Muscle Chemistry Archive
Using Growth Hormone For Fat Loss
Q: I want to take GH just for fat loss, but I don’t know how much to take. What is the best dose to lose body fat?
A: A lot depends upon how much you weigh, how much fat you need to lose and what time frame you have. GH does work relatively slowly on fat loss. Generally, the dose for fat loss for about a 160-180 pound person is about 2-4 iu’s. Frankly 2 iu’s a day, using a subcutaneous injections would do the trick for this weight. Taking 4 iu’s might be overkill.
Don’t expect immediate results, body composition changes occur after a month and up to 3 months. We think that injecting the iu’s into the fatty areas directly also has some benefit for fat loss. There’s no such thing as spot reduction in the drug-free world, but with GH, we suspect that that isn’t as true. Fat loss is sustained longer when GH is used as a catalyst for lipolytic action.
However, you can eventually gain it back, as you would under any other circumstance, if you do not take heed of dietary and exercise maintenance standards. It is, however, an expensive way to lose fat.
Understanding Your Glycemic Index
Tackling diet is a difficult matter. There are so many factors involved in stimulating fat loss, maintaining metabolic health and getting lean enough to kick the snot out of your nemesis in a posedown, that any edge is crucial. Enter the glycemic index.
You may have heard of it, but I’ll you don’t practice it like you should, or even know what it can do for you. Truth is, not all carbs are created equal. Because bodybuilders are simple creatures, they’d rather just go Atkins on the situation and cut out carbs altogether so it’s easier to remember what to eat. But that isn’t serving the bodybuilding physique at its best.
The Glycemic Index (henceforth called GI, so I don’t have to keep writing it out) is a way of ranking carbohydrates based on their effect on our blood glucose levels. Some describe it as the best way to avoid metabolic and heart diseases, as well as being the key to sustained health and sustainable weight loss.
Carbs We Bodybuilders Like to Eat
We all like a big heaping pile of mashed potato or white rice. We like gigantic baked potatoes the size of our heads, but they may not be the right things for us to eat to get the carbs we need, sustain our size and support our mass goals, but also keep our bodies in a flight pattern appropriate for fat loss at any time.
That’s why we need to choose our carbs carefully. If you are overweight and mostly sedentary (that is, you go to the gym, but you almost never do cardio and you’re a fat fucker) eating carbs with high GI food values can be really horrible for your body composition, energy levels, and ultimate motivation to change any of that.
C’mon… You know how it is when you get fat in between contests and you wish there was a couch in between the squat rack and leg press so you could lay down for a spell.
Switching to eating carbs with low GI values, that allow only a slow ooze of glucose into your blood stream, rather than a big hit, keeps your energy levels balanced and sets you up for a positive change in body composition. Plus, you’ll also have more energy to train and maybe, the motivation to try a little cardio.
Benefits:
Low GI diets help you lose and control weight
Low GI diets increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin (a good thing for mass gain and balance)
Low GI carbs reduce hunger and sustain you longer
Low GI carbs help increase and prolong physical endurance
Low GI carbs refuel the body’s carbohydrate stores after exercise much more effectively
How to get started…
Getting started is easy. Just substitute what you normally eat (a high GI carb) for a low one. This is the quickest way to understand how it works, and see it work, without really dieting on top of it. So try that first.
Go to: www.glycemicindex.com and look up carbs that appeal to you by clicking on the left hand side of the page on GI Database. Type in the foods you typically eat and enter their values on a sheet of paper. Chuck the ones that are above. Now go look up other ones, like yams, brown rice, whole grain wheat bread, unleavened pita bread, squash, vegetables, etc…
Look up breakfast cereals that are oat based, barley or bran based. Put down the potatoes and pick up the basmati rice or salad greens.
Doing this year ‘round, whether on a diet or not on a diet, will make you look like a different person in a year’s time – guaranteed.
Recently, the University of Sydney (that’s in Australia, mate) and their Human Nutrition Unit published a study that clearly shows that carb quality actually does make a difference in long term weight loss, overall and heart health.
