Anabolic Steroids 101: The Bodybuilder’s Guide

I receive regular emails from our website visitors, whether to ask a question or request more information about anabolic steroids or something I’ve written. While I love getting feedback, some of the messages that come in leave me worried and concerned! Specifically, emails from guys with no experience with steroids and who are considering trying it for the first time with no idea of the basics of steroids and their use.

First, let me say this: So many guys should NOT even be thinking about using steroids at all (yet). But I’ll talk more about this below… Most of the messages and comments I receive or see online revolve around:

• Which steroids do you recommend starting with, and what dose?
• I want fast results, and I’d rather use orals because I’m not ready to start injecting.

Hold on! There is nothing about risks. Nothing about diet. And nothing about your age, current weight, and past training experience. It’s like a broken record trying to explain the basics to some guys who don’t know what they’re getting into.

Since I do get a lot of questions and feedback from newbies that worries me (and that’s not an insult to anyone new to steroids because we’ve all been there!), I thought it was time to put together an ultimate guide to anabolic steroids. A guide that covers everything you need to know about these seriously unique but hugely influential and potentially harmful performance compounds. I’ll cover just about everything here. So read it all and take notes if you have to! OK, let’s get right into it!

Medical disclaimer: The following guide is based on personal experience and does NOT promote the illegal use of steroids (PEDs). Consult a healthcare professional before using PEDs.

Anabolic Steroids: What are They?

There are all sorts of different steroids. The category that we are most interested in contains those which are known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS)¹. Although we associate anabolic steroids with bodybuilding, that’s not why they were initially created. Anabolic steroids have long been researched and used for human medical purposes, for the treatment of conditions such as:

• Osteoporosis²
• Chronic wasting conditions³
• Burns⁴
• Hypogonadism⁵
• Breast cancer⁶

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic versions of steroid hormones such as testosterone⁷. Modified synthetic steroids can change the properties of these hormones, such as their androgenic and anabolic effects. Synthetic anabolic steroids are based on the three primary steroid hormones:

• Testosterone⁸
• Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)⁹
• Nandrolone¹⁰

With only tiny changes to the chemical structure of either of those hormones, significant changes to their effects can be made. Some are modified to increase the anabolic rating while decreasing the androgenic properties. Unmodified Testosterone¹¹ itself is used as the basis for comparing all anabolic steroids and their anabolic and androgenic activity. How does that work?

Testosterone comes with a simple anabolic-androgenic ratio of 100:100, which means it has equal anabolic and androgenic strength. Dianabol, on the other hand, is one of the most well-known testosterone-derived steroids. As a result of a slight modification to its chemical structure, Dianabol becomes a very different steroid to use compared with Testosterone.

How Do Steroids Work?

Anabolic steroids act similarly to the natural hormone testosterone, which plays a vital role in the growth of muscle tissue and strength. Those are far from the only roles of testosterone, but they’re the primary ones that attract bodybuilders and athletes to anabolic steroid use¹².

The workings of steroids in the human body are highly complex. You don’t need to be a biological scientist to understand and use steroids, but it is helpful to have a basic idea of how they work. These are some of the critical ways that steroids work:

• By increasing the protein within the skeletal muscles and other cells¹³
• By stimulating muscle growth (anabolic)¹⁴
• By blocking the binding of cortisol¹⁵ to prevent muscle tissue breakdown
• By stimulating virilizing (androgenic) effects and male sexual characteristics¹⁶ that become prominent during puberty

After you’ve taken a steroid orally or by injection, the steroid travels through your bloodstream (at a speed controlled by an attached ester, if one exists) and to the muscular tissues. Androgen receptors in the muscles receive the steroid, and once inside the muscle cell, the steroid can further stimulate protein synthesis¹⁷.

And that’s not all that makes steroids so valuable to athletes: Steroids help block the stress hormone cortisol¹⁸, which is responsible for the breakdown or loss of muscle tissue. This reduces fatigue and allows a quicker recovery.

