Friday, August 31, 2007
stealth injectable labs
care of EF Human Grade pharmaceuticals, produced by major pharmaceutical companies are often the first choice for most users cycles. If you are fortunate enough to be able to have a reliable source for this kind of product, then you can always be assured of getting the highest possible quality and sterility when you make your purchases. However, in recent years, Underground Steroid Labs have been making their presence felt on the the black market. This turn of events is good because it makes products more readily available to the average consumer, but it's not without drawbacks. Last month I told you about "Stealth Labs" and their revolutionary line of Stealth Injectables. This month I'm going to tell you why Stealth Labs is not just another underground lab. First, lets take a look at how *most* underground labs operate. Underground labs are all typically operated in a very similar way. Unlike what we allow at EliteFitness.com, the owner of an underground lab is a member of several discussion forums, possibly even owning or moderating one or more. Most often, the owner of a lab will use his influence on these message boards to promote his own lab over others(which is often run under a different name than the one he posts under). Often, moderators of those message boards are given free "samples" in return for their endorsement of the underground lab in question. The lesson here is that sharing your personal information, name, email, IP address, with a site that exists only to generate leads for a drug operation is not smart. Stick to sites like Elite that are legitimate businesses and make money from supplements, articles, memberships and advertising. If a community site is a front for a drug operation and they get popped, you'll be next in line. Have you ever been to a message board where "Underground Lab X" or "Underground Lab Y" is promoted by the staff heavily? It's a good bet that the owner of that lab is a member of the staff (or at least a former member of staff) on that message board. Typically, this kind of outfit, on the small Mom & Pop boards - is run the same way every time. The owner of an underground lab finds a source of powders (usually from China), buys some sterile vials and oil and a hand crimper, some capsule fillers, and they're off and running. Then they supply some people with a few free bottles of this or that, and wham! Instant underground lab, and instant "credibility". Except for being illegal, there's nothing particularly wrong with this if it's all done openly, but more often than not, these sites mislead their members and exist through a great deal of subterfuge. Although there are some underground labs which stand head and shoulders above the rest, for the most part, all underground labs offer the same products at the same prices. However, although the end product will hopefully be sterile, their drugs certainly aren't produced in a sterile lab. And, again, for the most part, quality control and lab testing on the products is never done. This is problematic, because the consumer often isn't assured of actually getting what he paid for. However, since many underground labs are owned and operated by staff members of different message boards, they have an instant (unearned) level of credibility, bought and paid for with free drugs given to staff members and moderators. This is, of course, a less than honest way to go about business and if we find one of our moderators has been corrupted, he is quickly given the boot! But this is how most underground labs operate. I spoke with my friend Anthony Roberts about this and we remarked that we have never even seen lab tests on 99% of the underground labs that are in operation today. That's why back in June, I was interested in hearing what Anthony had to say about Stealth Labs. According to Anthony, Stealth Labs is very different from most underground labs, in this respect. They not only produce high quality injectables, but they earned their reputation by providing great customer service and quality products - which is not how most underground labs operate. Last month, in the article Ketchup Packets filled with Injectable Anabolic Steroids - The Bright Future Of Injectable Steroids, I told you about how they are innovators in the field, with their high quality line of Stealth Injectables - designed to be virtually undetectable in the mail. This month I'll share with you what Anthony explained to me about why they are different than most underground labs. For starters, their raw powders are tested for purity before they begin producing a batch of injectables. They have each batch of powder tested for purity BEFORE they begin production of their injectables. This means they actually know what they're starting with, in terms of potency. Then, they take the raw powder and begin the production process in their sterile lab, under 100% sterile conditions. Everything from the conversion of raw powder into an injectable to the sealing of the product in individual sachets is done under totally sterile conditions. Finally, after they produce the sachets, a random sachet of each separate injectable is sent out to an independent lab, for testing. Only after each batch is independently tested, is the product released for sale to the general public. Here's a link where you can view those lab tests. This is one reason why Stealth Labs and Stealth Injectables have jumped to a premier position among all underground labs currently in operation today. They are committed to producing a high quality and sterile product - without all of the smoke and mirrors we usually see when a new underground lab enters the market. So how did they do it? Anthony Roberts explained it to me best, Stealth Labs entered the underground market with a product that had never been seen before and quality control methods which have rarely been seen with an underground lab.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Steroid Side Effects and How to Stop them
Steroid Side Effects and How to Stop them - Part 1 This chapter, along with the chapter on the proper use of ancillary medications, are two of the most important chapters in this book. Why? Because AAS have side effects, and long-term use of AAS can have a profound effect on longevity and overall quality of life in later years if preventative measures are not taken. Having used steroids myself for over 10 years now, I have suffered through virtually ever side effect listed in this chapter, and have consequently educated myself on how to avoid them. Regardless of your age, it’s important to always bear in mind that the use of AAS for the purposes of gaining an edge in sport can be an inherently unhealthy endeavor. There is a distinct difference between the doses of hormones or drugs that are used in slowing the aging process through hormone replacement therapy (hereafter referred to as HRT, please see the chapter on HRT by Dr. Ramon Scruggs for further clarification) and those that are used to enhance performance. If one is to properly use performance enhancing drugs, it is vital that they know the potential side effects of drugs they are using, know how to combat these side effects, and most importantly, actually implement the knowledge they have. Time and time again I’ve seen a bodybuilder develop gynecomastia (commonly referred to as “bitch tits” in the bodybuilding vernacular) despite the fact that the individual in question knew this was a possibility and also knew the preventative measures to take. One should not engage in the use of AAS or any other performance enhancing drug if the maintenance of proper health is not of primary concern. Compounding the problem of treating the side effects of AAS is the hysteria surrounding their use in the first place. Many bodybuilders that use steroids find themselves to be social pariahs, muscular misfits if you will, and end up finding comfort in the company of others that engage in steroid use as well. Because a bodybuilder wears his sport, he’s branded a steroid user by many regardless of whether that’s the case or not. Often times, the shame one feels regarding their steroid use will cause them to suffer through the side effects associated with their use, rather than seeking competent medical help. Truth be told, it’s very difficult to find competent medical help to treat the side effects of steroids, as most doctors simply have no idea how to properly do so. More often than not, the physicians I worked with for most of my years on steroids were completely clueless as to how one might ameliorate the negative side effects of these drugs, and would simply tell me to “get off the steroids”. I say this not to dissuade those of you reading this from seeking out the advice of a doctor regarding the side effects of steroid use, just to prepare you for a probable response. Most of the side effects related to steroids are cosmetic and will disappear when one discontinues their use. But those that aren’t are the most important to understand and treat as necessary. Most of these cannot be seen or felt, and all are related to issues of cardiovascular health. Steroids can adversely affect cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and hypertension, which over time can and will lead to an increase in heart disease. Always monitor your resting hear rate and blood pressure on a weekly basis when taking steroids and have your cholesterol and triglycerides checked every six months if you are using steroid consistently. These are not problems you can live with, ignore them and you may very well die much earlier than you would have otherwise. Ask yourself this question: “How much is every year of my life worth to me?” If you ignore the potential for an increased risk of heart disease when using anabolic steroids, you are essentially answering the question with, “Very little indeed.” Before we begin a look at the actual side effects themselves and how to treat them, it’s important to note that not all AAS are created equal!! At times, for the sake of brevity, I will lump all AAS together, but the fact remains that some steroids will cause more negative side effects than others. One of the points of this book is to allow you to make that distinction, and walk away with the knowledge of how to use them as safely as possible. Below is a list of steroids most commonly associated with the side effects listed in this chapter: Anadrol-50 (Oxymetholone) Dianabol (Methandrostenolone) Halotestin (Fluoxymesterone) Testosterone and its various esters Unfortunately for us, these also happen to be most of THE most effective AAS (with the exception of Halotestin) for building LBM. Generally, the maxim that the more effective a steroid is the more side effects it has holds true. Finally, before we begin, readers will notice that I do not advocate the use of estrogen blockers such as Nolvadex, Clomid (I do post cycle, but not for the purposes of estrogen suppression), or Proviron. With anti-aromatases like arimidex (anastrazole), femara (letrozole), and to a lesser extent Cytadren (aminoglutethiamide) becoming cheaper and more readily available, use of estrogen blockers should be relegated to the bodybuilding archives. For a complete explanation as to why, read the chapter Proper Use of Ancillary Medications Both On and Off Cycle. AAS Side Effects Acne: One of the primary indicators of steroid use is acne, and I’m sure many of you reading this have either experienced acne caused by steroids or have seen someone who has. Like all steroid side effects, the degree to which someone will suffer from acne varies from individual to individual. The more androgenic a compound is, the more profound effect it will have on increasing oil production in the skin via stimulation of the sebaceous glands. Having said that, I’ve seen individuals use incredibly androgenic stacks and never have a hint or a pimple or blemish, and I’ve seen athletes (especially women) use very mild anabolics and suffer from horrible acne. Treating acne is very important, both for physical and psychological reasons. Untreated acne can cause permanent scarring of the skin if it becomes severe enough, resulting in a pockmarked area that can only be smoothed through expensive plastic surgery. And acne can have a very powerful negative psychological effect on someone suffering from it, branding someone a steroid user and further isolating them from “normal” society. Severe acne can and will detract from the most aesthetic of physiques, and take away from ones overall presentation. Depending on the severity, there are several options for the treatment of acne. Since acne is generally caused by the more androgenic steroids, there is always the option of switching to steroids that have few androgenic properties, such as nandrolone, oxandrolone, or primobolan. Light cases can commonly be controlled through frequent washings of the effected area (to remove excess dirt and oil before pores become clogged and infected) and the use of over the counter topical treatments. Moderate cases will generally respond to the use of Retin-A coupled with use of an antibiotic (such as tetracycline) which kills the bacteria which feeds off the oil created by the sebaceous gland. Severe cases of acne should be treated with Accutane, a prescription drug manufactured by Roche that is very effective at permanently eliminating acne. Accutane has a host of unpleasant side effects itself, and treatments are both lengthy and costly (health insurance is a must), but its use is much better than the possibility of permanent scarring from cystic acne. Fortunately, while acne is one of the most commonly seen side effects, it’s also the easiest to treat, as competent Dermatologists can easily be found. It should also be noted that acne commonly become an issue for bodybuilders that do not cycle off steroids correctly, which will often cause a severe imbalance between levels of androgens and estrogens. Preparation for your off cycle period is equally important as the time spent on steroids, so use of an anti-aromatase both on and immediately following a cycle containing AAS that can convert to estrogen is a must. Aggression: Men, due to their higher natural production of testosterone, are generally more aggressive than women. AAS, especially those that are extremely androgenic, will further increase aggression in both males and females. This can be beneficial as long as the individual in question can focus the aggression appropriately, such as the lifting of heavier weights during training. There often seems to be a direct correlation between ones ability to control aggression and ones intelligence. There is nothing worse than an out of control steroid user who is unable or unwilling to control their aggression. Before beginning a cycle of AAS, especially one containing strong androgens, you must prepare yourself mentally for the fact that you are in all likelihood going to be more aggressive than normal, and consequently take the time to assess the nature of your reactions while using them.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Dan Duchaine - Interview with Hardcore Muscle
Dan Duchaine - Interview with Hardcore Muscle
HM: IGF-1 … Dan you seem to be standing back on this one. Colgan thinks it will bring on the age of the superfreak, while you have only spoken of its use in fat reduction. We know GH never panned out as incredible as everyone wanted it to. Do you want to make sure it is the real deal before you give it your stamp of approval? We keep hearing every imaginable scenario ranging from "the stuff is fantastic" to "didn't do anything for me." Do you have any opinions on how it is best used? It was reported to work a lot better with HGH in a study. Do you have any theories on how or what compounds (steroids, anticatabolics, insulin mimickers) could be used in a synergistic protocol for best results with IGF?
Dan: Well Colgan really calls it all the time, doesn't he? (laughs) Because he's always wrong - when Twinlabs changes their mind. Vanadyl sulfate is toxic but now that Twin is selling it, it's not toxic any more! But anyway, enough about Colgan. You know the thing is … I've never seen any real IGF-1. All the stuff I've seen pictures of and read about is the lab cell culture which is doctored not to bind on the carrier proteins. So it would probably be wonderful. You sent me a couple of reports and I read some others and if you look at the amounts they were using, it was quite high actually. Because of a four hour half-life they were using it twice a day, at a calculated dosage of 18mg a day. That's a very high amount. And these bodybuilders are taking 50 micrograms. And I find it hard to believe that 50 micrograms might do anything considering … God knows what they might have stacked on top of that. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think IGF will be terrific once it gets cheap enough to use. And you really want it to bind on the carrier proteins. You want it to last for the 4 hours. The cell culture stuff has a half life of 20 minutes, you don't want that. It's as short as growth hormone … you have to use the high amounts. Eventually someone will offer it either out of Russia or Australia. Of course you know, there were some side effects such as jaw pain and weird funky stuff. And it does work well with GH synergistically. They're just the opposite of each other. IGF-1 would lower your blood sugar and GH does the opposite. Together it stabilizes it. So the worst thing you could do is to use IGF-1 and insulin at the same time, you would conk out. I think it has a lot of potential. The only problem with all that stuff … if you remember back to the geriatrics using GH, when they stopped using GH, within a few weeks all the benefits ceased. At least when you stop steroids, it takes a year or more for all those gains to completely disappear. And I'm afraid for the high expense of IGF-1, that when you go off it, I wonder how long it will last.
HM: Yeah, a couple people told us they used it, and they said how awesome it worked and they weren't using anything else.
Dan: Over the phone…?
HM: Yeah.
Dan: Oh, yeah you know how that goes - "I'm 190 and ripped" and you see them in real life and it's a fat piece of shit. (We are all laughing hard.) It's like on the Internet, everybody is big and strong and ripped - on the computer and you meet them in real life and they are little dorks!
HM: (Laughing) Hypothetically, if you were going to use IGF-1, would you use it with…?
Dan: Oh yeah, steroids, GH, you would want to use it all for a synergistic effect. But definitely with growth hormone, all the studies say it's not only additive … put it this way … if you could get a ½ pound gain from IGF-1, and a ½ pound gain from growth hormone - if you put them together you wouldn't get just one pound, you would get much more, they are synergistic with the two added together … so yeah, go for it.
HM: Anything on the amounts of growth hormone?
Dan: Frankly, I think, nobody has used enough growth hormone because of the cost. The only guy I know of, the rumors were that (top WBF guy) was using like 12 IU's of GH a day. Every day. I don't know if that's true but that is pretty close to what someone should be using, for best results I would think. In the PDR, it's pretty cut and dry in what you should be using. The Genetech is not as efficient as the Lilly. It's microgram per kilogram - you can figure it out. It seems that a lot of bodybuilders are going low in dosage. In the early 80's it was worse, the recommended dosage was 2 IU's a week at $90 bucks a pop - like 2 IU's would even do anything. And people were wondering why it didn't work…
HM: Yeah, you might as well pound down some arginine. (joke)
Dan: I know the stunted growth children were taking it 3 times a week, but I don't know why only 3 times a week. Why not every day? It seems logical to me that it should be everyday. It's just like IGF-1 is supposed to be twice a day. And GH is even shorter acting so who knows.
HM: Maybe 4 times a day might do some good??!!
Dan: Yeah.
HM: Do you still feel Nolvadex can be put to good use - even though studies show it to decrease serum blood IGF levels in the body by 25%? Many have theorized that it lessens the muscle gains on a steroid cycle - do you agree?
Dan: Everyone said that even though they liked to use Nolvadex during dieting, they always found that during the off-season … they grew better without it. That was interesting. It might be the IGF-1. We somehow thought it was tied to estrogen but I don't know why. It depends. Past a certain age … like I'm 43 … if you measured my growth hormone and IGF-1 at middle age it is not very large. Would reducing it 25% make a major difference when it is so low to begin with? Probably not. It depends. As you get older, estrogen is more important to avoid for a lot of reasons, you know … prostate cancer, this and that. But when you're young, you could probably avoid Nolvadex. You know so many people have spent so much money on Nolvadex to combat gyno that they could have easily gotten the surgery for the same amount of money and cured the problem. Half of the people who go through puberty usually get some kind of gyno. They don't necessarily remember it, but it happens. And if you had gyno as an adolescent, you are going to get it if you use steroids - unless you totally avoid all the things that would cause it. And I don't know if Nolvadex will help those kind of people. I don't know if it is a real preventative. Close to two bucks a tab - get the surgery.
HM: How do you feel about Clomid's use as a prevention of gyno - overrated? Could a 2 on / 2 off program of Clomid be something in which gyno could be prevented in your opinion?
Dan: You know Teslac is an ideal antiestrogen but we could never find it out of the country, and we looked too. Clomid … inexpensive in Mexico but very expensive here. Everyone has done quite well with it for raising testosterone if you are young enough with 2 tabs a day. As far as an … they never approved it as an antiestrogen because it was more toxic than Nolvadex. Most people who use Clomid, they are not using it all year long. The problem is everyone's using so much testosterone - not a little but a lot! Back in the 80's we thought there was some kind of precision to anabolic use but now it is not quality but quantity…
HM: Have you had a chance to look at the other growth factors (EGF, fibroblast growth factor, nerve growth factor, TGF, etc.)… If so, do you feel any or all of these are interesting on a muscle-building standpoint?
Dan: Oh sure! There has been some research that the epidermal growth factor has been effective … but all the G.F.'s have been marketed at such a high price that people are unable to use high dosages. But who knows what's going to happen when prices come down and people are on some higher dosages. At the higher dosages, who knows what will be the outcome.
HM: Have you heard or have any insight on the new fat hormone drug in development?
Dan: Leptin … a few years ago we were talking about brown fat and having the beta 3 receptors and I believe they figured out that leptin is one of the naturally occurring beta 3 agonists in the body. The interesting thing about beta 3 receptors is that there's not many in the body, you got many more beta 2 receptors in the muscle. The beta 3's are only in small areas. However the nice thing about leptin is you don't need a lot and unlike clenbuterol, you don't down regulate the receptors. So for bodybuilding, it might be pretty good. However, for most of the obese people who think they are going to need it, some research has shown that they (obese) have genetically damaged beta 3 receptors that don't accept it. And many obese people have very high leptin levels already. The body is trying to compensate so it's not going to help them much. But it will be good for athletes because - clenbuterol is good but it only lasts 2-3 weeks at a time unless you jack up the dosage sky-high. As I mentioned on an audiotape a while ago, there is another thermogenic compound that I'll probably introduce at the end of the year. Even though I promised January 1. It is much more thermogenic than clenbuterol and doesn't even involve those receptors at all. It is much better and cheaper. More dangerous though because if you take too much you don't get sick … you die! Because you raise your body temp over 105 degrees and your cooked brain turns into poached eggs. So I have been hesitant introducing it or writing about it without some safeguards.
HM: To be blatantly honest with you, Dan, we have seen you come full circle on your diet theories. In your first book you recommended eating a lot and often. Now it seems you are approaching a nutrient density theory on diet. Low calories - high nutrients. Correct us if we are wrong. Even though nutrient density looks good on paper and looks like it will build the muscle desired, how come the guys (natural and unnatural) who really push the calories, really seem to be the ones putting on the greatest amount of muscle (and of course, extra bodyfat too)? i.e. … Yates, Sombaty versus Ray, Wheeler, etc. … Do you feel there is any possibility that the body can speed up with a more efficient anabolic effect with abundant calories - just as the metabolism slows down somewhat at deprivation of food? Couldn't the body adapt somewhat to a tremendous muscle building overload effect with food if a huge amount of demand (brutal workouts) is there?
Dan: Well … I don't think Yates and Sombaty get that fat actually. I must admit when I started out I wasn't the smartest guy in the world back then. I just had a knack with the words back in the early 80's. And I'm sure we were wrong on a lot of things. The thing is … there are a few individuals that can get up to 15-20% bodyfat, put on a lot of muscle and then be able to take it off. I have no problem getting that fat in off-season if they can prove to me they can get in shape. Obviously, like Rory Leidermeyer, he never got it right - he always fucked up. And most people who get that fat (15-20%) have trouble getting back down and even if they do, their vascularity and skin taughtness suffers.
HM: Do you feel it is a compromise though, not taking in enough food, with trying to maximize muscle mass?
Dan: You should always eat as much food as you can, but I think some people should spend the thirty bucks on calipers and keep the threshold of bodyfat at 12% or lower. Fifteen percent of bodyfat with a guy with a lot of muscle … he looks pretty fat. That's a bodybuilder who really is a powerlifter with a gut. Twelve percent isn't too sloppy and you can come down and up in bodyweight with some ease. But there are some people that can pull it off, but rarely have seen anyone going into a contest not fuck up on the way down.
HM: If you could pull it off, and eat a lot more food in the off-season, do you feel that you could gain more mass like that?
Dan: Sure, sure, but the secret is to keep it when you diet it off. First of let me say this. People lie. Vic Richards does not eat 15,000 calories. The guy pretty much can't count, he's so stupid. The guy wouldn't be able to count up the boxes with a calculator if the boxes were in front of him so I doubt 15,000. Very few people can hit 7,000. Strydom hit 7,000 but he had a lot of support to do that. People think if you eat so many calories you must be hotter. That's not true. An inch of fat all around the body will keep the heat in. If you have thin skin you are radiating heat out into the room so you can get away with taking in more calories.
HM: But let's say you have two twins. One of the twins says I'm going to get as big as I can while the other twin wants to build muscle but keep lean. Do you think that the guy who is taking in the gross amount of calories to build big time muscle (when they measure him in a water tank) will have a lot more muscle than the twin who tried to keep his bodyfat to a minimum?
Dan: Yes. Yes, but when they both come down to 6% bodyfat it will be very close because of the dieting. I think the high calorie guy will have a slight advantage in muscle mass but what is his skin and vascularity going to be like? But I must tell you, most bodybuilders I know eat more than 3,000 unless they lie around all day. Even I eat close to 3,000 but I … well I ride my bike quite a bit now. Most of those pros, of course, hold water but a lot of that fat is held under their abdominal wall in their viscera. That's not increase size of the gut from GH but a combination of high carbs, high insulin and high testosterone. All that fat in there is very sensitive to androgens especially DHT.
HM: Do you think they can ever get rid of that? The visceral fat?
Dan: They would lose a lot of muscle. Visceral fat is like the last fat to come off the body. Back in the old days when they weren't using a lot of androgens, you didn't have that. But now with everyone using so much testosterone, that gut is all over the place now. Pros, amateurs … you know.
HM: Wouldn't clenbuterol be at its most useful in these high density / calorie diets? Have you ever experimented with a clen / volume food intake protocol?
Dan: That's kind of like pointless, because many of these top pros use clen all year round unless they run out of it. And they are using 10-15 tablets a day. The problem is that it works 2 weeks and that's it. If you cycle it 2 weeks on and then three weeks off then … yeah it could work well. You could be precise about it but you'll never do it. (Dan was speaking of the thermometer method each morning as he has described in past articles.) It's so nice to eat so much shit on clen that people just don't get off it.
***
HM: You have spoken of a high fat diet. Is this different somewhat than DiPasquales'? If so, what are your basic recommendations?
Dan: First off, high fat diets have been around for quite awhile. I mean before Zumpano, there was the Atkins diet which was mostly low carbs all the time, which is not the healthiest thing in the world. Especially for athletes because it is too catabolic, over time. Both DiPasquales' and mine are based on the 7 day (5 on, 2 off) plan. I'm a little more precise. He doesn't care to get into ketosis, blood sugar, ketones in the urine and I do. Ketones are fractured fats and they are not as efficient as regular fats so you need more grams for the energy. Of course, it is a nice diet that he has done because it is just a rip-off of our stuff from the early 80's.
HM: He seems really vague about it.
Dan: The problem is I used that diet for a long time in the early 80's and most of the guys in prison were on it. You have to really do it yourself. He doesn't seem to have a lot of people on a one-to-one basis to really get the feedback. I doubt he has done it himself for a prolonged amount of time. He's armchair about it. People rebel against it and don't want to follow it. But you have to expect that.
HM: On your 33/33/33 diet are there any important do's and don'ts? Do you feel that the above diet is more beneficial dieting or can it be used ideally for muscle building too?
Dan: About 25% of the people in the U.S. wouldn't need that diet. They have really great insulin sensitivity. These people process carbs well and don't give a shit about aerobics and that would be fine. There are another 25% that are quite lousy at processing carbs like myself. And then there are about 50% that are somewhere in the middle. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. There are essential amino acids, essential minerals / vitamins. There are essential fatty acids. There is no such thing as essential carbs. Protein can be turned into fat. Protein can turn into glucose. Past a certain point on many people, much of the protein and carbs that you eat are turned into fat right in the body - right in the liver and you have no control over it - and it is only one kind of fat. Saturated fat. Saturated fat really lowers insulin sensitivity. So if you just accept that your body is going to have some kind of fat in there, it is better to control it yourself than let the body do it.
***
HM: I have heard of some people still trying to crush up those Anadrol tablets and inject them.
Dan: Yeah, I remember one 50 mg shot injected seemed to feel like 3 orals. Hey, have you guys seen some of these guys with the instant calves? I talked to Nadler about that because some of these guys are way too poor for implants. I asked, could you do collagen there and he said, "Yeah, but it's 250 dollars a cc." But you can easily inject saline water in the muscle and it will swell up for a few days. You could do that for calves for a contest and it's a lot cheaper than Esiclene. It would swell up much better.
HM: Some people get nerve damage from …
Dan: Well, Nadler showed me step-by-step instructions on how to put silicone in your calves. Just long small amounts in your calves, not large amounts, and your muscle will encapsulate it. And you can keep building it up and building it up. You could do biceps too.
HM: How do you put the silicone in though?
Dan: A needle, but of course it is not legal to do it in this country. But you could easily do it in Tijuana.
HM: Could be dangerous with the silicone though - like it is with breast implants.
Dan: That's a little different; you're only using small amounts. When they originally did silicone in the 70's before they put it in the sac, they put a massive amount in the gland. But if you used a small amount and let the body encapsulate it, you could do it. I would do it.
HM: Will it move with the muscle though?
Dan: Yes it will. That's the nice thing about it. Nadler can't do it in this country but I could ask him - if he went to Tijuana, would he do it there? You would have to go back and forth because you couldn't do it all at once.
HM: Could someone do it themselves?
Dan: (Dan got a good chuckle out of that one.) I could probably do it. I have no fear of needles. I'll ask him.
HM: IGF-1 … Dan you seem to be standing back on this one. Colgan thinks it will bring on the age of the superfreak, while you have only spoken of its use in fat reduction. We know GH never panned out as incredible as everyone wanted it to. Do you want to make sure it is the real deal before you give it your stamp of approval? We keep hearing every imaginable scenario ranging from "the stuff is fantastic" to "didn't do anything for me." Do you have any opinions on how it is best used? It was reported to work a lot better with HGH in a study. Do you have any theories on how or what compounds (steroids, anticatabolics, insulin mimickers) could be used in a synergistic protocol for best results with IGF?
Dan: Well Colgan really calls it all the time, doesn't he? (laughs) Because he's always wrong - when Twinlabs changes their mind. Vanadyl sulfate is toxic but now that Twin is selling it, it's not toxic any more! But anyway, enough about Colgan. You know the thing is … I've never seen any real IGF-1. All the stuff I've seen pictures of and read about is the lab cell culture which is doctored not to bind on the carrier proteins. So it would probably be wonderful. You sent me a couple of reports and I read some others and if you look at the amounts they were using, it was quite high actually. Because of a four hour half-life they were using it twice a day, at a calculated dosage of 18mg a day. That's a very high amount. And these bodybuilders are taking 50 micrograms. And I find it hard to believe that 50 micrograms might do anything considering … God knows what they might have stacked on top of that. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think IGF will be terrific once it gets cheap enough to use. And you really want it to bind on the carrier proteins. You want it to last for the 4 hours. The cell culture stuff has a half life of 20 minutes, you don't want that. It's as short as growth hormone … you have to use the high amounts. Eventually someone will offer it either out of Russia or Australia. Of course you know, there were some side effects such as jaw pain and weird funky stuff. And it does work well with GH synergistically. They're just the opposite of each other. IGF-1 would lower your blood sugar and GH does the opposite. Together it stabilizes it. So the worst thing you could do is to use IGF-1 and insulin at the same time, you would conk out. I think it has a lot of potential. The only problem with all that stuff … if you remember back to the geriatrics using GH, when they stopped using GH, within a few weeks all the benefits ceased. At least when you stop steroids, it takes a year or more for all those gains to completely disappear. And I'm afraid for the high expense of IGF-1, that when you go off it, I wonder how long it will last.
HM: Yeah, a couple people told us they used it, and they said how awesome it worked and they weren't using anything else.
Dan: Over the phone…?
HM: Yeah.
Dan: Oh, yeah you know how that goes - "I'm 190 and ripped" and you see them in real life and it's a fat piece of shit. (We are all laughing hard.) It's like on the Internet, everybody is big and strong and ripped - on the computer and you meet them in real life and they are little dorks!
HM: (Laughing) Hypothetically, if you were going to use IGF-1, would you use it with…?
Dan: Oh yeah, steroids, GH, you would want to use it all for a synergistic effect. But definitely with growth hormone, all the studies say it's not only additive … put it this way … if you could get a ½ pound gain from IGF-1, and a ½ pound gain from growth hormone - if you put them together you wouldn't get just one pound, you would get much more, they are synergistic with the two added together … so yeah, go for it.
HM: Anything on the amounts of growth hormone?
Dan: Frankly, I think, nobody has used enough growth hormone because of the cost. The only guy I know of, the rumors were that (top WBF guy) was using like 12 IU's of GH a day. Every day. I don't know if that's true but that is pretty close to what someone should be using, for best results I would think. In the PDR, it's pretty cut and dry in what you should be using. The Genetech is not as efficient as the Lilly. It's microgram per kilogram - you can figure it out. It seems that a lot of bodybuilders are going low in dosage. In the early 80's it was worse, the recommended dosage was 2 IU's a week at $90 bucks a pop - like 2 IU's would even do anything. And people were wondering why it didn't work…
HM: Yeah, you might as well pound down some arginine. (joke)
Dan: I know the stunted growth children were taking it 3 times a week, but I don't know why only 3 times a week. Why not every day? It seems logical to me that it should be everyday. It's just like IGF-1 is supposed to be twice a day. And GH is even shorter acting so who knows.
HM: Maybe 4 times a day might do some good??!!
Dan: Yeah.
HM: Do you still feel Nolvadex can be put to good use - even though studies show it to decrease serum blood IGF levels in the body by 25%? Many have theorized that it lessens the muscle gains on a steroid cycle - do you agree?
Dan: Everyone said that even though they liked to use Nolvadex during dieting, they always found that during the off-season … they grew better without it. That was interesting. It might be the IGF-1. We somehow thought it was tied to estrogen but I don't know why. It depends. Past a certain age … like I'm 43 … if you measured my growth hormone and IGF-1 at middle age it is not very large. Would reducing it 25% make a major difference when it is so low to begin with? Probably not. It depends. As you get older, estrogen is more important to avoid for a lot of reasons, you know … prostate cancer, this and that. But when you're young, you could probably avoid Nolvadex. You know so many people have spent so much money on Nolvadex to combat gyno that they could have easily gotten the surgery for the same amount of money and cured the problem. Half of the people who go through puberty usually get some kind of gyno. They don't necessarily remember it, but it happens. And if you had gyno as an adolescent, you are going to get it if you use steroids - unless you totally avoid all the things that would cause it. And I don't know if Nolvadex will help those kind of people. I don't know if it is a real preventative. Close to two bucks a tab - get the surgery.
HM: How do you feel about Clomid's use as a prevention of gyno - overrated? Could a 2 on / 2 off program of Clomid be something in which gyno could be prevented in your opinion?
