Steroids

ANABOLICS: Effective and safe use with best results!

Well hello, gym candy sharks!

You are about to get your hands on a real almanac “In the footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger, or the club of AAS fans”.

And a warning for everybody, even before you start reading this article.

Because a man who knows can lose his sleep being worried about things that a fool has not even heard of.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to simplify this release to the level of junior classes, since pharmacology is a highly specialized and science-intensive field, and we’ll do our best to comprehend it.

Let’s proceed with studying the practice of using anabolic-androgenic drugs in sports (without touching the moral and legal aspects of this issue).

We’ll focus mainly on the technical nuances of using banned doping in sports and will answer the question what are anabolic steroids in full.

Just so you know, many people, even those who are deemed to be professional sports team doctors, can have a pretty limited knowledge of the actual science of anabolic-androgenic steroids, so make sure that you read this article thoroughly.

Thus, you will know what and how to do, instead of asking the so-called professionals and getting silly recommendations, which can be quite dangerous at the same time.

What classes of AAS drugs are used in strength sports?

The anabolics, in a broad sense, are everything that assists the growth.

You see, eggs or cottage cheese are anabolics as well, since they help to shift the nitrogen balance to the positive side, thus contributing to anabolism.

In a narrow sense, anabolics are prohibited drugs leading to anabolism (the growth of muscle mass and strength).

Most often, washouts consider such drugs to be just the steroids.

Well, it’s completely wrong!

The truth is that the AAS are the strongest class of doping, yet far from being the only one.

Check out five major groups of doping (yes, there are other groups, yet they are not as important as this “fantastic five”):

1. Anabolic Steroids
2. Growth Hormone
3. Insulin
4. Anti-Adverse events agents (Proviron, hCG, Tamoxifen, Tribulus)
5. Cutting drugs (thyroid hormones, Clenbuterol, Dinitrophenol, diuretics, etc.).

Combinations of Anabolics (stacks)

Most often, when they use AAS, athletes stack several drugs at once, or gradually interchange several drugs during the course.

OR use both options during the same cycle!

What’s the point in doing so?

Experience shows that by combining several drugs, or by interchanging drugs, you achieve much higher effects in terms of muscle mass and strength.

Here’s where you can see the principle “1 + 1 = 3” in action.

At this stage, we have methods of combinations (or stacks) for beginners (let’s call these the arithmetic) and advanced methods for professionals (these already are higher mathematics and geometry).

The first basic courses for beginners contain, as a rule, combinations of Anabolic Steroids only (one type of hormones – modified sex hormones).

The “higher mathematics” of professionals, though, necessarily includes “The three pillars” (three major anabolic hormones):

• Steroids (sex hormones),
• Insulin,
• Growth hormone.

In addition, professionals add a number of drugs that help them fight against the negative effects of the above-mentioned drugs over the body.

Source: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/brochures/steroids/public/public.pdf#search=steroids

Hormones are very active substances, which often interact with each other in a different way.

Check this out!

High insulin level causes a drop in blood sugar and results in a protective reaction – the release of growth hormone.

Therefore, it is not the easiest task for zoned-out AAS fans to develop a correct use of several hormones at once.

And since we began with the analogy with arithmetic, let’s take a closer look to our stock of “figures”, the knowledge of which will be required to develop the necessary examples.

There is a great variety of AAS out there.

And you can often hear some new and incomprehensible names.

However, everything is much simpler in practice, than many people think.

The drugs themselves (active substances) are not that numerous.

A great number of different anabolics are made by manufacturers, who produce the same substances under different trade brands.

See for yourself:

• The D-BOL (Dianabol), as we all know this drug, was sold in Germany as “Nerobol”, is known in Russia as METAN, and its other known names are “Anabol”, “Naposim”…

Keep in mind!

All these are the same chemical, namely Methandrostenolone / Methandienone.