Effects of Steroids

The powerful anabolic effects are the reason we use steroids! But what are these beneficial effects, and how do they contribute to your primary goals of gaining muscle, boosting strength, losing fat, enhancing performance, and recovering faster? Let’s check it out:

Protein Synthesis Increase

The most universal of all steroid effects is an increase in protein synthesis¹⁹, with just about every steroid promoting protein synthesis to some degree. This process involves the protein-building mechanism of cells – in other words, the basic building blocks of lean muscle tissue make it obvious why this is such a desirable effect for steroid-using bodybuilders. With a higher-than-normal rate of protein synthesis going on, your muscles can grow faster and more extensively – it sounds simple, but that’s the ultimate goal of using steroids (at least for bulking).

Enhanced protein synthesis can also aid in recovering and preserving existing muscle tissue. On a fat loss or cutting cycle where you eat less, losing muscle is a real risk. To maintain your muscle mass, you need the protein balance to remain at zero; if it falls under this, your muscle gets broken down. So, increased protein synthesis helps build NEW muscle and helps you retain the lean gains you’ve worked hard for.

Increases in Collagen Synthesis and Bone Mineral Content

Most steroids will increase collagen synthesis while strengthening the bones by boosting bone mineral levels²⁰. Increased collagen synthesis can help to:

• Relieve joint pain
• Prevent bone loss
• Increase muscle mass

Collagen also acts as an antioxidant and supports the skin and connective tissues. In other words, enhanced collagen synthesis has wide-ranging health benefits.

Steroids help boost your bone mineral storage content and increase the hardness and strength of your bones. When undertaking intensive bodybuilding and other exercise, your skeletal system comes under a lot of stress. Improving and maintaining bone strength helps your frame support the weight you lift and the increased muscle you will gain.

Increased Nutrient Partitioning

By enhancing the efficiency of how your body uses nutrients from foods (mostly carbs, proteins, and fats), each calorie you take in is used to its full potential.

Steroids play a role in optimizing the nutrient pathways of the body by effectively shuttling nutrients to muscles that are giving the signal that protein synthesis is being initiated²¹. So all those quality carbohydrates, healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals are making their way to the muscle tissue quicker and more significantly than if you were not using steroids.

You may have heard about steroids being used in cattle farming. This is because feed efficiency is increased, resulting in more muscle on the animals and less fat.

Increased Hemoglobin (Red Blood Cell Count)

Each red blood cell contains a hemoglobin protein in the center, which allows oxygen attachment. When hemoglobin levels rise, so does your red blood cell count²². The result? Increased circulation and oxygen-carrying capacity to deliver oxygen to your working muscles.

In a practical sense, you will notice muscle energy increases and your overall performance is boosted significantly:

• Higher intensity workouts
• Ability to lift heavier weights
• Workout longer and with delayed fatigue
• Anti-glucocorticoid effects

Steroids have a powerful anti-catabolic effect on muscles (after all, they are ANABOLIC steroids – the opposite of catabolic). Stress hormones like cortisol, naturally rising during intense exercise, contribute to muscle breakdown and loss.

All anabolic steroids, to a differing extent (depending on their varying anabolic and androgenic strengths), will promote anti-glucocorticoid and anti-catabolic effects by stimulating the storage of protein and construction of muscle tissue at a high level compared to the muscle being broken down. Again, this process is critical for muscle growth and preventing muscle loss during cutting cycles.

What is an Ester?

Imagine if you had to inject an anabolic steroid once, twice, three times every single day. That would have happened if there was no such thing as an ester. So what exactly does an ester do, and how does it provide benefits to you as a steroid user?

At the most basic level, the purpose of an ester is to extend the half-life and release rate of the steroid into the bloodstream²³. Most oral anabolic steroids have no ester attached. That’s why you usually have to take orals multiple times per day to maintain high levels of the steroid. That’s right: Oral steroids will be released immediately into the bloodstream.

But most injectable steroids will have a half-life ranging from 24 hours at the short end to 14 days or more. And it all comes down to the attached ester. Two well-known injectables come with no ester:

• Testosterone Suspension
• Winstrol Depot (Stanozolol)

By understanding esters, you will be in the best position to create effective steroid cycles with compounds that complement each other based on their different half-lives and onset of effects.

What is a Half-Life?

Knowing about the half-lives of steroids²⁴ will contribute significantly towards your success while using every compound! Half-life is a scientific concept that is applied to all types of drugs and substances, whether it be steroids, pharmaceuticals, or vitamins (and more).

The elimination half-life of a steroid can be defined as: “The amount of time it takes for the concentration of a drug to be reduced by half.” There’s more than one reason why you should take the time to understand steroid half-lives:

• Safety: Misunderstanding the half-life can lead to inappropriate use and stacking of steroids, leading to health risks.
• Side effects: Failure to grasp half-life can result in unnecessarily severe side effects from improper steroid use.
• Poor results: By not administering steroids at the correct intervals or not stacking correctly following different half-lives, you will not likely get the maximum possible results from a cycle.

So if you’re using an injectable steroid with a half-life of approximately eight days and take a 400mg dosage, at the 8-day mark (or thereabouts), there will be about 200mg of the steroid circulating in your body.

The half-life of steroids is not an exact science²⁵. Why? Because other factors will influence the half-life of any steroid, including your metabolism. However, the approximate half-lives that are known for all our commonly used anabolic steroids provide a solid base to plan your cycles on.

Author's Note: For real, NO-BS information on using steroids be sure to check out Straight from the Underground (my recommended underground steroid handbook). Everything in this book is based on first-hand experience, not theory.

What Affects the Different Steroid Half-Lives?

The properties of each steroid are what will mainly determine its half-life. But that’s not all! Your metabolism will also go some way in altering the half-life. In other words, you might metabolize a steroid slower or faster than the next person. So, three main factors affect the half-life of steroids:

• Route of administration²⁶
• Esterification²⁷
• Resistance to metabolism²⁸

Here’s a short overview of the importance of each one:

Route of Administration

The method of administering the steroid plays a considerable role in its half-life. Oral and injectable are the two primary options:

• Orals almost always come with a short half-life because no ester is attached to the hormone to slow its release.
• Injectable steroid half-life can be controlled through esterification (see the next point).

The fact that oral steroids pass through the liver results in the liver’s metabolism promoting a faster metabolism of the steroid – resulting in a half-life of as short as 4 hours for some oral compounds.

Esterification

However, the process of esterification (attachment of an ester) is perhaps the most critical factor in a steroid’s half-life. The bonded ester controls the speed at which the hormone is released into your body after injection. You’ll find testosterone steroids with different attached esters – some have a short half-life, and others are very long or slow-acting.

Once you’ve injected, the ester starts to detach from the hormone, and where it is a long ester, it can take a week or two before the effects of the steroid kick in. It also takes longer to exit your system once you stop injecting, and this impacts when you start PCT.

Resistance to Metabolism

Your metabolism will influence the half-life of a steroid, but not to the extent of the other points above. Your life will affect the metabolism of oral steroids, which will naturally vary between individuals. Some of the factors that can play a role in your metabolism of steroids include genetic factors, any existing disorders (such as those relating to the liver), and any other substances or medications you might be using.

What Do Steroid Half-Lives Do?

The half-life of a steroid gives you a method of working out how long that steroid will remain active in your system at a level where performance and physical benefits will be noticeable and achievable.

At the practical level, it’s the half-life of the steroid (or steroids) you plan to use in a cycle that will need to be considered when you’re planning the structure of your cycle – everything from how to combine different steroids, how often to take each one, where to place them within the cycle, and when you will start PCT after the cycle ends.

Because we bodybuilders will always aim to maintain a stable and optimal level of the steroid hormone in the bloodstream, administering a steroid more frequently than its half-life would usually require if (for example) the steroid was being used as a testosterone replacement medical treatment.

For performance enhancement, we will rarely want to wait until the steroid’s half-life is reaching a close point, as that’s when you’ll experience a drop in blood levels of the steroid and a decline in consistent performance effects.

Because our primary goal is to achieve a massive boost to strength and muscle gains (as well as other benefits), bodybuilding use of steroids comes in at the extreme end as compared to medical use – put simply, we push the barriers away and take steroids at a much higher frequency (and dosage) than their half-lives would typically dictate.

How to Properly Structure Your Cycles

The elimination half-life of each steroid you plan to use in your cycle will determine how often you need to take your dosage, whether that be your entire weekly dosage or, in some cases, splitting the dose into multiple administrations each week. So, you can see the importance of familiarity with each compound’s half-life, even if you’re going with just a single compound cycle.

