Steroid Cycles

Hey guys, how is everyone? It’s been a long time since I did not write here but I am back now so we have a lot of things to talk about

Let’s talk about best steroid cycle. Imagine that someone comes to you and ask: “what is best steroid cycle?”

What will you answer him? Well… there are some options and it depends on a few factors you will say and that is correct.

I want to bring to discussion all this moments when we talk about best steroid cycle.

If you are one of those who looks for best steroid cycle read this article as it will open you eyes to some points which you may have not considered before.

1. How old are you? That is very important to consider before you listen to first advice you hear in the gym. For example if you are not even 24 don’t even think about using steroids as you still must grow if you train and eat correct. If you are over 50 you must check your health before using some products which may cause prostate enlargement, high blood pressure and gynecomastia may only be some of things which can happen.

Each steroid works different that is why it is important to know your health situation to know what can be used and what can’t.

2. What is your goal? You want to get shredded? You want to get a few lbs of muscles? Or you simply want to bulk up?

Now attention! You can achieve any of these goals with different steroids so before taking first adviced check question #1 How old are you and what is your health state and according to this adjust what you take and dosages and training and nutrition.

3. Have you taken all possible from natural training? Some may wonder why did I include this here and I will tell you why. Because I see too many young guys who simple come to you and ask “what are you using right now?” I look at them and think what makes them wanting to use steroids at this age and answer comes immediately lack of knowledge. Guys steroids are only %10 of success, rest is training and nutrition. Print this and remember it forever. Until you have not taken maximum results from natural training dont use steroids.

Now let’s imagine you have between 25-35 years and want to give a try to steroids and see how they works and how your body will react to them. I will post here a few safe steroids cycles.

Best(safest) Oral Steroid Cycle

Anavar(Oxandrolone) is the one I would recommend to those who want to use only orals and go safe. Here is anavar steroids cycle chart:

weeks 1-6: anavar@40-50mg/day

weeks 7-9: Nolvadex @20mg/day

Best(safest) Injectable Steroid Cycle

Primobolan is one of the safest injectable anabolic steroids. That is why I recommend using it. This cycle is safe but in the same time don’t expect to become super huge after doing it.

You can add here Anavar or Dbol and testosterone.

weeks 1-12(14): Methenolone Enanthate (Primobolan) 600mg/week

PCT: Nolvadex @20mg/day

Most Popular as First Injectable Steroid Cycle

One of the most popular and recommend as a first steroid cycle is testosterone steroid cycle. Here is a chart which shows how testosterone must be taken.

That’s all for today, stay safe!

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Cycle of steroids | Deca Cycles | Human Growth Hormone Cycle | Steroids Cycles

Among bodybuilders and many newbies who just came to the gym is often discussed idea of doing a cycle of steroids. Sometimes it is inspired by others sometimes you just think you reached your natural growth potential and just want to add  some gear to make it better.

Firstly let me say that if you can’t grow naturally at least 15-20 kgs in 1-2 years you DON’T NEED STEROIDS but need to analyze your diet and training routine as there is hidden secret to success in muscle building.

Cycle of steroids may be done only after you have enough experience and knowledge about natural training, foods, recuperation and different methods to increase intensity of your training thus results.

Now, if you have enough knowledge on what we talked about previously it’s time to do your homework on anabolic steroids because as everyone knows “knowledge is the power” so before taking any cycle of steroids read as much as possible on some trustful web resources (like this blog or hypermuscles.com forum).

Oral Cycle of Steroids

There are people who think its good to start with orals because they are afraid of pins so they start a steroid cycle consisting only of dianabol (also known as: naposim, anabol, methandienone). I must say that is a huge mistake. (!)

One of the most popular among beginners is oral steroid cycle consisting only of dianabol (known as dbol, naposim, gp methan). Many of these people say they are afraid of syringes and that is why they want to go with orals.

Firstly let me tell you that there is nothing to be afraid of syringes and if you can’t put an injection by yourself there is always someone who can help you.

And second thing I want to tell is that only oral dbol cycle will bring very temporary results. You will get a lot of water retention, strength some muscles but once cycle is finished you will lost 90% of everything. And it is worth mentioning here that dbol is not good to take over 6 weeks and over 40mg/day.

