The Official Anabolic Thread
- Thread starter Waterproof
- Start date
Consider subbing out the Primobolan and thinking about something like masteron for your sex drive
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
That's a bad ass cycle, you competeing or what
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Steroid Questions On Injecting & Mail Order Anabolics
Steroid Concentration— Does it Matter?
My friend told me that it’s better inject 3 ml of 70mg/ml [milligrams per milliliter] trenbolone enanthate than it is to inject 1 ml of 210mg/ml trenbolone enanthate. The reason is that the body absorbs it better. Is this true?
In a technical sense, it is true that concentration can influence bioavailability, or the portion of drug that enters circulation. There was a study about 15 years ago that examined the pharmacokinetics of several different types of steroid injections. Pharmacokinetics concerns the study of drug absorption and distribution within the body. One focus of the investigation was to look at the different absorption patterns of the same 100 milligrams of nandrolone decanoate, when given in 1 ml or 4 ml injection volumes. Researchers also looked at the differences between shoulder and gluteus injections sites. They found that the greatest steroid bioavailability was noticed with the 1 ml (more concentrated) gluteus injection. This would seem to support the idea that you would receive more benefit from the 210 mg/ml trenbolone product, instead of the 70 mg/mL version your friend recommended.
With all things else equal, however, I don’t believe you would really notice the difference between the two solutions. Injection provides extremely high bioavailability with anabolic-androgenic steroids. Very little is ultimately lost to metabolism along the way. While vehicle may slightly influence total steroid delivery, the effect will not be great. You will get almost the entire steroid dose with either type of trenbolone. Vehicle volume will actually have a greater influence over the rate of absorption and peak blood concentration. More concentrated solutions are absorbed faster, and reach higher peak levels within the body. They also last for slightly shorter periods, and tend to vary more. There may be benefits and drawbacks to higher peaks versus more consistent blood concentrations, but again, I don’t think they will be very noticeable over the course of a cycle if the total dose is the same. If I were you, I would be much more concerned with the sterility, as most trenbolone sold for injection comes from underground labs. Be careful, of course.
Best Needle for Injecting?
What is the best type of needle for injecting oil-based steroids like Deca and testosterone enanthate?
There is really no “best” when it comes to injection equipment. It is all about preference, either that of the doctor or the patient. I would say that the most common type of setup used for oil-based steroid injections is probably a 3 ml syringe with a 1.5” long, 22-gram needle. This is the closest to a “standard” as you will find amongst physicians. The 3 ml syringe volume provides plenty of flexibility for both low- and high-dosed injections, and the 1.5”/22-gram needle is a fair balance of comfort and injection speed (smaller diameter needles are less painful, but also harder and slower to empty). Also, 1.5” gives enough length for most overweight patients. A 1” needle is actually plenty for most athletic people, as you really just need to make sure the oil is deposited into the body of the muscle. BD and Terumo are the most popular manufacturers of needles/syringes sold in the United States. Both products are of very good quality.
If you want my take on what the “steroid perfectionist” injection setup would look like, I think it would be something like this. You’d start with a pre-packaged syringe/needle combo of 3 ml with 1.5”/21 grams. You don’t want to start with separate needles and syringes, as they’d require an extra step of handling (and potentially contamination). The 1.5” needle is long enough to reach the bottom of most ampules, while the 21-gram bore gives you a fast fill. You could go wider, but you'd also start chewing up the rubber stopper of any vial pretty quickly. Don’t worry about the size. This is your “draw” needle only. Once the syringe is filled with the proper dosage, the needle is removed and replaced with a fresh one of 1”/25 grams. This needle has been stored in the freezer before use, so it will numb (slightly) the tissues upon contact. This is the setup as it is ready for injection. While there are surely many different personal preferences, this is about as comfortable as you are going to get for a deep intramuscular injection in the gluteus or thigh.
Mail-Order Steroids— Safest Country?
What is the safest country to order steroids from? I can’t get much locally where I live. When I do find gear, the selection in pitiful!
You failed to qualify “safest” in your message. If you reside in the United States or another country where steroid possession without a valid prescription is criminalized, safest might mean “most likely to reach me without law enforcement interdiction.” This is always a crapshoot. As I am sure you know, all international mail is subject to examination by customs agents. If your steroid order is discovered, it could result in a simple seizure letter (the government asking for documentation proving that you can legally receive the goods). Sometimes, however, the end result is much worse. MD’s own legal eagle Rick Collins would be a better person to discuss this with. I suspect he has no shortage of stories where unlucky Americans received a visit from the local SWAT team along with their steroid package.
