- Jun 25, 2006
- 5,045
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by Bill Roberts
How does someone cycle steroids? Or, if you're into the prohormone thing, how do you cycle prohormones? This question usually comes up right after you've figured out exactly what to take. Actually, if you've got both of those figured out, you're pretty much set. Trouble is, the first problem is usually a lot easier to figure out than the second.
I've become pretty well-known for advocating brief, alternating cycles of two weeks on, four weeks off. What most people don't realize is that this isn't the cycle I usually recommend to the athletes who consult with me. More often than not, I'll consider a longer cycle to be appropriate — and usually when we do the "two weeks on, four weeks off" thing, it's at the insistence of the athlete.
Was I wrong with "two weeks on, four weeks off" in the first place? Not at all. Rather, it's that there is no "one best cycle." Different plans suit different needs. What I want is for people to be able to look at their needs and come up with the plan that's right for them.
Now, this article is going to sound very steroid-based. But if prohormones are your interest and steroids aren't, well, all I can ask is that you bear with me. I think you'll find a lot of information that will meet your needs, as well. In fact, I'll finish the article by transferring this cycling "technology" to prohormones.
Why Cycle?
The most fundamental reason for cycling is that most guys want to keep their nuts working. It's that simple. Few really want to become dependent on a needle, and few really want to have shriveled raisins to go along with their Johnson.
For the testicles to keep working, they need the pituitary to supply them with luteinizing hormone (LH). This stimulates the testicles to produce testosterone and causes them to maintain normal size. The problem is, when on steroids, the pituitary produces very little LH and the testicles basically go on strike. With time, they atrophy and go on welfare, begging passing strangers to give them any spare testosterone that they might have in their pockets.
As it turns out, the truly hardcore user can stay on steroids year-round. And if he uses another drug (HCG) to trick the testicles into thinking they're getting LH, he can avoid the nut shrinkage. But even so, he may have problems if he stops using steroids. His LH production may not want to come back quickly after his pituitary has been "asleep" for who knows how long. Besides, it probably isn't the best thing (health-wise) to be on heavy-dose steroids 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
What's the Point of Being "On" All of the Time?
Many steroid users fear that if they're "off" for a month — or, heaven forbid, several months — then they'll never "catch up." Not so.
Look at Flex Wheeler. Not only was he "off" for many months, but he got quite small after his car accident a while back. People almost started calling him "Kenny" again, because Flex somehow didn't seem appropriate anymore. Is he now months behind where he could have been if he hadn't been forced to stay away from bodybuilding? No way. He very swiftly got back to the same place and then surpassed that point, too.
This is quite typical, actually. "Off" periods result in very fast gains when "on" again and — if they don't take up too much of the year — probably don't adversely affect ultimate results.
Most pro bodybuilders who remain "on" continuously don't gain more than a few pounds per year, despite all of this. Ten pounds represents an excellent yearly gain, and many athletes don't manage that much. Lee Haney reported averaging only two pounds per year during his Mr. Olympia years, and even Dorian Yates didn't average very much more. The body can gain muscle rapidly for brief periods, but not "week in, week out."
What point am I making? You can be "off" periodically and swiftly catch up to where you would have been had you stayed "on" the whole time. Several months off per year won't hurt results. But, I don't deny that being "on" 2/3 of the time gives better yearly gains than being "on" 1/3 of the time. It does.
The athlete looking for the most hardcore results will want to be "on" 2/3 of the time or more. And, out of paranoia, many prefer the "more" side of the equation. But the athlete looking for very substantial results with much less impact on health may prefer to be "on" 1/3-1/2 of the time. Excellent results can still be obtained.
The "Two On, Four Off" Plan
What if you want something to carry you through the next year — or longer — and recognize that you'll be making gains in weight training for a long time to come? Likewise, maybe you don't have visions of being 40 pounds more muscular by some nearby deadline. Maybe you'd even prefer to make your gains in modest increments: ten pounds here, five pounds there. You might want to alternate brief periods of muscle gain with periods of fat loss. You're concerned about your health and want to be "off" of steroids most of the time. If that's you, the "two weeks on, four weeks off" plan may be the right choice.
