"Old School" Steroid Profiles

"Old School" Steroid Profiles
The following profiles have been posted on many boards.
I believe the original poster to be HawaiinPride of AAF. I am not sure if he has written the profile.
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Turinabol

Turinabol is an oral steroid which was developed during the early 1960's. Turinabol has a predominantly anabolic effect which is combined with a relatively low androgenic component. On a scale of 1 to 100 the androgenic effect is very low - only 6 - and the anabolic effect is 53. (In comparison: the androgenic effect of methandienone is 45 and its anabolic effect is 90.) Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone-turinabol is recommended in wasting diseases and HIV symptoms since it does not aromatize. Oral Turinabol is an oral steroid which was developed during the early 1960's.

OT has a predominantly anabolic effect which is combined with a relatively low androgenic component. On a scale of 1 to 100 the androgenic effect is very low -only a 6- and the anabolic effect is 53. (In comparison: the androgenic effect of Dianabol is 45 and its anabolic effect is 90.) Oral-Turinabol thus has milligram for milli-gram a lower effect than Dianabol. It is therefore not a steroid that causes a rapid gain in strength, weight, and muscle mass. Rather, the achievable results manifest themselves in a solid muscle gain and, if taken over several weeks, also in a good strength gain. The athlete will certainly not get a puffy look as is the case with Test-osterone, Dianabol, and Anadrol 50. The maximum blood concen-tration of Oral-Turinabol when taking 10, 20 or 40 mg/day is 1.5 -3.5 or 4.5 times the endogenous testosterone concentration (also see Dianabol). This clearly shows that the effectiveness of this compound strongly depends on the dosage.

0.4 x pound (body weight) x days = number of tablets to take overall during the interval of intake mg / tablet

An athlete weighing 200 pounds would take only 4 tablets of 5 mg (20mg/day.) In our experience bodybuilders take 8-10 tablets of 5 mg, that is 40-50 mg/day. Many enthusiastically report good results with this dosage: one builds a solid muscle mass, the strength gain is worthwhile seeing, the water retention is very low, and the estrogen-caused side effects are rare. Not without good reason OT is also popular among powerlifters and weightlifters who appreciate these characteristics.

Due to its characteristics OT is also a suitable steroid both for men and women in competitions. A usually very effective stack for male bodybuilders consists of 50 mg OT/day, 228 mg Parabolan/week, and 150 mg Winstrol Depot/week. Those who have brought their body fat content to a low level by dieting and/or by using fatburning substances (e.g. Clenbuterol, Ephedrine, Salbutamol, Cytomel, Triacana), will find that the above steroid combination will manifest itself in hard, sharply-defined but still dense and full muscles. No enlarged breasts, no estrogen surplus, and no watery, puffy-look-ing muscle system. If OT were available on the U.S. black market for steroids, bodybuilders, powerlifters, and weightlifters would go crazy for this East German anabolic.

OT enjoys a great popularity since it is quickly broken down by the body and the metabolites are excreted relatively quickly through the urine. The often-posed question regarding how many days before a test OT can be taken in order to be "clean" is difficult to answer specifically or in general. We know from a reli-able source that athletes who only take OT as a steroid and who, in part, take dosages of 10- 15 tablets/day, have discontinued the com-pound exactly five days before a doping test and tested negative. These indications are supported by the fact that even positive urine analyses have rarely mentioned the names Oral-Turanabol or chlordehydromethyl-testosterone.

The potential side effects of OT usually depend on the dosage level and are gender-specific. in women, depending on their predisposi-tion, the usual virilization symptoms occur and increase when dos-ages of more than 20 mg per day are taken over a prolonged time. In men the already discussed reduced testosterone production can rarely be avoided. Gynaecomastia occurs rarely with OT Since the response of the water and electrolyte household is not overly dis-tinct athletes only rarely report water retention and high blood pressure. Acne, gastrointestinal pain, and uncontrolled aggressive behavior are also the exception rather than the rule with OT An increased libido is reported in most cases by both sexes. Since the substance chlordehydromethyltestosterone is I 7-alpha alkylated the manufacturer in its package insert recommends that the liver func-tion be checked regularly since it can be negatively affected by high dosages and the risk of possible liver damage cannot be excluded. Thus OT is also a steroid that can be taken without interruption for long intervals. Studies of male athletes who over a period of six weeks were given 10 mg OT/day did not show any indications of health-threatening effects.

Anadrol
Pharmaceutical Name: Oxymetholone
Chemical structure: 17 beta-hydroxy-2-hydroxymethylene-17alpha-methyl-5 alpha-androstan-3-one
Effective dose: 50-150 mg / day orally

Oxymetholone is without a doubt the strongest and most visibly active steroid to date. Not only does it act very rapidly, it causes a virtual explosion of mass. Gains of up to 10 pounds in 2 weeks are not uncommon. This is largely due to a moderate to low androgenic effect combined with a high anabolic activity also mediated by non-AR mechanisms (mechanisms other than simply binding the androgen receptor). You can imagine that the gains made on oxymetholone aren't the leanest. You would note a drastic smoothing out of the muscle due to estrogen-related fat (lipolysis) and water retention. This lipolysis has been shown to be rather drastic. One study1 on long-term hemodialysis patients showed beyond a doubt the role that oxymetholone can play in causing hyperlipedemia. The fat deposition rate, post-hepatic (after processing by the liver), increased drastically in the oxymetholone group while numbers remained stable in the control group.

It has been suggested that the estrogenic effects of oxymetholone may not be as much mediated by estrogen, as by oxymetholone itself activating the estrogen receptor. Because there is little to no aromatisation off oxymetholone, the possible progestational effect was examined first. Similar to that of nandrolone perhaps. But a study2 testing the progestational effects of oxymetholone and methandrostenolone against those of testosterone as well as nandrolone and its metabolites showed that the progestagenic activity of oxymetholone wasn't even in the neighbourhood of that of testosterone, let alone nandrolone. Ruling out the possibility of progestagenic activity and aromatisation, that only left oxymetholone engaging in a structure with the estrogen receptor itself. Since it has an A-ring similar to that of estradiol (the prime estrogen) so this would be the most logical explanation. Since progesterone acts as an estrogen agonist, it would require circulating estrogen to negotiate such levels of water build-up as oxymetholone causes, so it seemed like a far-fetched idea to begin with.

The water component resulting from oxymetholone use is not be under-estimated either. The benefit of water retention is of course a lubrication of the joints, allowing the comfort of pain-free workouts even with extremely heavy weights, as well as the retention of more nutrients inside the cell, possibly leading to more permanent growth in muscle tissue. The downside to a massive water retention is that it gives you a rather puffed up look. A look not uncommon in off-season competitive bodybuilders and the heaviest classes of powerlifters. With the estrogen increase of course comes the increased risk of more side-effects such as gynocomastia (growth of breast tissue in men). Therefore its always advised that a cycle of oxymetholone is accompanied by the use of an anti-estrogen such as Nolvadex. Nolvadex, keeping in mind that aromatase enzyme is not involved, would be the wiser choice as it blocks the receptor for estrogen rather than the aromatase enzyme. Its wise to note as well that the gains from oxymetholone are largely mediated by estrogen, so reducing estrogen may reduce results as well.

Because it is mild androgen as well as a potent estrogen, blood volume is increased. Androgens raise the red blood cells (although this has been shown to happen through a mechanism other than erythropoesis3) to improve aerobic performance while estrogens increase the white blood cells in an attempt to stimulate the immunity. Couple that increase in blood cells to an increase in water and you get a serious increase in blood volume. This effect has been known to result in magnificent pumps for the users of oxymetholone products. The synthesis of extra erythrocytes (Red blood cells) also increases stamina and performance (this effect is largely negated by the larger estrogenic component. Oxymetholone is not a good product for athletes). Together with the unbelievable strength effect of oxymetholone's water retention that makes for some incredible workouts. On a side note, these characteristics make for anadrol's popular use in treating anemia.

The use of oxymetholone should be strict and brief. While it is no doubt the strongest steroid, quantitatively, its also by far the most hazardous steroid to your health. Apart from the great risk of common steroid-related side-effects (acne vulgaris, benign prostate hypertrophy, gynocomastia and androgenetic alopecia), it also has numerous other side-effects. Most notable is oxymetholone's hepatoxicity (damaging to the liver) : Its standard 17-alpha-alkylated as with most oral steroids, resulting in an inavoidable raise in liver transaminase enzyme counts. The most frequent of the hepatoxic effects is jaundice4 (yellow coloration of the skin) due to an oxymetholone induced increase in biliburine, but others include peliosis hepatis and formation of hepatic tumors (cancer). And that's not all. There is also a number of intrinsic side-effects noted with the use of this steroid. Headaches, stomach aches, nausea, vomiting, insomnia and diarrhea are among common afflictions associated with oxymetholone use.

This is the reason why only strict doses of oxymetholone are used , often only 1-2 tabs of 50 mg. The general rule of thumb is to use 0.5 or 0.6 mg per pound of bodyweight, most likely putting you in the 100-150 mg range. Because of the negative effects on the liver, its often not used for more than a two or three weeks. The results are fast, but also fleeting and therapy is usually continued with another aromatizable compound, most likely a long acting testosterone like Sustanon or testosterone enanthate. The Anabolic Review also warns that under no circumstances should oxymetholone use exceed 6 weeks. When using oxymetholone, or any oral 17-alpha-alkylated steroid for that matter, one should always consult a physician on a frequent basis and get your liver values checked. Its not that oxymetholone is necessarily more toxic to the liver, but rather that much higher doses are needed than with other oral steroids, so the relative risk increases as well.

Other notes I should mention about this compound are that oxymetholone's androgenic qualities are not linked to a 5-alpha reduced form. As a matter of fact it shows rather poor interaction with the 5AR enzyme, making it futile to treat a possible increase in hair loss with 5-alpha reductase-blocking products such as finasteride. Its androgenic component stems from the fact that oxymetholone is very much like Dihydrotestosterone were it not for the added 2-hydroxymethylene group. Since this group can be metabolically removed, that would leave methyl-DHT. A compound with a weaker affinity for the androgen receptor than straight DHT, but more active and with less affinity for the DHT-reducing enzyme 3beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Ultimately resulting in much stronger, instead of weaker androgenic effects than compounds that are actively 5-alpha reduced. This evens out largely, because the distribution is even across the body, where 5-alpha-reduction usually concentrates more potent androgenic forms in androgen responsive tissue such as skin and scalp.

The effect on the blood pressure is rather drastic, so its recommend that you use a anti-hypertensive drug in conjunction, especially if you already have a fairly high blood pressure. Here too the care and control of a physician is advised. Because of the HPTA (hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis) suppressive nature, the use of Clomid or Nolvadex and HCG is advised as well towards the end of your oxymetholone use. Lastly, oxymetholone also has an ill effect on the glucose tolerance5, causing borderline diabetic situations. Something to be weary of if you yourself have been diagnosed with similar problems already. In conclusion one can safely state that the negative effects on the system associated with the use of this hormone are rather drastic and that the use is therefore not recommended for beginners, women or people who have pre-existing afflictions. Nonetheless Anadrol remains a popular steroid among experienced users to kick-start a steroid cycle because of its magnificent increases in strength and size. Most people who have used oxymetholone with great success have no problem calling it the strongest and most reliable steroid available today. A somewhat surprising remark however, since Methandrostenolone can produce similar results with half or a third of the doses normally used with oxymetholone and with less side-effects. So personally I would recommend methandrostenolone over oxymethelone, as its clearly stronger, milligram fro milligram. Oxymetholone remains a strong and favorable compound however, despite its side-effects. Its effects may also be slightly more explosive than those of methandrostenolone and therefore people seeking strength may give it an edge over the former.

Andriol
Pharmaceutical Name: Testosterone (as Undecanoate)
Chemical structure: androsta-4-en-3-one,17b-ol
Effective dose: 8-16 caps/day orally
Available Doses: 40 mg/ml caps

Andriol is a fairly recently developed steroid. A new attempt at making an orally available testosterone, the first since the very unpopular methyl-testosterone. The delivery system used for andriol is quite novel in itself and shows a lot of promise. If it weren't for a few quirks I'm sure this delivery method could have caught on fast. The crude methyl-testosterone was the first of many oral steroids delivered by way of a 17-alpha-methyl alteration to the base compound. Apart from changing the affinity for a lot a structures, making a steroid with completely different characteristics, the main problem here was that it invoked a level of hepatoxicity. Often minor, sometimes severe (anadrol, Halotestin). This meant that treatment could not be continued for extended periods of time in complete safety. The demand for an oral steroid that can be used for lengthy treatment has been high since the very beginning. First of all its never easy for a doctor to sell his patients on injection protocols (many fear or at least dislike needles) and for the doctor too it would be easier if the patient could take a pill than to have him come back every other week for an injection. So the pressure was on to create a steroid that wouldn't require a 17-alpha-methyl alteration.

The answer was to seek a new way of delivery, that bypassed the liver, so that no alteration was needed to protect the steroid from being deactivated in the liver. That way was found in lymphatic absorption. As with many paths of uptake, this one too is very specific and limited. The lymphatic system is a series of heavily filtered channels intended for the resorption of water. When blood is delivered to a tissue through the arterial system, it is depleted of oxygen and nutrients, and then lead back to the heart by the venous system. Unfortunately only about 85% of the fluid is readily re-absorbed. That means 15% stays behind in the tissue and if that process where to continue day and night, we'd all swell up like Marshmallow man and explode in less than a week. That's why, inside tissues, there is another extended capillary system other than the cardiovascular one. The lymphatic system. This has the sole purpose of draining water from tissue. This is why it mostly only transports water. Its also heavily filtered by lymph nodes throughout the body that will remove almost everything, because the system is easily accessible and if not properly filtered a virus or cancer cell could easily spread throughout the body in this manner. But in the digestive tract it seems the lymph system makes an exception. Lymph fluid is usually clear (since its pure water), but in this area its troubled. That's because it appears to absorb oils and fats as well.

Steroids are made from the prime storage of fat in the body, cholesterol. So there is a definite possibility here. And the lymphatic system, for 75-80%, empties itself in the major duct (ductus thoracicus), which in turn empties itself in the angulus venosus, where the vena jugularis interna (internal jugular vein) and the vena subclavia (vein below the collarbone) meet, right before they enter the heart through a common vein. That means, without having to pass the liver, these fats can be delivered straight to the heart. Now the question is, if indeed it was readily absorbed by the lymphatic system, why alter a steroid at all to survive the liver ? Obviously it doesn't get through to any great extent. That's because it absorbs only actual fats. This carrier therefore targets the solution of the steroid in an oil, so that it will be absorbed with the oil. It also seeks to make the compound more lipophillic so solution is more complete and permanent. As we also learned from injectable steroids, the way to make a compound more lipophillic is by attaching an ester. The longer the ester is, the more lipophillic it makes the steroid. In this case they opted for an undecanoate ester, which has a length of 11 carbons, the longest ester used to date.

In this case we are talking about a testosterone undecanoate. It is dissolved in a type of sterile oil and then sealed inside a cap. As a whole, the dissolved steroid is then easily absorbed by the lymphatic system, prior to passing the liver, and delivered with ease to the heart where it is then sent out across the body. The system itself is ingenious and in theory perfect. Maximal delivery and no hepatoxicity. A potent steroid capable of being used for long treatments. However (I'm sure you saw that one coming) in practice things don't always turn out the way they appear in theory. In studies1 done on both men and women, andriol was shown to be a mild and inconsistent steroid at best. Mild is a problem that is easily solved with higher doses, but inconsistent is another story entirely. It seems that the amount that was delivered and the peak levels of testosterone in the blood as well as the length of activity, differed not only from person to person, but from day to day. That means a different person, from day to day, will get very varying levels of testosterone in the blood. And the differences were not minor.

One subject may have a peak level of 5 ng/mmol while another can have in excess of 50 ng/mmol. What's worse, the same person may get these levels on different days. In terms of its anabolic (ie non-medical) use, that means doses of 8-16 caps per day are being used. That's more than most will inject per week of the shorter cypionate and enanthate esters. Normally 1 cap delivers 40 mg of testosterone undecanoate. An ester releases the steroid in the blood, leaving us with approximately 25 mg of testosterone per cap (it's a long and heavy ester). That's 200-400 mg per day being used, and andriol being as novel as it is, isn't cheap or easy to come by. That makes it, at best, just as uninteresting as methyl-testosterone.

As far as the properties of this steroid go, like a propionate ester or a suspension injection, levels of testosterone, DHT and estrogen are easy to control, which makes this steroid a possibility for use during any time of the year, whether the athlete be cutting or bulking. The water retention is less notable than with longer esters, and if too high is easily controlled with Proviron or Nolvadex. Its pure testosterone, so if delivered in high enough doses, for reasons previously stated, it is of course a good mass builder with all the characteristics of testosterone. No more no less. It is of course a safe (to the liver), controllable oral steroid that can be used for extended periods of time, which does spark the interest of some, but anybody serious about gains will usually find andriol a very poor buy. Great invention for the medical world, but of little to no interest to the serious athlete.

Andriol doesn't have that many uses. When utilized in doses of 8-16 caps per day are used and it can obviously be stacked with most any other steroid. Water retention problems that are common with testosterone are usually controllable enough to warrant use even during cutting phases, and even if not Proviron can be added to maximize its potential. The use of ancillaries is generally not required as its very mild to begin with and most problems can be solved by discontinuing use or lowering the dose. The usual anti-estrogens can be used, but generally with the cost of andriol for what little it does makes it less appealing to invest in the likes of Nolvadex or arimidex. Caps are best spread out throughout the day. Most oral steroids have a 17-alpha-methyl alteration that changes affinity and binding of the steroid, so that a single dose is usually enough. With andriol delivery is swift, peak doses high, but the steroid never outlasts its half-life of 3-5 hours. So it should be taken in three equal doses throughout the day, preferably with meals as lymphatic absorption is promoted in the presence of bile and other secretions in the GI tract.

Deca-Durabolin
Pharmaceutical Name: Nandrolone / Nor-testosterone (as undecanoate)
Chemical structure: "19-Nor-4-androstene-3-one,17b-ol" or "4-Estren-17beta-ol-3-one"
Effective dose: 200-800 mg / week

The decanoate ester of nandrolone is generally referred to as Deca, stemming from the brand name Deca-Durabolin under which nandrolone was marketed by the Organon company. But as the reference list up above suggests there are many generic forms of this compound available. Nandrolone is perhaps the best marketed and easy to get steroid out there and it has always enjoyed an immense popularity. Its fairly accurate to state that safe for Dianabol, Deca is by far the most used steroid. The deca/d-bol stack, it is often suggested, is where the practice of stacking comes from. But what does it owe its popularity too ? Well, nandrolone has some unique qualities that make it unlike any other steroid known to man.