A standard error is to assume that the half-life of a steroid is a firm and unchangeable number. In reality, each steroid’s half-life is an estimate only. In some cases, you will see a range of hours or even days estimating a half-life because individual factors like metabolism will always cause variations.

After you gain some experience using a particular steroid, you’ll get a good idea of when you feel the benefits decreasing. You’ll then be able to plan your cycles more precisely to gain maximum benefit from each steroid. In most cases, following the recommendations of experienced users in terms of frequency of administration is still likely to give you the best results – after all, most of the best anabolic steroids have been in use for many decades. Hundreds of thousands of people have already worked out the very best way to use them, so there’s little reason to try to reinvent the wheel.

Structuring your cycle will involve considering the half-life of every steroid being used. The goal is to administer each dose well before the half-life time occurs – otherwise, you will reach a point where benefits decrease. Below are some of the most common AAS you will come across with their anabolic/androgenic (AA) values, half-lives, and detection times:

Your steroid cycle structure might need to include either a kickstarting compound or the process of frontloading. This will be important when you’re using one or more slow acting (long ester) steroids that have long half-lives. Without a kickstart or frontloading, you will be waiting weeks to see results with steroids like Deca-Durabolin and Equipoise, which are well known for their long half-lives.

Frontloading Steroids

As bodybuilders who use steroids, one of our highest priorities is to maintain a high and constant blood plasma level of all steroids being used in a cycle. When you’re using one of the slow acting (long ester) steroids, it results in a slower build-up of the steroid over a longer period and, therefore, slower results.

One common strategy to deal with this is to include a fast-acting steroid at the start of the cycle (usually an oral steroid), which acts as the primary anabolic agent, while your slower steroids take time to kick in. This is a kick-start strategy. But a more advanced and potentially even more effective approach is to do frontloading. The main goal of frontloading is to get your blood levels of a steroid up to an optimal level as fast as possible. This, of course, lets you benefit from quicker performance effects and gains.

Mostly, we will do frontloading when using slower-acting steroids that have a longer half-life, like some of the popular testosterone esters, including Testosterone Enanthate and Testosterone Cypionate. Frontloading is an ideal strategy because these steroids can take a couple of weeks to start delivering effects.

When frontloading, you will twice or even triple your regular dose within the first week or so of using the steroid. This allows you to take advantage of the natural quick spike in hormone release upon injection, which slows down afterward and becomes more gradual. Frontloading will amplify this initial effect early on and allow you to benefit sooner from increased performance.

Typically, if you use Testosterone Enanthate at 500mg weekly (a standard dosage), it can take well over one month for your blood levels to reach the point of 500mg of the steroid. Increasing the dose is not always the best option because you’ll have additional side effects.

Frontloading Testosterone Enanthate can get your blood plasma levels up to 500mg much quicker. This involves taking a double dose of 1000mg on the first day (or whatever will be double the amount of your chosen regular dosage). On day 7, you then take 500mg. By this time, there will be about 500mg of the first dose in circulation, getting you back to 1000mg. Then continue the cycle with 500mg per week, which means you don’t have downtime at the start of the cycle while waiting for Testosterone Enanthate to reach its peak level.

With this frontloading method comes both faster results and a more rapid onset of side effects at the beginning of the cycle. Suppose you’re particularly sensitive to androgenic and other side effects. In that case, frontloading might not be for you, but it does provide an additional option for those who prefer not to undertake a kickstart using an oral steroid.

Types of Steroids

One of the big newbie mistakes is to think all steroids are the same, or at least that they’re all very similar, so it doesn’t matter which one you use. Newbs want to get ripped fast. Well, it doesn’t work like that!

And if you’re a guy under 25, you should be maxing yourself out naturally and reaching your full genetic potential before even thinking about gear. So once you ARE ready to use gear, there’s a lot to learn and understand. There are hundreds of different steroids, but not all are anabolic steroids…

Corticosteroids are another well-known group, but corticosteroids have different medical uses²⁹. They’re great for reducing inflammation and overactive immune response, but they won’t serve you for muscle growth.

