20 week blast at 500mg test, was the extra length worth it

[Beantown Rick]

Just finished a 20 week test e run at 500mg. Usually do 14-16 weeks but stretched it this time. Curious if others have gone this long and whether the extra weeks produced meaningfully more results or whether you hit a point of diminishing returns. My honest take is weeks 1-14 were the productive phase and the last 6 weeks were mainly maintaining what I had built. Hematocrit crept up too which needed managing. Thoughts from guys who run longer blasts?

[Davo]

Agree with your assessment. Past 16 weeks on a standard test blast the returns diminish significantly. The first 12 weeks you are making the bulk of your gains. Weeks 12-20 you are maintaining and accumulating more suppression time for no equivalent extra benefit. Shorter blasts with proper cruise phases in between have given me better results long term.

[Marc NL]

The hematocrit point is important. I have read that it keeps rising throughout a long blast without plateauing the way muscle growth does. So you are getting compounding cardiovascular risk for diminishing anabolic return after a certain point. Probably makes 14-16 weeks the practical sweet spot for most people. Thanks for the honest breakdown.