Dan: You know Teslac is an ideal antiestrogen but we could never find it out of the country, and we looked too. Clomid … inexpensive in Mexico but very expensive here. Everyone has done quite well with it for raising testosterone if you are young enough with 2 tabs a day. As far as an … they never approved it as an antiestrogen because it was more toxic than Nolvadex. Most people who use Clomid, they are not using it all year long. The problem is everyone's using so much testosterone - not a little but a lot! Back in the 80's we thought there was some kind of precision to anabolic use but now it is not quality but quantity…
HM: Have you had a chance to look at the other growth factors (EGF, fibroblast growth factor, nerve growth factor, TGF, etc.)… If so, do you feel any or all of these are interesting on a muscle-building standpoint?
Dan: Oh sure! There has been some research that the epidermal growth factor has been effective … but all the G.F.'s have been marketed at such a high price that people are unable to use high dosages. But who knows what's going to happen when prices come down and people are on some higher dosages. At the higher dosages, who knows what will be the outcome.
HM: Have you heard or have any insight on the new fat hormone drug in development?
Dan: Leptin … a few years ago we were talking about brown fat and having the beta 3 receptors and I believe they figured out that leptin is one of the naturally occurring beta 3 agonists in the body. The interesting thing about beta 3 receptors is that there's not many in the body, you got many more beta 2 receptors in the muscle. The beta 3's are only in small areas. However the nice thing about leptin is you don't need a lot and unlike clenbuterol, you don't down regulate the receptors. So for bodybuilding, it might be pretty good. However, for most of the obese people who think they are going to need it, some research has shown that they (obese) have genetically damaged beta 3 receptors that don't accept it. And many obese people have very high leptin levels already. The body is trying to compensate so it's not going to help them much. But it will be good for athletes because - clenbuterol is good but it only lasts 2-3 weeks at a time unless you jack up the dosage sky-high. As I mentioned on an audiotape a while ago, there is another thermogenic compound that I'll probably introduce at the end of the year. Even though I promised January 1. It is much more thermogenic than clenbuterol and doesn't even involve those receptors at all. It is much better and cheaper. More dangerous though because if you take too much you don't get sick … you die! Because you raise your body temp over 105 degrees and your cooked brain turns into poached eggs. So I have been hesitant introducing it or writing about it without some safeguards.
HM: To be blatantly honest with you, Dan, we have seen you come full circle on your diet theories. In your first book you recommended eating a lot and often. Now it seems you are approaching a nutrient density theory on diet. Low calories - high nutrients. Correct us if we are wrong. Even though nutrient density looks good on paper and looks like it will build the muscle desired, how come the guys (natural and unnatural) who really push the calories, really seem to be the ones putting on the greatest amount of muscle (and of course, extra bodyfat too)? i.e. … Yates, Sombaty versus Ray, Wheeler, etc. … Do you feel there is any possibility that the body can speed up with a more efficient anabolic effect with abundant calories - just as the metabolism slows down somewhat at deprivation of food? Couldn't the body adapt somewhat to a tremendous muscle building overload effect with food if a huge amount of demand (brutal workouts) is there?
Dan: Well … I don't think Yates and Sombaty get that fat actually. I must admit when I started out I wasn't the smartest guy in the world back then. I just had a knack with the words back in the early 80's. And I'm sure we were wrong on a lot of things. The thing is … there are a few individuals that can get up to 15-20% bodyfat, put on a lot of muscle and then be able to take it off. I have no problem getting that fat in off-season if they can prove to me they can get in shape. Obviously, like Rory Leidermeyer, he never got it right - he always fucked up. And most people who get that fat (15-20%) have trouble getting back down and even if they do, their vascularity and skin taughtness suffers.
HM: Do you feel it is a compromise though, not taking in enough food, with trying to maximize muscle mass?
Dan: You should always eat as much food as you can, but I think some people should spend the thirty bucks on calipers and keep the threshold of bodyfat at 12% or lower. Fifteen percent of bodyfat with a guy with a lot of muscle … he looks pretty fat. That's a bodybuilder who really is a powerlifter with a gut. Twelve percent isn't too sloppy and you can come down and up in bodyweight with some ease. But there are some people that can pull it off, but rarely have seen anyone going into a contest not fuck up on the way down.
HM: If you could pull it off, and eat a lot more food in the off-season, do you feel that you could gain more mass like that?
Dan: Sure, sure, but the secret is to keep it when you diet it off. First of let me say this. People lie. Vic Richards does not eat 15,000 calories. The guy pretty much can't count, he's so stupid. The guy wouldn't be able to count up the boxes with a calculator if the boxes were in front of him so I doubt 15,000. Very few people can hit 7,000. Strydom hit 7,000 but he had a lot of support to do that. People think if you eat so many calories you must be hotter. That's not true. An inch of fat all around the body will keep the heat in. If you have thin skin you are radiating heat out into the room so you can get away with taking in more calories.
HM: But let's say you have two twins. One of the twins says I'm going to get as big as I can while the other twin wants to build muscle but keep lean. Do you think that the guy who is taking in the gross amount of calories to build big time muscle (when they measure him in a water tank) will have a lot more muscle than the twin who tried to keep his bodyfat to a minimum?
Dan: Yes. Yes, but when they both come down to 6% bodyfat it will be very close because of the dieting. I think the high calorie guy will have a slight advantage in muscle mass but what is his skin and vascularity going to be like? But I must tell you, most bodybuilders I know eat more than 3,000 unless they lie around all day. Even I eat close to 3,000 but I … well I ride my bike quite a bit now. Most of those pros, of course, hold water but a lot of that fat is held under their abdominal wall in their viscera. That's not increase size of the gut from GH but a combination of high carbs, high insulin and high testosterone. All that fat in there is very sensitive to androgens especially DHT.
HM: Do you think they can ever get rid of that? The visceral fat?
Dan: They would lose a lot of muscle. Visceral fat is like the last fat to come off the body. Back in the old days when they weren't using a lot of androgens, you didn't have that. But now with everyone using so much testosterone, that gut is all over the place now. Pros, amateurs … you know.
HM: Wouldn't clenbuterol be at its most useful in these high density / calorie diets? Have you ever experimented with a clen / volume food intake protocol?
Dan: That's kind of like pointless, because many of these top pros use clen all year round unless they run out of it. And they are using 10-15 tablets a day. The problem is that it works 2 weeks and that's it. If you cycle it 2 weeks on and then three weeks off then … yeah it could work well. You could be precise about it but you'll never do it. (Dan was speaking of the thermometer method each morning as he has described in past articles.) It's so nice to eat so much shit on clen that people just don't get off it.
***
HM: You have spoken of a high fat diet. Is this different somewhat than DiPasquales'? If so, what are your basic recommendations?
Dan: First off, high fat diets have been around for quite awhile. I mean before Zumpano, there was the Atkins diet which was mostly low carbs all the time, which is not the healthiest thing in the world. Especially for athletes because it is too catabolic, over time. Both DiPasquales' and mine are based on the 7 day (5 on, 2 off) plan. I'm a little more precise. He doesn't care to get into ketosis, blood sugar, ketones in the urine and I do. Ketones are fractured fats and they are not as efficient as regular fats so you need more grams for the energy. Of course, it is a nice diet that he has done because it is just a rip-off of our stuff from the early 80's.
HM: He seems really vague about it.
Dan: The problem is I used that diet for a long time in the early 80's and most of the guys in prison were on it. You have to really do it yourself. He doesn't seem to have a lot of people on a one-to-one basis to really get the feedback. I doubt he has done it himself for a prolonged amount of time. He's armchair about it. People rebel against it and don't want to follow it. But you have to expect that.
HM: On your 33/33/33 diet are there any important do's and don'ts? Do you feel that the above diet is more beneficial dieting or can it be used ideally for muscle building too?
Dan: About 25% of the people in the U.S. wouldn't need that diet. They have really great insulin sensitivity. These people process carbs well and don't give a shit about aerobics and that would be fine. There are another 25% that are quite lousy at processing carbs like myself. And then there are about 50% that are somewhere in the middle. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. There are essential amino acids, essential minerals / vitamins. There are essential fatty acids. There is no such thing as essential carbs. Protein can be turned into fat. Protein can turn into glucose. Past a certain point on many people, much of the protein and carbs that you eat are turned into fat right in the body - right in the liver and you have no control over it - and it is only one kind of fat. Saturated fat. Saturated fat really lowers insulin sensitivity. So if you just accept that your body is going to have some kind of fat in there, it is better to control it yourself than let the body do it.
***
HM: I have heard of some people still trying to crush up those Anadrol tablets and inject them.
Dan: Yeah, I remember one 50 mg shot injected seemed to feel like 3 orals. Hey, have you guys seen some of these guys with the instant calves? I talked to Nadler about that because some of these guys are way too poor for implants. I asked, could you do collagen there and he said, "Yeah, but it's 250 dollars a cc." But you can easily inject saline water in the muscle and it will swell up for a few days. You could do that for calves for a contest and it's a lot cheaper than Esiclene. It would swell up much better.
HM: Some people get nerve damage from …
Dan: Well, Nadler showed me step-by-step instructions on how to put silicone in your calves. Just long small amounts in your calves, not large amounts, and your muscle will encapsulate it. And you can keep building it up and building it up. You could do biceps too.
HM: How do you put the silicone in though?
Dan: A needle, but of course it is not legal to do it in this country. But you could easily do it in Tijuana.
HM: Could be dangerous with the silicone though - like it is with breast implants.
Dan: That's a little different; you're only using small amounts. When they originally did silicone in the 70's before they put it in the sac, they put a massive amount in the gland. But if you used a small amount and let the body encapsulate it, you could do it. I would do it.
HM: Will it move with the muscle though?
Dan: Yes it will. That's the nice thing about it. Nadler can't do it in this country but I could ask him - if he went to Tijuana, would he do it there? You would have to go back and forth because you couldn't do it all at once.
HM: Could someone do it themselves?
Dan: (Dan got a good chuckle out of that one.) I could probably do it. I have no fear of needles. I'll ask him.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin)
HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin)
Quick overview:
Active Life: 64 hours
Drug Class: Leutenizing Hormone (LH) - Gonadotropin
Average Dose: debatable
Acne: Yes
Water Retention: Yes
High Blood Pressure: Yes
Liver Toxic: No
Aromatization: No, but it will raise testosterone levels and increased aromatization may occur.
Chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone found in the female body during the early months of pregnancy (it is produced in the placenta). It is in fact the pregnancy indicator looked at by the over the counter pregnancy test kits, as due to its origin it is not found in the body at any other time. Blood levels of this hormone will become noticeable as early as seven days after ovulation. The level will rise evenly, reaching a peak at approximately two to three months into gestation. After this point, the hormone level will drop gradually until the point of birth. As a prescription drug, HCG offers us some interesting benefits. In the United States, we have the two popular brands, Pregnyl, made by Organon, and Profasi, made by Serono. These are FDA approved for the treatment of undescended testicles in young boys, hypogonadism (underproduction of testosterone) and as a fertility drug used to aid in inducing ovulation in women. When prepared as a medical item, this hormone comes from a human origin. Although there is often a fear of biological origin products, there is little research to be found regarding pathogen or sterility problems with HCG. The problems seen with human origin growth hormone are certainly not to be repeated with HCG, as this compound is obtained in a much different way.
While HCG offers the female no performance enhancing ability, it does prove very useful to the male steroid user. The obvious use of course being to stimulate the production of endogenous testosterone. The activity of HCG in the male body is due to its ability to mimic LH (luteinizing hormone), a pituitary hormone that stimulates the Leydig's cells in the testes to manufacture testosterone. Restoring endogenous testosterone production is a special concern at the end of each steroid cycle, a time when a subnormal androgen level (due to steroid induced suppression) could be very costly. The main concern is the action of cortisol, which in many ways is balanced out by the effect of androgens. Cortisol sends the opposite message to the muscles than testosterone, or to breakdown protein in the cell. Left unchecked (by an extremely low testosterone level) in the body, cortisol can quickly strip much of your new muscle mass away.
The main focus with HCG is to restore the normal ability of the testes to respond to endogenous luteinizing hormone. After a long period of inactivity, this ability may have been seriously reduced. In such a state testosterone levels may not reach a normal point, even though the release of endogenous LH has been resumed. Many who have suffered severe testicular shrinkage may be able to relate, as it is often some time before normal testicle size and feelings of virility are restored if ancillary drugs had not been used. The excessive stimulation brought forth by administration of HCG can likewise cause the testicles to rapidly return to their normal size and level of activity. We are not simply looking for it to fix the problem however, as the resulting high testosterone level can itself trigger negative feedback inhibition at the hypothalamus. Estrogen production is also heightened with the use of HCG, due to its ability to increase aromatase activity in the Leydig's cells. This is due to the main action of HCG, namely the increase of cycIicAMP (a secondary messenger that regulates cellular activity). When stimulated by HCG, the ability of the testes to aromatize androgens could potentially be heightened several times greater than normal. This also may inhibit testosterone production, so we therefore use HCG only as a quick shock to the testes.
The usual protocol is to inject 1500-3000 I.U. every 4th or 5th day, for a duration usually no longer than 2 or 3 weeks. If used for too long or at too high a dose, the drug may actually function to desensitize the Leydig's cells to luteinizing hormone, further hindering a return to homeostasis. Timing the initial dose is also very crucial. If your were coming off a cycle of Sustanon for example, testosterone levels in your blood will likely stay elevated for at least 3 to 4 weeks after your last injection. Taking HCG on the day of your last shot would therefore be useless. Instead one would want to calculate the last week in which androgen levels are likely to be above normal, and begin ancillary drug therapy at this point. In this case HCG would be started around the third or fourth week. Likewise, after ending a cycle of Dianabol (an oral) your blood levels will be sub normal after the third day. Here you may want to begin HCG therapy a few days before your last intake of tablets, giving it a few days to take effect. One would also want to give some thought to the level of suppression that the cycle might have brought about. After an 8 week cycle of Equipoise for example, 1500-2500 I.U. would likely be a sufficient initial dosage. The lower amount of hormonal suppression one associates with this drug would probably not require much more. On the other hand, 750-1000mg of Sustanon per week might incline the user to inject a much larger HCG dose, perhaps as much as 5000 I.U. for the opening application. It may thereafter also be a good idea to reduce the dosage on subsequent shots, so as to step down the intake of HCG during the two or three weeks of intake.
As discussed above, HCG acts only to mimic the action of LH. It is likewise not the perfect hormone to combat testosterone suppression, and for this reason it is used most often in conjunction with estrogen antagonists such as Clomid, Nolvadex or cyclofenil. These drugs have a different effect on the regulating system, namely inhibiting estrogen-induced suppression at the hypothalamus. This of course also helps to restore the release of testosterone, although through a much different mechanism than HCG. A combination of both drugs appears to be very synergistic, HCG providing an immediate effect on the testes (shocking them out of inactivity) while the anti-estrogen helps later to block inhibition on the hypothalamus and resume the normal release of gonadotropins from the pituitary. The typical procedure involves giving the Clomid/Nolvadex dose from the start with HCG, but continuing it alone for a few weeks once HCG has been discontinued. This practice should effectively raise testosterone levels, which will hopefully remain stable once Clomid/Nolvadex have been discontinued. While unfortunately there is no way to retain all of the muscle gains produced by anabolic steroids, using ancillaries to restore a balanced hormonal state is the best way to minimize the loss felt with ending a cycle.
Quick overview:
Active Life: 64 hours
Drug Class: Leutenizing Hormone (LH) - Gonadotropin
Average Dose: debatable
Acne: Yes
Water Retention: Yes
High Blood Pressure: Yes
Liver Toxic: No
Aromatization: No, but it will raise testosterone levels and increased aromatization may occur.
Chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone found in the female body during the early months of pregnancy (it is produced in the placenta). It is in fact the pregnancy indicator looked at by the over the counter pregnancy test kits, as due to its origin it is not found in the body at any other time. Blood levels of this hormone will become noticeable as early as seven days after ovulation. The level will rise evenly, reaching a peak at approximately two to three months into gestation. After this point, the hormone level will drop gradually until the point of birth. As a prescription drug, HCG offers us some interesting benefits. In the United States, we have the two popular brands, Pregnyl, made by Organon, and Profasi, made by Serono. These are FDA approved for the treatment of undescended testicles in young boys, hypogonadism (underproduction of testosterone) and as a fertility drug used to aid in inducing ovulation in women. When prepared as a medical item, this hormone comes from a human origin. Although there is often a fear of biological origin products, there is little research to be found regarding pathogen or sterility problems with HCG. The problems seen with human origin growth hormone are certainly not to be repeated with HCG, as this compound is obtained in a much different way.
While HCG offers the female no performance enhancing ability, it does prove very useful to the male steroid user. The obvious use of course being to stimulate the production of endogenous testosterone. The activity of HCG in the male body is due to its ability to mimic LH (luteinizing hormone), a pituitary hormone that stimulates the Leydig's cells in the testes to manufacture testosterone. Restoring endogenous testosterone production is a special concern at the end of each steroid cycle, a time when a subnormal androgen level (due to steroid induced suppression) could be very costly. The main concern is the action of cortisol, which in many ways is balanced out by the effect of androgens. Cortisol sends the opposite message to the muscles than testosterone, or to breakdown protein in the cell. Left unchecked (by an extremely low testosterone level) in the body, cortisol can quickly strip much of your new muscle mass away.
The main focus with HCG is to restore the normal ability of the testes to respond to endogenous luteinizing hormone. After a long period of inactivity, this ability may have been seriously reduced. In such a state testosterone levels may not reach a normal point, even though the release of endogenous LH has been resumed. Many who have suffered severe testicular shrinkage may be able to relate, as it is often some time before normal testicle size and feelings of virility are restored if ancillary drugs had not been used. The excessive stimulation brought forth by administration of HCG can likewise cause the testicles to rapidly return to their normal size and level of activity. We are not simply looking for it to fix the problem however, as the resulting high testosterone level can itself trigger negative feedback inhibition at the hypothalamus. Estrogen production is also heightened with the use of HCG, due to its ability to increase aromatase activity in the Leydig's cells. This is due to the main action of HCG, namely the increase of cycIicAMP (a secondary messenger that regulates cellular activity). When stimulated by HCG, the ability of the testes to aromatize androgens could potentially be heightened several times greater than normal. This also may inhibit testosterone production, so we therefore use HCG only as a quick shock to the testes.
The usual protocol is to inject 1500-3000 I.U. every 4th or 5th day, for a duration usually no longer than 2 or 3 weeks. If used for too long or at too high a dose, the drug may actually function to desensitize the Leydig's cells to luteinizing hormone, further hindering a return to homeostasis. Timing the initial dose is also very crucial. If your were coming off a cycle of Sustanon for example, testosterone levels in your blood will likely stay elevated for at least 3 to 4 weeks after your last injection. Taking HCG on the day of your last shot would therefore be useless. Instead one would want to calculate the last week in which androgen levels are likely to be above normal, and begin ancillary drug therapy at this point. In this case HCG would be started around the third or fourth week. Likewise, after ending a cycle of Dianabol (an oral) your blood levels will be sub normal after the third day. Here you may want to begin HCG therapy a few days before your last intake of tablets, giving it a few days to take effect. One would also want to give some thought to the level of suppression that the cycle might have brought about. After an 8 week cycle of Equipoise for example, 1500-2500 I.U. would likely be a sufficient initial dosage. The lower amount of hormonal suppression one associates with this drug would probably not require much more. On the other hand, 750-1000mg of Sustanon per week might incline the user to inject a much larger HCG dose, perhaps as much as 5000 I.U. for the opening application. It may thereafter also be a good idea to reduce the dosage on subsequent shots, so as to step down the intake of HCG during the two or three weeks of intake.
As discussed above, HCG acts only to mimic the action of LH. It is likewise not the perfect hormone to combat testosterone suppression, and for this reason it is used most often in conjunction with estrogen antagonists such as Clomid, Nolvadex or cyclofenil. These drugs have a different effect on the regulating system, namely inhibiting estrogen-induced suppression at the hypothalamus. This of course also helps to restore the release of testosterone, although through a much different mechanism than HCG. A combination of both drugs appears to be very synergistic, HCG providing an immediate effect on the testes (shocking them out of inactivity) while the anti-estrogen helps later to block inhibition on the hypothalamus and resume the normal release of gonadotropins from the pituitary. The typical procedure involves giving the Clomid/Nolvadex dose from the start with HCG, but continuing it alone for a few weeks once HCG has been discontinued. This practice should effectively raise testosterone levels, which will hopefully remain stable once Clomid/Nolvadex have been discontinued. While unfortunately there is no way to retain all of the muscle gains produced by anabolic steroids, using ancillaries to restore a balanced hormonal state is the best way to minimize the loss felt with ending a cycle.
Monday, August 27, 2007
How to Make Anabolic Steroids Orally-Active?
The subject of androgenic / anabolic steroids, and the different ways that have been found to make them orally active, has been tossed around lately on the internet mags. This is an interesting topic to the science minded out there, but beyond that, it also has potential utility to the prohormone supplements. The following is my take on the subject, including scientific references and conjecture on my part.
The problem with natural androgens
Testosterone is the primary androgen in the human, and is the golden standard by which all other steroids are compared. Unfortunately, testosterone has very poor activity when taken orally. This necessitates that testosterone be administered by extra-oral means such by injection, subcutaneous pellet implant, and transdermal gel or patch.
17alpha alkylated steroids
Scientists have developed several synthetic testosterone derivatives that have increased oral bioavailability. The first synthetic alteration that scientists utilized is known as 17 alpha alkylation. 17a alkylation involves the addition of an alkyl group (methyl or ethyl) to the alpha position of the 17 carbon of the steroid backbone. The alkylation at this position prevents the major route of androgen deactivaton – oxidation to a 17-keto steroid - from taking place. This allows a large part of the steroid to avoid liver first pass metabolic degradation. Examples of 17a alkylated steroids are methyltestosterone and Norethandrolone (Nilevar)
While 17a alkylation is a very effective means of rendering steroids orally active, it suffers from a serious drawback. These steroids are all to some extent toxic to the liver. Some are more toxic than others, but they all have been associated with this problem. Jaundice is not completely uncommon with the usage of this stuff, although this condition is generally confined to individuals who are predisposed to liver problems. Several cases of liver cancer have supposedly been linked to 17a alkylated steroids, however, nothing definitive has been established in this regard. On the other hand, it is somewhat common to observe increases in blood test indicators of liver stress such as BSP retention, and intrahepatic cholestasis (a condition where bile clogs up and stops flowing from the liver).
While the dangers of 17a alkylated steroids are not trivial, they still comprise some of the most potent anabolic agents available, and therefore their use continues. Most smart bodybuilders are aware of the potential toxicities of these steroids, and therefore they are judicious with their use of them.
Lipophilic steroid derivatives
After ingestion, most steroids make their way to the intestines where they are absorbed into the portal circulation. The portal circulation carries the steroid directly to the liver, which is the workhouse of destructive metabolism and inactivation of drugs. As a result, if the steroid is not protected in some way, very little will make it through the liver and into the rest of the body where it can do its magic.
In addition to the portal route, there is another route through which substances can be absorbed into the body from the intestine. If a substance is lipophilic (fat like) enough it will be absorbed in the same manner that dietary fat is. Dietary fat is incorportated into chylomicra, which are small fat globules composed of protein and fat. These chylomicra are absorbed into the lymphatic circulation, which by passes the liver. If you make a steroid lipophilic enough by altering its structure, then it too will incorportate into chylomicra and absorb into the lymphatic system. Once in the lymphatic system it can cross over into the general blood circulation, making it there without being subjected to the massive metabolic breakdown in the liver.
Scientists have found that by adding lipophilic side chains to steroids, they will to some extent be absorbed into the lymphatic system. If the side chain is linked on in such a way that it can hydrolyze (break apart) easily after being absorbed, the steroid is essentially rendered orally active. Two side chains that have been utilized to increase the oral bioavailability of steroids through increased lymphatic absorption are long chain alkyl ester groups, such as is seen with testosterone undecanoate (andriol), and enyl ether groups, such as is seen with quinbolone (anabolicum vaster).
The term "orally active" is of course a relative term. Lipophilically modified steroids are more orally active than the free parent steroids, however, they are no where near as active as the 17alpha-alkylated steroids. Testosterone undecanoate (TU) is probably the most commonly known lipophilically modified androgen, and it is not considered a very potent compound (its recommended daily dosage is about 240mg). In fact, one study found the oral administration of testosterone undecanoate led only to an absolute testosterone bioavailability of 6.83 +/- 3.32%. That is very slight, especially considering the fact that in the same study they found the bioavailability of straight testosterone to be 3.56 +/- 2.45% (Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet 1986 Apr-Jun;11(2):145-9). That means TU is just a little less than twice as orally active as free testosterone, which is unimpressive to say the least.
The other problem with lipophilic steroid preparations is the high variability in absorption from one person to another. In other words, one guy might absorb the stuff very well while the other guy might absorb very little. There is also high variation within individuals themselves, depending on their gastrointestinal condition when they take the stuff. In another study, ten post-menopausal women were given 40 mg of TU and their peak blood values were recorded. The values varied widely - more than ten fold (range: 5.8-64.0 nmol/L) - amongst the subjects (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998 Nov;83(11): 3920-4).
There is no specific data I can find on the bioavailabilty of enyl ether compounds, but since their mode of action is identical to long chain alkyl ester compounds like TU, it is a fair assumption that they too are not outstandingly high in oral bioavailability, or in consistency of absorption. What I do know is that the one and only enyl ether oral steroid on the market today (quinbolone) is generally regarded by european bodybuilders / athletes as too weak to even bother taking.
Ring A modified steroids
There is one more class of anabolic / androgenic steroids that are orally active. These have unique structural modifications in the steroid A ring. What these modifications do is help preserve the steroids 17beta hydroxyl group, and minimize oxidation to the inactive 17-keto form.
Androgens such as testosterone exist in the body in an equilibrium between their active 17beta hydroxyl form and the inactive 17-keto form.
Normally, the equilibrium lies pretty far to the right (formation of inactive 17 keto steroid), however some steroids have certain modifications made in the A ring that alter this equilibrium by shifting it heavily to the left (towards the formation of active 17beta hydroxyl steroid).
The most common A-ring modifications that shift the 17beta hydroxyl / 17-keto equilibrium to the left are methylation at the 1alpha position, and unsaturation (double bond) in the 1(2) position (Acta Endocr, 41, (1962) 494). Examples of orally active steroids that contain one or more these modifications include methenolone (Primobolan), mesterolone (Proviron), and 1-testosterone.
You probably have heard of mesterolone and methenolone, but it is doubtful you have ever heard of 1-testosterone. 1-testosterone is a very interesting compound, not just because it is orally active but also because it is very anabolic. It has been reported to be over 7 times as anabolic as testosterone in a study funded by the pharmaceutical giant Searle (J Org Chem, 27 (1962) 248). Furthermore, being a 5alpha reduced steroid, it should not aromatize to estrogens.
The problem with natural androgens
Testosterone is the primary androgen in the human, and is the golden standard by which all other steroids are compared. Unfortunately, testosterone has very poor activity when taken orally. This necessitates that testosterone be administered by extra-oral means such by injection, subcutaneous pellet implant, and transdermal gel or patch.
17alpha alkylated steroids
Scientists have developed several synthetic testosterone derivatives that have increased oral bioavailability. The first synthetic alteration that scientists utilized is known as 17 alpha alkylation. 17a alkylation involves the addition of an alkyl group (methyl or ethyl) to the alpha position of the 17 carbon of the steroid backbone. The alkylation at this position prevents the major route of androgen deactivaton – oxidation to a 17-keto steroid - from taking place. This allows a large part of the steroid to avoid liver first pass metabolic degradation. Examples of 17a alkylated steroids are methyltestosterone and Norethandrolone (Nilevar)
While 17a alkylation is a very effective means of rendering steroids orally active, it suffers from a serious drawback. These steroids are all to some extent toxic to the liver. Some are more toxic than others, but they all have been associated with this problem. Jaundice is not completely uncommon with the usage of this stuff, although this condition is generally confined to individuals who are predisposed to liver problems. Several cases of liver cancer have supposedly been linked to 17a alkylated steroids, however, nothing definitive has been established in this regard. On the other hand, it is somewhat common to observe increases in blood test indicators of liver stress such as BSP retention, and intrahepatic cholestasis (a condition where bile clogs up and stops flowing from the liver).
While the dangers of 17a alkylated steroids are not trivial, they still comprise some of the most potent anabolic agents available, and therefore their use continues. Most smart bodybuilders are aware of the potential toxicities of these steroids, and therefore they are judicious with their use of them.
Lipophilic steroid derivatives
After ingestion, most steroids make their way to the intestines where they are absorbed into the portal circulation. The portal circulation carries the steroid directly to the liver, which is the workhouse of destructive metabolism and inactivation of drugs. As a result, if the steroid is not protected in some way, very little will make it through the liver and into the rest of the body where it can do its magic.
In addition to the portal route, there is another route through which substances can be absorbed into the body from the intestine. If a substance is lipophilic (fat like) enough it will be absorbed in the same manner that dietary fat is. Dietary fat is incorportated into chylomicra, which are small fat globules composed of protein and fat. These chylomicra are absorbed into the lymphatic circulation, which by passes the liver. If you make a steroid lipophilic enough by altering its structure, then it too will incorportate into chylomicra and absorb into the lymphatic system. Once in the lymphatic system it can cross over into the general blood circulation, making it there without being subjected to the massive metabolic breakdown in the liver.
Scientists have found that by adding lipophilic side chains to steroids, they will to some extent be absorbed into the lymphatic system. If the side chain is linked on in such a way that it can hydrolyze (break apart) easily after being absorbed, the steroid is essentially rendered orally active. Two side chains that have been utilized to increase the oral bioavailability of steroids through increased lymphatic absorption are long chain alkyl ester groups, such as is seen with testosterone undecanoate (andriol), and enyl ether groups, such as is seen with quinbolone (anabolicum vaster).
The term "orally active" is of course a relative term. Lipophilically modified steroids are more orally active than the free parent steroids, however, they are no where near as active as the 17alpha-alkylated steroids. Testosterone undecanoate (TU) is probably the most commonly known lipophilically modified androgen, and it is not considered a very potent compound (its recommended daily dosage is about 240mg). In fact, one study found the oral administration of testosterone undecanoate led only to an absolute testosterone bioavailability of 6.83 +/- 3.32%. That is very slight, especially considering the fact that in the same study they found the bioavailability of straight testosterone to be 3.56 +/- 2.45% (Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet 1986 Apr-Jun;11(2):145-9). That means TU is just a little less than twice as orally active as free testosterone, which is unimpressive to say the least.
The other problem with lipophilic steroid preparations is the high variability in absorption from one person to another. In other words, one guy might absorb the stuff very well while the other guy might absorb very little. There is also high variation within individuals themselves, depending on their gastrointestinal condition when they take the stuff. In another study, ten post-menopausal women were given 40 mg of TU and their peak blood values were recorded. The values varied widely - more than ten fold (range: 5.8-64.0 nmol/L) - amongst the subjects (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998 Nov;83(11): 3920-4).
There is no specific data I can find on the bioavailabilty of enyl ether compounds, but since their mode of action is identical to long chain alkyl ester compounds like TU, it is a fair assumption that they too are not outstandingly high in oral bioavailability, or in consistency of absorption. What I do know is that the one and only enyl ether oral steroid on the market today (quinbolone) is generally regarded by european bodybuilders / athletes as too weak to even bother taking.
Ring A modified steroids
There is one more class of anabolic / androgenic steroids that are orally active. These have unique structural modifications in the steroid A ring. What these modifications do is help preserve the steroids 17beta hydroxyl group, and minimize oxidation to the inactive 17-keto form.
Androgens such as testosterone exist in the body in an equilibrium between their active 17beta hydroxyl form and the inactive 17-keto form.
Normally, the equilibrium lies pretty far to the right (formation of inactive 17 keto steroid), however some steroids have certain modifications made in the A ring that alter this equilibrium by shifting it heavily to the left (towards the formation of active 17beta hydroxyl steroid).
