Many bodybuilders engage in a very dangerous practice of never cycling off.  Continual use of anabolic steroids is advised against by every guru, book and website, and people who engage in this practice usually are well aware of the dangers.  However, the idea of losing all the muscle they have gained is typically something they don’t want to face.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  You can continue to make significant gains while giving your body a break from heavy anabolic use.  Here’s how:

Reduce cortisol levels in your life

One of the main duties of anabolic steroids is to prevent cortisol building up in the body.  This stress chemical consumes muscle in most of us, but this effect is negated by anabolics.  Reducing stress in your life – whether it is school, relationship, job, or even training stress – can reduce the cortisol levels in your body.  This will result in your holding on to more muscle.  Check the calendar too.  Time your “off” period for a vacation or a break from school, or when things are going well in a relationship.  You want as little negative influence in your life as possible during this strenuous period.

No cold turkeys here

If you’ve been a perpetual user for several months or years, a sudden halting of all synthetic substances will crash your gains and leave you in a state of withdrawal.  Instead, you should taper back use in your first “off” cycle to 25% of your usual dose.  This will allow your system to slowly adapt to lower artificial level and allow you to hold most of your muscle.  Remember, withdrawal is highly catabolic from the increased cortisol levels.

Add fat, and prepare to gain fat

During your “on” cycle, your body has been a remarkable fat-burning machine, able to process large amounts of fats and protein to build muscle.  Without anabolic assistance, you’ll find the body still needs the same levels of fat to build muscle, but cannot burn this fat as you could before.  Accept this reality, and accept the 5 to 10 pounds of fat you may gain in the coming month, if you wish to maintain this muscle.

It cannot be stressed enough – you cannot stay “ON” forever.  Your health will fail you sooner rather than later, and you’ll end up losing every ounce of muscle that you gained.  Even the top athletes in the sport take a break every year.  It’s an absolute requirement.  You are not special, you are not different, and you haven’t figured out a way around this simple and very true fact.  If you’ve been on anabolics for over one straight year, it’s time to give yourself a break – but do it intelligently to retain most of your muscle.

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