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

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?

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.

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.