The most common A-ring modifications that shift the 17beta hydroxyl / 17-keto equilibrium to the left are methylation at the 1alpha position, and unsaturation (double bond) in the 1(2) position (Acta Endocr, 41, (1962) 494). Examples of orally active steroids that contain one or more these modifications include methenolone (Primobolan), mesterolone (Proviron), and 1-testosterone.
You probably have heard of mesterolone and methenolone, but it is doubtful you have ever heard of 1-testosterone. 1-testosterone is a very interesting compound, not just because it is orally active but also because it is very anabolic. It has been reported to be over 7 times as anabolic as testosterone in a study funded by the pharmaceutical giant Searle (J Org Chem, 27 (1962) 248). Furthermore, being a 5alpha reduced steroid, it should not aromatize to estrogens.
Testosterone Suspension
Testosterone Suspension
Testosterone suspension is simply testosterone crystals suspended in a sterile water solution. As such, it becomes active very quickly after injection, and agressiveness often sets in immediatel as well as a possible strength elevation. Since there is no ester, it also basically drops crystals into your muscle (painful), but it also gives you more bang for the buck than other forms of injectable testosterone.
As with all forms of testosterone, this product will convert to estrogen, cause some water
retention, possible acne and hairloss. Of course, testosterone will also build mass and strength faster than any other anabolic steroid as well, and should be the base of any cycle.
Reported Characteristics
Pharmaceutical Name:Testosterone
Chemical Name:4-androstene-3-one-17b-ol
Cutting/Bulking:Cutting
Anabolic Rating: 100
Active-Life: About one day.
Drug Class: Androgenic/Anabolic Steroid (For injection)
Average Reported Dosage: Men 150-1400mg weekly Women 25-50mg weekly
Acne: Yes, high
Water Retention: Yes, high
High blood Pressure: Often in higher dosages
Liver Toxic: Low
Aromatization: Yes, high
DHT Conversion: Yes-high
Decreases HPTA function: Yes
Average Price: $10/100mgs
Testosterone suspension is simply testosterone crystals suspended in a sterile water solution. As such, it becomes active very quickly after injection, and agressiveness often sets in immediatel as well as a possible strength elevation. Since there is no ester, it also basically drops crystals into your muscle (painful), but it also gives you more bang for the buck than other forms of injectable testosterone.
As with all forms of testosterone, this product will convert to estrogen, cause some water
retention, possible acne and hairloss. Of course, testosterone will also build mass and strength faster than any other anabolic steroid as well, and should be the base of any cycle.Reported Characteristics
Pharmaceutical Name:Testosterone
Chemical Name:4-androstene-3-one-17b-ol
Cutting/Bulking:Cutting
Anabolic Rating: 100
Active-Life: About one day.
Drug Class: Androgenic/Anabolic Steroid (For injection)
Average Reported Dosage: Men 150-1400mg weekly Women 25-50mg weekly
Acne: Yes, high
Water Retention: Yes, high
High blood Pressure: Often in higher dosages
Liver Toxic: Low
Aromatization: Yes, high
DHT Conversion: Yes-high
Decreases HPTA function: Yes
Average Price: $10/100mgs
Friday, August 24, 2007
Primobolan® Tablets (methenolone acetate)
Primobolan® Tablets (methenolone acetate)
Quick overview:
Active Life: 4-6 hours
Drug Class: Anabolic/Androgenic Steroid (Oral)
Average Dose: Men 50-150 mg/day......Women 50-75 mg/day
Acne: Rare
Water Retention: No
High Blood Pressure: Rare
Liver Toxic: Very low and only in very high dosages
Aromatization: None
DHT Conversion: No
Decrease HPTA function: Low
Comments: Moderately Anabolic/Low Androgenic
This section refers to the oral Primobolan® preparation, which contains the drug methenolone acetate. It is very similar in action to the injectable Primobolan® Depot (methenolone enanthate), but obviously here the drug is designed for oral administration. At one time Schering was in fact also manufacturing an injectable methenolone acetate (Primobolan® acetate, out of manufacture since 1993), which proved to be very useful for pre-contest cutting purposes. This steroid is now gravely missed, as it was once a favorite among European competitors. Although we still have the acetate in oral form, it is a close, but not equal substitute (injection is a much more efficient form of delivery for this steroid).
Methenolone regardless of the ester is a very mild anabolic steroid. The androgenic activity of this compound is considerably low, as are its anabolic properties. One should not expect to achieve great gains in muscle mass with this drug. Instead, Primobolan® is utilized when the athlete has a specific need for a mild anabolic agent, most notably in cutting phases of training. It is also a drug of choice when side effects are a concern. A welcome factor is that Primobolan® is not c17 alpha alkylated as most oral steroid are. Due to the absence of such an alteration, this compound is one of the few commercially produced oral steroids that is not notably stressful to the liver. While liver enzymes values have been affected by this drug in some rare instances, actual damage due to use of this substance is not a documented problem. Unfortunately the 1 alkylation and 17-beta esterification of Primobolan® do not protect the compound very well during first pass however, so much of your initial dose will not make circulation. This is obviously why we need such high daily dose with the oral version of Primobolan®.
Primobolan® will also not aromatize, so estrogen related side effects are of no concern. This is very useful when leading up to a bodybuilding contest, as subcutaneous water retention (due to estrogen) can seriously lessen the look of hardness and definition to the muscles. Non-aromatizing steroids are therefore indispensable to the competitor, helping to bring about a tight, solid build the weeks leading up to a show. And of course without excess estrogen there is little chance of the athlete developing gynecomastia. Likewise there should never be a need for anti-estrogen use with this steroid. Primobolan® is also said to have a low impact on endogenous testosterone production. Although this may well be true in small clinical doses, it will not hold true for the bodybuilder. For example, in one study more than half of the patients receiving only 30-45 mg noted a suppression of gonadotropin levels of 15% to 65% a. This is a dose far less than most bodybuilders would use, and no doubt increasing it would only lead to worse suppression. One would therefore still need a testosterone stimulating drug like HCG or Clomid®/Nolvadex® when concluding a low-dose Primobolan® cycle, unless a deliberately small dose were being used.
It is also important to note that although the androgenic component of Primobolan® is low, side effects are still possible. One may therefore notice oily skin, acne and facial/body hair growth during treatment. Men with a predisposition for hair loss may also find it exacerbates this condition, and wish to avoid this item (nandrolone injectables are a much better choice). While always possible, side effects rarely reach a point where they interfere with the progress of cycle. Primobolan® is clearly one of the milder and safer oral steroids in production. Female athletes, older or more sensitive individuals and steroid beginners will no doubt find this a comfortable steroid to experiment with.
The dosage for men is somewhere in the range of 75-150mg daily. This can obviously be tedious (and costly) if one can only obtain the 5mg tablets from Mexico and S. America. A mild anabolic such as Primobolan® is often used in conjunction with other steroids for optimal effect, so some users find a slightly lower dose effective when stacking. During a dieting or cutting phase, thought to be its primary application, a non-aromatizing androgen like Halotestin® or trenbolone can be added for example. Such combinations would enhance the physique without water retention, and help bring out a harder and more defined look of muscularity. Non-aromatizing androgen/anabolic stacks like this are in fact very popular among competing bodybuilders. This compound is also occasionally used with more potent androgens during bulking phases of training. The addition of testosterone, Dianabol or Anadrol 50® would prove effective for instance, although the gains are likely to be accompanied by some level of smoothness due to the added estrogenic component.
Among women, Primobolan® is one of the most popular steroids in use. At a dosage of 50-75mg daily, virilization symptoms are extremely uncommon. One would of course not expect a tremendous amount of muscle mass with this drug, and instead should expect a slow and steady (quality) increase. Some women choose to further add-in other anabolics such as Winstrol® or oxandrolone, in an effort to increase the muscle building effectiveness of a cycle. While both of these compounds are quite tolerable to women, one must be sure not to use too high an accumulated dosage. Troublesome androgenic side effects are always a possibility with steroid use, even with very mild substances. Taken at too high a dosage, these weak anabolics can become a formidable danger to femininity. It would therefore be the best advice not to use the normal dosage range of both, but instead start with a much lower dosage of each steroid to compensate for the other. On the black market Primobolan® orals are popular, but still much less commonly found than the injectable. This is due to the higher cost effectiveness of the injectable, which uses the same active compound but with 100% bioavailability due to the form of administration.
Quick overview:
Active Life: 4-6 hours
Drug Class: Anabolic/Androgenic Steroid (Oral)
Average Dose: Men 50-150 mg/day......Women 50-75 mg/day
Acne: Rare
Water Retention: No
High Blood Pressure: Rare
Liver Toxic: Very low and only in very high dosagesAromatization: None
DHT Conversion: No
Decrease HPTA function: Low
Comments: Moderately Anabolic/Low Androgenic
This section refers to the oral Primobolan® preparation, which contains the drug methenolone acetate. It is very similar in action to the injectable Primobolan® Depot (methenolone enanthate), but obviously here the drug is designed for oral administration. At one time Schering was in fact also manufacturing an injectable methenolone acetate (Primobolan® acetate, out of manufacture since 1993), which proved to be very useful for pre-contest cutting purposes. This steroid is now gravely missed, as it was once a favorite among European competitors. Although we still have the acetate in oral form, it is a close, but not equal substitute (injection is a much more efficient form of delivery for this steroid).
Methenolone regardless of the ester is a very mild anabolic steroid. The androgenic activity of this compound is considerably low, as are its anabolic properties. One should not expect to achieve great gains in muscle mass with this drug. Instead, Primobolan® is utilized when the athlete has a specific need for a mild anabolic agent, most notably in cutting phases of training. It is also a drug of choice when side effects are a concern. A welcome factor is that Primobolan® is not c17 alpha alkylated as most oral steroid are. Due to the absence of such an alteration, this compound is one of the few commercially produced oral steroids that is not notably stressful to the liver. While liver enzymes values have been affected by this drug in some rare instances, actual damage due to use of this substance is not a documented problem. Unfortunately the 1 alkylation and 17-beta esterification of Primobolan® do not protect the compound very well during first pass however, so much of your initial dose will not make circulation. This is obviously why we need such high daily dose with the oral version of Primobolan®.
Primobolan® will also not aromatize, so estrogen related side effects are of no concern. This is very useful when leading up to a bodybuilding contest, as subcutaneous water retention (due to estrogen) can seriously lessen the look of hardness and definition to the muscles. Non-aromatizing steroids are therefore indispensable to the competitor, helping to bring about a tight, solid build the weeks leading up to a show. And of course without excess estrogen there is little chance of the athlete developing gynecomastia. Likewise there should never be a need for anti-estrogen use with this steroid. Primobolan® is also said to have a low impact on endogenous testosterone production. Although this may well be true in small clinical doses, it will not hold true for the bodybuilder. For example, in one study more than half of the patients receiving only 30-45 mg noted a suppression of gonadotropin levels of 15% to 65% a. This is a dose far less than most bodybuilders would use, and no doubt increasing it would only lead to worse suppression. One would therefore still need a testosterone stimulating drug like HCG or Clomid®/Nolvadex® when concluding a low-dose Primobolan® cycle, unless a deliberately small dose were being used.
It is also important to note that although the androgenic component of Primobolan® is low, side effects are still possible. One may therefore notice oily skin, acne and facial/body hair growth during treatment. Men with a predisposition for hair loss may also find it exacerbates this condition, and wish to avoid this item (nandrolone injectables are a much better choice). While always possible, side effects rarely reach a point where they interfere with the progress of cycle. Primobolan® is clearly one of the milder and safer oral steroids in production. Female athletes, older or more sensitive individuals and steroid beginners will no doubt find this a comfortable steroid to experiment with.
The dosage for men is somewhere in the range of 75-150mg daily. This can obviously be tedious (and costly) if one can only obtain the 5mg tablets from Mexico and S. America. A mild anabolic such as Primobolan® is often used in conjunction with other steroids for optimal effect, so some users find a slightly lower dose effective when stacking. During a dieting or cutting phase, thought to be its primary application, a non-aromatizing androgen like Halotestin® or trenbolone can be added for example. Such combinations would enhance the physique without water retention, and help bring out a harder and more defined look of muscularity. Non-aromatizing androgen/anabolic stacks like this are in fact very popular among competing bodybuilders. This compound is also occasionally used with more potent androgens during bulking phases of training. The addition of testosterone, Dianabol or Anadrol 50® would prove effective for instance, although the gains are likely to be accompanied by some level of smoothness due to the added estrogenic component.
Among women, Primobolan® is one of the most popular steroids in use. At a dosage of 50-75mg daily, virilization symptoms are extremely uncommon. One would of course not expect a tremendous amount of muscle mass with this drug, and instead should expect a slow and steady (quality) increase. Some women choose to further add-in other anabolics such as Winstrol® or oxandrolone, in an effort to increase the muscle building effectiveness of a cycle. While both of these compounds are quite tolerable to women, one must be sure not to use too high an accumulated dosage. Troublesome androgenic side effects are always a possibility with steroid use, even with very mild substances. Taken at too high a dosage, these weak anabolics can become a formidable danger to femininity. It would therefore be the best advice not to use the normal dosage range of both, but instead start with a much lower dosage of each steroid to compensate for the other. On the black market Primobolan® orals are popular, but still much less commonly found than the injectable. This is due to the higher cost effectiveness of the injectable, which uses the same active compound but with 100% bioavailability due to the form of administration.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Protein Bars Revealed
For those of us workout buffs and workaholics out there, a high protein bar can save the day (especially a very busy one—sometimes I find myself busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest!) The problem is there are so many protein bars out there it’s hard to sort through them all. There seems to be more new bars on the market than web sites going up. But which protein bars are the best? How can they be beneficial? What do you need to know before purchasing them? How about low carb protein bars vs. higher carb protein bars? Well, never fear, the answers you have been looking for are here. Let’s take a closer look at some of the ingredients found in protein bars.
Most of us know that quality nutrition and supplementation is the key to achieving athletic and physique success. It is important to eat 5-7 small meals daily to increase nutrient absorption, enhance metabolic rate, and help stabilize blood sugar (and insulin) levels. High protein meal replacement bars allow you to get all your meals in a convenient and generally tasty manner (I sure don't have the time to cook 6 food meals daily!). They help improve overall nutrition and give you key nutrients your body needs to improve health and physical performance.
Protein bars usually contain protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, and additional functional ingredients. High protein/moderate to high carb bars are best suited for athletes and workout fanatics looking to get quality protein and carbs for increased energy. They are excellent for after a workout to enhance recovery and recuperation and enhance carbohydrate storage (glycogen) in muscle tissue.
Most protein bars usually start out with a "proprietary protein blend". Some bars may have only one protein source such as whey protein isolate but it is preferred to get a protein blend to utilize all the functional benefits of different proteins and help support lean muscle mass. Quality whey protein isolate has benefits including providing intact immunoglobulins to support immune function, providing the highest concentration of BCAA's (branched chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine which play a key role in the muscle building process-about 25%), it has a high biological value (BV) which means it is readily absorbed and utilized by human muscle tissue, and it may even support IGF-1 levels.
It is very important to look at the processing techniques of different whey proteins. The processing will determine whether the important protein microfractions (the compounds that give whey its functional benefits) are still intact and not. Look for ion exchange whey isolate. The ion-exchange process separates proteins based on their electric charge, which is controlled using various chemicals. Two other good choices are "ultrafiltered" or "cross flow microfiltered" whey. Both processes use a very high tech cold microfiltration process that utilizes ceramic filters to remove the fat and lactose thus separating out or "isolating" the protein without damaging it. Whey protein concentrate is a less processed and consequently less expensive form of whey protein. Whey protein concentrate is not as pure as whey isolate in that some fat, lactose and minerals are still left in the protein.
Casein is another milk protein that seems to have a timed-release effect as it forms a gel in the gut to slow the transit time of amino acids. This effect may enhance absorption. It has a very high natural glutamine content. Most of the glutamine in casein is found in the peptide form for better absorption (due to peptide transport systems in the digestive tract). Glutamine is a very important amino acid that has many benefits including supporting lean muscle mass. In a recent study published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, whey protein was compared with a casein protein hydrolysate (which contains about 20 % glutamine peptides) and a hypocaloric diet with
Most of us know that quality nutrition and supplementation is the key to achieving athletic and physique success. It is important to eat 5-7 small meals daily to increase nutrient absorption, enhance metabolic rate, and help stabilize blood sugar (and insulin) levels. High protein meal replacement bars allow you to get all your meals in a convenient and generally tasty manner (I sure don't have the time to cook 6 food meals daily!). They help improve overall nutrition and give you key nutrients your body needs to improve health and physical performance.
Protein bars usually contain protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, and additional functional ingredients. High protein/moderate to high carb bars are best suited for athletes and workout fanatics looking to get quality protein and carbs for increased energy. They are excellent for after a workout to enhance recovery and recuperation and enhance carbohydrate storage (glycogen) in muscle tissue.
Most protein bars usually start out with a "proprietary protein blend". Some bars may have only one protein source such as whey protein isolate but it is preferred to get a protein blend to utilize all the functional benefits of different proteins and help support lean muscle mass. Quality whey protein isolate has benefits including providing intact immunoglobulins to support immune function, providing the highest concentration of BCAA's (branched chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine which play a key role in the muscle building process-about 25%), it has a high biological value (BV) which means it is readily absorbed and utilized by human muscle tissue, and it may even support IGF-1 levels.
It is very important to look at the processing techniques of different whey proteins. The processing will determine whether the important protein microfractions (the compounds that give whey its functional benefits) are still intact and not. Look for ion exchange whey isolate. The ion-exchange process separates proteins based on their electric charge, which is controlled using various chemicals. Two other good choices are "ultrafiltered" or "cross flow microfiltered" whey. Both processes use a very high tech cold microfiltration process that utilizes ceramic filters to remove the fat and lactose thus separating out or "isolating" the protein without damaging it. Whey protein concentrate is a less processed and consequently less expensive form of whey protein. Whey protein concentrate is not as pure as whey isolate in that some fat, lactose and minerals are still left in the protein.
Casein is another milk protein that seems to have a timed-release effect as it forms a gel in the gut to slow the transit time of amino acids. This effect may enhance absorption. It has a very high natural glutamine content. Most of the glutamine in casein is found in the peptide form for better absorption (due to peptide transport systems in the digestive tract). Glutamine is a very important amino acid that has many benefits including supporting lean muscle mass. In a recent study published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, whey protein was compared with a casein protein hydrolysate (which contains about 20 % glutamine peptides) and a hypocaloric diet with
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Aromasin
Anabolic Steroids Profile Aromasin Exemestane Aromasin (Exemestane) is a steroidal suicide aromatase inhibitor, which means that it lowers estrogen production in the body by blocking the aromatase enzyme, the enzyme responsible for estrogen synthesization. (1)(2)(3) This stuff was developed to fight breast cancer in post-menopausal women, who need a particularly aggressive therapy, and for whom first line defenses such as SERMS (Tamoxifen) have not worked. This should be our first clue in inferring that this stuff is pretty strong, or at least stronger than some of the other compounds which are used to fight breast cancer. Aromasin and Side Effects Aromasin averages an 85% rate of estrogen suppression (4), so it´s clearly a very effective agent for bodybuilders and other athletes wanting to avoid estrogen related side effects such as gyno, acne, or water-retention brought on by aromatizing steroids. Specifically, Exemestane dose this by selectively inhibiting aromatase activity in a time-dependent and irreversible manner (hence the "suicidal" portion of it´s name, I guess).(7) As with most of the compounds in this class, it also causes a reasonable rise in testosterone levels (6), and as you may have guessed, this rise in testosterone means that Exemestane can also cause androgenic sides(8)(9)(10). As you can see from the chart below, exemestane is very effective at both lowering estrogen (estradiol) and raising testosterone: FIG. 1. Estrogen and androgen plasma levels after 10 d of daily exemestane (25 or 50 mg) in healthy young males (mean ± SD; n = 9-11). To convert to Systeme International units: estradiol, picomoles per liter (x3.671); estrone, picomoles per liter (x3.699); androstenedione, nanomoles per liter (*0.003492); and testosterone, nanomoles per liter (x0.03467). (13) So we can see that 25mgs is a very effective dose from that chart, right? As an added benefit, exemestane not only increases testosterone and lowers estrogen, but it also increases IGF levels (11).Additionally Worth noting is that Aromasin may possibly be less harsh on blood lipids (14)than some of the other (similar) compounds we use in the world of bodybuilding or athletics (other AI´s). It also has, at best no effect on IGF, and at worst could lower (13) it. AI´s are very tricky with regards to inconsistencies in IGF levels. Unfortunately, you need to take Exemestane for a week to reach steady blood plasma levels of it, and exemestane has a ½ life of 27 hours (12.). The ability of exemestane to lower estrogen levels by the aforementioned 85% makes it a very nice choice for use in any cycle where aromatizing steroids are used. In addition, since it´s not too harsh at all on blood lipid profiles, it´s a very good choice for longer cycles. It´s ability to raise both testosterone levels also seem to suggest that it would be a very nice addition to a Post-Cycle-Therapy (PCT).
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
DNP (2,4-Dinitrophenol)
DNP (2,4-Dinitrophenol), an industrial chemical with various applications, has gained steady popularity as a fat loss tool. Boasting an astounding 50% increase in metabolic rate, it is able to contribute to reported fat losses of 10-12 pounds in 8 days of use. Classified as an "uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation" medically, it is quite dangerous as there is no negative feedback system that may deal with overdoses. Specifically, there is no upper limit to the increase in body temperature that may be obtained with its use. Introduction/History Competitive bodybuilders and many others are continually on a quest for leanness. Used by the hardcore since Dan Duchaine's reporting of it a couple years ago, DNP (2,4-Dinitrophenol) has managed to steadily gain popularity as a powerful tool for weight loss. Interestingly, DNP was first used to ignite TNT in the early 1900’s. In 1931 a study released by Stanford University declared that DNP was able to cause amazing weight loss; subsequently it found its way into many diet potions and medications; regulation was much less strict during this time than the present, and many of these products were available over the counter. Two years later DNP was banned by the FDA as a dieting agent due to its inclusion in many OTC dietary supplements. The FDA was a new organization at this time and acted in a rather brazen manner, with the absence of any set procedures for taking substances off the market. Granted, there was only a 1% incidence of cataracts over a large population (around 100,000); nonetheless it happened (although interestingly, exclusively women). However, there are now ways to counter this which will be covered thoroughly. The comparisons to the current drugs used for dieting are astounding, at least in terms of thermogenesis. While the ECA stack has been shown to provide approximately a 3% increase in metabolic rate, DNP can deliver a relatively controlled 50% elevation in resting metabolic rate. The thermogenic aspect of clenbuterol, while sometimes overestimated due to the high CNS stimulation that yields a "wired" feeling, can vary according to prior exposure to various amphetamine-like compounds and certainly is not much greater than that of ECA. DNP does not have the anorectic effects of ephedrine or other thermogenic agents; rather, it tends to increase hunger, particularly appetite for carbohydrates. This problem is easily solved with appetite suppressants, and one may even use ECA itself for this purpose while on DNP. Molecular Basis for Efficacy DNP accomplishes the astounding boost in metabolic rate via inhibition of the F0F1 ATP synthase molecule, located in the inner wall of each mitochondrion. While the electron transport chain still functions to pump hydrogen ions into the intermembrane space, the coupling of the proton gradient to ATP production is rendered impossible by DNP. As a result, ATP production is dramatically reduced, and the energy is instead thrown off as heat. This results in an astounding production of heat; when using dinitrophenol, the athlete will radiate so much heat that it is uncomfortable to be within any proximity of them. Luckily, this heat does not fully contribute to body temperature increases, and is instead thrown off from the entire body surface, particularly the head. As a result, adequate doses of DNP will usually only elevate body temperature by about 1-1.5ºC. This is a good thing for your central nervous system and other delicate tissues; if the heat produced by ATP contributed in a more direct matter to body temperature, effective doses for fat loss would cause supraphysiological body temperature increases on a level unwitnessed at this time. Nonetheless, overheating is a very real danger; this and other side effects shall now be addressed. Risks/Side Effects Hearing all of these wonderful things probably has you wondering what the side effects and risks are. They are quite formidable and contribute to making DNP one of the most intolerable (though effective) drugs used in bodybuilding. Starting with the most significant, and descending in importance, are the following risks and side effects of DNP use. Risks: Overheating - There is no upper limit to DNP's body temperature increase, meaning that one may literally "cook from the inside" if they take too much. Dosage considerations will be given later, but even an overdose of 4-6 times the recommended dosage may be lethal. Much smaller overdoses may result in damage to the brain and/or other body systems. Carcinogenesis - Phenols in general are reputed to be carcinogenic. Although 2,4-dinitrophenol has never been implicated in a cancer diagnosis, some are nonetheless concerned, and understandably so. In addition to the inherent carcinogenic potential caused by its status as a phenol, production of free radicals and the release of various compounds stored in adipose tissue stores during DNP's rapid oxidation of fat may also potentially be harmful. Death - This is self-explanatory and has occurred with several bodybuilders who chose to use this compound. Side Effects: Discomfort and sweating - This is the single most noticeable effect of DNP use, both by the user and those around him/her. Even in the winter, while indoors at ambient temperatures, one may expect his or her shirt to be completely soaked through with sweat. Those with jobs requiring formal or semi-formal apparel are advised to consider other means of fat loss (or a new job, if preferred). Other obvious considerations lie in the areas of social life, personal appearance, etc. and the user must prioritize. Insomnia - Second in frequency of reports to sweating and discomfort is insomnia; this may be at least partially attributed to discomfort. Possible means of countering this include such supplements as Valerian root or melatonin. Alternatively, one may deal with this via prescription or OTC sleep medications or GHB-A precursors. However, these may be addictive if used on a regular basis and if their use may be avoided, by all means abstain from using them. Yellow bodily fluids - Some don't notice this, but others find that all of their bodily fluids take on a yellowish appearance. Urine is a darker yellow, and even semen and vaginal secretions may be affected. According to current knowledge, this is not known to be harmful in and of itself. Muscle Soreness - This is yet another thing that may be minimized via cerebral function. Dan Duchaine has recommended using a weight such as to allow no fewer than 15 reps per set of any weight training workout; judging from anecdotal reports and personal experience, this seems to be good advice. Low levels of ATP are a cause of muscle soreness in and of itself; the additional factor of encumbered recovery mechanisms make extreme soreness (and if not careful, catabolism) quite possible. Allergic Reactions – These are highly individualized but may be summarily discussed. Various reactions are common with DNP use, and approximately 10% of users will be extremely allergic to it. Allergic reactions can include hives, blisters, and/or inexplicable rashes. If you suffer any of these side effects, and they are extremely bothersome, it is the recommendation of the author to cease usage immediately. If so desired, another trial may be made at a later date with a lower dosage, but do not attempt to continue the drug cycle at that point. Carbohydrate Cravings - To counter this, some methods will be touched on later. As with most diets, willpower is sometimes the single most important factor. Obtaining DNP and Making Capsules If, given these considerations, you still are ready to take the plunge and use DNP, you will need to learn how to obtain and/or make your own capsules. DNP is shipped industrially in large metal tins holding a glass jar containing the wet DNP, which is wetted with enough water to total 15-35% of total mass to prevent explosion while in transit. Ample cushioning material around the glass jar is included to further prevent ignition of DNP (it is highly flammable) and the obvious possibility of breaking the jar. Chemical sellers will not sell this chemical to individuals or any other entity without an account. However, if you are resourceful enough to get some, the following are instructions on how to properly prepare capsules. Extreme caution is necessary when making the caps. DNP is bright yellow and will even go through gloves. This stain will not go away for up to 2 weeks. If it does get on your hands or other parts of yoru house, you can usually get it off with 2(3H) Furanone dinitro (butyrolactone). It usually will come out of clothes with laundering. Care is of the utmost importance when measuring out the amount one would need. Dan recommends 5 to 8 mg/kg bodyweight in Dirty Dieting #0, assuming that the person is under 15% BF. He subsequently told me that he was really suffering on 6-8 mg/kg, and that is excessive in his opinion. Note that the calculation is bodyweight, not lean body mass. With the exception of obese persons, this method is sufficiently accurate. Obtain a reliable scale, a Cap M. Quik device, and some size "O" caps ($60-$200 minimum, approximately $10, and $2 respectively). Corn starch, available at the grocery, is also needed. Since DNP ships at about either 15% or 35% water by weight, it is necessary to dry out the material overnight before attempting to deal with it. No matter how dry it looks, this step is absolutely necessary for accurate dosing. The next day, mix 15 grams DNP with 10 grams corn starch, and pound it into a fine powder. Spread resulting mixture into the Cap M. Quik, finish the capping process, and you have 50 caps of 300mg potency. Repeat as above with 10 g DNP and 15 g corn starch in order to make 50 caps of 200mg each, or with 12.5g DNP and 12.5g corn starch to make the same number of 250mg caps. Bear in mind that the preparation process, in the absence of a laboratory equipped with a chemical hood, will destroy the immediate area. It gets in the air, and fine particles will stain everything. Wear clothes that are dispensable, at least 2 pairs of gloves, and a fume mask. Preferably, do this outside on an extremely calm day, or alternatively, place protective covering everything in sight if it is necessary to perform the encapsulation indoors. Timetable of Effects and Symptoms The following table describes the condition most users will find themselves in during a typical DNP cycle; it is by no means complete and mainly intended to drive home that users typically look at their best 3-5 days following cessation of DNP use. Day(s) Effects 1 None; possibly elevated carbohydrate cravings and/or temperature elevation. 2 T4-T3 conversion has begun to decrease; lethargy possible. Temperature should be elevated, and radiation of heat is noticeable. 3-5 Body temperature is elevated, with all the effects that one expects from DNP use. In addition, water retention usually becomes manifest here. 6-8 Definite water retention, along with other symptoms of use; user most likely feels fatter due to having "flatter" muscles (mainly the result of glycogen depletion) and holding water. Final DNP dose taken in the evening of Day 8. 9-10 DNP is clearing the system slowly. All symptoms are still present. 11-12 Water should be gone by now, or getting there. Mild diuretics will expedite this. The user will probably notice perceived greater cardiovascular and muscular endurance. 13-14 This is when someone tends to look their best. Their glycogen stores are usually compensated at this point and the retained water should be gone. Dosing Schedule As touched on previously, getting the right dosage of DNP is rather easy to do although the importance of proper dosage cannot be overstated. It is far better for one to err on the side of too little rather than too much, certainly in the case of the novice who does not know if they are allergic to the substance. As stated before, the commonly used dosage by bodybuilders and other reasonably lean persons is 3-5mg/kg of bodyweight. This would mean that a 100-kilogram bodybuilder would use anywhere from 300-500mg per day. Experienced users commonly are found using up to 800mg/day relatively safely, and beginners sometimes find that they enjoy 3-5 pounds of fat loss per week with as little as 200mg/day. Dosing is highly individualized and most generalizations tend to collapse quite quickly; as a result, none will be attempted. Start on the low end of the scale and see how you react. It is not recommended to take more than 300mg at any one time; a larger man taking 600mg per day should divide the dose into a 5:00PM portion and another portion taken approximately 30 minutes before bedtime. Someone taking 300mg/day could easily take one dose in the evening. The typical cycling program is to do 7 or 8 days on, followed by 7 or 8 off; this should not decrease thyroid output dramatically and makes use of T3 (triiodothyronine, brand name Cytomel) unnecessary in most cases. T4-T3 conversion does decrease dramatically in the liver due to excessive heat; this begins within 24 hours of the first dose. However, there is usually adequate active thyroid hormone to make it through 8 days of using it while maintaining elevated body temperature. After approximately 3-5 days, the user may find themselves with a waking temperature that is no longer elevated, even though they are still using DNP. This is due to the decrease in T3 and may signal the necessity of either the use of exogenous T3 in subsequent cycles or shorter cycles of the drug. In addition, the schedule given works nicely because the user is able to enjoy the anabolic rebound effect on a relatively regular basis. Also, longer cycles might leave the muscle fibers in a state of relative dehydration and "starved" of ATP for too long; both of these readily contribute to catabolism. Supplementation While using DNP, supplements can greatly aid both in the effectiveness of the therapy and the comfort of the user. Of particular importance are antioxidants and the following quantities are recommended: Magnesium (1500mg)* Vitamin C (3000mg in divided doses)* Vitamin E (1200 IU in divided doses)* Glutathione (200mg in divided doses)***) NAC (various amounts)** T3 (dose according to personal preference)** Calcium (2000mg not taken with the Magnesium) 5-HTP (if not on antidepressant medication) (various amounts)**** Meridia, Redux, or Fenfluramine (various amounts)**** Hydroxycitric Acid (particularly in the evenings to curb cravings)**** Pyruvate (2-6g/day in divided doses) Glycerol (3 tbsp/day in divided doses) Alpha-Lipoic Acid (500-1000mg daily in divided doses) Key: * = Integral component of DNP program** = Of questionable (although possible) importance)*** = Of particular importance to women for prevention of cataracts**** = For the purpose of appetite suppression (may not be needed) Practical Considerations Given all of this information, there are nonetheless more things to know before you undertake your first DNP cycle. The following tips and tricks gathered from personal experience and consultations with users are presented for your aid: Aim a fan at your head at night. Your head is the most precious thing on your body and is a prime site for heat loss. Any air flowing over it will aid in cooling via convection. Wash your bedding daily. It is a good idea to have some spare pillowcases on hand, if nothing else. Most likely, you will be sweating profusely while you sleep, and this will make your bed smell as enticing as a locker room. Cleanliness is also essential in the prevention of disease, not to mention the fact that you are breathing out DNP "fumes" all night and they collect on your bedding. Prevention of disease goes beyond washing your clothes, and includes all of the normal precautions that you would make to avoid infection, although in a more exaggerated way. DNP depletes your body of energy needed to battle pathogens and weakens your immune system, leaving you ripe for infection and incapable of fighting off most diseases once they have taken hold. This is rather intuitive, but be certain to wear loose, light clothing, preferably of a light color. Similarly intuitive is the desire to remain in a cool area … be CERTAIN not to overheat. Proper hydration is necessary – I have personally consumed up to 8 liters of water per day. Glycerol specifically aids in muscle hydration, so its use may be very important, particularly when considering that muscle cells in even a semi-dehydrated state are prime sites for catabolism. Cardiovascular work while on DNP – This is a strange issue that I have been asked about regularly, but am undecided in the direction to take and generally recommend that the user decide for themselves. My personal preference is to do cardio with a fan focused on me for 30-35 minutes at a relatively high intensity. This is an area for personal preference; barring other considerations, just see if you can handle it or not and go from there. Always be ready to stop if you feel yourself getting extremely overheated or weak. Diet - One may wonder why this issue receives such limited attention; after all, most methods of fat loss require a restrictive diet of some nature. However, there is no set diet that one must use to achieve good results with dinitrophenol, only certain factors that allow the user to decide intelligently how to eat: Insulin - DNP blunts the effects of insulin; this is a huge boon for dieters because insulin blocks lipolysis and causes the storage of adipose tissue. This means that carbohydrate intake does not need to be strictly limited, although it should stay reasonable for optimal results. Body Temperature and Comfort - A general guideline is that the more carbohydrates eaten, the hotter the user will get while on DNP. Similarly, overfeeding also produces extreme heat; any excess calories are thrown off as heat quite readily. For this reason, along with certain hormonal factors, Duchaine espouses an Isometric diet while on DNP, and I have followed this personally with good results. CKD's - These are extremely impractical while on a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD), and are especially dangerous. This brings up blood glucose considerations; it is important to try to maintain relatively stable, or at least not severely depressed, blood glucose levels. If this guideline is not followed, the user may experience blurred vision and/or extreme fatigue possibly augmented by fainting or lightheadedness. Anabolic rebound effect – I still remember the first time I spoke to Dan Duchaine regarding DNP, and he told me about what, at the time, seemed impossible. But I have experienced this phenomenon, and it indeed happens. Possible causes include, but are not limited to, either an anabolic effect from glycogen supercompensation-induced cellular expansion, or due to increased mitochondrial density. Increased mitochondrial density is an adaptive mechanism of the body and takes place surprisingly quickly in the presence of an uncoupler such as DNP (or anything else that inhibits oxidative phosphorylation). Whatever the mechanism of the anabolic rebound effect may be, the user can expect to gain about 5-7 pounds of intramuscular water or muscle and lose about the same amount of subcutaneous and intraperitoneal water within a week after their last DNP dose. This is probably the most pleasant aspect of using DNP; the user not only experiences unrivaled fat loss, but also enjoys a fair amount of hypertrophy without any other supplements or drugs. Muscle retention, and possibly gain, is improved with careful attention to several previously discussed considerations such as proper hydration and intelligent cycling. Conclusion Currently, DNP is the most powerful weapon against fat loss in the bodybuilder's arsenal; however, this does not necessarily mean that it is right for everyone or is by any means safe. The possibility also exists that PGF2 may be better for some people, particularly when taking the fact that it may kill fat cells into consideration. However, the guidelines given here will allow the user unrivaled fat loss, and will do so quite safely provided that precautionary measures are taken. While certainly quite dangerous, it is nonetheless the most effective tool available today for the loss of bodyfat.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Hardcore Bulking (bodybuilding)
Hardcore Bulking
Off season is a bodybuilders favorite time of year and the favorite words whispered after a recent contest. So the time is here, what are you going to do about it?
