Cortisol levels
- Thread starter KDLMaj
- Start date
Rosie Chee
The Female Terminator
Rosie Chee
The Female Terminator
Cortisol levels rise dramatically during a cycle, the body's way of trying to maintain a homeostatic mechanism over the new muscle growth; this is why the best gains will usually be experienced from weeks 2 until weeks 5-6. After weeks 5-6 gains slow to a crawl, because they are mostly due to cortisol antagonism by androgens (anti-catabolic mechanism) rather than conventional anabolism. Cortisol levels start low, and then rise slowly to meet higher androgen levels. This can be mitigated by either increasing the dosage, cycling off, or using something that blocks cortisol (real drugs, which is definitely NOT recommended). Food can also keep cortisol levels lower, as insulin blunts cortisol; this is why dieting or cutting calories post-cycle is a bad idea.
When a person stops whatever exogenous androgen they are on their androgen levels will plunge and cortisol levels will remain elevated during PCT. As long as this ratio is out-of-whack, they will be in a catabolic state and losing muscle mass. DHEA can help will this (as well as cissus and B6) because when cortisol levels are high DHEA can compete with the same receptor sites. It may not necessarily be the most anabolic thing in the world, but it is not catabolic, and by competing with cortisol, you can keep at least some of it from binding while androgen levels return to normal. Cytokine levels also rise sharply during a cycle along with cortisol levels, and cytokines are VERY catabolic. DHEA, B6, and cissus each lower cytokine levels, and can be very helpful in this regard. Lot of different inter-related things go into PCT, not just testosterone and estrogen.
~Rosie
Team APPNUT
ryanp81
Well-known member
What She said, and from first hand expericence Osteosport is really potent and fantastic for cortisol control.
js2sbr
New member
So with the rise in cortisol during the "on cycle", would it be prudent to take a product such as OsteoSport mid cycle and then run through pct?
Rosie Chee
The Female Terminator
I would recommend using a product such as OsteoSport on-cycle AS WELL as during PCT.
~Rosie
Team APPNUT
KDLMaj
Member
Any suggestions on B6 and cissis dosages? What about DHEA?
Also, does lipo pm deal with any of this stuff?
Finally- if we didn't do volume training during cycle, and we normally do 4 sets per exercise (one warmup and 3 at weight), how should PCT training look? Right now, I'm doing 3 sets and increasing the weight with fewer reps (seting it to hit rep fail at 7 or 8 reps). I was also at 3 on/1 off during cycle for an hour to 75 min. Should I reduce to 2 on/1 off and 45 min with the increased weight/fewer reps?
Basically, how do I train to maintain but not elevate cortisol levels further?
Also, does lipo pm deal with any of this stuff?
Finally- if we didn't do volume training during cycle, and we normally do 4 sets per exercise (one warmup and 3 at weight), how should PCT training look? Right now, I'm doing 3 sets and increasing the weight with fewer reps (seting it to hit rep fail at 7 or 8 reps). I was also at 3 on/1 off during cycle for an hour to 75 min. Should I reduce to 2 on/1 off and 45 min with the increased weight/fewer reps?
Basically, how do I train to maintain but not elevate cortisol levels further?
rms80
Board Sponsor
Rosie pretty much covered it.....
Since you are in the EU- you have access to Alpha-X- it is awesome for cortisol control, and Osteo-Sport does a pretty good job as well- both are great anti-catabolics- kind of an off-label use, but controlling cortisol is one of the most important things in PCT
Rosie Chee
The Female Terminator
Dosage:
Cissus - 1000 mg/day (of 50% extract)
As for DHEA, if you used a product such as Lean Xtreme that contains 7-oxo DHEA, this would aid in cortisol control (and Lean Xtreme is the best cortisol control product available, IMO).
Lipotrophin-PM does not deal with cortisol control, no. It is designed more for better sleep, fat loss, and controlling appetite.
I would just keep training as you are during PCT (except that I would recommend that you make your sessions only 45 minutes instead of 75 minutes).
~Rosie
Team APPNUT
Rosie Chee
The Female Terminator
No worries
(I did do a review on Lean Xtreme - Invalid Link Removed - but that was the original version by Designer Supplements last year).
~Rosie
Team APPNUT