Source: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/methandrostenolone#section=Top

Read on to get comprehensive and brief info about all major anabolic steroids, which maintain their popularity in bodybuilding and professional sports.

Groups of anabolic steroids

We can divide all AAS into groups by several main features.

First of all, these are:

• Orals
• Injectables.

The first should be swallowed, and the second should be injected, clear.

In addition, to avoid any misinterpretation, they should be injected intramuscularly into the buttocks, deltas (muscle of shoulder), or into the hips.

Namely these parts have large muscles with a small number of vessels.

Let’s move on further.

Steroids are often divided into two groups:

• Anabolics
• Androgens.

This classification is rather arbitrary, because every steroid has both characteristics (that’s why they are called the AAS – anabolic-androgenic steroids).

See the screenshot below for a simple steroids definition

Source: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/anabolic.pdf#search=steroids

The differences were achieved by some wise biochemists, who reduced the androgenic component and made some drugs lean towards their anabolic side.

The anabolics cause more side effects than the androgens do, yet their effect is also higher, as well.

Even more important is the fact that pure anabolic solos (which have no androgens) work much weaker.

The last, yet not the least classification contains those AAS, which:

• Aromatize (turn into female sex hormones)
• Do not aromatize (Tren, Stanozolol).

Oral steroids (17-alpha alkylated)

Oral steroids act much faster and live shorter than injectable ones.

So, to extend the existence of the hormone, biochemists came up with 17-alpha alkylation.

What is it?

Well, these smart guys wearing their white coats attached a carbon atom to the molecule of the drug in the 17th position, thus managing to slow down the metabolism of the substance.

This solution allowed to substantially extend the half-life of the steroid (the hormone lives for hours instead of minutes), and decrease their ability to bind to the androgen receptor.

17-alpha alkylation is used in oral steroids, because under such circumstances, your liver does not have time to neutralize the substance, and most part of the hormone enters the blood.

The drawback is the additional toxic load upon the liver.

Injectable steroids – Esterification

Esterification is the process of extending the life of steroids.

In this case, though, we are talking about the injectables, and not the oral route.

So, this time, to slow the metabolism of the steroid, those wise guys in their white coats attached fatty acid in the 17th position.

Since the latter is fat-soluble, the release from the shot site and the process of its passing into blood go reeeeally slow (within days and weeks).

This ensures the achievement of a constant level of the desired steroid activity.

Different fatty acids by their release time can be “attached”, including:

• propionate,
• enanthate,
• laurate,
• decanoate.

You should understand that such “attachment” does not change the active substance and its effectiveness.

It only changes the time and the release rate of the hormone.

Here’s an example for you:

Testosterone Propionate = Testosterone Enanthate.

Source: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5995#section=Pharmacology-and-Biochemistry

Source: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/9416#section=Pharmacology-and-Biochemistry

The only difference is that the former begins working and “dying” much sooner and faster than the latter.

So, time is the only thing that differs.

When we talk about the effective time of the injectable steroids, we need to understand that there are two important periods:

1. When the steroid is released from the depot (injection site), usually takes several days.

For example, the injection of Nandrolone Decanoate begins working not earlier than three days later, or even much later.

2. The duration of the steroid half-life, after it got into the blood.

On this stage, everything is very simple:

• Half is spent first, then one fourth is spent within the same period of time, then one eighth part, etc. (each period – minus half of the substance from the previous one).

That is why, when you use injectable steroids, the level of the hormone in the blood usually increases after each next injection.

The remaining part of half-lives of previous injections adds up with the new injection every time.

EXAMPLE

• Let’s take Deca-Durabolin… the maximum rise in concentration is observed only by the third week of constant use.

Good. Now you understand that esterification ensures injection steroids with a much longer half-life than that of oral steroids.

For example, let’s take a look at such a pronounced anabolic steroid, as Nandrolone.

