Carbs, Insulin, and Bodybuilding. How does it work?

The role of insulin is a current topic reverberating through gyms everywhere. Insulin is a hormone best known for its role in glucose metabolism. In an attempt to provide some clear scientific information to our trainers, this article will discuss the different classifications of carbohydrates, and how the body regulates blood glucose levels. Practical applications to bodybuilders will close out the article.

Carbohydrates 

Carbohydrates provide direct energy for the human brain, central nervous system, and muscle cells in the form of glucose (blood sugar). Carbohydrates can be broken down into simple carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates.

Simple Carbohydrates are sugars, organic compounds whose bonds are easily broken down by digestion. Sugars are classified as monosaccharides (mono = one), or disaccharides (di= two). Monosaccharides include glucose, galactose, and fructose. Disaccharides are two monosaccharide units linked together and include maltose (two glucose units), sucrose (fructose plus glucose), and lactose (galactose plus glucose). Your body only has the ability to absorb monosaccharides into the blood.

Complex carbohydrates are defined as polysaccharides (poly = many) that are found in starch and fiber. Starches are polysaccharides humans can digest, but must be broken down into monosaccharides before they can be taken into the blood. Polysaccharides are either linear (amylose-polymer of 400 to thousands of glucose) or branched (amlyopectin-polymer containing hundreds of glucose). Glycogen (stored glucose within the muscle), is similar in structure to amylopectin, and will be discussed later in bodybuilding applications. Cellulose is fiber within vegetables which humans are unable to break down and absorb into the blood.

How the Body Uses Carbohydrates 

The body, after digestion and absorption through the walls of the small intestines, can put glucose to work in three ways.
It can burn the glucose immediately within mitochondria, releasing carbon dioxide, water and energy.

If the glucose is not needed immediately, it is converted by the liver or the muscles into glycogen. Muscle glycogen provides energy only to muscles. Liver glycogen can supply energy to any part of the body.

Any glucose left over after glycogen saturation is converted to fat by the liver, and stored in adipose tissue around the body. The degree and pattern of fat buildup depends on an array of factors, but are primarily linked to whether a person consistently consumes more calories than are burned through activity.

Blood-Sugar Connection 

The body's natural regulatory system automatically maintains close control over the level of blood glucose. The body has approximately 20 grams of blood borne glucose circulating continuously. If blood sugar increases then the pancreas releases insulin. If this level is too low than glucagon is released.

Pancreas
Monitors blood glucose concentrations If blood glucose level is too high Insulin is released... If glucose level is too low Glucagon is released

Signals Signals

Fat and muscle cells to Absorb glucose liver to break down glycogen and release glucose to the blood
thus lowering blood glucose to normal levels thus raising blood glucose to normal levels
Happens right after a meal Happens between meals
Note: Muscle glycogen does not provide glucose to the blood. Muscle glycogen is used only by muscle tissue.

Bodybuilding Applications 

It is important for bodybuilders to understand that when insulin levels are high your body will store excess glucose as bodyweight. Unfortunately, your body does not care if it is muscle weight or fat weight. It is important to realize the difference in carbohydrates and their use by muscle tissue. Enzymes within muscles readily metabolize starch, which is broken down into usable glucose. The liver has the intermediary enzymes to convert glucose, fructose, galactose, amino acids, and other metabolites for its glycogen stores. Since your muscles have the ability to store 250 to 400 grams of glycogen and your liver only has the ability to store 100 grams of glycogen, it is advisable to keep a high proportion of your carbohydrate calories from complex sources. As mentioned earlier, muscle glycogen is only used by muscle tissue. Since muscle glycogen is similar to an amylopectin as in starch, it is logical to supply your body with complex carbohydrates to replenish muscle glycogen stores.


At first glance carbohydrates and insulin can be a confusing topic and if left to the rhetoric of the average gym can spawn into a deluge of misinformation. We hope that the article served to clarify some of the confusion surrounding carbohydrates and insulin. 

Arimidex: How Bodybuilders Prevent Estrogen Side-Effects with Anastrozole

Anastrozole is an oral aromatase inhibitor manufactured by the Zeneca Pharmaceuticals and approved for use in the United States in 1995s. It is a prescription drug and this means it is a licensed medicine and you need a written prescription from a medical practitioner in order to obtain one.

It is primarily prescribed for adjutant therapy of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer. Adjutant therapy is the treatment given in addition to the patient’s primary treatment (surgery with or without radiation) to prevent cancer cells from multiplying.

Oftentimes, Anastrozole is compared to Nolvadex (tamoxifen citrate) as these two drugs are purposely for the reduction of estrogenic activity in the body to halt or delay the progression of cancer. However, Anastrozole is reportedly a more effective drug in combating estrogen-related concerns. This is because as an aromatase inhibitor it blocks the aromatase enzyme, thereby preventing the production of estrogen. Nolvadex, on the other hand, only hinders the action and not the production of this hormone. This is why Anastrozole is considered as the second-line defense against breast cancer. When advanced breast cancer has progressed following treatment of Nolvadex, Anastrozole is usually prescribed. In cases of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women, however, Anastrozole is approved for initial use rather than as a second-line defense.

For those male bodybuilders who use steroids, Anastrozole can be effective drug in combating excess estrogen. It is usually taken with Nolvadex to ensure estrogen-related side effects are avoided. If used with such drugs as Propecia (finasteride), it results to more ideal outcome. With Anastrozole preventing estrogen production and with finasteride preventing testosterone conversion to DHT (dihydrotestosterone), you have an efficient duo in eliminating these hormones’ (estrogen and DHT) undesirable effects, as far as bodybuilding is concerned. Propecia is a specific inhibitor of the 5a-reductase, the enzyme responsible in testosterone conversion to DHT. Propecia reduces the serum concentration of DHT and thereby reduces unwanted androgenic effects like male pattern baldness.