First step is to determine what you want to do and set some goals. You cannot achieve anything without a plan. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. So let’s set some clear cut goals. You are going to need all the tools at your disposal before you begin. You are going to work on written goals, nutrition, training, and finally the hardcore cycle.
Write down your goals. Have everything written down and in plain sight as a reminder of what you are trying to achieve. So write down your target weight, your training days, your daily calorie goals, your cycle, etc. Keep a master log book of everything you are trying to do. Like I stated, you must plan for success.
First thing is to determine your target weight and body fat goals. Don’t be overly concerned with fat. This is, after all, the off-season, but there is no need to go above 13-14%. At that point you can still see some abs if you flex them hard enough and you will have acquired the mass point necessary for massive gains. Picking a target weight is very dependent on your level of experience. Since this series of articles is targeted primarily at advanced lifters, I recommend trying to achieve 20lbs of pure mass; some fat, mostly muscle.
So now that you know you are trying to get another 20lbs of size, how do you go about doing this? First and foremost is diet. You cannot make gains if you are not feeding yourself at the goal you want to achieve. So since you know you are trying to get 20lbs, you are going to eat as if you you’re already at that weight. The best way to achieve this is to take in a total daily calorie intake of 30 kcals per pound of bodyweight for ectomorphs, 25 kcals for mesomorphs, and 20 for endomorphs. So for the 230lb average size ecto/meso bodybuilder, he is going to need to eat almost 7500 cals per day. Sounds incredible, I know, but it can be done quite easily. During the off-season you will eat calorie dense foods, some fast food, and some bulking shakes.
I am not going to outline an exact diet for you, but I will give some general guidelines that I highly recommend. Variety is very important in bulking, eating the same foods over and over is boring and there is no reason to. Save the tuna and rice for show time; you can get very creative when bulking and actually enjoy eating. So let’s look at some calorie dense foods that fall in the category of bulking and are acceptable bodybuilding foods.
I love cheese when bulking it is high in protein, goes on everything and it is a very easy way to add calories to every meal. I don’t mean Velveeta or cheese in a can here; I am talking about quality cheese, like Tillamook extra sharp. My other favorite is milk. I love milk with every meal and protein shake when bulking. Oh, and don’t forget my extra special, super bulking treat……natural peanut butter. Tons of calories, high in complete chain protein and essential fatty acids.
So now you have my favorites, let’s go shopping. Grab a pen and paper and write down a shopping list. Don’t just go in the store and wing it. Remember earlier I stated you are going to write everything down. This includes shopping. You write down your weekly shopping list, your training schedule, your cycles and your goals. So back to shopping, you are going to need a lot of food to get to 7500 cals per day. Here are my shopping list recommendations:
Breakfast ideas:7-10% lean ground beefHoney Nut Cheerios cerealOatmealBagelsWhole eggsCheeseBananas
Lunch ideas:TortillasGround beefSalsaCheeseBreadWhite rice Dinner ideas:FishBroccoliWhite riceGround beefBell peppersPotatoesSteak
Snack ideas:Roast beefBeef jerkeyNatural peanut butterGraham crackersString cheese
Now remember, I am not going to set up a diet for you, just give you some ideas of my favorite calorie dense foods. It is up to you to plan some meals and make sure to eat 5-6 meals per day. I don’t see a need to eat more than that because you are not trying to speed up your metabolism; you are trying to slow it down by eating more food at each meal and eating less often. I am a huge proponent of high calorie shakes during the off-season. I personally belong to Muscle Milk anonymous! All kidding aside, they have the most incredible flavors and are highly addictive. Instead of the usual 2 scoops, I use 4 scoops in 16oz 2% milk for a 900+ calorie shake. I have two of those per day, plus my 3 solid meals and then my night time snack.
My favorite night time bulking snack is 4 graham crackers spread with tons of natural peanut butter and then made into two sandwiches, 2 string cheese and a huge glass of milk. It is totally yummy, and I highly recommend it. You probably won’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night. The peanut butter will hold you over until you get up for breakfast.
People are always highly concerned about percentages of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. I am not so concerned, so long as I am getting 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight that I want to be, the rest will just naturally be carbs and fat. So for our hypothetical diet of 7500 calories per day to get to 250lbs, I need 500 grams of protein, which is 2000 calories of protein. That still leaves me 5500 calories of fat and carbs to enjoy. You must eat protein first in every meal, if you are going to get full while eating, it better be on protein and not anything else. It is always easy to squeeze in extra carbs, and needless to say, fat is too easy.
So for our 6 meals, of which 2 are already Muscle Milk and have 170 grams of protein, you don’t have far to go. The next 4 meals just have to have about 80 grams per meal. One glass of milk at each meal is 10 grams, so now you have just 70 grams. See how easy this is? Carbs add up real fast, especially with dense foods like cereal, bread, bagels, and rice / pasta.
Now you are beginning to see how easy bulking while eating clean is. A couple of days per week, I recommend you head over to McDonalds and get 2 or 3 Big Macs or double cheese burgers. Go to In and Out, Burger King, or whatever your favorite is, and do a major feast. You can easily get in 3000 cals in one sitting with 3 Big Macs, a large fry, and a shake. So if you do that 2 times per week, you are going to have two days of about 10,000 cals per day, something that is really going to help with the metabolism and bulking.We also need to address the very important issue of post-workout (pwo) nutrition. I cannot stress enough how important it is to consume the majority of your daily calories in the first 3 meals pwo on training days. The primary source of energy when training is the conversion of glycogenesis in the formation of glycogen from glucose. Glycogen is synthesized depending on the demand for glucose and ATP (energy). If both are present in relatively high amounts, then the excess of insulin promotes the glucose conversion into glycogen for storage in liver and muscle cells.
When you have completed a workout, your muscle cells are depleted of glycogen and it must be replenished as quickly as possible to promote recovery, and cell repair. Protein cannot be utilized for cell repair if we don’t first address the depletion of glycogen. The best way to replenish depleted glycogen stores is to use a very high glycemic carbohydrate in conjunction with a rapid and easily digested protein to shuttle into the cell for repair.
I personally use a custom made shake that costs me literally pennies to consume. I shop at the local beer brewer’s store and purchase bags of pure glucose or dextrose which they use for home beer brewing. I mix 40 grams of glucose with 16oz (84g) of grape juice and 3 scoops (66g) Nectar whey protein. Nectar is an ultra high quality, flavored whey isolate. This is one of the fastest digested proteins on the market, so in conjunction with my high glycemic pure glucose and grape juice, I have just made a super high quality, muscle repairing shake that costs literally nothing to make. I also recommend you throw in 10 grams of creatine and 10 grams of glutamine at this time. Your muscles are sponge’s pwo and this is the optimal time to feed them and prepare the tissue to utilize the nutrition for primary protein absorbtion instead of feeding the intestinal tract, a primary scavenger of ingested proteins, especially glutamine.
Your next two meals of extremely important because you are still within the so called “window of opportunity” for muscle repair with nutrition. Your pwo shake should not leave you feeling full for long; it is easily digested and is intended to be so. You are going to want to eat again one hour after you drink your shake. At this time, you still want an easily digested, low fat protein but you should move into moderate glycemic carbs as we are still “filling the tank” so to speak but no longer need fast carbs as most of our glycogen was replenished with the glucose.
This meal should be preferably a light, white fish, or chicken breast. I consume mahi-mahi, tuna, or chicken with broccoli and rice or a baked potato. Eat a large portion of protein, the carbs are just a means to an end to shuttle the protein, so fill up with protein first, then eat your carbs to shuttle the amino acid chain into muscle cells.
Our third and final pwo meal of importance while bulking will finally include some essential fatty acids which are also necessary for tissue repair, primarily tendon and ligament tissues. So now we get to really consume the calories and have fun with this meal. I like to eat 8-10 whole eggs, avocado, 6 pancakes, bacon and a glass of orange juice. Another favorite is 1lb lean ground beef in tortilla shells with avocado, salsa, cheese, a baked potato or rice and some milk.
So there you have the three most important meals of your day on training days. It is critical to watch your nutrition at this time, especially since you are trying to repair damaged muscle tissue, replenish glycogen stores, repair connective tissue, and cells. I cannot stress enough how important it is to eat, your body is willing and able to consume massive amounts of calories pwo without spilling into excess body fat storage.
Another critical issue we need to address is the use of insulin and nutrition pwo. The three meals I have outlined fall well within the acceptable specs for humalog use, not humulin-r so that cover pwo nutrition. I will cover the use of R in later articles, as well as proper eating if you choose to use it. For now just use 10-12iu humalog pwo only following the former meal guidelines and you will be utilizing proper protocol and nutrition to maximize your growth.
As stated, look for a future article on insulin use and proper nutrition with it for maximum off season bulking. Insulin is going to be one the greatest products we can use when bulking, especially since you really can’t go hypo if you are going to be eating that many calories each day. We will address multiple use per day on training days to maximize your gains, especially how to super-charge your diet.
I have said it before and I will say it a million more times until you get it through your thick heads. Without nutrition, no gains are possible. Bulking or dieting, it doesn’t matter what your goals are, nutrition is about 80% of our battle. Training and drugs are a means to an end. I can entirely change my physique from fat to lean, from thin to bulk all with diet manipulation. Try doing that with just training and a cycle but only eating 2 or 3 meals per day. Nutrition is your greatest anabolic agent, everything else is just the icing on the cake.
In the next installment of this series we are going to tackle hardcore training principles and eventually what you are all dying to know, the hardcore bulking cycle. For now, read and re-read the information presented before you. Learn to eat right and you can easily put on another 10lbs without even touching a weight or sticking a needle in your glute.
Off season is a bodybuilders favorite time of year and the favorite words whispered after a recent contest. So the time is here, what are you going to do about it?
First step is to determine what you want to do and set some goals. You cannot achieve anything without a plan. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. So let’s set some clear cut goals. You are going to need all the tools at your disposal before you begin. You are going to work on written goals, nutrition, training, and finally the hardcore cycle.
Write down your goals. Have everything written down and in plain sight as a reminder of what you are trying to achieve. So write down your target weight, your training days, your daily calorie goals, your cycle, etc. Keep a master log book of everything you are trying to do. Like I stated, you must plan for success.
First thing is to determine your target weight and body fat goals. Don’t be overly concerned with fat. This is, after all, the off-season, but there is no need to go above 13-14%. At that point you can still see some abs if you flex them hard enough and you will have acquired the mass point necessary for massive gains. Picking a target weight is very dependent on your level of experience. Since this series of articles is targeted primarily at advanced lifters, I recommend trying to achieve 20lbs of pure mass; some fat, mostly muscle.
So now that you know you are trying to get another 20lbs of size, how do you go about doing this? First and foremost is diet. You cannot make gains if you are not feeding yourself at the goal you want to achieve. So since you know you are trying to get 20lbs, you are going to eat as if you you’re already at that weight. The best way to achieve this is to take in a total daily calorie intake of 30 kcals per pound of bodyweight for ectomorphs, 25 kcals for mesomorphs, and 20 for endomorphs. So for the 230lb average size ecto/meso bodybuilder, he is going to need to eat almost 7500 cals per day. Sounds incredible, I know, but it can be done quite easily. During the off-season you will eat calorie dense foods, some fast food, and some bulking shakes.
I am not going to outline an exact diet for you, but I will give some general guidelines that I highly recommend. Variety is very important in bulking, eating the same foods over and over is boring and there is no reason to. Save the tuna and rice for show time; you can get very creative when bulking and actually enjoy eating. So let’s look at some calorie dense foods that fall in the category of bulking and are acceptable bodybuilding foods.
I love cheese when bulking it is high in protein, goes on everything and it is a very easy way to add calories to every meal. I don’t mean Velveeta or cheese in a can here; I am talking about quality cheese, like Tillamook extra sharp. My other favorite is milk. I love milk with every meal and protein shake when bulking. Oh, and don’t forget my extra special, super bulking treat……natural peanut butter. Tons of calories, high in complete chain protein and essential fatty acids.
So now you have my favorites, let’s go shopping. Grab a pen and paper and write down a shopping list. Don’t just go in the store and wing it. Remember earlier I stated you are going to write everything down. This includes shopping. You write down your weekly shopping list, your training schedule, your cycles and your goals. So back to shopping, you are going to need a lot of food to get to 7500 cals per day. Here are my shopping list recommendations:
Breakfast ideas:7-10% lean ground beefHoney Nut Cheerios cerealOatmealBagelsWhole eggsCheeseBananas
Lunch ideas:TortillasGround beefSalsaCheeseBreadWhite rice Dinner ideas:FishBroccoliWhite riceGround beefBell peppersPotatoesSteak
Snack ideas:Roast beefBeef jerkeyNatural peanut butterGraham crackersString cheese
Now remember, I am not going to set up a diet for you, just give you some ideas of my favorite calorie dense foods. It is up to you to plan some meals and make sure to eat 5-6 meals per day. I don’t see a need to eat more than that because you are not trying to speed up your metabolism; you are trying to slow it down by eating more food at each meal and eating less often. I am a huge proponent of high calorie shakes during the off-season. I personally belong to Muscle Milk anonymous! All kidding aside, they have the most incredible flavors and are highly addictive. Instead of the usual 2 scoops, I use 4 scoops in 16oz 2% milk for a 900+ calorie shake. I have two of those per day, plus my 3 solid meals and then my night time snack.
My favorite night time bulking snack is 4 graham crackers spread with tons of natural peanut butter and then made into two sandwiches, 2 string cheese and a huge glass of milk. It is totally yummy, and I highly recommend it. You probably won’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night. The peanut butter will hold you over until you get up for breakfast.
People are always highly concerned about percentages of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. I am not so concerned, so long as I am getting 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight that I want to be, the rest will just naturally be carbs and fat. So for our hypothetical diet of 7500 calories per day to get to 250lbs, I need 500 grams of protein, which is 2000 calories of protein. That still leaves me 5500 calories of fat and carbs to enjoy. You must eat protein first in every meal, if you are going to get full while eating, it better be on protein and not anything else. It is always easy to squeeze in extra carbs, and needless to say, fat is too easy.
So for our 6 meals, of which 2 are already Muscle Milk and have 170 grams of protein, you don’t have far to go. The next 4 meals just have to have about 80 grams per meal. One glass of milk at each meal is 10 grams, so now you have just 70 grams. See how easy this is? Carbs add up real fast, especially with dense foods like cereal, bread, bagels, and rice / pasta.
Now you are beginning to see how easy bulking while eating clean is. A couple of days per week, I recommend you head over to McDonalds and get 2 or 3 Big Macs or double cheese burgers. Go to In and Out, Burger King, or whatever your favorite is, and do a major feast. You can easily get in 3000 cals in one sitting with 3 Big Macs, a large fry, and a shake. So if you do that 2 times per week, you are going to have two days of about 10,000 cals per day, something that is really going to help with the metabolism and bulking.We also need to address the very important issue of post-workout (pwo) nutrition. I cannot stress enough how important it is to consume the majority of your daily calories in the first 3 meals pwo on training days. The primary source of energy when training is the conversion of glycogenesis in the formation of glycogen from glucose. Glycogen is synthesized depending on the demand for glucose and ATP (energy). If both are present in relatively high amounts, then the excess of insulin promotes the glucose conversion into glycogen for storage in liver and muscle cells.
When you have completed a workout, your muscle cells are depleted of glycogen and it must be replenished as quickly as possible to promote recovery, and cell repair. Protein cannot be utilized for cell repair if we don’t first address the depletion of glycogen. The best way to replenish depleted glycogen stores is to use a very high glycemic carbohydrate in conjunction with a rapid and easily digested protein to shuttle into the cell for repair.
I personally use a custom made shake that costs me literally pennies to consume. I shop at the local beer brewer’s store and purchase bags of pure glucose or dextrose which they use for home beer brewing. I mix 40 grams of glucose with 16oz (84g) of grape juice and 3 scoops (66g) Nectar whey protein. Nectar is an ultra high quality, flavored whey isolate. This is one of the fastest digested proteins on the market, so in conjunction with my high glycemic pure glucose and grape juice, I have just made a super high quality, muscle repairing shake that costs literally nothing to make. I also recommend you throw in 10 grams of creatine and 10 grams of glutamine at this time. Your muscles are sponge’s pwo and this is the optimal time to feed them and prepare the tissue to utilize the nutrition for primary protein absorbtion instead of feeding the intestinal tract, a primary scavenger of ingested proteins, especially glutamine.
Your next two meals of extremely important because you are still within the so called “window of opportunity” for muscle repair with nutrition. Your pwo shake should not leave you feeling full for long; it is easily digested and is intended to be so. You are going to want to eat again one hour after you drink your shake. At this time, you still want an easily digested, low fat protein but you should move into moderate glycemic carbs as we are still “filling the tank” so to speak but no longer need fast carbs as most of our glycogen was replenished with the glucose.
This meal should be preferably a light, white fish, or chicken breast. I consume mahi-mahi, tuna, or chicken with broccoli and rice or a baked potato. Eat a large portion of protein, the carbs are just a means to an end to shuttle the protein, so fill up with protein first, then eat your carbs to shuttle the amino acid chain into muscle cells.
Our third and final pwo meal of importance while bulking will finally include some essential fatty acids which are also necessary for tissue repair, primarily tendon and ligament tissues. So now we get to really consume the calories and have fun with this meal. I like to eat 8-10 whole eggs, avocado, 6 pancakes, bacon and a glass of orange juice. Another favorite is 1lb lean ground beef in tortilla shells with avocado, salsa, cheese, a baked potato or rice and some milk.
So there you have the three most important meals of your day on training days. It is critical to watch your nutrition at this time, especially since you are trying to repair damaged muscle tissue, replenish glycogen stores, repair connective tissue, and cells. I cannot stress enough how important it is to eat, your body is willing and able to consume massive amounts of calories pwo without spilling into excess body fat storage.
Another critical issue we need to address is the use of insulin and nutrition pwo. The three meals I have outlined fall well within the acceptable specs for humalog use, not humulin-r so that cover pwo nutrition. I will cover the use of R in later articles, as well as proper eating if you choose to use it. For now just use 10-12iu humalog pwo only following the former meal guidelines and you will be utilizing proper protocol and nutrition to maximize your growth.
As stated, look for a future article on insulin use and proper nutrition with it for maximum off season bulking. Insulin is going to be one the greatest products we can use when bulking, especially since you really can’t go hypo if you are going to be eating that many calories each day. We will address multiple use per day on training days to maximize your gains, especially how to super-charge your diet.
I have said it before and I will say it a million more times until you get it through your thick heads. Without nutrition, no gains are possible. Bulking or dieting, it doesn’t matter what your goals are, nutrition is about 80% of our battle. Training and drugs are a means to an end. I can entirely change my physique from fat to lean, from thin to bulk all with diet manipulation. Try doing that with just training and a cycle but only eating 2 or 3 meals per day. Nutrition is your greatest anabolic agent, everything else is just the icing on the cake.
In the next installment of this series we are going to tackle hardcore training principles and eventually what you are all dying to know, the hardcore bulking cycle. For now, read and re-read the information presented before you. Learn to eat right and you can easily put on another 10lbs without even touching a weight or sticking a needle in your glute.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders
Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders
This article was featured in Flex Magazine, May 1995 issue. It was written by Bob Lefavi, and Timothy C. Fritz. Bob Lefavi, PhD, is an assistant professor in Georgia Southern University's graduate health science program, located at Armstrong State College, Savannah, Georgia. He was the 1990 IFBB North American bantamweight champ, and was runner up in the 1989 USA, and 1992 Nationals in that weight class. Timothy C. Fritz, B. Nutr. Sc., is a graduate research assistant in Georgia Southern University's exercise science program in Statesboro, Georgia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Metabolic Spark Plugs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the most confusing issues for any athlete is supplementation. What to take, how much, when to take it, blah, blah, blah. Figuring out a supplementation regimen can be so frustrating at times that it becomes easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees, to forget the purpose of supplementation and to overlook exactly what makes successful bodybuilding.
It's sometimes easy to forget that the cells in our bodies, particularly muscle cells, rely on certain biochemical reactions for proper metabolism, growth and maintenance. These reactions, in turn, depend upon specific vitamins to help catalyze, or facilitate, their actions.
Without these vitamins, nothing happens. Even if only one of these critical substances is deficient, a bodybuilder's progress can be stifled without warning. Virtually every energy production or muscle growth process we rely on so heavily (and that we sometimes take for granted) is dependent upon, in one way or another, a vitamin.
Making matters more critical is the fact that bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking vitamins because these nutrients don't supply energy like carbohydrates, proteins and fats do. But that doesn't mean they aren't important. Without vitamins, muscle mass would decay, bone density would deteriorate and all systems of the body would begin to fail.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin Variables
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamins can be divided into two broad categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K) are so named because they are stored in the body's fatty tissue and do not have to be replenished daily. But be careful: Because they are stored, overdoes of these vitamins can lead to toxicity.
The water-soluble vitamins (with the exception of vitamin C) are composed entirely of the B and B-complex vitamins, including Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), Folate, Cobalamin (B12), Biotin and Pantothenic Acid. Because these vitamins are water soluble and thus have difficulty entering fatty tissues, they aren't stored in the body and excessive amounts are excreted. And while this means toxicity is generally not a problem, these vitamins must be continually included in a bodybuilder's diet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions to Ask
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How important is it to know this stuff? Just ask any pro bodybuilder who must continually analyze his or her diet to ensure it contains these critical components. A bodybuilder, when considering how important a dietary vitamin is, asks at least one of the four following questions.
Is the vitamin directly involved in muscle action, protein synthesis or the integrity of muscle cells? Does exercise result in an increased requirement of the nutrient? Do athletes typically have suboptimal intakes of the vitamins? Does dietary supplementation with the vitamin improve performance and/or growth?
This is Flex Magazine's Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders, in reverse order.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although the functions of vitamin B12 are numerous, those important to bodybuilders include carbohydrate metabolism and maintenance of nervous system tissue (the spinal cord and nerves that carry signals from the brain to muscle tissues). Stimulation of muscles via nerves is a critical step in the contraction, coordination and growth of muscles.
Vitamin B12 is available only from foods of animal origin; therefore,it is very important for athletes following a strict vegetarian diet to consult a physician about vitamin B12 supplementation. In fact, B12 shots are popular with countless athletes, vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike, many of who swear it helps them perform better.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Biotin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although there's a limited amount of sports nutrition research on Biotin, it makes our top 10 list because it has critical functions in amino acid metabolism and the production of energy from many sources. It also may be one vitamin that some bodybuilders have trouble when attempting to maintain an adequate supply.
The reason bodybuilders may have difficulty with Biotin is because it can be blocked by a substance called Avidin. Avidin is found in raw egg whites, a staple for many athletes. In fact, bodybuilders who eat raw egg whites or who don't cook egg white well enough may experience growth problems with Biotin deficiency if their egg white consumption approaches 20 per day. Eating raw eggs can also lead to a bacterial infection called Salmonella, which can have severe health consequences.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riboflavin is involved in energy production in three areas: 1) Glucose metabolism, 2) Oxidation of fatty acids, and 3) The shuttling of hydrogen ions through the Krebs cycle. Of particular interest to bodybuilders, Riboflavin is somewhat related to protein metabolism. In fact, there is a strong relationship between lean body mass and dietary riboflavin.
One study by Belko and colleagues found that females needed higher than RDA levels of Riboflavin to return blood levels of Riboflavin to normal after exercise. Another study by Haralambie showed that Riboflavin supplementation improved muscular hyperexcitability (seen in trained athletes). This vitamin may prove to be especially important for athletes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Vitamin A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of us know that vitamin A helps with vision, but bodybuilders need to become familiar with its other benefits. First of all, vitamin A is important in the synthesis of protein, the chief process of muscle growth. Second, vitamin A is involved in the production of Glycogen, the body's storage form of energy for high intensity performance.
The problem with vitamin A status in bodybuilders is twofold. First, American diets are consistently measured to be low in vitamin A. Second, both strenuous physical activity (which disrupts the absorption of vitamin A) and a low fat diet (which renders vitamin A loss in feces) jeopardize the level of vitamin A in the body. So be especially careful of your vitamin A intake during contest preparation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Vitamin E
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, meaning it protects the cell's membranes. This is important because many of the metabolic processes that take place in the body, including the recuperation and growth of muscle cells, are dependent upon health cell membranes.
You've probably heard a lot about antioxidants in the news lately, and research continues to validate their importance. Specifically, antioxidants help to reduce the number of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are natural byproducts of cellular respiration, but accumulation of free radicals can lead to cellular changes and destruction (even cancer), rendering cells unable to adapt normally. This means a reduction in exercise induced processes in the cell such as repair and growth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Niacin (vitamin B3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This vitamin is involved in nearly 60 metabolic processes related to energy production and ranks high for bodybuilders by virtue of its critical importance in providing training fuel (no train, no gain)! The bad news is that high levels of Niacin have been found in the blood of athletes after exercise, suggesting that athletes may need more niacin than nonathletes. On the other hand, the good news is that even if a diet is low in Niacin, the body can make it from the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in abundance in turkey meat.
Bodybuilders are familiar with the form of Niacin known as nicotine acid, which causes vasodilation and may help a competitor look more vascular before going onstage. But this form of Niacin shouldn't be used during training; large doses of nicotinic acid (50 - 100 mg) significantly impairs the body's ability to mobilize and burn fat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Vitamin D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in the absorption of Calcium and Phosphorus. Calcium is necessary for muscular contraction. If adequate stores of Calcium are not available in the muscle, full, hard muscular contractions cannot be sustained. Of course, Calcium is also needed for the integrity of bones, which must support increased muscle tissue and provide an anchor during muscular contraction.
And don't forget about Phosphorus. Phosphorus helps provide quick, powerful muscular contractions, which comprise the majority of movements during weight training. Phosphorus is also required for the synthesis of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the high energy molecule used by your muscle cells during contraction.
This nutrient is high in the list since bodybuilders typically avoid the fat content, e.g., dairy foods. Look for vitamin D fortified foods and get in the habit of drinking at least one glass of low-fat or nonfat milk per day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Thiamine (vitamin B1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This B vitamin packs muscle! Thiamine is one of the vitamins required for protein metabolism and growth. It's also involved in the formation of hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body (especially working muscles). The transport of oxygen is critical to athletic performance and becomes even more important as intensity and duration of exercise increase.