So what does all this mean for you? It simply means you need to be aware of the right TYPES of steroids to use for what you’re trying to achieve. And, for us bodybuilders, it’s the anabolic steroid category that serves our needs.

We’re not through yet, though – this is just the beginning! Let’s look closer at the three types of anabolic steroids that can help produce the results for you if your goals are to get jacked, get ripped, get massive, and do so quicker than you could ever achieve without them.

To recap: The three categories below describe the three types of steroid hormones that all anabolic steroids are derived from.

Testosterone and Testosterone Derivatives

As the primary male natural steroid hormone, unmodified testosterone steroids (synthetic forms of the hormone) are usually the first place we start if using steroids for the first time.

It’s a good idea: Your body is used to testosterone. You’re simply providing it with higher doses than you’d naturally produce (yes, that can come with inadvertent side effects). But when testosterone is modified, you get some very different steroid properties. Among testosterone, some of the popular testosterone-derived steroids used for performance enhancement are as follows:

• Testosterone Cypionate (Depo-Testosterone)
• Testosterone Enanthate (Delatestryl, Xyosted)
• Testosterone Propionate (Testoviron)
• Sustanon 250 (Injectable combination of four testosterone esters)
• Dianabol (Methandrostenolone, Metandienone, Danabol, Dbol)
• Equipoise (Boldenone, EQ)
• Halotestin (Fluoxymesterone, Halo)
• Turinabol (Oral Turinabol, Tbol)

You will find that testosterone-derived steroids exhibit similar properties to testosterone. For example:

• The ability to convert (aromatize) to estrogen³⁰
• Convert to similarly strong androgens like testosterone converts to dihydrotestosterone (DHT)³¹

Dianabol’s modification from the original testosterone hormone has allowed it to be administered in oral form through the process of C17-alpha alkylation. This gives Dianabol a negative effect that we don’t get with unmodified testosterone: Liver toxicity³². However, thanks to the chemical modifications of testosterone, Dianabol has a more substantial anabolic effect and reduced androgenic activity.

That takes us to Equipoise – this testosterone-derived steroid is a modified form of Dianabol. EQ has less estrogenic activity than Dianabol, but all testosterone-derived steroids can result in the development of water retention. What does this mean for you? Testosterone derivatives are typically favored more for bulking cycles rather than cutting cycles where fluid retention is undesirable.

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and DHT Derivatives

DHT-derived steroids are prevalent, and MOST of the steroids used by bodybuilders are DHT derivatives³³. Some of the very well-known steroids based on DHT include:

• Anavar (Oxandrolone, Oxandrin, Var)
• Primobolan (Methenolone Acetate or Enanthate, Primo)
• Winstrol (Stanozolol, Winny)
• Anadrol (Oxymetholone, A-bombs, A50, Drol)
• Masteron (Drostanolone, Dromostanolone)
• Proviron (Mesterolone)
• Superdrol (Methasterone, SD)

Surprisingly, for an anabolic steroid, DHT possesses no ability to be anabolic within muscle tissue. But here’s where it gets interesting: When DHT is modified slightly, such as with Masteron, for example, it results in a steroid that’s more anabolic (even if only a little) than testosterone.

The enormous appeal of DHT-derived steroids is that they create no estrogenic activity at all, and therefore, no water retention is possible. A lot of bodybuilders prefer DHT-based steroids because of:

• Flexibility
• Versatility

This becomes obvious when we look at the list of DHT derivatives above and see they consist of some of the most widely used cutting steroids. Without the estrogenic and associated bloating, you can achieve a lean, hard, dry look that’s highly sought after and difficult or impossible to achieve with compounds that aromatize³⁴.

Nandrolone (19-Nortestosterone) and 19-Nortestosterone Derivatives

This category contains just two steroids that are available to most of us: Trenbolone and Deca-Durabolin. Other Nandrolone-based steroids have been created but are either not well-known or undesirable for various reasons. Nandrolone itself, unmodified, similar to testosterone, lacks the 19th position carbon atom, which makes it quite different in its effects compared to testosterone. Nandrolone and Trenbolone will often be called 19-nor compounds for this reason. But there’s more to know: 19-nor steroids are unique when it comes to some side effects, and they can be notorious³⁵.