You will loose almost everything because you did not stack dianabol with something else like testosterone and here we go to second chapter.

Injectable Steroids Cycles

There are people who use only injectables in their cycles because they don’t want to hurt liver anyway with orals. Well, that is a good way to go and there are plenty of stack which will make you more than happy.

Most popular and recommended is Testosterone Stack for 12 weeks. It is best cycle for beginners and you can read in this article full description how it is used plus you have a graphical scheme which shows you in details how to do your first testosterone cycle.

Injectables + Orals Steroid Cycles

This option is one of the most popular and it brings best results because you stack many different compounds which works different way. And here we come to our stack of testosterone and dbol. This stack is also very good for beginners and bring very very good results in combination with hard hard training, 2,5gr of protein per 1kg of bodyweight and enough rest. Testosterone and dbol cycle article + diagram.

Additional products

In order to make it safe you will need to use such products like: Liv52, Essentiale or Milk Thistle, all of them are made to protect your liver. Use the one you have access to and take it before during and after cycle. On next cycle you can use another one. These products are especially important when you are run oral steroids like Dbol which are 17 alpha alkylated and affect your liver.

Be on the safe side.

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Here is a very interesting read i found while searching the net …

The genesis for this article was a thread on one of the smaller bodybuilding boards titled Cycling for Pennies. Written by Dogg (he is known by his prior “hardcore” writings fame), his one post eventually inspired him to write over 25 pages of material, outlining his philosophies on a wide range of bodybuilding topics. He has garnered a loyal following directly because he was writing about subjects seven years ago that have became staples in bodybuilding today. What follows is a drastically pared down version, briefly touching upon some of the many issues he discussed in his various posts. It’s Dogg’s intention to use this article as an introduction to a series of articles he will write for AE, discussing in much greater details some of the points addressed here. Meuller: As Dogg and I have a lot of the same ideas, he asked me to interject some of my thoughts in these articles along with his.

Dogg: Without sounding cocky I am a very advanced bodybuilder down here in
San Diego–cruising at 285lbs or so and going up over 300 this year. I came from a very, very hard gaining and skinny genetic structure (140lbs about 10 years ago) so gains have never come easy and I didn’t start super supplements until I was 225 clean (took me 6 years). (I use food as my chief anabolic).

What I am amazed at is the number of 180 to 220lb bodybuilders on the net who spend ungodly amounts of money and use so many different exotic compounds thinking that it is the end all super stack of all stacks. And they take huge, huge risks in trying to acquire these drugs. I have had an abundance of pro and top amateur friends to gain the knowledge that pretty much these top people in the sport are blasting high amounts of test as the base drug in the offseason to put on pro size with mostly one (sometimes two) other compounds (usually fina, or equipoise or some other non exotic drug and GH if it can be afforded). I firmly believe you will gain 2 times the amount of muscle off of 2 grams of test either alone or with another compound than having some kind of exotic stack involving 3 to 6 exotic hard to get expensive compounds. The receptor site theories have proven to be bunk. The cheapest and best stack I can think of anyone doing to put on major size is a gram or two of test with arimidex to keep water off with fina 75 to 150mg every other day for 4 weeks –then 2 to 3 weeks of cruising (test at 300-400mg and clomid at 5 (day one), 4(day two), 3(day three),then 2 every day for 2 weeks)–and then back on everything full again (maybe equipoise used instead of fina this
time) for 4 weeks (then 2 to 3 weeks cruising again etc etc)—if you can’t gain gobs of muscle on that nothing exotic (masteron, etc etc etc) surely isn’t going to do it for you. Testosterone is always the base for any gaining cycle of any pro friend I’ve had or top people with whom I talked with off record. I have never even been over 1000mg of test myself (yet) but I see guys spending and using 10 times the amount I do weighing 70lbs less. I think there is a major problem when the easiest, cheapest and most potent things are right in front of people and they are off searching for substance B-737
undecylate in bulgaria.