GI Index Rule of Thumb:
Low GI = 55 or less
Medium GI = 56 – 69
High GI = 70 or more
Understanding Testosterone and Hormone Therapy for Men
Hormone replacement therapy is one of the hottest topics in bodybuilding today. It involves the use of synthetic hormones to allow the body to produce higher levels of the sex hormones testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. Originally designed for people with low hormone levels due to a condition, it quickly caught on among elderly people who were able to match the vitality of a person decades younger. Hollywood noticed next, and was followed by groups of 30-, 40-, and 50-something professionals seeking to regain their youth. Hormone therapy is today’s fountain of youth – allowing people of all ages to return to the testosterone levels they enjoyed in their twenties, even if they are decades older.
As men age, their body’s natural level of testosterone (male sex hormone) decreases, and their production of estrogen (female sex hormone) increases. As a result, men experience muscle loss, fat increases, Gynecomastia, and other issues. In other words, they get old. HRT reverses that.
To get approved for HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), one must visit a doctor and make the case for an actual need. HRT agents like testosterone and growth hormone are highly controlled. Telling your doctor that you want to win a local NPC contest will not get you the prescription you desire. Typically, a patient will undergo a series of examinations to determine what sex hormones are out of balance. A hormone panel is completed, and cancer screening is done. If patient is cancer-free, has a measured lack of sex hormones, and exhibits the mental characteristics of low testosterone, he will likely receive the prescription.
Initially, aromatase Inhibitors (AI’s) may be used to offset the estrogen rise. This is the simplest treatment, and is actually the same compounds used in post-cycle-therapy (PCT) for steroid users, to negate the post-cycle spike in estrogen that occurs when synthetic testosterone levels suddenly drop. The very consistent and expensive Arimidex is most commonly prescribed. Recently, Femara and Aromasin have begun being used because they are more potent.
If AI’s fail to fit the bill, prohormones are often introduced next. Adione and 4-Adiol are most frequently used, along with 1-AD and others. Prohormones, unlike actual testosterone, do not convert to estrogen, so they can boost testosterone levels and improve quality of life without the side effects that follow estrogen levels jumping.
Transdermal Testosterone is the third step in correcting low sex hormone levels. Pulse therapy (2-3 time per day) or patch/gel testosterone therapy are very effective for raising testosterone levels in the body. They are effective, but do completely or partially shut down the body’s natural ability to produce testosterone, so their use may remain permanent.
Finally, Human Growth Hormone (hGH) is used in a small percentage of patients whose bodies don’t produce adequate growth hormone, or if the patient hasn’t responded to the first three treatment methods. HGH is expensive and difficult to store and administer.
Finding the right hormone replacement method is an important decision that you and your doctor should complete together. Use the above descriptions as a starter point, do your research, and see if hormone replacement is right for you.
EQ 300
EQ 300, or boldenone undecylenate, is a favorite veterinary steroid of many athletes made by Maha Pharma. Its effects are strongly anabolic, and only moderately androgenic.
By itself, it will provide a steady and consistent gain in mass and strength. However, best results are achieved when it is used in conjunction with other steroids.
For mass, EQ 300 stacks exceptionally well with Anadrol (oxymetholone), Dianabol (methandrostenlone), or an injectable testosterone like Sustanon 250.
It is also highly effective for contest preparation since it aromatizes very poorly. Muslce hardness and density can be greatly improved when EQ 300 is combined with Parabolan (trenbolone hexahydrobencylcarbonate), Halotestin (fluoxymesterone), or Winstrol (stanozolol).
Average dosages of EQ 300 are 300-600 mg per week. Injections are usually taken every other day. Since it is only available in a 10 mg/ml version, voluminous injections may become a problem. If high volume injections are made too frequently to the same injection site, an oil abscess may form. An oil abscess will often dissipate on its own, but in extreme instances, a doctor will need to drain it. Therefore, athletes should take caution and rotate injection sites.
EQ 300 is not readily available on the US black market, but it can be found. One of the more popular versions is Boldaxyl 300 from Kalpa Pharmaceuticals. in Middle and South America. It is mostly seen in 10 ml vials.
Tips For Managing Your Steroid Cycle
With all of the steroid discussion you see on the web today, it seems that sometimes beginner steroid users can feel overwhelmed. They see these detailed lists of complex chemical names. They don’t know what compounds come in pill form, and which goes into a vial to be injected. They see words like cycles, stacking, and pyramiding, and they scratch their head.