With additional modifications to Nandrolone to create Trenbolone, we get a steroid that cannot interact with the aromatase enzyme. Trenbolone is famous for its substantial anabolic and androgenic ratings of 500 and 500. It makes Trenbolone, in particular, a steroid that’s rarely ideal for beginners. Despite this, Nandrolone steroids are favored by a lot of bodybuilders and athletes, just as DHT-derived steroids are. Because of the high resistance to aromatization, we can use Tren without fluid retention and gyno. But you do get a bunch of other side effects to worry about:

• Acne
• Mood and anger issues
• Tren cough
• Tren dick (testosterone shutdown)

Long Steroid Cycles

A long steroid cycle will run anywhere from 3 months up to 9 months in length. This is a long time to be using one or more steroids continuously! In other words, these cycles don’t include a break from the steroid compounds at any point, so be prepared for the long haul. You should be familiar with the pros and cons of this strategy before jumping in.

I’ll cover the good, the bad, and more about long steroid cycles here. In my experience, these cycles have their place, BUT you better have a good reason for wanting to go in this direction because it won’t be without its downsides.

Let me say this: Cycles of this length should ONLY ever be considered if you already have a ton of steroid experience and feel ready to take things to a whole new level. If you’re a noob, skip this section altogether and start at the standard and medium cycles below.

WHO is a long cycle suitable for?

Mainly for the most experienced users. Long cycles can also be more manageable for older guys or males with naturally low testosterone, with less harmful impact on testosterone production. Pros of long steroid cycles include:

• More permanent gains will depend on your dedication to working out and eating right for the ENTIRE steroid cycle. But when done well, with how your body adapts to the growing muscle mass, gains are often more permanent and less likely to drop off after the cycle.
• More time for long esters to kick in: Long-ester steroids will well and truly be at their peak on a long cycle, allowing more sustained muscle gains, particularly for the first two to three months.
• Plenty of time for blasting and cruising: A common and effective strategy to break through plateaus on a long cycle is to blast at high doses for a short time to bring on the gains, followed by cruising to maintain them.

There are plenty of potential negatives of longer-term steroid use, but here are the main things to think about:

• High cost: Even the cheapest steroids will add up to a pretty penny with months of use.
• Testosterone shutdown: The longer you use steroids, the more stress the HPTA will experience, and most often, this will lead to a shutdown. A well-planned PCT is of paramount importance after a long cycle.
• More severe side effects: It’s to be expected that many other side effects will be harder to control or worsen on a long cycle.

OK, I know what you’re thinking: The cons outweigh the pros of long cycles by a serious margin. It simply comes down to your personal goals and your tolerance for this kind of steroid use. In other words, long steroid cycles are certainly NOT for everyone, and you should take the time to weigh the pros and cons seriously before proceeding.

Primary Compounds in Long Cycles

You might use a bunch of compounds in this cycle, but one will usually be the MAIN compound that takes on the primary anabolic role for the duration of the cycle.

You generally want to go with a reliable and “safe” steroid as the primary compound, which always leads us to testosterone. Testosterone cypionate or enanthate are the two standard choices as a primary compound. There are good reasons to go with a standard long Testosterone ester as your primary compound:

• Long half-life: You can minimize injections to twice weekly with either of these esters and maintain optimal steroid levels.
• Balance of androgenic to anabolic effects: Testosterone is the standard steroid hormone with a 100:100 anabolic-androgenic ratio, so you avoid the severe androgenic effects that come with some other compounds.

Here’s a quick recap of what these androgenic and anabolic effects mean:

Androgenic effects:

• Increased male characteristics like body and facial hair growth
• Increased sex drive and aggressiveness
• Increased skin sebum production
• Prostate tissue growth
• Reduced catabolic activity
• Quicker muscle tissue repair and recovery

Anabolic effects:

• Increases in lean body mass and muscle strength
• Increased fat loss
• Increased nitrogen retention and protein synthesis
• Improved immune function
• Boosted red blood cell count
• High bone calcium deposits
• Reduced catabolic activity
• Higher retention of electrolytes

Testosterone is the steroid we all come back to because it works and does everything you need, and it’s the only steroid that most of us will want to use for a continual period, with a cycle lasting many months.