You might instead be primarily concerned with counterfeits, and would like to know what countries still have the largest portion of legitimate steroids available for sale. In Western Europe, pharmaceutical anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are still most commonly diverted to the black market in Greece, Spain and Portugal. I would only order these products locally, however, not from other countries. For example, never order Spanish testosterone from Bulgaria. Spanish, Greek and Portuguese steroids are in high demand, and fetch a premium price by consumers. This means that they are heavily counterfeited. The further away from these countries you go, the more likely you are to find fakes. Other common source countries that have a moderate supply of legitimate AAS and pharmacies that still sell them (sometimes) over the counter include Thailand, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. Of course, there are people who deal in counterfeits in every country. As they say, “Let the buyer beware.”
About the Author:
William Llewellyn is the author of the anabolic steroid reference guide, ANABOLICS 10th Edition. He is also a longtime team member at Muscular Development, having been a regular monthly columnist since 2002. William adapted this steroid profile from his work at anabolic.org. He is also credited with helping to develop ROIDTEST™, an at-home steroid testing kit used to identify real and fake steroid products.
Steroid Concentration— Does it Matter?
My friend told me that it’s better inject 3 ml of 70mg/ml [milligrams per milliliter] trenbolone enanthate than it is to inject 1 ml of 210mg/ml trenbolone enanthate. The reason is that the body absorbs it better. Is this true?
In a technical sense, it is true that concentration can influence bioavailability, or the portion of drug that enters circulation. There was a study about 15 years ago that examined the pharmacokinetics of several different types of steroid injections. Pharmacokinetics concerns the study of drug absorption and distribution within the body. One focus of the investigation was to look at the different absorption patterns of the same 100 milligrams of nandrolone decanoate, when given in 1 ml or 4 ml injection volumes. Researchers also looked at the differences between shoulder and gluteus injections sites. They found that the greatest steroid bioavailability was noticed with the 1 ml (more concentrated) gluteus injection. This would seem to support the idea that you would receive more benefit from the 210 mg/ml trenbolone product, instead of the 70 mg/mL version your friend recommended.
With all things else equal, however, I don’t believe you would really notice the difference between the two solutions. Injection provides extremely high bioavailability with anabolic-androgenic steroids. Very little is ultimately lost to metabolism along the way. While vehicle may slightly influence total steroid delivery, the effect will not be great. You will get almost the entire steroid dose with either type of trenbolone. Vehicle volume will actually have a greater influence over the rate of absorption and peak blood concentration. More concentrated solutions are absorbed faster, and reach higher peak levels within the body. They also last for slightly shorter periods, and tend to vary more. There may be benefits and drawbacks to higher peaks versus more consistent blood concentrations, but again, I don’t think they will be very noticeable over the course of a cycle if the total dose is the same. If I were you, I would be much more concerned with the sterility, as most trenbolone sold for injection comes from underground labs. Be careful, of course.
Best Needle for Injecting?
What is the best type of needle for injecting oil-based steroids like Deca and testosterone enanthate?
There is really no “best” when it comes to injection equipment. It is all about preference, either that of the doctor or the patient. I would say that the most common type of setup used for oil-based steroid injections is probably a 3 ml syringe with a 1.5” long, 22-gram needle. This is the closest to a “standard” as you will find amongst physicians. The 3 ml syringe volume provides plenty of flexibility for both low- and high-dosed injections, and the 1.5”/22-gram needle is a fair balance of comfort and injection speed (smaller diameter needles are less painful, but also harder and slower to empty). Also, 1.5” gives enough length for most overweight patients. A 1” needle is actually plenty for most athletic people, as you really just need to make sure the oil is deposited into the body of the muscle. BD and Terumo are the most popular manufacturers of needles/syringes sold in the United States. Both products are of very good quality.
If you want my take on what the “steroid perfectionist” injection setup would look like, I think it would be something like this. You’d start with a pre-packaged syringe/needle combo of 3 ml with 1.5”/21 grams. You don’t want to start with separate needles and syringes, as they’d require an extra step of handling (and potentially contamination). The 1.5” needle is long enough to reach the bottom of most ampules, while the 21-gram bore gives you a fast fill. You could go wider, but you'd also start chewing up the rubber stopper of any vial pretty quickly. Don’t worry about the size. This is your “draw” needle only. Once the syringe is filled with the proper dosage, the needle is removed and replaced with a fresh one of 1”/25 grams. This needle has been stored in the freezer before use, so it will numb (slightly) the tissues upon contact. This is the setup as it is ready for injection. While there are surely many different personal preferences, this is about as comfortable as you are going to get for a deep intramuscular injection in the gluteus or thigh.