Meuller: All too often we’ve seen 180-220 lbs bodybuilders obsessed with some irrelevant minutiae of bodybuilding, arguing the merits of using anavar stacked with creatine or how dosages of primobolan should be divided up in order to maximize size. Just the other day in the gym, I heard two wannabe bodybuilders actually discussing the merits of using creatine stacked with various fruit juices. Now admittedly, I train at 24 Hour Fitness, not the most hardcore gym on the planet, but I literally had to laugh out loud listening to these two idiots taking each other incredibly seriously over an issue that has about as much relevance to the gaining of lean body mass as what kind of underwear I choose to put on prior to my foray into the gym. I know that both Dogg and myself receive countless emails from bodybuilders looking for that one special compound, you know the one I mean, the secret steroid that all the pros are using and no one else seems to be able to get their hands on. The steroid that if only I could manage to obtain, I’d be kicking Coleman’s ass all over the Olympia stage in no time. There is a major problem when the cheapest, easiest, and most potent drugs are widely available and bodybuilders are blaming their lack of success on everything but their food intake, work ethic in the gym, or cycles that wouldn’t make my girlfriend grow.

Perhaps the biggest secret in bodybuilding is that there are no secrets. There are no secret stacks, there are no secret drugs, the amateurs and pros that we see in Flex and other magazines are using the same drugs that are readily available to you or I. Ask any top amateur or pro what his favorite steroid is and you’ll undoubtedly get the same answer from everyone: TESTOSTERONE!! 2 grams of test a week is going to put size on you unlike anything else, I don’t care how exotic or expensive. You show me a rare DDR steroid that supposedly is 50X as anabolic as testosterone and runs $600 per bottle and I’ll show you a GC/MS assay of cheap steroids you could pick up in Mexico for $20. Anavar? A drug I put my girlfriend on if she wants to gain a few pounds of muscle. Primobolan? A steroid I’d give to my kid if he had the flu. Ok, these drugs may have their place in a bridging cycle, but believe me, no bodybuilder attempting to gain brutal size need to concern himself with mass cycles containing impotent steroids like anavar and primobolan.

Dogg: I am of the opinion that people should use the lowest dosages possible that will keep them gaining. If a newbie bodybuilder starts off with 2 grams of T every week and a high dose of fina etc, etc and eventually taps out on that where is he going to go? 4000 a week? I believe one should make their way up 750, to 1000 to 1200 to 1500 and so on slowly thru cycles. I am an advocate of the 4 week on 2 week cruising (then back on) method not because of receptor site saturation but due to 3 very important (to me) factors…

1) I lift extremely heavy and I push the limits for 4 weeks and I just need 2 weeks to kind of regroup myself and then go balls to the wall again with poundages for the next 4 weeks

2)Same with food intake-I religiously get in 500 to 600 grams of protein and I have to give myself a little break for those 2 weeks (I only go down to
400grams or so) or I’ll go crazy

3) I think it’s of utmost importance to keep yourself regulated HPTA-wise. If
your endogenous test levels diminish due to constant months of high androgens
when you do finally come off those size gains fly out the door…if you can
keep your endo test somewhat normal you wont get the huge problems that keep
most bodybuilders bouncing up and down in bodyweight like yo-yo’s..namely
getting colds and flu’s/injuries/depression/lack of aggression and appetite
(which usually means test to estrogen ratio out of whack)…During the
cruising period the 300-400mg of test will keep you from losing any muscle at
all and the clomid and arimidex will get you as close (via 2 different
routes) to homeostasis as possible.