OK, so what about doses? Long-cycle testosterone dosage will range from 200mg/weekly at the low end if you’re looking for HRT only… Up to 800mg or even more at the top end when cruising on a long cycle. If you’re blasting, you’ll look at even higher doses, but I’ll cover that in the short cycle section below.

Secondary Compounds in Long Cycles

Why would you add secondary compounds to your long steroid cycle? Here are three good reasons:

• Boost your overall androgens without increasing the side effects of testosterone to unmanageable levels. Adding compounds with lower androgenic properties gives an anabolic boost without an equal increase in androgenic side effects.
• Modify your anabolic-androgenic ratio away from the standard 100:100 of testosterone so you can customize the cycle to achieve specific goals.
• Insert specific additional benefits to the cycle, such as joint support, fat burning, increased appetite, and other properties from different steroids.

Not all steroids will be suitable to use in these long cycles. The steroids that are worth looking at to include as secondary compounds are:

• Masteron Enanthate or Primobolan: Long half-lives and the ability to harden and dry the physique for a ripped look. Powerful cutting steroids that won’t add water weight to your gains.
• Equipoise and/or Deca-Durabolin: Both of these have a long half-life.

Deca and EQ combine very well with testosterone, and their estrogenic and androgenic effects are less severe. EQ and Deca can boost strength and mass gain while minimizing additional side effects.

Equipoise has the added benefits of boosting the appetite and improving stamina, vascularity, and pumps. EQ can increase blood pressure, so dosing is often set at 50-75% of the testosterone dose to reduce the cardiovascular risk.

Deca-Durabolin is a great steroid to include as a secondary compound, with well-known benefits that should be familiar with from past use:

• Deca has powerful anabolic properties with lower androgenic and estrogenic properties: Reduced hair loss, cholesterol effects, etc…
• A bonus benefit of supporting joint health, bone density and boosting collagen synthesis
• Gyno is less of a risk when Deca is not used at very high doses
• It can be injected just once weekly if desired.

One of the big reasons Deca is added to a long cycle is its exceptional benefits to the joints and bones, providing essential support when great stress is being placed on the joints and bones over many months. Joint and bone support can be why some people add Deca to a long cycle as a secondary compound. That’s how powerful this benefit is. You can still expect some downsides with Deca, though. Negative libido impacts are possible; dosage is often set at half of the testosterone dose to combat this.

We’re not through yet: There’s still Masteron and Primobolan to think about. Masteron is another steroid that is perfect as a secondary long-cycle compound. It’s derived from DHT and delivers increased muscle hardness minus the fluid retention.

Masteron won’t give you estrogen pain and can result in increased free testosterone, with users often reporting enhanced libido as a result. On the other hand, Masteron does have some androgenic downsides, so hair loss and possible prostate growth can be issues, especially when using Masteron for a longer term.

Primobolan is also a DHT-derived steroid, and it’s a good one to use in long cycles as it’s a tolerable compound with reduced androgenic effects and milder testosterone suppression.

And the downsides of Primobolan? It’s one of the more expensive steroids, so if money is tight, this might be one you’ll have to skip in a long cycle. To get the best from Primobolan, you do have to take higher doses, and this, of course, pushes the cost up further.

If the choice is between Masteron and Primobolan, most of us will go with Masteron, which can (and should) be run at a lower dose. Higher doses of Masteron can result in excessive muscle tightening; 300mg per week of Masteron will provide the best results for most users.

Ancillary Compounds in Long Cycle

We add ancillary compounds to a lengthy steroid cycle to address all expected side effects. You don’t use all of them, but make your choices based on your known sensitivities to specific side effects. Again, this is why long cycles are purely for experienced steroid users, where you already have a solid understanding of how you respond to anabolic steroids. Here are your main ancillary compounds to plan for:

