If you have never used Testolone (RAD 140) before, but you have heard lots of encouraging facts about how this Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM) is great for your recomp amongst other things, I’d like to say from personal experience that you heard correctly.
After running an eight week RAD 140 cycle, I can personally say that Testolone is indeed one of the best non-steroid compounds out there if your goal is to gain lean muscle.mass and boost performance.
I had used a number of steroids in the past, so you could excuse me for being a bit pessimistic about the rave reviews on RAD 140 at first.
But after eight weeks of running a testolone cycle, I could genuinely say that my muscle growth and overall training performance had been given a much needed jolt.
Now I was not preparing for a competitive event at the time (even though I wish I was), but believe me when I say that RAD 140 is a great compound if you intend going on a diet in preparation for a competitive bodybuilding event, because while your dieting would help you lose body fat, Testolone will ensure that you don’t lose any of your muscle gains in the process.
And as I mentioned before, if you are planning for a recomp, then you can be sure to experience some tremendous gains with your muscles being hard, dry, and tight all at once. I also noticed that my vascularity was right up there within just six weeks of my Testolone cycle.
In this post, I divulge my personal experience from running a Testolone cycle and post-cycle therapy protocol to restore a balance to my natural hormonal functions and of course keep my gains.
I. Getting Off Testolone at the Right Time
The first thing you need to know about using Testolone is that you should run a cycle for a specific length of time. It is not advisable to use Testolone indefinitely.
In my case, I ran an eight week Testolone cycle, but that’s because I decided to run a warm-up cycle as this was my first time using RAD 140 or any other SARM for that matter.
However, advanced bodybuilders and those with a bit more experience using RAD 140 and SARMs in general are known to use Testolone for between 10 to 24 weeks at a time.
While RAD 140 is not as suppressive as many androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS), it does cause some level of shutdown to endogenous testosterone production due to interruptions in the Hypothalamic Pituitary Testicular Axis or HPTA.
Typically, anyone on Testolone would need some time off the SARM in order for their HPTA to stabilize and gain some regularity in stimulating natural testosterone production to normal levels.
I remember the last time I ran a Testosterone cycle, I experienced suppression and had to stimulate my Luteinizing hormone (LH) with Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) shots taken subcutaneously every other day.
This was part of my PCT protocol after my Testosterone cycle and the protocol also included a daily dose of Tamoxifen (Nolvadex), a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) needed to help protect me from estrogenic side effects.
You should note that depending on several factors including the RAD 140 cycle and dosage plan, some people may not require PCT and their HPTA gets functioning at normal level on its own after a while.
However, not everyone is so lucky and while in my case I had to run PCT, there are those that experience hypogonadism where their HPTA does not recover at all and as a result they have to be placed on a lifetime of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
I had to avoid messing up my HPTA and my body’s ability to produce endogenous testosterone by running a short RAD 140 cycle with a low dosage plan while still performing PCT at the end of my cycle.
So if you ask me if you need PCT after a Testolone cycle, I’d have to say you do, especially if you run a lengthy RAD 140 cycle with a high daily dosage plan. Also, if you intend to stack Testolone with other SARMs or even anabolic steroids, you should definitely consider planning for post-cycle therapy.
II. The Ideal Testolone PCT Protocol
When I decided to use RAD 140 I had the help of an experienced trainer give me valuable advice on the dosage plan to adopt.
In my case, I started off with a RAD 140 daily dosage of 5mg which lasted for 3 days before I increased it to 10mg in the first week. By the second week of my 8 week Testolone cycle, I further increased my daily dosage to 15mg, a daily dosage I maintained up until the sixth week of my cycle when I again increased my daily dose, this time to 20mg.
The reason for the gradual increase of Testolone dosage was to know how my body would react to the compound before my next increase. Note that RAD 140 has an elimination half-life of between 45 to 60 hours, so I began my PCT within a week of ending my cycle.
My PCT protocol was for a period of one month (4 weeks) and included the use of Clomiphene (Clomid). I took 25mg of Clomid daily for 4 weeks straight. After a month, I had my bloodwork to see if my hormone panel was normalized and fortunately it was.
Now you should always give yourself some time off Testolone even after a successful PCT. A second RAD 140 cycle soon after PCT can be counterproductive to your strength and muscular gains.
III. A Word of Advise
For me, RAD 140 is one SARM that anyone new to bodybuilding and indeed performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) can consider using and here’s why.
For starters, a low daily dosage of RAD 140 taken over a cycle length not exceeding 8 weeks may cause little or no suppression.
Also, RAD 140 offers a number of bodybuilding gains including enhanced strength, stamina, endurance, and lean muscle mass with increased vascularity. RAD 140 is also great for recomp, especially where you are on a cutting program.
However, I advise that you should never use more than 20mg of RAD 140 per day, as a high daily dosage will increase your suppression.
PCT is essential for moderate to high daily dosages, in my case I used between 5 to 20mg of Testolone over the length of my eight week cycle.
But it is important to note that people react differently to using RAD 140 and so while some people recover fully after a Testolone cycle without PCT, others need PCT to restart their HPTA and yet there is another group of people that may never recover and need to be placed on HRT for life.
RAD 140 PCT is important as you can maintain over 90% of your bodybuilding gains if you execute the right post-cycle therapy plan.
To achieve this, you should spend time chatting with an experienced bodybuilding trainer who would be in the best position to recommend a personalized PCT protocol that would get your HPTA functioning properly while also helping you to keep your performance and muscle gains.
And that’s it, if you need someone to talk to before embarking on a Testolone cycle, you can feel free to get in touch with an IFBB PRO here and you can be sure that you won’t go wrong with your cycle, dosage plan and RAD 140 PCT protocol.