Gaining weight from cycles (long post for experienced brains)

Ironclad

Ok, before i ask this i'll let you know that i haven't cycled as yet and i'm mostly lurking and reading posts old & new to get a good idea of cycle choices, pct etc etc. I still consider myself a neewb, so if this is a Q that gets a flaming so be it, at least i'll be educated some more...
I'm reading alot of threads about 'keeping gains' and how the proper use of AIs and PCT (+ food +w/out +sleep)will make sure this'll happen; looked into the biology of this too from all over the web. I've also read posts from folk that have cycled many times for years, and those that claim they stay 'on' all the time (i don't disbelieve them btw). This is all great, i feel like i'm getting my head around this slowly, but theres summit that i'm finding hard to understand. stay with it (sorry..)
If typical gains from a testosterone cycle of 12+ weeks will be around 10-15lbs AFTER pct, and some guys cycle over n over, can i assume that the 'kept gains' is really a temporary state. Ok, i know there are some real heavy weights like Melvin Anthony (20stones o/s), but i'm thinking that either the enhancement doesn't last OR the gains deminish every time you cycle OR i'm reading posts by heavy-weight devision BBers.
(yes i know it takes blood, sweat n tears to get to the top. Its the continual gains cycle after cycle that puzzles me)
So whats going on? Is there a upper personal limit to weight-gain? Or do many of you guys cycling just quit when you're happy with the size?
Flame on ! lol

god i hope this doesn't make me look like a total haha.....

Ironclad

bump.......

crazycal1

to answer part of your Q bud-
you wont put on 15lbs from every cycle you`ll do-
in fact its debatable that you`ll get that much from your first.
i think to be a 20 stoner you`d have to be of a heavy dispostion to start with-big bones etc.
its a case of banging away week after week year after year and eating like an elephant.
and yeah staying on pretty much all the time....

einsteins mind was the key to all things...to understand more than to know.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk

sitries

i think everyone has a baseweight and an upper weight limit. after each cycle i believe these move up. my baseweight usedc to be 11.5stone, then i bulked without gear to 12 stone. then i used gear to go from 12 stone to 13.5. then a year after the cycle i am now 12 stone again (i was away travelling on and off and have only trained minimally). what im basically saying is that from doing that cycle i think i moved up my base weight by 12 stone. im now embarking on another cycle in which i think i will be able to hit 14 stone and hopefully settle a few months after to 13 stone, or a very cut 12.5.

hope this helps - and the proof will be in the pudding. im a week and a half into my test cycle and im still at 12 stone. wish id used a kickstart now - i want it to kick in!!!!

Ironclad

Ok yeh, thanks for the replys fellas. Actually its interesting, perhaps what i could / should have asked (everyone that has cycled at least once) is how much you gained after your PCT. I know some of it is advertisement blag but i do read 1st cycle gains up to a staggering 25lbs! Thats like 2 stones!!
Sitries, your reply is interesting because you actually did a cycle (diet etc) and put on 21lbs ish. Then over a year lost or slimmed down to roughly your starting weight. Praps leaner that you were back then, but that was kinda what i was wondering in my post... to TRUELY hold those gains do you have to periodically test cycle? ((i think not, grit and determination seem to be the key. Which is prob why we are in awe of the pros))
Yeh, proof in da pudding, i agree. Good luck with your cycle buddy. And thanks to both of you. Cheers!!!

Bodyworks

mmmm. surprisingly few replies to this question, which is a very good one i think.

my opinion, what you gain fast on juice, you lose fast off juice. any gains you keep are down to the hours spent in the gym, not a temporary hormone inbalance in the body. look at now retired former pro bodybuilders physiques, there's your answer.

Tall

I'm a bit out of my depth here, but what the hell.

Bodyworks gave a very good answer in the fact that it is just a temporary hormone inbalance which allows the body for a period of time to grow and hold onto additional muscle tissue.

What the body really wants to do is maintain homeostasis, and operate at a comfortable level.

I also don't think you would gain upto 15lbs after PCT on a 12 week test cycle - perhaps on a first cycle, but what % of that would be actual muscle?

Your blood plasma volume, glycogen levels and water retention would also be up on cycle, all of which would drop off after the cycle ended.

I think it took Dorian 5 years to gain a solid 25lbs (going from 225lbs to 250lbs) - and by solid I mean competition quality. I'm no Dorian expert so I could be wrong on the above.


Homeostasis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

andyboro

i think thats the reason for the lack of replies to be fair...

that is a cracking question but i think the only guys capable of really answering it are those who have been on and off for many many years..

i think what BW said is completely true though - the faster you get it, the faster you will lose it... alongside that if you are off for long periods then id be pretty sure that further gains would be lost even after PCT.

ive read a bit recently about having to hold a specific weight for 4 weeks for the body to become more accustomed (sp) to it and be more likely to hold onto it but whether or not there is any truth in that im yet to find out..

sitries

the reason i lost most of my gains over the year was cox i was travelling - which meant, a lack of gym (i was lucky to get there 1nce a week), i was drinking most nights getting hammered, and my diet wasnt great. all those factor are why i lost weight - but the interesting thing is that i think if i had not of done the cycle, then over that year of travelling i think i would have dropped well below 12 stone. hence why i think that my baseweight increased because of the cycle. if i had of trained hard and ate well for 6months after the cycle i think i would of easilt held 15lbs. On my current cycle i think i will gain 25lbs and keep 15lbs. that what im hoping for anyway!

crazycal1

yeah but sitries you gotta admit you ate sh1tloads on youre cycle and that the gains werent all lean muscle...

einsteins mind was the key to all things...to understand more than to know.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk