Testosterone enanthate is a representative of testosterone esters. Probably this is one of the most favorite anabolic substances among bodybuilders. It has long period of action, which depends on metabolic rate and hormonal background of an athlete.

On average, it remains active for 2 weeks (its half-life is about 7 days). Usually athletes do a weekly injection to keep high concentration of the hormone in blood.

Steroid characteristics

Anabolic properties – 100%

Androgenic properties – 100%

Transformation into estrogens – Yes (aromatase inhibitors are required)

Suppression of hypothalamus-pituitary-testicles – Yes

Liver toxicity – No

Available forms – injection

Duration – 2 weeks

Doping test – detectable during 3 months

Tehosteet

The major benefit of Testosterone enanthate usage is a rather fast gaining of muscular mass and strength. This is the reason of its popularity among bodybuilders and powerlifters.

Testosterone enanthate can also solve the joint problems in athletes who suffer from joint pain, however :decadurabolin: and HGH are more preferable for these issues.

It also induces the regenerative mechanisms, improves general well-being and increases endurance.

Sivuvaikutukset

The major problem of testosterone enanthate usage is transformation into estrogen, which can cause estrogen related adverse effects: gynecomastia, water retention. However, with the invention of anti-estrogens this is not a problem anymore.

Note that aromatase inhibitors (e.g. :letrozole:) are taken during the cycle. Meanwhile estrogen blockers – after the cycle (when the action of steroid is over, therefore you need to check its half-life). As testosterone enanthate suppresses the axis of hypothalamus-pituitary-testes, estrogen blockers (e.g. :clomiphene:) are necessary to restore the production of endogenous testosterone.

In case of prolonged cycles, high doses or combinations, human chorionic gonadotropin is necessary to use starting from the 3^rd week and ending in 2-3 weeks after the end of a cycle.

Testosterone enanthate can also cause androgenic side effects such as acne, high blood pressure, increased aggression, baldness etc. Women should avoid taking this substance due to high risks of virilization.

Annostus ja käyttö

The effect of this steroid is dosage dependent. The usual dosage is 250-500mg/week, which is injected once a week (or two times at regular intervals if the dose is high). Commonly the cycle lasts 2 -2.5 months. PCT begins in two-three weeks after the end of a cycle. For optimal results you should follow a mass–gaining diet including sports nutrition.

Testosterone enanthate is an aromatizable substance. So, in order to avoid estrogen-related adverse effects one should take aromatase inhibitors starting from the 2^nd week of a cycle. This therapy must go on up to the one week after the end of a cycle.

In order to keep the gained muscle mass one should take cortisol blockers after the end of a cycle.

Yhdistelmät

For mass-gaining purposes this steroid is stacked with :anadrol:, :dianabol:, :decadurabolin: and :parabolan.

Example of stacking

Deca Durabolin 200-250mg/week

Testosterone enanthate 500mg/week.

Note: aromatase inhibitors are necessary in this cycle.

For cutting purposes Testosterone enanthate makes good combinations with :stanozolol: or :oxandrolone (moderate doses).

You can buy Testosterone enanthate tässä.

Fluoxymesterone (Halotestin, Halotest) is an oral steroid with high androgenic and anabolic properties. Its major application is in increasing strength, muscular hardness and aggression, without increase of body weight. Therefore it is taken before competition by those who want to keep weight category (power athletes, fighters etc.). Halotestin has high liver toxicity.

Steroid characteristics

Anabolic properties – 1900% (comparing to testosterone)

Androgenic properties – 850%

Transformation into estrogens – No

Suppression of HPG axis – Yes

Liver toxicity – High

Available form – tabs

Duration – 6-9 hours

Doping test – detectable during two months

Pharmacological properties and effects

In medical practice Halotestine was used to treat hypogonadism and delayed puberty in men, as well as breast cancer in women. However, nowadays it is out of use. Fluoxymesterone is about 5 times stronger than methyltestosterone.

Halotestine is close relative of methyltestosterone. It is produced by altering testosterone molecule in 3 positions: a 17-alpha-methyl group, an 11-beta-hydroxy group, and a 9-fluoro group.

