Are you afraid to take a break?

For the longest time i was scared to death that if i missed a workout I would shrink or stagnate. At some point i got injured and had to take a break. I shrunk and got soft and it was tough to see in the mirror, not that I am some pretty bastard or hulking figure. When I got back in the gym it was about 8 weeks and I was back in shape. so basically 2 months in the gym after months and months out of the gym and I was back.

Same thing with AAS. Actually I was never afraid to go off but same sort of thing. I go off and even stay in the gym but shrink and get softer. I don't like the mirror when I am crashing and off. When I was under 35 I would snap back after a few months and tighten up naturally. But it's a little tough accepting the reality that off AAS everyone shrinks and gets softer. Makes it tough to go off. But after I would go off for some months getting back on I would snap back really fast and even grow better after the sort of rest. So, in the end going off really is only a minor shrinkage period followed by blow back up or even blow up bigger since the body is fresh again. I still go off but only for short periods and replace the remaining time I would be off with strict TRT. So if I was going to be off for 20 weeks in the past now i will PCT for 8 weeks, off all PCT drugs for 4 and then TRT at 125 mg/w for 8 or more. So I'm basically androgen deficient for 8-10 weeks. I shrink still. I could just go to TRT dose and skip the PCT but it's still force of habit. Guess I still want to kick the natty system back up for a period every year.

You guys just stay on all the time or go off and just accept some shrinking from time to time? Do a true TRT for a while every year?

Yeah shrinking can mess with some peoples minds bro, it did years ago. Now I really don't care if I lose a few pounds from low dose trt dose. The one thing that I hate is taking time off from the gym, man that really messes with me. I've been so busy traveling and vacation with the family that I've probably only had 1-2 workouts a week for the past month. I feel soft now but still full, I just saw some family last week and they said I look larger but I'm about 10 lbs lighter than normal.

Taking a break from the gym is always tough, but taking a break from gear shouldn't be such a mind fuck. Propagators of the 'once you go off you lose everything mentality' are to blame for this. Powerlifter I know said it best, "Unless you look like Arnold, shut the fuck up and train and stop worrying if you can still make progress naturally."

Yeah I hate being off AAS but hate missing the gym even more. I'm at a size now (finally) where I feel good about how I look. Even though there is a little shrinkage still bigger then before the last cycle. You said it to glycomann that every cycle you not only pop right back to where you were on the last but you surpass it. I seem to be taking shorter and shorter breaks between cycles. It is very addicting and I will be using for life that's for sure. Someday I'll likely be on trt. Till then I'll try to keep my natty system working.


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Buffalo said:

Yeah shrinking can mess with some peoples minds bro, it did years ago. Now I really don't care if I lose a few pounds from low dose trt dose. The one thing that I hate is taking time off from the gym, man that really messes with me. I've been so busy traveling and vacation with the family that I've probably only had 1-2 workouts a week for the past month. I feel soft now but still full, I just saw some family last week and they said I look larger but I'm about 10 lbs lighter than normal.

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I'm busy as fuck too. Missed a lot of gym time in the past 2 months. This past month I was on the road 2 out of 4 weeks. I'm in PCT as too. Down from 215 to 209 in the past month.

fstr03svtcobra said:

Taking a break from the gym is always tough, but taking a break from gear shouldn't be such a mind fuck. Propagators of the 'once you go off you lose everything mentality' are to blame for this. Powerlifter I know said it best, "Unless you look like Arnold, shut the fuck up and train and stop worrying if you can still make progress naturally."

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It's really hard to take a break from the gym. I literally have to break something off or be so busy it's not possible like working 20 hour days. I'm pretty sure I have some sort of mental disorder. Been like that since I was a kid.

DefMetalLifter said:

Yeah I hate being off AAS but hate missing the gym even more. I'm at a size now (finally) where I feel good about how I look. Even though there is a little shrinkage still bigger then before the last cycle. You said it to glycomann that every cycle you not only pop right back to where you were on the last but you surpass it. I seem to be taking shorter and shorter breaks between cycles. It is very addicting and I will be using for life that's for sure. Someday I'll likely be on trt. Till then I'll try to keep my natty system working.


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i remember my wife asking me if I was going to be using this stuff for 10 years. Now here is is 25 years in. By the time you're in your 50s there is no sense going off for long. Do you see the guys in their 50s, just the average guys, that never even did juice? they look like bags of fat and hair. Main thing is being healthy at that point so ramping down to true TRT for the majority of the time and brief off periods after going a bit harder is probably best.

i think everyone has that feeling that they will lose something if they miss a day, a meal, or something along those lines but alot of it is just mental until you start missing more than your going.

glycomann said:

i remember my wife asking me if I was going to be using this stuff for 10 years. Now here is is 25 years in. By the time you're in your 50s there is no sense going off for long. Do you see the guys in their 50s, just the average guys, that never even did juice? they look like bags of fat and hair. Main thing is being healthy at that point so ramping down to true TRT for the majority of the time and brief off periods after going a bit harder is probably best.

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That's good you are being smart about it after all those years. Sometimes I feel like I want to do some crazy doses and see what happens. But in the long run I know it's not wise and I want to live past 60 so I opt for a normal steady state instead. I wouldn't be able to understand if someone told me they just did a few cycles and stopped unless they really didn't respond well or had a health issue. To me it's a lifetime commitment when you decide to take this road. I always hope that everything I'm doing doesn't affect my health as i get older. However it is a risk I'm willing to take. Just like when I ride my Harley. I hope no one runs into me but it's a risk I'm willing to take. What's life without some risk?!


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Being smart about it on my part might have been to not have started this in the first place. the most obvious problems it cause are lost all my hair by 32 (about 15 years early), got gyno both sides, tore a bunch of muscles (hamstring, both calves, brachialis), probably contributed to arthritis, high BP on cycleanyways, it is what it is. also I have higher creatinine levels which could means some mild kidney damage. And it's not a lifetime commitment. Anyone can stop at any time and almost everyone can recover. I stopped for 9+ years and recovered. It took a while but i did.

I stay on all the time now, but take my dose down to TRT levels for at least 4 weeks every 18-20 weeks. I ramp it up and add in different compounds here and there. I miss gym time here and there, but never ever go below 3 days a week. I also watch my blood work religiously. Every 2-4 weeks no matter what.....