Mail-Order Steroids— Safest Country?
What is the safest country to order steroids from? I can’t get much locally where I live. When I do find gear, the selection in pitiful!
You failed to qualify “safest” in your message. If you reside in the United States or another country where steroid possession without a valid prescription is criminalized, safest might mean “most likely to reach me without law enforcement interdiction.” This is always a crapshoot. As I am sure you know, all international mail is subject to examination by customs agents. If your steroid order is discovered, it could result in a simple seizure letter (the government asking for documentation proving that you can legally receive the goods). Sometimes, however, the end result is much worse. MD’s own legal eagle Rick Collins would be a better person to discuss this with. I suspect he has no shortage of stories where unlucky Americans received a visit from the local SWAT team along with their steroid package.
You might instead be primarily concerned with counterfeits, and would like to know what countries still have the largest portion of legitimate steroids available for sale. In Western Europe, pharmaceutical anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are still most commonly diverted to the black market in Greece, Spain and Portugal. I would only order these products locally, however, not from other countries. For example, never order Spanish testosterone from Bulgaria. Spanish, Greek and Portuguese steroids are in high demand, and fetch a premium price by consumers. This means that they are heavily counterfeited. The further away from these countries you go, the more likely you are to find fakes. Other common source countries that have a moderate supply of legitimate AAS and pharmacies that still sell them (sometimes) over the counter include Thailand, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. Of course, there are people who deal in counterfeits in every country. As they say, “Let the buyer beware.”
About the Author:
William Llewellyn is the author of the anabolic steroid reference guide, ANABOLICS 10th Edition. He is also a longtime team member at Muscular Development, having been a regular monthly columnist since 2002. William adapted this steroid profile from his work at anabolic.org. He is also credited with helping to develop ROIDTEST™, an at-home steroid testing kit used to identify real and fake steroid products.
Squidward24
Banned
how tall are you and how much you weigh now famWhen you gain 10 pounds but drop a pants size
Dat Dere Cell Tech
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Squidward24
Banned
damn you're massive, your bf is like 12-15%?6 1/2
265
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Something like that I think, I never measured my bodyfat
No but I do have a goal to compete by next summer
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Thats dedication right there, to compete in Bodybuilding it's dedication, The average person don't know what it takes to compete
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Are you going to run TEST with Deca and D-Bol? You should add Test so you won't shut down
That a great old school mass cycle, I'm running a Test E, Deca, D-Bol Cycle at the end of the year also
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Week 7 ~ Test Sus 600mg Week
Week 3 ~ Tren E 400mg Week
Just pinned 300mg of Test Sust and 200mg in my left Quad, Last shots for this week.
This Tren is doing it's work and it's only the third week, The Bodyfat is dropping, I'm getting deep cuts, strength is Gainz is going on
Test Sus 600mg a week is a sweet spot for me the size growth is crazy
And I'm dieting so I'm not eating like a madman
When I do the old mass cycle it's going to be crazy
I still have restless nights from the Tren
Week 3 ~ Tren E 400mg Week
Just pinned 300mg of Test Sust and 200mg in my left Quad, Last shots for this week.
This Tren is doing it's work and it's only the third week, The Bodyfat is dropping, I'm getting deep cuts, strength is Gainz is going on
Test Sus 600mg a week is a sweet spot for me the size growth is crazy
And I'm dieting so I'm not eating like a madman
When I do the old mass cycle it's going to be crazy
I still have restless nights from the Tren
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Anabolic Steroids - What is the Right Dose?