If you’re an experienced steroid user, this article isn’t for you. You know how to build a cycle (and what a cycle is). You are familiar with stacking and may even have your own favorite combinations. And you are probably well-versed in the practice of pyramiding. At this point, you should probably grill up a steak and enjoy some accelerated protein synthesis that AAS provides. However, if you’re somewhat confused about the terminology involved, keep reading!
Being uninformed about steroid terms is nothing to be ashamed of. These topics aren’t taught in school, and are taboo for discussion in gyms. The internet is full of detailed steroid content, but making sense of it can be hard at times. Let’s address some of the most common definitions. These are the words upon which all other steroid literature is written.
Cycle
A cycle is an outline of the schedule you will be using anabolic steroids. It can last 2 weeks, or 4 months. It can involve a single drug, or several kinds. It is a breakdown of the exact days (and/or weeks) that you will be taking each steroid. Users commonly refer to it as “running a cycle” or simply “cycling”. You will work to construct a cycle, and you will have a written list of what to take, and when.
Stack
Several cycles combine to deliver a stack. A stack is a combination of steroids that you take at the same time to gain greater results. Testosterone and Deca are both very useful drugs when taken independently. However, when they are taken at the same time, they create a synergistic effect, making the outcome of taking two more than what the individual outcomes would have been. Stacking steroids allows users to get more out of them, as well as cancel out some negative side effects. Testosterone is stacked with Deca to prevent an inability to achieve an erection, for example. The user doing the stacking enjoys the benefits of both steroids, and doesn’t have to deal with some of the side effects as a result.
Pyramiding
When taking steroids, you never want to shock your body too much. Injecting artificial hormones can be a traumatic event for the central nervous system and organs. For this reason, and to garner the most possible positive effects while minimizing the negatives, most steroid users choose to pyramid their cycles. This involves starting on a small dose, then ramping up use to a sustained peak for several weeks. Then, as the end of the cycle nears, use of the drug is lessened gradually. Pyramiding allows for safe entry and exit from a steroid cycle.
The Battle With Gynecomastia
“Bob had bitch tits”, or so the movie character famously said. This opening one-liner from Fight Club is perhaps the most mainstream mention of gyno. It introduced a generations of moviegoers to the horror that is male breast tissue growth, although many were already familiar with it.
Gyno – What is it?
Gynecomastia is a benign enlargement of the breast tissue in males. It occurs naturally in about 1/3 of those who suffer from it, with the other 2/3 from drug use, usually anabolic steroids. Once it occurs, it is permanent, and can only be removed via surgery. It is caused by sensitivity to estrogen in the body, and is often spurned when stopping a steroid cycle.
Surgical Solutions
Gynecomastia is correctable with surgery and other various conditions. Liposuction, reduction mammoplasty, skin sculpture, and gland excision are all commonly used. Typically, a plastic surgeon will place a small incision at the border of the nipple complex. The glandular tissue is then removed. A vest is worn for several weeks to ensure healing occurs and the shape of the chest remains constant. Many bodybuilders – even the new young pros we see in magazines – opt for this procedure in the off-season during a break.
Over-The-Counter Remedies
The surgical solutions above are designed to remove gyno once it has become a major problem. Preventative medicine is always preferable to surgery. Gyno occurs during the weeks following a steroid cycle. Bodybuilders employ a technique known as PCT, or post-cycle therapy, in which two compounds are introduced to the body to correct the estrogen/testosterone imbalance. PCT consists of 1-2 AIs (Aromatase Inhibitors) and 1 SERM (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator) used to help correct the balance during that initial imbalance period, until the body begins producing testosterone on its own and the estrogen production slows. The top over-the-counter solution is probably Nolvadex by Maha Pharma. It is very popular with amateur bodybuilders and those without a doctor.
Gynecomastia, like acne or baldness, is a condition that comes with the territory when it comes to using steroids for competitive bodybuilding purposes. The trade-off can be minimized, however, if the user knows beforehand that gyno is indeed an occurring side effect, and takes preventative measures to ensure its impact is minimized. Too many bodybuilders run headfirst into the steroid realm without a true understanding of the side effects. Use of PCT, along with prompt surgery when that fails, ensures that one doesn’t end up like our good friend Bob of Fight Club fame.
