Cycles Intended for Reducing Excess Fat

2. Eight-week cycle using Methandienone, Clenbuterol, and T3

In this cycle, an AAS is already used — specifically Methandienone at a daily dose of 20 mg (10 mg in the morning + 10 mg in the evening). Why? Precisely because of the thyroid hormone T3, which is strongly catabolic. Those of you who roll your eyes at Methandienone being included in a cutting cycle simply do not understand this. If you start using AAS, you must also think about maintaining estrogenic activity. If instead of Methandienone you included Stanozolol, Oxandrolone, Turinabol, or another compound, all of these are substances without estrogenic activity, which, at the same time, by suppressing your own testosterone production, also lower E2 levels in the body below reference values — and that is NOT a desirable effect! Too low E2 in men causes:

A. Dehydration of collagen tissues, worsened tendon elasticity, reduced connective tissue strength — meaning tendons lose elasticity, become dry, less flexible, and the likelihood of injury increases.

B. Lower bone density, increasing the risk of fractures — but this applies only to long-term decreased E2 levels measured in months.

C. Reduced muscle blood flow, worsened anti-inflammatory processes, and impaired recovery of muscle micro-tears — overall much weaker regeneration.

D. Decrease in libido, weaker erections, fatigue, worsened mood, depression, sleep issues, and so on.

E. Significant worsening of cholesterol, increasing cardiovascular risks, etc., and I could continue…

Yes, all of this happens when you take Stanozolol, Oxandrolone, Turinabol, and similar drugs in cutting cycles without simultaneously using an aromatizing compound such as testosterone — or in our case, since this is an oral cycle, Methandienone, because it is the only oral substance capable of creating estrogenic activity! Of course, the best choice would be Methyltestosterone, but today it is almost unavailable on the black market.

Those of you who thought of Oxymetholone — yes, it would still theoretically be a better choice than Stanozolol, Oxandrolone, or Turinabol, but Oxymetholone is also a non-aromatizing substance, meaning it does NOT convert into any form of estrogen. Oxymetholone acts directly at the E2 receptors and creates various effects at different levels — which is something different entirely. Again, I will dare to say that many of you are now shaking your heads because I mentioned Oxymetholone in a cutting cycle — you would be surprised how many competitive bodybuilders use Oxymetholone at the end of prep. Alright, I will not dwell on it. Those of you who want to understand will understand, and those who do not want to understand — put whatever you want into your cycle. It is, after all, your cycle and your decision.

I don’t think I need to write much more about Clenbuterol, because we already “covered” enough about it at the beginning of this article. The only thing I will mention here is that the combined use of T3 and Clenbuterol leads to a strengthening of their effects, even though they have completely different mechanisms of action. What are we talking about? A significantly increased heart rate, a higher risk of arrhythmias, increased oxygen demand of the heart, possible left ventricular hypertrophy (with long-term use), disruption of electrolytes (especially potassium), which leads to muscle cramps and arrhythmias, and so on. What does this mean? In most cases, it is enough to reduce the dose of Clenbuterol ⇒ a maximum daily dose of 60 to 80 mcg.

T3 hormone: T3 is the active thyroid hormone responsible for regulating metabolism, body temperature, and energy production. And that is exactly why it is an interesting substance for cutting cycles, because T3 directly increases daily energy expenditure by a few hundred kcal and increases resting metabolism by 10–15%. During T3 use, one may experience heat waves, heart palpitations, headaches, hand tremors, insomnia, and short-term increased appetite (paradoxically). Many of you have certainly heard that you should not take the T3 hormone, and I want to ask out of curiosity—testosterone is a hormone, isn’t it? And you aren’t afraid of that anymore? It is logical that using T3 will reduce the production of your thyroid gland, but that does NOT mean that the gland will be damaged! We will explain this more in detail. Taking thyroid hormones naturally reduces the level of TRH (a hormone released in the hypothalamus in response to detecting low thyroid hormone levels), which then signals a reduction of TSH (which regulates thyroid activity by stimulating the thyroid gland to produce T3 and T4). As a result, the thyroid gland stops producing and slows down its function, but it never shuts down. After discontinuing T3, thyroid function returns to normal within 1–2 weeks on its own. And even long-term use of T3 and T4 does not chronically suppress the HPT axis (hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis), because this axis is resilient and is never chronically suppressed. I will repeat it once again: the activity of the thyroid gland, even despite using T3, will never be chronically suppressed the way the activity of the testes is during testosterone use. During T3 use, the thyroid gland does NOT get damaged! If some “smart” friend tells you that it does, then please ask him to show you a single known case from the past, let’s say, 20 years—during which the internet and forums have existed—where someone had long-term thyroid problems after using T3. You will not find such a case. Of course, T3 should not be used lightly if you have a family history of thyroid disorders, meaning if your parents, grandparents, siblings, or other close relatives have existing thyroid issues. In such cases, T3 is clearly not for you!**

– T3 leads to increased protein synthesis, which sounds pretty good, right? But at the same time, rapid protein breakdown occurs, and unfortunately the speed of breakdown is higher than the speed of synthesis. So the result is clear—T3 use causes protein breakdown = CATABOLISM. From studies we know that exogenously administered T3 preferentially catabolizes hypertrophied muscle! And that is exactly why it is necessary to use Methandienone together with T3 in this cycle, as I already wrote several paragraphs above.

– During T3 use, one may experience heat waves, heart palpitations, headaches, hand tremors, insomnia, and short-term increased appetite (paradoxically).

T3 has a half-life of roughly 2 to 3 days. Its commonly misused dose is most often 37.5 to 75 mcg per day, and there are even people who take 100 mcg per day, though personally I do not see much point in that. Taking 25 mcg daily makes no sense, because natural production is about 28 mcg per day. Therefore the dose of 37.5 mcg and higher has a justification. It is always good to divide the daily dose into 2 or 3 doses as follows:

• -Daily dose 50 mcg = 2 × 25 mcg
• -Daily dose 75 mcg = 2 × 37.5 mcg or 3 × 25 mcg

You will surely wonder why it is good to divide the daily dose of T3 into 2 or 3 parts when it has a long half-life. There are 2 essential reasons:

• Even though the half-life is long, studies show that after taking T3, rapid pharmacodynamic effects occur (rapid rise in fT3 levels).
• The manifestation of negative effects is significantly higher if the full daily dose is taken at once and much lower if the dose is divided into multiple smaller doses.

For the first experience with T3, it is better to start with a lower dose and gradually increase it as follows:

• Monday = 12.5 mcg in the morning + 12.5 mcg in the afternoon
• Tuesday = the same; if everything is fine, increase the dose
• Wednesday = 25 mcg in the morning + 12.5 mcg in the afternoon
• Thursday = the same; if everything is fine, increase the dose
• Friday = 25 mcg in the morning + 25 mcg in the afternoon, and this dose is maintained for several weeks

For repeated use, you can start immediately with 50 mcg on the first day, then later increase to 62.5 mcg or even to 75 mcg. How long to take T3? It is usually used for 4 to 12 weeks. Everything depends on the manifestation of negative side effects and the individual’s satisfaction with the cycle results.