One axiom ruled bodybuilding for decades as the elite explored the physiologic limits of growth: “More is better!” This can be naively applied to training volume, intensity or protein intake; frankly, the message most often refers to anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). The late Steve Michalik— 1970s bodybuilding legend who ran Mr. America’s Gym in Farmingdale, New York— reportedly had a sign prominently displayed that stated, “Message Of The Day: Up The Dosage!” above the image of a syringe.1
There was a gradual increase in AAS experimentation from the early days of the 1950s, when East Coast powerlifters followed the lead of Russian and East European Olympic lifters by ingesting tentative doses of methandrostenolone (Dianabol); West Coast bodybuilders were similarly developing physiques previously unseen at that time on Nilevar.2,3 Of course, many of the early misusers of AAS exceeded the suggested dosing proposed by individuals such as Dr. John Ziegler, who promoted the use of Dianabol among men training at the York Barbell Club in the 1950s and 1960.2 Both Ziegler and Michalik later voiced regret about their role in advocating AAS misuse.2,4
A Plethora of AAS
During the 1960s, a plethora of AAS were developed by some of the leading pharmaceutical companies. The hunt was on to find analogs (testosterone-derived drugs) that would provide increases in muscle mass without the side effects related to androgenic or estrogenic overstimulation (e.g., prostate enlargement, hair loss, gynecomastia, etc.). There was also a need to develop AAS that were not dependent upon 17-alpha alkylation, as that chemical modification induces hepatotoxic (liver damaging) effects in a large percentage of people. A number of agents were developed, some making it to market. Few remain available today for use in humans, as opposed to veterinary applications or simply being abandoned. Many readers are familiar with Anavar (oxandrolone), Winstrol (stanozolol) and Anadrol-50 (oxymetholone).
These AAS allowed men to use higher doses, combine drugs in stacks that complemented size and strength gains from aromatizable AAS with non-aromatizable AAS that increase vascularity and definition, or follow a bulking cycle with a cutting cycle with little or no break between. This led to increased size and definition among bodybuilders, such as that displayed by Arnold and his contemporaries. During the mid-1970s, definition became the focus of competitors, as more defined physiques such as Frank Zane gained favor with judges and the public. This temporarily limited the use of the AAS with greater size promotion, as they often held the undesirable effect of water retention, and potentially gynecomastia. Pre-contest cycles were highly dependent upon DHT-derived AAS, as they are protected from being aromatized. Parabolan, Primobolan, Winstrol, Anavar and Finaject were the most sought-after drugs by bodybuilders entering competition, though many still maintained a base of testosterone or nandrolone. The days of “Deca and D-bol” winning one a major title were gone.
Size Over Symmetry and Condition
Fans of the sport watched the images of professional bodybuilders grow on the covers of the magazine throughout the 1980s, until a sudden shift occurred. Like a glitch in the matrix, a near-overnight gap arose in the previously linear trend of bodybuilder size. This has been collected and presented on websites featuring photographs of bodybuilders, showing that up to the early 1990s, bodybuilders had been very gradually growing in size, from a BMI of just less than 31 to a BMI of just less than 32 over the course of almost 40 years.6 Then, a disjointed leap occurred, with the BMI magically (or chemically) going from less than 32 to well over 34, and continuing to increase at an accelerated rate to a BMI of almost 38— that is the average BMI! Some competitors are recorded above a BMI of 41 in show condition.
This huge, and it is HUGE, increase did not occur because someone discovered that syringes come in 10 cc volume, or the testosterone molecule was tweaked in an alchemical way, or even the accidental dripping of radioactive spider saliva into the vat at the pharmaceutical plant (Spider-Man reference). This new generation of bodybuilder was developed under the influence of the widespread use of peptide growth factors, including insulin, human growth hormone(hGH) and IGF-1.
It is worth noting that hGH and insulin were reported to have been used prior to the early 1990s, however, much like AAS, the limited access and absence of practical experience among bodybuilders kept the use of these hormones confined to a small number of men, likely using the drugs in limited amount and/or duration.
Insulin and hGH
The advent of recombinant technology opened the floodgates on the supply of insulin and hGH. Prior to the development of this technology, using bacteria to synthesize human hormones by inserting copies of DNA strands into the bacteria and stimulating production, insulin was often sourced from cows or pigs; hGH supply was reliant upon obtaining a regular supply of cadavers (dead people) and extracting hGH from the pituitary gland (a part of the brain). The recognition that dwarf children, the population that was receiving cadaveric hGH to treat growth retardation due to GH deficiency, were being diagnosed with a rare brain disorder caused scientists to develop hGH as the first recombinant hormone. This allowed a small test market prior to launching the resources necessary to meet the demand that recombinant insulin would generate. Unlike the experience with AAS, early adapters dove into hGH like pigs digging for truffles, using doses based upon the protocols designed for dwarf children. This resulted in immense growth, but not just of the muscles. The bones of the face, hands and feet all grew disproportionately, and the abdomen of these men became swollen like some Willy Wonka-esque special effect. It is likely that combined use of insulin with hGH exacerbated the abdominal presentation. Though use patterns vary, many now use hGH at a lower dose, and time insulin with meals and training.