Making matters more interesting, Thiamine, according to research, is one of the few vitamins that enhances performance when supplemented and is increasingly needed by athletes. Not only that, but Thiamine requirements appear to be directly related to caloric expenditure. The more exercise frequency, intensity and duration increase, the more Thiamine is needed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protein metabolism, growth and carbohydrate utilization are all made possible in part by the presence of vitamin B6. Like Thiamine, studies on Pyridoxine in athletic performance show a definite increased need for athletes and possible performance enhancement from supplementation.
The vitamin makes the number two spot for a very good reason: It's the only vitamin directly tied to protein intake. The more protein you eat, the more Pyridoxine you need. Of course, this, coupled with Pyridoxine's role in growth, had profound implications for bodybuilders, though it is generally not known or discussed in sports nutrition circles.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surprised? Most athletes don't realize how important vitamin C status is to success. As the most widely studied vitamin in sports nutrition, Ascorbic acid has proven itself to be valuable to bodybuilders in many ways.
First, vitamin C is an antioxidant, protecting muscle cells from free radical damage, thus enhancing recovery and growth.
Second, Ascorbic acid is also involved with amino acid metabolism, especially the formation of Collagen. Collagen is the primary constituent of connective tissue, the stuff that holds your bones and muscles together. This may not seem important, but as you lift heavier weights, the stress you put on your structure becomes tremendous. If your connective tissue is not as healthy and strong as it should be (a problem often seen in steroid users), risk of injury dramatically increases.
Third, vitamin C helps in the absorption of Iron. Iron is necessary to help Oxygen bind to hemoglobin in blood. Without adequate oxygen transportation in blood, muscles are robbed of precious oxygen and performance is greatly reduced.
Fourth, Ascorbic acid also assists in the formation and release of steroid hormones, including the anabolic hormone testosterone.
Finally, vitamin C is perhaps the most water soluble vitamin there is. In other words, it diffuses very rapidly in water. Since a muscle cell is mostly water, the more muscular an athlete becomes, the more vitamin C disperses and the lower the concentration of this critical substance becomes in body tissues. So vitamin C requirements are greatly increased for bodybuilders.
Bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking these key components of growth and performance. Do yourself a favor and analyze your diet to ensure you're taking in enough of the vitamins outlined above. Remember: You could have the best diet in the world in terms of calories, fat, etc, but if you're lacking adequate levels of these metabolic spark plugs, you're shooting yourself in the foot.
This article was featured in Flex Magazine, May 1995 issue. It was written by Bob Lefavi, and Timothy C. Fritz. Bob Lefavi, PhD, is an assistant professor in Georgia Southern University's graduate health science program, located at Armstrong State College, Savannah, Georgia. He was the 1990 IFBB North American bantamweight champ, and was runner up in the 1989 USA, and 1992 Nationals in that weight class. Timothy C. Fritz, B. Nutr. Sc., is a graduate research assistant in Georgia Southern University's exercise science program in Statesboro, Georgia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Metabolic Spark Plugs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the most confusing issues for any athlete is supplementation. What to take, how much, when to take it, blah, blah, blah. Figuring out a supplementation regimen can be so frustrating at times that it becomes easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees, to forget the purpose of supplementation and to overlook exactly what makes successful bodybuilding.
It's sometimes easy to forget that the cells in our bodies, particularly muscle cells, rely on certain biochemical reactions for proper metabolism, growth and maintenance. These reactions, in turn, depend upon specific vitamins to help catalyze, or facilitate, their actions.
Without these vitamins, nothing happens. Even if only one of these critical substances is deficient, a bodybuilder's progress can be stifled without warning. Virtually every energy production or muscle growth process we rely on so heavily (and that we sometimes take for granted) is dependent upon, in one way or another, a vitamin.
Making matters more critical is the fact that bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking vitamins because these nutrients don't supply energy like carbohydrates, proteins and fats do. But that doesn't mean they aren't important. Without vitamins, muscle mass would decay, bone density would deteriorate and all systems of the body would begin to fail.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin Variables
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamins can be divided into two broad categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K) are so named because they are stored in the body's fatty tissue and do not have to be replenished daily. But be careful: Because they are stored, overdoes of these vitamins can lead to toxicity.
The water-soluble vitamins (with the exception of vitamin C) are composed entirely of the B and B-complex vitamins, including Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), Folate, Cobalamin (B12), Biotin and Pantothenic Acid. Because these vitamins are water soluble and thus have difficulty entering fatty tissues, they aren't stored in the body and excessive amounts are excreted. And while this means toxicity is generally not a problem, these vitamins must be continually included in a bodybuilder's diet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions to Ask
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How important is it to know this stuff? Just ask any pro bodybuilder who must continually analyze his or her diet to ensure it contains these critical components. A bodybuilder, when considering how important a dietary vitamin is, asks at least one of the four following questions.
Is the vitamin directly involved in muscle action, protein synthesis or the integrity of muscle cells? Does exercise result in an increased requirement of the nutrient? Do athletes typically have suboptimal intakes of the vitamins? Does dietary supplementation with the vitamin improve performance and/or growth?
This is Flex Magazine's Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders, in reverse order.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although the functions of vitamin B12 are numerous, those important to bodybuilders include carbohydrate metabolism and maintenance of nervous system tissue (the spinal cord and nerves that carry signals from the brain to muscle tissues). Stimulation of muscles via nerves is a critical step in the contraction, coordination and growth of muscles.
Vitamin B12 is available only from foods of animal origin; therefore,it is very important for athletes following a strict vegetarian diet to consult a physician about vitamin B12 supplementation. In fact, B12 shots are popular with countless athletes, vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike, many of who swear it helps them perform better.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Biotin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although there's a limited amount of sports nutrition research on Biotin, it makes our top 10 list because it has critical functions in amino acid metabolism and the production of energy from many sources. It also may be one vitamin that some bodybuilders have trouble when attempting to maintain an adequate supply.
The reason bodybuilders may have difficulty with Biotin is because it can be blocked by a substance called Avidin. Avidin is found in raw egg whites, a staple for many athletes. In fact, bodybuilders who eat raw egg whites or who don't cook egg white well enough may experience growth problems with Biotin deficiency if their egg white consumption approaches 20 per day. Eating raw eggs can also lead to a bacterial infection called Salmonella, which can have severe health consequences.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riboflavin is involved in energy production in three areas: 1) Glucose metabolism, 2) Oxidation of fatty acids, and 3) The shuttling of hydrogen ions through the Krebs cycle. Of particular interest to bodybuilders, Riboflavin is somewhat related to protein metabolism. In fact, there is a strong relationship between lean body mass and dietary riboflavin.
One study by Belko and colleagues found that females needed higher than RDA levels of Riboflavin to return blood levels of Riboflavin to normal after exercise. Another study by Haralambie showed that Riboflavin supplementation improved muscular hyperexcitability (seen in trained athletes). This vitamin may prove to be especially important for athletes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Vitamin A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of us know that vitamin A helps with vision, but bodybuilders need to become familiar with its other benefits. First of all, vitamin A is important in the synthesis of protein, the chief process of muscle growth. Second, vitamin A is involved in the production of Glycogen, the body's storage form of energy for high intensity performance.
The problem with vitamin A status in bodybuilders is twofold. First, American diets are consistently measured to be low in vitamin A. Second, both strenuous physical activity (which disrupts the absorption of vitamin A) and a low fat diet (which renders vitamin A loss in feces) jeopardize the level of vitamin A in the body. So be especially careful of your vitamin A intake during contest preparation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Vitamin E
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, meaning it protects the cell's membranes. This is important because many of the metabolic processes that take place in the body, including the recuperation and growth of muscle cells, are dependent upon health cell membranes.
You've probably heard a lot about antioxidants in the news lately, and research continues to validate their importance. Specifically, antioxidants help to reduce the number of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are natural byproducts of cellular respiration, but accumulation of free radicals can lead to cellular changes and destruction (even cancer), rendering cells unable to adapt normally. This means a reduction in exercise induced processes in the cell such as repair and growth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Niacin (vitamin B3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This vitamin is involved in nearly 60 metabolic processes related to energy production and ranks high for bodybuilders by virtue of its critical importance in providing training fuel (no train, no gain)! The bad news is that high levels of Niacin have been found in the blood of athletes after exercise, suggesting that athletes may need more niacin than nonathletes. On the other hand, the good news is that even if a diet is low in Niacin, the body can make it from the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in abundance in turkey meat.
Bodybuilders are familiar with the form of Niacin known as nicotine acid, which causes vasodilation and may help a competitor look more vascular before going onstage. But this form of Niacin shouldn't be used during training; large doses of nicotinic acid (50 - 100 mg) significantly impairs the body's ability to mobilize and burn fat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Vitamin D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in the absorption of Calcium and Phosphorus. Calcium is necessary for muscular contraction. If adequate stores of Calcium are not available in the muscle, full, hard muscular contractions cannot be sustained. Of course, Calcium is also needed for the integrity of bones, which must support increased muscle tissue and provide an anchor during muscular contraction.
And don't forget about Phosphorus. Phosphorus helps provide quick, powerful muscular contractions, which comprise the majority of movements during weight training. Phosphorus is also required for the synthesis of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the high energy molecule used by your muscle cells during contraction.
This nutrient is high in the list since bodybuilders typically avoid the fat content, e.g., dairy foods. Look for vitamin D fortified foods and get in the habit of drinking at least one glass of low-fat or nonfat milk per day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Thiamine (vitamin B1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This B vitamin packs muscle! Thiamine is one of the vitamins required for protein metabolism and growth. It's also involved in the formation of hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body (especially working muscles). The transport of oxygen is critical to athletic performance and becomes even more important as intensity and duration of exercise increase.
Making matters more interesting, Thiamine, according to research, is one of the few vitamins that enhances performance when supplemented and is increasingly needed by athletes. Not only that, but Thiamine requirements appear to be directly related to caloric expenditure. The more exercise frequency, intensity and duration increase, the more Thiamine is needed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protein metabolism, growth and carbohydrate utilization are all made possible in part by the presence of vitamin B6. Like Thiamine, studies on Pyridoxine in athletic performance show a definite increased need for athletes and possible performance enhancement from supplementation.
The vitamin makes the number two spot for a very good reason: It's the only vitamin directly tied to protein intake. The more protein you eat, the more Pyridoxine you need. Of course, this, coupled with Pyridoxine's role in growth, had profound implications for bodybuilders, though it is generally not known or discussed in sports nutrition circles.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surprised? Most athletes don't realize how important vitamin C status is to success. As the most widely studied vitamin in sports nutrition, Ascorbic acid has proven itself to be valuable to bodybuilders in many ways.
First, vitamin C is an antioxidant, protecting muscle cells from free radical damage, thus enhancing recovery and growth.
Second, Ascorbic acid is also involved with amino acid metabolism, especially the formation of Collagen. Collagen is the primary constituent of connective tissue, the stuff that holds your bones and muscles together. This may not seem important, but as you lift heavier weights, the stress you put on your structure becomes tremendous. If your connective tissue is not as healthy and strong as it should be (a problem often seen in steroid users), risk of injury dramatically increases.
Third, vitamin C helps in the absorption of Iron. Iron is necessary to help Oxygen bind to hemoglobin in blood. Without adequate oxygen transportation in blood, muscles are robbed of precious oxygen and performance is greatly reduced.
Fourth, Ascorbic acid also assists in the formation and release of steroid hormones, including the anabolic hormone testosterone.
Finally, vitamin C is perhaps the most water soluble vitamin there is. In other words, it diffuses very rapidly in water. Since a muscle cell is mostly water, the more muscular an athlete becomes, the more vitamin C disperses and the lower the concentration of this critical substance becomes in body tissues. So vitamin C requirements are greatly increased for bodybuilders.
Bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking these key components of growth and performance. Do yourself a favor and analyze your diet to ensure you're taking in enough of the vitamins outlined above. Remember: You could have the best diet in the world in terms of calories, fat, etc, but if you're lacking adequate levels of these metabolic spark plugs, you're shooting yourself in the foot.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders
Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders
This article was featured in Flex Magazine, May 1995 issue. It was written by Bob Lefavi, and Timothy C. Fritz. Bob Lefavi, PhD, is an assistant professor in Georgia Southern University's graduate health science program, located at Armstrong State College, Savannah, Georgia. He was the 1990 IFBB North American bantamweight champ, and was runner up in the 1989 USA, and 1992 Nationals in that weight class. Timothy C. Fritz, B. Nutr. Sc., is a graduate research assistant in Georgia Southern University's exercise science program in Statesboro, Georgia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Metabolic Spark Plugs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the most confusing issues for any athlete is supplementation. What to take, how much, when to take it, blah, blah, blah. Figuring out a supplementation regimen can be so frustrating at times that it becomes easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees, to forget the purpose of supplementation and to overlook exactly what makes successful bodybuilding.
It's sometimes easy to forget that the cells in our bodies, particularly muscle cells, rely on certain biochemical reactions for proper metabolism, growth and maintenance. These reactions, in turn, depend upon specific vitamins to help catalyze, or facilitate, their actions.
Without these vitamins, nothing happens. Even if only one of these critical substances is deficient, a bodybuilder's progress can be stifled without warning. Virtually every energy production or muscle growth process we rely on so heavily (and that we sometimes take for granted) is dependent upon, in one way or another, a vitamin.
Making matters more critical is the fact that bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking vitamins because these nutrients don't supply energy like carbohydrates, proteins and fats do. But that doesn't mean they aren't important. Without vitamins, muscle mass would decay, bone density would deteriorate and all systems of the body would begin to fail.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin Variables
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamins can be divided into two broad categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K) are so named because they are stored in the body's fatty tissue and do not have to be replenished daily. But be careful: Because they are stored, overdoes of these vitamins can lead to toxicity.
The water-soluble vitamins (with the exception of vitamin C) are composed entirely of the B and B-complex vitamins, including Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), Folate, Cobalamin (B12), Biotin and Pantothenic Acid. Because these vitamins are water soluble and thus have difficulty entering fatty tissues, they aren't stored in the body and excessive amounts are excreted. And while this means toxicity is generally not a problem, these vitamins must be continually included in a bodybuilder's diet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions to Ask
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How important is it to know this stuff? Just ask any pro bodybuilder who must continually analyze his or her diet to ensure it contains these critical components. A bodybuilder, when considering how important a dietary vitamin is, asks at least one of the four following questions.
Is the vitamin directly involved in muscle action, protein synthesis or the integrity of muscle cells? Does exercise result in an increased requirement of the nutrient? Do athletes typically have suboptimal intakes of the vitamins? Does dietary supplementation with the vitamin improve performance and/or growth?
This is Flex Magazine's Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders, in reverse order.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although the functions of vitamin B12 are numerous, those important to bodybuilders include carbohydrate metabolism and maintenance of nervous system tissue (the spinal cord and nerves that carry signals from the brain to muscle tissues). Stimulation of muscles via nerves is a critical step in the contraction, coordination and growth of muscles.
Vitamin B12 is available only from foods of animal origin; therefore,it is very important for athletes following a strict vegetarian diet to consult a physician about vitamin B12 supplementation. In fact, B12 shots are popular with countless athletes, vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike, many of who swear it helps them perform better.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Biotin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although there's a limited amount of sports nutrition research on Biotin, it makes our top 10 list because it has critical functions in amino acid metabolism and the production of energy from many sources. It also may be one vitamin that some bodybuilders have trouble when attempting to maintain an adequate supply.
The reason bodybuilders may have difficulty with Biotin is because it can be blocked by a substance called Avidin. Avidin is found in raw egg whites, a staple for many athletes. In fact, bodybuilders who eat raw egg whites or who don't cook egg white well enough may experience growth problems with Biotin deficiency if their egg white consumption approaches 20 per day. Eating raw eggs can also lead to a bacterial infection called Salmonella, which can have severe health consequences.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riboflavin is involved in energy production in three areas: 1) Glucose metabolism, 2) Oxidation of fatty acids, and 3) The shuttling of hydrogen ions through the Krebs cycle. Of particular interest to bodybuilders, Riboflavin is somewhat related to protein metabolism. In fact, there is a strong relationship between lean body mass and dietary riboflavin.
One study by Belko and colleagues found that females needed higher than RDA levels of Riboflavin to return blood levels of Riboflavin to normal after exercise. Another study by Haralambie showed that Riboflavin supplementation improved muscular hyperexcitability (seen in trained athletes). This vitamin may prove to be especially important for athletes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Vitamin A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of us know that vitamin A helps with vision, but bodybuilders need to become familiar with its other benefits. First of all, vitamin A is important in the synthesis of protein, the chief process of muscle growth. Second, vitamin A is involved in the production of Glycogen, the body's storage form of energy for high intensity performance.
The problem with vitamin A status in bodybuilders is twofold. First, American diets are consistently measured to be low in vitamin A. Second, both strenuous physical activity (which disrupts the absorption of vitamin A) and a low fat diet (which renders vitamin A loss in feces) jeopardize the level of vitamin A in the body. So be especially careful of your vitamin A intake during contest preparation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Vitamin E
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, meaning it protects the cell's membranes. This is important because many of the metabolic processes that take place in the body, including the recuperation and growth of muscle cells, are dependent upon health cell membranes.
You've probably heard a lot about antioxidants in the news lately, and research continues to validate their importance. Specifically, antioxidants help to reduce the number of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are natural byproducts of cellular respiration, but accumulation of free radicals can lead to cellular changes and destruction (even cancer), rendering cells unable to adapt normally. This means a reduction in exercise induced processes in the cell such as repair and growth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Niacin (vitamin B3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This vitamin is involved in nearly 60 metabolic processes related to energy production and ranks high for bodybuilders by virtue of its critical importance in providing training fuel (no train, no gain)! The bad news is that high levels of Niacin have been found in the blood of athletes after exercise, suggesting that athletes may need more niacin than nonathletes. On the other hand, the good news is that even if a diet is low in Niacin, the body can make it from the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in abundance in turkey meat.
Bodybuilders are familiar with the form of Niacin known as nicotine acid, which causes vasodilation and may help a competitor look more vascular before going onstage. But this form of Niacin shouldn't be used during training; large doses of nicotinic acid (50 - 100 mg) significantly impairs the body's ability to mobilize and burn fat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Vitamin D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in the absorption of Calcium and Phosphorus. Calcium is necessary for muscular contraction. If adequate stores of Calcium are not available in the muscle, full, hard muscular contractions cannot be sustained. Of course, Calcium is also needed for the integrity of bones, which must support increased muscle tissue and provide an anchor during muscular contraction.
And don't forget about Phosphorus. Phosphorus helps provide quick, powerful muscular contractions, which comprise the majority of movements during weight training. Phosphorus is also required for the synthesis of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the high energy molecule used by your muscle cells during contraction.
This nutrient is high in the list since bodybuilders typically avoid the fat content, e.g., dairy foods. Look for vitamin D fortified foods and get in the habit of drinking at least one glass of low-fat or nonfat milk per day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Thiamine (vitamin B1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This B vitamin packs muscle! Thiamine is one of the vitamins required for protein metabolism and growth. It's also involved in the formation of hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body (especially working muscles). The transport of oxygen is critical to athletic performance and becomes even more important as intensity and duration of exercise increase.
Making matters more interesting, Thiamine, according to research, is one of the few vitamins that enhances performance when supplemented and is increasingly needed by athletes. Not only that, but Thiamine requirements appear to be directly related to caloric expenditure. The more exercise frequency, intensity and duration increase, the more Thiamine is needed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protein metabolism, growth and carbohydrate utilization are all made possible in part by the presence of vitamin B6. Like Thiamine, studies on Pyridoxine in athletic performance show a definite increased need for athletes and possible performance enhancement from supplementation.
The vitamin makes the number two spot for a very good reason: It's the only vitamin directly tied to protein intake. The more protein you eat, the more Pyridoxine you need. Of course, this, coupled with Pyridoxine's role in growth, had profound implications for bodybuilders, though it is generally not known or discussed in sports nutrition circles.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surprised? Most athletes don't realize how important vitamin C status is to success. As the most widely studied vitamin in sports nutrition, Ascorbic acid has proven itself to be valuable to bodybuilders in many ways.
First, vitamin C is an antioxidant, protecting muscle cells from free radical damage, thus enhancing recovery and growth.
Second, Ascorbic acid is also involved with amino acid metabolism, especially the formation of Collagen. Collagen is the primary constituent of connective tissue, the stuff that holds your bones and muscles together. This may not seem important, but as you lift heavier weights, the stress you put on your structure becomes tremendous. If your connective tissue is not as healthy and strong as it should be (a problem often seen in steroid users), risk of injury dramatically increases.
Third, vitamin C helps in the absorption of Iron. Iron is necessary to help Oxygen bind to hemoglobin in blood. Without adequate oxygen transportation in blood, muscles are robbed of precious oxygen and performance is greatly reduced.
Fourth, Ascorbic acid also assists in the formation and release of steroid hormones, including the anabolic hormone testosterone.
Finally, vitamin C is perhaps the most water soluble vitamin there is. In other words, it diffuses very rapidly in water. Since a muscle cell is mostly water, the more muscular an athlete becomes, the more vitamin C disperses and the lower the concentration of this critical substance becomes in body tissues. So vitamin C requirements are greatly increased for bodybuilders.
Bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking these key components of growth and performance. Do yourself a favor and analyze your diet to ensure you're taking in enough of the vitamins outlined above. Remember: You could have the best diet in the world in terms of calories, fat, etc, but if you're lacking adequate levels of these metabolic spark plugs, you're shooting yourself in the foot.
This article was featured in Flex Magazine, May 1995 issue. It was written by Bob Lefavi, and Timothy C. Fritz. Bob Lefavi, PhD, is an assistant professor in Georgia Southern University's graduate health science program, located at Armstrong State College, Savannah, Georgia. He was the 1990 IFBB North American bantamweight champ, and was runner up in the 1989 USA, and 1992 Nationals in that weight class. Timothy C. Fritz, B. Nutr. Sc., is a graduate research assistant in Georgia Southern University's exercise science program in Statesboro, Georgia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Metabolic Spark Plugs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the most confusing issues for any athlete is supplementation. What to take, how much, when to take it, blah, blah, blah. Figuring out a supplementation regimen can be so frustrating at times that it becomes easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees, to forget the purpose of supplementation and to overlook exactly what makes successful bodybuilding.
It's sometimes easy to forget that the cells in our bodies, particularly muscle cells, rely on certain biochemical reactions for proper metabolism, growth and maintenance. These reactions, in turn, depend upon specific vitamins to help catalyze, or facilitate, their actions.
Without these vitamins, nothing happens. Even if only one of these critical substances is deficient, a bodybuilder's progress can be stifled without warning. Virtually every energy production or muscle growth process we rely on so heavily (and that we sometimes take for granted) is dependent upon, in one way or another, a vitamin.
Making matters more critical is the fact that bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking vitamins because these nutrients don't supply energy like carbohydrates, proteins and fats do. But that doesn't mean they aren't important. Without vitamins, muscle mass would decay, bone density would deteriorate and all systems of the body would begin to fail.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin Variables
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamins can be divided into two broad categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K) are so named because they are stored in the body's fatty tissue and do not have to be replenished daily. But be careful: Because they are stored, overdoes of these vitamins can lead to toxicity.
The water-soluble vitamins (with the exception of vitamin C) are composed entirely of the B and B-complex vitamins, including Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), Folate, Cobalamin (B12), Biotin and Pantothenic Acid. Because these vitamins are water soluble and thus have difficulty entering fatty tissues, they aren't stored in the body and excessive amounts are excreted. And while this means toxicity is generally not a problem, these vitamins must be continually included in a bodybuilder's diet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions to Ask
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How important is it to know this stuff? Just ask any pro bodybuilder who must continually analyze his or her diet to ensure it contains these critical components. A bodybuilder, when considering how important a dietary vitamin is, asks at least one of the four following questions.
Is the vitamin directly involved in muscle action, protein synthesis or the integrity of muscle cells? Does exercise result in an increased requirement of the nutrient? Do athletes typically have suboptimal intakes of the vitamins? Does dietary supplementation with the vitamin improve performance and/or growth?
This is Flex Magazine's Top 10 Vitamins for Bodybuilders, in reverse order.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although the functions of vitamin B12 are numerous, those important to bodybuilders include carbohydrate metabolism and maintenance of nervous system tissue (the spinal cord and nerves that carry signals from the brain to muscle tissues). Stimulation of muscles via nerves is a critical step in the contraction, coordination and growth of muscles.
Vitamin B12 is available only from foods of animal origin; therefore,it is very important for athletes following a strict vegetarian diet to consult a physician about vitamin B12 supplementation. In fact, B12 shots are popular with countless athletes, vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike, many of who swear it helps them perform better.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Biotin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although there's a limited amount of sports nutrition research on Biotin, it makes our top 10 list because it has critical functions in amino acid metabolism and the production of energy from many sources. It also may be one vitamin that some bodybuilders have trouble when attempting to maintain an adequate supply.
The reason bodybuilders may have difficulty with Biotin is because it can be blocked by a substance called Avidin. Avidin is found in raw egg whites, a staple for many athletes. In fact, bodybuilders who eat raw egg whites or who don't cook egg white well enough may experience growth problems with Biotin deficiency if their egg white consumption approaches 20 per day. Eating raw eggs can also lead to a bacterial infection called Salmonella, which can have severe health consequences.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riboflavin is involved in energy production in three areas: 1) Glucose metabolism, 2) Oxidation of fatty acids, and 3) The shuttling of hydrogen ions through the Krebs cycle. Of particular interest to bodybuilders, Riboflavin is somewhat related to protein metabolism. In fact, there is a strong relationship between lean body mass and dietary riboflavin.
One study by Belko and colleagues found that females needed higher than RDA levels of Riboflavin to return blood levels of Riboflavin to normal after exercise. Another study by Haralambie showed that Riboflavin supplementation improved muscular hyperexcitability (seen in trained athletes). This vitamin may prove to be especially important for athletes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Vitamin A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of us know that vitamin A helps with vision, but bodybuilders need to become familiar with its other benefits. First of all, vitamin A is important in the synthesis of protein, the chief process of muscle growth. Second, vitamin A is involved in the production of Glycogen, the body's storage form of energy for high intensity performance.
The problem with vitamin A status in bodybuilders is twofold. First, American diets are consistently measured to be low in vitamin A. Second, both strenuous physical activity (which disrupts the absorption of vitamin A) and a low fat diet (which renders vitamin A loss in feces) jeopardize the level of vitamin A in the body. So be especially careful of your vitamin A intake during contest preparation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Vitamin E
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, meaning it protects the cell's membranes. This is important because many of the metabolic processes that take place in the body, including the recuperation and growth of muscle cells, are dependent upon health cell membranes.
You've probably heard a lot about antioxidants in the news lately, and research continues to validate their importance. Specifically, antioxidants help to reduce the number of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are natural byproducts of cellular respiration, but accumulation of free radicals can lead to cellular changes and destruction (even cancer), rendering cells unable to adapt normally. This means a reduction in exercise induced processes in the cell such as repair and growth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Niacin (vitamin B3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This vitamin is involved in nearly 60 metabolic processes related to energy production and ranks high for bodybuilders by virtue of its critical importance in providing training fuel (no train, no gain)! The bad news is that high levels of Niacin have been found in the blood of athletes after exercise, suggesting that athletes may need more niacin than nonathletes. On the other hand, the good news is that even if a diet is low in Niacin, the body can make it from the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in abundance in turkey meat.
Bodybuilders are familiar with the form of Niacin known as nicotine acid, which causes vasodilation and may help a competitor look more vascular before going onstage. But this form of Niacin shouldn't be used during training; large doses of nicotinic acid (50 - 100 mg) significantly impairs the body's ability to mobilize and burn fat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Vitamin D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in the absorption of Calcium and Phosphorus. Calcium is necessary for muscular contraction. If adequate stores of Calcium are not available in the muscle, full, hard muscular contractions cannot be sustained. Of course, Calcium is also needed for the integrity of bones, which must support increased muscle tissue and provide an anchor during muscular contraction.
And don't forget about Phosphorus. Phosphorus helps provide quick, powerful muscular contractions, which comprise the majority of movements during weight training. Phosphorus is also required for the synthesis of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the high energy molecule used by your muscle cells during contraction.
This nutrient is high in the list since bodybuilders typically avoid the fat content, e.g., dairy foods. Look for vitamin D fortified foods and get in the habit of drinking at least one glass of low-fat or nonfat milk per day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Thiamine (vitamin B1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This B vitamin packs muscle! Thiamine is one of the vitamins required for protein metabolism and growth. It's also involved in the formation of hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body (especially working muscles). The transport of oxygen is critical to athletic performance and becomes even more important as intensity and duration of exercise increase.
Making matters more interesting, Thiamine, according to research, is one of the few vitamins that enhances performance when supplemented and is increasingly needed by athletes. Not only that, but Thiamine requirements appear to be directly related to caloric expenditure. The more exercise frequency, intensity and duration increase, the more Thiamine is needed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protein metabolism, growth and carbohydrate utilization are all made possible in part by the presence of vitamin B6. Like Thiamine, studies on Pyridoxine in athletic performance show a definite increased need for athletes and possible performance enhancement from supplementation.
The vitamin makes the number two spot for a very good reason: It's the only vitamin directly tied to protein intake. The more protein you eat, the more Pyridoxine you need. Of course, this, coupled with Pyridoxine's role in growth, had profound implications for bodybuilders, though it is generally not known or discussed in sports nutrition circles.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surprised? Most athletes don't realize how important vitamin C status is to success. As the most widely studied vitamin in sports nutrition, Ascorbic acid has proven itself to be valuable to bodybuilders in many ways.
First, vitamin C is an antioxidant, protecting muscle cells from free radical damage, thus enhancing recovery and growth.
Second, Ascorbic acid is also involved with amino acid metabolism, especially the formation of Collagen. Collagen is the primary constituent of connective tissue, the stuff that holds your bones and muscles together. This may not seem important, but as you lift heavier weights, the stress you put on your structure becomes tremendous. If your connective tissue is not as healthy and strong as it should be (a problem often seen in steroid users), risk of injury dramatically increases.
Third, vitamin C helps in the absorption of Iron. Iron is necessary to help Oxygen bind to hemoglobin in blood. Without adequate oxygen transportation in blood, muscles are robbed of precious oxygen and performance is greatly reduced.
Fourth, Ascorbic acid also assists in the formation and release of steroid hormones, including the anabolic hormone testosterone.
Finally, vitamin C is perhaps the most water soluble vitamin there is. In other words, it diffuses very rapidly in water. Since a muscle cell is mostly water, the more muscular an athlete becomes, the more vitamin C disperses and the lower the concentration of this critical substance becomes in body tissues. So vitamin C requirements are greatly increased for bodybuilders.
Bodybuilders are notorious for overlooking these key components of growth and performance. Do yourself a favor and analyze your diet to ensure you're taking in enough of the vitamins outlined above. Remember: You could have the best diet in the world in terms of calories, fat, etc, but if you're lacking adequate levels of these metabolic spark plugs, you're shooting yourself in the foot.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Steroid Side Effects and How to Stop them
Steroid Side Effects and How to Stop them - Part 1
This chapter, along with the chapter on the proper use of ancillary medications, are two of the most important chapters in this book. Why? Because AAS have side effects, and long-term use of AAS can have a profound effect on longevity and overall quality of life in later years if preventative measures are not taken. Having used steroids myself for over 10 years now, I have suffered through virtually ever side effect listed in this chapter, and have consequently educated myself on how to avoid them.
Regardless of your age, it’s important to always bear in mind that the use of AAS for the purposes of gaining an edge in sport can be an inherently unhealthy endeavor. There is a distinct difference between the doses of hormones or drugs that are used in slowing the aging process through hormone replacement therapy (hereafter referred to as HRT, please see the chapter on HRT by Dr. Ramon Scruggs for further clarification) and those that are used to enhance performance. If one is to properly use performance enhancing drugs, it is vital that they know the potential side effects of drugs they are using, know how to combat these side effects, and most importantly, actually implement the knowledge they have. Time and time again I’ve seen a bodybuilder develop gynecomastia (commonly referred to as “bitch tits” in the bodybuilding vernacular) despite the fact that the individual in question knew this was a possibility and also knew the preventative measures to take. One should not engage in the use of AAS or any other performance enhancing drug if the maintenance of proper health is not of primary concern.