If you’re using highly aromatizable steroids, such as testosterone, you can achieve impressive muscle gains with decreased possibility of water retention and gynecomastia if you stack it with Anastrozole. The result is a more ripped and defined physique.

It is wrong to think, however, that estrogen and its effects (particularly water and fat retention) are absolutely detrimental to bodybuilding. Remember that this hormone is also responsible for muscle strength and gains. Consequently, it minimizes the occurrence of injury as it improves the ability of muscle fibers to withstand contractile tension or stress. Notice that one of the side effects of Anastrozole use (as mentioned below) is the likely occurrence of fractures, a major drawback of this drug. This is because when Anastrozole effectively blocks the formation of estrogen, it effectively blocks the benefits of this hormone as well. This is why many still decide for estrogen receptor antagonists like Nolvadex and Clomid because these drugs allow some estrogen activity in the body.

Further, aromatase inhibitors like Anastrozole have the tendency to completely suppressed estrogen activity, including its positive effect on cholesterol levels in the body. Anastrozole is known to decrease HDL (high-density lipoprotein), or what is commonly known as the ‘good’ cholesterol.

Dosage

Daily dosage for males is from 0.5mg to 3mg. For women, a maximum dosage of 1mg per day is enough to combat estrogenic side effects. Because Anastrozole has a short active life, dosages are usually taken two to six times a day at equal intervals. During PCT, athletes normally start with higher dosage then implement a progressive decrease in dosage. The PCT protocol typically runs for seven to 14 days.

In clinical studies, it has been observed that a daily dose of 1 mg of this drug results to more than 80% of estrogen suppression.

Trenbolone Information

Trenbolone is a highly androgenic steroid, with binding to the Androgen Receptor (AR) in the region of three times as high as testosterone. It does not aromatise and so is not subject to estrogenic side effects. In addition to high androgenicity, it is also extremely anabolic too, thus is very good at building muscle mass, and retaining muscle mass in a calorie deficient mode. It is also thought that trenbolone inhibits cortisol production directly through the glucocorticoid receptors. Trenbolone is often found to be a body transforming drug, and also can aid a little in fat loss. This may be due to the very strong binding of trenbolone to the AR, which has been postulated to be one mechanism that results in the activation of fat loss pathways, possible through direct binding to fat cells' ARs. This makes trenbolone a favourite among bodybuilders for cutting, and in addition to these benefits, trenbolone usually results in large increases in strength due to its high androgenic effects. Trenbolone although not converted to estrogen, does have progesteronic effects.

Typically today underground labs produce trenbolone acetate as 75g/ml or 100mg/ml. It is often recommended first-time users of Trenbolone to use the faster acting acetate in case the side effects become too much for the user, they can then come off of the steroid very quickly and it is out of the system much quicker than, for example, the enanthate ester. For the novice user, 75mg or 100mg every other day (eod) is advised, however due to the acetate ester being even shorter than a propionate ester and the half life 1 day or less, to both reduce sides and aid gains, it is advisable that the user (if they can bear every day injections) injects Trenbolone acetate every day (ed), at 37.5-50mg ed.

More advanced users may find that taking the Trenbolone to amounts over 500mg per week has very desirable effects on strength and body composition, however note that the side effects will also increase with the increase in dose. Due to the negative effect that Trenbolone has on libido, it is not generally recommended to take Trenbolone without testosterone. However, one can take Trenbolone for short periods without testosterone and introduce an aid such as Proviron to help with the libido issues, along with proper extensive post cycle therapy (PCT) for recovery. A typical test-free cycle with Trenbolone may include something like 600mg Primobolan per week, 400mg Trenbolone enanthate per week, for 10 weeks, PCT starting 2 weeks after last injections. The enanthate ester and other similar esters of trenbolone can be injected twice per week. Below are some example cycles using trenbolone:

Novice: 

• Testosterone propionate 100-150mg eod, 6-8weeks
• Trenbolone acetate 75-100mg eod, 6-8 weeks, PCT 4 days after last prop injection.

Intermediate: 

• Testosterone enanthate 750mg per week, weeks 1-12
• Trenbolone enanthate 400mg per week, weeks 1-12
• Winstrol 50mg ed weeks, 8-14
• Primobolan 600mg per week, weeks 1-12
• Testosterone propionate 200mg eod weeks 1-12
• Trenbolone enanthate 400mg per week, weeks 1-10

Advanced: 

• Primobolan 600mg per week, weeks 1-10
• Trenbolone enanthate 400mg per week, weeks 1-10
• Testosterone enanthate 1000mg per week, weeks 1-12
• Trenbolone enanthate 500-700mg per week, weeks 1-12
• Anavar 80-100mg ed, weeks 1-14

Very advanced/pre-contest: 

• Testosterone propionate 100-200mg ed
• Trenbolone acetate 75-100mg ed
• Masteron 400-600mg per week
• Winstrol 50mg ed
• Primobolan 600mg per week
• Halotestin 10-20mg ed

Out of all the injectable steroids available, Trenbolone is the one that should be used with extreme caution and only after plenty of research into its side effects and common cycles have been carried out. Trenbolone side effects can be very bad to many users, so much so that they will not use it despite its very positive effects on the body and strength. Firstly, as Trenbolone is so androgenic, all side effects that are seen with strong androgens can be expected (if prone) with Trenbolone. If one is prone to male pattern baldness (MPB) than Trenbolone will likely speed this up. Some users find acne on Trenbolone worse than when on any other steroid. Certainly Trenbolone is not recommended for female users due to its strong androgenic properties and the common side effects that manifest themselves in females who use strong androgens.