• Free Nandrolone loses half of its life force in half an hour or an hour.
• Decanoate will need already 6 days.
• Phenylpropionate (NPP) – 1 day,
• Nandrolone Laurate – 10 days!

Clever administration of long ethers

Most often, injectable steroids have a long life span.

And it is their huge advantage.

But there’s a catch.

There are some nuances that should be considered during their use:

Therefore, it is sane to follow several recommendations for the use of long ethers (Deca, Test Enanthate, Test Cypionate, Sustanon, Tri-Tren, etc.):

1. Opt for loading at the beginning of the cycle.

It means that you need to start with an increased dosage.

This will help you get to the working dose as quickly as possible.

EXAMPLE

If the working dose is 400 mg per week, it makes sense to go through the first two weeks with 600-800 mg.

2. By the end of the cycle, switch to short ethers.

Thus, you will have your rest immediately after the end of the cycle, rather than waiting for the moment when hormone entirely leaves your body.

EXAMPLE

If you were using test enanthate during the cycle, switch to test propionate during one and a half or two last weeks of the cycle.

3. The more often you inject the long ether, the better.

This will allow you to avoid peaks and falls.

EXAMPLE

With deca steroid, better shot yourself more than once in 6-7 days (like many people advise).

Do it at least twice in 6 days, i.e. have a steroid shot every third day.

“Anabolics” and testosterone

Division into anabolics and androgens is very arbitrary.

Each drug’s parent is the sex hormone, so it has a set of androgenic activity (hair growth, voice deepening, acne, bone growth, etc.).

Actually, when the androgen activity is directed at the growth of muscles and strength (there is an interaction of androgens with androgen receptors in muscles), we call it anabolism.

• But when the same androgen interacts with follicular or sebaceous receptors in the skin, the receptors in the bones, in the prostate or in the nervous system cells, we talk about the androgenic effects.

It is important to understand that different ASS have a different activity in different tissues.

Most often, they make friends with muscles, yet conflict with the receptors in the scalp.

On the contrary, another androgen, dihydrotestosterone, is already friendly with the receptors in the scalp and in the prostate (can lead to an increase in the prostate size and baldness).

Actually, testosterone side effects are related precisely with its partial conversion into DHT.

It would seem necessary to avoid DHT? But it’s wrong, because DHT, among others:

• increases the action of testosterone,
• has anti-estrogenic activity,
• significantly increases strength endurance.

Therefore, there is a number of cool anabolic steroids – derivatives from the “parent” Dihydrotestosterone, like Stanozolol, Mesterolone, Drostanolone, and Metenolone.

Ok, we never meant to confuse you completely.

Just keep in mind that there are drugs that predominantly act in the muscle tissue, and there are preps that can act in other tissues.

Directly, or by conversion to other active substances.

Honestly, we’ve been trying to make a list of “Anabolics” and “Androgens”, and we realized that this task is nonsense!

All preparations are very individual.

Besides, most can be added into the conditional list of “anabolics”, if we pretend that they have no “androgenic” effect of increased libido.

It’s just that in addition to muscles, the preps will impact different targets.

EXAMPLE

Trenobolone, in addition to the muscles, can affect the prostate, while Proviron increases the libido.

Anabolics:

• Nandrolones (progestagenic activity)
• Trenobolones (progestagenic activity),
• Norethandrolone,
• Oxymetholone (progestin),
• Fluoxymesterone,
• Oxandrolone,
• Stanozolol (reduces SHBG level, antiprogestant),
• Metenolone,
• Turinabol (libido),
• Mesterolone (increases libido, antiestrogen).

Androgens:

• All Testosterones (Methyltestosterone, Methandrostenolone, etc.).

Dihydrotestosterone Derivatives:

• Drostanolone,
• Mesterolone,
• Methenolone,
• Stanozolol.

Progesterones.

A number of drugs can converse into progesterone.

These drugs are deservedly considered very strong anabolics and are used quite often, and these are:

• Nandrolone
• Trenobolon
• Oxymetholone.

