Many athletes, in pursuit of ideal body proportions, are ready to work long and hard. But sometimes genetics can become an obstacle to achieving your goal, which does not allow you to cross a certain threshold. At such moments, many bodybuilders consider adding steroids to their work.
Before you start taking medications, you must carefully study all the information about the drug: in what form it is available, in what dosage it should be taken and what side effects it may have. The last point is especially important, as it will allow you to assess the risks you are taking. If you do not understand this topic well enough, you may end up with a hormonal imbalance.
The best steroid cycles[edit | edit code]
Yuzhakov Anton First year. Selection of drugs, doses, esters and PCT
Yuzhakov Anton FIRST COURSE. COMPILATION, SELECTION OF DOSES, CONTROL OF ANALYSIS.
Yuzhakov Anton ONE OF THE BEST STEROID COURSES LONG COURSE
Yuzhakov Anton THE BEST STEROID COURSE FOR GAINING MUSCLE MASS AND DRYING
Yuzhakov Anton STEROIDS AAS TESTOSTERONE METHANE TURINABOL STANOZOLOL DECA BOLDENONE TREN
Yuzhakov Anton 100 PHARMACY QUESTIONS FAQ on steroids
How to choose the best steroid?
Which steroid is right for you? Which steroids are the most powerful and safe? Which steroids work well together?
Anabolic steroids are potent substances that cause muscle hypertrophy, and their effects are currently being actively studied both in medicine and in the field of sports. It is immediately necessary to emphasize that the use of steroids should be carried out in accordance with indications and under the supervision of a medical specialist. Use is contraindicated in adolescents, as it may pose a significant and unjustified health risk. This article contains reference information and does not encourage use.
SportWiki experts analyzed a large amount of modern literature, research and scientific articles, from which sufficiently substantiated and plausible information was selected. In this article we will try to present the best steroid courses, which are characterized by maximum effectiveness and safety. A separate article pays special attention to describing and minimizing side effects.
General conclusions: choosing an anabolic steroid[edit | edit code]
- The drug should be prescribed by a medical specialist
- All anabolic steroids have androgenic activity, but to varying degrees.
- The more powerful and effective the steroid, the more side effects there are, so you should be careful when using this indicator.
- Generally, injectable steroids are safer than tablet forms.
- The larger the dose and amount of steroids, the more side effects and the more pronounced the rebound phenomenon.
- Don't try to get quick results by resorting to crazy cycles; after a couple of months you will be disappointed in this approach. It makes more sense to do two “weak” courses with a break than one “strong” one.
- There are no new safe steroids. Don't believe the hype - many old steroids are much better than new ones. This is easy to explain - in the 20th century, steroid research was much better funded than it is now. Currently, the bulk of the funding is not used to obtain a more powerful and safe anabolic steroid, but to ensure that it cannot be determined in tests.
- It is highly advisable to use aromatase inhibitors and antiestrogens in strictly defined cases. This will significantly secure the cycle and increase its efficiency. Remember that gynecomastia does not always develop, but in individual cases it is irreversible, so it should be prevented.
Main conclusion:
To achieve good results, use steroids in moderate doses, in the right combinations, without exceeding the optimal cycle length. In approximately one cycle, you can gain about 5-7 kg of muscle while losing a significant amount of fat. With adequate use, the results will be stable, the rollback phenomenon will be minimal, and in most cases there will be no side effects at all. However, according to the literature, side effects occur in 15-20% of cases, while in 3% they are irreversible.
What are steroid courses based on?[edit | edit code]
The following courses of steroid drugs are compiled based on the experience of the largest resources (Do4a, Iron World and the forum with world experts thinksteroids.com), as well as sports medicine and modern scientific data. Many “professionals” tend to believe that these courses are “too weak and short”, so the results will be bad, but this can be easily refuted with a simple example:
- Vasily completed a steroid course with drug X at a dose of 100 for a month, and then, after another 3 months, he repeated it. Total: 1 package for everything, + 5 kg of muscle, taking into account the rollback, complete absence of side effects.
- Peter completed a course with drug X at a dose of 200 for 2 months. Total: 2 packages of the drug, +8 kg of muscle immediately after the cycle (at first glance, the result is better), but half of this will be lost in another month, that is, the total result is +4 kg of muscle, in addition to gynecomastia and hormonal imbalances.