Despite the fact that Trenbolone cannot aromatise, due to the progesterone route it can cause things like gynecomastia, but this will only really happen in the presence of estrogen. This does happen though in many users, as Trenbolone is usually stacked with a testosterone, which obviously can and will convert to estrogen. Gynecomastia from Trenbolone can be quite bad many will find, however if you do not suffer from this than other estrogenic side effects should not be of worry, as Trenbolone does not cause any water retention or similar, but in fact often gives a hardened look and feel to the muscles.

Trenbolone also seems to give many users poor sleep patterns and insomnia. In addition, it can cause severe sweating in many, both during the night time and also just from doing the smallest of activities such as walking up stairs, etc. It also can impair to a certain degree, cardiovascular function, which means that it is not ideal for use in those who regular partake in such sports or activity that require a decent level of cardiovascular fitness.

Trenbolone also increases blood pressure in many users, some to such a degree that they have to cease using it. Thus it is recommended that one who wishes to use Trenbolone, invests in a blood pressure monitor so they can regularly measure their blood pressure and keep an eye on it throughout the cycle.

Many people claim that Trenbolone has a negative effect on the kidneys. There are many of these claims certainly across the Internet since its use has become more widespread. However, there is no real evidence for these claims, and certainly I have seen many long-term users of Trenbolone have kidney function tests that are well within the normal range. Perhaps the reason for this theory is the fact that when using Trenbolone, many find that their urine can become a much darker more orange-brown colour. However, this is due to the fact that Trenbolone undergoes very little modification or breakdown and is excreted as a rust-coloured oxidised form in the urine. In addition to this, any damage to kidney may not even be directly due to the Trenbolone, but more to do with the increased sweating and water loss from excessive body heat whilst on trenbolone, without the sufficient addition of water intake. Thus it is recommended if running trenbolone to keep the water intake high.

As Trenbolone is such a strong steroid, it is very harsh on the HTPA axis and will shut down the body's natural testosterone production very easily and, for many, very harshly. It is comparable to 'deca dick' that people can experience with Deca Durabolin, and longer cycles may need to include the use of HCG to restore one's own natural production of testosterone. Recovery from cycles containing trenbolone is not easy, and requires a very well thought out and stringent PCT routine and diet.

It has also been suggested through research that Trenbolone actually (although aiding slightly in fat loss) reduces endogenous T3 levels. Thus some advocate the use of 25mcg T3 throughout a trenbolone cycle. This writer does not personally think that this is necessary; however it is something that users may wish to consider when using Trenbolone, especially if their natural T3 production is on the lower side of the normal range. It is a very good idea to get blood work done both before and after any cycle including Trenbolone.

Tren cough

The so called 'tren cough' or 'Fina cough' is well known amongst many Trenbolone users. Some users seem to get the cough following every injection; others never or extremely rarely will get the cough. Usually it is manifested upon injection, with a tightness in the chest, and a metallic taste in the back of the mouth, followed by an uncontrollable violent cough which can be quite frightening, as anyone who has experienced it will tell you, whether it's for the first time or not. There have been some very elaborate theories about the reasons for getting the cough from Trenbolone, some of which have had mechanisms involving molecules that only Trenbolone affects resulting in bronchioconstriction, etc. However, the fact remains that many users have also experienced the same cough from steroids such as equipoise and testosterone cypionate. In addition, these mechanisms that are proposed are highly unlikely to occur immediately upon injection, as that is too fast a timescale for the proposed mechanism. Thus it must be the result of something entering the blood stream and traveling to the lungs for the cough to be manifested that quickly.

This leads us onto the next theory suggested by many which is that Trenbolone is produced by many UGLs, and as such is made with higher percentages of Benzyl Alcohol (BA) than pharma grade products are, and it is the alcohol that is causing the reaction. The only problem with this theory is that Trenbolone is made by most UGLs with the same BA percentages as things such as Testosterone propionate, and Nandrolone decanoate. If it was purely the BA concentration, than we would expect to see the cough with these other products as well, which we do not. Thus, as we have eliminated the oil, solvents and carriers, it leaves us with the Trenbolone product itself as the potential culprit.

One thing that you notice about Trenbolone is that it is often a golden-brown / rust colour when in oil solution. If the hormone powder is refined to greater than 99.5% purity or so, then the colour of Trenbolone in solution actually gives a very light golden colour, much like other testosterone products; however, refining the hormone to this level of purity is extremely difficult. This is why there is colour variation from batch to batch with different underground labs; something as small as 0.1% purity can affect the colour of the final product.

As mentioned above when discussing kidney effects of Trenbolone, the oxidised Trenbolone is a rust colour – much like the colour seen of trenbolone in oil solution. What you also notice with steroids such as Equipoise and to a lesser degree, Testosterone Cypionate, is that these steroids too are hard to very highly refine and often a browny-rust colour, more so than products such as Testosterone Propionate, etc. It is very likely then that these oxidised particles get into the blood stream upon injection and this causes some sort of anaphylactic (allergic) reaction in the lungs as the particles react with the alveoli, perhaps. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that the darker the Trenbolone is the more likely one is to get a cough (personal and general experience). The best way to try and avoid this is to firstly inject very slowly and not move the needle around after aspirating, and also mixing the Trenbolone with another product such as test prop.

Cycling Steroids for Beginners

There is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to cycling oral steroids. One of the biggest challenges is to properly combine steroids from different chemical structures, to make up a perfect cycle. That’s not always easy or even possible for new users. I find that 9 out of 10 newbies are completely lost when it comes to steroid cycles or even general steroid use. So let’s go over some simple facts.