Compounding the problem of treating the side effects of AAS is the hysteria surrounding their use in the first place. Many bodybuilders that use steroids find themselves to be social pariahs, muscular misfits if you will, and end up finding comfort in the company of others that engage in steroid use as well. Because a bodybuilder wears his sport, he’s branded a steroid user by many regardless of whether that’s the case or not. Often times, the shame one feels regarding their steroid use will cause them to suffer through the side effects associated with their use, rather than seeking competent medical help. Truth be told, it’s very difficult to find competent medical help to treat the side effects of steroids, as most doctors simply have no idea how to properly do so. More often than not, the physicians I worked with for most of my years on steroids were completely clueless as to how one might ameliorate the negative side effects of these drugs, and would simply tell me to “get off the steroids”. I say this not to dissuade those of you reading this from seeking out the advice of a doctor regarding the side effects of steroid use, just to prepare you for a probable response.
Most of the side effects related to steroids are cosmetic and will disappear when one discontinues their use. But those that aren’t are the most important to understand and treat as necessary. Most of these cannot be seen or felt, and all are related to issues of cardiovascular health. Steroids can adversely affect cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and hypertension, which over time can and will lead to an increase in heart disease. Always monitor your resting hear rate and blood pressure on a weekly basis when taking steroids and have your cholesterol and triglycerides checked every six months if you are using steroid consistently. These are not problems you can live with, ignore them and you may very well die much earlier than you would have otherwise. Ask yourself this question: “How much is every year of my life worth to me?” If you ignore the potential for an increased risk of heart disease when using anabolic steroids, you are essentially answering the question with, “Very little indeed.”
Before we begin a look at the actual side effects themselves and how to treat them, it’s important to note that not all AAS are created equal!! At times, for the sake of brevity, I will lump all AAS together, but the fact remains that some steroids will cause more negative side effects than others. One of the points of this book is to allow you to make that distinction, and walk away with the knowledge of how to use them as safely as possible. Below is a list of steroids most commonly associated with the side effects listed in this chapter:
Anadrol-50 (Oxymetholone)
Dianabol (Methandrostenolone)
Halotestin (Fluoxymesterone)
Testosterone and its various esters
Unfortunately for us, these also happen to be most of THE most effective AAS (with the exception of Halotestin) for building LBM. Generally, the maxim that the more effective a steroid is the more side effects it has holds true.
Finally, before we begin, readers will notice that I do not advocate the use of estrogen blockers such as Nolvadex, Clomid (I do post cycle, but not for the purposes of estrogen suppression), or Proviron. With anti-aromatases like arimidex (anastrazole), femara (letrozole), and to a lesser extent Cytadren (aminoglutethiamide) becoming cheaper and more readily available, use of estrogen blockers should be relegated to the bodybuilding archives. For a complete explanation as to why, read the chapter Proper Use of Ancillary Medications Both On and Off Cycle.
AAS Side Effects
Acne: One of the primary indicators of steroid use is acne, and I’m sure many of you reading this have either experienced acne caused by steroids or have seen someone who has. Like all steroid side effects, the degree to which someone will suffer from acne varies from individual to individual. The more androgenic a compound is, the more profound effect it will have on increasing oil production in the skin via stimulation of the sebaceous glands. Having said that, I’ve seen individuals use incredibly androgenic stacks and never have a hint or a pimple or blemish, and I’ve seen athletes (especially women) use very mild anabolics and suffer from horrible acne.
Treating acne is very important, both for physical and psychological reasons. Untreated acne can cause permanent scarring of the skin if it becomes severe enough, resulting in a pockmarked area that can only be smoothed through expensive plastic surgery. And acne can have a very powerful negative psychological effect on someone suffering from it, branding someone a steroid user and further isolating them from “normal” society. Severe acne can and will detract from the most aesthetic of physiques, and take away from ones overall presentation.
Depending on the severity, there are several options for the treatment of acne. Since acne is generally caused by the more androgenic steroids, there is always the option of switching to steroids that have few androgenic properties, such as nandrolone, oxandrolone, or primobolan. Light cases can commonly be controlled through frequent washings of the effected area (to remove excess dirt and oil before pores become clogged and infected) and the use of over the counter topical treatments. Moderate cases will generally respond to the use of Retin-A coupled with use of an antibiotic (such as tetracycline) which kills the bacteria which feeds off the oil created by the sebaceous gland. Severe cases of acne should be treated with Accutane, a prescription drug manufactured by Roche that is very effective at permanently eliminating acne. Accutane has a host of unpleasant side effects itself, and treatments are both lengthy and costly (health insurance is a must), but its use is much better than the possibility of permanent scarring from cystic acne. Fortunately, while acne is one of the most commonly seen side effects, it’s also the easiest to treat, as competent Dermatologists can easily be found.
It should also be noted that acne commonly become an issue for bodybuilders that do not cycle off steroids correctly, which will often cause a severe imbalance between levels of androgens and estrogens. Preparation for your off cycle period is equally important as the time spent on steroids, so use of an anti-aromatase both on and immediately following a cycle containing AAS that can convert to estrogen is a must.
Aggression: Men, due to their higher natural production of testosterone, are generally more aggressive than women. AAS, especially those that are extremely androgenic, will further increase aggression in both males and females. This can be beneficial as long as the individual in question can focus the aggression appropriately, such as the lifting of heavier weights during training. There often seems to be a direct correlation between ones ability to control aggression and ones intelligence.
There is nothing worse than an out of control steroid user who is unable or unwilling to control their aggression. Before beginning a cycle of AAS, especially one containing strong androgens, you must prepare yourself mentally for the fact that you are in all likelihood going to be more aggressive than normal, and consequently take the time to assess the nature of your reactions while using them.
This chapter, along with the chapter on the proper use of ancillary medications, are two of the most important chapters in this book. Why? Because AAS have side effects, and long-term use of AAS can have a profound effect on longevity and overall quality of life in later years if preventative measures are not taken. Having used steroids myself for over 10 years now, I have suffered through virtually ever side effect listed in this chapter, and have consequently educated myself on how to avoid them.
Regardless of your age, it’s important to always bear in mind that the use of AAS for the purposes of gaining an edge in sport can be an inherently unhealthy endeavor. There is a distinct difference between the doses of hormones or drugs that are used in slowing the aging process through hormone replacement therapy (hereafter referred to as HRT, please see the chapter on HRT by Dr. Ramon Scruggs for further clarification) and those that are used to enhance performance. If one is to properly use performance enhancing drugs, it is vital that they know the potential side effects of drugs they are using, know how to combat these side effects, and most importantly, actually implement the knowledge they have. Time and time again I’ve seen a bodybuilder develop gynecomastia (commonly referred to as “bitch tits” in the bodybuilding vernacular) despite the fact that the individual in question knew this was a possibility and also knew the preventative measures to take. One should not engage in the use of AAS or any other performance enhancing drug if the maintenance of proper health is not of primary concern.
Compounding the problem of treating the side effects of AAS is the hysteria surrounding their use in the first place. Many bodybuilders that use steroids find themselves to be social pariahs, muscular misfits if you will, and end up finding comfort in the company of others that engage in steroid use as well. Because a bodybuilder wears his sport, he’s branded a steroid user by many regardless of whether that’s the case or not. Often times, the shame one feels regarding their steroid use will cause them to suffer through the side effects associated with their use, rather than seeking competent medical help. Truth be told, it’s very difficult to find competent medical help to treat the side effects of steroids, as most doctors simply have no idea how to properly do so. More often than not, the physicians I worked with for most of my years on steroids were completely clueless as to how one might ameliorate the negative side effects of these drugs, and would simply tell me to “get off the steroids”. I say this not to dissuade those of you reading this from seeking out the advice of a doctor regarding the side effects of steroid use, just to prepare you for a probable response.
Most of the side effects related to steroids are cosmetic and will disappear when one discontinues their use. But those that aren’t are the most important to understand and treat as necessary. Most of these cannot be seen or felt, and all are related to issues of cardiovascular health. Steroids can adversely affect cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and hypertension, which over time can and will lead to an increase in heart disease. Always monitor your resting hear rate and blood pressure on a weekly basis when taking steroids and have your cholesterol and triglycerides checked every six months if you are using steroid consistently. These are not problems you can live with, ignore them and you may very well die much earlier than you would have otherwise. Ask yourself this question: “How much is every year of my life worth to me?” If you ignore the potential for an increased risk of heart disease when using anabolic steroids, you are essentially answering the question with, “Very little indeed.”
Before we begin a look at the actual side effects themselves and how to treat them, it’s important to note that not all AAS are created equal!! At times, for the sake of brevity, I will lump all AAS together, but the fact remains that some steroids will cause more negative side effects than others. One of the points of this book is to allow you to make that distinction, and walk away with the knowledge of how to use them as safely as possible. Below is a list of steroids most commonly associated with the side effects listed in this chapter:
Anadrol-50 (Oxymetholone)
Dianabol (Methandrostenolone)
Halotestin (Fluoxymesterone)
Testosterone and its various esters
Unfortunately for us, these also happen to be most of THE most effective AAS (with the exception of Halotestin) for building LBM. Generally, the maxim that the more effective a steroid is the more side effects it has holds true.
Finally, before we begin, readers will notice that I do not advocate the use of estrogen blockers such as Nolvadex, Clomid (I do post cycle, but not for the purposes of estrogen suppression), or Proviron. With anti-aromatases like arimidex (anastrazole), femara (letrozole), and to a lesser extent Cytadren (aminoglutethiamide) becoming cheaper and more readily available, use of estrogen blockers should be relegated to the bodybuilding archives. For a complete explanation as to why, read the chapter Proper Use of Ancillary Medications Both On and Off Cycle.
AAS Side Effects
Acne: One of the primary indicators of steroid use is acne, and I’m sure many of you reading this have either experienced acne caused by steroids or have seen someone who has. Like all steroid side effects, the degree to which someone will suffer from acne varies from individual to individual. The more androgenic a compound is, the more profound effect it will have on increasing oil production in the skin via stimulation of the sebaceous glands. Having said that, I’ve seen individuals use incredibly androgenic stacks and never have a hint or a pimple or blemish, and I’ve seen athletes (especially women) use very mild anabolics and suffer from horrible acne.
Treating acne is very important, both for physical and psychological reasons. Untreated acne can cause permanent scarring of the skin if it becomes severe enough, resulting in a pockmarked area that can only be smoothed through expensive plastic surgery. And acne can have a very powerful negative psychological effect on someone suffering from it, branding someone a steroid user and further isolating them from “normal” society. Severe acne can and will detract from the most aesthetic of physiques, and take away from ones overall presentation.
Depending on the severity, there are several options for the treatment of acne. Since acne is generally caused by the more androgenic steroids, there is always the option of switching to steroids that have few androgenic properties, such as nandrolone, oxandrolone, or primobolan. Light cases can commonly be controlled through frequent washings of the effected area (to remove excess dirt and oil before pores become clogged and infected) and the use of over the counter topical treatments. Moderate cases will generally respond to the use of Retin-A coupled with use of an antibiotic (such as tetracycline) which kills the bacteria which feeds off the oil created by the sebaceous gland. Severe cases of acne should be treated with Accutane, a prescription drug manufactured by Roche that is very effective at permanently eliminating acne. Accutane has a host of unpleasant side effects itself, and treatments are both lengthy and costly (health insurance is a must), but its use is much better than the possibility of permanent scarring from cystic acne. Fortunately, while acne is one of the most commonly seen side effects, it’s also the easiest to treat, as competent Dermatologists can easily be found.
It should also be noted that acne commonly become an issue for bodybuilders that do not cycle off steroids correctly, which will often cause a severe imbalance between levels of androgens and estrogens. Preparation for your off cycle period is equally important as the time spent on steroids, so use of an anti-aromatase both on and immediately following a cycle containing AAS that can convert to estrogen is a must.
Aggression: Men, due to their higher natural production of testosterone, are generally more aggressive than women. AAS, especially those that are extremely androgenic, will further increase aggression in both males and females. This can be beneficial as long as the individual in question can focus the aggression appropriately, such as the lifting of heavier weights during training. There often seems to be a direct correlation between ones ability to control aggression and ones intelligence.
There is nothing worse than an out of control steroid user who is unable or unwilling to control their aggression. Before beginning a cycle of AAS, especially one containing strong androgens, you must prepare yourself mentally for the fact that you are in all likelihood going to be more aggressive than normal, and consequently take the time to assess the nature of your reactions while using them.
Steroids charges evidence disputed
ALBANY -- A criminal case against an Orlando pharmacy accused of running a nationwide steroids distribution network is being hampered as defense attorneys in Florida ask an appellate court to seal critical wiretap evidence, while the pharmacists' New York attorneys demand its disclosure.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys for Signature Pharmacy contend Albany prosecutors may have violated Florida laws when they showed certain evidence -- hundreds of pages of sealed wiretap transcripts taken by an Orlando task force -- to an Albany County grand jury that handed up indictments against numerous pharmacists, doctors and so-called "wellness center" operators.
The wiretap transcripts were under seal at the time.
But Anne Wedge-McMillan, an attorney with Florida's Office of Statewide Prosecution, argued in a Kissimmee court last Friday that her office was "fully and legally entitled" to share the wiretaps with Albany prosecutors for use in the grand jury proceedings. She called the conflicting motions by Signature's attorneys "mind-boggling."
She told a Florida judge the legal tug-of-war is calculated with the hopes that an Albany judge "will get frustrated and dismiss the Albany case."
Still, defense attorneys say the multi-jurisdictional case is in jeopardy and that Albany County prosecutors may have made serious missteps.
"This was a classic case of the consequences of a rush to judgment," said E. Stewart Jones, a Troy attorney whose firm represents two executives at Signature Pharmacy in Orlando. "That office had material that they shouldn't have had and they unsealed it before a grand jury when they had no authority."
Albany prosecutors dispute that opinion and are suggesting the pharmacy's attorneys may be plotting to scuttle their case on technical grounds by making conflicting arguments in separate states.
"The defense is basically trying to hide the ball until the clock runs out. I think the courts will see through that," said Albany County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Baynes. "Either they're not communicating or some of these arguments are being made in bad faith."
Defense attorneys in the case have countered that the interests of the pharmacy and its executives, who face criminal charges individually, are separate and that there has been no collusion on their part.
The face-off is unfolding in an Orlando-area court. The issue appeared to be resolved last Friday when a Florida judge ruled that Albany County prosecutors may have unfettered access to the wiretap transcripts, including turning them over to defense attorneys here.
But attorneys for Signature Pharmacy, which is owned by husband-and-wife pharmacists Stan and Naomi Loomis, filed an emergency appeal on Monday seeking to undo the Florida judge's ruling.
Their appeal was filed as Albany County Judge Stephen W. Herrick has ordered that Albany prosecutors turn over the wiretap transcripts to defense attorneys here. Herrick's order called for the materials to be turned over by last week. It's not clear what the delay could mean to the criminal cases here, although Herrick has the power to dismiss the indictments.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys for Signature Pharmacy contend Albany prosecutors may have violated Florida laws when they showed certain evidence -- hundreds of pages of sealed wiretap transcripts taken by an Orlando task force -- to an Albany County grand jury that handed up indictments against numerous pharmacists, doctors and so-called "wellness center" operators.
The wiretap transcripts were under seal at the time.
But Anne Wedge-McMillan, an attorney with Florida's Office of Statewide Prosecution, argued in a Kissimmee court last Friday that her office was "fully and legally entitled" to share the wiretaps with Albany prosecutors for use in the grand jury proceedings. She called the conflicting motions by Signature's attorneys "mind-boggling."
She told a Florida judge the legal tug-of-war is calculated with the hopes that an Albany judge "will get frustrated and dismiss the Albany case."
Still, defense attorneys say the multi-jurisdictional case is in jeopardy and that Albany County prosecutors may have made serious missteps.
"This was a classic case of the consequences of a rush to judgment," said E. Stewart Jones, a Troy attorney whose firm represents two executives at Signature Pharmacy in Orlando. "That office had material that they shouldn't have had and they unsealed it before a grand jury when they had no authority."
Albany prosecutors dispute that opinion and are suggesting the pharmacy's attorneys may be plotting to scuttle their case on technical grounds by making conflicting arguments in separate states.
"The defense is basically trying to hide the ball until the clock runs out. I think the courts will see through that," said Albany County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Baynes. "Either they're not communicating or some of these arguments are being made in bad faith."
Defense attorneys in the case have countered that the interests of the pharmacy and its executives, who face criminal charges individually, are separate and that there has been no collusion on their part.
The face-off is unfolding in an Orlando-area court. The issue appeared to be resolved last Friday when a Florida judge ruled that Albany County prosecutors may have unfettered access to the wiretap transcripts, including turning them over to defense attorneys here.
But attorneys for Signature Pharmacy, which is owned by husband-and-wife pharmacists Stan and Naomi Loomis, filed an emergency appeal on Monday seeking to undo the Florida judge's ruling.
Their appeal was filed as Albany County Judge Stephen W. Herrick has ordered that Albany prosecutors turn over the wiretap transcripts to defense attorneys here. Herrick's order called for the materials to be turned over by last week. It's not clear what the delay could mean to the criminal cases here, although Herrick has the power to dismiss the indictments.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Nolva vs. Clomid for PCT
Nolva vs. Clomid for PCT
It seems like everyday questions concerning PCT pop up, and weather one should use either Clomid or nolva or a combo of both. I hope that this article written by BigCat may help to clear up some misconceptions.
While practically similar compounds in structure, few people ever really consider Clomid and nolva to be similar. Its not just a common myth in steroid circles, but even in the medical community. This misconception originates from their completely different uses. Nolvadex is most commonly used for the treatment of breast cancer in women, while Clomid is generally considered a fertility aid. In bodybuilding circles, from day one, Clomid has generally been used as post-cycle therapy and Nolvadex as an anti-estrogen.
But as I intend to demonstrate this is in essence the same. I believe the myth to have originated because nolva is clearly a more powerful anti-estrogen, and the people selling Clomid needed another angle to sell the stuff, so it was mostly used as a post-cycle aid. But few users really understand how Clomid (and also Nolvadex, logically) works to bring back natural testosterone in the body after the conclusion of a cycle of androgenic anabolic steroids. After a cycle is over, the level of androgens in the body drop drastically. The body compensates with an overproduction of estrogen to keep steroid levels up. Estrogen as well inhibits the production of natural testosterone, and in the period between the return of natural testosterone and the end of a cycle, a lot of mass is lost. So its in everybody's best interest to bring back natural test as soon as humanly possible. Clomid and Nolvadex will reduce the post-cycle estrogen, so that a steroid deficiency is constated and the hypothalamus is stimulated to regenerate natural testosterone production in the body. That's basically how the mechanism works, nothing more, nothing less.
Both compounds are structurally alike, classified as triphenylethylenes. Nolvadex is clearly the stronger component of the two as it can achieve better results in decreasing overall estrogen with 20-40 mg a day, than Clomid can in doses of 100-150 mg a day. A noteworthy difference. Triphenylethylenes are very mild estrogens that do not exert a lot, if any activity at the estrogen receptor, but are still highly attracted to it. As such they will occupy the receptor and keep it from binding estrogens. This means they do not actively work to reduce estrogen in the body like Proviron, Viratase or arimidex would (by competing for the aromatase enzyme), but that it blocks the receptor so that any estrogen in the body is basically inert, because it has no receptor to bind to.
This has advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that when use is discontinued, the estrogen level is still the same and new problems will develop much sooner. The advantage is that it works much faster and has results sooner than with an aromatase blocker like Proviron or arimidex. Therefor, when problems such as gynocomastia occur during a cycle of steroids one will usually start 20 mg/day of nolva or 100 mg/day of Clomid straight away, in conjunction with some Proviron or arimidex. The proviron or arimidex will actively reduce estrogen while the Clomid or Nolvadex will solve your ongoing problem straight away. This way, when use is discontinued there is no immediate rebound.
So which one should you use? Well personally, I'd have to say Nolvadex. Both as an on-cycle anti-estrogen and a post-cycle therapy. As an anti-estrogen its simply much stronger, demonstrated by the fact that better results are obtained with 20-40 mg than with 100-150 mg of Clomid. For post-cycle, this plays a key role as well. It deactivates rebound estrogen much faster and more effective. But most importantly, Nolvadex has a direct influence on bringing back natural testosterone, where as Clomid may actually have a slight negative influence. The reason being that tamoxifen (as in Nolvadex) seems to increase the responsiveness of LH (luteinizing hormone) to GnRH (gonadtropin releasing hormone), whereas Clomid seems to decrease the responsiveness a bit1.
Another noteworthy fact about Nolvadex is that it acts more potently as an estrogen in the liver. As you remember, I mentioned that clomiphene and tamoxifen are basically weak estrogens. Well, tamoxifen is apparently still quite potent in the liver. This offers us the positive benefits of this hormone in the liver, while avoiding its negative effects elsewhere in the body. As such Nolvadex can have a very positive impact on negative cholesterol levels2 in the body, and therefore too should be considered a better choice than Clomid. It will not solve the problem of bad cholesterol levels during Steroid use, but will help to contain the problem to a larger degree.
Another reason why I promote the use of Nolvadex over Clomid post-cycle (as if being 3-4 times stronger and having more of a direct effect on restoring natural test wasn't enough) is because it's a lot safer. Not just because it improves lipid profiles, but also because it simply doesn't have the intrinsic side-effects that Clomid has. Clomid causes more acne for sure, but that's mainly because you need to use a 3-4 times higher dose. But Clomid seems to also affect the eyesight. Long-term Clomid therapy causes irreversible changes in eyesight3 in users. Irreversible. For me that alone is reason enough to prefer Nolvadex.
Lastly, one should be aware that use of these compounds can reduce the gains made on steroids. Nolvadex more so than Clomid, simply because it is stronger. Estrogen is responsible for a number of anabolic factors such as increasing growth hormone output, upgrading the androgen receptor and improving glucose utilization. This is why aromatizing steroids like testosterone are still best suited for maximum muscle gain. When reducing the estrogen levels, we therefore reduce the potential gains being made. For this reason one may opt to try Clomid during a cycle instead of Nolvadex. Although I would imagine that the problem that needed solved would be of more concern, in which case nolva remains the weapon of choice. It's a plain fact that there is a high correlation between gains and side-effects. Either you go for maximum gains and tolerate the side-effects, or you reduce the side-effects, and with it the gains. That's life, nothing is free.
Stacking and Use:
If problems of Gynocomastia or other estrogen related symptoms tend to pop up during a cycle the use of 20-30 mg of Nolvadex or 100 mg of Clomid daily should easily contain the problem, and be used until a few days after the problem subsides. For best results and the least amount of problems upon cessation it is best stacked with proviron (50 mg) or arimidex (0.5 mg) for this duration as well. Its not advised that these products be ran concomitantly with the steroid for the entire duration of the stack, as this will reduce your gains. Instead cease the usage of anti-estrogens once the problem is contained, and should the problem resurface, simply recommence the use of the products in the same manner as described above.
Once a cycle of steroids is concluded one should always initiate a post-cycle therapy to help bring back natural testosterone as soon as possible. This will help you to retain the mass you gained. How this is done depends highly on the type of steroid used. If only orals were used, therapy should start immediately, even the last day of the stack. If short-acting esters or water-based injectables were used, therapy should commence within 4-7 days after last injection, and if long-acting esters were used then it should commence 1.5 to 2 weeks after the last injection was given. The length of the therapy will vary as well, from 3-5 weeks. The longer acting the product was, the longer therapy should be continued to make sure all suppressive factors are cleared before use of Clomid/Nolvadex is discontinued.
The questions you will hear from athletes over and over is if they can get legal steroids clomid and nolvadex, is it possible?well I say yes you just have to look.
For best results, it is best stacked with HCG (Human Chorionic gonadotrophin), which functions as an LH analog and can help bring testicle size back up. HCG use starts the last week of a cycle, and on from there every 5-6 days (usually 1500-3000 IU) and discontinued 1.5 to weeks prior to the cessation of Nolvadex/clomid. The reason being that HCG itself is also suppressive of natural testosterone and should be out of the body before therapy is over, or it will inhibit natural testicle function. But I can not stress enough that HCG possibly plays a more important role in post-cycle therapy than clomid/Nolvadex. For Clomid and Nolvadex, doses are usually tapered down. Its best to start with 40-50 mg of Nolvadex or 150 mg of Clomid for the first week or the first two weeks, and then finish the program with 20-25 mg of Nolvadex or 100 mg of Clomid for an additional two weeks.
References
1 Vermeulen A., Comhaire F., Hormonal effects of an anti-estrogen, tamoxifen, in normal and oligospermic men, Fertil. Ster. 29 (1978) 320-27
2 Bruning PF, Bronfer JMG, Hart AAM, Jong-Bakker M, tamoxifen, serum lipoproteins and cardiovascular risk, Br. J. Cancer 1988 Oct, 58 (4) 497-9
Sunday, August 12, 2007
How to Make Anabolic Steroids Orally-Active?
The subject of androgenic / anabolic steroids, and the different ways that have been found to make them orally active, has been tossed around lately on the internet mags. This is an interesting topic to the science minded out there, but beyond that, it also has potential utility to the prohormone supplements. The following is my take on the subject, including scientific references and conjecture on my part.
The problem with natural androgens
Testosterone is the primary androgen in the human, and is the golden standard by which all other steroids are compared. Unfortunately, testosterone has very poor activity when taken orally. This necessitates that testosterone be administered by extra-oral means such by injection, subcutaneous pellet implant, and transdermal gel or patch.
17alpha alkylated steroids
Scientists have developed several synthetic testosterone derivatives that have increased oral bioavailability. The first synthetic alteration that scientists utilized is known as 17 alpha alkylation. 17a alkylation involves the addition of an alkyl group (methyl or ethyl) to the alpha position of the 17 carbon of the steroid backbone. The alkylation at this position prevents the major route of androgen deactivaton – oxidation to a 17-keto steroid - from taking place. This allows a large part of the steroid to avoid liver first pass metabolic degradation. Examples of 17a alkylated steroids are methyltestosterone and Norethandrolone (Nilevar)
While 17a alkylation is a very effective means of rendering steroids orally active, it suffers from a serious drawback. These steroids are all to some extent toxic to the liver. Some are more toxic than others, but they all have been associated with this problem. Jaundice is not completely uncommon with the usage of this stuff, although this condition is generally confined to individuals who are predisposed to liver problems. Several cases of liver cancer have supposedly been linked to 17a alkylated steroids, however, nothing definitive has been established in this regard. On the other hand, it is somewhat common to observe increases in blood test indicators of liver stress such as BSP retention, and intrahepatic cholestasis (a condition where bile clogs up and stops flowing from the liver).
While the dangers of 17a alkylated steroids are not trivial, they still comprise some of the most potent anabolic agents available, and therefore their use continues. Most smart bodybuilders are aware of the potential toxicities of these steroids, and therefore they are judicious with their use of them.
Lipophilic steroid derivatives
After ingestion, most steroids make their way to the intestines where they are absorbed into the portal circulation. The portal circulation carries the steroid directly to the liver, which is the workhouse of destructive metabolism and inactivation of drugs. As a result, if the steroid is not protected in some way, very little will make it through the liver and into the rest of the body where it can do its magic.
In addition to the portal route, there is another route through which substances can be absorbed into the body from the intestine. If a substance is lipophilic (fat like) enough it will be absorbed in the same manner that dietary fat is. Dietary fat is incorportated into chylomicra, which are small fat globules composed of protein and fat. These chylomicra are absorbed into the lymphatic circulation, which by passes the liver. If you make a steroid lipophilic enough by altering its structure, then it too will incorportate into chylomicra and absorb into the lymphatic system. Once in the lymphatic system it can cross over into the general blood circulation, making it there without being subjected to the massive metabolic breakdown in the liver.
Scientists have found that by adding lipophilic side chains to steroids, they will to some extent be absorbed into the lymphatic system. If the side chain is linked on in such a way that it can hydrolyze (break apart) easily after being absorbed, the steroid is essentially rendered orally active. Two side chains that have been utilized to increase the oral bioavailability of steroids through increased lymphatic absorption are long chain alkyl ester groups, such as is seen with testosterone undecanoate (andriol), and enyl ether groups, such as is seen with quinbolone (anabolicum vaster).
The term "orally active" is of course a relative term. Lipophilically modified steroids are more orally active than the free parent steroids, however, they are no where near as active as the 17alpha-alkylated steroids. Testosterone undecanoate (TU) is probably the most commonly known lipophilically modified androgen, and it is not considered a very potent compound (its recommended daily dosage is about 240mg). In fact, one study found the oral administration of testosterone undecanoate led only to an absolute testosterone bioavailability of 6.83 +/- 3.32%. That is very slight, especially considering the fact that in the same study they found the bioavailability of straight testosterone to be 3.56 +/- 2.45% (Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet 1986 Apr-Jun;11(2):145-9). That means TU is just a little less than twice as orally active as free testosterone, which is unimpressive to say the least.
The other problem with lipophilic steroid preparations is the high variability in absorption from one person to another. In other words, one guy might absorb the stuff very well while the other guy might absorb very little. There is also high variation within individuals themselves, depending on their gastrointestinal condition when they take the stuff. In another study, ten post-menopausal women were given 40 mg of TU and their peak blood values were recorded. The values varied widely - more than ten fold (range: 5.8-64.0 nmol/L) - amongst the subjects (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998 Nov;83(11): 3920-4).
There is no specific data I can find on the bioavailabilty of enyl ether compounds, but since their mode of action is identical to long chain alkyl ester compounds like TU, it is a fair assumption that they too are not outstandingly high in oral bioavailability, or in consistency of absorption. What I do know is that the one and only enyl ether oral steroid on the market today (quinbolone) is generally regarded by european bodybuilders / athletes as too weak to even bother taking.
Ring A modified steroids
There is one more class of anabolic / androgenic steroids that are orally active. These have unique structural modifications in the steroid A ring. What these modifications do is help preserve the steroids 17beta hydroxyl group, and minimize oxidation to the inactive 17-keto form.
Androgens such as testosterone exist in the body in an equilibrium between their active 17beta hydroxyl form and the inactive 17-keto form.
Normally, the equilibrium lies pretty far to the right (formation of inactive 17 keto steroid), however some steroids have certain modifications made in the A ring that alter this equilibrium by shifting it heavily to the left (towards the formation of active 17beta hydroxyl steroid).
The most common A-ring modifications that shift the 17beta hydroxyl / 17-keto equilibrium to the left are methylation at the 1alpha position, and unsaturation (double bond) in the 1(2) position (Acta Endocr, 41, (1962) 494). Examples of orally active steroids that contain one or more these modifications include methenolone (Primobolan), mesterolone (Proviron), and 1-testosterone.
You probably have heard of mesterolone and methenolone, but it is doubtful you have ever heard of 1-testosterone. 1-testosterone is a very interesting compound, not just because it is orally active but also because it is very anabolic. It has been reported to be over 7 times as anabolic as testosterone in a study funded by the pharmaceutical giant Searle (J Org Chem, 27 (1962) 248). Furthermore, being a 5alpha reduced steroid, it should not aromatize to estrogens.
The problem with natural androgens
Testosterone is the primary androgen in the human, and is the golden standard by which all other steroids are compared. Unfortunately, testosterone has very poor activity when taken orally. This necessitates that testosterone be administered by extra-oral means such by injection, subcutaneous pellet implant, and transdermal gel or patch.