Meuller: Repeat– We are not advocating that a newbie run out and start
injecting himself with 2 grams of testosterone per week in an attempt to gain
as much size as possible? Let me quantify what we are trying to say. At
some point, 2 grams a week of testosterone may become a necessity as you
reach the upper limits of size your body will grow on bodybuilding drugs.
Just as we all have a natural limit to how big we can get naturally, we also
have a limit to how big we can get using performance enhancing drugs. You
look at bodybuilders like Ruhl, Yates, or Coleman and you’re seeing men who
have virtually maxed out their ability to add more muscle. Did Dorian’s
physique change noticeably from year to year during his last several
Olympias? Has Coleman’s? Sure, perhaps they come in a little tighter,
Coleman may fluctuate 10 lbs in bodyweight from year to year, but
realistically, these guys reached their genetic limit to add muscle long ago.
Now the massive amounts of drugs they take are simply to maintain the
incredible amounts of LBM they have accrued over years of training, eating,
and juicing. And this article isn’t being written for the Yates, Colemans,
or Ruhls of the bodybuilding world, I seriously doubt they’re coming to AE
for advice. This article is written for you, the aspiring bodybuilder,
someone who wants to gain as much muscle as quickly as possible but doesn’t
know how. Let’s say you’re an aspiring bodybuilder with good genetics and
want to start your first cycle. If you start out at 2000 mg of test a week
with other assorted steroids, where are you going to go from there when you
eventually stop growing. You should seek to start with as low
of an effective dose as possible and work your way up, always bearing in mind
that your cycle is probably the last reason why you’re not growing. You show
me a 180 lb bodybuilder that’s not growing on 750 mg of test a week and 50 mg
of methandrostenolone per day and I’ll show you someone who isn’t eating or
training correctly unless he’s 4’11”.

A good starting dose for a newbie is in the range of 750-800 mg of
testosterone per week, stacked with another steroid like methandrostenolone
(50 mg/day in divided doses), trenbolone acetate (75 mg ED), or even an old
standby like deca (600 mg/week). Use of an anti-aromatase like Arimidex is a
must. As Dogg advocates, steroid cycles are times during which your body must
be pushed to its limits. All too often you’ll see so-called bodybuilders
(bodybuilders in their own mind really) begin a cycle and maintain the same
kind of eating and training habits they adhered to pre-cycle. Will they
gain muscle? Most definitely, several double-blind medical studies have
proven that moderate dosages of testosterone will add small amounts of LBM
and cause a slight decrease in body fat without any change in diet or
exercise programs. But then again, that’s not really bodybuilding now is it?
Bodybuilding is an attempt to build yourself up to what you consider to be a
physical ideal, and for more AE readers than not, that means brutally huge
size. Brutally huge size is the result of two primary actions 1) brutal
workouts and 2) a brutal eating schedule. Steroids assist in both of these
endeavors, allowing you to train harder in the gym and increasing appetite so
one can consume more food. There is also a limit to how much of this the
psyche and body can take, regardless of how tough you are mentally or how
genetically gifted you may be. My workout partner and I have been training
balls to the wall for the past 2 months with the singular goal of my reaching
310 lbs. We agreed that once I reached this weight, we would take 5 days off
from the gym and do nothing but rest as much as our respective schedules will
allow. In all seriousness, we both breathed a sigh of relief when I stepped
on the scale Monday night and it read 312 lbs, because we were both very
nearly at our breaking point. We agreed to finish out the week as planned (I
didn’t expect to break 310 until Thursday or Friday) and then take all of
next week off. You’re seeing more and more top bodybuilding gurus advocate
training cycles in this fashion, Dogg advocates 4 week training cycles,
Trevor Smith from Nuclear advocates 6 week, and I advocate 8 week cycles.
Doggs 4 week training cycle involves cruising for 2 weeks after the initial
four weeks (as discussed above) to get the HPTA back in check and then back
on full bore again. You can either keep doing that indefinitely or stop the
4+2 regimen whenever you deem in necessary. Regardless of whether it’s
4+4, 6, or 8 weeks, at some point your body needs a break when you’re doing
everything right in and out of the gym.