So, it should be clear that the dosing of AAS has impressive but limited benefit as a monotherapy, (i.e., without stacking it with other classes of drugs such as hGH and/or insulin). From the onset, men have developed impressive physiques with muscular hypertrophy and strength gains using modest doses of AAS. The escalation of dosing regimens has resulted in a clearly evident, but not evolutionary increase in the muscle mass of the competitors. It also clearly aids in protecting against muscle loss during pre-contest dieting, as the mass of these men has increased concurrently with a reduction in body fat. Certain AAS have fat loss-enhancing properties, whereas others impede fat loss, but that is outside the scope of this article.
What Is the Right Dose?
The question arises, then, “What is the right dose?” This obviously is a question that does not have one right answer. First, it assumes that a person does not have a health condition that would increase the risk of an adverse (negative) side effect, potentially fatal in some cases. Though prostate cancer and heart disease were once dogmatically thought to be caused or worsened by testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or AAS misuse, it appears that this is not the case in doses that are within or close to the upper physiologic limit. The greatest concern should lie in a history of blood clots (thrombophilic disease), which can be familial (relatives have a history of blood clots) or spontaneous. In fact, nearly all ischemic cardiovascular events reported in people receiving TRT occur in individuals with a thrombotic condition. At times, this does not manifest until the person goes on TRT, suggesting that it can “tip the scales” and lead to a life-threatening event (e.g., stroke, pulmonary embolism, coronary thrombosis, DVT).
Equally relevant, especially in adolescents and young adults, is the risk of a personality disorder or psychosis emerging. It is not only the grossly elevated levels of androgens circulating during cycles that may cause this, but also the rapid downward swing when going off-cycle. It is suggested that one highly publicized case involving a high school student who was taken off AAS abruptly (under the advice of a physician) contributed to his suicide. It is unclear how valid this opinion is, as the boy was also receiving psychiatric care and on some form of medication for a mental health condition.7
Though the existence of “roid rage” is contested, research does support that in predisposed individuals, supraphysiologic testosterone can increase the magnitude of response to provoked aggression, but does not increase spontaneous aggression.8 This means that if you upset an AAS user who is prone to losing his temper, he will react more angrily and/or violently. However, the person should not have outbursts without reason. Other potential risks (legal as well as health) exist, and should be understood before deciding to experiment with AAS.
Testosterone Threshold and Muscle Hypertrophy
Clearly, a healthy man will not want to use an amount of AAS that does no better than his natural levels of testosterone (or even worse). Thus, it is notable that research has shown that in both young adults and older men, testosterone is essentially maintained at baseline— with statistically significant changes in muscle mass and strength when dosed at 125 milligrams of testosterone enanthate weekly. Increasing this to 300 milligrams and even 600 milligrams weekly results in dose-dependent increases in both muscle mass and strength.9,10 Only in older men were any significant adverse effects noted, those being an increase in red blood cell mass, leg edema and prostate events.
Harrison Pope, who has been vigorously pursuing any association between AAS misuse and various psychopathologies, noted in a 2000 study that 600 milligrams of testosterone cypionate was well tolerated by the vast majority of subjects, with 12 percent experiencing an increase hypomanic scores on a survey and four percent showing more marked hypomania.11 No pathologic or criminal behavior was reported. It is interesting that the hypomanic scores reported in the study are considered to be in the normal range in other references, suggesting the sensitivity to change may have been slightly biased to over-reporting.
An interesting paper reported on the observed testosterone threshold necessary for skeletal muscle hypertrophy.12 The testosterone concentration needed to evoke an increase in muscle mass was at the top end of the physiologic range, actually slightly above, in this group of older men. The concentration of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 ng/dL correlates with the concentration produced by the men receiving 300 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly (1,345 ng/dL).9,12This suggests that those seeking increases in muscle mass and strength might target 300 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly as a starting point. However, conversations with many men receiving TRT describe increases in strength and muscle mass equal to that achieved during young adult years at a dose of 200 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly. Topical formulations are generally found to be lacking in relevant changes in muscle mass in middle-aged men.
