you age that pre-cycle BW should show a decline in Testosterone after 30, PCT is atleast trying to get you back to that baseline. With the fact that most should only get 1 to 2 cycles a year in, every pre-cycle blood should show that decrease from the previous year. I'm not sure you will readily find any studies, however it is a known fact that the majority of bodybuilders are on TRT. I imagine one day in order to keep up with the demands of a society and longer life, every male will be on TRT into his 80s.