Robbie

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There is no doubt that steroids are most effective when they are administered in a sensible and logical manner. This requires that the athlete observe certain rules. A basic requirement is that the steroid intake be divided into cycles. By a steroid cycle most mean a 10- 12 week application of a single compound or a combination of two to three different steroids, followed by an interval of discontinuance of the same length. As is often shown, such a type of administration does not make much sense for a continuous and lasting progress since a considerable part of the strength and muscle mass that was gained gets lost during the long interval of discontinuance. The reasons why athletes choose such an intake schedule are attributed to the fact that there are those who continuously emphasize that steroids are principally only effective after a period of several weeks and injections more than twice a year considerably increase the risk of damage to the organs. With regard-to the apparently limited effect it must be said that, if that was true, today’s pro bodybuilding would be at the same performance level as thirty years ago. As to the second contention, the risk of damage to the body, let us tell you that if that was true there would be no more bodybuilding pros because all would be dead. The fact is non-stop use of steroids in ambitious athletes is the norm, resulting in continuously higher performance levels as can easily be recognized when looking at the photos in the various “muscle magazines.” If, for example, an athlete becomes a world champion at the age of 24, this not only shows his perfect genetics for this sport but also a period several years long of almost non-stop steroid consumption.

By a sensible cyclic application of anabolic/androgenic steroids we mean several timed intake schedules which, on the one hand, observe the basic rules for the intake of steroids and, on the other hand, are coordinated with the goal of the individual athlete and particularly the characteristics of the relative steroids that are taken. Principally, one should begin with a relatively low dosage and gradually and evenly increase it in order to maintain the positive nitrogen balance in the muscle cell. Since oral steroids begin to show their effect within several days and result in quite a rapid saturation of the receptors, their intake is limited to 6-8 weeks. Following that, the use of steroids is discontinued or the athlete switches to another (oral) steroid. It is also shown that the combination of two to three steroids in moderate dosages is much more effective and also guarantees a longer duration of effect than when only one steroid is taken in a high dosage. With the right combinations one will be able to obtain a synergetic effect if the athlete pays attention to selecting steroids which have different influences on the factors of strength, tissue buildup, and recovery. A stack which fulfills these requirements, for example, would be Deca-Durabolin as an anabolic basic steroid with depot character, Sustanon to promote recovery and general mass buildup, and Oxandrolone to increase body strength. The stimulation of various receptor types over a limited period leads to the best results. The buildup- effect can be maintained over several months if the steroid combination is completely changed no later than every eight weeks, if the athletes alternate the stronger and mostly androgenic cycles with the weaker and predominantly anabolic cycles and when the dosages are continuously graduated. A long and even reduction of the doses at the end of the cycle helps in normalizing the body functions and preparing the organism for a suspension of the intake.

Robbie

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Welcome.

Well this week i thought id post a guide for all the newbies out there who are venturing into the world of steroids for the very first time.
I guess if your reading this you have already decided that you want to do steroids, best thing i can suggest is do as much research as possible , go online, search forum after forum , blog after blog and make sure your homework is up to scratch! Believe me the pusher at the gym is only interested in your money NOT your health!

Right, so now youve read your info and your ready to start your first cycle … with all those compounds out there where do you start ? They all sound great!!

START SIMPLE !
You dont need any of those exotic compounds , all you need for your first cycle is test… easy as that !
You need to know how you and your body reacts to steroids and the best way is to keep things simple.
500mg a week of test E split into 2 x injections (monday , thursday works well) run this for 10 weeks and expect to see explosive gains !
Remember your PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) Its just as important as your Steroids !
You should keep nolvadex on hand at all times and if you notice any lumps or itches on or around the nipples then start taking 10mg everyday until you finish your cycle.

REMEMBER – knowledge is the key !
The more you learn now the safer you will be , dont wait until something bad happens to find a cure , learn about all the side affects of steroids and how to combat them before they start !
KEEP SAFE AND KEEP TRAINING!

Robbie

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Probably ectomorphs are those who put this question more often as they are those who look weaker if we can say so. They train hard eat a lot but the weights are showing just litlle progress. That is when your motivation is down and you are ready to try everything just to bulk up quick. In these moment you are more exposed to be affected by the opinion of other guys. But you shall not!!! It is important to understand the differences of all types of bodies and accept it as it is. Believe me this way of thinking will make you more happier and it is better than frustrating yourself with questions such as: Why I am ectomorph?, or Why I grow slower?.

It’s the same in life – someone is businessman, other is football player and third is bodybuilder and this is normal as if everyone will be the same it would not be interesting.

In any circumstances in your life it is important to understand where you are, what you are and what are your chances to be where you want. Then think about steps you need to undertake and forces you need to confront.