A dose range of 300 to 600 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly agrees with the field report of men self-administering AAS primarily for personal enhancement (i.e., personal satisfaction; 15% reported competition experience/plans). In a large survey of nearly 2,000 AAS users, the most common dose range was 200 to 600 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly (52%), with an additional 32 percent reporting a dose range of 600 to 1,000 milligrams weekly. Very few reported use above 1,400 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly.13 This suggests that in the “trial and error” lab of illicit use, AAS misusers find the “sweet spot” for AAS to be in the range denoted to increase muscle mass and strength with a minimal (or manageable) level of adverse effects— roughly 200 to 1,000 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly. The dosing studies reported earlier described an increase in fat-free mass of 7.9 kilograms in the men receiving the weekly dosing of 600 milligrams.9 This correlates to a 12.5 percent increase in six months (with a 10% decrease in fat mass). These results would be admirable for an amateur bodybuilder, and are consistent with the physiques seen in bodybuilders of the 1960s and 1970s.
Chemical Warfare
Obviously, the goal of the individual dictates the “right” dose. However, for the person considering AAS use, accounting for the potential for legal or health consequences, both scientific and “field” reports suggest that effects meeting the expectations of most non-competitive individuals can be met with a modest dosing schedule of 300 to 600 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine “right” dose for the infinite combinations of AAS. Further, those driven to compete will find that a weighting of risk tolerance versus desire to compete needs to be evaluated regularly, as many competitors are willing to accept dangerous and risky protocols of prolonged cycles with complex stacks including peptide hormones, stimulants, diuretics, insulin and other agents. At some point, it becomes chemical warfare, and war always has casualties.
If AAS misuse is your choice, consider the power and limitations of near-physiologic dosing, and understand that there is a ceiling to the amount of size AAS can provide. Unrealistic expectations will result in dissatisfaction and a temptation to push the boundaries of relative safety and tolerance to the point where adverse effects may affect your health, relationships or otherwise impact your life negatively.
One axiom ruled bodybuilding for decades as the elite explored the physiologic limits of growth: “More is better!” This can be naively applied to training volume, intensity or protein intake; frankly, the message most often refers to anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). The late Steve Michalik— 1970s bodybuilding legend who ran Mr. America’s Gym in Farmingdale, New York— reportedly had a sign prominently displayed that stated, “Message Of The Day: Up The Dosage!” above the image of a syringe.1
There was a gradual increase in AAS experimentation from the early days of the 1950s, when East Coast powerlifters followed the lead of Russian and East European Olympic lifters by ingesting tentative doses of methandrostenolone (Dianabol); West Coast bodybuilders were similarly developing physiques previously unseen at that time on Nilevar.2,3 Of course, many of the early misusers of AAS exceeded the suggested dosing proposed by individuals such as Dr. John Ziegler, who promoted the use of Dianabol among men training at the York Barbell Club in the 1950s and 1960.2 Both Ziegler and Michalik later voiced regret about their role in advocating AAS misuse.2,4
A Plethora of AAS
During the 1960s, a plethora of AAS were developed by some of the leading pharmaceutical companies. The hunt was on to find analogs (testosterone-derived drugs) that would provide increases in muscle mass without the side effects related to androgenic or estrogenic overstimulation (e.g., prostate enlargement, hair loss, gynecomastia, etc.). There was also a need to develop AAS that were not dependent upon 17-alpha alkylation, as that chemical modification induces hepatotoxic (liver damaging) effects in a large percentage of people. A number of agents were developed, some making it to market. Few remain available today for use in humans, as opposed to veterinary applications or simply being abandoned. Many readers are familiar with Anavar (oxandrolone), Winstrol (stanozolol) and Anadrol-50 (oxymetholone).
These AAS allowed men to use higher doses, combine drugs in stacks that complemented size and strength gains from aromatizable AAS with non-aromatizable AAS that increase vascularity and definition, or follow a bulking cycle with a cutting cycle with little or no break between. This led to increased size and definition among bodybuilders, such as that displayed by Arnold and his contemporaries. During the mid-1970s, definition became the focus of competitors, as more defined physiques such as Frank Zane gained favor with judges and the public. This temporarily limited the use of the AAS with greater size promotion, as they often held the undesirable effect of water retention, and potentially gynecomastia. Pre-contest cycles were highly dependent upon DHT-derived AAS, as they are protected from being aromatized. Parabolan, Primobolan, Winstrol, Anavar and Finaject were the most sought-after drugs by bodybuilders entering competition, though many still maintained a base of testosterone or nandrolone. The days of “Deca and D-bol” winning one a major title were gone.
