Lifting with peptide cycles

[Waclive]

I've recently started lifting again and experimenting with CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin before bed on the days I lift. I'm curious if anyone has any experience with it and what did you find out from your research? Or have you tried any of the other variations of secretagogues? Has it affected your sleep in any noticeable way?

I'm curious mainly about how you cycled it (I.E. When you pinned, at what frequency, and what dosage) to see if I'm leaving anything on the table as far as the timing of it goes.

Currently I am pinning 250-350 mcg at night before bed only on lift days. I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to go the 5 on 2 off cycle regardless of the lift days or if that's diminishing returns because I'm not lifting all of those days.

 

[cygnus]

CJC/Ipa gave me some uncomfortable facial flushing for about 10minutes after injection, but sleep on the GH secretagogues is pretty great. I've historically been a lousy sleeper but doing a simple 250mcg tesamorelin and 250mcg ipamorelin combo 2 hours after final meal (right before bed) has made a world of difference to me; I do a 5 days on, 2 days off protocol with them. Better sleep = better performance in the gym. I workout a lot, 6x heavy lifting sessions per week, and even on a cut with retatrutide that has me in a 1000cal daily deficit I find that I'm not being severely impacted from a training volume, estimated 10RM max, nor fatigue perspective. Is that all from the GHRH/GHRP? Probably not, but I feel pretty great on them and wish I didn't have to cycle off after 16 weeks to give the receptors a break.

 

[Waclive]

I appreciate you sharing your experience, thank you.
Have you tried any of the others to see if the effect are more noticeable?
Have you always lifted 6 days a week using them?

In my research, I haven't found anything to say I can cycle longer than 16 weeks doing it less than 5 days consecutively or if I am missing any benefits by not doing it 5 days in a row. Makes sense to run both to see what I can learn about it.

 

[cygnus]

I appreciate you sharing your experience, thank you.
Have you tried any of the others to see if the effect are more noticeable?
Have you always lifted 6 days a week using them?

In my research, I haven't found anything to say I can cycle longer than 16 weeks doing it less than 5 days consecutively or if I am missing any benefits by not doing it 5 days in a row. Makes sense to run both to see what I can learn about it.

To my understanding there's nothing that would prohibit you from only using on lifting days, though if you do that I would say do it the night before lifting instead (or in a fasted state prior to lifting) in order to get the most out of them. The 5 on / 2 off is supposed to be about receptor burnout, but also could have just been because the first clinics pushing the protocol weren't open on the weekend. I stuck with the 5on/2off for simplicity and am not stressing on whether or not it's optimal.

As for my working out, I have a somewhat complicated lifting routine, rotating through 8 mesocycles on an annual basis where the focus shifts in training blocks from strength -> hypertrophy -> muscular endurance and periodizing volume as caloric intake shifts, but I have trained in the 6 day/week well before using any peptides.

CJC1295 and tesamorelin sleep were comparable, but I like that tesamorelin has practically zero negative side effects at a low dose. Those are the two GHRH I've tested (sermorelin makes some people hungry which I didn't want); ipamorelin is the only GHRP to try really -- it works well and doesn't mess with your hunger too much even though it works on ghrelin.

I'm not opposed to trying other GHRH, but I like what i have already. Maybe if na-931 ends up being real (so far the evidence suggests it might have been a faked trial) we can all shift over to that IGF-1 agonism instead. [note: if someone has good evidence that na-931 is real, like a CAS number, I would love to see that. An oral quad agonist sounds like the golden goose]

 

[Waclive]

I decided to get on the AI train and ask grok about the protocol and it was saying, through anecdotal accounts, not going the 5 days at a time is leaving gains on the table as it's more important to be consistent.

 

[Such1943]

I just started a 4-day upper/lower split this week (for the long resting period). Getting back at it after 15-20 years off and staring at a computer 10 hours a day for work. Just built out a basement gym with just the basics, rower, air bike, bench and some adjustable dumbbells, might add a functional trainer/power rack in the future. Today is upper B and I’m still sore as fuck from Monday’s upper A.

I’m on quite a few things at the moment. Testosterone (TRT dose), HGH 2UI (on its way) and Creatine. First roid cycle I suppose, not adding anything else to that. I also take Reta, KLOW, SS-31, NAD+ and Mots-C. Reta makes me lethargic, the SS-31/NAD+/Most-C has resolved that and more. KLOW for recovery and just overall repair of years of abuse. I’m getting old enough to start feeling it, 45.

From my research, for older guys straight up HGH is more effective (and cheaper) rather than CJC/Tesa w/ IPA because it’s harder to get your balls up and running again after years of slacking (I could be wrong).

Anyhow, not sure where I’m going with this. I can share dosing, schedule and experiences on my stack.