In any sphere of life until you win you will meet many forces which will try to stop you. Some are psychological some will come from friends and people near you. But if you know what you want and you see yourself there you shall not listen to anyone or at least do not permit them influencing you.

So should ectomorph use steroids or no? Bros, the question itself is not correct because:

1. it depends on what your goal is

2. steroids are not the panacea

3. you still can grow without steroids

So before taking any decision you must think for what you need it? And is it the best solution.

As Tom Prince stated he took “gear” when he was 24 but until that age he trained as hard as possible, eat as correct and clean as possible and slept as much as possible.

So take into consideration that if you do not grow it is not because you are not taking steroids but because there is something wrong with your training regiment/diet/or recovery.

Thus please take an advice from someone who is more experienced. Ask him to help you creating a good training schedule then eat sufficient and sleep as much as needed. And believe me results will come….however there are no limits…

Source: musclesprod.com

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This is the question each bodybuilder have to answer. However the answer is simple in the same time there are many factors which should be taken into account.

1.First thing is your age. If you do not have at least 22 years do not even think about steroids.

2. Second thing is your experience. If you have not trained at least 3 years naturally then it is still not the time for steroids. The idea is that you must get maximum of your genetics after which you can start taking steroids to move to another level.

3. You must have progress without steroids. If during your years of training you have not experienced good growth it means you do not know a lot about your body, training and nutrition so do your homework and when you will add at least 12Kgs of muscles without steroids then move to another step.

4. Knowledge. By this I mean you must know what you are taking and why. For this you must read a lot use forums and talk to experienced people.

When all these points are ok you can start your first cycle.

Good luck!

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Anabolic steroids are drugs that resemble androgenic hormones (sometimes called male hormones) such as testosterone (Figure 1). Athletes consume them in the hope of gaining weight, strength, power, speed, endurance, and aggressiveness. They are widely used by athletes involved in such sports as track and field (mostly the throwing events), weight lifting, and American football. However, in spite of their tremendous popularity, their effectiveness is controversial. The research literature is divided on whether anabolic steroids enhance physical performance. Yet, almost all athletes who consume these substances acclaim their beneficial effects. Many athletes feel that they would not have been as successful without them.

There are several possible reasons for the large differences between experimental findings and empirical observations. An incredible mystique has arisen around these substances, providing fertile ground for the placebo effect. The use of anabolic steroids in the “real world” is considerably different from that in rigidly controlled, double-blind experiments (in a double blind study, neither the subject nor experimenter knows who is taking the drug). Most studies have not used the same drug dosage used by athletes. Institutional safeguards prohibit administration of high dosages of possibly dangerous substances to human subjects. Subjects in research experiments seldom resemble accomplished weight-trained athletes. Under these conditions, we must assess the results of sound research studies, as well as clinical and empirical field observations, in order to obtain a realistic profile of the use, effects on performance, and side effects of these substances.

How Anabolic Steroids Work

Male hormones, principally testosterone, are partially responsible for the tremendous developmental changes that occur during puberty and adolescence. Male hormones have androgenic and anabolic effects. Androgenic effects are changes in primary and secondary sexual characteristics. These include enlargement of the penis and testes, voice changes, hair growth on the face, axilla, and genital areas, and increased aggressiveness. The anabolic effects of androgens include accelerated growth of muscle, bone, and red blood cells, and enhanced neural conduction.

Anabolic steroids have been manufactured to enhance the anabolic properties (tissue building) of the androgens and minimize the androgenic (sex-linked) properties. However, no steroid has eliminated the androgenic effects because the so-called androgenic effects are really anabolic effects in sex-linked tissues. The effects of male hormones on accessory sex glands, genital hair growth, and oiliness of the skin are anabolic processes in those tissues. The steroids with the most potent anabolic effect are also those with the greatest androgenic effect.

Steroid Receptors

Steroid hormones work by stimulation of receptor molecules in muscle cells, which activate specific genes to produce proteins. They also affect the activation rate of enzyme systems involved in protein metabolism, thus enhancing protein synthesis and inhibiting protein degradation (called an anti-catabolic effect).