Fact 1: If you run an oral cycle don’t stack more than 2 compounds together, you’ll need to be careful with your liver and kidneys suffering side effects. Side effects can be serious or mild, it depends how you approach your cycle.

Fact 2: Oral steroids are either 17aa or methylated to pass the liver and enter the bloodstream, which makes them liver toxic.

Fact 3: DHT related steroids, except anadrol, are usually best for cutting. Think: Stanozolol, Oxandrolone, and Primobolan. If stacked together, they produce the best results.

Let’s put together a 6 week winstrol and anavar cycle. This is a perfect cutting stack for beginners and it doesn’t yield a lot of side effects. Both of the orals have short a half-life, allowing for minimal problems and maximum results.

This is a simple cycle but very effective, you can expect a good about of bodyfat loss and muscle gain. Though, I suggest adding Clenbuterol to the mix if you really want to lean out. Use it 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off at 40-60mcg/day. Don’t go over 80mcg/day with Clenbuterol.

Do you need post cycle therapy (PCT)?

With this cycle, I suggest you just take a week off and run another cycle instead of doing PCT, what’s the point? It’s only a 6 week cycle. You should run cycles back to back for better results.

What kind of diet do you need during a cutting cycle?

Just like with all bodybuilding diets, protein is key. Your diet will need to be at least 50% protein, from high quality protein sources like steak, fish, eggs and quality supplemental protein powders: whey, caseinate, egg. Don’t eat junk or fast food.

Anabolic Steroids and Proper Estrogen Control for Maximizing Fat Loss

Q: “I’ve found a lot of information referring to cutting steroids and cutting cycles and it’s really not clear to me what I need to do. Are there particular anabolic steroids that I really need to include if I’m cutting, or any that I particularly need to avoid?”

A: I haven’t found any great difference in fat loss between different anabolic steroids provided that estradiol is kept in the normal range and the total dosage of anabolic steroids is sufficient. There’s no anabolic steroid that must be included where cutting is needed, and no anabolic steroid that must be avoided.

Prior to proper estrogen control with antiaromatases such as Letrozole or Arimidex, care ordinarily would be taken in cutting cycles to limit the amount of aromatizing steroids used. Particularly, testosterone and Dianabol would be limited, if used at all. So this resulted in their having a reputation of “not being cutting steroids.”

There were two factors involved here.

1. Estrogenic bloating could to the eye be confused with fatness.
2. Abnormally high estrogen levels can make fat loss more difficult.

Where estradiol level is controlled with an antiaromatase or with a suitably balanced combination of anabolic steroids, then these are not issues, and testosterone becomes about as good for cutting as anything else. Dianabol also can aid fat loss quite well.

By suitably balanced, I mean of combination of aromatizing and non-aromatizing anabolic steroids where the total amount is sufficient for the desired anabolic effect, and the amount of aromatizing anabolic steroids is suitable to yield only normal estradiol levels. This typically would be between 100-300 mg/week, but good results can often be had with more than this, depending on the individual. Where for example a person already knows from experience that he suffers little or no noticeable adverse estrogenic effect from say 500 mg/week of testosterone, then that amount certainly can be included in a cutting cycle without need of an antiaromatase. But another person might even get gyno on 250 mg/week testosterone.

It’s certainly possible that some fat-loss differences remain between anabolic steroids, but even so this may only be dose related. For example, 50 mg/day Trenbolone Acetate is certainly better for cutting than 50 mg/day Testosterone, but is it better than 150 mg/day Testosterone? Probably not.

Basically, I’d say it’s not necessary to seek out particular anabolic steroids for fat loss. I would make the choice based on achieving desired positive effects with minimization of the side effects of personal concern, which can vary according to the situation.

Steroid Cycle Planning for Muscle Mass and Fat Loss

 

Muscle Mass

Let us consider the first goal mentioned: gaining muscle mass. Now this goal depends highly on how advanced one already is as a trainer and/or anabolic steroid user. Someone who is already 40 lb. more muscular than he could achieve naturally, and who wishes to add still more for the purposes of competitive bodybuilding, will simply find no use from a recommendation to use 500 mg/week of Sustanon. At best such a dose might allow him to maintain what he has, instead of slowly losing muscle while off drugs. Such an athlete will probably not achieve his goals with less than a gram per week of injectables, stacked with at least 50 mg/day of orals. And he may need more than this. He is already far beyond what he could attain naturally, and more yet will not come easily.

What of the person who, after several years of hard, quality training, is probably fairly close to his genetic limit under natural conditions? He would probably achieve excellent results with this same 500 mg/week dose of Sustanon, and undoubtedly would do so with some Dianabol added as well.

Another person may not even be close to his natural genetic limit in the first place, due to inconsistent or poor training, or novice status. Such a person can make excellent gains without anabolic steroids at all, and while steroids can increase the rate of gains, one cannot say that any particular drug regimen is necessary or advisable.

Yet another person, who simply wishes to have an attractive physique and appearance by conventional standards, and highly values the condition of his skin and hair, would be poorly served by the advice to use Sustanon or Dianabol at any dose. The likely worsening of his skin and possible acceleration of hair loss would not be worth it. He would be better served with a milder drug, which would allow him to achieve his goals with minimal cosmetic or health risk.