On any forum you will be advised option No. 2, since people cannot assess the long-term consequences and focus on ephemeral results immediately after the course.
Short courses and muscle memory[edit | edit code]
Norwegian scientists from the University of Oslo report that even short-term administration of anabolic steroids increases the ability of muscles to grow for a long time. According to experiments, the use of anabolic steroids triggers the so-called cellular memory mechanism. Thus, when resuming physical activity after a long period of rest, muscle strength and volume will be restored much faster in those athletes who used anabolic steroids, compared to those who never used them at all. In addition, those taking it will experience more intense division of cell nuclei. The study results were published in The Journal of Physiology.[1]
Application results[edit | edit code]
A study by Bhasin S, Storer TW[2] on 43 healthy men showed that testosterone enanthate at a dose of 600 mg/week for 10 weeks allows for high athletic performance:
- training without administration of the drug led to an increase in weight by approximately 1.8 kg;
- administration of the drug without training led to an increase in lean muscle mass by 3 kg;
- subjects who performed strength training 3 times a week and received testosterone enanthate had an increase in lean mass of 6 kg.
A reduction in fat deposits was observed in all groups.
Post-cycle therapy (PCT)
When using steroids and experiencing side effects, it is necessary to use drugs that will reduce them to a minimum. Another goal of PCT is to restore your own hormones after the course. This section will outline only general principles and schemes, but the approach here should be individual, you need to take into account the characteristics of your body, the composition and duration of the course. Ideally, PCT should be prescribed to you by an experienced sports doctor or coach with experience.
As a rule, side effects (if any) appear already during the course. One of the most common phenomena is gynecomastia. Here you need to figure it out, since it can be caused by drugs with estrogenic (methane, testosterone) and progestogenic activity (deca, trenbolone).
If you have only one class of steroids, then it is already clear what you need to fight. If both are present, it is necessary to take tests for estrogen and prolactin to figure out which hormone is outside the normal range. Please note that there is no need to set these indicators to zero - the lower level of the reference value will be sufficient.
Estrogens need to be combated with aromatase inhibitors (letrozole, anastrazole) tamoxifen is also suitable , which, along with Clomid , is often used AFTER the course for 1-3 weeks. , also known as cabergoline helps to cope with prolactin .
If the course lasts more than 8 weeks, it is necessary to add gonadotropin , which is given precisely while taking steroids, and not after it. The goal is to eliminate the possibility of testicular atrophy. The dosage is selected individually.
To summarize, during the course it is necessary to monitor the condition of the body and take the necessary actions to minimize side effects. There is no need to constantly add antiestrogens if you do not have problems with gynecomastia, increased blood pressure or water retention. The only drug that is necessary in any case for long courses is gonadotropin. After finishing taking steroids, it is advisable to take tamoxifen (about 20 mg daily at night) for 1-3 weeks, as well as tribulus and various vitamin complexes that will help restore your own hormones.
The best steroid cycles for gaining muscle mass[edit | edit code]
Who are these steroid courses suitable for?[edit | edit code]
For men of thin build, over the age of 25, to gain lean muscle mass, in the absence of contraindications to taking anabolic steroids.
If you want to get maximum results, then each course should also include:
- Diet for gaining muscle mass - keep in mind that during the course you need to gain up to 10 kg of mass (of which 2-3 kg will then be lost), so be sure to weigh yourself every three days and control your weight gain through diet. If your weight is not growing fast enough, then you need to increase your caloric intake, and vice versa, otherwise you will be wasting your time. The total amount of protein in the diet should be at least 2g/kg of body weight, which can be more accurately calculated using a calculator.
- Sports nutrition for weight gain
- Specialized training
Liver damage.
There is evidence of adverse effects of steroids on the liver, especially when taken orally.
Most studies were conducted on patients suffering from diseases such as anemia, kidney failure, impotence and pituitary dysfunction. Various forms of cancer tumors - benign (adenoma) and malignant (hepatocellular carcinoma) also cannot be ignored. There is also evidence that liver tumors are caused by anabolic steroids containing a 17-alpha alkyl group. Benign tumors usually resolve after stopping steroids. However, there are indications that steroid use by athletes can lead to hepatic carcinoma. Often such changes go unnoticed, since hepatitis and tumors in the liver do not always cause changes in the blood, which is usually used to judge the condition of this organ.