The scheme is pretty simple, but there's sound reasoning behind it. You make gains very rapidly for two weeks, using a pretty high dose of steroids. The grams-per-week level is reasonable, though some have been happy with less. When the steroid dose is sufficient and the training and nutrition are right, it's surprising how much can be gained. In fact, 12-15 pounds of retained muscle isn't unusual for the first-time user. Actual weight increases of over 20 pounds (muscle, additional fluid, etc.) in those two weeks are quite possible.
During the "off" weeks, you limit your steroid usage to orals, which are used only in the mornings (use at night tends to inhibit LH production more). This helps avoid losses but has little adverse effect on natural testosterone production.
To work like it was intended, the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle must be done with short-acting steroids. They should be mostly out of the system by the first day of the third week. Otherwise, recovery of natural testosterone production isn't as fast.
The reason for this is that the pituitary has a time-dependent response to high androgen levels in the system. If androgen levels have been high for more than two weeks, the pituitary enters a "dormant" mode with regard to producing LH. It can receive plenty of "signal" to produce LH, but it'll be unresponsive to that signal. Call as it may, it won't take the pituitary's phone calls.
For this reason, recovering natural testosterone production (which depends on LH) can be difficult after a long cycle. And the longer the cycle, the greater the chance of the recovery being slow. But if androgen levels have been high for only two weeks, the pituitary is actually sensitized to producing LH! It'll produce more LH in response to the same signal than it would under normal conditions.
The result of this manipulation — if androgen levels are high for two weeks and no longer — is an amazingly fast recovery. Within days, testosterone production can be fully normalized, instead of having to wait weeks like you might if using a longer cycle.
The brief cycle plan offers a very real psychological advantage in regard to training. You end up training naturally most of the time (or using orals only in the morning, which make little difference to training). This maintains the athlete's ability to train well in the gym without drugs — more important than one might think, because a lot of steroid users accustomed to longer cycles really can't train decently and often don't even bother to train when off steroids. In essence, they get spoiled. There's a lot to be said for keeping one's "feet on the ground," as occurs when scheduling four weeks of natural training after each two weeks of serious juice usage.
The "two weeks on, four weeks off" plan is a very conservative cycle from a health standpoint. Many cycles can be scheduled back-to-back with no problem. Even after a year of this, the athlete's really been "on" for only 17 weeks total, comparable to, say, two traditional cycles. It also works well into a long-term scheme for both gaining muscle and losing fat, as three of the four "off" weeks can be devoted to dieting, yielding both muscle gains and fat loss during each six-week time period.
The disadvantages of the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle? Not all that many injectables are short-acting, and the availability is poor. The choices of injectables are testosterone propionate, nandrolone phenylpropionate (not decanoate!), trenbolone acetate, testosterone suspension, and Winstrol Depot.
Consequently, if the only steroids available are long-acting injectables, this cycle plan isn't going to work very well. Some athletes have had success using single 750-mg injections of Sustanon at the start of the cycle. But if that's all they're using, it only yields modest gains.
Aside from the limitations in choice and/or availability of drugs, the fact is that if someone's in a hurry and wants to be as big as he can be eight weeks from now, eight weeks straight will give better results than two weeks on, four off, and two on! So, this cycle isn't the best "quick fix" answer.
The Straight-Cycle Plan (8-10 Weeks On)
No doubt, you've seen all kinds of plans, with names like diamonds, reverse pyramids, etc. They're all bullshit. The truth is very simple, really. There are, qualitatively, three states that you can be in while on steroids:
State 1) High doses that inhibit natural testosterone production and give fast gains.
State 2) Smaller doses that still inhibit natural testosterone production but don't give fast gains.
State 3) Doses that don't much inhibit natural testosterone production, yet still help avoid losses of muscle.
The second state obviously isn't desirable. You want to be in either State 1 (gaining phase) or State 3 (recovery phase), preferably passing through the undesirable middle state as rapidly as possible.
What exactly constitutes a "high dose?" Typically, 500-1,000 milligrams per week, with the higher amount still conservative, really, and substantially more effective than the lower amount.