17alpha alkylated steroids
Scientists have developed several synthetic testosterone derivatives that have increased oral bioavailability. The first synthetic alteration that scientists utilized is known as 17 alpha alkylation. 17a alkylation involves the addition of an alkyl group (methyl or ethyl) to the alpha position of the 17 carbon of the steroid backbone. The alkylation at this position prevents the major route of androgen deactivaton – oxidation to a 17-keto steroid - from taking place. This allows a large part of the steroid to avoid liver first pass metabolic degradation. Examples of 17a alkylated steroids are methyltestosterone and Norethandrolone (Nilevar)
While 17a alkylation is a very effective means of rendering steroids orally active, it suffers from a serious drawback. These steroids are all to some extent toxic to the liver. Some are more toxic than others, but they all have been associated with this problem. Jaundice is not completely uncommon with the usage of this stuff, although this condition is generally confined to individuals who are predisposed to liver problems. Several cases of liver cancer have supposedly been linked to 17a alkylated steroids, however, nothing definitive has been established in this regard. On the other hand, it is somewhat common to observe increases in blood test indicators of liver stress such as BSP retention, and intrahepatic cholestasis (a condition where bile clogs up and stops flowing from the liver).
While the dangers of 17a alkylated steroids are not trivial, they still comprise some of the most potent anabolic agents available, and therefore their use continues. Most smart bodybuilders are aware of the potential toxicities of these steroids, and therefore they are judicious with their use of them.
Lipophilic steroid derivatives
After ingestion, most steroids make their way to the intestines where they are absorbed into the portal circulation. The portal circulation carries the steroid directly to the liver, which is the workhouse of destructive metabolism and inactivation of drugs. As a result, if the steroid is not protected in some way, very little will make it through the liver and into the rest of the body where it can do its magic.
In addition to the portal route, there is another route through which substances can be absorbed into the body from the intestine. If a substance is lipophilic (fat like) enough it will be absorbed in the same manner that dietary fat is. Dietary fat is incorportated into chylomicra, which are small fat globules composed of protein and fat. These chylomicra are absorbed into the lymphatic circulation, which by passes the liver. If you make a steroid lipophilic enough by altering its structure, then it too will incorportate into chylomicra and absorb into the lymphatic system. Once in the lymphatic system it can cross over into the general blood circulation, making it there without being subjected to the massive metabolic breakdown in the liver.
Scientists have found that by adding lipophilic side chains to steroids, they will to some extent be absorbed into the lymphatic system. If the side chain is linked on in such a way that it can hydrolyze (break apart) easily after being absorbed, the steroid is essentially rendered orally active. Two side chains that have been utilized to increase the oral bioavailability of steroids through increased lymphatic absorption are long chain alkyl ester groups, such as is seen with testosterone undecanoate (andriol), and enyl ether groups, such as is seen with quinbolone (anabolicum vaster).
The term "orally active" is of course a relative term. Lipophilically modified steroids are more orally active than the free parent steroids, however, they are no where near as active as the 17alpha-alkylated steroids. Testosterone undecanoate (TU) is probably the most commonly known lipophilically modified androgen, and it is not considered a very potent compound (its recommended daily dosage is about 240mg). In fact, one study found the oral administration of testosterone undecanoate led only to an absolute testosterone bioavailability of 6.83 +/- 3.32%. That is very slight, especially considering the fact that in the same study they found the bioavailability of straight testosterone to be 3.56 +/- 2.45% (Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet 1986 Apr-Jun;11(2):145-9). That means TU is just a little less than twice as orally active as free testosterone, which is unimpressive to say the least.
The other problem with lipophilic steroid preparations is the high variability in absorption from one person to another. In other words, one guy might absorb the stuff very well while the other guy might absorb very little. There is also high variation within individuals themselves, depending on their gastrointestinal condition when they take the stuff. In another study, ten post-menopausal women were given 40 mg of TU and their peak blood values were recorded. The values varied widely - more than ten fold (range: 5.8-64.0 nmol/L) - amongst the subjects (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998 Nov;83(11): 3920-4).
There is no specific data I can find on the bioavailabilty of enyl ether compounds, but since their mode of action is identical to long chain alkyl ester compounds like TU, it is a fair assumption that they too are not outstandingly high in oral bioavailability, or in consistency of absorption. What I do know is that the one and only enyl ether oral steroid on the market today (quinbolone) is generally regarded by european bodybuilders / athletes as too weak to even bother taking.
Ring A modified steroids
There is one more class of anabolic / androgenic steroids that are orally active. These have unique structural modifications in the steroid A ring. What these modifications do is help preserve the steroids 17beta hydroxyl group, and minimize oxidation to the inactive 17-keto form.
Androgens such as testosterone exist in the body in an equilibrium between their active 17beta hydroxyl form and the inactive 17-keto form.
Normally, the equilibrium lies pretty far to the right (formation of inactive 17 keto steroid), however some steroids have certain modifications made in the A ring that alter this equilibrium by shifting it heavily to the left (towards the formation of active 17beta hydroxyl steroid).
The most common A-ring modifications that shift the 17beta hydroxyl / 17-keto equilibrium to the left are methylation at the 1alpha position, and unsaturation (double bond) in the 1(2) position (Acta Endocr, 41, (1962) 494). Examples of orally active steroids that contain one or more these modifications include methenolone (Primobolan), mesterolone (Proviron), and 1-testosterone.
You probably have heard of mesterolone and methenolone, but it is doubtful you have ever heard of 1-testosterone. 1-testosterone is a very interesting compound, not just because it is orally active but also because it is very anabolic. It has been reported to be over 7 times as anabolic as testosterone in a study funded by the pharmaceutical giant Searle (J Org Chem, 27 (1962) 248). Furthermore, being a 5alpha reduced steroid, it should not aromatize to estrogens.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Sustanon 250
Sustanon 250
(testosterone)
This product was developed by Organon as an ideal HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) solution, and it was thought at the time that the different esters would be able to provide a constant release of Testosterone over a months time. Sustanon is a blend of different estered testosterones (4 of them): testosterone propionate - 30 mg, testosterone phenylpropionate - 60 mg, testosterone isocaproate - 60mg, and testosterone decanoate -100 mg.
This drug was highly sought after as a "superior" version of testosterone in the late 80´s and through the mid 90´s. No doubt this is partly due to the very nice write-up Dan Duchaine gave it in his newsletters. However, lets keep in mind that this drug was designed for convenience, not athletics or bodybuilding. The advantage to this drug, according to the manufacturer, is that it can be injected once a month, and the different esters would provide different timed releases over that month, and the patient would therefore only need to visit the doctor once a month for his shot. For athletes or bodybuilders (who routinely use between half a gram and a gram of testosterone per week), this product is really no better than any other form of injectable testosterone.
Lately, it seems that this product has fallen out of favor with Steroid.com members, as many feel that the inclusion of the Propionate and phenylpropionate estered forms of testosterone in this blend would necessitate shooting every other day. This stems from the fact that testosterone propionate would be shot every other day at least, and testosterone phenylpropionate would generally be shot every third day.
Sustanon will do exactly what other forms of testosterone will do:
Testosterone will cause both muscle growth as well as fat loss. It sends a message to muscle cells to store more contractile protein (called actin and myosin), thus making your muscles grow. It also protects your muscles from catabolic (muscle wasting) glucocorticoid hormones(1). Thus it is often said that testosterone is not only anabolic, but it is strongly catabolic. Not only does it cause an increase in size of the muscle fibres (hyperfascia) but it also can change the appearance and the actual number of muscle fibres (Hyperplasia)(2). Testosterone has the ability to increase erythropoiesis (red blood cell production) in your kidneys(4), and a higher Red Blood Cell (RBC) count may improve endurance by producing more highly oxygenated blood. More RBCs can also improve recovery from strenuous physical activity. Agression levels often rise dramatically with the use of any exogenous testosterone (3). Testosterone improves muscle contraction by increasing the number of motor neutrons in muscle(5) and improves neuromuscular transmission(6). It also promotes glycogen synthesis(7)
And, since Sustanon is simply a form of (well actually 4 forms of) testosterone, we also know that administration of this compound will produce a dose respondant curve. (10)A what? Yeah...basically a "dose respondant curve" is the fancy way of saying "the more you take, the bigger you get..."
This is true of Sustanon as well as for every form of testosterone, up to a point.
Unfortunately, Sustanon will also do all of the bad things that any form of testosterone is known for:
It will convert to the female hormone estrogen (via a mechanism known as aromatization) by the (you guessed it) aromatize enzyme. Excessive estrogen can lead to unwanted side effects, such as acne, the growth of breast tissue (gynecomastia), fat gain and reduced fat breakdown, loss of sex drive, testicular shrinkage and water retention. Water retention can increase blood pressure weakening blood vessels over time. Unfortunately, this isn´t all it does& it can also interact with the 5 alpha-reductase enzyme. This interaction converts the testosterone to Dihydro-testosterone (DHT), a more androgenic form of the parent hormone. DHT has a high binding affinity to the tissues of the scalp resulting in hair loss in loss in users who suffer from male pattern baldness. DHT can affect the prostate as well, making it larger. This swelling can cause the gland to press against the bladder causing urinary problems. Drugs called 5alpha-reductase inhibitors can prevent these symptoms without blocking testosterone´s anabolic effects.(8) Higher dosages of test can also negatively impact cholesterol, lowering HDL(9). Testosterone is probably the safest steroid around, but it can´t be taken lightly, and Sustanon is no different.
The principal drawback to Sustanon is it´s cost. It can cost between $5 an ampule and $12 an ampule. Compared with Omnadren, Testoviron, or even Sten (other testosterone products featuring various blends of Testosterone), the cost makes it prohibitive. An equal amount of an of the aforementioned products can be had for less than half the average cost of an amp of Sustanon. Sustanon, therefore, is no better or worse than any other form of testosterone... if the price is right.
17b-hydroxy-4-androsten-3-one
Testosterone base + 4 different esters
Propionate, Phenylpropionate, Isocaproate, Decanoate
Formula (base): C27 H40 O3
Molecular Weight (base): 288.429
Molecular Weight, Esters:
Propionate: 362.5082
Phenylpropionate: 438.6058
Isocaproate: 404.5886
Decanoate: 460.6958
Formula (base): C19 H28 O2
Melting Point (base): 155
Manufacturer: Organon
Effective Dose (Men): 500-2000mg/ week
Effective Dose (Women): Not recommended
Active life: Up to 3 weeks
Detection Time: 3+ months
Anabolic/Androgenic ratio:100/100
References:
Human Anatomy and Physiology, 6th Edition, John W. Hole jr.
J Appl Physiol 94: 2273-2281, 2003. First published February 14, 2003; doi:10.1152
Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 77, Issue 1 23-29,
EFFECTS OF RECOMBINANT GROWTH HORMONE ON VISCERAL FAT ACCUMULATION: PILOT STUDY IN HIV-INFECTED ADOLESCENTS. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Apr 19; [Epub ahead of print]
Measures of submaximal aerobic performance evaluate and predict functional response to growth hormone (HGH) treatment in HGH-deficient adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999 Dec;84(12):4570-7.
Hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise with or without nutritional supplementation. J Appl Physiol, Oct 1998; 85: 1544 - 1555.
Hormonal and growth factor responses to heavy resistance exercise protocols. J Appl Physiol, Oct 1990; 69: 1442-1450
High dose growth hormone exerts an anabolic effect at rest and during exercise in endurance-trained athletes.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Nov;88(11):5221-6.
Christ ER, Cummings MH, Westwood NB, Sawyer BM, Pearson TC, Sonksen PH, Russell-Jones DL. The importance of growth hormone in the regulation of erythropoiesis, red cell mass, and plasma volume in adults with growth hormone deficiency., J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1997 Sep;82(9):2985-90
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 87, No.8 3573-3577
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Mar;282(3):E601-7.
Testosterone blunts feedback inhibition of growth hormone secretion by experimentally elevated insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Mar;90(3):1613-7. Epub 2004 Dec 7.
Comparison of the Metabolic Effects of Raloxifene and Oral Estrogen in Postmenopausal and Growth Hormone-Deficient Women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Apr 26; [Epub ahead of print]
Serum insulin-like growth factor I levels in growth hormone-deficient adults: influence of sex steroids.Horm Res. 2004;62 Suppl 1:73-6.
Growth hormone enhances effects of endurance training on oxidative muscle metabolism in elderly women. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, Nov 2000; 279: 989 - 996.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 1998 May;53(3):M183-7
(testosterone)
This product was developed by Organon as an ideal HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) solution, and it was thought at the time that the different esters would be able to provide a constant release of Testosterone over a months time. Sustanon is a blend of different estered testosterones (4 of them): testosterone propionate - 30 mg, testosterone phenylpropionate - 60 mg, testosterone isocaproate - 60mg, and testosterone decanoate -100 mg.
This drug was highly sought after as a "superior" version of testosterone in the late 80´s and through the mid 90´s. No doubt this is partly due to the very nice write-up Dan Duchaine gave it in his newsletters. However, lets keep in mind that this drug was designed for convenience, not athletics or bodybuilding. The advantage to this drug, according to the manufacturer, is that it can be injected once a month, and the different esters would provide different timed releases over that month, and the patient would therefore only need to visit the doctor once a month for his shot. For athletes or bodybuilders (who routinely use between half a gram and a gram of testosterone per week), this product is really no better than any other form of injectable testosterone.
Lately, it seems that this product has fallen out of favor with Steroid.com members, as many feel that the inclusion of the Propionate and phenylpropionate estered forms of testosterone in this blend would necessitate shooting every other day. This stems from the fact that testosterone propionate would be shot every other day at least, and testosterone phenylpropionate would generally be shot every third day.
Sustanon will do exactly what other forms of testosterone will do:
Testosterone will cause both muscle growth as well as fat loss. It sends a message to muscle cells to store more contractile protein (called actin and myosin), thus making your muscles grow. It also protects your muscles from catabolic (muscle wasting) glucocorticoid hormones(1). Thus it is often said that testosterone is not only anabolic, but it is strongly catabolic. Not only does it cause an increase in size of the muscle fibres (hyperfascia) but it also can change the appearance and the actual number of muscle fibres (Hyperplasia)(2). Testosterone has the ability to increase erythropoiesis (red blood cell production) in your kidneys(4), and a higher Red Blood Cell (RBC) count may improve endurance by producing more highly oxygenated blood. More RBCs can also improve recovery from strenuous physical activity. Agression levels often rise dramatically with the use of any exogenous testosterone (3). Testosterone improves muscle contraction by increasing the number of motor neutrons in muscle(5) and improves neuromuscular transmission(6). It also promotes glycogen synthesis(7)
And, since Sustanon is simply a form of (well actually 4 forms of) testosterone, we also know that administration of this compound will produce a dose respondant curve. (10)A what? Yeah...basically a "dose respondant curve" is the fancy way of saying "the more you take, the bigger you get..."
This is true of Sustanon as well as for every form of testosterone, up to a point.
Unfortunately, Sustanon will also do all of the bad things that any form of testosterone is known for:
It will convert to the female hormone estrogen (via a mechanism known as aromatization) by the (you guessed it) aromatize enzyme. Excessive estrogen can lead to unwanted side effects, such as acne, the growth of breast tissue (gynecomastia), fat gain and reduced fat breakdown, loss of sex drive, testicular shrinkage and water retention. Water retention can increase blood pressure weakening blood vessels over time. Unfortunately, this isn´t all it does& it can also interact with the 5 alpha-reductase enzyme. This interaction converts the testosterone to Dihydro-testosterone (DHT), a more androgenic form of the parent hormone. DHT has a high binding affinity to the tissues of the scalp resulting in hair loss in loss in users who suffer from male pattern baldness. DHT can affect the prostate as well, making it larger. This swelling can cause the gland to press against the bladder causing urinary problems. Drugs called 5alpha-reductase inhibitors can prevent these symptoms without blocking testosterone´s anabolic effects.(8) Higher dosages of test can also negatively impact cholesterol, lowering HDL(9). Testosterone is probably the safest steroid around, but it can´t be taken lightly, and Sustanon is no different.
The principal drawback to Sustanon is it´s cost. It can cost between $5 an ampule and $12 an ampule. Compared with Omnadren, Testoviron, or even Sten (other testosterone products featuring various blends of Testosterone), the cost makes it prohibitive. An equal amount of an of the aforementioned products can be had for less than half the average cost of an amp of Sustanon. Sustanon, therefore, is no better or worse than any other form of testosterone... if the price is right.
17b-hydroxy-4-androsten-3-one
Testosterone base + 4 different esters
Propionate, Phenylpropionate, Isocaproate, Decanoate
Formula (base): C27 H40 O3
Molecular Weight (base): 288.429
Molecular Weight, Esters:
Propionate: 362.5082
Phenylpropionate: 438.6058
Isocaproate: 404.5886
Decanoate: 460.6958
Formula (base): C19 H28 O2
Melting Point (base): 155
Manufacturer: Organon
Effective Dose (Men): 500-2000mg/ week
Effective Dose (Women): Not recommended
Active life: Up to 3 weeks
Detection Time: 3+ months
Anabolic/Androgenic ratio:100/100
References:
Human Anatomy and Physiology, 6th Edition, John W. Hole jr.
J Appl Physiol 94: 2273-2281, 2003. First published February 14, 2003; doi:10.1152
Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 77, Issue 1 23-29,
EFFECTS OF RECOMBINANT GROWTH HORMONE ON VISCERAL FAT ACCUMULATION: PILOT STUDY IN HIV-INFECTED ADOLESCENTS. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Apr 19; [Epub ahead of print]
Measures of submaximal aerobic performance evaluate and predict functional response to growth hormone (HGH) treatment in HGH-deficient adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999 Dec;84(12):4570-7.
Hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise with or without nutritional supplementation. J Appl Physiol, Oct 1998; 85: 1544 - 1555.
Hormonal and growth factor responses to heavy resistance exercise protocols. J Appl Physiol, Oct 1990; 69: 1442-1450
High dose growth hormone exerts an anabolic effect at rest and during exercise in endurance-trained athletes.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Nov;88(11):5221-6.
Christ ER, Cummings MH, Westwood NB, Sawyer BM, Pearson TC, Sonksen PH, Russell-Jones DL. The importance of growth hormone in the regulation of erythropoiesis, red cell mass, and plasma volume in adults with growth hormone deficiency., J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1997 Sep;82(9):2985-90
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 87, No.8 3573-3577
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Mar;282(3):E601-7.
Testosterone blunts feedback inhibition of growth hormone secretion by experimentally elevated insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Mar;90(3):1613-7. Epub 2004 Dec 7.
Comparison of the Metabolic Effects of Raloxifene and Oral Estrogen in Postmenopausal and Growth Hormone-Deficient Women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Apr 26; [Epub ahead of print]
Serum insulin-like growth factor I levels in growth hormone-deficient adults: influence of sex steroids.Horm Res. 2004;62 Suppl 1:73-6.
Growth hormone enhances effects of endurance training on oxidative muscle metabolism in elderly women. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, Nov 2000; 279: 989 - 996.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 1998 May;53(3):M183-7
Thursday, August 9, 2007
HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin)
HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin)
Quick overview:
Active Life: 64 hours
Drug Class: Leutenizing Hormone (LH) - Gonadotropin
Average Dose: debatable
Acne: Yes
Water Retention: Yes
High Blood Pressure: Yes
Liver Toxic: No
Aromatization: No, but it will raise testosterone levels and increased aromatization may occur.
Chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone found in the female body during the early months of pregnancy (it is produced in the placenta). It is in fact the pregnancy indicator looked at by the over the counter pregnancy test kits, as due to its origin it is not found in the body at any other time. Blood levels of this hormone will become noticeable as early as seven days after ovulation. The level will rise evenly, reaching a peak at approximately two to three months into gestation. After this point, the hormone level will drop gradually until the point of birth. As a prescription drug, HCG offers us some interesting benefits. In the United States, we have the two popular brands, Pregnyl, made by Organon, and Profasi, made by Serono. These are FDA approved for the treatment of undescended testicles in young boys, hypogonadism (underproduction of testosterone) and as a fertility drug used to aid in inducing ovulation in women. When prepared as a medical item, this hormone comes from a human origin. Although there is often a fear of biological origin products, there is little research to be found regarding pathogen or sterility problems with HCG. The problems seen with human origin growth hormone are certainly not to be repeated with HCG, as this compound is obtained in a much different way.
While HCG offers the female no performance enhancing ability, it does prove very useful to the male steroid user. The obvious use of course being to stimulate the production of endogenous testosterone. The activity of HCG in the male body is due to its ability to mimic LH (luteinizing hormone), a pituitary hormone that stimulates the Leydig's cells in the testes to manufacture testosterone. Restoring endogenous testosterone production is a special concern at the end of each steroid cycle, a time when a subnormal androgen level (due to steroid induced suppression) could be very costly. The main concern is the action of cortisol, which in many ways is balanced out by the effect of androgens. Cortisol sends the opposite message to the muscles than testosterone, or to breakdown protein in the cell. Left unchecked (by an extremely low testosterone level) in the body, cortisol can quickly strip much of your new muscle mass away.
The main focus with HCG is to restore the normal ability of the testes to respond to endogenous luteinizing hormone. After a long period of inactivity, this ability may have been seriously reduced. In such a state testosterone levels may not reach a normal point, even though the release of endogenous LH has been resumed. Many who have suffered severe testicular shrinkage may be able to relate, as it is often some time before normal testicle size and feelings of virility are restored if ancillary drugs had not been used. The excessive stimulation brought forth by administration of HCG can likewise cause the testicles to rapidly return to their normal size and level of activity. We are not simply looking for it to fix the problem however, as the resulting high testosterone level can itself trigger negative feedback inhibition at the hypothalamus. Estrogen production is also heightened with the use of HCG, due to its ability to increase aromatase activity in the Leydig's cells. This is due to the main action of HCG, namely the increase of cycIicAMP (a secondary messenger that regulates cellular activity). When stimulated by HCG, the ability of the testes to aromatize androgens could potentially be heightened several times greater than normal. This also may inhibit testosterone production, so we therefore use HCG only as a quick shock to the testes.
The usual protocol is to inject 1500-3000 I.U. every 4th or 5th day, for a duration usually no longer than 2 or 3 weeks. If used for too long or at too high a dose, the drug may actually function to desensitize the Leydig's cells to luteinizing hormone, further hindering a return to homeostasis. Timing the initial dose is also very crucial. If your were coming off a cycle of Sustanon for example, testosterone levels in your blood will likely stay elevated for at least 3 to 4 weeks after your last injection. Taking HCG on the day of your last shot would therefore be useless. Instead one would want to calculate the last week in which androgen levels are likely to be above normal, and begin ancillary drug therapy at this point. In this case HCG would be started around the third or fourth week. Likewise, after ending a cycle of Dianabol (an oral) your blood levels will be sub normal after the third day. Here you may want to begin HCG therapy a few days before your last intake of tablets, giving it a few days to take effect. One would also want to give some thought to the level of suppression that the cycle might have brought about. After an 8 week cycle of Equipoise for example, 1500-2500 I.U. would likely be a sufficient initial dosage. The lower amount of hormonal suppression one associates with this drug would probably not require much more. On the other hand, 750-1000mg of Sustanon per week might incline the user to inject a much larger HCG dose, perhaps as much as 5000 I.U. for the opening application. It may thereafter also be a good idea to reduce the dosage on subsequent shots, so as to step down the intake of HCG during the two or three weeks of intake.
As discussed above, HCG acts only to mimic the action of LH. It is likewise not the perfect hormone to combat testosterone suppression, and for this reason it is used most often in conjunction with estrogen antagonists such as Clomid, Nolvadex or cyclofenil. These drugs have a different effect on the regulating system, namely inhibiting estrogen-induced suppression at the hypothalamus. This of course also helps to restore the release of testosterone, although through a much different mechanism than HCG. A combination of both drugs appears to be very synergistic, HCG providing an immediate effect on the testes (shocking them out of inactivity) while the anti-estrogen helps later to block inhibition on the hypothalamus and resume the normal release of gonadotropins from the pituitary. The typical procedure involves giving the Clomid/Nolvadex dose from the start with HCG, but continuing it alone for a few weeks once HCG has been discontinued. This practice should effectively raise testosterone levels, which will hopefully remain stable once Clomid/Nolvadex have been discontinued. While unfortunately there is no way to retain all of the muscle gains produced by anabolic steroids, using ancillaries to restore a balanced hormonal state is the best way to minimize the loss felt with ending a cycle.
Quick overview:
Active Life: 64 hours
Drug Class: Leutenizing Hormone (LH) - Gonadotropin
Average Dose: debatable
Acne: Yes
Water Retention: Yes
High Blood Pressure: Yes
Liver Toxic: No
Aromatization: No, but it will raise testosterone levels and increased aromatization may occur.
Chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone found in the female body during the early months of pregnancy (it is produced in the placenta). It is in fact the pregnancy indicator looked at by the over the counter pregnancy test kits, as due to its origin it is not found in the body at any other time. Blood levels of this hormone will become noticeable as early as seven days after ovulation. The level will rise evenly, reaching a peak at approximately two to three months into gestation. After this point, the hormone level will drop gradually until the point of birth. As a prescription drug, HCG offers us some interesting benefits. In the United States, we have the two popular brands, Pregnyl, made by Organon, and Profasi, made by Serono. These are FDA approved for the treatment of undescended testicles in young boys, hypogonadism (underproduction of testosterone) and as a fertility drug used to aid in inducing ovulation in women. When prepared as a medical item, this hormone comes from a human origin. Although there is often a fear of biological origin products, there is little research to be found regarding pathogen or sterility problems with HCG. The problems seen with human origin growth hormone are certainly not to be repeated with HCG, as this compound is obtained in a much different way.
While HCG offers the female no performance enhancing ability, it does prove very useful to the male steroid user. The obvious use of course being to stimulate the production of endogenous testosterone. The activity of HCG in the male body is due to its ability to mimic LH (luteinizing hormone), a pituitary hormone that stimulates the Leydig's cells in the testes to manufacture testosterone. Restoring endogenous testosterone production is a special concern at the end of each steroid cycle, a time when a subnormal androgen level (due to steroid induced suppression) could be very costly. The main concern is the action of cortisol, which in many ways is balanced out by the effect of androgens. Cortisol sends the opposite message to the muscles than testosterone, or to breakdown protein in the cell. Left unchecked (by an extremely low testosterone level) in the body, cortisol can quickly strip much of your new muscle mass away.
The main focus with HCG is to restore the normal ability of the testes to respond to endogenous luteinizing hormone. After a long period of inactivity, this ability may have been seriously reduced. In such a state testosterone levels may not reach a normal point, even though the release of endogenous LH has been resumed. Many who have suffered severe testicular shrinkage may be able to relate, as it is often some time before normal testicle size and feelings of virility are restored if ancillary drugs had not been used. The excessive stimulation brought forth by administration of HCG can likewise cause the testicles to rapidly return to their normal size and level of activity. We are not simply looking for it to fix the problem however, as the resulting high testosterone level can itself trigger negative feedback inhibition at the hypothalamus. Estrogen production is also heightened with the use of HCG, due to its ability to increase aromatase activity in the Leydig's cells. This is due to the main action of HCG, namely the increase of cycIicAMP (a secondary messenger that regulates cellular activity). When stimulated by HCG, the ability of the testes to aromatize androgens could potentially be heightened several times greater than normal. This also may inhibit testosterone production, so we therefore use HCG only as a quick shock to the testes.
The usual protocol is to inject 1500-3000 I.U. every 4th or 5th day, for a duration usually no longer than 2 or 3 weeks. If used for too long or at too high a dose, the drug may actually function to desensitize the Leydig's cells to luteinizing hormone, further hindering a return to homeostasis. Timing the initial dose is also very crucial. If your were coming off a cycle of Sustanon for example, testosterone levels in your blood will likely stay elevated for at least 3 to 4 weeks after your last injection. Taking HCG on the day of your last shot would therefore be useless. Instead one would want to calculate the last week in which androgen levels are likely to be above normal, and begin ancillary drug therapy at this point. In this case HCG would be started around the third or fourth week. Likewise, after ending a cycle of Dianabol (an oral) your blood levels will be sub normal after the third day. Here you may want to begin HCG therapy a few days before your last intake of tablets, giving it a few days to take effect. One would also want to give some thought to the level of suppression that the cycle might have brought about. After an 8 week cycle of Equipoise for example, 1500-2500 I.U. would likely be a sufficient initial dosage. The lower amount of hormonal suppression one associates with this drug would probably not require much more. On the other hand, 750-1000mg of Sustanon per week might incline the user to inject a much larger HCG dose, perhaps as much as 5000 I.U. for the opening application. It may thereafter also be a good idea to reduce the dosage on subsequent shots, so as to step down the intake of HCG during the two or three weeks of intake.
As discussed above, HCG acts only to mimic the action of LH. It is likewise not the perfect hormone to combat testosterone suppression, and for this reason it is used most often in conjunction with estrogen antagonists such as Clomid, Nolvadex or cyclofenil. These drugs have a different effect on the regulating system, namely inhibiting estrogen-induced suppression at the hypothalamus. This of course also helps to restore the release of testosterone, although through a much different mechanism than HCG. A combination of both drugs appears to be very synergistic, HCG providing an immediate effect on the testes (shocking them out of inactivity) while the anti-estrogen helps later to block inhibition on the hypothalamus and resume the normal release of gonadotropins from the pituitary. The typical procedure involves giving the Clomid/Nolvadex dose from the start with HCG, but continuing it alone for a few weeks once HCG has been discontinued. This practice should effectively raise testosterone levels, which will hopefully remain stable once Clomid/Nolvadex have been discontinued. While unfortunately there is no way to retain all of the muscle gains produced by anabolic steroids, using ancillaries to restore a balanced hormonal state is the best way to minimize the loss felt with ending a cycle.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Guide to rHGH use
Guide to rHGH use
Disclaimer (warning): This information is for entertainment value only. I am not a medical doctor , therefore, I am not qualified to offer any medical advice nor advise you on how to take any substances. What follow is my experience and knowledge of HGH.
According to studies in the New England Journal of Medicine GH use will:
- Shed Bodyfat- Increase Muscle Tone- Boost your Energy, Strength, and Endurance- Reduce Wrinkles - Create Tighter, Smoother Skin- Help you Sleep Better- Improve Sex Drive and Performance- Improve Immune and Heart Function, Bone Density, Healing Time and Cholesterol, Improve Brain Function, Memory and Mental Focus
Wow! Sure sounds like a wonder drug to me! Yeah right, anyway here is some real world information for bodybuilders. Somatropin (rHGH) is produced by the pituitary gland and is responsible in adolescence for growth of tissues, protein deposition, and the breakdown of sub-q fat stores. As we age, growth hormone levels decrease but still remain active in the body, releasing in cycles during the day. Synthetic growth hormone used exogenously by bodybuilders is a 191 chain sequence of amino acids that replicates the bodies natural production of growth hormone.
Growth hormone has been in use by bodybuilders since the early 1980’s, though at this time, HGH was being extracted from the pituitary glands of cadavers and had enormous side effects, most prominently Creutzfeldt Jacob disease. This is a rare and fatal brain disease, it need not be discussed here since it is not possible in synthetic forms of HGH, but if you want more info just run a search in google. rHGH stimulates growth in most body tissues which is due to an increase in cell number rather than cell size. This includes muscle tissue as well as internal organs, hence the dreaded GH gut.
Use of growth hormone by bodybuilders will cause increased muscle size, localized and overall bodyfat loss, increased protein synthesis, increased glucose output by the liver, increased insulin resistance and lowered thyroid output. Stored fats will be used as a primary fuel source, thus the body fat loss.
So is rHGH the wonder drug everyone lusts after? It certainly is beneficial but not for everyone. You must be willing to take risks to achieve maximum benefits from its use, as well as substantial financial investment. Do it right the first time or don’t do it at all! You will achieve faster and greater growth from cycles of steroids than with GH, though once you reach a plateau, not many products work better.