Nandrolone is more commonly known as the base steroid 19Nor-testosterone. As this structure would indicate its like testosterone in appearance but for one small change : the absence of a carbon atom in the 19th position. This gives it a number of very distinct features. First of all it makes nandrolone a notably weaker agonist of the androgen receptor. That alone causes quite a reduction in the risk of androgenic side-effects. This is because it is the only steroid that is affected by the 5-alpha-reductase (5AR) enzyme in a way that makes it even less androgenic. Unlike testosterone which forms DHT (dihydrotestosterone) at the 5AR enzyme, a hormone 3-4 times as potent as an androgen receptor stimulator, nandrolone forms DHN (dihydronandrolone) a hormone that is even less suited than the already mild parent hormone for agonizing the androgen receptor. Those two features combined make nandrolone a very safe bet for people at risk for prostate hypertrophy, acne and aggravated male pattern hair loss. At the same time its estimated that nandrolone is 2.4 times as anabolic as testosterone1, on a gram for gram basis.

Due to the many different ways that testosterone mediates anabolism, one has to take that statement with a serious grain of salt, but it does establish nandrolone as a potent muscle builder and performance enhancer with a comparatively safe character, at least androgenically speaking. This androgenic mildness is perhaps the greatest reason for its popularity. But due to the lack of immediate anabolic activity nandrolone is rarely used alone. Its the most known and sought after product for use as a base steroid, to use in conjunction with a more androgenic specimen to enhance the results without increasing androgenic side-effects to a serious degree.

The ways in which nandrolone exerts its anabolic effects are two-fold. First of all it's a good mediator for nitrogen retention. When nitrogen retention is high, in essence it means that the cells are taking up more nitrogen than they are releasing. Why is this a good thing though? Well every amino acid has what is known as an amino-group, which contains nitrogen. When nitrogen is retained it means there is a high concentration of amino acids in a cell, which in turn positively affects the rate of protein synthesis. Since every tissue in the body is made from protein, including muscle, this means that muscle hypertrophy is facilitated. A second factor is through estrogen. While nandrolone's rate of aromatization is considerably smaller than that of testosterone, it does convert to a particularly powerful form of estrogen¹. This has been noted to increase glycogen storage, growth hormone release and upgrade the androgen receptor in some tissues. In this case it also entails agonizing of aldosterone, but more on that later.

It makes sense then that those particularly prone to the effects and side-effects of estrogen would take extra precaution. Blocking aromatase, considering the previous paragraph, would be a poor choice, but competitively inhibiting the estrogen receptor itself with clomiphene citrate (Clomid) or tamoxifen citrate (Nolvadex) might bring some relief since a large portion of progestagenic action is nullified if there is no circulating estrogen around, or if it is kept from being activated by the estrogen receptor. It is generally assumed that 1 mg of either every day for every 20 mg of nandrolone injected weekly is sufficient. Slightly higher doses, or the use of an aromatase inhibitor like cytadren can be stacked if nandrolone is used in conjunction with another aromatizing steroid. It has also been noted that the steroid stanozolol (Winstrol) may provide relief as it too binds to the progesterone receptor but remains unaltered by it. How strong of a competitor it is in such a case and what sort of doses would be needed are as much your guess as they are mine, so this may be non-issue. But it does bode well for the stacking of nandrolone with stanozolol in that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Another benefit of nandrolone use often reported is the pain-free workouts because nandrolone lubricates the joints. It stores a lot of water (as synovial fluid) in the joints, which eases the impact of the heavy weights handled by bodybuilders and weight lifters. One may wonder how nandrolone can do a better job at it than a steroid that aromatizes much stronger such as a testosterone ester, but its quite easily explained. One study at least goes to show that nandrolone metabolites are also aldosterone agonists6. Although we aren't entirely sure of the mechanism by which this occurs. But, while sparing you the details of this complex hormone, aldosterone has a strong function in the retention of sodium in the body. High sodium levels correlate with a high storage of water and that would explain the aforementioned effect. Of course one needs to note the implication of this of course: a bulkier frame and a certain loss of definition are not uncommon with nandrolone, perhaps more so than with testosterone.

Nandrolone with a decanoate ester is fairly long acting (10 carbons) to begin with and if on top of that a lot of the drug can be de- and re-esterified that means the substance stays active in the body for quite a long time. This has resulted in positive drug tests for the hormone nandrolone and many of its metabolites, most notably 19-Norandrosterone up to 18 months after last use of the drug. While this is a fairly known fact, the recent number of athletes (including well known soccer stars) that have tested positive for nandrolone would indicate a lot of misinformation or plain lack of information in some circles. Positive tests, with reprimands, that could have easily been avoided. So anyone subject to any form of athletic drug test should refrain from using 19-Nortestosterone (nandrolone) or any of its metabolites, that includes nor-prohormones.

Nandrolone stacks well with virtually anything. Due to its mildly aromatizing and its progestagenic activity its mostly used as a mass building compound by all but the monstrously huge. Because some water retention is a fact, one would not desire to include it in a cutting phase, especially if its one of your first cycles. Nandrolone is used in doses of 200-600 mg per week. 400 mg is the common recommendation for a somewhat experienced user, when used in conjunction with another product. Nandrolone as decanoate, as found in deca-durabolin, is a long acting ester of 10 carbons. That means 1 injection weekly will more than suffice as it has quite a long span of activity

To this effect its preferably stacked with another aromatizing compound. In the first place a long acting testosterone like cypionate, enanthate or sustanon 250. For a beginner cycle, we want to note that the testosterone compound is the most active compound and its therefore more desirable to lower the dose of nandrolone rather than the dose of testosterone. Often beginners look to start at 400 mg of nandrolone and 250 mg of testosterone. A better suggestion would be 200 mg of nandrolone and 500 mg of testosterone. Then bump the nandrolone to 400 mg.

It also makes a good match for doses of Anadrol or Dianabol, although neither compound can be used for the time-span of nandrolone decanoate due to liver toxicity. This isn't the case for a long-acting testosterone ester. Often nandrolone and test are stacked in conjunction with Anadrol or Dianabol for the first few weeks of a stack to boost gains and strength.

A nandrolone stack accompanied by stanazolol (Winstrol/Stromba) makes sense as well, especially for those who are highly prone to gyno. It's commonly accepted that stanazolol can compete for the progesterone receptor, and since nandrolone can act as a progestin, this is a wise precaution. Progesterone agonizes estrogen and while nandrolone only aromatizes slightly and cases of gyno with moderate nandrolone use is rare, when stacking it with another aromatizable compound like Dianabol or testosterone, you may not want to take the chance. For secondary products one needn't consider an anti-aromatase like Cytadren since one cannot fully block all aromatase conversion and due to the enhanced estrogen activity as a result of progestagenic influence, it would serve little purpose. Using an estrogen-receptor antagonist, while not fool-proof obviously, may serve some benefit. Agonized or not, without binding to the receptor estrogen loses most of its influence. Using stanazolol and either clomid or Nolvadex during a stack with nandrolone is usually the best prescription. Post-cycle use of such substances to help HPTA recover faster and retain gains also comes highly recommended, and preferably for longer than you would with most stacks, since nandrolone stays active for a very long time

Equipoise
Pharmaceutical Name: Boldenone (as undecylenate)
Chemical structure: 1,4-androstadiene-3-one,17b-ol
Effective dose: 300-600 mg/week

For something that is generally injected into cows, horses and dogs boldenone is quite a popular and well-liked drug by most bodybuilders because of its unique make-up. It possesses several characteristics that aren't found in any other substance and its use is so varied its much desired year-round. Boldenone is a decent anabolic coupled with both a mild androgenic and a mild estrogenic effect. Sort of like a weak testosterone. In structure it doesn't differ all that much from testosterone, the main anomaly being a double bond in the one position as well as the 4 position. Its nonetheless quite good at promoting gains, but mostly through a combination of androgenic potential and other media than the androgen and estrogen receptors.

The strange thing about its androgenic component is that it is mostly not mediated by a 5-alpha-reduced form, as is the case for most steroids. While it does indeed form a very potent 5AR form (dihydroboldenone, roughly 7 times as anabolic as testosterone1) its shows a very low affinity for the 5-alpha-reducatase enzyme2. This leads to the conclusion that a large part of the anabolic effect boldenone exerts is formed by the hormone itself binding to the androgen receptor. This could also be the reason its had such a successful run as a veterinary drug, because despite differences in the metabolism of species it has always produced extraordinary results.

Like most anabolic steroids it increases muscle mass over time by increasing nitrogen retention and positively influencing protein synthesis or re-synthesis. An action that is not necessarily supported by an androgenic mediator as was shown with nandrolone. What boldenone has that other steroids don't is that it indirectly supplies the necessary means for that protein synthesis because it drastically increases the appetite. Thereby facilitating the high nutritional intake (especially protein wise) needed to book the best results when using anabolic androgenic steroids. Its more of a benefit than you think as a lot of people have theorized that it is this increase that is responsible for the great results booked when using boldenone. This theory may hold its own as there is indeed not much proof of the kind of anabolic activity with boldenone that would be responsible for the elicited effect.

Its estrogenic activities are slight, but present. This has more of a positive than negative influence. The aromatisation of boldenone is too small to cause real problems and in normal doses (300-400 mg/week) problems such as gynocomastia and too much fat retention are unheard of. However small aromatisation is desirable as estrogen too mediates anabolic activity. It can be responsible for better glucose utilization3,4 (repleting lost glycogen stores after exercise) and stimulating increased growth hormone release5. But most notably estrogen is responsible for an upgrading of the androgen receptor6 allowing hormones that act on the androgen receptor to exert a larger anabolic effect. This is why hormones that are strong androgens but also aromatize heavily, like anadrol and testosterone, can put the most mass on your frame. In that aspect boldenone is perhaps the most suitable steroid because of its moderate estrogen levels that allow for the benefits, but not the side-effects of aromatization. And no doubt the perfect balance is partially responsible for stimulation of the appetite.

For athletes of sports other than strength sports or bodybuilding will also note that boldenone is quite likely the most favorable steroid for them to use as it also stimulates the release of erythropoeitin in the kidneys. Erythropoeitin is a hormone known as EPO and heavily abused among endurance athletes because it signals the body to increase the production of red blood cells (erythrocytes). Red blood cells are the carrier of oxygen in the body, meaning that a higher maximal oxygen capacity can be obtained and better performance can be achieved over longer amounts of time before lactic acid is built up, which would in turn result in cramps and a cessation of the activity at that level. In short it improves your stamina. For bodybuilders this characteristic may be useful in promoting increased vascularity.

In that aspect boldenone combined with a non-aromatizing steroid like Winstrol or Primobolan may be perfect to help you get cut and ripped while improving vascularity. The downside to that is that you really need to try hard to suppress the increased appetite. Which is why its probably a better idea to stack a somewhat larger dose of boldenone with a mass building drug like testosterone or anadrol to elicit major gains.

The negative effects of boldenone are quite limited. In the normal doses of 300-400 mg a week estrogenic side-effects are almost never noted except in those who are very succeptible to estrogen. In terms of androgenic side-effects long-term use or very intense use of boldenone can cause slight virilizing effects such as acne and increased body-hair growth. Never really a problem for men, but women considering its use on account of its moderate androgenic qualities should be aware of this.

As an undecylenate ester, boldenone needs only be injected every week (staying active well over 4 weeks), but because the preparations come in 25 mg/ml, users most often opt for 25-50 mg every day to every other day. A use of 300-400 mg per week seems to be the normal recommendation. Its not hepatoxic to any serious degree and can therefore be used for longer cycles. The appearance of underground forms of boldenone in higher concentrations (200 mg/ml) has made it easier to inject only once a week, which is to be preffered over the multiple dosings because it has a more even release and the cumulative effect shows much sooner. Speaking of cumulative effect, the best results with boldenone are seen when a user front-loads. Usually that means he will use a high doses of 600-800 mg/week for 2 weeks and then lower that dose to the normal 300-400 mg/week for the remaining 8-10 weeks.

Boldenone is most often used for cutting. Its stacking partners for this purpose in particular are trenbolone, stanazolol and testosterone propionate. I'm no big fan of testosterone for cutting, although propionate is commonly used with great success by many users. Nonetheless I don't recommend test for cutting for beginners. Stanazolol is particularly useful in improving muscle hardness and strength while boldenone offers increased vascularity without overly aromatizing. The use of 50 mg of stanazolol every day, stacked with 300-400 mg per week of boldenone should serve the purpose of retaining gains and gaining increased definition and vascularity while shedding fat very well. Trenbolone would be a better match for those looking for moderate but very lean gains. Parabolan at 76 mg every other day for example will provide a decent increase in lean mass in combination with boldenone, without having to sacrifice shape or definition. Of course any combination of the above is an option as well. For example 300 mg of equipoise per week stacked with 76 mg of parabolan every other day and 50 mg of Winstrol every day, possibly with some test propionate at 50 mg a day.

But though rarely mentioned, I personally find boldenone the better choice for bulking. Due to its effect on vascularity it is mostly used for cutting, but if you had a drug that increased your appetite like boldenone does, would you really use it to lose weight? It makes more sense to use it in a stack with a testosterone ester like enanthate or cypionate for good gains, instead of nandrolone. Sort of as a base. It aromatizes less than nandrolone and doesn't have that pesky progestagenic effect either, and because it increases appetite it would provide you with the means to an end in terms of gaining weight. 300-400 mg a week of boldenone with 500 mg of sustanon or 500 mg of testosterone enanthate would form an incredible stack. Even for those who prefer deca, adding a small amount of boldenone will go a long way in improving appetite. But boldenone is stronger than Deca, mg for mg, as well as safer and less suppressive.

Boldenone makes a very poor match for nandrolone and methenolone though, since its very similar in action. The beauty of boldenone is that it can be an alternative for nandrolone when bulking due to its leaner results and more potent anabolic action, as well as an alternative for methenolone because while barely aromatizing its stronger than methenolone (Primobolan), gram for gram. The use of secondary drugs is rarely required. It doesn't aromatize at a great rate so the use of anti-aromatases is rarely implemented and the use of Nolva and clomid, during a cycle, is only necessary when stacked with aromatizing steroids like testosterone. Nolvadex or Clomid may have some use in restoring natural test post-cycle, because of the long-acting ester (11 carbons) and the mild estrogenic component. Normally 4 weeks of treatment is required, starting 1.5 to 2 weeks after the last shot.

Halotestin
Pharmaceutical Name: Fluoxymesterone
Chemical structure: 9-alpha-fluoro-11-beta-hydroxy-17-alpha-methyl-4-androstene-3-one,17b-ol
Effective dose: 20-30 mg / day orally

With the exception of perhaps anadrol, Halotestin is the single most dangerous steroid to use. Its liver toxicity is unrivaled and you wouldn't be the first person to end up in the hospital with jaundice and dangerously elevated liver values after a hefty cycle of fluoxymesterone. My question has often been simply "Why?". Fluoxymesterone has a low anabolic capacity. The results in mass would be small to non-existent. Qualitatively similar gains as one would book with trenbolone, but tren would go for equal or less money, deliver three times the gains and wouldn't be half as risky to use. Therefor the sole marked use of fluoxymesterone that is actually warranted is that by power- and weightlifters seeking to boost strength while remaining in a set weight class.

In bodybuilding its used near the end of cutting cycles, since in people with an already low body-fat percentage it adds a distinct hardness and definition to the look, although, as stated, better and safer products will achieve similar effects. As with these alternatives fluoxymesterone has absolutely zero estrogenic activity and will thus not add water or fat to the frame in any way.

While a definite increase in aggressiveness and a notable rise in erythrropoesis is noticed with the use of fluoxymesterone, it has been theorized that it actually has very moderate binding to the androgen receptor. Either that or it shows a higher affinity for other receptors. The enzyme aromatase comes to mind because of the effect it has, like a DHT compound would, on muscle hardness. The latter seems like a better explanation. On the one hand there is nothing that would immediately indicate it acting on the androgen receptor, on the other there is very good likeness to other steroids that are mostly AR-mediated. Its my best guess that not all has been said about fluoxymesterone. Its not a very interesting or grateful object of study however due to the high risk and low yield of this particular steroid.

Athletes that may consider its use are endurance athletes that do not get drug tested (as it is quite easy to detect). The stimulating effect on erythropoesis (red blood cell production) and cell respiration, such an athlete would find a good use for the increase in aerobic capacity noticed for this, without adding unnecessary bodyweight to the frame he has to carry. In this aspect it may be good to note that a short cycle of Halotestin with a moderately long cycle of Equipoise may have some merit in this instance. Neither would increase water retention drastically, neither would give explosive gains. But both have positive effects on the VO2 max.

In any case, and whatever the reason of use, 4 weeks is the best duration of use, 6 weeks at the most. As stated before, many athletes, having used fluoxymesterone while not under supervision of a physician, have ended up in the hospital with life-threatening conditions.

Halotestin is taken in mild doses (10-20 mg) every day for short periods of time, 4 weeks, 6 weeks at the very most due to its high level of toxicity. The use of anti-estrogens is not necessary since fluoxymesterone does not aromatize at all. As secondary drugs one may want to consider blood pressure medication such as catepressan to avoid hypertensive conditions. What you will definitely need is a check of liver values on a regular basis if you want to play it safe. I don't normally recommend the use of liver-protectors during a cycle as enhances liver function breaks down a greater amount of your steroid, but in this case you ought to make an exception. Milk thistle, dessicated liver, vitamin B6 and such both during and after a cycle are highly advised. There is no need for clomid of Nolvadex use after a cycle to bring back natural test. Halotestin really only serves a purpose as a bodybuilding drug when the athlete is cutting. Probably in the late stages of a cutting cycle to promote muscle density and hardness, preserve muscle tissue and such. To that effect it may be good to use some Halotestin (20-30 mg/day) the last 4 weeks of a boldenone or methenolone cycle for example, or at the end of a stack with trenbolone. It may make a good stacking partner for stanazolol (Winstrol/Stromba) as well since they serve the same purpose. But frankly in all cases opting for a higher dose of the other drug may be a better choice, both in terms of gains and safety. Boldenone (Equipoise) being the one possible exception. Due to its toxicity Halotestin is not much sought out in stacks.

