Anti-aromatase (arimidex, femara, exemestane,
6-oxo) are preferrable during the cycle as an anti-estrogen, while a receptor blocker - or SERM (Nolvadex, Clomid) is preferrable for post-cycle recovery. Anti-aromatase is potentially counterproductive post-cycle for a bunch of reasons.
During the cycle, when on aromatizing androgens, estrogen levels might skyrocket. Even on dosages in the 200-300mg/week range, estrogen levels might triple. So you use an anti-aromatase such as Arimidex, Femara, or Aromasin to limit estrogen conversion, thus bringing levels down to the high-normal range. What dosage you need is highly individual, and should preferably be ascertained via blood tests. Some estrogen is good, a lot of estrogen not so good - water retention, gyno, reduced libido, high bp etc... Anti-aromatase is not necessary when using non-aromatizables, of course.
Post-cycle you do not want an anti-aromatase. As androgen levels drop, you want to kickstart your endogenous T production as soon as possible. SHBG binds free testosterone, thus limiting bioavailable T. Using an anti-aromatase post-cycle will reduce SHBG, thus freeing up more bioavailable T. This might sound like a good thing, but via the HPTA feedback loop, you would get premature inhibition of T production before total T has had a chance to recover. So you have a situation of low-normal bioavailable T but low total T. This has been confirmed several times in blood tests.
Using a SERM, such as Clomid or Nolvadex is a better idea. This is because they act as estrogens in some tissues, while blocking estrogen in others. SHBG stays elevated, but you still get the anti-estrogenic effect at the hypothalamus and pituitary, thus allowing endogenous T (both free and total) to return to normal.
Having used intermittent, low-dosage HCG during the cycle would also ensure that your testes are ready and able to produce testosterone when the post-cycle LH
surge hits.
Id prefer nolvadex since it is cheaper...
Nolva or Clomid, pct issues