Size Over Symmetry and Condition
Fans of the sport watched the images of professional bodybuilders grow on the covers of the magazine throughout the 1980s, until a sudden shift occurred. Like a glitch in the matrix, a near-overnight gap arose in the previously linear trend of bodybuilder size. This has been collected and presented on websites featuring photographs of bodybuilders, showing that up to the early 1990s, bodybuilders had been very gradually growing in size, from a BMI of just less than 31 to a BMI of just less than 32 over the course of almost 40 years.6 Then, a disjointed leap occurred, with the BMI magically (or chemically) going from less than 32 to well over 34, and continuing to increase at an accelerated rate to a BMI of almost 38— that is the average BMI! Some competitors are recorded above a BMI of 41 in show condition.
This huge, and it is HUGE, increase did not occur because someone discovered that syringes come in 10 cc volume, or the testosterone molecule was tweaked in an alchemical way, or even the accidental dripping of radioactive spider saliva into the vat at the pharmaceutical plant (Spider-Man reference). This new generation of bodybuilder was developed under the influence of the widespread use of peptide growth factors, including insulin, human growth hormone(hGH) and IGF-1.
It is worth noting that hGH and insulin were reported to have been used prior to the early 1990s, however, much like AAS, the limited access and absence of practical experience among bodybuilders kept the use of these hormones confined to a small number of men, likely using the drugs in limited amount and/or duration.
Insulin and hGH
The advent of recombinant technology opened the floodgates on the supply of insulin and hGH. Prior to the development of this technology, using bacteria to synthesize human hormones by inserting copies of DNA strands into the bacteria and stimulating production, insulin was often sourced from cows or pigs; hGH supply was reliant upon obtaining a regular supply of cadavers (dead people) and extracting hGH from the pituitary gland (a part of the brain). The recognition that dwarf children, the population that was receiving cadaveric hGH to treat growth retardation due to GH deficiency, were being diagnosed with a rare brain disorder caused scientists to develop hGH as the first recombinant hormone. This allowed a small test market prior to launching the resources necessary to meet the demand that recombinant insulin would generate. Unlike the experience with AAS, early adapters dove into hGH like pigs digging for truffles, using doses based upon the protocols designed for dwarf children. This resulted in immense growth, but not just of the muscles. The bones of the face, hands and feet all grew disproportionately, and the abdomen of these men became swollen like some Willy Wonka-esque special effect. It is likely that combined use of insulin with hGH exacerbated the abdominal presentation. Though use patterns vary, many now use hGH at a lower dose, and time insulin with meals and training.
So, it should be clear that the dosing of AAS has impressive but limited benefit as a monotherapy, (i.e., without stacking it with other classes of drugs such as hGH and/or insulin). From the onset, men have developed impressive physiques with muscular hypertrophy and strength gains using modest doses of AAS. The escalation of dosing regimens has resulted in a clearly evident, but not evolutionary increase in the muscle mass of the competitors. It also clearly aids in protecting against muscle loss during pre-contest dieting, as the mass of these men has increased concurrently with a reduction in body fat. Certain AAS have fat loss-enhancing properties, whereas others impede fat loss, but that is outside the scope of this article.
What Is the Right Dose?
The question arises, then, “What is the right dose?” This obviously is a question that does not have one right answer. First, it assumes that a person does not have a health condition that would increase the risk of an adverse (negative) side effect, potentially fatal in some cases. Though prostate cancer and heart disease were once dogmatically thought to be caused or worsened by testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or AAS misuse, it appears that this is not the case in doses that are within or close to the upper physiologic limit. The greatest concern should lie in a history of blood clots (thrombophilic disease), which can be familial (relatives have a history of blood clots) or spontaneous. In fact, nearly all ischemic cardiovascular events reported in people receiving TRT occur in individuals with a thrombotic condition. At times, this does not manifest until the person goes on TRT, suggesting that it can “tip the scales” and lead to a life-threatening event (e.g., stroke, pulmonary embolism, coronary thrombosis, DVT).