Methyltestosterone
Pharmaceutical Name: Methyltestosterone
Chemical structure: 17alpha-methyl-4-androstene-3-one,17b-ol
Effective dose: 25-50 mg/day

Methyltestosterone was, well, still is the worlds first oral steroid developed. Using the now infamous 17-alpha-methyl alteration to render the base hormone, testosterone, orally active. However, unlike the whole host of injectable testosterones, methyltest is a rather crude and not very well liked compound. Mostly due to this alteration. Methyltestosterone is to testosterone, what Dianabol (methandrostenolone) is to Equipoise (boldenone). On the one hand the 17-alpha-alkylation of the steroid gives it less affinity for the aromatase enzyme so less estrogen is formed, but as with Dianabol, the estrogen formed is 17-methyl-estradiol, which is much more potent. Just as we will notice serious bloat and water retention with Dianabol, we will see the same with methyltestosterone, but to a much greater degree, simply because the base structure has twice the tendency to aromatize. With this amount of estrogenic effects, gynocomastia is a very real threat and concomitant use of an anti-estrogen is strongly advised.

The alteration also decreases the affinity for other structures. First and foremost the androgen receptor. This offers us few benefits. Due to the decreased androgenic activity the potency of methyltestosterone is weaker than that of testosterone, but even in terms of androgenic risk nothing is really gained. Testosterone being the prime androgen, even with this alteration risk of hair loss, acne, prostate hypertrophy and a whole host of other side-effects is never far away. Also, where Dianabol has little to no conversion to a more active androgen by way of the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme, methyl-testosterone still shows fair affinity for this particular enzyme and converts to the powerful 17-methyl-Dihydrotestosterone. These type of side-effects alone will turn most experienced users off of methyl-testosterone, at least when equally priced and more controllable injectable products are available. As with any potent androgen, some men may develop aggressive tendencies during its use.

As with Dianabol, what we have on our hands here is a very potent mass builder and all in all an effective steroid when observed individually. 40-50 mg per day taken for just a few weeks can make drastic changes. But since many already find the bloat and fat gain of Dianabol a bit much to tolerate, this steroid is never in high demand. Dianabol is more available, provides extremely good results, is quite safe and comparatively cheap. So there is a multitude of reasons why methyltestosterone is rarely used. It seems, however, that it is making a re-introduction as a medical aid for oligospermic men, especially in the United States. One reason for this may in fact be the low demand for it on the black market, making more physicians comfortable in prescribing it due to a lowered chance of abuse.

Lastly, as with all 17-alpha-alkylated steroids, we need to mention the risk for liver damage. A methyl-testosterone product used for extensive time periods can cause severe hepatoxicity, so use is best limited to 6, maximum 8 weeks on end followed by an off-period of equal length or longer.

In conclusion, most will find methyl-testosterone to not be worth their while. The side-effects are ever present, and while they can easily be combated with a combination of arimidex and finasteride, it seems a bit idiotic to pay 15 or more dollars per day on ancillary drugs that will reduce the anabolic activity, while spending only 1-2 bucks at most on the steroid itself.

Those still seeking to use methyltest will probably do so out of necessity and will not be stacking it with another anabolic/androgenic steroid. For such use 40-50 mg taken in a single daily dose upon waking, for a period no longer than 8 weeks would be ideal. Some may wish to use this steroid, like Dianabol, to kickstart a cycle and get results sooner at the beginning of a longer cycle of injectable testosterone, possibly stacked with another base compound such as boldenone or nandrolone. In that case 30 mg or so, again in a single morning dose, taken for the first 5-6 weeks of said cycle would provide the needed benefits. Since this is only useful in bulking stacks with aromatizable steroids, the resulting severity of side-effects will be grave. One needs to verify he is not at risk for hair loss or prostate hypertrophy first, and have ancillary drugs such as Nolvadex, arimidex and finasteride on hand to control the side-effects.

In terms of ancillaries, If gynocomastia symptoms should appear, one should start the use of 20 mg of Nolvadex daily and start a cycle of 0.5 mg of anastrozole (arimidex) alongside it. After 3-4 days, the Nolva can be discontinued, but the anastrozole should be continued for a while longer. Some have asked me about the use of Proviron in this matter, but in my opinion one needs to realize how much DHT will be present with the use of this compound to begin with, it may do more harm than good to add more of it (Proviron being a 1-methyl-DHT). So granted, anastrozole is quite expensive, but needs to be given preference here. I don't normally approve of the use of finasteride, because DHT often offers a steroid user more benefits than problems (apart from those prone to hair loss) and the blocking thereof may reduce the results obtained, in this case, especially at the beginning of a longer injectable testosterone cycle, one may choose to look into its use. Natural testostosterone shutdown may be quite severe, so the use of HCG and Nolvadex or clomid post-cycle is virtually a must.

Miotolan
Pharmaceutical Name: Furazabol
Chemical structure: 17-alpha-methyl-5-alpha-androsta-2,3-furazan,17b-ol
Effective dose: 20-50 mg/day

Furazabol reminds us of Stanozolol (Winstrol) strucrurally. Its similar in appearance in that it's a DHT molecule with a 17-alpha-methyl group for oral availability, and has no 3-keto group, needed for androgenic binding. But instead of a 2,3-pyrazol group, furazabol has a 2,3-furazan group. The difference may not be all that big, both groups contain 2 nitrogen atoms and 2 double bonds and both are present instead of the 3-keto group. The advantage is that its not readily deactivated and therefore whatever influences it has, they are consistent. The downside is that the lack of a 3-keto group, which will impair its overall androgenic potency. So in that aspect again comparable to stanozolol. Anabolics 2002, without a doubt the best reference guide for steroids in print, lists Furazabol as extremely androgenic however, which is no doubt just an oversight. In nearly every way the behaviour of furazabol would be identical to that of Stanozolol.

It's an obscure steroid, that's the least we can say. Its only manufactured in Japan and in tabs of 1 mg. Low availability makes the cost of this steroid rather high, and its not particularly easy to find. Perhaps a tad more potent than Stanozolol, the doses used lay in the same neighbourhood, 20-50 mg/day. The higher doses being the preference. The demand for it isn't very high either, because Winstrol/Stromba is a popular and cheap to come by. The only benefit of its obscurity is that noone will invest in faking it. So if you do come across Furazabol, you have pretty good odds that the stuff is legit.

Now, the literature does not make a whole lot of mention of furazabol, but from what I was able to find1, it supports the weak nature of the steroid. In one case it was found that furazabol was a good treatment for hyperlipemia, and this without affecting proteinuria (the prevention of excretion of amino acids, where one would expect a steroid to increase proteinuria and not effect hyperlipemia). The low androgen binding may explain the lack of effect it had on proteinuria. The doses used were considerably high though, at least for furazabol. 1.1 mg/kg/day. That means a 200 lb bodybuilder would be using around 90-100 mg/day

Furazabol can be considered a relatively light steroid therefore. It is not estrogenic in anyway, on account of its dihydro structure and its lack of estrogenic action and low androgenic binding make it have fairly little influence on the body's own testosterone production. Much like Winstrol (stanozolol) and Anavar (oxandrolone). In the long run suppression will occur of course, but because it occurs much slower a user will suffer less from testicular atrophy and therefore bounce back easier when a cycle is concluded. There is a slim chance of androgenic risk, as with Winstrol, but its not frequent or severe. So acne, increased body and facial hair and even an aggravation of male pattern hair loss can occur, but it's a lot less likely than with more androgenic specimen.

Furazabol is a 17-alpha-alkylated steroid, and therefore has a level of hepatoxicity. In the interest of protecting your liver, you should not extend use beyond 6-8 weeks maximum. It's a mild steroid with no estrogenic activity, so logically its best used when cutting in stacks with Equipoise (boldenone undecylenate), Finaplix (trenbolone acetate) or Primobolan (methenolone enanthate) and the needed fat-burners of course. Unlike most steroids, this drug has a relatively short half-life2 however. It compensates with quite long activity (15-33% excretion of unchanged metabolites after 24 hours) so a single dose should be enough to get you through the day. But on account of the low half-life time, you may want to consider splitting doses in two each day. Because it doesn't aromatize and doesn't have a strong androgenic component, the use of ancillary drugs is limited. The use of Clomid or Nolvadex after a cycle is certainly advised, though the merit may be rather limited. There is no need for anti-estrogens or blood pressure medication during the cycle.

Orabolin
Pharmaceutical Name: ethylestrenol
Chemical structure: 19-Nor-17alpha-pregn-4-en-17-ol
Effective dose: 20-50 mg/day

People who have been in this game for a long time, may remember this steroid as Maxibolin. Its most popular name. But to avoid all confusion, its now best referred to as Orabolin, because Maxibolan was taken from the market some time ago. Most experienced users will of course prefer not to remember Orabolin at all. It was a bit of a failure in all aspects.

First of all it's a 19Nor-steroid, a derivative of nandrolone. I'm no big fan of 19Nor-steroids, apart from maybe trenbolone. The lack of the 19th carbon makes them re-esterify easily, particularly suppressive of natural testosterone and above all, lends them progestagenic activity, or if you will, the ability to worsen estrogenic side-effects by binding the progesterone receptor. The sole benefit of a 19nor compound is that it has very good androgen binding properties, giving it good enough anabolic effect, but is actually androgenically reduced in androgen responsive tissues like prostate and skin. This allowed users to book decent gains without overly having to fear acne, hair loss and prostate hypertrophy as they did with testosterone. For me that still doesn't warrant the use of nasty stuff like nandrolone or norethandrolone, for some it does. But I'm pretty sure all will be in agreement that this steroid is a waste. Its similar to norethandrolone, except it lacks a 3-keto group. This group is essential for binding the androgen receptor, and without it, its safe to assume that the anabolic activity of this steroid is less than weak. Studies1 actually seem to suggest that the only anabolic activity that ethylestronol does exert, is by making a 3-keto group and thus converting to norethandrolone.

Norethandrolone (inviting you to read the profile on norethandrolone) wasn't much of a success either. It was designed to be an androgenically mild oral steroid, like an oral nandrolone (which is in essence what it was), but then Searle realized that apart from being androgenically mild it was relatively nasty and uncontrollable stuff (which is how I feel about most 19nor steroids, including nandrolone) and came out with Anavar instead, since it was better suited as a mild oral steroid. So even through conversion you don't get anything decent out of this product.

The 17-alpha-ethyl group also lends it a certain liver toxicity, which doesn't allow for long use or high doses. And high doses are really what you need for any form of favorable effect. Women may somewhat appreciate this steroid in doses of 20-30 mg day, as its androgenically the mildest you'll ever come across, with very little virilizing symptoms. Although in any case, I would still recommend Anavar (oxandrolone) over ethylestrenol. Mainly due to its reputation, its become hard to find on the black market. Virtually extinct. I for one don't really care much.If you have ethylestrenol, my advice is toss it or sell it to your gullable friend. It's a waste. If you must use its, remember that the gains will be next to non-existent. Using 30-50 mg per day for 5-6 weeks on end, stacked with other products are the best way to go. Make it worth your while and add in some testosterone or boldenone for example. Aromatization is minimal, so the use of anti-estrogens will not be needed during the cycle, but because 19Nor steroids are nasty, suppressive stuff, you would do wise to run HCG and Nolvadex or Clomid once the cycle is over

Primobolan
Pharmaceutical Name: Methenolone (orally as acetate, injections as enanthate)
Chemical structure: 17 beta-hydroxy-1-methyl-5 alpha-androst-1-en-3-one
Effective dose: 200-300 mg/week injections or 50-150 mg/day orally

Primobolan is a well-known and popular steroid as well. Like nandrolone it's most often used as a base compound for stacking with other steroids. Methenolone however, is a DHT-based steroid (actually, DHB or dihydroboldenone, the 5-alpha reduced of the milder boldenon). Meaning when it interacts with the aromatase enzyme it does not form estrogens at all. That makes it ideal for use when cutting when excess estrogen is best avoided because of its retentive effects on water and fat. Methenolone is mostly only used in such instances, or by people who are very succeptible to estrogenic side-effects, because the anabolic activity of methenolone is slightly lower than that of nandrolone, quite likely BECAUSE it is non-estrogenic.

Because it is a widely available steroid its often used as a replacement for nandrolone or boldenone to those who have no access to Deca-Durabolin or Laurabolin or Equipoise. When stacked with a heavy mass steroid like testosterone and/or methandrostenolone it can deliver almost similar gains. Those seeking to cut will most likely be very pleased stacking it with drostanolone, stanozolol or trenbolone. Women and beginners also stack methenolone WITH nandrolone because this gives a mildly anabolic stack that is generally regarded as one of the safer stacks around in an androgenic perspective. But alas, with the nandrolone, also a very suppressive stack.

Methenolone is available as an injection or as an oral. The injection is naturally regarded as better. Its an enanthate ester which is quite long-acting and only needs to be injected once a week in doses of 300-600 mg. Because it by-passes hepatic breakdown on the first pass, it also has a higher survival rate. The orals are a lot less handy, but often preferred by bodybuilders who are afraid of needles or who are already taking one or more injectable compounds. The tabs are in a short-lived acetate form, meaning that doses of 100-150 mg per day are needed, split over 2 or 3 doses, making the tabs quite inconvenient for use. The reason doses need to be split up, unlike most oral steroids, is because Methenolone is not 17-alpha-alkylated, but 1-methylated for oral bio-availability. This reduces the liver stress, but also the availability, hence the multiple and high doses needed daily.

Like nandrolone, methenolone is very mild on the system. Probably the reason why both are strongly favored as base compounds in stacks. Methenolone has no estrogenic side-effects whatsoever, on account of its structure. Its effects on the cholesterol levels are barely noticeable. In doses of 200 mg or less (injectable) blood pressure is rarely, if at all, altered. As for hepatoxicity, long-term use will of course increase liver values but gradually and only slightly. The injections of course, since they only pass the liver once, have roughly half the liver-toxic effects of the tabs. The low liver-toxicity is accounted for that the bio-availability of methenolone is carried by a 1-methyl-group, which lessens the need for a carrier attachment such as a 17-alpha-akylated group, the main culprit in steroid-related liver afflictions.

The strangest thing however, taking into account that Primo is still a DHT (or rather DHB) derivative, is that it is quite easy on the system androgenically as well. Women use methenolone often, usually the tabs, and find little virilisation symptoms in short term use of methenolone. Long-term use may induce some acne and a deepening of the voice however. Methenolone is also not overly suppressive of the HPT axis (endocrinal axis for the production of natural testosterone). These are both the result of DHB's 1,2-double bond, which, analog to the parent structure boldenone, reduces the androgenic binding by 50% as opposed to DHT.

For athletes who wish to maintain a "natural" status in competition, the tablets are quite well-suited as detection chances for the acetate-form are quite slim. However tests have improved and quite a number of metabolites1 of methenolone can be detected with a simple urine sample. But an English study documented that there is a liability in eating methenolone contaminated meats2, which could provide a possible defense if found out. One could always claim they ate the meat of a chicken or cow injected with methenolone since the test concluded eating such meat does not improve performance, but can deliver positive tests for several methenolone metabolites almost 24 hours after ingestion. That's for those of you seeking a viable defense against a possible methenolone-positive.

Methenolone comes in orals and injectables. The injectables are to be preferred as they can be used for quite some time and only require injecting once a week. The orals are taking every day, or multiple times a day. An oral passes through the liver twice. An injectable only once. The injectable is more effective since less is broken down.

Methenolone is not used all that often by experienced users. It makes a good product as an alternative to Deca or EQ in a cutting stack, because it has similar properties but does not aromatize and does not have progestagenic activity. But those at least slightly versed will prefer boldenone over methenolone as its more potent gram for gram. Its quite mild, so its not as prone to cause your standard side-effects. This too makes it quite popular with beginners. Methenolone was quite popular during the 70's in stacks with Methandrostenolone. Some of the all-time greats of bodybuilding were quite fond of this stack. The common use is similar to that of Nandrolone. 300-400 mg a week, in conjunction with other steroids mostly. Some attempt to make up for the lack of potency switching from nandrolone or boldenone to methenolone by using higher doses, in the neighbourhood of 600-800 mg a week. At that point I feel it would be cheaper to opt for boldenone at 300-400 mg a week though. Methenolone makes a poor stacking partner in mass stacks as both Deca and EQ provide better results while they are qualitatively similar. There is a slight merit in stacking Methenolone with boldenone, because apart from its 1-methyl group, methenolone is basically DHB, the 5-alpha-reduced form of boldenone. But since boldenone itself has very low affinity for 5-alpha-reduction, it should have a good synergistic effect stacking the two at 300 mg/week each.

Proviron
Pharmaceutical Name: Mesterolone
Chemical structure: 1 alpha-methyl-17 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstan-3-one
Effective dose: 25-100 mg / day orally

Mesterolone is an orally active, 1-methylated DHT. Like Masteron, but then actually delivered in an oral fashion. DHT is the conversion product of testosterone at the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme, the result being a hormone that is 3 to 4 times as androgenic and is structurally incapable of forming estrogen. One would imagine then that mesterolone would be a perfect drug to enhance strength and add small but completely lean gains to the frame. Unfortunately there is a control mechanism for DHT in the human body. When levels get too high, the 3alpha hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzyme converts it to a mostly inactive compound known as 3-alpha (5-alpha-androstan-3alpha,17beta-diol), a prohormone if you will. It can equally convert back to DHT by way of the same enzyme when low levels of DHT are detected. But it means that unless one uses ridiculously high amounts, most of what is administered is quite useless at the height of the androgen receptor in muscle tissue and thus mesterolone is not particularly suited, if at all, to promote muscle hypertrophy.

Proviron has four distinct uses in the world of bodybuilding. The first being the result of its structure. It is 5-alpha reduced and not capable of forming estrogen, yet it nonetheless has a much higher affinity for the aromatase enzyme (which converts testosterone to estrogen) than testosterone does. That means in administering it with testosterone or another aromatizable compound, it prevents estrogen build-up because it binds to the aromatase enzyme very strongly, thereby preventing these steroids from interacting with it and forming estrogen. So Mesterolone use has the extreme benefit of reducing estrogenic side-effects and water retention noted with other steroids, and as such still help to provide mostly lean gains. Its also been suggested that it may actually downgrade the actual estrogen receptor making it doubly effective at reducing circulating estrogen levels.

The second use is in enhancing the potency of testosterone. Testosterone in the body at normal physiological levels is mostly inactive. As much as 97 or 98 percent of testosterone in that amount is bound to sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and albumin, two proteins. In such a form testosterone is mostly inactive. But as with the aromatase enzyme, DHT has a higher affinity for these proteins than testosterone does, so when administered simultaneously the mesterolone will attach to the SHBG and albumin, leaving larger amounts of free testosterone to mediate anabolic activities such as protein synthesis. Another way in which it helps to increase gains. Its also another part of the equation that makes it ineffective on its own, as binding to these proteins too, would render it a non-issue at the androgen receptor.

Thirdly, mesterolone is added in pre-contest phases to increase a distinct hardness and muscle density. Probably due to its reduction in circulating estrogen, perhaps due to the downregulating of the estrogen receptor in muscle tissue, it decreases the total water build-up of the body giving its user a much leaner look, and a visual effect of possessing "harder" muscles with more cuts and striations. Proviron is often used as a last-minute secret by a lot of bodybuilders and both actors and models have used it time and again to deliver top shape day in day out, when needed. Like the other methylated DHT compound, drostanolone, mesterolone is particularly potent in achieving this feat.

Lastly Proviron is used during a cycle of certain hormones such as nandrolone, with a distinct lack of androgenic nature, or perhaps 5-alpha reduced hormones that don't have the same affinities as DHT does. Such compounds, thinking of trenbolone, nandrolone and such in particular, have been known to decrease libido. Limiting the athlete to perform sexually being the logical result. DHT plays a key role in this process and is therefore administered in conjunction with such steroids to ease or relieve this annoying side-effect. Proviron is also commonly prescribed by doctors to people with low levels of testosterone, or patients with chronic impotence. Its not perceived as a powerful anabolic, but it gets the job done equally well if not better than other anabolic steroids making it a favorite in medical practices due to its lower chance of abuse.

Mesterolone is generally well liked nonetheless as it delivers very few side-effects in men. In high doses it can cause some virilization symptoms in women. But because of the high level of deactivation and pre-destination in the system (albumin, SHBG, 3bHSD, aromatase) quite a lot of it, if not all simply never reaches the androgen receptor where it would cause anabolic effects, but also side-effects. So its relatively safe. Doses between 25 and 250 mg per day are used with no adverse effects. 50 mg per day is usually sufficient to be effective in each of the four cases we mentioned up above, so going higher really isn't necessary. Unlike what some suggest or believe, its not advised that Proviron be used when not used in conjunction with another steroid, as it too is quite suppressive of natural testosterone, leading to all sorts of future complications upon discontinuation. Ranging from loss of libido or erectile dysfunction all the way up to infertility. One would not be aware of such dangers because Proviron fulfills most of the functions of normal levels of testosterone.

Mesterolone is an oral alkylated steroid. If used primarily as an anti-aromatase drug, using it throughout a longer cycle (10-12 weeks) of injectables may elevate liver values a little bit, though much, much less than one would expect with a 17-alpha-alkylated steroid. Eventhough instead of inhibiting gains, mesterolone may actually contribute to gains. So that's a bit of a shame. Its not quite as toxic since its not alkylated in the same fashion, but at the 1 position, which reduces hepatic breakdown, but not like 17-alpha alkylation. The reason for the change of position I assume, is because alkylating at the 17-alpha position has been shown to reduce affinity for sex hormone binding proteins. This would in turn decrease its ability to free testosterone. Nonetheless the delivery rate is quite good. Its taken daily in 50-100 mg doses.

The best thing to stack it with is testosterone of course. Its most easily bound to SHBG and albumin, and deactivated for up to 98%. Since the DHT can compete for these structures with higher affinity it would naturally lead to a higher yield of whatever testosterone product you stacked it with. Since DHT levels are notably higher now there is also more stimulation of the androgen receptor causing more strength gains, and because of its affinity for aromatase the overall estrogen level decreases as well. This has as a result that gains are leaner, and once again the overall testosterone yield is increased as less I converted at the aromatase enzyme.

It's of course used in other stacks with products such as methandrostenolone, boldenone and nandrolone to reduce estrogenic activity and increase muscle hardness. The addition of proviron makes boldenone a dead lock for a cutting stack and for some may even make it possible to use nandrolone while cutting, although the use of Winstrol or a receptor antagonist in conjunction is wishful as well. The benefit of adding it to a nandrolone stack is that it may also help you reduce the decrease in libido suffered from nandrolone, since the latter is mostly deactivated by 5-alpha reductase, an enzyme that makes other hormones more androgenic. Proviron is an anti-aromatase, so obviously anti-estrogens would be futile and redundant. Blood pressure medication for those prone to hypertension may be wise, as this DHT can increase the blood pressure.

Testosterone Cypionate
Pharmaceutical Name: Testosterone (as Cypionate)
Chemical structure: 4-androstene-3-one,17beta-ol
Effective dose: 250-1000 mg/week

Testosterone is the prime male androgen in the body, and as such still the best possible mass builder in the world. It has a high risk of side-effects because it readily converts to a more androgenic form (DHT) in androgen responsive tissues and forms estrogen quite easily. But these characteristics also provide it with its extreme anabolic tendencies. On the one hand estrogen increases growth hormone output, glucose utilization, improves immunity and upgrades the androgen receptor, while on the other hand a testosterone/DHT combination is extremely potent at activating the androgen receptor and eliciting major strength and size gains. While not always the most visually appealing result, there is no steroid on earth that packs on mass like testosterone does.

Testosterone Cypionate is a single-ester, long-acting form of testosterone. Due to the length of its ester (8 carbons) it is stored mostly in the adipose tissue upon intra-musuclar injection, and then slowly but very steadily released over a certain period of time. A peak is noted after 24-48 hours of injection and then a slow decline, reaching a steady point after 12 days and staying there for over 3 weeks time. Of course most users of anabolics will not find adequate benefit in the use of this steady-point dose, so this product is normally injected once a week, making the very lowest dose higher than half the peak dose at any given time. This is roughly the starting blood level as well. A long-acting testosterone ester is a must-have in any mass-building cycle. As such this is a very decent product.

Personally I have more affinity for testosterone enanthate, but few users will note any real difference between the two products, and both remain a better buy than their popular counterpart sustanon 250, which is a poor choice of testosterone in my opinion. It makes sense that a user simply opts for which one is most readily available at the time. They sell for roughly the same price, and are almost equally good. So most North and South-American users will usually opt for the use of a cypionate, as it is more available in those regions, whereas Europeans and Asians will probably prefer the enanthate version.

A long-acting testosterone ester may be the best for all your mass-building needs, but its not an easy product to use. Because of the extreme length of action (3-4 weeks) one cannot easily solve occurring problems by simply discontinuing the product, as it will continue to act and aggravate side-effects over extended periods of time. In regards to damage control and post-cycle therapy, some familiarity with the use of ancillary drugs is required prior to using a long-acting testosterone product. Nolvadex and Proviron will come in very handy in such cases and post-cycle HCG and clomid or Nolvadex will be required as well to help restore natural testosterone. Frequency of side-effects is probably highest with this type of product.

While most will tell you it's a waste to not use testosterone, as it will take ages longer to build proper mass, these are all points to take into consideration. Testosterone is a product that is heavily used by beginners and veterans alike and justly so. Those who fear they may never understand the proper use of ancillary drugs, may want to suck it up and invest in some propionate or suspension testosterones instead. These are much shorter acting and easier to control, but they do need to be injected once every two days, whereas this type of ester will impart great gains with a single weekly injection. Something to keep in mind.

Testosterone is the most powerful compound there is, so obviously its perfectly fine to use it by itself. With a long-acting ester like Cypionate doses of 500-1000 mg per week are used with very clear results over a 10 week period. If you've ever seen a man swell up with sheer size, then testosterone was the cause of it. But testosterone is nonetheless often stacked. Due to the high occurrence of side-effects, people will usually split up a stack in testosterone and a milder component in order to obtain a less risky cycle, but without having to give up as much of the gains. Primobolan, Equipoise and Deca-Durabolin are the weapons of choice in this matter. Deca seems to be the most popular, probably because of its extremely mild androgenic nature. But Deca being one of the highest risks for just about every other side-effects, I probably wouldn't advise it. If Deca is used, generally a dose of 200-400 mg is added to 500-750 mg of testosterone per week.

Primobolan is sometimes opted for, and can be handy since it doesn't aromatize, which will make the total level of water retention and fat gain a lot less than with more test or with Deca for example. Unfortunately, its mild nature combined with a lack of estrogen make Primobolan a very poor mass builder. Again, doses of 300-400 mg are used. I would actually suggest a higher dose, but with the current prices for Primo I don't think it would be very popular. My personal preference goes out to Equipoise. Androgenically its not that much stronger than Deca because it has next to no affinity for the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme and is only half as androgenic as testosterone. Its twice as strong as Deca, mg for mg, and has a lower occurrence of side-effects. It has some estrogen, but not a whole lot so it actually tends to lean a person out rather than bloat him up as Deca will. It also increases appetite, which promotes gains, and improves aerobic performance, which may be wishful as testosterone normally has an opposite effect.

Of course testosterone cypionate can be stacked with any number of compounds apart from these, but these make the best match. When stacking with testosterone, one needs to look at what the other compound can bring. Either it has a characteristic that testosterone doesn't have, or its nominally safer. The testosterone will bring all the mass, so adding another steroid to enhance mass alone, is futile. More testosterone is the best remedy for that.

One needs to be familiar with a host of other compounds when using long-acting testosterone esters however. First of all, anti-estrogens. The rate of aromatization of testosterone is quite great, so water retention and fat gain are a fact and gyno is never far off. If problems occur one is best to start on 20 mg of Nolvadex per day and stay on that until problems subside. I wouldn't stay on it for a whole cycle, as it may reduce the gains. In terms of an aromatase blocker, testosterone is one of the few compounds where Proviron may actually be preferred over arimidex. The proviron will not only reduce estrogen and can be used for extended time on a testosterone cycle, it will also bind with great affinity to sex-hormone binding proteins in the blood and will allow for a higher level of free testosterone in the body, thus improving gains.

Usually 50-100 mg will suffice, the lower end is preferred for maximal results since estrogen plays a key role in gains, but those more worried about estrogen should opt for a higher dose. For those worried about androgenic side-effects (hair loss, prostate hypertrophy, deepening of voice), one can utilize the hair loss treatment finasteride. This blocks the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme and stops the conversion of testosterone to the more androgenic compound DHT. I'm not a big fan of this, because DHT reduces estrogenic bloat, increases free levels of testosterone and is a very potent androgen that is 3-4 times stronger than testosterone. Those worried about hair loss however, may want to opt for arimidex as their anti-aromatase, since Proviron is a form of DHT after all. After a cycle, mainly due to the high aromatization and increased levels of estradiol in the blood after discontinuing, natural testosterone levels will be severely suppressed. This means steps need to be taken to assure the quick return of natural testosterone, or we stand to lose a lot of the gains we made while using testosterone. Since it's a non-toxic, potent mass-builder its mostly used in long 10-12 week cycles. So some testicular shrinkage will have occurred too. Its very important that people see that HCG and Nolvadex/clomid are essential as a post-cycle therapy, and that both are equally important in achieving our goal. HCG injections should be started the last week of the cycle and continued for 3-4 weeks, using 1500-3000 IU every 5-6 days. HCG will act as an alternative to LH and start the endogenous testosterone cycle, thereby increasing testicle size once again. Then about 2 weeks after the last shot of testosterone is given, Nolvadex/Clomid cycle should be started. 40 mg of Nolva or 150 mg of Clomid per day for two weeks, followed by two more weeks with either 20 mg of Nolva or 100 mg of Clomid per day should be adequate. Always remember that HCG is suppressive of natural testosterone itself and should be discontinued at least 2 weeks prior to finishing Nolvadex/Clomid.

Testosterone Propionate
Pharmaceutical Name: Testosterone (as Propionate)
Chemical structure: 4-androstene-3-one,17beta-ol
Effective dose: 50-100 mg every two days
This is an esterified form of the base steroid steroid testosterone, much like enanthate, cypionate and sustanon 250. It's a superlipophillic, oil-based injectable that slows the release of the steroid into the blood stream. But compared to enanthate and cypionate, propionate is a very short ester and is still released quite fast. As such more frequent injections are needed. Levels will peak after 24-36 hours and begin tapering from there on out, making the longest possible time-span between injections, at least or proper results, about 3 days. Most athletes will opt to inject 50-100 mg every day to every other day.


It's not the most user-friendly steroid of them all. Frequent injections can be painful to begin with, to a point where users will begin scouting for different locations to stick the needle, in order to not aggravate the same spots all the time. To make matters worse, its not that pleasant to inject either. The injection-site can become irritated and swell, and sometimes give incredible itches or soreness when touched. All these factors combined, you can see that this is the best form of testosterone to start off on for most beginners. And still. As discussed with enanthate and cypionate, a long-acting ester requires some skill with ancillary drugs and familiarity with post-cycle protocol since simple discontinuation will not put a halt to all problems. In that aspect, for those who do not master ancillaries and post-cycle therapy, propionate is perhaps a better product to start off with. Levels of androgens and estrogens will drop within 2-4 days of discontinuation, effectively halting or reducing any occurring side-effects. Nonetheless, this is a testosterone with a high risk of side-effects (the characteristics of testosterone do not change despite the ester, which is just a carrier) so the use of Nolvadex/proviron/Arimidex and so forth is highly advised if you plan to see a cycle through.

What is of note with propionate, is that users have successfully incorporated it into cutting cycles as well. Especially people who tend to lose a lot of mass normally during extreme diet phases find this useful. By injecting every two or three days and using only 50-75 mg each time, no notable water builds up (or at least none that can't be fixed with proviron, arimidex or winstrol) and no fat is deposited, thus allowing a user to stay relatively lean. So this type of testosterone can be used to keep gaining or retaining mass until 2-3 weeks out of contest time with relatively little difficulty. Although most will choose to add Proviron (50-100 mg/day) out of precaution. Its best use is of course still in bulking phases to pack on mass. Testosterone is not the king of the hill of all mass-builders for nothing.

On the American black market propionate is not an extremely available item, its most popular in Europe, where its use is more wide-spread than that of the long-acting esters. Its nonetheless a desired item almost anywhere in the world because it's a very controllable form of what is no doubt the most powerful steroid ever. The cost is quite high too, easily running 2 to 3 times more for a weekly dose than enanthate, cypionate or sustanon 250.

As a short-lived oil based injectable, most will want to opt for doses of 50-100 mg every day to every other day. Those of a lighter stature seeking to use it for cutting purposes may want to make that every 2nd or 3rd day, or add proviron as a precaution instead, 50-100 mg/day sufficing in most cases. The site of injection is best rotated each time, or problem can occur. The compound is irritative and the damage to the skin and underlying tissue can cause some cosmetic problems if it becomes repetitive. Subcutaneously , balls of fat or tissue can build up. In most cases these need to surgically removed. So rotating is wise.

For bulking purposes one is best to stack testosterone with a base compound such as Deca-durabolin (nandrolone) or Equipoise (boldenone), and can addition Dianabol (methandrostenolone) or Anadrol (oxymetholone) for 5-6 weeks, at the beginning, to kickstart the gains a bit. Most will choose for a more user-friendly, longer-acting testosterone for bulking purposes however. For cutting, the best and primary addition is that of Proviron, which will reduce if not stop estrogen build-up, increase muscle hardness and strength and allow for a higher free testosterone level. But naturally other compounds lend themselves quite well too. Base compounds such as Equipoise or Primobolan (methenolone) making a good match for longer stacks, and towards contest time steroids such as Anavar (oxandrolone), finaplix (Trenbolone) or Winstrol (Stanazolol) make the best matches, as they too will help increase muscle hardness and decrease body-fat, while maintaining lean muscle mass. With testosterone, most any combination is possible. Because testosterone is always the stronger compound in a stack. In terms of ancillaries, the use of anti-estrogens is advised. For cutting puposes one will want to run Proviron alongside the testosterone for the length of the stack, which will rarely make the use of other anti-estrogens a necessity. If no Proviron or arimidex is used, you may want to keep some Nolvadex handy. Should problems arise starting on 20-40 mg of Nolvadex until a while after problems subside should be sufficient for all intents and purposes. Testosterone, being a heavily aromatizing compound, is also quite suppressive of natural testosterone (most so, safe for nandrolone) so a post-cycle therapy with Nolva/Clomid and HCG is necessary. Usually one will start HCG the last week or two weeks of a stack and run it about 4 weeks. HCG shots of 1500-3000 IU given every 5th or 6th day. That means during the end of a cycle, one shot of HCG is given per two shots of testosterone. A user should also opt to wait on using clomid or Nolvadex until the androgen is cleared. For longer esters that was 1.5 to 2 weeks, obviously that time-frame should be reduced to 1 week or even half a week for propionate. One will then start on either 40-50 mg of Nolvadex or 150 mg of Clomid per day for a period of two weeks, and then follow it up with 20-25 mg of Nolvadex or 100 mg of Clomid per day for another two weeks. Post-cycle therapy will facilitate the return of natural testosterone and make it more likely for the user to retain most of the mass he gained while on the cycle.

Winstrol
Pharmaceutical Name: Stanozolol
Chemical structure: 17 alpha-methyl-5alpha- androstano [3,2-c]pyrazol-17 beta-ol
Effective dose: 50-100 mg/day injection or 50-100 mg/day orally

TThis is another one of the popular ones. Next to Deca and D-bol the third most abused substance among athletes is stanozolol, as documented by the many positive drug tests. Among them the case sprinter Ben Johnson, who was stripped of his Gold Medal in the 100 meter dash in the 1988 Olympics. But since then the number of positives has grown exponentially. In bodybuilding Shawn Ray's positive in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic (a brief stint the IFBB had with drug testing). Ray was the winner of that event, but Canadion pro Nimrod King was also shown to have stanazolol metabolites in his urine.

That short paragraph to illustrate what sort of an impact it has made on the world of sports. Stanozolol is commonly referred to as Winny, after its trade name as marketed by Winthrop : Winstrol. In Europe this may be a bit confusing as the most available form there is called Stromba. Winny comes in two forms, an injectable form and an oral form. Both are equally popular and both are to be used daily. The injections are the same compound as the orals, which is methylated. Due to this feat it can't be esterified for time-release. So its not quite suited for weekly injections although this is claimed on the package insert of the veterinary form of Winny. Another thing that would further add to the difficulty of time-release is that it is delivered in an aqueous solution. That would not exactly facilitate the entry into adipose tissue, needed for the esterification and storage of the substrate in the body.

