GYNO PCT HCG...

What's this about gyno? Testosterone (along with a number of other anabolics - deca, dbol) is an aromatizing compound meaning with elevated levels of it, you will have corresponding elevated levels of estrogen in your system. It is generally wise to combat these during cycle to avoid excessive bloating and the posisbility of developing breast tissue (gyno). Two ways of doing this: an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI) or a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM). In general, I think using an AI during cycle is better as it prevents the testosterone from aromatizing in the first place, whereas a SERM prevents the estrogen from binding to estrogen receptors. A popular and easily available AI for on cycle use is Anastrozole (brand name Arimidex); SERMs are generally used if gyno is already an issue on cycle, or for PCT.

PCT - what's that? Post Cycle Therapy - this is a necessity and not something that is optional or can be purchased over the counter in your local GNC. So all cycle long you've been injecting testosterone and you have lots of it in your system, much more than your body naturally produces. So what does your body do ? - it stops producing its own testosterone. As the long estered testosterone wears off at the end of the cycle (roughly two weeks from your last injection), you body realizes that it no longer has testosterone in it and decides to try to make some of its own. At the same time, your estrogen to testosterone ratio is high, meaning you have a lot of estrogen, but very little testosterone, and whats worse, as your body tries to start making testosterone, it converts some of that to estrogen so you have even more estrogen (very simplified explanation of whats happening). Long story short, you need a SERM, peferably Tamoxifen (Nolvadex brand name) to combat these estrogen levels and help your body get itself creating enough testosterone again to sustain your new muscle mass. Yes you can use an over the counter testosterone booster, but you MUST always use a SERM. Always.

Lastly, HCG? HCG is not always a must on your first, or lower dosed cycles, but it is highly, highly recommended. So remember how the testosterone you are injecting is telling your body to stop producing its own testosterone? Well HCG tells you body through a LH signal (I'm not going to go into specifics) to your testes to keep trying to produce testosterone. This will not only limit the amount of shrinkage you will occur on cycle in your boys down below, but it will drastically aid in how quickly you recover post cycle. Now remember, HCG is suppressive as well, meaning it must be discontinued before PCT as well. So this is only used during cycle up until several days before PCT, but will definitely help keep you ready to start producing testosterone again post cycle.