Varying the amount during the high-dose phase really doesn't accomplish anything. When using a long-acting injectable, it's advisable to inject a double dose on the first day to accomplish loading (getting levels up immediately to where they will be for most of the cycle). But, other than that, dosing is most efficiently kept the same throughout the cycle.
However, one might change the choice of steroids through the cycle. To get a clean transition from the gaining phase to the recovery phase, it's best to have used any relatively shorter-acting injectables toward the end of the cycle, and longer-acting ones toward the beginning. Primobolan Depot is a particularly nice choice for use during the last few weeks of the cycle, giving an excellent transition into the recovery phase.
For the straight cycle, it's really smart to have Clomid (an anti-estrogen which improves LH production) available for use in the recovery phase (it's preferable for the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle, too, but not as vital). Again, orals can be used during the morning hours to help avoid losses during the recovery phase.
How long should the gaining phase be? I find the time frame of three to seven weeks to be inefficient. Recovery really isn't much — if at all — faster than with an eight-week cycle, but gains are less. On the other hand, as one goes past eight weeks, the likelihood of a slow recovery increases.
On the other hand, if the athlete uses Clomid, a slow recovery isn't much of a risk (for most people) if the cycle length is kept below eight to ten weeks. Of the couple hundred consultations I've done with athletes performing straight cycles ranging from eight to ten weeks in which Clomid was used to facilitate recovery, none complained of recoveries taking more than four weeks. So for cycle length, I prefer eight weeks to be conservative, with ten also being acceptable.
There are a couple of minor disadvantages to the traditional, straight cycle. As mentioned above, if Clomid isn't available, slow recoveries are likely to be expected. Combine that with a lack of HCG, and you've got a good chance of experiencing testicle shrinkage, too. And lastly, the athlete will look different throughout the year if he does a cycle of eight to ten weeks, followed by a few months off, followed by another cycle, etc. Think Oprah in between diets. For people in professional situations, doing many brief alternating cycles and dieting during the "off" weeks will provide a smoother progression toward the same ultimate goal.
Application to Prohormones
Specific prohormones can actually be reasonably effective if used at fairly heavy dosages (over a gram per day and quite possibly two grams) and around the clock. However, this usage can be expected to inhibit natural testosterone production.
Note: By prohormones, I really mean only 4-androdiol and 4-norandrodiol. The male user should avoid the diones and the 5-prohormones.
Prohormones can also be used in a more conservative fashion in which dosage is more reasonable and gains are compromised for the sake of avoiding inhibition of natural testosterone production. This can be done either with up to three doses of 300 mg taken during the daytime only, or up to a gram taken in the morning only. These dosing plans have little effect on natural testosterone production which, obviously, is a good thing. The problem is that this conservative plan of attack also yields little in the way of gains.
As you may or may not know, prohormones are available in both oral and topical (transdermal) forms. Topical prohormones, unlike orals, have the property of slow delivery into the body. Thus, there's no way to restrict their presence in the body to only the day and not the night. So if you use a transdermal, I believe that you can expect inhibition of natural testosterone production (if the prohormone dose is high enough to give any benefit). Orals, on the other hand, can be used either way — around the clock, or selectively only during the day — but some may find it inconvenient to take capsules every four to six hours.
How Does This Relate to Cycling?
Again, one wants to follow the same philosophy in regard to effects versus inhibition: if you're going to inhibit natural testosterone, then get some fast gains! We don't want to do in-between doses if it means tiptoeing into the middle ground of inhibition while only experiencing small gains.
There are times, however, when low doses could be useful. For instance, we may periodically want to use smaller amounts that help support our previously made gains without interfering much with natural testosterone production.
Either the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle or the straight cycle approach can be used with prohormones. In the gaining phase of a two-week cycle, using the currently available products, up to two grams per day of orals or 400 mg per day of topical prohormones is appropriate. Orals should be divided into several doses per day for best results, preferably every four to six hours. For the recovery phase, topicals shouldn't be used, and reasonable oral use would be 300 mg once or twice per day, used only during the day (use at night tends to inhibit LH production more).
For a straight cycle, I think the relatively modest gains that you achieve with the currently available prohormones don't warrant interfering with natural testosterone production for the many weeks involved. I think that it's best to keep dosing as described before: either up to a gram of orals morning-only, or 300 mg up to three times per day during the daytime only.