Ok, so now you have decided that this is the drug for you and you are ready to try it, so what next? Well here are some general guidelines to follow for maximal results from GH use:
Daily injections are a must to maintain stable blood levels as GH has a very short life span in the body. It will peak almost immediately after injection and will clear the body with a half-life of only 20-30 minutes. It is best injected first thing in the morning upon rising to raise levels that are very low from sleeping, and immediately after training. I do not recommend injecting before bed as many bodybuilders do, since that is the time of day that your body will release naturally high levels of growth hormone, and exogenous use will only block that release. If you take it in the morning when levels are low, after training when levels are depleted and then let your body release while sleeping, you are getting one extra release for free! GH is best taken long term, short cycles do not maximize the benefits of muscle cell increase, only fat loss. Here is how I take my GH for maximum benefits:
6iu ed injected sub-q, preferably in the stomach (IM for certain brands)3iu injected upon rising, 3iu injected immediately post-workout10iu insulin taken 30 minutes after HGH injection25mcg cytomel eduse of androgens such as testosterone
The timing of GH and insulin injections is critical. If insulin is injected before the GH, your pancreas will stop release of insulin monitoring due to the exogenous source. GH when injected will mobilize stored glycogen release which will turn into glucose for energy. This will cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels that will not shut down or stop rising due to the feedback loop being momentarily cut off. You will go hyperglycemic and end up in the hospital. You must first inject your GH, then the insulin; this will cause a rise in glucose release by the GH and will be controlled and shuttled into muscle tissue for repair by the later injection of insulin.Use of cytomel or some type of T3 hormone is critical since GH use will severely lower thyroid levels. Small exogenous sources are necessary to maintain normal levels and 25 mcg ed is sufficient. This will also aid in body fat loss by maintaining proper thyroid functioning.Use of androgens is also necessary due to the promotion of anabolism by increasing muscle size that benefits the new cell number increase by the GH. Remember GH will not directly cause muscle cell size increase, just the number of cells, therefore, androgens are necessary to increase size. Testosterone or trenbolone are both highly androgenic and perfect for out stack.
One myth that needs to be cleared up: high doses of GH use and the 5 on 2 off program. First, if you find that you are not achieving results off of 4-6iu ed, than something else is the problem, not your dose. The use of high doses if primarily cause by heat damage to the protein chain causing denatured proteins. This will decrease the effect and you must use higher doses to achieve the same effect. Other reasons for high dose use are; fake gh, not using insulin, cytomel or test, poor diet, improper timing schedule and the 5 on 2 off. This program was recommended by dealers as a way to move product by offering a lower cost cycle. No doctor in the world would recommend this protocol, Peak blood concentrations are reached in 2-6 hours after injection, and therefore, multiple daily injections are necessary to achieve stable release schedule and results. If you take your last injection Friday afternoon, and then not again till Monday morning, then you have negated all effects offered by the 6 hour concentration. Yes, you will achieve results using a 5 on 2 off program, but not as well as if you inject ed. It’s your money; I can only tell you how to optimize use.
Side effects of GH use include; carpal tunnel syndrome, tingling in the extremities, numbness in the hands and feet, increased organ growth, decreased insulin reception, acromegaly but only in extreme dose use, and decreased thyroid output causing fat accumulation. If you find that you are experiencing any of the above side effects, lower your dose immediately. This is especially important with carpal tunnel. If you feel like your wrists are hurting then lower the dose until pain subsides. You do not want to have that surgery, trust me.
GH is a fantastic product, beneficial for many reasons. Most people will experience thinning of the skin, increased vascularity, fat loss, permanent increases in muscle size due to the cell number increase, and overall feelings of wellness. You will probably need less sleep and feel supercharged all day long. I highly recommend HGH use, but only when you have the money to do it right. 4-6 month cycles are optimal, year round if you are over age 35.
Disclaimer (warning): This information is for entertainment value only. I am not a medical doctor , therefore, I am not qualified to offer any medical advice nor advise you on how to take any substances. What follow is my experience and knowledge of HGH.
According to studies in the New England Journal of Medicine GH use will:
- Shed Bodyfat- Increase Muscle Tone- Boost your Energy, Strength, and Endurance- Reduce Wrinkles - Create Tighter, Smoother Skin- Help you Sleep Better- Improve Sex Drive and Performance- Improve Immune and Heart Function, Bone Density, Healing Time and Cholesterol, Improve Brain Function, Memory and Mental Focus
Wow! Sure sounds like a wonder drug to me! Yeah right, anyway here is some real world information for bodybuilders. Somatropin (rHGH) is produced by the pituitary gland and is responsible in adolescence for growth of tissues, protein deposition, and the breakdown of sub-q fat stores. As we age, growth hormone levels decrease but still remain active in the body, releasing in cycles during the day. Synthetic growth hormone used exogenously by bodybuilders is a 191 chain sequence of amino acids that replicates the bodies natural production of growth hormone.
Growth hormone has been in use by bodybuilders since the early 1980’s, though at this time, HGH was being extracted from the pituitary glands of cadavers and had enormous side effects, most prominently Creutzfeldt Jacob disease. This is a rare and fatal brain disease, it need not be discussed here since it is not possible in synthetic forms of HGH, but if you want more info just run a search in google. rHGH stimulates growth in most body tissues which is due to an increase in cell number rather than cell size. This includes muscle tissue as well as internal organs, hence the dreaded GH gut.
Use of growth hormone by bodybuilders will cause increased muscle size, localized and overall bodyfat loss, increased protein synthesis, increased glucose output by the liver, increased insulin resistance and lowered thyroid output. Stored fats will be used as a primary fuel source, thus the body fat loss.
So is rHGH the wonder drug everyone lusts after? It certainly is beneficial but not for everyone. You must be willing to take risks to achieve maximum benefits from its use, as well as substantial financial investment. Do it right the first time or don’t do it at all! You will achieve faster and greater growth from cycles of steroids than with GH, though once you reach a plateau, not many products work better.
Ok, so now you have decided that this is the drug for you and you are ready to try it, so what next? Well here are some general guidelines to follow for maximal results from GH use:
Daily injections are a must to maintain stable blood levels as GH has a very short life span in the body. It will peak almost immediately after injection and will clear the body with a half-life of only 20-30 minutes. It is best injected first thing in the morning upon rising to raise levels that are very low from sleeping, and immediately after training. I do not recommend injecting before bed as many bodybuilders do, since that is the time of day that your body will release naturally high levels of growth hormone, and exogenous use will only block that release. If you take it in the morning when levels are low, after training when levels are depleted and then let your body release while sleeping, you are getting one extra release for free! GH is best taken long term, short cycles do not maximize the benefits of muscle cell increase, only fat loss. Here is how I take my GH for maximum benefits:
6iu ed injected sub-q, preferably in the stomach (IM for certain brands)3iu injected upon rising, 3iu injected immediately post-workout10iu insulin taken 30 minutes after HGH injection25mcg cytomel eduse of androgens such as testosterone
The timing of GH and insulin injections is critical. If insulin is injected before the GH, your pancreas will stop release of insulin monitoring due to the exogenous source. GH when injected will mobilize stored glycogen release which will turn into glucose for energy. This will cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels that will not shut down or stop rising due to the feedback loop being momentarily cut off. You will go hyperglycemic and end up in the hospital. You must first inject your GH, then the insulin; this will cause a rise in glucose release by the GH and will be controlled and shuttled into muscle tissue for repair by the later injection of insulin.Use of cytomel or some type of T3 hormone is critical since GH use will severely lower thyroid levels. Small exogenous sources are necessary to maintain normal levels and 25 mcg ed is sufficient. This will also aid in body fat loss by maintaining proper thyroid functioning.Use of androgens is also necessary due to the promotion of anabolism by increasing muscle size that benefits the new cell number increase by the GH. Remember GH will not directly cause muscle cell size increase, just the number of cells, therefore, androgens are necessary to increase size. Testosterone or trenbolone are both highly androgenic and perfect for out stack.
One myth that needs to be cleared up: high doses of GH use and the 5 on 2 off program. First, if you find that you are not achieving results off of 4-6iu ed, than something else is the problem, not your dose. The use of high doses if primarily cause by heat damage to the protein chain causing denatured proteins. This will decrease the effect and you must use higher doses to achieve the same effect. Other reasons for high dose use are; fake gh, not using insulin, cytomel or test, poor diet, improper timing schedule and the 5 on 2 off. This program was recommended by dealers as a way to move product by offering a lower cost cycle. No doctor in the world would recommend this protocol, Peak blood concentrations are reached in 2-6 hours after injection, and therefore, multiple daily injections are necessary to achieve stable release schedule and results. If you take your last injection Friday afternoon, and then not again till Monday morning, then you have negated all effects offered by the 6 hour concentration. Yes, you will achieve results using a 5 on 2 off program, but not as well as if you inject ed. It’s your money; I can only tell you how to optimize use.
Side effects of GH use include; carpal tunnel syndrome, tingling in the extremities, numbness in the hands and feet, increased organ growth, decreased insulin reception, acromegaly but only in extreme dose use, and decreased thyroid output causing fat accumulation. If you find that you are experiencing any of the above side effects, lower your dose immediately. This is especially important with carpal tunnel. If you feel like your wrists are hurting then lower the dose until pain subsides. You do not want to have that surgery, trust me.
GH is a fantastic product, beneficial for many reasons. Most people will experience thinning of the skin, increased vascularity, fat loss, permanent increases in muscle size due to the cell number increase, and overall feelings of wellness. You will probably need less sleep and feel supercharged all day long. I highly recommend HGH use, but only when you have the money to do it right. 4-6 month cycles are optimal, year round if you are over age 35.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Testosterone Suspension
Testosterone Suspension
Testosterone suspension is simply testosterone crystals suspended in a sterile water solution. As such, it becomes active very quickly after injection, and agressiveness often sets in immediatel as well as a possible strength elevation. Since there is no ester, it also basically drops crystals into your muscle (painful), but it also gives you more bang for the buck than other forms of injectable testosterone.
As with all forms of testosterone, this product will convert to estrogen, cause some waterretention, possible acne and hairloss. Of course, testosterone will also build mass and strength faster than any other anabolic steroid as well, and should be the base of any cycle.
Reported Characteristics
Pharmaceutical Name:Testosterone
Chemical Name:4-androstene-3-one-17b-ol
Cutting/Bulking:Cutting
Anabolic Rating: 100
Active-Life: About one day.
Drug Class: Androgenic/Anabolic Steroid (For injection)
Average Reported Dosage: Men 150-1400mg weekly Women 25-50mg weekly
Acne: Yes, high
Water Retention: Yes, high
High blood Pressure: Often in higher dosages
Liver Toxic: Low
Aromatization: Yes, high
DHT Conversion: Yes-high
Decreases HPTA function: Yes
Average Price: $10/100mgs
Testosterone suspension is simply testosterone crystals suspended in a sterile water solution. As such, it becomes active very quickly after injection, and agressiveness often sets in immediatel as well as a possible strength elevation. Since there is no ester, it also basically drops crystals into your muscle (painful), but it also gives you more bang for the buck than other forms of injectable testosterone.
As with all forms of testosterone, this product will convert to estrogen, cause some water
retention, possible acne and hairloss. Of course, testosterone will also build mass and strength faster than any other anabolic steroid as well, and should be the base of any cycle.Reported Characteristics
Pharmaceutical Name:Testosterone
Chemical Name:4-androstene-3-one-17b-ol
Cutting/Bulking:Cutting
Anabolic Rating: 100
Active-Life: About one day.
Drug Class: Androgenic/Anabolic Steroid (For injection)
Average Reported Dosage: Men 150-1400mg weekly Women 25-50mg weekly
Acne: Yes, high
Water Retention: Yes, high
High blood Pressure: Often in higher dosages
Liver Toxic: Low
Aromatization: Yes, high
DHT Conversion: Yes-high
Decreases HPTA function: Yes
Average Price: $10/100mgs
Monday, August 6, 2007
Aromasin
Anabolic Steroids Profile Aromasin Exemestane Aromasin (Exemestane) is a steroidal suicide aromatase inhibitor, which means that it lowers estrogen production in the body by blocking the aromatase enzyme, the enzyme responsible for estrogen synthesization. (1)(2)(3) This stuff was developed to fight breast cancer in post-menopausal women, who need a particularly aggressive therapy, and for whom first line defenses such as SERMS (Tamoxifen) have not worked. This should be our first clue in inferring that this stuff is pretty strong, or at least stronger than some of the other compounds which are used to fight breast cancer. Aromasin and Side Effects Aromasin averages an 85% rate of estrogen suppression (4), so it´s clearly a very effective agent for bodybuilders and other athletes wanting to avoid estrogen related side effects such as gyno, acne, or water-retention brought on by aromatizing steroids. Specifically, Exemestane dose this by selectively inhibiting aromatase activity in a time-dependent and irreversible manner (hence the "suicidal" portion of it´s name, I guess).(7) As with most of the compounds in this class, it also causes a reasonable rise in testosterone levels (6), and as you may have guessed, this rise in testosterone means that Exemestane can also cause androgenic sides(8)(9)(10). As you can see from the chart below, exemestane is very effective at both lowering estrogen (estradiol) and raising testosterone: FIG. 1. Estrogen and androgen plasma levels after 10 d of daily exemestane (25 or 50 mg) in healthy young males (mean ± SD; n = 9-11). To convert to Systeme International units: estradiol, picomoles per liter (x3.671); estrone, picomoles per liter (x3.699); androstenedione, nanomoles per liter (*0.003492); and testosterone, nanomoles per liter (x0.03467). (13) So we can see that 25mgs is a very effective dose from that chart, right? As an added benefit, exemestane not only increases testosterone and lowers estrogen, but it also increases IGF levels (11).Additionally Worth noting is that Aromasin may possibly be less harsh on blood lipids (14)than some of the other (similar) compounds we use in the world of bodybuilding or athletics (other AI´s). It also has, at best no effect on IGF, and at worst could lower (13) it. AI´s are very tricky with regards to inconsistencies in IGF levels. Unfortunately, you need to take Exemestane for a week to reach steady blood plasma levels of it, and exemestane has a ½ life of 27 hours (12.). The ability of exemestane to lower estrogen levels by the aforementioned 85% makes it a very nice choice for use in any cycle where aromatizing steroids are used. In addition, since it´s not too harsh at all on blood lipid profiles, it´s a very good choice for longer cycles. It´s ability to raise both testosterone levels also seem to suggest that it would be a very nice addition to a Post-Cycle-Therapy (PCT).
Friday, August 3, 2007
Primobolan® Tablets (methenolone acetate)
Primobolan® Tablets (methenolone acetate)
Quick overview:
Active Life: 4-6 hours
Drug Class: Anabolic/Androgenic Steroid (Oral)
Average Dose: Men 50-150 mg/day......Women 50-75 mg/day
Acne: Rare
Water Retention: No
High Blood Pressure: Rare
Liver Toxic: Very low and only in very high dosages
Aromatization: None
DHT Conversion: No
Decrease HPTA function: Low
Comments: Moderately Anabolic/Low Androgenic
This section refers to the oral Primobolan® preparation, which contains the drug methenolone acetate. It is very similar in action to the injectable Primobolan® Depot (methenolone enanthate), but obviously here the drug is designed for oral administration. At one time Schering was in fact also manufacturing an injectable methenolone acetate (Primobolan® acetate, out of manufacture since 1993), which proved to be very useful for pre-contest cutting purposes. This steroid is now gravely missed, as it was once a favorite among European competitors. Although we still have the acetate in oral form, it is a close, but not equal substitute (injection is a much more efficient form of delivery for this steroid).
Methenolone regardless of the ester is a very mild anabolic steroid. The androgenic activity of this compound is considerably low, as are its anabolic properties. One should not expect to achieve great gains in muscle mass with this drug. Instead, Primobolan® is utilized when the athlete has a specific need for a mild anabolic agent, most notably in cutting phases of training. It is also a drug of choice when side effects are a concern. A welcome factor is that Primobolan® is not c17 alpha alkylated as most oral steroid are. Due to the absence of such an alteration, this compound is one of the few commercially produced oral steroids that is not notably stressful to the liver. While liver enzymes values have been affected by this drug in some rare instances, actual damage due to use of this substance is not a documented problem. Unfortunately the 1 alkylation and 17-beta esterification of Primobolan® do not protect the compound very well during first pass however, so much of your initial dose will not make circulation. This is obviously why we need such high daily dose with the oral version of Primobolan®.
Primobolan® will also not aromatize, so estrogen related side effects are of no concern. This is very useful when leading up to a bodybuilding contest, as subcutaneous water retention (due to estrogen) can seriously lessen the look of hardness and definition to the muscles. Non-aromatizing steroids are therefore indispensable to the competitor, helping to bring about a tight, solid build the weeks leading up to a show. And of course without excess estrogen there is little chance of the athlete developing gynecomastia. Likewise there should never be a need for anti-estrogen use with this steroid. Primobolan® is also said to have a low impact on endogenous testosterone production. Although this may well be true in small clinical doses, it will not hold true for the bodybuilder. For example, in one study more than half of the patients receiving only 30-45 mg noted a suppression of gonadotropin levels of 15% to 65% a. This is a dose far less than most bodybuilders would use, and no doubt increasing it would only lead to worse suppression. One would therefore still need a testosterone stimulating drug like HCG or Clomid®/Nolvadex® when concluding a low-dose Primobolan® cycle, unless a deliberately small dose were being used.
It is also important to note that although the androgenic component of Primobolan® is low, side effects are still possible. One may therefore notice oily skin, acne and facial/body hair growth during treatment. Men with a predisposition for hair loss may also find it exacerbates this condition, and wish to avoid this item (nandrolone injectables are a much better choice). While always possible, side effects rarely reach a point where they interfere with the progress of cycle. Primobolan® is clearly one of the milder and safer oral steroids in production. Female athletes, older or more sensitive individuals and steroid beginners will no doubt find this a comfortable steroid to experiment with.
The dosage for men is somewhere in the range of 75-150mg daily. This can obviously be tedious (and costly) if one can only obtain the 5mg tablets from Mexico and S. America. A mild anabolic such as Primobolan® is often used in conjunction with other steroids for optimal effect, so some users find a slightly lower dose effective when stacking. During a dieting or cutting phase, thought to be its primary application, a non-aromatizing androgen like Halotestin® or trenbolone can be added for example. Such combinations would enhance the physique without water retention, and help bring out a harder and more defined look of muscularity. Non-aromatizing androgen/anabolic stacks like this are in fact very popular among competing bodybuilders. This compound is also occasionally used with more potent androgens during bulking phases of training. The addition of testosterone, Dianabol or Anadrol 50® would prove effective for instance, although the gains are likely to be accompanied by some level of smoothness due to the added estrogenic component.
Among women, Primobolan® is one of the most popular steroids in use. At a dosage of 50-75mg daily, virilization symptoms are extremely uncommon. One would of course not expect a tremendous amount of muscle mass with this drug, and instead should expect a slow and steady (quality) increase. Some women choose to further add-in other anabolics such as Winstrol® or oxandrolone, in an effort to increase the muscle building effectiveness of a cycle. While both of these compounds are quite tolerable to women, one must be sure not to use too high an accumulated dosage. Troublesome androgenic side effects are always a possibility with steroid use, even with very mild substances. Taken at too high a dosage, these weak anabolics can become a formidable danger to femininity. It would therefore be the best advice not to use the normal dosage range of both, but instead start with a much lower dosage of each steroid to compensate for the other. On the black market Primobolan® orals are popular, but still much less commonly found than the injectable. This is due to the higher cost effectiveness of the injectable, which uses the same active compound but with 100% bioavailability due to the form of administration.
Quick overview:
Active Life: 4-6 hours
Drug Class: Anabolic/Androgenic Steroid (Oral)
Average Dose: Men 50-150 mg/day......Women 50-75 mg/day
Acne: Rare
Water Retention: No
High Blood Pressure: Rare
Liver Toxic: Very low and only in very high dosagesAromatization: None
DHT Conversion: No
Decrease HPTA function: Low
Comments: Moderately Anabolic/Low Androgenic
This section refers to the oral Primobolan® preparation, which contains the drug methenolone acetate. It is very similar in action to the injectable Primobolan® Depot (methenolone enanthate), but obviously here the drug is designed for oral administration. At one time Schering was in fact also manufacturing an injectable methenolone acetate (Primobolan® acetate, out of manufacture since 1993), which proved to be very useful for pre-contest cutting purposes. This steroid is now gravely missed, as it was once a favorite among European competitors. Although we still have the acetate in oral form, it is a close, but not equal substitute (injection is a much more efficient form of delivery for this steroid).
Methenolone regardless of the ester is a very mild anabolic steroid. The androgenic activity of this compound is considerably low, as are its anabolic properties. One should not expect to achieve great gains in muscle mass with this drug. Instead, Primobolan® is utilized when the athlete has a specific need for a mild anabolic agent, most notably in cutting phases of training. It is also a drug of choice when side effects are a concern. A welcome factor is that Primobolan® is not c17 alpha alkylated as most oral steroid are. Due to the absence of such an alteration, this compound is one of the few commercially produced oral steroids that is not notably stressful to the liver. While liver enzymes values have been affected by this drug in some rare instances, actual damage due to use of this substance is not a documented problem. Unfortunately the 1 alkylation and 17-beta esterification of Primobolan® do not protect the compound very well during first pass however, so much of your initial dose will not make circulation. This is obviously why we need such high daily dose with the oral version of Primobolan®.
Primobolan® will also not aromatize, so estrogen related side effects are of no concern. This is very useful when leading up to a bodybuilding contest, as subcutaneous water retention (due to estrogen) can seriously lessen the look of hardness and definition to the muscles. Non-aromatizing steroids are therefore indispensable to the competitor, helping to bring about a tight, solid build the weeks leading up to a show. And of course without excess estrogen there is little chance of the athlete developing gynecomastia. Likewise there should never be a need for anti-estrogen use with this steroid. Primobolan® is also said to have a low impact on endogenous testosterone production. Although this may well be true in small clinical doses, it will not hold true for the bodybuilder. For example, in one study more than half of the patients receiving only 30-45 mg noted a suppression of gonadotropin levels of 15% to 65% a. This is a dose far less than most bodybuilders would use, and no doubt increasing it would only lead to worse suppression. One would therefore still need a testosterone stimulating drug like HCG or Clomid®/Nolvadex® when concluding a low-dose Primobolan® cycle, unless a deliberately small dose were being used.
It is also important to note that although the androgenic component of Primobolan® is low, side effects are still possible. One may therefore notice oily skin, acne and facial/body hair growth during treatment. Men with a predisposition for hair loss may also find it exacerbates this condition, and wish to avoid this item (nandrolone injectables are a much better choice). While always possible, side effects rarely reach a point where they interfere with the progress of cycle. Primobolan® is clearly one of the milder and safer oral steroids in production. Female athletes, older or more sensitive individuals and steroid beginners will no doubt find this a comfortable steroid to experiment with.
The dosage for men is somewhere in the range of 75-150mg daily. This can obviously be tedious (and costly) if one can only obtain the 5mg tablets from Mexico and S. America. A mild anabolic such as Primobolan® is often used in conjunction with other steroids for optimal effect, so some users find a slightly lower dose effective when stacking. During a dieting or cutting phase, thought to be its primary application, a non-aromatizing androgen like Halotestin® or trenbolone can be added for example. Such combinations would enhance the physique without water retention, and help bring out a harder and more defined look of muscularity. Non-aromatizing androgen/anabolic stacks like this are in fact very popular among competing bodybuilders. This compound is also occasionally used with more potent androgens during bulking phases of training. The addition of testosterone, Dianabol or Anadrol 50® would prove effective for instance, although the gains are likely to be accompanied by some level of smoothness due to the added estrogenic component.
Among women, Primobolan® is one of the most popular steroids in use. At a dosage of 50-75mg daily, virilization symptoms are extremely uncommon. One would of course not expect a tremendous amount of muscle mass with this drug, and instead should expect a slow and steady (quality) increase. Some women choose to further add-in other anabolics such as Winstrol® or oxandrolone, in an effort to increase the muscle building effectiveness of a cycle. While both of these compounds are quite tolerable to women, one must be sure not to use too high an accumulated dosage. Troublesome androgenic side effects are always a possibility with steroid use, even with very mild substances. Taken at too high a dosage, these weak anabolics can become a formidable danger to femininity. It would therefore be the best advice not to use the normal dosage range of both, but instead start with a much lower dosage of each steroid to compensate for the other. On the black market Primobolan® orals are popular, but still much less commonly found than the injectable. This is due to the higher cost effectiveness of the injectable, which uses the same active compound but with 100% bioavailability due to the form of administration.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Nolva vs. Clomid for PCT
Nolva vs. Clomid for PCT
It seems like everyday questions concerning PCT pop up, and weather one should use either Clomid or nolva or a combo of both. I hope that this article written by BigCat may help to clear up some misconceptions.
While practically similar compounds in structure, few people ever really consider Clomid and nolva to be similar. Its not just a common myth in steroid circles, but even in the medical community. This misconception originates from their completely different uses. Nolvadex is most commonly used for the treatment of breast cancer in women, while Clomid is generally considered a fertility aid. In bodybuilding circles, from day one, Clomid has generally been used as post-cycle therapy and Nolvadex as an anti-estrogen.
But as I intend to demonstrate this is in essence the same. I believe the myth to have originated because nolva is clearly a more powerful anti-estrogen, and the people selling Clomid needed another angle to sell the stuff, so it was mostly used as a post-cycle aid. But few users really understand how Clomid (and also Nolvadex, logically) works to bring back natural testosterone in the body after the conclusion of a cycle of androgenic anabolic steroids. After a cycle is over, the level of androgens in the body drop drastically. The body compensates with an overproduction of estrogen to keep steroid levels up. Estrogen as well inhibits the production of natural testosterone, and in the period between the return of natural testosterone and the end of a cycle, a lot of mass is lost. So its in everybody's best interest to bring back natural test as soon as humanly possible. Clomid and Nolvadex will reduce the post-cycle estrogen, so that a steroid deficiency is constated and the hypothalamus is stimulated to regenerate natural testosterone production in the body. That's basically how the mechanism works, nothing more, nothing less.
Both compounds are structurally alike, classified as triphenylethylenes. Nolvadex is clearly the stronger component of the two as it can achieve better results in decreasing overall estrogen with 20-40 mg a day, than Clomid can in doses of 100-150 mg a day. A noteworthy difference. Triphenylethylenes are very mild estrogens that do not exert a lot, if any activity at the estrogen receptor, but are still highly attracted to it. As such they will occupy the receptor and keep it from binding estrogens. This means they do not actively work to reduce estrogen in the body like Proviron, Viratase or arimidex would (by competing for the aromatase enzyme), but that it blocks the receptor so that any estrogen in the body is basically inert, because it has no receptor to bind to.
This has advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that when use is discontinued, the estrogen level is still the same and new problems will develop much sooner. The advantage is that it works much faster and has results sooner than with an aromatase blocker like Proviron or arimidex. Therefor, when problems such as gynocomastia occur during a cycle of steroids one will usually start 20 mg/day of nolva or 100 mg/day of Clomid straight away, in conjunction with some Proviron or arimidex. The proviron or arimidex will actively reduce estrogen while the Clomid or Nolvadex will solve your ongoing problem straight away. This way, when use is discontinued there is no immediate rebound.
So which one should you use? Well personally, I'd have to say Nolvadex. Both as an on-cycle anti-estrogen and a post-cycle therapy. As an anti-estrogen its simply much stronger, demonstrated by the fact that better results are obtained with 20-40 mg than with 100-150 mg of Clomid. For post-cycle, this plays a key role as well. It deactivates rebound estrogen much faster and more effective. But most importantly, Nolvadex has a direct influence on bringing back natural testosterone, where as Clomid may actually have a slight negative influence. The reason being that tamoxifen (as in Nolvadex) seems to increase the responsiveness of LH (luteinizing hormone) to GnRH (gonadtropin releasing hormone), whereas Clomid seems to decrease the responsiveness a bit1.
Another noteworthy fact about Nolvadex is that it acts more potently as an estrogen in the liver. As you remember, I mentioned that clomiphene and tamoxifen are basically weak estrogens. Well, tamoxifen is apparently still quite potent in the liver. This offers us the positive benefits of this hormone in the liver, while avoiding its negative effects elsewhere in the body. As such Nolvadex can have a very positive impact on negative cholesterol levels2 in the body, and therefore too should be considered a better choice than Clomid. It will not solve the problem of bad cholesterol levels during Steroid use, but will help to contain the problem to a larger degree.
Another reason why I promote the use of Nolvadex over Clomid post-cycle (as if being 3-4 times stronger and having more of a direct effect on restoring natural test wasn't enough) is because it's a lot safer. Not just because it improves lipid profiles, but also because it simply doesn't have the intrinsic side-effects that Clomid has. Clomid causes more acne for sure, but that's mainly because you need to use a 3-4 times higher dose. But Clomid seems to also affect the eyesight. Long-term Clomid therapy causes irreversible changes in eyesight3 in users. Irreversible. For me that alone is reason enough to prefer Nolvadex.
Lastly, one should be aware that use of these compounds can reduce the gains made on steroids. Nolvadex more so than Clomid, simply because it is stronger. Estrogen is responsible for a number of anabolic factors such as increasing growth hormone output, upgrading the androgen receptor and improving glucose utilization. This is why aromatizing steroids like testosterone are still best suited for maximum muscle gain. When reducing the estrogen levels, we therefore reduce the potential gains being made. For this reason one may opt to try Clomid during a cycle instead of Nolvadex. Although I would imagine that the problem that needed solved would be of more concern, in which case nolva remains the weapon of choice. It's a plain fact that there is a high correlation between gains and side-effects. Either you go for maximum gains and tolerate the side-effects, or you reduce the side-effects, and with it the gains. That's life, nothing is free.
Stacking and Use:
If problems of Gynocomastia or other estrogen related symptoms tend to pop up during a cycle the use of 20-30 mg of Nolvadex or 100 mg of Clomid daily should easily contain the problem, and be used until a few days after the problem subsides. For best results and the least amount of problems upon cessation it is best stacked with proviron (50 mg) or arimidex (0.5 mg) for this duration as well. Its not advised that these products be ran concomitantly with the steroid for the entire duration of the stack, as this will reduce your gains. Instead cease the usage of anti-estrogens once the problem is contained, and should the problem resurface, simply recommence the use of the products in the same manner as described above.
Once a cycle of steroids is concluded one should always initiate a post-cycle therapy to help bring back natural testosterone as soon as possible. This will help you to retain the mass you gained. How this is done depends highly on the type of steroid used. If only orals were used, therapy should start immediately, even the last day of the stack. If short-acting esters or water-based injectables were used, therapy should commence within 4-7 days after last injection, and if long-acting esters were used then it should commence 1.5 to 2 weeks after the last injection was given. The length of the therapy will vary as well, from 3-5 weeks. The longer acting the product was, the longer therapy should be continued to make sure all suppressive factors are cleared before use of Clomid/Nolvadex is discontinued.
The questions you will hear from athletes over and over is if they can get legal steroids clomid and nolvadex, is it possible?well I say yes you just have to look.
For best results, it is best stacked with HCG (Human Chorionic gonadotrophin), which functions as an LH analog and can help bring testicle size back up. HCG use starts the last week of a cycle, and on from there every 5-6 days (usually 1500-3000 IU) and discontinued 1.5 to weeks prior to the cessation of Nolvadex/clomid. The reason being that HCG itself is also suppressive of natural testosterone and should be out of the body before therapy is over, or it will inhibit natural testicle function. But I can not stress enough that HCG possibly plays a more important role in post-cycle therapy than clomid/Nolvadex. For Clomid and Nolvadex, doses are usually tapered down. Its best to start with 40-50 mg of Nolvadex or 150 mg of Clomid for the first week or the first two weeks, and then finish the program with 20-25 mg of Nolvadex or 100 mg of Clomid for an additional two weeks.
References
1 Vermeulen A., Comhaire F., Hormonal effects of an anti-estrogen, tamoxifen, in normal and oligospermic men, Fertil. Ster. 29 (1978) 320-27
2 Bruning PF, Bronfer JMG, Hart AAM, Jong-Bakker M, tamoxifen, serum lipoproteins and cardiovascular risk, Br. J. Cancer 1988 Oct, 58 (4) 497-9
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