I really haven't seen you post publications that support the notion that tapering does not aid in recovery. I can probably post a number of publications that refer to steroid metabolism. There is an entire AAS drug detection industry built around many of these metabolites. AS you read through the literature over time you will find the diversity of steroid metabolites some groups that are active in signaling and others that are targeted for degradation. All I can tell you is try the taper. You might be surprised how little, if any, true mass you lose during the taper. You may enter into your post cycle therapy in better condition to respond since the system will have moved closer to a more normal state. You can build a taper into a cycle. The Classic era BBers didn't even have PCT. Taper was their PCT. They understood that the crash could be lessened if a taper was used. Referring to cortisol spike, it isn't truly a cortisol spike after cycle. It is a relief of cortisol signaling repression. For instance you can find articles specific to GR suppression from oxandrolone. Once the anabolic steroid is removed the ssytem is set to hyper-signal signal from the glucocorticoid receptor. Again, a taper from a high dose status to a lower one will allow the system to modulate to a lower response status rather than "crash" as the drug is more rapidly removed.
Okay, that makes sense and again I never once said tapering does not aid in recovery. I actually kind of seconded that opinion when I said it would be a healthier option for sure. I was basically saying I don't see any way that it could help maintain more mass from a cycle than going directly into a PCT and recovering your HPTA faster, those are not the same things.
Admittedly, I am also thinking from the standpoint of a bodybuilder or someone who is really bulking and running multiple cycles in a year, not your average recreational user only trying to do one cycle a year. SHortening the time between
effective cycle time is going to net more gains over the year. Obviously not the same thing but that piece is forward in my mind due to me planning to run 2 cycles this year to get ready for a show. Just kind of wedged itself into my mentality while discussing this.
Something else to consider also, Classic era bodybuilders did use nolvadex to control gyno in and after cycles. Nolvadex is also a SERM and could have also aided in a lot of that recovery even though it was not considered a PCT.
By the way I was genuinely asking for you to recommend some specific studies, so I could read them. I wasn't trying to call you out. It sounds like that was your impression from the first sentence in your response.
I imagine neither of us have studies to validate this claim on either side though. I can't imagine there has ever been a study to see what the best way to come off of a high dosed androgen cycle is in order to maintain the most muscle mass. We can theorize and extrapolate from other studies not specifically designed to test this theory and make references as to why we think the theory may hold water but that is probably about it unless you know of an actual study for this specific issue.
I will say that I retract my statement that his buddy is an idiot and say that there
may be merit to that statement. I definitely think that the taper would offer a healthier option to coming off of a cycle. That said, I personally still feel it is unlikely you will retain more mass in the end once PCT is completely over. I could be wrong... probably a 6 in one hand and half dozen in the other type of scenario where the benefits and weaknesses kind of cancel each other out.
Again, if you have a study or two that you felt really spoke to why you feel this way I would love to get a chance to read them. I am not interested enough to filter through hundreds of studies trying to find a few that may be useful in figuring some of this out. However would definitely go read a few if you could refer any of them to me. Obviously if you have to go look them back up yourself then it probably isn't worth the bother. Hell even some good search options that might bring up studies that validate some of this.
By the way what is your education? YOu sound pretty damn knowledgeable. Are you getting a formal education in this area or just someone who loves to peruse research on their own?