Esiclene And Site Injections
“All hat, no cattle” the old oilman’s phrase goes. This expression illustrates the silliness of the man who doesn’t invest wisely. In the marketing world, the phrase “all sizzle, no steak” might be appropriate to describe a similar case, of the product that looks great but doesn’t have many benefits. In the bodybuilding world, the steroid Esiclene might be somewhat similar.
Esiclene, or Formebolone, is a water-based steroid. Made in Italy and very popular among bodybuilders worldwide, it is extremely weak. Yet it remains a top choice of top professional bodybuilders. Esiclene is used strictly for short-term localized muscle swelling. This results in larger, harder muscles wherever the shot is administered.
Top professional bodybuilders have been known to take 40-80 small, targeted Esiclene shots on the day of the show, 1 to 2 hours before pre-judging begins. It is an extremely painful process, but one that they are willing to endure in order to eliminate genetically weak areas and induce swelling in certain areas to mimic muscle presence. A very small gauge needle will be used, often by two trainers at once who will symmetrically inject just a drop of oil at a time into different muscle groups in order to help them swell and harden up.
Is Esiclene use worth the risks? Too many shots and one can develop blood clots immediately. One errant shot and blood may spurt across the room when a vein is nicked. The short-term stress placed on the liver from attempting to process such a volume of oil cannot be measured. It’s extremely toxic to the liver, despite the fact that it only lasts 15 to 25 hours. For this reason, Esiclene is usually only used several times per year, on the day of the show, to create the short-term illusion of muscle.
As a local competitor at the regional or state level, Esiclene should be avoided. If you’re a national level competitor, it is, unfortunately, an evil, which you may have to pursue should you have a lacking body part holding you back from reaching the next level. If you’re just a gym rat who has no plans to compete, you should absolutely never use Esiclene – the risks far outweigh any benefits. For advanced competitors, the best advice is to use it carefully and wisely, and always have your liver enzyme levels checked following each competition in which it is used to ensure no long-term damage has been incurred.
Boldaxyl 300
CHEMICAL NAME: Boldenone Undecylenate
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: India
FORM: Injectable
ALSO KNOWN AS: EQ
USES: This is a veterinary drug used to treat horses for muscle wasting or for rehab after an injury to regain muscle and get back into regular work. There is no partner drug in the human steroid world that is equivalent, therefore there are only veterinary specifications and doses recommended. It is used for great strength and size gains and the results are rapidly received.
THE GOOD NEWS: This is a great drug that gets you hard, round, and gives you appreciable size. It isn’t a testosterone, but it’s certainly a great middle of the road size builder that is great during pre-contest cycles (more in the earlier weeks to ensure size is retained). Good news is, it’s good for both men and women, typically. Aromatization is rare and so is bloat. Not known to be liver toxic. Increased libido.
THE BAD NEWS: Boldaxyl 300 drug can be difficult to obtain, and even more difficult to ensure that it’s the real McCoy. So many fakes have been made over the years, just make sure you keep up on current snafus in the marketplace by going online frequently to check out bottle types and labeling issues. Oil production in the skin can increase, which means you’re more prone to acne. Aggression is also possible. Increased libido (depending upon how you see it – is positive or negative)
RECOMMENDATIONS: Use this drug in the off season for women and off season and pre-contest for men. Dose should be about 400mg per week injecting 2x/ week for men, or a bit higher for shorter cycles. Strength builds rapidly from the beginning, so stay as low as you can at first and then go in hard and get out. Women should use about 100-150mg per week. It’s better to inject small amounts 2x/ week than to inject the 100-150mg in one shot.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: A little water retention
FAKES: Tons. It’s always a gaff in labeling that gives it away. When EQ was really popular back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, it was knocked off every week, it seemed. Go online and check labels and read up before you buy.
EXPENSE RATING: Expensive – About $70 a bottle depending upon who sells it to you and how available it is. Men need at least 2 bottles for a cycle and women 1/2 to 1 bottle.
EFFECTIVENESS RATING: (Scale of 1-10) For it’s non-aromatizing effects, its tremendous ability to add strength and size, and for its relatively few side effects, it remains a 9 in our book!
LAST WORDS: Using it in the off season or pre-contest – either one – will produce killer results. It’s just such a great hardening agent, size keeper (when dieting) or mass builder (when eating tons of food).