Conclusion
In regard to "real deal" pharmaceutical steroids, I think that straight cycles work as well over time as brief alternating cycles, and more so if the athlete does the straight cycles with little time off between them. This is especially true if the athlete has Clomid to speed his recovery after the cycle and HCG to maintain testicular function during the cycle.
As far as prohormones...well, I have some problems with them if the user is ambitious and wants to get the most possible gains out of these supplements. For most prohormone users, Clomid isn't going to be available, and neither is HCG. Thus, recovery from a longer cycle is potentially more of a problem. And having a few weeks of low testosterone after a cycle that only provides modest gains doesn't sound like a winning deal to me. In fact, I wind up consulting with a lot of people who try this and wind up needing to find some Clomid. It's not an unusual problem at all.
For the athlete who's looking for an "edge" to his training and is happy with more moderate gains, a straight cycle in which prohormones are used moderately and only during the day can be appropriate. When this is done, the exact number of weeks "on" and "off" doesn't really matter much. I'd suggest being "on" no more than 2/3 of the time, though.
I think that the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle makes better sense for the ambitious prohormone user. This is two weeks of heavy use, followed by four weeks of light (daytime-only) or no use. Will gains be terrific? Not really. Something in the neighborhood of three to five retained pounds of muscle is a more realistic expectation here, a fraction of what can be obtained with anabolic steroids. However, the fast recovery afforded by this method means that the modest gains aren't overcome by losses afterward.
Am I biased? Sure, I admit it...we're probably coming out with a topical prohormone if — as I believe possible — we can overcome most or all of the "bugs" inherent to previous prohormone products. To tell you the truth, I probably wouldn't have discussed prohormone cycling at all if not for that, since anabolic steroids are more effective and, really, more interesting. But even so, all of the above still applies, and I definitely recommend cycling over continuous use of prohormones.
Remember, deciding whether to choose steroids or the prohormone route is all about weighing the risks against the benefits. And that, in my book, entails minimizing the risks while making sure to get the maximum bang for your buck.
How does someone cycle steroids? Or, if you're into the prohormone thing, how do you cycle prohormones? This question usually comes up right after you've figured out exactly what to take. Actually, if you've got both of those figured out, you're pretty much set. Trouble is, the first problem is usually a lot easier to figure out than the second.
I've become pretty well-known for advocating brief, alternating cycles of two weeks on, four weeks off. What most people don't realize is that this isn't the cycle I usually recommend to the athletes who consult with me. More often than not, I'll consider a longer cycle to be appropriate — and usually when we do the "two weeks on, four weeks off" thing, it's at the insistence of the athlete.
Was I wrong with "two weeks on, four weeks off" in the first place? Not at all. Rather, it's that there is no "one best cycle." Different plans suit different needs. What I want is for people to be able to look at their needs and come up with the plan that's right for them.
Now, this article is going to sound very steroid-based. But if prohormones are your interest and steroids aren't, well, all I can ask is that you bear with me. I think you'll find a lot of information that will meet your needs, as well. In fact, I'll finish the article by transferring this cycling "technology" to prohormones.
Why Cycle?
The most fundamental reason for cycling is that most guys want to keep their nuts working. It's that simple. Few really want to become dependent on a needle, and few really want to have shriveled raisins to go along with their Johnson.
For the testicles to keep working, they need the pituitary to supply them with luteinizing hormone (LH). This stimulates the testicles to produce testosterone and causes them to maintain normal size. The problem is, when on steroids, the pituitary produces very little LH and the testicles basically go on strike. With time, they atrophy and go on welfare, begging passing strangers to give them any spare testosterone that they might have in their pockets.
As it turns out, the truly hardcore user can stay on steroids year-round. And if he uses another drug (HCG) to trick the testicles into thinking they're getting LH, he can avoid the nut shrinkage. But even so, he may have problems if he stops using steroids. His LH production may not want to come back quickly after his pituitary has been "asleep" for who knows how long. Besides, it probably isn't the best thing (health-wise) to be on heavy-dose steroids 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
What's the Point of Being "On" All of the Time?