 

[Waclive]

I'm only 36 right now and my understanding is taking straight HGH is not a good idea until way later on because it down regulates the endogenous growth hormone cycle.

I plan to ramp up the CJC-1295/Ipamorelin to 5 days a week and 2 days off and see what happens.

I need to get my T levels checked so I can figure out what way I'd like to go with that as well.

 

[Calm Logic]

I'm only 36 right now and my understanding is taking straight HGH is not a good idea until way later on because it down regulates the endogenous growth hormone cycle.

I plan to ramp up the CJC-1295/Ipamorelin to 5 days a week and 2 days off and see what happens.

I need to get my T levels checked so I can figure out what way I'd like to go with that as well.

Ideally would get IGF checked too every so often, which is why I use Fitomics for bloodwork. There was a recent discussion comparing the rates at different lab test websites.

In theory and in some cases, IGF actually can go down on GH peptides. Seen such bloodwork myself from an online buddy.

 

[Waclive]

Ideally would get IGF checked too every so often, which is why I use Fitomics for bloodwork. There was a recent discussion comparing the rates at different lab test websites.

In theory and in some cases, IGF actually can go down on GH peptides. Seen such bloodwork myself from an online buddy.

I definitely need to get some blood work done but I just keep putting it off because I feel good but that's not a good metric to use for overall health.

 

[swimmer]

I cycle Tessa/ip. When on the cycle muscle size and strength gains are great but when I am off, gains are minimal. I don't think I lost any of the gains when off. I do like when off the water weight comes off and I am more vascular. My cycle consists of 8 weeks of 5 days on 2 days off. Then 4 weeks off. I still pin on non workout days. I am now researching Tessa/GHRP -2. It is supposed to be stronger than ipa. GHRP-2 really makes my hunger kick in. Food tastes insanely good right after injection too! That might not be a good thing.

 

[Waclive]

I am going to start the same cycle now.

What dosage did you find was optimal for you?

 

[swimmer]

I am going to start the same cycle now.

What dosage did you find was optimal for you?

1 mg. Tessa and 1 to 2 mcg Ipa. I tried up to 2 mg Tessa but the water retention and increased heart rate was too much for me.

 

[swimmer]

I did get my IGF1 tested after being off for 4 weeks and it was in the mid normal range. I will get a test in several weeks after being on for a while.

 

[ronin365]

I just started CJC-1295 (no dac) and Ipamorelin to see if I can normalize my sleep (Im also on Reta and Klow).

I am a decades-long night owl, hitting my second wind around 6-7pm and only getting tired enough to turn in well after 12:30 am. As a result I average 4-5 hours of sleep each night. Forcing a change in my sleeping habits or taking naps only seems to make me more tired.

Currently, I am on day four. I haven't seen any performance improvements in the gym or otherwise (don't expect any yet). But I am seeing changes in my sleeping patterns.

First night, I went to bed between around 2 am and slept hard for an hour and a half before waking. The second night I was more tired and ready for bed earlier than usual. I was in bed before 1 am and slept hard for 3 hours before waking up. Third night I was in bed around 1 am and slept hard, only waking about 10 minutes before 6:30 am, which is my usual wake time.

As I type this, I am yawning and not running on my usual second wind--it's just after 10:30 pm. After I hit send, I am going to pin, take a hot shower, and see how I do with sleep tonight. If anyone is interested, I will check back in and let you know how it goes.

 

[RefinedRabbit41]

I just started CJC-1295 (no dac) and Ipamorelin to see if I can normalize my sleep (Im also on Reta and Klow).

I am a decades-long night owl, hitting my second wind around 6-7pm and only getting tired enough to turn in well after 12:30 am. As a result I average 4-5 hours of sleep each night. Forcing a change in my sleeping habits or taking naps only seems to make me more tired.

Currently, I am on day four. I haven't seen any performance improvements in the gym or otherwise (don't expect any yet). But I am seeing changes in my sleeping patterns.

First night, I went to bed between around 2 am and slept hard for an hour and a half before waking. The second night I was more tired and ready for bed earlier than usual. I was in bed before 1 am and slept hard for 3 hours before waking up. Third night I was in bed around 1 am and slept hard, only waking about 10 minutes before 6:30 am, which is my usual wake time.

As I type this, I am yawning and not running on my usual second wind--it's just after 10:30 pm. After I hit send, I am going to pin, take a hot shower, and see how I do with sleep tonight. If anyone is interested, I will check back in and let you know how it goes.

I am interested in researching this stack as well. Are you also running 5 days on and 2 off? I’m also assuming that you’re pinning before bed fasted? And finally how long will you run your cycle before taking a break? Sorry for the question overload 😅

 

[Bball24]

1 mg. Tessa and 1 to 2 mcg Ipa. I tried up to 2 mg Tessa but the water retention and increased heart rate was too much for me.

