Peptide Cycling Protocols for Bodybuilders

Introduction

Cycling means using a peptide for a block of weeks, then stopping, mainly to keep it working and to get clean blood work between blocks. The schedules below come from forum and vendor guides; no trial has compared them.

GH Secretagogue Cycling

Human data are thin. In a 1998 study, 12 older adults injected hexarelin twice daily for 16 weeks. Their growth hormone (GH) response fell about 45% and recovered within four weeks of stopping. In a 2-year MK-677 trial, GH and IGF-1 stayed raised.

Standard Protocols

Protocol	On-Cycle	Off-Cycle	Usually described for
Conservative	8 weeks	4 weeks	Beginners
Standard	12 weeks	4-6 weeks	General use
Extended	16 weeks	6-8 weeks	Experienced users
Continuous low	Ongoing at reduced dose	N/A	Maintenance

Cycle Structure

Phase	Duration	Dose	Focus
Loading	Weeks 1-2	Full dose	Settling in
Maintenance	Weeks 3-10	Full dose	Steady use
Taper	Weeks 11-12	Reduce 50%	Forum convention; untested
Off-cycle	4-6 weeks	None	Recovery, assessment

Recovery Peptide Cycling

Recovery peptides are usually run for the length of an injury. A 2025 BPC-157 review found 35 animal studies, one small human study and no clinical safety data. As of October 2026, FDA says it has found no human exposure data for the TB-500 fragment.

Injury-Specific

Scenario	Duration	Reported practice
Acute injury	4-8 weeks	Full dose throughout
Chronic issue	8-12 weeks	Some users extend
Prevention	2-4 weeks periodically	Lower dose maintenance

Maintenance Approach

Phase	BPC-157	TB-500	Notes
Active use	250-500mcg/day	2.5mg 2x/week	Common user and vendor figures
Maintenance	100-250mcg/day	2-2.5mg monthly	TB-500: vendor guidance; BPC-157: no source traced
Off-period	None	None	Assess need

Metabolic Peptide Cycling

Fat Loss Focus

Phase	Duration	Peptides	Diet Phase
Cutting cycle	8-12 weeks	CJC-1295 + ipamorelin, AOD-9604	Caloric deficit
Transition	2 weeks	Reduce doses	Return to maintenance
Maintenance	4-8 weeks	Optional low dose	Maintenance calories

AOD-9604's human trials used oral or IV doses and mostly found no weight loss over placebo; FDA (2024) found no human data for injected use.

Competition Prep Cycling

Pre-Contest Protocol

Weeks Out	Focus	Peptide Strategy
16-12	Building phase	Full GH stack
12-8	Transition	Maintain or reduce
8-4	Peak cutting	Continue or taper
4-0	Final prep	Often discontinued

Tested competitors should check where these peptides sit on WADA's list.

Monitoring During Cycles

Key Checkpoints

Timing	Assessment	Action
Pre-cycle	Baseline labs	Document starting point
Mid-cycle	Follow-up labs	Adjust if needed
End of cycle	Comparison labs	Assess changes
Post-cycle	Recovery check	Verify return to baseline

Fasting glucose is worth including: it rose about 5 mg/dL in the MK-677 trial. See baseline and on-cycle lab tests.

What we still don't know

No trial has compared cycling with continuous use, or tested off-periods for ipamorelin or CJC-1295. See long-term effects for lifters and peptide stacking strategies.