Many steroid users fear that if they're "off" for a month — or, heaven forbid, several months — then they'll never "catch up." Not so.
Look at Flex Wheeler. Not only was he "off" for many months, but he got quite small after his car accident a while back. People almost started calling him "Kenny" again, because Flex somehow didn't seem appropriate anymore. Is he now months behind where he could have been if he hadn't been forced to stay away from bodybuilding? No way. He very swiftly got back to the same place and then surpassed that point, too.
This is quite typical, actually. "Off" periods result in very fast gains when "on" again and — if they don't take up too much of the year — probably don't adversely affect ultimate results.
Most pro bodybuilders who remain "on" continuously don't gain more than a few pounds per year, despite all of this. Ten pounds represents an excellent yearly gain, and many athletes don't manage that much. Lee Haney reported averaging only two pounds per year during his Mr. Olympia years, and even Dorian Yates didn't average very much more. The body can gain muscle rapidly for brief periods, but not "week in, week out."
What point am I making? You can be "off" periodically and swiftly catch up to where you would have been had you stayed "on" the whole time. Several months off per year won't hurt results. But, I don't deny that being "on" 2/3 of the time gives better yearly gains than being "on" 1/3 of the time. It does.
The athlete looking for the most hardcore results will want to be "on" 2/3 of the time or more. And, out of paranoia, many prefer the "more" side of the equation. But the athlete looking for very substantial results with much less impact on health may prefer to be "on" 1/3-1/2 of the time. Excellent results can still be obtained.
The "Two On, Four Off" Plan
What if you want something to carry you through the next year — or longer — and recognize that you'll be making gains in weight training for a long time to come? Likewise, maybe you don't have visions of being 40 pounds more muscular by some nearby deadline. Maybe you'd even prefer to make your gains in modest increments: ten pounds here, five pounds there. You might want to alternate brief periods of muscle gain with periods of fat loss. You're concerned about your health and want to be "off" of steroids most of the time. If that's you, the "two weeks on, four weeks off" plan may be the right choice.
The scheme is pretty simple, but there's sound reasoning behind it. You make gains very rapidly for two weeks, using a pretty high dose of steroids. The grams-per-week level is reasonable, though some have been happy with less. When the steroid dose is sufficient and the training and nutrition are right, it's surprising how much can be gained. In fact, 12-15 pounds of retained muscle isn't unusual for the first-time user. Actual weight increases of over 20 pounds (muscle, additional fluid, etc.) in those two weeks are quite possible.
During the "off" weeks, you limit your steroid usage to orals, which are used only in the mornings (use at night tends to inhibit LH production more). This helps avoid losses but has little adverse effect on natural testosterone production.
To work like it was intended, the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle must be done with short-acting steroids. They should be mostly out of the system by the first day of the third week. Otherwise, recovery of natural testosterone production isn't as fast.
The reason for this is that the pituitary has a time-dependent response to high androgen levels in the system. If androgen levels have been high for more than two weeks, the pituitary enters a "dormant" mode with regard to producing LH. It can receive plenty of "signal" to produce LH, but it'll be unresponsive to that signal. Call as it may, it won't take the pituitary's phone calls.
For this reason, recovering natural testosterone production (which depends on LH) can be difficult after a long cycle. And the longer the cycle, the greater the chance of the recovery being slow. But if androgen levels have been high for only two weeks, the pituitary is actually sensitized to producing LH! It'll produce more LH in response to the same signal than it would under normal conditions.
The result of this manipulation — if androgen levels are high for two weeks and no longer — is an amazingly fast recovery. Within days, testosterone production can be fully normalized, instead of having to wait weeks like you might if using a longer cycle.
The brief cycle plan offers a very real psychological advantage in regard to training. You end up training naturally most of the time (or using orals only in the morning, which make little difference to training). This maintains the athlete's ability to train well in the gym without drugs — more important than one might think, because a lot of steroid users accustomed to longer cycles really can't train decently and often don't even bother to train when off steroids. In essence, they get spoiled. There's a lot to be said for keeping one's "feet on the ground," as occurs when scheduling four weeks of natural training after each two weeks of serious juice usage.