The injectable version often gives more results. In similar doses there is still more breakdown upon first pass in the liver, making it difficult to get an equal amount absorbed. And on top of that it has to be mentioned that most people simply don't take an equal amount. Too many pills, lesser availability, higher cost. Many factors play a role in that. But of course an oral is to be preferred over daily injections as that gives the necessary complications as well. Think of abscesses and lumps, the searching for new injection sites due to pain and so on. Some have solved this problem by simply drinking the Winny injections. It's the same substance, also methylated to withstand the liver, the availability and price are better and its contained in water. So there really aren't many objections to this.

Of course because they are the same substance, regardless of the method of use, its not advised to use Winny for long periods of time. Slightly less hepatoxic than most 17-alpha alkylated substrates, so it can be used a bit longer, as long as 8 weeks, but longer than that is not wise. Elevation of liver values is quite common.

The specificity of Winny however, lies in how it counteracts estrogenic side-effects such as gyno and excess water retention. First of all it's a 5-alpha reduced substrate. 5-alpha reduction breaks the double bond between positions 4 and 5, which is required for conversion to estrogen via aromatase, the primary enzyme for the manufacture of estrogen in males. Because some of these compounds nonetheless show some affinity for aromatase they may have some use in blocking estrogen from other steroids they are stacked with. Wether or not Winny acts in this way is not entirely sure. What has been a popular point of discussion with stanozolol is its suggested anti-progestagenic effects. The theory goes that Winny can bind and compete for a position at the progesterone receptor much like Clomid of Nolvadex would at the estrogen receptor, thereby inhibiting progestagenic effects. Now, progesterone can aggravate estrogenic side-effects by agonizing estrogen and it does play a role in gyno.

We also discussed that certain steroids may indeed stimulate and act at the height of the progesterone receptor including nandrolone and Norethandrolone. These hormones are also altered by it inducing a decrease in libido and a sense of lethargy and such, and eventhough they aromatize in lesser rates than some other steroids, they show an equal capability to cause estrogenic side-effects, particularly when stacked with other aromatizable compounds. Now there is evidence that Winny does indeed bind to the progesterone receptor1 and its users do not indicate the normal characteristics of progesterone stimulation, which bodes well for these anti-progestagenic properties. There is also some clinical data that it does aid in symptoms that require progesterone suppression2. Much in the way danazol was also successfully used. The one thing we shouldn't lose sight of however is in what rate it binds to the progesterone reception. There is no data on this. For all we know it couldn't bind strong enough to compete with nandrolone or norethandrolone. So its not wise to state that Winny is an anti-progestagin per se, but it does make Winny a good match for these products in stacks in any case.

Strong gains are never really made while using stanozolol (it's a weak androgen since it has no 3-keto group needed for androgen binding), but decent and fairly easy to maintain gains are possible. Its limited time of use however makes most experienced users opt for other steroids in that regard. Winny, in bodybuilding circles at least, is used mostly during cutting cycles to maintain mass. Winstrol, like a DHT compound also gives a distinct increase in muscle hardness and striations in people with a low body-fat percentage. This lends further credence that it too may be a an anti-estrogen. But most likely it has more to do with the overall lower levels of circulating estrogen. Winny is also quite effective at promoting strength because it binds very well at the androgen receptor. Short term stanozolol use can promote drastic strength, a feat often employed early in a bulking cycle (although d-bol would be more suited in that case) or late in a cutting cycle to prevent a decrease in performance. This combined with the red blood cell count-stimulating properties of its androgen affinity make it popular among track athletes as well in order to beget better results. As many, including Ben Johnson, did not take into account it can be detected for quite some time after last use so its not advisable for drug tested athletes. Many have assumed otherwise due to the short half-life, but apparently some inactive metabolites are easily esterified, so they can be found up to 5 months after the last injection.

Winny is mostly quite well-tolerated in men. Cramps, headaches, elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels and liver damage are noted, but on a not so-frequent basis. Standard virilization symptoms associated with the stimulating of the androgen receptor, however, are a problem. Acne, prostate hypertrophy and an aggravation of male pattern baldness can occur, so use by women has to be discouraged.

Due to the frequent rate of injections, users generally have to go spotting for different sites of injection on the body. Calves, shoulders, arms and such. When doing so they noted a localized increase in mass which has given root to the myth that Winny can add muscle where it is injected. What I'm about to say goes for all compounds known to date : Steroids do not increase mass locally. The observance is noted because the injection breaks the fascia around the muscle, which possibly gives a muscle a little more room to grow. This is mostly temporary, and in the best cases very limited. Multiple injections would not increase the size in comparison. When the fascia heals, if it heals, it can lead to something called compartments syndrome, where a nerve is pinched between a muscle and its fascia. Leading to numbness quite often and in some cases to a paralysis of everything that nerve controls. This is not a frequent occurrence. This is rare, but my point was documenting that localized growth spurred by an injection is a myth.

A last note about injectable Winny is : shake before use. Its called an aqueous solution, but the Winny being a steroid is not particularly polar, meaning it doesn't dissolve in the water. When the stuff sits, it will accumulate at the bottom of the vial. A good way to recognize the real stuff as well. So shake before you draw it into a syringe or mix it before you drink it, and perhaps even stir it again once in the syringe prior to injection.

Winstrol is best used at a rate of 50 mg a day. When in an injection that amounts to a single injection every day around the same time. In orals, that'll be at least 5 tabs of a legit product. In a mass stack Winny makes a good match for Deca and Nilevar. Whether or not its anti-progestagenic effects are for real or not, lets just say it can't hurt. In any stack with Deca the use of 25-50 mg a day for the first 6-8 weeks of the stack can kickstart it and add some strength. With Nilevar there is a practical objection because it is also 17-alpha alkylated and more toxic than Winny, so your stack would be limited to 6 weeks, which is not overly productive

Cheque Drops
Pharmaceutical Name: Mibolerone
Chemical structure: 7-alpha, 17-alpha-dimethyl-19Nor-androst-4-en-3-one,17b-ol
Effective dose: A few drops per day, taken sublingually

This is without a doubt THE most powerful steroid that was ever commercially marketed. Its androgenic potency is slightly less than that of methyltrienolone, but it can still aromatize, adding the benefits of estrogen as well. Unfortunately the only product it was ever marketed as never fully exploited the potential of this drug. It was delivered in microgram amounts in liquid droppers, the intent being to add a few drops to the food of female dogs in heat to keep them under control. Human athletes used a few drops under the tongue before a sporting event or training to increase their aggression levels, but noted little or no anabolic effect from this drug because it was so lowly dosed. Not that there was much room for high doses, because even in these low amounts using it longer than 2 or 3 weeks on end seemed to seriously compromise your liver. Just to demonstrate quite how toxic the compound mibolerone was to humans.

If it was free and safe to use orally, just 5 mg per day would probably give you more anabolic effect than a high-dose stack of several of the strongest products out there. It wasn't that far in potency from methyltrienolone. It possessed the same androgenic binding of trenbolone, even more so because its affinity for binding structures was even more reduced due to its 17-alpha-alkylation. But unlike methyltrienolone, it still allowed for aromatization to testosterone, enhanced by the progestagenic effect that all 19nor compounds seem to possess, which only further enhanced the extreme anabolic effect of mibolerone. Unfortunately because of its 17-alpha-alkylation it also rivaled methyltrienolone (metribolone) in liver toxicity, making it completely unsafe to even use 5 mg a day without killing yourself short term. A much better choice in that regard would have been trestolone (MENT), which is the same as Mibolerone but doesn't possess the toxic 17-alpha-methyl group. Sadly enough, MENT was never commercially marketed despite its well documented use as a male contraceptive (same for Mibolerone as well by the way).

But bodybuilders and other athletes had to make do with low-dosed cheque drops to increase activity. Nonetheless they enjoyed a great popularity. Mostly owed to the late Steroid guru Dan Duchaine. This was one of his many obscure (and usually dangerous) discoveries. The same person that discovered DNP, and extremely hazardous and powerful fatburner. Oddly enough cheque drops were more popular outside of bodybuilding. Boxers, football players and martial artists who fought full contact particularly had a fondness of this product and used it to enhance aggression prior to an important match with great success. It wasn't seldom that when a particularly aggressive incident occurred in boxing, that it was rumoured Mibolerone was the real culprit.

But even that didn't last, cheque drops have all but disappeared and I have yet to come across a legit one, or even an empty packaging from a legit one a long time ago. Which would illustrate what a dinosaur cheque drops have become in such a short time. But for those who really look around, they are still out there and I believe in some countries still used in veterinary medicine. So if you want it bad enough, but like I said, its impossible to use it to its full capacity, so its probably a waste to pursue anyway.

Because its extremely toxic in higher doses and cannot be used longer than 2 weeks on end, there really isn't much to stack with cheque drops. A user will opt to take but a few drops sublingually (under the tongue) prior to an event for which he requires and increase in energy and aggression. But because here too there is the risk of natural testosterone suppression, cheque drops are best used during a cycle with other anabolic steroids. In this nature it stacks with literally everything however, and is both suited for use during bulking as well as cutting, eventhough it doesn't have a direct influence on either. Because it's a non-aromatizing steroid that cannot be used longer than two weeks, the post-cycle use of clomid or Nolvadex is not required. Natural test will only partially be suppressed and should bounce back. If as advised you stacked it with a longer cycle of other steroids, its imperative that you still run them because of these other steroids, not so much for the cheque drops. For those prone to hypertension the use of an anti-hypertensive agent like Catapresan would be advised however. No other ancillaries should be required with this agent.

Dianabol
Pharmaceutical Name: Methandrostenolone / methandienone
Chemical structure: 17 beta-hydroxy-17alpha-methyl-1,4-androstadien-3-one
Effective dose: 15-50 mg / day orally or 50-150 mg / week by injection

Methandrostenolone is without a doubt one of the best, if not the best product for people who compete in non-aerobic oriented sports. It promotes drastic protein synthesis, enhances glycogenolysis (repletion of glycogen after exercise) and stimulates strength in a very direct and fast-acting way. It may be less useful to those competing in aerobic events as it also diminishes cell respiration1. But methandrostenolone manifests itself in a distinct manner : rapid and fast-acting build-up of strength and mass is noticed. That's why its often used at the beginning of cycle consisting of mostly injectables like long-acting testosterone esters and nandrolone. Since the effects of such drugs don't fully come out for the first 10-15 days, methandrostenolone is dosed in to provide immediate and visible results. It has a rather weak androgenic component and an obviously quite strong and visible anabolic component. Its effects are largely non-AR mediated, which is documented by its rather low influence on the natural endocrine system2 and the fact that it decreases rather than increases red blood cell content in the blood. Which means that one worry users of Dianabol, especially short term, needn't fear is the dramatic shutdown of natural testosterone production as is often the case with very androgenic compounds. Of course this effect is dose-dependent. It still has a mild androgenic component, meaning in high doses (30+ mg daily) androgen-mediated side-effects can be noted (acne, male pattern hair loss).

Because of its fast effects, immense popularity and the increasing "more-is-better" sentiment among bodybuilders, increasingly high doses are indeed being used and recommended. One has to wonder about the logic of such recommendations however, since high dose urine-analysis showed portions of unmetabolized compounds were being excreted3. In simpler terms that means that with higher doses, higher amounts of unchanged methandrostenolone were being excreted in the urine. This would indicate that the current stance needs to be reviewed and that smaller doses, taken multiple times per day would deliver better results and maximal use of the steroid. Dianabol simply is highly effective in low doses(25-40 mg ed). Som say Anadrol, a comparable steroid to methandrostenolone, is better, but its taken in doses of 50-150 mg. If one was to take methandrostenolone in those doses better gains could be expected. Methandrostenolone is also a lot safer in as opposed to the highly toxic and progestagenic anadrol. If one takes into account that the half-life of methandrostenolone in the body is only 3-6 hours, this theory makes even more sense. So taking your daily dose spread over 3 or 4 doses may elicit a better effect than only 1 or 2 doses. Methandrostenolone is quite effective in these lower doses by the way. Milligram for Milligram its more powerful than a testosterone ester, generally considered the best mass-builder.

A few notes there need to be made however. Not everyone should try and spread their doses out over multiple servings. First of all there is a slightly lower efficacy to take into account here as well due to two characteristics. The first being that you feed the total amount to the liver in smaller portions, yet the liver still manages to metabolize the same amount. Percentage wise that means less methandienone would make it through totally. The second would be that the peak levels aren't quite as high since no large doses are taken all at once. These two facts make it hard to recommend that just anyone take multiple doses. People who take moderate to low doses of ONLY methandrostenolone should probably opt for a single morning dose. This delivers a higher peak level and more survival of your only steroid. It also, due to the short half-life, makes the drug clear the body before the body produces its largest dose of natural testosterone, the early hours of sleep. Combined with the already mild effect at the AR, you could keep a good amount of your gains when using clomid or Nolvadex post-cycle. For those using it in conjunction with other, mostly injectable steroids, two doses seems to be the better choice, if you are taking in excess of 40 mg a day perhaps even three doses.

This is usually the case for fast-acting substances, they have short half-lives. Which brings us to the point of prolonged use. The general concensus is that methandrostenolone should never be used more than 6 weeks on end due its strong hepatoxic effects. Being largely an oral compound, its also 17-alpha-alkylated to help it survive the liver upon first pass. Liver values are elevated over a short period of time4, making long-term use a very dangerous affair. Liver values should return to normal quite fast after discontinuation however since the effects are so short-lived. Other risks associated with the use of methandrostenolone include the apparition of estrogenic side-effects because it interacts rather well with the aromatase enzyme on account of its methylated properties. It is therefore best used in conjunction with an anti-estrogen. Gynocomastia, high blood pressure, salt and water retention and mild cases of acne are therefore not uncommon.

Its methylated properties (17-methyl group) does have several positive characteristics of course. Why else would they add this group? The main purpose of course it to make sure less of the methandrostenolone is affected by hepatic breakdown when taken orally. But apparently it also decreases the affinity of the drug to SHBG (sex-hormone binding globulin), a sex steroid binding protein that takes up as much as 98% of testosterone. Testosterone that can't be used to build muscle. Since methandrostenolone does not bind to this protein easily, its quite an active substance, no doubt accounting for its fast and immediately visible action. Dianabol also does not affect cholesterol levels to a high degree in moderate doses5, and it seems to help an athlete stock up on potassium6. This is particularly beneficial taking into account the amount of sodium its estrogenic effects store as well.

We hinted at the short time of activity methandrostenolone possesses. This means that despite its immediate, fast and explosive gains in both strength and mass, they are quite hard to maintain. Often the bulk of mass is lost shortly after discontinuation, making it most unsuitable for those looking to gain and keep quality muscle. An injectable may suppress some of these obviously flawed characteristics, but the 5 mg tabs remain the trend. With its high capacity to survive breakdown in the liver this understandably.

In light of the evidence presented, we conclude that the best use for methandrostenolone is short-term, for 5-6 weeks, at the beginning of a longer bulking stack (10+ weeks), preferably injectable, to kickstart gains and strength. Its effects are largely non-AR mediated and it aromatizes quite well, which leaves it with limited stacking partners, The best candidates are of course nandrolone and testosterone. It should be taken in doses no higher than 50 mg (20-40 mg being the norm) ,spread over multiple doses for maximum effects in stacks and a single morning dose when taken by itself. D-bol remains a favorite today however, that's a fact that cannot be argued.

I needn't really expand too much, since most of the conclusion were drawn in that last paragraph. Dianabol is a methylated compound with a certain toxicity, so in the interest of safety you wouldn't use it longer than 6 weeks on end, 8 weeks at the absolute maximum and only under supervision of a medical professional who can monitor your liver values. Because it heavily aromatizes its not particularly useful during cutting and with 6-8 weeks of use maximum, that leaves but two options. Either stacking it with another, injectable, compound that can be used for longer terms (beginning of stack when other compound is least active) or you would do multiple short cycles. In that case one would take off at least as long as he was on during a cycle, preferably longer. Like 6 weeks on, followed by 6-10 weeks off. These multiple cycles were all the fashion among pro bodybuilders in the 70's with very decent results.

It's most readily stacked with Deca-Durabolin or Primobolan, perhaps even Equipoise. Usually an injection of 200-400 mg/week combined with 30-40 mg of Dianabol everyday. In some cases testosterone was used in conjunction with anyone of these stacks. For short term use oral Primobolan made a good match, and in lesser ways an oral Winstrol. Both provide a mild, lean foundation for the Dianabol and both are also 17-alpha alkylated, warranting short-term use. Since Dianabol has little Androgen receptor activity, it functions particularly synergistic with compounds that have a strong Androgen receptor activity as is the case for all the aforementioned. Along the lines of secondary products an anti-aromatase like Cytadren or Arimidex may be useful. When stacked with Deca, the choice for a receptor antagonist like Clomid or Nolvadex is perhaps a wiser choice. Perhaps even a combination of both. Dianabol aromatizes rather heavily, which means in a stack with another aromatizing compound the risk for gyno remains high and water retention is virtually a fact. Post-cycle the use of Clomid or Nolvadex can be employed to boost natural testosterone production. There is quite some circulating estrogen post-cycle that causes prolonged negative feedback, clomid or Nolvadex would solve that problem and help you retain more of your gains.

Finaplix
Pharmaceutical Name: trenbolone (as acetate)
Chemical structure: 17-beta-hydroxyestra-4, 9-11-trien-3-one
Effective dose: 40-70 mg every 2-3 days either transdermally, nasally or by injection

According to many an opinion this drug delivers the best gains, qualitatively speaking, for money. You notice two names on top of this profile, but unfortunately finaject hasn't been made in quite a while now. Since 1987. This is quite a shame. Both Finaplix and finaject are veterinary steroids and were readily and easily available for democratic prices. Finaject was an injectable and provided you could find a sterile source it was quite convenient. Now only finaplix remains as the original source of trenbolone acetate. The Ttokkyo brand trenbol75 surfaces from time to time as well, but its derived from the same material, though qualitatively not as pure. The problem with finaplix as opposed to finaject is that it comes in veterinary implant pellets, and trust me, you don't want to get one of these babies shot in your butt. So it needs to be converted to either a transdermal (often using DMSO) or an injectable. There are kits to achieve both. Trenbolone nasal sprays are gaining popularity as well.