Fat Loss

And what about the second goal: losing fat? Well, this goal is at cross-purposes with gaining muscle. One simply cannot gain nearly as much muscle on reduced calories as on higher calories allowing a fat gain of perhaps 1 lb/week. The person would be best advised to divide muscle gains and fat loss into separate phases. If a person is not at a level of muscularity beyond what he can attain naturally, anabolic steroids really are not necessary for dieting down to moderate bodyfat levels such as 8%. However, anabolic steroids use can make the dieting easier and faster, especially for natural endomorphs. It does not seem that much of a dose is required in this application. 250 mg/week Sustanon or 400 mg/week Primobolan will be effective. That however is not the case for individuals who are well beyond their natural limits. They will shrink much faster on low dose steroids than on high dose steroids while dieting, and anything less than a gram per week would be obviously much less effective than doses actually used (2-4 grams per week not being unusual in elite circles.)

Safety

Estrogenic effects are one of the serious problems with anabolic steroid use. Most anabolic steroids either convert to estrogen or even if they may not, act to increase the effect of estrogen. Testosterone, Dianabol, and Anadrol are particularly noted bad performers in this regard, and Nandrolone (Deca) is not by any means immune to conversion to estrogen. Methenolone (Primobolan), Trenbolone, Oxandrolone, Stanozolol (Winstrol), and Dromostanolone (Masteron) are steroids which do not convert to estrogen at all and which avoid the problem entirely.

For those compounds which do convert to estrogen, the problems experienced include increased inhibition of natural hormone production (which however is not mediated only by the estrogen receptor, so the problem is not entirely solved by blocking estrogen), possible gynecomastia (abnormal development of breast tissue), liver problems, and water retention. We have previously discussed anti-estrogenic agents.

The other main area of concern with safety of these drugs is hepatotoxicity of oral anabolics. Primobolan oral does not have this problem, but on the other hand, is essentially useless for a male bodybuilder at 5 mg/tab. At least 100 mg/day would be needed even for mild effect, and this simply would be cost prohibitive.

1. Oxandrolone has minimal liver toxicity, but is not known for greatly increasing gains, and is expensive.
2. Stanozolol has some toxicity and is not particularly effective. 
3. This leaves Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) and Oxymetholone (Anadrol). 
4. Dianabol is rather mild in its liver toxicity, at least if it is not used for many weeks consecutively. Anadrol can make some users feel rather ill rather quickly. In my opinion, if Dianabol will do the job, and it will in most cases, it is the better drug of the two. If nothing else, it is simply more pleasant for the user.

Cycle Planning

The next thing to be considered, after “What drug?” and “What dose?” is how long the drug should be used, or what pattern should be used if the drugs are varied.

Now again, we must consider the goals of the user. If we are speaking of an IFBB pro it simply is not realistic in today’s age to suggest that he should ever come off the drugs at all while competing. Others are not taking time off, and he would fall behind if he did choose to take off weeks and allow his system to return to normal periodically. Therefore, I am addressing here the concerns of the more average athlete who does not desire to be on drugs perpetually, and desires to maintain most of his gains while off drugs.

If gains are to be retained, losses at the end of the cycle must be avoided. Such losses occur if the natural hormonal axis, involving the hypothalamus, pituitary, and testes, is not producing normal levels of testosterone by the time that anabolic drugs are no longer providing significant levels to the system.

Incidentally, inhibition of each of these organs is somewhat independent of the others, and different factors are involved for each. The risk factors for inhibition are principally length of the cycle, choice of steroid, dosage of steroids, and in the case of orals, dosage pattern of steroid.

Very simply, the longer the cycle, the greater the chance of recovery problems. And in calculating the cycle length, one must take into account the half life of the drug, and the time required for levels to injected drug to fall below inhibitory levels. This will be several half lives. Thus, some people speak of 2 week cycles using Sustanon, with 2 weeks “off,” which is then repeated. But they are incorrect in believing that they are doing 2 week cycles. Because substantial and inhibitory amounts of Sustanon will remain in the system during the “off” weeks, there is no recovery. If a person strings 4 of these cycles together, for example, he will have been on steroids for 16 weeks and may well have a difficult time recovering natural testosterone production afterwards. Thus, this is no solution.

The same type of scheme, however, can be quite successful with testosterone propionate with use of antiestrogens. With this shorter acting drug, there is actual time off between cycles.

Single short cycles, with many weeks allowed before beginning another new cycle, don’t seem so efficient. Usually, real strength gains don’t begin coming until the third week or so. While muscular weight may be gained in the first two weeks, it seems that the body is also adapting itself in a manner which will make growth very efficient in the next few weeks: or rather it would, if steroids were still available. Thus, I can’t recommend doing isolated cycles which are shorter than four weeks at the minimum, and really five or six weeks is probably more reasonable. Only in the case of short acting drugs, with very frequent cycles, are two or three week cycles a good idea in my opinion.

While it makes little sense to cut a stand-alone cycle too short, while the body is still ready to gain rapidly, on the other hand, heavy use beyond say 10 weeks becomes fairly likely to result in recovery problems. Furthermore, after the body has already grown a good deal and has been growing for many weeks, it is less ready to grow more. Thus, long cycles are inefficient in that regard, and furthermore are likely to result in greater losses after the cycle. Perhaps 6 weeks of heavy use and two to four weeks of light use is approximately optimal for conservative users.

The choice of anabolic steroid is quite critical towards the end of the cycle, so far as inhibition is concerned, but the inhibition issue is not so vital at the beginning. In other words, if one hits the system heavily at the beginning, but then lightly at the end, recovery will be better than if the reverse strategy were employed.

Primobolan, while not an exceptionally strong anabolic per milligram, seems to have a better ratio of anabolic to inhibitory activity than any other steroid, and is my recommendation as the injectable to use in the last weeks of a cycle. It is not absolutely clear though that this is an intrinsic property of Primobolan. It may be due to the fact that Primobolan does not convert to estrogen, and perhaps (this is speculation) low dose trenbolone might give an equally favorable anabolic/inhibitory ratio.