Moreover, progesterone has the ability to enhance the action of estrogen, thus making it much more difficult to deal with it.

Major Anabolic Steroids

Okay, so let’s go over the main steroids, which are now popular:

Testosterones. This is the most well-studied class of drugs, because it is the one, which is the basis for the others.

It was synthesized in the middle of the last century.

Actually, most modern steroids are a modified model of testosterone and have a pronounced androgenic and anabolic effect.

It is often recommended that the major part of your cycle is testosterone.

The most frequently used are namely the injectable versions (Enanthate, Cypionate, Propionate) or such mixtures as test enanthate + propionate, Sustanon or Omnadren.

Nandrolones. In 1950, they took testosterone and chopped off the methyl group in the 19th position.

Thus, a drug was born with stronger anabolic properties and reduced androgenic ones (voice coarsening, clitoris growth, acne).

The drawback that it received was the progestogenic activity due to its ability of converting into progesterone.

It does not aromatize, BUT it is capable of causing negative effects, associated with estrogen (female sex hormones).

Therefore, Nandrolone is usually used with an increased dose of Testosterone.

Nandrolones are common as injectables.

The classics combination is Nandrolone Decanoate and Nandrolone Phenylpropionate.

The first lives in the body for several weeks, and the second – few days.

Boldenone.

Meet another type of modified testosterone, which through manipulations turned into a pronounced anabolic.

Chemically, it is similar to Methandrostenolone.

Many years in a row, this steroid was considered to be a veterinary drug and was shot to all living creatures (starting from cows and horses up to chickens).

And this fact was the best recommendation for many dozed steroids fans.

The peculiarity of Boldenone is that it increases appetite and you need to inject A LOT of it.

300 mg per week is so weak that just a few will notice any effect.

More popular dosages in athletes are 500 mg, 600 mg and 800 mg.

Trenbolone.

It is very similar to Nandrolone by the chemical structure, yet it’s fundamentally different by its effect.

It takes the longest time for this steroid to stabilize the androgen receptor.

In addition, this steroid does not aromatize, yet it is capable of exhibiting progestogenic activity.

We believe that the significance of this drug is misappreciated until now.

It is very strong and causes an increase in dry muscle mass and strength.

Disadvantages: progestogenic, tren cough, kidneys, price.

When you use it, you need to substantially increase your water consumption (the urine darkens severely).

Winstrol (Stanozolol).

This steroid was undetectable in doping samples from the Olympians for a long time thanks to an additional ring with two hydrogen atoms.

Winstrol is a strong anabolic, which grows lean muscle mass and works as an anti-progestogen (i.e. it’ll work great with Deca, for example).

At the same time, it dehydrates the joint capsule.

A remarkable property of the oral form (Stanazolol) is that it reduces blood level of Globulin, thereby increasing the “payoff” from any androgens during long cycles.

Methandrostenolone.

This one is, perhaps, the most famous steroid in the world, which looks like quite a good recommendation.

We can often hear reviews about “pure” or “heavy” juice.

Well, it is rather conditional.

Dianabol is a modified testosterone, just like e.g. Deca.

The difference is some distinct features in its effect over the tissues, caused by this very modification.

Perhaps, Dianabol can be attributed equally to anabolics and androgens.

It makes both its strength and its weakness.

Most often, beginners start their steroid experience namely with this steroid.

Oxymetholone (Anapolon 50).

This one is the most powerful oral steroid in the world.

Most often, they write that it is an “androgen”.

However, we only met information about its effects over the target in the muscles, and not in other tissues.

Therefore, it is fair to say that it is the most powerful oral anabolic.

Most common version of this steroid is the oral form (tablet) at a dose of 50 mg!!!

It’s too high, so users mostly begin with half a pill, and gradually increase the dose to 2-3 pills.

Oxandrolone (Anavar).

This oral steroid does not aromatize in any dosage.