The "two weeks on, four weeks off" plan is a very conservative cycle from a health standpoint. Many cycles can be scheduled back-to-back with no problem. Even after a year of this, the athlete's really been "on" for only 17 weeks total, comparable to, say, two traditional cycles. It also works well into a long-term scheme for both gaining muscle and losing fat, as three of the four "off" weeks can be devoted to dieting, yielding both muscle gains and fat loss during each six-week time period.
The disadvantages of the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle? Not all that many injectables are short-acting, and the availability is poor. The choices of injectables are testosterone propionate, nandrolone phenylpropionate (not decanoate!), trenbolone acetate, testosterone suspension, and Winstrol Depot.
Consequently, if the only steroids available are long-acting injectables, this cycle plan isn't going to work very well. Some athletes have had success using single 750-mg injections of Sustanon at the start of the cycle. But if that's all they're using, it only yields modest gains.
Aside from the limitations in choice and/or availability of drugs, the fact is that if someone's in a hurry and wants to be as big as he can be eight weeks from now, eight weeks straight will give better results than two weeks on, four off, and two on! So, this cycle isn't the best "quick fix" answer.
The Straight-Cycle Plan (8-10 Weeks On)
No doubt, you've seen all kinds of plans, with names like diamonds, reverse pyramids, etc. They're all bullshit. The truth is very simple, really. There are, qualitatively, three states that you can be in while on steroids:
State 1) High doses that inhibit natural testosterone production and give fast gains.
State 2) Smaller doses that still inhibit natural testosterone production but don't give fast gains.
State 3) Doses that don't much inhibit natural testosterone production, yet still help avoid losses of muscle.
The second state obviously isn't desirable. You want to be in either State 1 (gaining phase) or State 3 (recovery phase), preferably passing through the undesirable middle state as rapidly as possible.
What exactly constitutes a "high dose?" Typically, 500-1,000 milligrams per week, with the higher amount still conservative, really, and substantially more effective than the lower amount.
Varying the amount during the high-dose phase really doesn't accomplish anything. When using a long-acting injectable, it's advisable to inject a double dose on the first day to accomplish loading (getting levels up immediately to where they will be for most of the cycle). But, other than that, dosing is most efficiently kept the same throughout the cycle.
However, one might change the choice of steroids through the cycle. To get a clean transition from the gaining phase to the recovery phase, it's best to have used any relatively shorter-acting injectables toward the end of the cycle, and longer-acting ones toward the beginning. Primobolan Depot is a particularly nice choice for use during the last few weeks of the cycle, giving an excellent transition into the recovery phase.
For the straight cycle, it's really smart to have Clomid (an anti-estrogen which improves LH production) available for use in the recovery phase (it's preferable for the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle, too, but not as vital). Again, orals can be used during the morning hours to help avoid losses during the recovery phase.
How long should the gaining phase be? I find the time frame of three to seven weeks to be inefficient. Recovery really isn't much — if at all — faster than with an eight-week cycle, but gains are less. On the other hand, as one goes past eight weeks, the likelihood of a slow recovery increases.
On the other hand, if the athlete uses Clomid, a slow recovery isn't much of a risk (for most people) if the cycle length is kept below eight to ten weeks. Of the couple hundred consultations I've done with athletes performing straight cycles ranging from eight to ten weeks in which Clomid was used to facilitate recovery, none complained of recoveries taking more than four weeks. So for cycle length, I prefer eight weeks to be conservative, with ten also being acceptable.
There are a couple of minor disadvantages to the traditional, straight cycle. As mentioned above, if Clomid isn't available, slow recoveries are likely to be expected. Combine that with a lack of HCG, and you've got a good chance of experiencing testicle shrinkage, too. And lastly, the athlete will look different throughout the year if he does a cycle of eight to ten weeks, followed by a few months off, followed by another cycle, etc. Think Oprah in between diets. For people in professional situations, doing many brief alternating cycles and dieting during the "off" weeks will provide a smoother progression toward the same ultimate goal.
Application to Prohormones
Specific prohormones can actually be reasonably effective if used at fairly heavy dosages (over a gram per day and quite possibly two grams) and around the clock. However, this usage can be expected to inhibit natural testosterone production.