Heavy resistance training seems to be necessary for anabolic steroids to exert any beneficial effect on physical performance. Most research studies that have demonstrated improved performance with anabolic steroids used experienced weight lifters who were capable of training with heavier weights and producing relatively greater muscle tension during exercise than novice subjects. The effectiveness of anabolic steroids is dependent upon unbound receptor sites in muscle. Intense strength training may increase the number of unbound receptor sites. This would increase the effectiveness of anabolic steroids.

Anti-Catabolic Effects Of Anabolic Steroids

Many athletes have said that anabolic steroids help them train harder and recover faster. They also said that they had difficulty making progress (or even holding onto the gains) when they were off the drugs. Anabolic steroids may have an anti-catabolic effect. This means that the drugs may prevent muscle catabolism that often accompanies intense exercise training. Presently, this hypothesis has not been fully proven.

Anabolic steroids may block the effects of hormones such as cortisol involved in tissue breakdown during and after exercise. Anabolic steroids may prevent tissue from breaking down following of an intense work-out. This would speed recovery. Cortisol and related hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex, also has receptor sites within skeletal muscle cells. Cortisol causes protein breakdown and is secreted during exercise to enhance the use of proteins for fuel and to suppress inflammation that accompanies tissue injury.

Anabolic steroids may block the binding of cortisol to its receptor sites, which would prevent muscle breakdown and enhances recovery. While this is beneficial while the athlete is taking the drug, the effect backfires when he stops taking it. Hormonal adaptations occur in response to the abnormal amount of male hormone present in the athlete’s body. Cortisol receptor sites and cortisol secretion from the adrenal cortex increase.

Anabolic steroid use decreases testosterone secretion. People who stop taking steroids are also hampered with less male hormone than usual during the “off” periods. The catabolic effects of cortisol are enhanced when the athlete stops taking the drugs and strength and muscle size are lost at a rapid rate.

The rebound effect of cortisol and its receptors presents people who use anabolic steroids with several serious problems: (1) psychological addiction is more probable because they become dependent on the drugs. This is because they tend to lose strength and size rapidly when off steroids. To stave off deconditioning, athletes may want to take the drugs for long periods of time to prevent falling behind. (2) Long-term administration increases the chance of serious side-effects. (3) Cortisol suppresses the immune system. This makes steroid users more prone to diseases, such as cold and flu, during the period immediately following steroid administration.

Psychological Effects

Some researchers have speculated that the real effect of anabolic steroids is the creation of a “psychosomatic state” characterized by sensations of well being, euphoria, increased aggressiveness and tolerance to stress, allowing the athlete to train harder. Such a psychosomatic state would be more beneficial to experienced weight lifters who have developed the motor skills to exert maximal force during strength training. Diets high in protein and calories may also be important in maximizing the effectiveness of anabolic steroids.

Anabolic Steroids and Performance

The effects of anabolic steroids on physical performance are unclear. Well controlled, double blind studies have rendered conflicting results. In studies showing beneficial effects, body weight increased by an average of about four pounds, lean body weight by about six pounds (fat loss accounts for the discrepancy between gains in lean mass and body weight), bench press increased by about 15 pounds, and squats by about 30 pounds (these values represent the average gains for all studies showing a beneficial effect). Almost all studies have failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect on maximal oxygen consumption or endurance capacity. Anabolic steroid studies have typically lasted six to eight weeks and have usually used relatively untrained subjects.

Most changes in strength during the early part of training are neural: increased strength is mainly due to an improved ability to recruit motor units. Anabolic steroids affect processes associated with protein synthesis in muscle. Studies lasting six weeks (typical study length) would largely reflect neural changes and could easily miss the cellular effects of the drugs.

The gains made by athletes in uncontrolled observations have been much more impressive. Weight gains of thirty or forty pounds, coupled with thirty percent increases in strength, are not unusual. Such case studies lack credibility because of the absence of scientific controls. However, it would be foolish to completely disregard such observations because the “subjects” have been highly trained and motivated athletes.Please see the articles on pharmacology of sport and sports medicine in the countries of the former Soviet Union for more information on anabolic steroids.

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