Dosage for this use is somewhat less clear. Some have made excellent recoveries on a gram of Primobolan per week. In the US, however, such use would be quite expensive. In general, though, I don’t know if most people will recover well with that dose. 400 mg/week is still sufficient to saturate the androgen receptors (ARs) and is a more conservative approach for the last weeks of a cycle.

Where oral anabolics are concerned, once-a-day dosing results in much less inhibition than divided doses. It’s unknown what time of day is best, but morning has been used successfully, and makes sense since that timing will result in little drug being in the system at night and early morning, when LH and natural testosterone production are highest. Thus, switching to once a day dosing in the last few weeks would make sense.

Our goal throughout the cycle as a whole, however, cannot simply be to minimize inhibition. If it were, the answer would be simply to take no steroids at all, or to use very little. In the early phases of the cycle, inhibition must simply be accepted if serious gains are desired. This is not because inhibition itself in any way leads to gains, but simply because there is inhibition mediated by the androgen receptor, and therefore high levels of androgen will cause some inhibition. And as long as inhibition is occurring anyway, gains may as well be as much as possible. I see no point in half-measures. Either be gaining as much as possible, or be setting yourself up for recovery while still making some decent gains or at least maintaining gains.

For the early part of the cycle, the inhibitory properties of the steroid used are of less importance than the mass-gaining properties. Two anabolics reign supreme: testosterone and trenbolone (which is found in Parabolan. These steroids appear more effective for mass building than any other injectables. They may be stacked to advantage: since one is unlikely to be able to afford or to obtain large amounts of Parabolan, it is worthwhile to add testosterone in order to obtain a higher total dose and greater results. Furthermore, there may be a synergistic effect. However, trenbolone itself, particularly in combination with Dianabol, can give excellent results. Oral anabolic steroids add their own benefits, not because of binding to different receptors, but probably because of their direct action on the liver, which produces various growth factors.

What About Other Injectables?

I see little point in stacking weaker injectables such as Deca or Primobolan in the heavy phase of the cycle. While on the one hand they probably won’t hurt – if they bind to the AR, they will give essentially the same action as testosterone – if the phase is heavy there is already enough steroid to saturate the receptors. There is no benefit there.

And there is little benefit from any possible non-AR-mediated activity, since these drugs do not seem to have much if any such effect. Nor can they act to reduce the side effects of the heavier anabolics. So there is little point to using them in the heavy phase of the cycle.
Side effects of testosterone are the main reason why people have been interested in weaker drugs such as Deca. However, with an effective aromatase inhibitor at 250 mg/day, stacked with an effective estrogen receptor antagonist such as Clomid at 50-100 mg/day, testosterone becomes comparable to Deca in terms of side effects for equally effective doses of drug.

Some have found that Proscar acts to minimize effects of testosterone use on skin and hair. The objection that reduced conversion to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) might reduce muscular growth may have some validity. This might be true either because of loss of DHT activity on nervous tissue, or because of possible loss of non-AR-mediated effects of androstanediol, a DHT metabolite, or an indirect effect not occurring in muscle tissue itself. DHT itself is not an effective anabolic for muscle tissue.

Recovery

There is one side effect cannot be blocked: if one uses heavy doses of testosterone and/or trenbolone for months, and then ends the cycle, losses of muscle will occur because of poor recovery. Luteinizing hormone (LH) production will be low, and because it has been low for some time, very often it may take some considerable time for the pituitary to again produce normal levels. Furthermore, testicular atrophy may have occurred, although such can be avoided with occasional use of HCG during the heavy phase of the cycle.
Because of recovery problems, it is wise to limit the heavy phase to 5-8 weeks, and then switch to Primobolan for the last several weeks of the cycle, beginning two weeks after the last injection of long acting ester. Once a day dosing of orals might be concurrent with this.

If long acting esters were used, then the existing drug from the heavy phase will have significant anabolic effectiveness for 2-3 weeks after injection, depending on dose, and thus no injectables would need to be used in those weeks. After that point, if Primobolan is not available, one might wish to continue with once-a-day dosing of orals or very low dose (100 mg/week) testosterone with use of anti-estrogens. A balance must be struck, however: there is a middle ground that we do not want to be in. There is a range where there is still some anabolic support yet there is fairly little inhibitory effect, but past this range, there still is not great anabolic effect, but there is substantial inhibition. One does not want to spend more time than necessary in this middle ground, but pass through it relatively quickly. Once in the light phase, the dose must remain low enough to allow recovery of natural hormone production to occur.

Clomid use should continue until the user is confident that natural testosterone levels have returned to normal.
Ultimately, there cannot be one answer for everyone. Different users will have different needs. The above is generally good advice for reasonably conservative bodybuilders who wish substantial results. Those desiring either more moderate or more extreme results would need to adjust their plans accordingly.

Why Anavar is good for Women. Anavar and Weight Loss or burning fat

One of the anabolic steroids that fit women well, Anavar (oxandrolone) is a drug that is mild on all fronts: mildly anabolic, mildly androgenic, mildly affects the hypothalamic-testicular-pituitary-axis (HTPA), and most important, mildly toxic to the liver compared to other steroids. These properties make this a popular, albeit expensive, anabolic drug, especially for top-level female athletes.

While it is a strong AR agonist, the lack of non-receptor mediated mechanisms such as protein synthesis makes oxandrolone a weak anabolic steroid. Thus, it requires rather large doses for it to be effective; combating muscle-wasting in AIDS, for example, requires administration of Anavar in 20-80mgs doses. It is no wonder that male bodybuilders don?t favor this drug well, as it is quite expensive and doesn?t give much in return.