It is often prescribed for medical purposes to children and women.

The effect of its use hmm… how to say, is weakly anabolic.

Let us be frank.

It’s weak.

Still, not everyone likes to start with a “steam-hammer”.

Some people prefer fooling around with a hatchet.

Turinabol.

The oral form of this steroid was very popular in the past in athletes, because it was difficult to detect it in the body (metabolites quickly left the body).

Therefore, you will gain a little less, and will maintain a little more after the cycle.

Well, likely.

Anti-Adverse events agents (Proviron, hCG, Tamoxifen, Tribulus)

One of the main negative features of the AAS use is the suppression of your own natural production of sex hormones.

It is possible and necessary to fight this drawback both during the cycle and when it ends (so that you quickly restore your endocrine system normal function).

Lots of different drugs exist to achieve these purposes, and below we present you the most basic ones.

Proviron (Mesterolone) is actually an androgen in oral form.

In spite of this, however, it does not completely suppress the natural production of testosterone.

On the other hand, it does not provide the anabolic effect.

So why do they take it?

Everything is very simple, and there are two reasons to do so:

• Proviron blocks the process of steroids aromatization (turning into female sex hormones).
• Proviron boosts libido substantially.

HCG are human gonadotropins (FSH and LSG hormones) that cause your testes to produce their own testosterone if it stops being produced during the cycle.

However, the entire arc is not completely restored (only the link: hCG-Testes), so the drug should be used during the cycle and at the end of the cycle, BUT not after the cycle!

Tamoxifen is an antiestrogen, which helps to cope with the increased amount of estrogen during the cycle.

The effect of Tamoxifen is “cardboard”, since it does not do anything with estrogen itself.

It simply keeps the receptors busy and does not allow estrogens to connect with them.

Tribulus is believed to make the hypothalamus to produce the necessary hormones faster to stimulate the pituitary to produce its own gonadotropins and testosterone.

And this is the restoration of the arc Hypothalamus – Pituitary – Testes.

Combining Different Steroids

Progesterone need estrogens (e.g. aromatization of testosterone or Dianabol) to begin its negative activities.

Progestogens:

• Nandrolone
• Trenobolon
• Oxymetholone.

First option of the solution.

When we use the above drugs, we need to combine them with the non-aromatizing steroids (those that do not turn into estrogens):

• Primobolan
• Winstrol
• Turinball.

Such combinations will be safe in terms of gyno, which is especially good for those who have a tendency to this aesthetically unpleasant side effect.

Second option of the solution.

When you use testosterone and its analogues, you can block the aromatization with the help of anti-aromatizing medications:

• Proviron
• Arimidex.

It is important to use these drugs as prevention straight during the cycle, and not when the worst comes to the worst.

Third option of the solution.

This one helps you get the best of it all and implies the use of Winstrol (Stanozolol).

The effective dosage is 25-50 mg. Per day.

Popular AAS stacks for bulking

Recommendation on combining AAS

• Time on the cycle = Rest time
• To gain the most mass, better use injections instead of orals to avoid an overloading your liver.
• Any testosterone ester can be combined with another testosterone ester.
• A pronounced anabolic can be combined with an androgen for a better effect.
• Do not combine an oral medication with another oral medication. Use combination oral + injectable only.
• It is desirable to always combine Nandrolone with Testosterone or Stanazolol. This will help avoid such unpleasant phenomenon as Deca Dick.
• Stanozolol has anti-progestogenic activity and is therefore good with the nandrolones.
• Winstrol dehydrates articular bags, so it is desirable to “lubricate” them with the test or deca.
• It is advisable to combine aromatized preparations (testosterones) with Proviron (anti-aromatase effect).
• HCG addresses well the testicular atrophy and is relevant in the middle of the cycle and before its end. BUT not after the cycle!
• After the cycle, use Clomid and Tribulus for several weeks to restore the endocrine glands function.