Trenbolone acetate is rather short-acting but well liked because of its great availability and price. The alternative is the limited availability of Parabolan, a longer-acting trenbolone ester made for human use. Unfortunately certain lots only surface from time to time and they never sell cheap. They do act quite a bit longer. Parabolan (trenbolone as hexahydrobencylcarbonate) has the half-life of an enanthate meaning it requires less frequent injections. One of the major problems with finaplix however is that beginners making sterile injectable compounds isn't a wishful thing, and often leads to abscesses and infections.

The fun with Fina is that it causes small, well-maintainable and quality gains. Naturally it won't give you the sort of mass that testosterone or methandrostenolone would give, but it makes up for it by adding only quality mass (no estrogen formation, so no fat and water retention) which is quite easy to keep on your frame. In contradiction to many aromatizing steroids such as testosterone where a large portion of the gained mass is quickly lost again after discontinuation of the product.

It's also a very versatile product that can be used in a lot of different ways. One could easily stack it with testosterone, anadrol or dianabol for mass gains where the actions of trenbolone cause severe strength gains and add some quality to the mass. Since trenbolone was found to be roughly 3 to 4 times as anabolic as most testosterone esters it quite easily boosts strength over short periods of time. It acts well on the androgen receptor with as a result that it can have certain side-effects. Most notably the normal androgenic side-effects such as increased acne and a risk for prostate hypertrophy, definitely increased aggression leading to roid rage in prolonged use of high doses and in some cases an aggravation of an existing hair loss problem.

On the other hand trenbolone just as easily combines with stanozolol or methenolone for purposes of reducing body-fat. Bill Roberts recently claimed that trenbolone doesn't reduce body-fat and that nothing in the literature proves it does. But I beg to differ. Either Mr.Roberts isn't too bright or he doesn't know how to perform a medline search, since after a mere minute of searching I found a study1 that clearly documented the fat-loss aspects of trenbolone acetate. It clearly concluded (even said so in the abstract) that trenbolone does indeed reduce body-fat (as androgens do, we discuss this in our profile of Masteron), but only when not competing with circulating estrogen. This means as a fat-loss agonist, trenbolone is best used late in a cycle and only combined with non-aromatizing steroids since it competes with circulating estradiol. Body-fat percentage when cutting would drop regardless, simply because of the qualitative lean mass gain made while no extra body-fat is deposited.

And finally in doses of 50-100 mg daily, trenbolone acetate can be used just fine by itself and quite favorably. In fact for people starting out, not too concerned with the side-effects and looking solely for a quality increase in lean muscle, small doses of fina (50mg/day injectable) would be very suitable.

The mechanism by which trenbolone mediates skeletal muscle hypertrophy is diversified and not very well understood. On the one hand trenbolone is a very active agonist of the androgen receptor, as illustrated by its increasing strength and aggression at the level it does. While this is a large contributor there is evidence that it mediates muscle growth by another pathway entirely2,3, namely the increasing of satellite cell sensitivity to an increase in IGF-1 (Insulin-Like growth factor 1) and FGF (Fibroblast growth factor). This would result in a much, much greater nutrient uptake and protein synthesis and explain why trenbolone is so much more potent in building lean muscle than other non-aromatizing, AR-mediated steroids like drostanolone and mesterolone.

In fact, in veterinary cycles the androgenic hypertrophy is regarded as the strongest of any steroid, which is why instead of using aromatizing compounds to enhance mass in cattle, they now inject them with products like Revalor-S, which contains trenbolone and estradiol, to make up for the lack of estrogenic mass accrual.

The points one may wish to consider during use of Fina is the low sterility of some home-brewed concoctions along with the already relatively painful injections (high alcohol content). This can lead to multiple problems when it is injected daily. Lumps due to plentiful same-site injections, abscesses and infections caused by faulty filtering and so on. Trenbolone is not particularly toxic though. Liver values are barely elevated while using it. Though there is no evidence or explanation to support this, some users reported a certain kidney-toxicity. Blood in urine and all that. While this was no doubt the result of a fake (Finaject used to be an often faked steroid shortly after its discontinuation) but I figured I'd mention it. Other than that mild androgenic effects such as acne and an increase in hair loss are noted as well.

Trenbolone is relatively safe steroid all in all. There is some concern about kidney toxicity, but usually exaggerated. The beauty of trenbolone is that its one steroid that has it all : Its highly effective in its own, provides all lean gains which are fairly easy to maintain and isn't very prone to cause side-effects. Finaplix particularly provides you with a cheap source of trenbolone as well. The problem is making the cartridges into a sterile injectable or transdermal.

To get the maximum it is recommended that you inject the stuff of course, but that's slightly more complex as you need to get rid of a lot of the crap they put in these cartridges. You will need sterile oil, solvent (lipophillic), 1 empty sterile container, A syringe filter, two syringes and 2 18gauge needles. Start by putting your pellets in your solvent, and let it sit. You want the pellets to become completely undone and dissolved in your fluid. This is imperative. Shake it up real good and then let it sit for 12-48 hours to let all the crap sink to the bottom. Now take one of your syringes and start transferring the fluid into the sterile oil. You can decant as well, but you really don't want any of the crud on the bottom to make it into this solution, so using the syringe and doing it slowly is the best way. Now take your empty sterile container and use a new syringe to transfer the oil. Attach a syringe filter between syringe and needle and slowly put the oil into your container, slowly filtering it. For everytime you repeat this step you need uncouple the filter/needle from the syringe, or else dirt will gather at the wrong side of the filter and get into your solution. In fact, if your container is a vial its advised that you leave the needle in the vial with the filter on it and you just use the syringe to refill and filter. This solution is now fit to be injected. Its still advised to hold the syringe with the trenbolone under some hot streaming water before injecting first though.

Nasal sprays and sublingual forms are also popular, and while they too have some minor success, they are the worst way to go. It's a steroid, and with the added ester its even more lipophillic. Since the mucous membranes in the mouth and nose only let hydrophilic substances through, the rate of absorption is extremely limited. Usually to achieve this cyclodextrins are used, sugars that are lipophillic on the inside and can hold a steroid inside, but are hydrophilic on the outside, making the whole absorbable through these channels. But since fina does not have this and most of us do not possess the skills to make cyclodextrin complexes in our own kitchens, this is not a path one should consider. There is little or no need to stack secondary drugs with fina. It does not aromatize. There is some concern as to fina being progestagenic, so you should you opt to stack it with an aromatizable compound it may worsen potential gynocomastia so adding winstrol or Nolvadex, or even both to such a stack may be wise. But in itself or in a non-aromatizing stack this is not necessary. The use for post-cycle estrogen antagonists is limited as well, so Nolva or clomid to boost natural test will have little use. It is a very strong androgen receptor agonist however, so perhaps using some HCG after a cycle may help you retain more gains and prevent testicular shrinkage, but since HCG does increase estrogen that does reinstate the use of Nolvadex or clomid as well.

Masteron
Pharmaceutical Name: drostanolone (as propionate)
Chemical structure: 2 alpha-methyl-17 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstan-3-one
Effective dose: 100 mg every 2-3 days

Masteron is hard to find these days, if at all, and that's quite a shame for many competing bodybuilders because in terms of achieving the best results while shedding body-fat, nothing really beats drostanolone. Drostanolone is structurally a 2-methylated form of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is formed when testosterone interacts with the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme. DHT is dreaded by many who fear androgenic side-effects such as increased acne and body hair, loss of hair and prostate hypertrophy. 5-alpha-reduction often mediates or speeds up such processes because DHT binds to the androgen receptor 3-4 times better than testosterone. That means androgenically speaking, no steroid is quite as powerful as DHT.

For those looking to reduce body-fat and water retention such a compound is literally a dream. Drostanolone, being 5-alpha reduced, cannot form estrogen upon interaction with the aromatase enzyme yet still shows a very high affinity for it. Because it takes up so much of the aromatase enzyme, yet is refrained from actually using it by its structural make-up, it reduces the amount of estrogen formed1 from other steroids as well because there are less aromatase enzymes to be used by those compounds to form estrogen with. This made stacking with slightly aromatizing compounds such as boldenone much more bearable as it eliminated even the slight aromatisation of such substances. So for bodybuilders the use of drostanolone is not only in limiting estrogens in question, but also eliminating possible estrogen formation from other steroids used during this time for increased anabolic or anti-catabolic activity. This because, especially for larger bodybuilders, drostanolone alone does not suffice to retain the maximum amount of weight.

The reduction of estrogenic capacity of course made drostanolone ill-suited for use as a mass-builder. In fact the gains on it were quite limited. Someone seeking to gain muscle mass rarely, if ever, resorted to a DHT compound. But coupled to its extreme androgenic qualities it lead to the perfect compound to retain strength and mass while shedding body-fat. The absence of estrogen refrained it from increasing water or salt retention, and there is evidence that the androgenic component may expedite the fat loss process2. The exact mechanims by which a rise in androgens stimulates fat loss is not known, but it is theorized that it may be due to catecholamine-induced (epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine) lipolysis, caused by the androgen increasing the number of beta-adrenergic receptors (the primary triggers for fat mobilization) on the membrane surface of fat cells. It is my understanding however that the noted decrease in body-fat is mainly due to a slight increase in lean mass and a stagnation of the body-fat, automatically resulting in a loss of body-fat in percentages, after recalibration.

This would also highly promote its use for power- and weightlifters as they compete in weight classes. Drostanolone can promote the increased strength while keeping body-fat the same or even lowering it. Allowing for an increased perfomance without the risk of being cast into a higher and more difficult weight class.

One possible use for drostanolone during the off-season, when gaining mass, may be DHT's affinity for the binding proteins of sex steroids : sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and albumin. Normally a large amount of testosterone cannot be used by the body in anabolic functions because it is mostly bound to these plasma proteins. When testosterone is administered along with a DHT-compound, the DHT will take up most of the protein and allow the testosterone to exert its massive anabolic effects, thereby increasing the possible gains, especially in lower doses. Of course, due to the limited availability of drostanolone and its high price, this is the type of situation one usually resorts to mesterolone (1-methyl-DHT as in proviron) for. Its cheaper and equally effective to serve this particular purpose (but notably weaker in other aspects, since like DHT its readily deactivated in muscle tissue by the 3-alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzyme).

When discussing the side-effects, for once I'm going to go easy. This is because most people are well aware of the side-effects of DHT compounds and scared to death of them because androgenic side-effects caused by mass compounds like testosterone are largely attributed to the formation of DHT at the 5AR receptor enzyme. This may be a time to step back and look what sort of damage DHT can realistically do. An increase in acne is almost always noted, but if that doesn't seem to bother you with other steroids, then why with a short-acting androgen like drostanolone ? Hair loss seems to be the major concern, but if you've dealt with the use of steroids before or are educated to their effects you are aware that it merely speeds up a genetically pre-existing condition of male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia). This condition only occurs in 30% of men and can easily be detected by examining the men on your mother's side of the family. Androgenetic alopecia is passed on through the X chromosome and thus in matri-linear fashion (mothers side). The rule of thumb being quite simple : if you have it, don't touch this compound, if you don't, then you don't have to worry. Yes, it really can be that simple.

That only leaves benign prostate hypertrophy (enlarged prostate) and the related conditions such as prostate cancer. Recent evidence shows that estrogen too is a mediator in the development of this condition, which would lead us to draw the conclusion that a purely androgenic compound, lest taken with a highly aromatizing substance, has considerably less risk for aggravating such a condition than DHT formed by testosterone. These last two paragraphs to show that perhaps the side-effects of DHT are largely exaggerated. But that doesn't mean they just went away because I said so, extreme caution needs to be exercised by individuals at risk for hair loss and prostate problems. But to add one last bit of perspective, keep in mind that this compound is injected and spread across the body evenly. When DHT is formed by testosterone, its formed in androgen specific tissues, meaning its mostly concentrated in scalp, skin and prostate, which isn't the case here.

Perhaps the most favorable effect of drostanolone is that it can increase muscle hardness and density in the athlete, giving him a more complete and finished look when he steps on stage. A lot of pure androgens have this effect. But with all of them you need an already rather low body-fat level for it to take full effect. A lot of people who had heard of this effect experimented with drostanolone and were sorely disappointed because they were too fat when they started.

Drostanolone is usually a propionate, which is a short-acting ester. That means frequent injections (every 24-48 hours) are needed for maximum effect. This can be quite a pain and cause abscesses due to the many injection marks at the same site, but this has positives too : Drostanolone propionate can be hid from detection in two weeks or less, making it safe for use up to that point without fear of being exposed at a drug test. Not that it would necessarily interrupt plans if it was, because eventhough chromatographic tests have been able to detect DHT compounds since 1997, they are rarely implemented in most sports. No doubt that gave it an edge over things like stanazolol for many athletes.

One major downside is that as time goes by the odds of finding Masteron are quite slim. It hasn't been made in quite a while and its safe to say that 90% of all you'd find out there are fakes. On some foreign markets there are some masteron analogs available, but even these are quite rare and very expensive on European and American ******** markets.

Drostanolone is not a drug that requires the use of alternate drugs. People with a tendency for hypertension may want to take the necessary precautions, but drostanolone does not aromatize at any rate making the use of anti-estrogens irrelevant, both during a cycle to prevent side-effects as post-cycle to boost natural testosterone (E.g. Clomid). There is simply no need for alternate drugs and because its an esterified injectable there is no hazard to the liver worth mentioning either.

Best use is to inject 50-100 mg every day to every other day, depending on your degree of expertise in training and your size of course. Most beginners will be quite satisfied with either 50 mg every other day or 100 mg every 3 days. Mostly used in conjunction with other drugs as DHT is quite easily de-activated in the body (althouth drostanolone's 2-methyl group protects it somewhat from deactivation by stabilizing the 3-keto group). Drostanolone is best stacked with something in the nature of boldenone (Equipoise) at 300 mg a week. The boldenone gives increased vascularity and the drostanolone adds muscle density while the stack as a whole preserves muscle mass. Although its rare that someone opts for a stack of two compounds with largely similar action, something can be said about stacking drostanolone with Stanazolol (Winstrol/stromba). The drostanolone doesn't stay active at the AR very much, often being drawn to SHBG, albumin, aromatase or 3bHSD, but still adds distinct hardness and boosts strength to some degree. Adding Winstrol, which has higher activity at the Androgen Receptor and some affinity for the progesterone receptor may form quite a synergistic stack. It would also be safe to throw in some nandrolone (Deca-Durabolin) at 200-300 mg per week.

Parabolan
Pharmaceutical Name: trenbolone (as hexahydrobencylcarbonate)
Chemical structure: 17-beta-hydroxyestra-4, 9-11-trien-3-one
Effective dose: 76 mg every 2-3 days, 152 mg every 3-4 days

Parabolan is another trenbolone product, in the same nature as Finaplix, so what's been said for finaplix pretty much goes for Parabolan as well. It differs distinctly in a few characteristics. Parabolan is a different ester that acts considerably longer, meaning you could go longer without injecting. But since it comes in 76 mg vials and few people take the time to inject multiple vials at once, its still used on a frequent basis. 2 or 3 days between injections seems to be the general norm. Leading up to a similar build-up of 228-304 mg per week.

Another difference is that Parabolan was specifically designed for human use. That would in itself make it a better choice than Finaplix because it needn't be prepared and the chance of faulty, painful, home-brewed injections decreases. But since it hasn't been manufactured in a while and legit lots only surface from time to time the price of the stuff is quite high. As more bodybuilders become aware of the absence of Finaject and that it is very hard to fake Finaplix, Parabolan is also being faked quite a bit. Usually fake trenbolone compounds are a low-dose testosterone propionate product. This has often lead to the belief that trenbolone causes gyno and other estrogenic effects, but that simply isn't true.

This belief has taken on a life of its own though. Making theories pop up all over the place. The only one that made sense, from some point at least, was that trenbolone was progestagenic and acted at the progesterone receptor. Its structure is similar to nandrolone, so this is a logical assumption. But even then, for progesterone activation to cause things like gyno, it needs to act as an estrogen agonist. It needs an estrogen as mediator. Since trenbolone doesn't cause aromatization, any sighting of gyno with trenbolone use should be regarded as a misinterpretation and is most likely to blame on another compound, an aromatizable one. So while trenbolone may increase the risk of gyno when stacked with heavily aromatizing substances, its simply not true that trenbolone alone causes gyno.

Trenbolone is relatively safe steroid all in all. There is some concern about kidney toxicity, but usually exaggerated. The beauty of trenbolone is that its one steroid that has it all : Its highly effective in its own, provides all lean gains which are fairly easy to maintain and isn't very prone to cause side-effects. Parabolan is the more expensive way to go, but definitely the most userfriendly as you side-step the need to make your own home-brewed concoction and any risk of involuntary infections and abscesses. Parabolan is quite hard to come by however, and should you find a real one, its not all that cheap.

Trenbolone doesn't have to be stacked per se, its quite effective on its own and as such is quite popular with beginners as it delivers good lean gains without extra costs. 76 mg every two or three days and you are done. But some prefer to stack it, and justly so. As a strong androgen mediator it stacks particularly well with base steroids such as nandrolone, boldenone and methenolone. Nandrolone for bulking, methenolone for cutting and boldenone can be used for either. As with basically any steroid, it stacks quite well with all forms of testosterone as well, most notably testosterone propionate during a cutting cycle.

Trenbolone is preferred over Winstrol, Masteron, Proviron and so forth in strength, so simply upping the dose to every day would be a better choice than stacking it with these compounds. Great gains can be obtained using oxymetholone or methandienone with trenbolone. Of course for short stacks of 6 odd weeks, and taking the necessary precautions. You need to use Nolva and probably add some winstrol if you are stacking with oxymetholone, since both oxy and tren have some progestagenic activity. So all in all a very useful, powerful and versatile steroid in use. There is little or no need to stack secondary drugs with Parabolan. It does not aromatize. There is some concern as to Parabolan being progestagenic, so you should you opt to stack it with an aromatizable compound it may worsen potential gynocomastia so adding winstrol or Nolvadex, or even both to such a stack may be wise. But in itself or in a non-aromatizing stack this is not necessary. The use for post-cycle estrogen antagonists is limited as well, so Nolva or clomid to boost natural test will have little use. It is a very strong androgen receptor agonist however, so perhaps using some HCG from the second to the before last week of a cycle may help you retain more gains and prevent testicular shrinkage.