• 17-alpha-methyl group prolongs the half-life of the substance by neutralizing the destructive effect of liver enzymes.
• 11-beta-hydroxy group blocks enzymatic transformation of steroid into estrogen, thus preventing estrogen-related side-effects (gynecomastia, water retention etc.).
• 9-fluoro group increases its androgenic properties by facilitating reduction of this steroid in 5a position, which leads to transformation into dihydrotestosterone.

By increasing the amount of red blood cells Halotestin improves endurance and performance – more erythrocytes deliver oxygen to muscles with higher efficiency. Fluoxymesterone also has fat-burning properties, though there are much safer substances for this issue, e.g. :winstrol:, :oxandrolone:.

Sivuvaikutukset

Owing to high level of dihydrotestosterone, which is 8.5 times higher than in testosterone, the side-effects of Halotestin are similar to other androgenic steroids. They include hypertrophy of prostate, prostatic adenoma, hair loss (in case of genetic predisposition), growth of body hair, acne etc. Women should avoid using it due to high risks of virilization.

There may be cardiovascular problems – high blood pressure and increased cholesterol. Halotestin is toxic to the liver. In order to reduce above mentioned side-effects you should follow a healthy lifestyle: avoid taking alcohol or other liver unfriendly substances, include omega 3 fatty acids into your diet, keep your skin clean. In case of evident side-effect discontinue usage of Halotestin.

Annostus ja käyttö

The optimal daily dosage of Fluoxymesterone is 10mg. You should not exceed the maximal dosage of 20mg/day. Prolonged usage (more than 6weeks) may lead to sexual dysfunction.

We have to remind that Halotestin is not efficient in gaining mascle mass (growth of muscle tissue) even in combinations with other compounds. However it is very powerful substance in increasing strength and aggression. Therefore you should take it shortly before the competition.

You can buy Halotestin tässä.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (also known as somatomedin С, IGF-1) is a peptide hormone, which is similar to insulin. It is the main intermediate of growth hormone activity. Therefore it is responsible for childhood growth and besides produces anabolic effect in adults, initiating muscular hyperplasia.

Its effects are identical to the effects of human growth hormone (HGH), however the latter doesn’t act independently. Today we know that HGH forces the liver to release IGF-1 into the blood, which in turn produces “growth hormone effects” – fat burning, growth of muscle fibers etc.

IGF-1 has different varieties: Mechanical Growth Factor (MGF), LR3, DES. IGF is taken parenterally (using syringe). 100 mcg of IGF-1 is equal to 16-25 IU of HGH.

IGF-1 LR3 and IGF-1 DES

There are several types of IGF-1: IGF-1 LR3 and IGF-1 DES. Since the natural molecule (70 amino-acids) has rather short half-life (about twenty minutes) its effects are short-term. Therefore scientists modified the molecule and created 2 stable peptides:  IGF-1 LR3 (83 amino-acid residues) and IGF-1 DES (67 amino-acid residues).

Both types have common effects with endogenous IGF-1, but different in strength and duration of action. IGF-1 LR3 is about 2 times stronger than endogenous IGF-1, its half-life is about 25 hours. It effectively prevents the uptake of glucose, thus making the organism burn fats as a source of energy.

IGF-1 DES lacks the first three amino-acid residues of natural sequence, therefore it does not bind to plasma proteins. It is about 10 times more active than natural analogue, its half-life is about 30 minutes. As for bodybuilding purposes, IGF-1 DES is more preferable, since it affects more receptors simultaneously, including those that were affected by lactic acid. Therefore it is more efficient in initiating muscular hyperplasia than IGF-1 LR3.

Though they are not yet clinically tested, there are reports about their application in bodybuilding and both types showed great results.

According to these reports IGF-1 LR3 injections were administered every day at the dose 50-150 μg. Desensitization occurs in 3-4 weeks.

Due to shorter half-life one can make IGF-1 DES injections (50-150μg) several times a day, preferably before and after training. The usual length of a cycle is four weeks.

Effects of Insulin-like growth factor-1

The main advantage of this substance is stimulation of muscular hyperplasia. This is especially important for aged athletes, as it is rather difficult to initiate muscular hyperplasia with age.

You can achieve optimal results by combining IGF-1 injections with special training: 10-12 sets per muscle group with 12-20 repetitions per set (with a minimum pause between sets). Follow a protein-and-carbohydrate rich diet during your cycle.