Equally relevant, especially in adolescents and young adults, is the risk of a personality disorder or psychosis emerging. It is not only the grossly elevated levels of androgens circulating during cycles that may cause this, but also the rapid downward swing when going off-cycle. It is suggested that one highly publicized case involving a high school student who was taken off AAS abruptly (under the advice of a physician) contributed to his suicide. It is unclear how valid this opinion is, as the boy was also receiving psychiatric care and on some form of medication for a mental health condition.7
Though the existence of “roid rage” is contested, research does support that in predisposed individuals, supraphysiologic testosterone can increase the magnitude of response to provoked aggression, but does not increase spontaneous aggression.8 This means that if you upset an AAS user who is prone to losing his temper, he will react more angrily and/or violently. However, the person should not have outbursts without reason. Other potential risks (legal as well as health) exist, and should be understood before deciding to experiment with AAS.
Testosterone Threshold and Muscle Hypertrophy
Clearly, a healthy man will not want to use an amount of AAS that does no better than his natural levels of testosterone (or even worse). Thus, it is notable that research has shown that in both young adults and older men, testosterone is essentially maintained at baseline— with statistically significant changes in muscle mass and strength when dosed at 125 milligrams of testosterone enanthate weekly. Increasing this to 300 milligrams and even 600 milligrams weekly results in dose-dependent increases in both muscle mass and strength.9,10 Only in older men were any significant adverse effects noted, those being an increase in red blood cell mass, leg edema and prostate events.
Harrison Pope, who has been vigorously pursuing any association between AAS misuse and various psychopathologies, noted in a 2000 study that 600 milligrams of testosterone cypionate was well tolerated by the vast majority of subjects, with 12 percent experiencing an increase hypomanic scores on a survey and four percent showing more marked hypomania.11 No pathologic or criminal behavior was reported. It is interesting that the hypomanic scores reported in the study are considered to be in the normal range in other references, suggesting the sensitivity to change may have been slightly biased to over-reporting.
An interesting paper reported on the observed testosterone threshold necessary for skeletal muscle hypertrophy.12 The testosterone concentration needed to evoke an increase in muscle mass was at the top end of the physiologic range, actually slightly above, in this group of older men. The concentration of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 ng/dL correlates with the concentration produced by the men receiving 300 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly (1,345 ng/dL).9,12This suggests that those seeking increases in muscle mass and strength might target 300 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly as a starting point. However, conversations with many men receiving TRT describe increases in strength and muscle mass equal to that achieved during young adult years at a dose of 200 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly. Topical formulations are generally found to be lacking in relevant changes in muscle mass in middle-aged men.
A dose range of 300 to 600 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly agrees with the field report of men self-administering AAS primarily for personal enhancement (i.e., personal satisfaction; 15% reported competition experience/plans). In a large survey of nearly 2,000 AAS users, the most common dose range was 200 to 600 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly (52%), with an additional 32 percent reporting a dose range of 600 to 1,000 milligrams weekly. Very few reported use above 1,400 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly.13 This suggests that in the “trial and error” lab of illicit use, AAS misusers find the “sweet spot” for AAS to be in the range denoted to increase muscle mass and strength with a minimal (or manageable) level of adverse effects— roughly 200 to 1,000 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly. The dosing studies reported earlier described an increase in fat-free mass of 7.9 kilograms in the men receiving the weekly dosing of 600 milligrams.9 This correlates to a 12.5 percent increase in six months (with a 10% decrease in fat mass). These results would be admirable for an amateur bodybuilder, and are consistent with the physiques seen in bodybuilders of the 1960s and 1970s.
Chemical Warfare
Obviously, the goal of the individual dictates the “right” dose. However, for the person considering AAS use, accounting for the potential for legal or health consequences, both scientific and “field” reports suggest that effects meeting the expectations of most non-competitive individuals can be met with a modest dosing schedule of 300 to 600 milligrams of testosterone ester weekly. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine “right” dose for the infinite combinations of AAS. Further, those driven to compete will find that a weighting of risk tolerance versus desire to compete needs to be evaluated regularly, as many competitors are willing to accept dangerous and risky protocols of prolonged cycles with complex stacks including peptide hormones, stimulants, diuretics, insulin and other agents. At some point, it becomes chemical warfare, and war always has casualties.
If AAS misuse is your choice, consider the power and limitations of near-physiologic dosing, and understand that there is a ceiling to the amount of size AAS can provide. Unrealistic expectations will result in dissatisfaction and a temptation to push the boundaries of relative safety and tolerance to the point where adverse effects may affect your health, relationships or otherwise impact your life negatively.
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
Yes it has I can tell by the breathing, So Each week I slowly increase my speed on the treadmill and Incline. I'm walking on the treadmill for my cardio, working my way up from 3.0 to 4.5