Sustanon 250
Pharmaceutical Name: Testosterone (as 30 mg propionate, 60 mg isocaproate, 60 mg as phenylpropionate, 100 mg decanoate)
Chemical structure: 4-androstene-3-one,17beta-ol
Effective dose: 250-1000 mg/week

Testosterone is the prime male androgen in the body, and as such still the best possible mass builder in the world. It has a high risk of side-effects because it readily converts to a more androgenic form (DHT) in androgen responsive tissues and forms estrogen quite easily. But these characteristics also provide it with its extreme anabolic tendencies. On the one hand estrogen increases growth hormone output, glucose utilization, improves immunity and upgrades the androgen receptor, while on the other hand a testosterone/DHT combination is extremely potent at activating the androgen receptor and eliciting major strength and size gains. While not always the most visually appealing result, there is no steroid on earth that packs on mass like testosterone does.

Sustanon 250 is a unique blend of 4 different esters of testosterone. The principle purpose of attaching an ester to a steroid is to make it more lipophillic, so that when injected intra-muscularly it can remain in the adipose tissue longer and is released in the blood-stream over time. The longer an ester, the more lipophillic it is. Sustanon 250 contain 1 short, 1 long and 2 medium length esters that are all delivered over time, which gives a quick release, but a durable one as well. You may think that this is a positive thing, and to patients requiring testosterone therapy this probably is, but to a steroid user its really not.

A steroid user will use a long-acting testosterone and inject it once a week. The end of a week is usually the time when a long-acting (7 or 8 carbon) ester has tapered down to its original level and threatens to drop below that level, giving sub-par amounts of testosterone beyond that point (eventhough the compound stays somewhat active for 3-4 weeks). With sustanon, that equal amount is divided much differently. Imagine a hypothetical situation where one take either 270 mg of a an ester that lasts 6 days, or 270 mg of a blend of different esters, 90 mg each, that release over respectively 2, 4 and 6 days, analog to sustanon. With the first one, an even amount of testosterone is released on each day. With the second one the entire first ester, half the second ester and 1/3rd of the last ester is released within the first two days. The result here is clear : the first two days one gets 165 mg, the next two one gets 75 mg and the last 2 days one gets a mere 30 mg. The levels peak much sooner, and drop off sooner, leaving you with less than adequate androgen levels as the week draws to a close.

So for use as one would use another long-acting testosterone, I find sustanon to be poor value. The price is roughly the same so I really don't see the affinity people seem to have for it. Respectively cypionate and enanthate are much better choices. I can understand the need for a fast-acting component to front-load and kick-start gains, but even then, testoviron (200 mg testosterone enanthate and 50 mg testosterone propionate) is a much better choice. Speaking of front-loading, for this express purpose sustanon may be very suited. One could probably obtain results faster If one were to use 500 mg of sustanon on day 1, then again 5 days later on day 6 and start a cycle of enanthate/cypionate at 500 mg/week on day 11. That avoids the major crash at the end of the week and makes maximum use of the fast acting esters to saturate the system.

As with all testosterones the rate of side-effects is quite high. Risks of androgenic side-effects (hair loss, prostate hypertrophy, deepening of voice) as well as estrogenic side-effects (gyno, water retention, fat gain) are real, and the use of ancillary drugs such as anti-estrogens will most likely be needed. This is something that I urge all users to take into account. Never start any cycle with testosterone without having at least a lot of Nolvadex and a few amps of HCG on hand. Testosterone is not in any way toxic, and should not give a user any problems apart from a high rate of occurrence of standard steroid side-effects.

Because of its long-acting components, sustanon is mostly used as a form of long-acting testosterone. Much like testoviron, testosterone enanthate and testosterone cypionate. I don't find it to be the best choice for this purpose, but obviously I don't determine the trends among bodybuilders. In such use doses of 500 to 1000 mg per week are used in a single injection, with decent results nonetheless. Perhaps because 3 of its esters are notably shorter than enanthate or cypionate, so more of it is actual testosterone and less ester, eventhough the distribution is uneven. Its best use in my opinion is to start off a cycle with, by injecting twice with 5 days space, and then give it another 5 days before starting an 8-10 week cycle of testoviron, enanthate or cypionate. This should allow for more testosterone to build up and results to come much faster.

Again, because of the two medium-length and the long ester, the compound is not very controllable. So when problems occur, simply discontinuing the product is not an option. One needs to be familiar with anti-estrogenic compounds for one. When signs of gyno appear using 20-40 mg/day of the estrogen antagonist Nolvadex or 100-150 mg/day of its weaker counterpart clomid until a few days after symptoms disappear is advised. The best way to avoid such problems is running proviron or arimidex, aromatase blockers, alongside the product. In most instances I give preference to arimidex, but when concerning the use of testosterone Proviron at 50-100 mg per day may be wiser since it frees up more testosterone.

Of course the simultaneous use of an aromatase blocker will compromise your gains since it literally stops estrogen from being made. Androgenic problems can be reduced to some extent by the use of finasteride, which will stop the conversion of testosterone to its more androgenic component DHT. This may alleviate aggravated hair loss and prostate problems somewhat. Again, the blocking of such a conversion may decrease the gains made and will in any case heighten the risk for estrogenic side-effects, since DHT acts as an anti-estrogen. Proviron is also a form of DHT, so people worried about androgenic side-effects should then naturally opt for arimidex over proviron when they choose an aromatase blocker as well. Sustanon stacks well with any compound. Usually testosterone is always the stronger compound in the stack, so whenever you stack something alongside its usually because the drug has certain characteristics. Usually this means it will be a milder drug that will allow the user a milder cycle with lower occurrence of side-effects than simply using more testosterone, without having to give up all of the potential gains. Deca-Durabolin, Equipoise and Primobolan are some of the more fitting compounds for this purpose. But naturally the king of all mass-builders stacks well with almost anything.

Testosterone Enanthate
Pharmaceutical Name: Testosterone (as Enanthate)
Chemical structure: 4-androstene-3-one,17beta-ol
Effective dose: 250-1000 mg/week

Testosterone is the prime male androgen in the body, and as such still the best possible mass builder in the world. It has a high risk of side-effects because it readily converts to a more androgenic form (DHT) in androgen responsive tissues and forms estrogen quite easily. But these characteristics also provide it with its extreme anabolic tendencies. On the one hand estrogen increases growth hormone output, glucose utilization, improves immunity and upgrades the androgen receptor, while on the other hand a testosterone/DHT combination is extremely potent at activating the androgen receptor and eliciting major strength and size gains. While not always the most visually appealing result, there is no steroid on earth that packs on mass like testosterone does.

Like testosterone cypionate, enanthate is a single-ester and long-acting form of the base steroid testosterone. To me, its slightly better value for money than the aforementioned because its ester is only 7 instead of 8 carbons in length. Where that doesn't really change much in terms of release and blood concentration for users who inject on a weekly basis, that does mean that less of the weight is ester and more of it is testosterone. When taking an amount of an esterified steroid, that amount in terms of weight is a combination of the ester and the steroid. Naturally the longer the ester is, the more of the weight it takes up. So its safe to state that 500 mg of enanthate contains more testosterone than does 500 mg of cypionate. Not that this slight difference will be noted on a weekly pattern really, but its enough for me to give it a slight edge if given the choice. Although, as stated with cypionate, your choice between enanthate and cypionate is best based on availability. These are a much better choice than sustanon 250 or omnadren, which are blends of different testosterone esters, due to their irregular release. Nonetheless these versions still appear to be more popular with most users for some reason. Before you compare these to shorter esters under the pretense that even more of the weight would be testosterone, for bulking purposes the release pattern and injection pattern of an enanthate or cypionate is more fitting than that of say, a propionate ester. Enanthate and cypionate are very close in those terms, hence the comparison is possible.

A long-acting testosterone ester may be the best for all your mass-building needs, but its not an easy product to use. Because of the extreme length of action (3-4 weeks) one cannot easily solve occurring problems by simply discontinuing the product, as it will continue to act and aggravate side-effects over extended periods of time. In regards to damage control and post-cycle therapy, some familiarity with the use of ancillary drugs is required prior to using a long-acting testosterone product. Nolvadex and Proviron will come in very handy in such cases and post-cycle HCG and clomid or Nolvadex will be required as well to help restore natural testosterone. Frequency of side-effects is probably highest with this type of product.

While most will tell you it's a waste to not use testosterone, as it will take ages longer to build proper mass, these are all points to take into consideration. Testosterone is a product that is heavily used by beginners and veterans alike and justly so. Those who fear they may never understand the proper use of ancillary drugs, may want to suck it up and invest in some propionate or suspension testosterones instead. These are much shorter acting and easier to control, but they do need to be injected once every two days, whereas this type of ester will impart great gains with a single weekly injection. Something to keep in mind.

Testosterone is the most powerful compound there is, so obviously its perfectly fine to use it by itself. With a long-acting ester like Enanthate doses of 500-1000 mg per week are used with very clear results over a 10 week period. If you've ever seen a man swell up with sheer size, then testosterone was the cause of it. But testosterone is nonetheless often stacked. Due to the high occurrence of side-effects, people will usually split up a stack in testosterone and a milder component in order to obtain a less risky cycle, but without having to give up as much of the gains. Primobolan, Equipoise and Deca-Durabolin are the weapons of choice in this matter.

Deca seems to be the most popular, probably because of its extremely mild androgenic nature. But Deca being one of the highest risks for just about every other side-effects, I probably wouldn't advise it. If Deca is used, generally a dose of 200-400 mg is added to 500-750 mg of testosterone per week. Primobolan is sometimes opted for, and can be handy since it doesn't aromatize, which will make the total level of water retention and fat gain a lot less than with more test or with Deca for example. Unfortunately, its mild nature combined with a lack of estrogen make Primobolan a very poor mass builder. Again, doses of 300-400 mg are used. I would actually suggest a higher dose, but with the current prices for Primo I don't think it would be very popular. My personal preference goes out to Equipoise. Androgenically its not that much stronger than Deca because it has next to no affinity for the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme and is only half as androgenic as testosterone. Its twice as strong as Deca, mg for mg, and has a lower occurrence of side-effects. It has some estrogen, but not a whole lot so it actually tends to lean a person out rather than bloat him up as Deca will. It also increases appetite, which promotes gains, and improves aerobic performance, which may be wishful as testosterone normally has an opposite effect.

Of course testosterone Enanthate can be stacked with any number of compounds apart from these, but these make the best match. When stacking with testosterone, one needs to look at what the other compound can bring. Either it has a characteristic that testosterone doesn't have, or its nominally safer. The testosterone will bring all the mass, so adding another steroid to enhance mass alone, is futile. More testosterone is the best remedy for that.

One needs to be familiar with a host of other compounds when using long-acting testosterone esters however. First of all, anti-estrogens. The rate of aromatization of testosterone is quite great, so water retention and fat gain are a fact and gyno is never far off. If problems occur one is best to start on 20 mg of Nolvadex per day and stay on that until problems subside. I wouldn't stay on it for a whole cycle, as it may reduce the gains. In terms of an aromatase blocker, testosterone is one of the few compounds where Proviron may actually be preferred over arimidex. The proviron will not only reduce estrogen and can be used for extended time on a testosterone cycle, it will also bind with great affinity to sex-hormone binding proteins in the blood and will allow for a higher level of free testosterone in the body, thus improving gains. Usually 50-100 mg will suffice, the lower end is preferred for maximal results since estrogen plays a key role in gains, but those more worried about estrogen should opt for a higher dose.

For those worried about androgenic side-effects (hair loss, prostate hypertrophy, deepening of voice), one can utilize the hair loss treatment finasteride. This blocks the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme and stops the conversion of testosterone to the more androgenic compound DHT. I'm not a big fan of this, because DHT reduces estrogenic bloat, increases free levels of testosterone and is a very potent androgen that is 3-4 times stronger than testosterone. Those worried about hair loss however, may want to opt for arimidex as their anti-aromatase, since Proviron is a form of DHT after all. After a cycle, mainly due to the high aromatization and increased levels of estradiol in the blood after discontinuing, natural testosterone levels will be severely suppressed. This means steps need to be taken to assure the quick return of natural testosterone, or we stand to lose a lot of the gains we made while using testosterone. Since it's a non-toxic, potent mass-builder its mostly used in long 10-12 week cycles. So some testicular shrinkage will have occurred too. Its very important that people see that HCG and Nolvadex/clomid are essential as a post-cycle therapy, and that both are equally important in achieving our goal. HCG injections should be started the last week of the cycle and continued for 3-4 weeks, using 1500-3000 IU every 5-6 days. HCG will act as an alternative to LH and start the endogenous testosterone cycle, thereby increasing testicle size once again. Then about 2 weeks after the last shot of testosterone is given, Nolvadex/Clomid cycle should be started. 40 mg of Nolva or 150 mg of Clomid per day for two weeks, followed by two more weeks with either 20 mg of Nolva or 100 mg of Clomid per day should be adequate. Always remember that HCG is suppressive of natural testosterone itself and should be discontinued at least 2 weeks prior to finishing Nolvadex/Clomid.

Testosterone Suspension
Pharmaceutical Name: Testosterone (as H2O suspension)
Chemical structure: 4-androstene-3-one,17beta-ol
Effective dose: 25-100 mg/day


If testosterone is the most powerful mass builder, then gram for gram this is the most powerful testosterone. Suspension is pure testosterone and has no ester attached, and thus no ester calculated in the weight. Where 100 mg of a testosterone ester equals 100 mg minus the weight of the ester, 100 mg of testosterone suspension contains an actual 100 mg of the steroid. Very potent and very powerful. Although it is a rather crude compound, it is without a doubt very, very effective. Suspension is not only not esterified, its not even dissolved in oil the way esters are. Instead it is an aqueous suspension, much like the injectable forms of Winstrol/Stromba (stanazolol). Since a steroid, made of cholesterol, is somewhat lipophillic, it does not readily dissolve in water either. Just as with Winstrol, we will note that the steroid accumulates at the bottom, separated from its water environment if the vial is left sitting for a while. So before use a vial should be shaken, which will provide an even distribution, and then drawn out of the vial. It probably couldn't hurt to shake the syringe again before injecting as well.

Because of its water carrier it does not go directly into the blood, but when it does enter the bloodstream it is released quite quickly delivering very high peak doses. It is injected every day, to every other day at the very least. Some seem to claim that water based steroids will still last in the body for several days on end, but this is not a generally accepted, let alone proven fact. In fact while the steroid probably does exert some action for 2-3 days, most athletes will opt to take advantage of the peak dose and inject it daily. If one sees that even a short ester steroid like propionate is injected every day to every other day in most cases, this logic is easy to follow.

One reason for the extreme success users have had with testosterone suspension is no doubt the extreme doses used. Where one would take 50 mg of winstrol every day to every other day, suspension is injected daily at 100 mg in most cases. Factoring in that there is more testosterone per mg than in an esterified form, it's a safe conclusion that this is almost twice the dose of any other form of testosterone normally used. The results are nothing safe of amazing. Using the optimal peak doses of the steroid, weight is gained at an amazing rate and the steroid accumulates faster than with esters, so gains are seen in a lot shorter time-frame as well. Stack that with another base steroid and an aromatizable oral such as Dianabol (methandrostenolone) and one should not be amazed at weight increases of up to 30 pounds in 8 weeks.

Because of the high peak doses and the extreme amounts used, the characteristics tend to become more pronounced as well. The muscle gain is usually accompanied by severe bloat and water retention, some adipose storage and the risk of gyno is never too far off. Being a very androgenic component as well, suspension may aggravate male pattern hair loss, cause prostate hypertrophy, increase body and facial hair, deepen the voice and so forth, quite easily, in comparison to other steroids. These all need to be taken into account. Despite its controllable nature and short frame of action, suspension is mostly used for bulking purposes. Even with concomitant use of Proviron, some water retention can still occur. Perhaps due to the extreme doses used.

Just as with the water-based injectable Winstrol, suspension too is believed to be able to give local growth if injected in a particular area, which has no doubt increased its popularity. Its slightly friendlier to inject than Winstrol or Propionate, because it has a very small crystalline form that passes through a 27 gauge needle easily. But the injections will still not be the most pleasant ones ever felt. Especially when given daily. I myself do not attach a whole lot of belief to the theory of site injection and local growth, but some big names in this industry such as Bill Llewellyn seem to lend it some form of credibility. So I will not elaborate on this debacle anymore than I have. For those willing to give it a shot, I'm sure it can't hurt (well it will hurt, but it won't hurt your gains no matter where you inject it).

The number of available suspensions in the world has been reduced to 5, and is therefore not the easiest product to locate on the black market. In Australia the compound can still easily be found, and no doubt a whole host of Mexican imports. Because the crystalline form is quite sophisticated, I wouldn't dream of purchasing suspension from an underground source, one may be disappointed and literally hurt if trying to inject a cruder form of suspension. I wouldn't really trust any other form besides the 5 listed above at this moment in time.

Because anyone would be hard-pressed to use this particular steroid for cutting, it should really only be administered for bulking purposes. Its not immediately a compound for beginners, it requires some skill. First of all to site inject and rotate injection sites, but also to deal with the occurrence of side-effects, which may be a little more pronounced than with testosterone esters. The compound is best injected daily, using 50-100 mg per day. It is best stacked with other products for the express purpose of adding mass, probably a base compound with a lower occurrence of androgenic side-effects such as Deca-Durabolin or Equipoise in doses of 300-400 mg per week. On can of course, as usual add an oral bulking agent such as Dianabol (methandrostenolone) or Anadrol (oxymetholone) to kickstart gains, but testosterone suspension should deliver results in a shorter time-span than esterified testosterones, mostly due to high peak doses and immediate accumulation. Although for best results one would opt to use it for 10-12 weeks, few will last that long with giving themselves daily injections.