Another characteristic of Anavar, which is considered good especially by women, is its poor androgenic properties. It doesn't raise estrogen levels so the common side effects associated with anabolic steroids - gynecomastia and water retention- are unheard of when using this drug. However, it may increase low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol) and reduce high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) which can cause blood pressure problems. For women, masculinizing effects such as body/facial hair growth and deepening of voice are minute and are therefore not a concern when using Anavar.

Unlike other 17-alkylated steroids, liver toxicity is considered insignificant when using Anavar, unless administered in very large doses and used for prolonged periods. It doesn't pose as much hepatotoxic effects as Dianabol (methandrostenolone), another testosterone derivative that is altered at the 17th carbon atom (this alteration is usually done for orally-administered drugs to be able to survive the pass through the liver).

Anavar also shows minimal effect on the HTPA, particularly on low doses. Oxandrolone does not aromatize to estrogen, and suppression of the serum testosterone, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) is slight. Of course, like other anabolic steroids, the effect worsens as the dose increases..

One characteristic that sets Anavar apart is its unusual fat-burning ability. One study shows that the drug reduced abdominal and visceral fat on subjects with low/normal natural testosterone. In another research, appendicular, total, and trunk lipids were lowered with 20mgs/day of Anavar, without any exercise. In addition to its fat-burning properties, the drug also allows permanent muscle gains. The muscle you get when you use Anavar may not be much, but you got to keep it after you stop taking the drug, as shown by a study wherein the subjects maintained their weight six months after stopping Anavar medication.

With this mixture of interesting and exciting effects that impact health enthusiasts, it is no wonder that Anavar gained many adherents. This is especially true for women, as it seems that the drug suits them well in all aspects  particularly with the relatively low dosage indicated for them. The fat-burning and weight-sustaining effects of Anavar are additional benefits that make the drug more attractive.

Primobolan - fat burning steroid

Primobolan is one of those anabolic steroids which has a cult following not unlike the old original version of Masteron. Actually, as you can easily see from its anabolic ratio below in the profile, its a pretty weak steroid but actually stronger than Masteron in both regards. I don't know anyone who has run both compounds at the same dose. We are probably justified in speculating that youd probably get similar results from either of them, when you consider the fact that you are getting quite a bit less actual drug and more ester when you choose injectable Primobolan (which has the very long Enanthate ester attached to it) over Masteron (which has the very short propionate ester attached to it). In truth, I think part of the reason many Primobolan users have been disappointed is that they failed to use enough of it, for long enough. From its chemical structure and anabolic androgenic rating, we can assume it is at least as effective as Masteron, on an equal Mg for mg basis. However, due to its ester (in the injectable version), it needs to be run for at least 12 weeks to see the full benefits from it.

Its easy to see why many people have tried to use less...and have been disappointed with their results. On the other hand, many competitive bodybuilders consider Primobolan indespensible to their pre-contest drud routine, and wouldnt consider dieting without it. Anyway...I think the comparison to Masteron (another great precontest drug) is the best one we can make, with reference to expected gains and results.

I happen to be one of the few people who have used Drostanolone Enanthate (Masteron with the Enanthate ester attached) as well as Methenolone Enanthate (injectable Primobolan). I can tell you that the results from these two compounds, when ester and mg potency are the same, are in fact very similar.

Effects of Primobolan

Lets flesh out some of the various general effects of Primobolan, before we get into the differences between the oral and injectable versions. One study performed on sheep involved administering 100mgs of Methenolone, and electronically stimulating their lats (electronic stimulation was used because they kept falling off the chin-up bars). Anyway, when compared with the lat muscles of sheep who didnt receive Methenolone, the receiving group gained significantly more muscle mass as well as strength. Its also has a relatively high affinity for binding to the AR, actually binding better than testosterone. This ability to strongly bind to the AR may be why Primobolan is such a good "fat burner." Strong AR binding has been positively correlated with lypolysis (fat-burning).

In addition, as this steroid can actually aid in reducing breast tumors, no ancillary products need be considered for use with Primobolan, and in fact, it may actually be a useful ancillary agent in its own right, similar to Masteron. Also, just like Masteron, Primobolan has no propensity to aromatize (convert to estrogen). Since it doesnt aromatize, alot of the side effects commonly associated with estrogen will not be of concern. This means water retention, acne, and gyno will be non-existent more or less. this lack of water retention combined with the slow and steady gains provided by Primo may help to explain why it has earned a reputation for creating quality muscle gains. This also helps to explain why it is so expensive. Although estrogenic sides are not a concern, hair loss still, remains a very real concern with Primobolan, as with many DHT-Derived steroids. Many primobolan fans always include Finasteride and Ketoconazole (shampoo) in cycles containing Primobolan.

Although nobody would ever suggest to use Primobolan as a bulking agent, its been studied as an agent to halt wasting and possibly reverse many of the adverse effects of anemia. It is a shocking failure in both areas, according to some of the case studies I've read, and this should come to no surprise to anyone. Anadrol reigns supreme in this area, and nobody in the athletic community would ever compare those two drugs. However, Michael Mooney and many other respected doctors who work with AIDS patients have found sufficient evidence to claim that Primobolan is an immune enhancer and as such is very useful for AIDS patients (not that the FDA cares...Primobolan is still not approved for sale in the United States). AIDS patients arent really in need of Bulking Drugs, so an immune enhancer like Primo which will add small, quality gains in muscle is perfect for them. And since we arent even going to vaguely consider the use of Primobolan as a bulking agent, clearly this leaves us with considering it primarily for use in gaining and maintaining lean tissue. Its a great choice for this purpose, and many competitors have used it very successfully to retain muscle while on a calorie reduced diet. The reason Primo is so useful for this purpose is that one of its primary functions is to help your body retain nitrogen at a greatly enhanced rate. The greater your nitrogen retention is, the more muscle you will build. In the case of using primo as a pre-contest drug, this nitrogen retention will help you retain muscle and ensure that your dieting preferentially favors fat loss over muscle loss.