Note: By prohormones, I really mean only 4-androdiol and 4-norandrodiol. The male user should avoid the diones and the 5-prohormones.
Prohormones can also be used in a more conservative fashion in which dosage is more reasonable and gains are compromised for the sake of avoiding inhibition of natural testosterone production. This can be done either with up to three doses of 300 mg taken during the daytime only, or up to a gram taken in the morning only. These dosing plans have little effect on natural testosterone production which, obviously, is a good thing. The problem is that this conservative plan of attack also yields little in the way of gains.
As you may or may not know, prohormones are available in both oral and topical (transdermal) forms. Topical prohormones, unlike orals, have the property of slow delivery into the body. Thus, there's no way to restrict their presence in the body to only the day and not the night. So if you use a transdermal, I believe that you can expect inhibition of natural testosterone production (if the prohormone dose is high enough to give any benefit). Orals, on the other hand, can be used either way — around the clock, or selectively only during the day — but some may find it inconvenient to take capsules every four to six hours.
How Does This Relate to Cycling?
Again, one wants to follow the same philosophy in regard to effects versus inhibition: if you're going to inhibit natural testosterone, then get some fast gains! We don't want to do in-between doses if it means tiptoeing into the middle ground of inhibition while only experiencing small gains.
There are times, however, when low doses could be useful. For instance, we may periodically want to use smaller amounts that help support our previously made gains without interfering much with natural testosterone production.
Either the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle or the straight cycle approach can be used with prohormones. In the gaining phase of a two-week cycle, using the currently available products, up to two grams per day of orals or 400 mg per day of topical prohormones is appropriate. Orals should be divided into several doses per day for best results, preferably every four to six hours. For the recovery phase, topicals shouldn't be used, and reasonable oral use would be 300 mg once or twice per day, used only during the day (use at night tends to inhibit LH production more).
For a straight cycle, I think the relatively modest gains that you achieve with the currently available prohormones don't warrant interfering with natural testosterone production for the many weeks involved. I think that it's best to keep dosing as described before: either up to a gram of orals morning-only, or 300 mg up to three times per day during the daytime only.
Conclusion
In regard to "real deal" pharmaceutical steroids, I think that straight cycles work as well over time as brief alternating cycles, and more so if the athlete does the straight cycles with little time off between them. This is especially true if the athlete has Clomid to speed his recovery after the cycle and HCG to maintain testicular function during the cycle.
As far as prohormones...well, I have some problems with them if the user is ambitious and wants to get the most possible gains out of these supplements. For most prohormone users, Clomid isn't going to be available, and neither is HCG. Thus, recovery from a longer cycle is potentially more of a problem. And having a few weeks of low testosterone after a cycle that only provides modest gains doesn't sound like a winning deal to me. In fact, I wind up consulting with a lot of people who try this and wind up needing to find some Clomid. It's not an unusual problem at all.
For the athlete who's looking for an "edge" to his training and is happy with more moderate gains, a straight cycle in which prohormones are used moderately and only during the day can be appropriate. When this is done, the exact number of weeks "on" and "off" doesn't really matter much. I'd suggest being "on" no more than 2/3 of the time, though.
I think that the "two weeks on, four weeks off" cycle makes better sense for the ambitious prohormone user. This is two weeks of heavy use, followed by four weeks of light (daytime-only) or no use. Will gains be terrific? Not really. Something in the neighborhood of three to five retained pounds of muscle is a more realistic expectation here, a fraction of what can be obtained with anabolic steroids. However, the fast recovery afforded by this method means that the modest gains aren't overcome by losses afterward.
Am I biased? Sure, I admit it...we're probably coming out with a topical prohormone if — as I believe possible — we can overcome most or all of the "bugs" inherent to previous prohormone products. To tell you the truth, I probably wouldn't have discussed prohormone cycling at all if not for that, since anabolic steroids are more effective and, really, more interesting. But even so, all of the above still applies, and I definitely recommend cycling over continuous use of prohormones.
Remember, deciding whether to choose steroids or the prohormone route is all about weighing the risks against the benefits. And that, in my book, entails minimizing the risks while making sure to get the maximum bang for your buck.