Besides IGF-1 has fat burning effect. In this aspect it is more efficient than synthetic :somatropin:. However, it has quite different mechanism of action, therefore one can expect synergistic effect in combination of IGF-1 with HGH.

Conclusions

The optimal dose of Insulin-like growth factor-1 is 100 μg per day. You can make local injections (to stimulate definite group of muscles) or systemic (to achieve fat burning effect). There are reports that daily injections are not necessary, the optimal solution is 2-4 injections per week (on training days).

While using this substance one should be very attentive to your body, since it can also stimulate the growth of different kinds of tumor.

IGF-1 has also beneficial effect on cardiovascular system and can restore heart muscle.

The effect of IGF-1 on female organism is not yet studied. However, it becomes a very promising substance for fat burning issues.

You can buy IGF-1 tässä.

SARMs – Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators

SARMs belong to a group of molecules that selectively bind to sex hormone receptors. By their action they are similar to SERMs -Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (e.g. :clomiphene: and :tamoxifen:) with the only difference that they bind to androgen receptors.

As SARMs are not steroids, they do not undergo conversion by steroid enzymes, therefore there are no undesirable side-effects. The initial aim of SARMs was to reduce the adverse effects of testosterone on prostate. But later scientists found out that they can increase muscle mass. Since that time bodybuilders started to test these compounds on themselves even before clinical trials.

In the following article it was shown that GTx-024 (ostarine, enobosarm) is well tolerated and produces a dosage dependent gain of muscle mass in elderly men and postmenopausal women.

For instance, according to the trials  3mg of Ostarine (orally) during 12 weeks increases lean muscle mass by 1.4kg and reduces body fat by 300 grams without any physical load. It is also effective to prevent muscle loss (due to excessive catabolism) in cancer patients.

Nowadays there are several types of SARMs which have already passed human trials and very soon will appear on the market. However none of them is actually selective. In general they have high anabolic properties. The ratio of anabolic to androgenic properties vary from 3:1 to 10:1 (comparing to testosterone, which is 1:1)

Almost all selective androgen receptor modulators are freely available in the form of tablets. One should also mention that they don’t have liver toxicity. SARMs  became an optimal option for females, due to minimal influence on libido, blood cholesterol, liver and so on.

The major representatives of SARMs

Ostarine (MK-2866, GTx-024, Enobosarm) – affects bones and muscles

BMS-564,929 – muscle tissue

:ligandrol: (Anablicum, LGD-4033) – similar to Ostarine

LGD-2226 – bones and muscles, the trials are stopped due to high toxicity

S-40503 (Andarin) – mostly bone tissue, treatment of osteoarthritis (the research is suspended)

S-23 – male contraceptive

YK-11 (Myostine, Myostan) inhibitor of myostatin (under development)

RAD140 (Radarine, Radium) anabolic effect, increases endurance and has a neuroprotective effect

Reversol (Reverol, edrophonium, Endorol, Stenabol or SR9009) increases endurance (due to the formation of new mitochondria), treatment of obesity, muscular hypertrophy. It binds to Rev-ErbA, which in its turn performs different regulatory functions in human organism.

:ibutamoren: – Nutrobal (MK-677) – stimulates growth hormone production.

AICAR – increases endurance

Masteron (also Drostanolone, Drolban, Metormon, Permastril, Mastager, etc.) is an anabolic steroid which originates from dihydrotestosterone. It has high androgenic and moderate anabolic properties. Masteron is not an aromatizable steroid (i.e. there is no conversion into estrogen), moreover it acts as aromatase inhibitor.

Therefore there is no risk of estrogen related side-effects, such as gynecomastia and water retention. In clinical practice it was used as a cure for breast cancer in women, however, due to the high risks of virilization, it is practically out of use today.

Due to its anti-estrogenic properties and slight diuretic effect Masteron became popular among bodybuilders. They take it to keep muscle mass and strength during cuting cycles.

Drostanolone is of special interest among those athletes who want to improve muscular endurance before competition without gaining of excessive bodyweight. Moreover it increases strength and has apparent fat burning effect. For example Drostanolone cycle can reduce the amount of body fat by 5-7%.