How To Avoid Injury From Self Injections
Q: I just gave myself an injection into several parts of my arm. One of those has a small bruise on it. It hurts a lot and feels sore deep into the muscle. It hurt a little extra when I was doing the injection, but I did move the needle slightly. Is it anything to worry about?
A: Chances are, it’s not something to worry about if it’s just sore and there isn’t a big pustule attached to it. I’d worry if it were blowing up, causing excessive water retention around the site, seeping pus, discoloring badly or causing horrid pain in a surrounding joint. What probably happened is you hit a vein? This is really easy to do in the limbs and one of the reasons why it’s not altogether smart to site inject on a regular basis. I’d really only inject esiclene or synthol into limbs anyhow, just because site injecting drugs hasn’t really been proven to be so much more effective that it makes the risks worthwhile. I’ve known people who have had some nasty abscesses in their limbs at the site of injections all because they hit veins, inadvertently used dirty gear, or had dirt and sweat on the surface of the skin near the injection site prior to injecting.
It’s not really a good practice to get into. You can avoid hitting veins in two ways, but neither is foolproof. One, you can have someone else inject you and look for veins on the surface of the skin in places you cannot see and try to avoid them. Or, two, you can get into the good habit of aspirating to make sure you don’t inject a vein. Aspirating is simply putting the needle in and drawing back to see if you get air/suction, or blood. If you draw blood back up into the syringe, you’ve hit a vein and should re-insert the needle and try again. Always aspirate. You can hit veins in any area of the body, though it’s less likely in the hip and areas where it’s extra fleshy. Also, you mentioned that you jostled the needle when injecting, and that can also be the cause of pain. It’s also the reason why injecting your own upper limbs isn’t a good idea.
How To Determine The Right Steroid Doses For Perfect Training
For many bodybuilders, the extreme doses of steroids are the most preferred as compared to other athletes. Once the receptors have been saturated within the body muscle cell, the steroid molecules, which are left behind, are always on the look out for new target. Dysfunction of the liver, hair loss, kidney problems, acne, serious estrogen levels, lack of natural hormones within the body and aggression are always observed after a steroid dosage has been used too high.
These doses known mega doses have never resulted in any distinct strength increase or gain en-mass. For the purposes of bulking up, a person should stack testosterone well using a compound base, which may include Deca 300 or even EQ 300. For purposes of cutting up, it is wise to add up the element Proviron, since it helps one reduce or stop the build up of estrogen, amidst increasing the hardness of muscles with admirable strength plus allowing quite a vast level of testosterone.
Naturally, other compounds do lend themselves vastly well. Non-stop usage of anabolic steroids has never been recommended for any bodybuilder or sports personality. For the purposes of cutting up, a bodybuilder should use Proviron hand in hand with testosterone during the period within which stack length is in use that rarely creates a usage that does not warrant other anti-estrogenic necessities. In the first instance, huge doses, which have been taken within certain durations of time, have a tendency to have side effects increasing considerably. In addition, the high chances of body organ damage have been especially vast after oral 17-alpha steroidal alkyls have been in continual usage.
Secondly, this kind of behavior is quite dubious in that the existence of any of the effects from any steroid that has been administered does become weak after a fixed duration of time, where if used with high doses or even better with different preparations can be stopped shortly. Every steroid user must realize if a steroid is strong enough, then the effects will have a huge tendency to decrease, in that any use over long periods can only be termed as overtly foolish. For instance, with the steroid Anadrol, muscle gains or general increase in physique is however reduced within duration of 3-4 weeks.
On the other hand a steroid such as Deca 300 always has a continuous progress which could only be obtained after 10-12 weeks have elapsed. Anabolic steroids result in harmful repercussions once the preparation has been flawed or even incorrect. Steroids have never been the same. There is an open difference between the androgenic steroids which also have a potential for toxicity, for instance Anadrol, Dianabol, Methyltestosterone or even Halotestin, and some of the weaker androgenic steroids which include the predominantly anabolic steroids with reduced preparations in toxicity, for instance B. Primobolan, Andriol, Oxandrolone, Winstrol and Deca 300.
Since some of the initially mentioned steroids are the ones which have the greatest tendency to bring about many side effects, then it will be very wise to start the reduction of their natural intake, which is around six to eight weeks in a perfect row.