Primobolan is a very unique steroid, as it is one of the few that comes in both an oral as well as an injectable version. I suppose Winstrol does also, but Primobolan actually has a different ester on the oral (acetate ) and injectable (Enanthate) versions. The oral version is one of the more interesting oral compounds I've looked into. For starters, its one of the few compounds available to athletes and bodybuilders which is both oral as well as non-17-alpha-alkylation. This alteration is (as I'm sure you remember from other stuff Ive written) what generally makes oral steroids survive their first pass through your liver, but also makes them Hepatoxic (Liver toxic). Well... oral Primo doesnt have this feature, so it is very mild on your liver (actually it basically isnt liver toxic at all), but also is largely destroyed by it, since 17 beta estrification and 1 alkylation is the method used to make this stuff orally available. You'll need to take a lot of this stuff for it to be effective... 100mgs/day of the oral version is a safe estimate for reasonable gains& for women, you could get away with less; perhaps 25mgs/day. Even though the acetate ester has a 2-3 day active life, your liver will do some damage to oral primo, so every day dosing will still be necessary.

When men were given a 30-45mg dose of the oral version of Primo, they experienced a 15-65% decrease in gonadotropin levels. Remember, I said 100mgs is a good dose for gains... well, youll also reduce your gonadotropin levels considerably. I have personally never understood why people recommend either oral or injectable Primobolan as a possible bridging compound for this reason... maybe at a too-low-to-do-anything dose of 10mgs it could be used as a bridge. And forget about using injectable Primo to bridge.

I've used this stuff at 200mgs/week and wasnt very impressed with it. Generally, I think injectable primo needs to be used at a dose of at least 350mgs/week (100mgs/Every other Day), and preferably at a dose of 400-600mgs/week. I happen to like running it with testosterone propionate, but for convenience I would imagine most people would run it with Testosterone Enanthate, to keep dosing times the same (shooting it twice per week, in most cases).

Steroids for bodybuilding

Muscle building steroids, if you’re going to use them you want the best; after all, “The Best” is the end goal and less than the best won’t do. With seemingly unlimited choices, for many it’s often hard to determine what the best ones are and with so many opinions it can at times become seemingly impossible. One guy will tell you to do this and that and another will swear on his life that the other guy is wrong and both of them may indeed be big and muscular, so who’s right? Anabolic steroids are like so many other things in life and they largely revolve around individual response. You may respond better with one particular steroid while your friend has a more positive response to another. Even so, there are some basic simple truths that apply to all and in those truths we can accurately label the best muscle building steroids of all.

With many anabolic steroids from which to choose the various testosterones will prove to be the most efficient muscle building steroids of all. Testosterone-Enanthate, Testosterone-Cypionate, Sustanon-250, Testosterone-Propionate or any other form you wish to use, all of these testosterones will pack muscle on your frame. True, there are steroids that will serve this purpose in a more pronounced way, steroids that can add weight to the scale at a faster rate but in-terms of quality, efficiency and all-around gains test is best.

Testosterone is not only highly effective it is the hormone most anabolic steroids owe their existence to. Further, it is a hormone we already produce naturally, so it is not a foreign substance our body isn’t used to. Granted, when we use it for performance enhancing purposes the levels of testosterone in the body will far surpass a normal range and this can cause possible unwanted side-effects; there is a chance but there are remedies and procedures you can follow to ensure your safety.

Fat loss plan while bodybuilding

Do you have some unwanted weight to lose? Specifically, do you have stubborn body fat that just does not seem to go away no matter what you do?  Keep reading if you want to discover a proven fat loss plan!

To begin with, you should definitely be using an effective anabolic steroid. However, note that the use of this type of anabolic steroid should be complemented with a proper diet and workout routine. The specifics of the diet and workout regimen will be discussed in more detail below. Make sure to take the anabolic steroid orally follow the guidelines on the bottle for more information on how to properly take the anabolic steroid.

As mentioned, a proper diet is one factor that should complement taking any anabolic steroid.  Generally speaking, the properly portioned food that you choose to eat should be high in protein and low in fat. Food high in protein is great because it promotes the muscles (you do not want to lose muscle instead of fat). Also, note that “cheat days” or days that you splurge food wise in moderation are okay from time to time. In fact, doing so actually promotes the fat loss process because it prevents the body from getting used to the diet. You do not want your body to get used to a particular diet because the fat loss process will plateau. Not to mention, rewarding yourself occasionally for sticking to your diet is a good thing!

An effective exercise regimen should also complement proper diet and supplementation. You do not want to lose muscle instead of fat. Hence, muscle training exercises, such as bicep curls, should be done in addition to cardio exercises, such as jogging. Make sure that you exercise at least a few times each week. Furthermore, days of rest are also a good thing, since they allow your body to basically recharge or recuperate.

Keep in mind that the specific details regarding the diet and exercise tips mentioned vary from person to person. In general, these details depend on how much fat you need to lose, how much you weigh, and so forth. For example, one factor that depends on the specific individual is the amount of calories that should be consumed each day not to mention a person’s gender.

In addition to supplementation, proper diet, and exercise, another great way to lose fat is to create a support system. Find someone to hold you accountable and keep you motivated. Having a support system definitely makes the whole process a little easier!

If you have some stubborn, unwanted body fat to lose, you should follow these fat loss tips. In a nutshell, you should take your fat loss supplement as directed, eat a proper diet, exercise (cardio and weight training), and have a support system. Cheers to your fat loss!