An anti-estrogen such as Nolvadex is best kept on hand, as there is little doubt that estrogenic problems will occur. Using 30-40 mg/day until well after problems have subsided is advised. Cautious individuals will opt to run proviron or arimidex, aromatase blockers, alongside testosterone suspension to prevent any estrogen from building up. While this will strongly reduce gains, testosterone suspension is still a very adequate compound. Proviron is to be given preference as an aromatase blocker with all forms of testosterone, but those prone to androgenic side-effects such as male pattern hair loss would do wise to invest in the stronger and more expensive arimidex, since proviron can increase androgen-related side-effects. Testosterone is, next to nandrolone, the most suppressive drug of natural testosterone. So its an absolute must, especially after long cycles, to include HCG and Nolvadex or Clomid after a cycle. Running HCG for the last two weeks of a cycle and two weeks after in doses of 3000-5000 IU every 5-6 days, and then starting Nolvadex 4-5 days after last shot of testosterone, beginning at 40-50 mg per day for two weeks and then 20-25 mg/day for another two weeks seems to be the best course of action to follow in this instance.

Trenbolone Enanthate(from steroid.com)
Trenbolone Base + Enanthate Ester)
[17beta-Hydroxyestra-4,9,11-trien-3-one]
Formula (base): C18 H22 O2
Formula (ester): C7 H12 O
Molecular Weight (base): 270.3706
Molecular Weight (ester): 130.1864
Melting Point (base): 183-186C
Manufacturer: Stark, Dpharm, Various
Effective Dose (Men): 300-600mgs/wk
Effective Dose (Women): Not recommended
Active life: 8 days
Detection Time: 5 months
Anabolic/Androgenic ratio: 500/500

Trenbolone enanthate was the steroid produced by underground labs to take the place of Parabolan, and its obscure ester. Tren enanthate basically is the longest acting version of tren we have available on the market right now, and it actually offers a couple of advantages over the traditional Tren A that's been available for the last couple of years as either an UG Product, or from converting Finaplex Pellets into an injectable.

I had the opportunity to be one of the first athletes in the world to try this product, from the UG "Stark Labs." It was so new, in fact, that when I sent it away for testing, the lab told me that they had nothing to really compare it to, and that they were simply estimating potency and legitimacy based on the respective values for the Trenbolone molecule and the Enanthate ester.

I'm not going to go into the various merits of trenbolone, but I would like to discuss some unique properties the Enanthate version has. For one reason or another, this stuff doesn’t give me tren cough, and I am particularly susceptible to this side-effect of Tren, which basically cripples me for the first week I use it. Regardless of whether I use home-brewed Tren, UG lab Tren, or Vet-Grade, I was basically crippled for the first week of use. I can't tell you why, exactly, this was, and can only speculate that it was due to a rise in prostaglandins. Tren enanthate didn't have this effect on me, however. Yeah, that's right. I know that the ester attached to a steroid doesn't dictate any of its properties, but in this particular case, I believe that the enanthate ester provided less of a sharp rise in prostaglandin levels and allowed my body to not develop the dreaded "tren-cough" that usually side-lines me when I start a cycle including Tren.

There is a method of prostaglandin production whereby prostaglandins made from one pathway in particular happen to dictate some muscle constriction as well as platlet aggregation, while the other method of production dictates bronchial constriction, and this could possibly be the means by which Tren Acetate causes that vicious cough. The reason why—though this is speculation—the enanthate version doesn't cause this rapid rise in prostaglandins is because of its more steady release, and my body's ability to gradually acclimatize itself to this. If you look at the graphs in the Minto studies (in the Deca profile), you'll see that the rise and rapid peak in blood plasma levels afforded by short esters are profoundly higher than those provided with longer esters, and it's my belief that the enanthate ester provides a lower peak level and less rapid rise in prostaglandin levels, especially the ones which dictate that second form of prostaglandin release which causes bronchial constriction. I feel that this bronchial constriction never really leaves you while you use any form of Tren, and this is what causes the shortness of breath experienced by many athletes on Tren.

Anyway, clearly the long estered Tren is a viable compound for those who wish to make minimal injections, and still use a nice lean-mass providing, non-aromatizing anabolic.

Anavar ( Oxandrolone ) Profile

(from anavar.com)
Chemical Name: 17b-hydroxy-17a-methyl-2-oxa-5a-androstane-3-one
Synonyms: 17beta-Hydroxy-17-methyl-2-oxa-5alpha-androstan-3-one; Oxandrolone;
Chemical Formula: C19H30O3
Molecular Weight: 306.4442
Bodybuilders and power lifters, in particular, like Oxandrolone for three reasons. First, Oxandrolone causes a strong strength gain by stimulating the phosphocreatine synthesis in the muscle cell without depositing liquid (water) in the joints and the muscles. Power lifters and weightlifters who do not want to end up in a higher weight class take advantage of this since it allows them to get stronger without gaining body weight at the same time. The combination of Oxandrolone and 20 - 30 mg Halotestin daily has proven to be very effective since the muscles also look harder. Similarly good results can be achieved by a simultaneous intake of Oxandrolone and 120-140 mcg Clenbuterol per day. Although Oxandrolone itself does not cause a noticeable muscle growth it can clearly improve the muscle-developing effect of many steroids. Deca-Durabolin, Dianabol, and the various testosterone compounds, in particular, combine well with Oxandrolone to achieve a "mass buildup" because the strength gain caused by the intake of these highly tissue-developing and liquid-retaining substances results in an additional muscle mass. A stack of 200 mg Deca-Durabolin/week, 500 mg Testosterone Enanthate (e.g. Testoviron Depot 250)/week, and 25 mg Oxandrolone/day leads to a good gain in strength and mass in most athletes. Deca-Durabolin has a distinct anabolic effect and stimulates the synthesis of protein; Oxandrolone improves the strength by a higher phosphocreatine synthesis; and Testosterone Enanthate increases the aggressiveness for the workout and accelerates regeneration.
The second reason why Oxandrolone is so popular is that this compound does not aromatize in any dosage. As already mentioned, a certain part of the testosterone present in the body is converted into estrogen. This aromatization process, depending on the predisposition, can vary distinctly from one athlete to another. Oxandrolone is one of the few steroids, which cannot aromatize to estrogen. This characteristic has various advantages for the athlete. With Oxandrolone the muscle system does not get the typical watery appearance as with many steroids, thus making it very interesting during the preparation for a competition. In this phase it is especially important to keep the estrogen level as low as possible since estrogen programs the body to store water even if the diet is calorie-reduced. In combination with a diet, Oxandrolone helps to make the muscles hard and ripped. Although Oxandrolone itself does not break down fat, it plays an indirect role in this process because the substance often suppresses the athlete's appetite. Oxandrolone can also cause some bloating, which in several athletes, results in nausea and vomiting when the tablets are taken with meals. The package insert of the Italian Oxandrolone notes its effect on the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. Some athletes thus report continued diarrhea. Although these symptoms are not very pleasant they still help the athlete break down fat and become harder. Those who work out for a competition or are interested in gaining quality muscles should combine Oxandrolone with steroids such as Winstrol, Parabolan, Masteron, Primobolan, and Testosterone Propionate. A stack of 50 mg Winstrol every two days, 50 mg Testosterone Propionate every two days, and 25 mg Oxandrolone every day has proven effective. Another advantage of Oxandrolone's non-aromatization is that athletes who suffer from high blood pressure or develop gynecomastia of the thymus glands when taking stronger androgenic steroids will not have these side effects with this compound. The. Oxandrolone/Deca-Durabolin stack is a welcome alternative for this group of athletes or for athletes showing signs of poor health during mass buildup with testosterone, Dianabol, or Anadrol 50. Athletes over forty should predominantly use Oxandrolone.
The third reason which speaks well for an intake of Oxandrolone is that even in a very high dosage this compound does not influence the body's own testosterone production. To make this clear: Oxandrolone does not suppress the body's own hormone production. The reason is that it does not have a negative feedback mechanism on the hypothalamohypophysial testicular axis, meaning that during the intake of Oxandrolone, unlike during the intake of most anabolic steroids, the testes signal the hypothalamus not to reduce or to stop the release of GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) and LHRH Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone). This special feature of Oxandrolone can be explained by the fact that the substance is not converted into estrogen Oxandrolone (Anavar), when given to normal men in high doses does not reduce the seminal volume or count, nor can it be converted (aromatized) into estrogen.
Oxandrolone combines very well with Andriol, since Andriol does not aromatize in a dosage of up to 240 mg daily and has only slight influence on the hormone production. The daily intake of 280 mg Andriol and 25 mg Oxandrolone results in a good gain in strength and, in steroid novices, also in muscle mass without excessive water retention and without a significant influence on testosterone production. As for the dos-age of Oxandrolone, 8-12 tablets in men and 5-6 tablets in women seem to bring the best results. The rule of thumb to take 0.125 mg/pound of body weight daily has proven successful in clinical tests. The tablets are normally taken two to three times daily after meals thus assuring an optimal absorption of the substance. Those who get the already discussed gastrointestinal pain when taking Oxandrolone are better off taking the tablets one to two hours after a meal or switching to another compound.
Since Oxandrolone is only slightly toxic and usually shows few side effects, several athletes use it over a prolonged period of time. However Oxandrolone should not be taken for several consecutive months, since, as with almost all oral steroids it is 1 7-alpha alkylated and thus liver toxic. Oxandrolone is an all-purpose remedy, which depending on the athlete's goal is very versatile. Women who react sensitively to the intake of anabolic steroids achieve good results when combining Oxandrolone/Primobolan Tabs and/or Clenbuterol, without suffering from the usual virilization symptoms. Women, however, should not take more than 6 tablets daily otherwise, androgenic-caused side effects such as acne, deep voice, clitorial hypertrophy or increased growth of body hair can occur.
Probably the largest disadvantages that come along with Oxandrolone are its high price and poor availability on the black market. Original Oxandrolone costs about $1 - 2 per tablet on the black market and is rarely available, if at all.
Searle Company introduced the substance oxandrolone to the U.S. market in 1964 under the name Anavar and it enjoyed great popularity for over two decades until, on July 1, 1989, the production of Anavar was phased out. Today Anavar is manufactured under its various generic names in only a few countries.

Methyltrienolone(
from mesomorphosis.com)

Methyltrienolone (aka R1881 and Metribolone) is a potent, non-aromatizable androgen that is structurally similar to trenbolone and has been referred to as "oral tren." It binds strongly to the androgen receptor (AR) and is a more potent agonist (activator) of the androgen receptor than is DHT. 17a-methyltrienolone is listed at 30,000 times more anabolic than methyltestosterone according to Julius Vida in "Androgens and Anabolic Agents: Chemistry and Pharmacology." Effective dosages begin at only 25mcg.
Steroid experts William Llewellyn (Molecular Nutrition) and Patrick Arnold (Ergopharm) have each called methyltrienolone one of the “most powerful” anabolic steroids ever created. It is also one of the most hepatotoxic androgens ever produced. Originally developed by Roussell-UCLAF during the 1960s, the hepatoxicity of Metribolone prevented its commercial release. Bill Roberts likened the toxicity of methyltrienolone to that of taking high dosages of Anadrol combined with high dosages of Halotestin concurrently.
According to Patrick Arnold, several athletes used methyltrienolone in the 1990s and were able to successfully pass doping controls looking for methyltrienolone due to the very small quantities of the steroid required for performance enhancing effects. He was somewhat surprised that methyltrienolone was detected by drug testers in the Greek steroid scandal suggesting that anti-doping tests have improved for the substance; 11 Greek weighlifters and 4 Greek track and field athletes tested positive for methyltrienolone prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.



Patrick Arnold is organic chemist who developed the once undetectable anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) for BALCO. THG is a modified form of methyltrienolone. In March 1997, Patrick Arnold published a detailed recipe on how to synthesize methyltrienolone from the easily obtainable veterinarian Finaplix-H (trenbolone acetate) pellets used for cattle.

MENT
(from bodybuildingdungeon.com)
Pharmaceutical Name: Trestolone, MENT, 7MENT (as acetate)
Chemical structure: 7-alpha-19Nor-androst-4-en-3-one,17b-ol
Molecular weight of base: 288.429
Molecular weight of ester: 60.0524 (acetic acid, 2 carbons

Effective dose: 10-50 mg every day
Average Street-price: Only available through chemical wholesale.
Available Doses: None known. But Schering has been conducting extensive research into use for MENT both as a male contraceptive and as a means of hormonal replacement.

I MENT has always been my favourite steroid, and that's just from reading the studies and looking at the structure of it. Thinking of what MENT can do should make every steroid user drool. This stuff is nearly as strong as its 17-alpha-alkylated counterpart mibolerone (cheque drops) but without the mad liver toxicity. It's a 19Nor substance, a nandrolone derivative. Its very much like nandrolone, except it has a 7-alpha-methyl attachment. This attachment stops it from being 5-alpha-reduced1. Now as you know, 5-alpha-reduction makes nandrolone, otherwise a very potent hormone, much weaker. A nandrolone derivative without 5-alpha-reduction for example is trenbolone (Parabolan/Finaplix), a very strong and potent androgen. But because of trenbolone's triple double bond structure, it also does not aromatize. But MENT on the other hand is still capable of aromatizing2 (which would not be the case with a 4 or 5 methylation), so you still have the benefits of estrogen : extra strength, better glycogen use, upgrading of androgen receptor, increased GH output and more IGF1. Its estrogenic potency may in fact be slightly larger because 7-alpha-methyl-estradiol (the product of MENT aromatization) may show less affinity to binding proteins as well. It is in fact suggested that part of MENT's actions may be the result of this potent estrogen1.

This stuff should literally and in all aspects be stronger than testosterone. Its androgenic character will be like trenbolone (same risk of hair loss, prostate hypertrophy, acne, deepening of voice) and its estrogenic character will be like that of nandrolone (same risk of gyno, bloating and fat gain). But its hypertrophic ability should be much higher than either of these, or even testosterone.

One question begs to be asked however: why on earth would they make it an acetate ester? In depot shots that means daily injections. This is after all the same company that is looking to market injectable testosterone undecanoate for shots once every 10 weeks. Well, so far two uses have been found for MENT in the medical community. Sundaram, who is probably the leading researcher where nandrolone and its derivatives are concerned, found it to be of perfect use for both replacment therapy for men, as well as for male contraception3 (Which would suggest it at least doesn't suffer from the libido suppressing drawback that nandrolone does). And from what the latest research in the matter seems to suggest, it looks like Schering is planning on making it in implant pellets4 that would release the drug over time, with 4 pellets delivering no more than 1.3 mg/day ! Assuming most of us do not want to use 40-50 pellets that could pose a problem for the use of MENT for enhancement purposes, lest there are some black market knock-offs. But take it from one who had looked, currently none of the wholesalers seem to have access to MENT. So the pending release of MENT may not be such joyful news after all (except for Schering who stands to profit nonetheless).

There is one study5 in particular that documented the exact effects of MENT very well, although it was carried out on castrated mice so these effects may not be transcribed to humans. MENT was capable of restoring sexual behaviour and seminal vesicle weights to intact levels as good as testosterone but at 1/3rd of the dose ! What was also interesting was that MENT did not seem to stimulate aggressive behaviour at all. Compared to a control group of castrated mice, there levels of aggression did not nominally increase at all. This could be positive news for all those roid ragers out there giving the steroid community a bad name.

Another interesting study6 more or less quantified the effects of MENT as compared to testosterone, and found that its androgenic character, based on the weights of ventral prostate and seminal vesicles, was 4 times greater than that of testosterone and that the hypertrophic nature was no less than 10 times greater, based on the weight increase in the levator ani muscle. More disturbing was the finding that the suppressive effect of MENT on HPTA was 12 times greater than that of testosterone, which is concerning at the least for a product with uses as a male contraceptive. The varying figures indicate that where a dose of testosterone that can maintain serum gonadotropin levels and muscle mass, can also maintain the prostate and seminal vesicles, where MENT cannot. This can easily be explained because the larger part of testosterones androgenic action stems from target specific conversion to a more androgenic form in the prostate and other androgen sensitive tissues, because these have a high concentration of 5-alpha-reductase. But MENT is not affected by 5-alpha-reductase.

Because of its 7-alpha-methyl group, MENT also shows no significant binding to SHBG7 (sex hormone binding globuline). On the one hand that is why it is such a strong hormone compared to testosterone (estimated 3 times stronger), but also why its half-life is shorter (begging daily injections still with the acetate ester). So in conclusion we can state that this hormone is extremely powerful at what it does and could find more uses, both in the medical community (to treat wasting diseases and burns) and in the sports enhancement field. While its production is imminent and its safety record proven in both studies with humans and animals, it remains to be seen for what purpose and in what form it will be marketed by Schering. As things are now, it looks like it will be produced in a form that will only be useful in hormonal replacement therapy, and not in short term treatment of burns or wasting diseases, or for sports enhancement.

Stacking and Use:

This information is of course purely hypothetical and based on an injectable version of the aforementioned acetate ester of MENT. Given the short half life and the short ester, daily injections would be required. In most cycles we would inject around 75 mg per day of test (give or take, based on 500 mg/week). Similar results could be obtained with 25-50 mg per day of MENT. The drug does aromatize like nandrolone, and it aromatizes to 7-alpha-methyl-estradiol. In light of the low affinity of MENT for binding proteins, the same could be assumed of 7-alpha-methyl-estradiol, so this may be a quite potent estrogen. Combined with the progestagenic action of 19Nor steroids that could lead to a reasonable risk for gynocomastia. Especially those prone to estrogen should probably supplement with 1 mg per day of arimidex or 2.5 mg per day of letrozole to keep these effects at bay. If stacked with additional aromatizing or otherwise estrogenic hormones its best to keep Nolvadex on hand as well, and to remind yourself of the progestagenic action. RU486, the abortion drug, is the only known truly effective progestin blocker, but is hard to find and terribly expensive. Combining with Winstrol may help, as it does have some competitive progestagenic blocking abilities, but their extent is not quantified in any study. The androgenic effects may be quite strong, so acne probably will occur, and men prone to problems with male pattern hair loss or prostate problems should be cautious. Due to the 7-alpha-methyl group, MENT is not affected by 5-alpha-reductase, so treatments like Proscar will have no effect.

When stacking this product, one will probably be looking to add mass to the frame. To that extent it could be stacked with testosterone (particularly powerful combo), Methandrostenolone (40 mg/day), Oxymetholone (100-150 mg/day) or Boldenone -(200-800 mg/week) (the latter would be my preference). It would not make a very good match for nandrolone, as nandrolone can be considered the weaker relative of MENT, with similar action but much less androgenic possibilities. Given the progestagenic nature, Stanazolol (50 mg/day) may be a good match for MENT as well.

Keep in mind that there are very few real world results with MENT on humans, and there is no literal data on its hypertrophic ability, so a lot of this is hypothetical, based on the available studies and evidence.