All above mentioned features of Masteron make it attractive for athletes of all types of sports. This substance is also useful during weight losing diet. Its application maintains the muscle mass and reduces catabolism.

Side Effects of Masteron

As we said above Drostanolone is not aromatizable, therefore gynecomastia, water retention and high blood pressure do not occur. Nevertheless androgenic side-effects are possible: aggression, acne, alopecia, prostate hypertrophy and virilization in women. One should also mention that Masteron has low liver toxicity.

Annostus ja käyttö

The optimal dosage of Masteron is about 400-500mg/week. Higher doses do not produce further improvement of results, however the risk of side-effects may increase. As Drostanolone propionate has a short chain, you should take it three times a week (or EOD).

Yhdistelmät

Owing to high affinity to androgen receptors, it makes good combinations with such steroids as :winstrol: or :anavar:. They have less interaction with androgen receptors, therefore this stacking may produce synergistic effect during cutting cycle.

For a bulking cycle you can combine it with :testosterone-p:. However this combination suppresses natural testosterone production, so :gonadotropin: usage is required. Also bodybuilders combine Masteron with :trenbolone: or :boldenone:.

Primobolan (Methenolone) is an anabolic steroid, which originates from dihydrotestosterone. It has weak androgenic and moderate anabolic properties. This hormone is available in the form of tablets (Oral Primobolan), and injectable form (:primobolan:).

Injectable version of this substance (Primobolan Depot) is an Enanthate ester of Methenolone, which has prolonged action (about two weeks). It is regarded as one of the safest steroid. In medical practice it was successfully applied in treatment of underweight children, osteoporosis and sarcopenia. The major inconvenience is that its injection is rather painful.

A tablet version of Primobolan (Methenolone acetate) has shorter period of action (approximately five hours). Unlike other tablet steroids, Oral Primobolan has low liver toxicity. Nevertheless most bodybuilders prefer injectable version of Methenolone due to lower price and higher bioavailability of the hormone.

Characteristics

Anabolic properties – 88% of testosterone

Androgenic properties – 44% of testosterone

Transformation into estrogens – no

Liver toxicity – low

Available forms – tabs, injections

Half-life – 5-20 hours (tablets); 4-7 days (for injections)

Doping test – detectable during 100 days (tablets), or 6 months (injections)

Tehosteet

Comparing to :decadurabolin: the anabolic effect of Methenolone is rather mild. Therefore most bodybuilders use it during cutting cycles, when the main goal is not to gain muscle mass but to preserve it.

Sivuvaikutukset

As Primobolan is not an aromatizable steroid, there is no risk of estrogen-related side-effects (gynecomastia and water retention).

Methenolone may decrease the level of natural testosterone synthesis to a little degree. However this effect is much weaker than in Testosterone and Nandrolone. For instance, the cycle of Oral Primobolan at the dose of 40mg/day can suppress the levels of endogenous testosterone by 50%.

In case of long cycles or high doses, the usage of gonadotropin is necessary (in order to avoid testicular atrophy). Methenolone does not affect the level of bad cholesterol (LDL) and does not increase blood pressure.

Due to the low androgenic activity the cases of baldness are very rare. Despite high safety rating the following side-effects may occur: aggression, excitability, insomnia, increase of liver enzymes etc.

Annostus ja käyttö

Usually athletes take Primobolan for cutting cycles or to preserve muscles. Owing to mild action the length of a cycle should last up to eight weeks. However longer period may increase the risks of adverse effects.

The common doses of Oral Primolaban are 50-100mg/day. In 2-3 days after the end of a cycle you should start PCT. The usual dosage of injectable Primobolan (Depot) is 400mg/once a week. Post Cycle Therapy should begin in 3 weeks since last injection.

Consult your doctor before taking Primobolan, make sure you don’t have contraindications.

Primobolan Combinations

Because of mild anabolic effect, bodybuilders often stack it with other steroids. For muscle gains it is usually combined with :nandrolone: (probably the safest cycle), :testosterone-c:, :anadrol: or :methandrostenolone:. For cutting cycles it is combined with :winstrol:.

Do not introduce more than one steroid into your combination. Take both steroids at half-doses. This method will decrease the risks of side-effects and enhance efficiency of your cycle.