AAS- Tips on keeping gains for the moderate user

[MayTryIt]

Sticky fa sho!

[D7M]

[magaton]

Thanks Marcus

[Subotai]

Wow, short and useful

I've read 10 page articles that don't make it as clear as that. Thanks a lot

[Egypt.One]

Nice sum up man~!

[marcus300]

Bump t bump

[tembe]

think we need more on it about maintaining gains made via fat loss....

how to maintain a lean body from your cycle...

great read however

[lovbyts]

I have made the same mistake years ago, trying to cut up during and just after PCT, big mistake. I prefer to keep in good condition all year now, no need to carry pointless fat around.

Very wise words. That's the problem, to many people think OLD school and try to Bulk then cut but they dont bulk clean.

That's why I preach it's a lifestyle, not a fad....

think we need more on it about maintaining gains made via fat loss....

how to maintain a lean body from your cycle...

great read however

As I said above or more simply, loose the fat first..... stay healthy/lean. That is another reason we preach here about NOT doing a cycle until your body fat is down to the desired level so you arent trying to reduce fat on cycle and burning muscle....

[marcus300]

bump

[bezzy]

quality read helped me out!! simply wrote out for the simple minds

[ds53]

Your on a roll tonight! Good Work!

[songdog]

very good read bro.

[Callsign]

Im pretty new here, & going to hav to brush up on my terminology.. Eccentric? Dropset?.. Goin to hav2do sum research n read this again.. I'm just about finished with my hcg post cycle therapy, & think I look better & leaner. I didnt change my diet at all after stopping the test.. Thanks for all the good info.. You guys are going to help alot of folks like myself take this to another level.

[marcus300]

Im pretty new here, & going to hav to brush up on my terminology.. Eccentric? Dropset?.. Goin to hav2do sum research n read this again.. I'm just about finished with my hcg post cycle therapy, & think I look better & leaner. I didnt change my diet at all after stopping the test.. Thanks for all the good info.. You guys are going to help alot of folks like myself take this to another level.

eccentric: is the downward movement where the muscle lengthens as its put under stress
drop sets: http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=444683

[Callsign]

Ok looked it up, read it again, & I'll start that technique today & run it for a month or so.. I've always incorporated dropsets spiratically, usually only on the last set n never concentrated on the eccentric portion. Should b fun, thanks again Marcus

[EddiePT]

good read, thank you!

[marcus300]

Bump

[rc_p90]

good shit

[jeallybean78]

Excellent article. You guys have a wealth of knowelge. Best site on the web bar none

[bodybuilder]

Thanks Marcus your the man bro.

[VV Cephei]

Excellent read, this is the type of thing I'm looking for as I'm gathering info before I start!

[Matt]

^^ Ive always found that reading these educational threads make a huge difference in our understanding and knowledge in the usage of such potentially dangerous compounds...

[gethuge21]

thanks marcus

[CaliburKid]

Excellent thread sir...

[evander87]

Very good read even if there is a stickie at the top

[Connectorhector]

Great info thanks

[tigerspawn]

Thanks for the rethread Marcus. I was reading this and having deja vu. It is good idea to repost old threads most individuals only read the current ones. There are only a few members on this site that could pull off reposting an already existing thread and your definitely one of them.

[oatmeal69]

This is my plan when I come off in a few weeks. My training will remain the same (HIT) but I will drop some of the volume, just one or two exercises per bodypart, and try to keep it to 30 min. I'll up my calories a bit, and keep doing 30 min. cardio daily.

[Doom44]

Good read

[gymmonster]

I like to stop and reread this each time l see it. Great post.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge Marcus

[BBJT200]

Great info, sticky material!

[marcus300]

to the top

[oatmeal69]

I'm scared to DEATH of adding fat when I come off... I've actually managed to shed fat AND add muscle on my current cycle thanks to following my diet pretty strictly. I know I will lose some strength and size no matter what, but I'd like to continue leaning if at all possible. Is it possible??

[marcus300]

bump

[marcus300]

worth a read

[marcus300]

i'm still bumping

[marcus300]

bum...

[marcus300]

sump

[btrizzyb]

Nutrition - is another area which we must focus on to help maintain the new found gains, after a cycle androgen levels are going to be lower than normal even with the above strategies. We have to maximise the anabolic hormones as much as possible while our system is recovering. First we need to calculate the change in the new calories needed for the new tissue gained during the cycle and support the new tissue, a person who under eats to their requirements will be stripped of the muscle mass very quickly.

I am not quite understanding how Im supposed to do this? Im supposed to figure out how many calories I am to be taking in off cycle, but how do I do that?

Overeating has been shown in numerous studies to maximise these factors. Over maintenance calories are needed to promote the anabolic edge, dietary fat has an influence on androgen secretion, monounsaturated and saturated fat raises testosterone levels but polyunsaturated fat does not so a healthy diet containing O'3 and O'6 will help in this period. Eat clean and feed the new tissue with abundance of calories but always have in mind of muscle building foods and not the sugar rich alternatives we can easily lean to in this period. As testosterone returns to normal and recovery is nearly there, eating over the calories can be lowered to maintenance of the new found muscle what's been gained during the cycle. Never start dieting in the recovery stage it will strip you of your hard earned tissue.

Your saying here that taking in more calories than I really need is a good thing, as long as they are clean calories? Can you explain the different types of fat so I can understand what the good fat I should be eating is?

Training - Still concentrate on the basic heavy movements this and still focus on HIT type of training, also take more attention on the eccentric part of the lift because this causes most of the muscle fibre damage, after warm up do about 2 sets per bodypart and dropset them, which should consist of eccentric reps start with maximum followed by 90% Max, then 80%max, making sure you take a good 5-6 seconds for the eccentric portion of the reps on all dropsets. There are many other ways of training to help recovery but this method does have great benefits by making the workout shorter and the muscle being hit in a different way. Further gains can be achieved if careful planning is done of your training sessions.

I had a few questions about dropsets, but I dropped them in a reply on your Dropset post that you have.

Supplements- Its hard to advice what supplements will help and work for you in the recovery and maintenance period. Clearly a quality protein powder,creatine, test booster's,BCAA's, glutamine and vital vits and supps in the off period does help drastically and all aid recovery, past experience will help to pick which other supps may help and agree with your body.

How do I determine what a quality protein powder is? I assumed for the most part pretty much all whey protein is equal, so I jump back and forth between on Gold Standard and Elite Gourmet (which ever is cheaper). I also use Dymatizes creatine (because its the cheapest I could find). I should also be using a test booster? I havent ever gotten any BCAAs or glutamine either.

[marcus300]

bump