Have you noticed any significant gains with Tessa/IPA? I’m currently on Tessa, and my IPA is supposed to be delivered today. How much did your heart rate increase while using it?

 

[swimmer]

Have you noticed any significant gains with Tessa/IPA? I’m currently on Tessa, and my IPA is supposed to be delivered today. How much did your heart rate increase while using it?

Yes for gains in strength and size. When I went off the cycle my strength stayed but the muscle size shrank a little. The gains were not crazy but they were noticeable. I originally started it to stop losing muscle mass while losing weight. The gains were a nice surprise. Ten minutes after pinning tessa/ip at 1mg/150mcg my heart rate went up 10 to 20 bpm for 3-4 hours. When I increased my tessa dosage to 2mg it went up 30-40 bpm for 5-6 hours. The strange thing is I could still sleep with the fast heart rate. My resting heart rate is 65 when I'm not using any peps.

 

[ronin365]

I am interested in researching this stack as well. Are you also running 5 days on and 2 off? I’m also assuming that you’re pinning before bed fasted? And finally how long will you run your cycle before taking a break? Sorry for the question overload 😅

No problem about the questions. I have three vials and intend on at least an 8 week cycle, but I plan to re-evaluate at 30 dalys.

I started taking 100 mcg and am moving up to 200 mcg. I plan to test 300 mcg to see if that has any more profound effect. I don’t plan on going higher than that to minimize water retention and risk of carpel tunnel.

Since my stack has no DAC— it’s pulsatile so no need to cycle on and off.

Even though I am taking it to fix sleep. I noticed my last workout was much stronger and I was able to finish my sets—on leg day no less which includes dead lifts. So for being almost two weeks in I am pleased with the results so far.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[RefinedRabbit41]

No problem about the questions. I have three vials and intend on at least an 8 week cycle, but I plan to re-evaluate at 30 dalys.

I started taking 100 mcg and am moving up to 200 mcg. I plan to test 300 mcg to see if that has any more profound effect. I don’t plan on going higher than that to minimize water retention and risk of carpel tunnel.

Since my stack has no DAC— it’s pulsatile so no need to cycle on and off.

Even though I am taking it to fix sleep. I noticed my last workout was much stronger and I was able to finish my sets—on leg day no less which includes dead lifts. So for being almost two weeks in I am pleased with the results so far.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I had no idea that you didn't need to cycle if there was no DAC! That's interesting, I did read though about it being pulsatile and conforming more naturally to the body. But the receptors don't become weakened with what you would be supplementing even with it being more natural? Also are you pinning before bed while being fasted?

 

[ronin365]

I had no idea that you didn't need to cycle if there was no DAC! That's interesting, I did read though about it being pulsatile and conforming more naturally to the body. But the receptors don't become weakened with what you would be supplementing even with it being more natural? Also are you pinning before bed while being fasted?

The pulsatile nature of no DAC does not run the risk of desensitizing the pituitary. Half life is only 30 minutes. With DAC you are looking at 6 days or more.

I inject before bed fasted.

 

[ronin365]

Following up...

I am having a pretty good run with CJC-1295 (no dac)/Ipamorelin stack (still on my first vial). I am getting very deep sleep now and I this week I started to see a real difference in my workouts. Yesterday I hit a new PR for barbell overhead press-- 130 lbs 5x5. I was struggling to push past 120-125 in the last week or two. This set was strong and I still had more in the tank to do another set or two. I suspect I won't have any issues pushing past 135-140.

My bench tonight was also pretty strong compared to last week. So far I am pretty pleased with the stack. It's doing more than I expected.

The only gripe I have is that I am not staying asleep as long as I would like. But perhaps that will come as I continue the cycle. Anyways, I hope that helps anyone still kicking the tires on this stack.

 

[DjJoshua]

Following up...

I am having a pretty good run with CJC-1295 (no dac)/Ipamorelin stack (still on my first vial). I am getting very deep sleep now and I this week I started to see a real difference in my workouts. Yesterday I hit a new PR for barbell overhead press-- 130 lbs 5x5. I was struggling to push past 120-125 in the last week or two. This set was strong and I still had more in the tank to do another set or two. I suspect I won't have any issues pushing past 135-140.

My bench tonight was also pretty strong compared to last week. So far I am pretty pleased with the stack. It's doing more than I expected.

The only gripe I have is that I am not staying asleep as long as I would like. But perhaps that will come as I continue the cycle. Anyways, I hope that helps anyone still kicking the tires on this stack.