The use of anabolic steroids causes an increase in the activity of liver enzymes in the blood. They are present in hepatocytes (liver cells) in relatively high concentrations, and an increase in their plasma levels indicates liver damage or at least an increase in the permeability of hepatocellular membranes. However, the results of studies on the effect of steroids on the liver are very contradictory. In some cases the enzyme levels increased and in others they did not.
Moreover, this increase was insignificant and quickly disappeared when the drug was stopped. There are suggestions that the reaction of liver enzymes to taking steroids is determined by the state of the organ itself before this. Therefore, people with liver problems are at greater risk when using steroids.
Courses[edit | edit code]
- Solo courses for gaining muscle mass
- Combined courses for gaining muscle mass
- Courses for drying and relief (gaining dry mass)
- To increase strength
- Low androgenic courses (prostate problems, alopecia, acne)
- For joint problems
- Steroid courses for athletes, swimmers, boxers, runners
- After 40
- Andropause
- Peptides + steroids (cycle building, PCT)
- Dr. Luber's advice
- Dr. Luber: a course for “drying”
- Dr. Luber: course for mass
- Eternal course (hormone replacement therapy)
- Bridge between courses
- Steroids for women
Acne (blackheads)
This is also a very common side effect of steroid use. Anabolic steroids can cause acne or make existing acne worse. Human skin has the ability to destroy androgenic hormones, which are found in it in very small quantities. When exogenous steroids are used, the concentration tends to increase beyond what the skin can handle, allowing bacteria to multiply. When this is combined with increased oiliness of the skin, which is inevitable with steroid use, the situation becomes even more unfavorable.
There may be a genetic predisposition to acne. The extent of acne damage to the skin depends on the androgenicity of the steroids taken. Severe acne on the back, chest, shoulders, neck and face is a sign that some athletes are on a cycle.
Medical technique for performing injections[edit | edit code]
Site for injection of steroids
In accordance with the instructions, steroids are injected deep into the muscle (injections into the gluteal muscle are safest):
- Wash your hands with soap.
- It is advisable to heat the ampoule with the drug to 38C-40C degrees in a water bath, or at least in the armpit.
- Wipe your hands with alcohol
- Wipe the ampoule with alcohol.
- Open the ampoule: make a notch on the neck, break off the spout and wrap it in gauze. If there is a mark in the form of a dot, then there is no need to make a file, just break off the nose.
- Use syringes with a 37 mm needle - these are 5 and 10 cc syringes.
- Fill the syringe and remove any air bubbles. Although when performing intramuscular injections, a couple of small bubbles are not at all dangerous.
- Treat the injection site with alcohol or another antiseptic (iodine, brilliant green, cologne or, in extreme cases, vodka).
- Take a horizontal position to avoid needle breakage
- Insert the needle into the upper, lateral square of the buttock (see picture) to its full length at a right angle
- Pull back on the plunger to make sure no blood flows into the syringe or you hit a blood vessel. Oily preparations entering the bloodstream can be fatal.
- Inject the drug slowly
- Remove the needle and apply a swab soaked in alcohol (or other antiseptic) to the injection site
- Gently massage the injection site for about 5 minutes.
Sodium retention
This is the most common side effect. It causes edema (tissue swelling due to excess water retention). For most athletes, this is expressed in a slight increase in body volume and smoothing of the relief. This swollen appearance is the most noticeable sign by which you can determine, even without doping control, that an athlete is on a cycle. This is especially noticeable on the cheeks and under the eyes. In addition to this cosmetic inconvenience, sodium and water retention, as a result, can lead to acute attacks of high blood pressure. Sometimes such water retention is a sign of hidden heart or kidney disease. Particularly severe water retention can be caused by various testosterone preparations.
Oncological diseases (Cancer)
The use of anabolic steroids is very rarely associated with cancer. The result of taking steroids is tumors in the liver, suspected of cancer. It must be said that in most cases these deviations were recorded in people who had been using alpha-alkylated oral medications for a long time. It is known that the liver and kidneys are subject to severe stress when using steroids. No less rare is “peliosis hepatitis,” that is, blood-filled cysts in the liver. This condition is reversible, meaning they disappear when steroid use is stopped, but it is nevertheless associated with the development of liver cancer. It has also been established that long-term steroid therapy, especially at high dosages, leads to progressive cholestasis, jaundice and other negative changes.