I have been looking at a kit I got of CJC-1295 no dac in my freezer but there is not ipamorelin. should I try it with out it at first or just get some Ipamorelin then use the combo?

 

[Tbagger]

I have been looking at a kit I got of CJC-1295 no dac in my freezer but there is not ipamorelin. should I try it with out it at first or just get some Ipamorelin then use the combo?

Personally I would wait to stack it with ipamorelin but it's not really necessary. They just synergize well together. One increases the pituitary pulse rate and the other increases the pulse intensity. It's a 1+1=5 kinda synergy.

 

[Bball24]

Following up...

I am having a pretty good run with CJC-1295 (no dac)/Ipamorelin stack (still on my first vial). I am getting very deep sleep now and I this week I started to see a real difference in my workouts. Yesterday I hit a new PR for barbell overhead press-- 130 lbs 5x5. I was struggling to push past 120-125 in the last week or two. This set was strong and I still had more in the tank to do another set or two. I suspect I won't have any issues pushing past 135-140.

My bench tonight was also pretty strong compared to last week. So far I am pretty pleased with the stack. It's doing more than I expected.

The only gripe I have is that I am not staying asleep as long as I would like. But perhaps that will come as I continue the cycle. Anyways, I hope that helps anyone still kicking the tires on this stack.

130 on overhead press, you’re a beast! 💪

I’m about to start the Tessa/Ipamorelin stack soon to see if it helps me. Right now I’m only pressing 80s overhead, so I’m hoping to see some improvement once I start.

I keep seeing mixed reviews, though some people recommend CJC-1295 (no DAC) with IPA, while others swear by Tessa/IPA. Have you tried the Tessa/IPA?

 

[SpaceJumper]

it’s harder to get your balls up and running again after years of slacking (I could be wrong).

Curious what you mean by this. Sounds like it could be useful information for me. I’m 41 and I’m in a huge biological learning phase right now.

 

[Occindemure]

I can concur with the sleep.
Deep sleep but shorter lengths.
I can say it seems that over time the time asleep is getting longer.

 

[Such1943]

Curious what you mean by this. Sounds like it could be useful information for me. I’m 41 and I’m in a huge biological learning phase right now.

I’m 45, and as we age our natural production drops off. From what I’ve read, using peptides to drive IGF-1 back up isn’t as efficient as running HGH directly.

My last labs from Jan 5 showed:

• IGF-1: 408 ng/mL (ref 52–328, flagged high)
• Z-score (male): +2.5 (ref −2.0 to +2.0, flagged high)

At the time I was on 160 mg test.

• Estradiol (ultrasensitive LC/MS): 55 pg/mL (ref ≤29, flagged high)

Test #s and E2 #s effect IGF-1 #s.

I added 1 IU of HGH at night to keep my IGF-1 Z-score around 3. It doesn’t sound like much, but I sleep like a baby.

About six weeks ago I bumped test to 200 mg and added 150 mg Primo. I re-ran labs this morning and I’m really interested to see how the Primo impacted my test:E2 ratio, and what 1 IU of HGH did to my IGF-1.

 

[ronin365]

I have been looking at a kit I got of CJC-1295 no dac in my freezer but there is not ipamorelin. should I try it with out it at first or just get some Ipamorelin then use the

I have been looking at a kit I got of CJC-1295 no dac in my freezer but there is not ipamorelin. should I try it with out it at first or just get some Ipamorelin then use the combo?

From what I have learned, these two peptides have a more pronounced effect together. Ipamorelin increases amplitude of GH pulses while CJC-1285 increases frequency. I don’t see any upsides to using either alone. Also there is a lower risk of desensitization using them together.

That said- I am not an expert. I’m learning as I go.

 

[ronin365]

130 on overhead press, you’re a beast! 💪

I’m about to start the Tessa/Ipamorelin stack soon to see if it helps me. Right now I’m only pressing 80s overhead, so I’m hoping to see some improvement once I start.

I keep seeing mixed reviews, though some people recommend CJC-1295 (no DAC) with IPA, while others swear by Tessa/IPA. Have you tried the Tessa/IPA?

Thanks… until recently I have not been feeling like a beast.

I am curious about the Tesa/Ipa stack myself. I have used Tesa by itself not too long ago, I don’t know tha I noticed much of a difference compared to the CJC/Ipa stack I am using now.

But I am interested in trying Tesa/Ipa after I finish my current cycle. If I am able to get around to it I will post up and let you know if you don’t beat me to it.

 

[ronin365]

I can concur with the sleep.
Deep sleep but shorter lengths.
I can say it seems that over time the time asleep is getting longer.

Thanks for this. I have two more vials to get through to finish my cycle. Hopefully getting into longer sleep phases will happen soon.