• Water retention and gyno caused by water retention: Arimidex or Aromasin (aromatase inhibitors), Nolvadex, and Clomid (SERMs).
• Hair loss (male pattern baldness) caused by high DHT levels: Finasteride/Proscar. Useful for steroids that convert to DHT, but not effective against DHT-derived steroids. Dutasteride or Avodart – can block both types of 5 alpha-reductase enzymes.
• High blood pressure: Beta-blockers, diuretics, ace inhibitors. Note: Speak to your doctor before considering any medications to address blood pressure.
• Prolactin-related side effects: Mirapex, Cabergoline, Bromocriptine. Vitamin B6 can provide mild support.
• Progesterone: Winstrol (an anabolic steroid) is known as an anti-progestogenic, so it helps control gyno that’s induced by high progesterone levels.
• Shrunken testicles: HCG can mitigate this issue where follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and/or luteinizing hormone (LH) are shut down, causing nut shrinkage. It instructs the testicles to grow and produce testosterone. Only low doses are required to prevent too much stimulation of the lydig cells, which can bring about the opposite of your desired effect here.

Just how much HCG you might need depends on you as an individual: Your genetics, steroid doses, and so on.

Take note: There are two main ways of using HCG. The first in each list below is the dosage for using HCG during all or most of a cycle at a low dose. The second listed dose is when you have NOT used HCG in the cycle, and here, you will only use it for the last 2-3 weeks of the cycle.

Here’s a general HCG dosing guideline for different cycle lengths:

• Up to six weeks cycle length: No need to use HCG.
• Eight weeks cycle length: From weeks 3-8, take 250iu once every three days or once weekly 1000iu for the last two weeks of the cycle.
• Twelve weeks cycle length: From weeks 3-12, take 250iu once every three days or once weekly 1000iu for the last three weeks of the cycle.
• Sixteen weeks cycle length: From weeks 3-8, take 250iu once every three days, followed by a 2-week break, then again 250iu once every three days for weeks 11-16 or once weekly 1000iu for the last three weeks of the cycle.

Necessary: Taking an aromatase inhibitor is highly recommended if you use 1000iu HCG shots. Aromasin at 10mg or Arimidex at 0.5mg daily is ideal for controlling estrogen. Continue taking the AI for another four days after your final HCG dose, then stop.

As if that’s not enough…

When you’re using HCG during a cycle, you should stop it two weeks before your known anabolic steroid clearance time. This is for reasons relating to PCT. It ensures once you start PCT, steroids will be cleared from the body, and your last HCG shot would have been two weeks ago (this is if your primary compound is one of the testosterone esters mentioned above).

This strategy speeds up your natural testosterone recovery and provides a good reason why using HCG on-cycle is so beneficial! Put simply, the use of HCG following one of the above strategies ensures you start recovering your testosterone production as soon as you begin your PCT.

Post-Cycle Therapy (PCT) for Long Cycles

PCT is used to speed up the restoration of your natural testosterone production after it’s been suppressed or even entirely shut down when you use anabolic steroids. Without PCT, you will suffer from low testosterone symptoms, which can be life-ruining, to say the least.

There are two main ways to go about doing PCT:

• Testosterone Taper: This strategy provides a more gentle adjustment back to normal testosterone function by only taking in a natural baseline level of exogenous testosterone. Then, you gradually drop the level while your body adjusts and increases its test production.
• HCG + SERM: HCG gives a rapid boost, and then the SERM will increase FSH and LH levels to keep things moving until you’re back to normal.

These are some other options for using HCG:

• On-cycle at a dose of 250iu (maintenance dose)
• Higher doses at the end of the cycle for the last few weeks – Four shots about five days apart, tapering dosage is an effective strategy (starting at 3000iu for the first two, then 1500iu for the final two shots).

When you start exactly depends on the esters used and their clearing time. Still, the standard Testosterone enanthate or similar length Test ester usually sees a 2-week clearing time following your final steroid shot. After that, you use SERMs for 3-4 weeks. SERMs are best taken when most of the steroid is out of your system; otherwise, it won’t combat the strong suppression.

So that means:

• If using Nolvadex, start at 80mg/daily on day one, then halve the dose to 40mg for a week, and the final 2-3 weeks on 20mg daily.
• Use Clomid in a tapered dosing schedule of 200mg on day 1, then drop to 150mg for 3-4 days. Drop again to 100mg daily for one week, then down to 50mg daily for another two weeks.

Long Cycles: Putting it all together

So what about an essential road map to see what a TRT and a very long cycle look like? There’s more than one way to go about it, but this is just one plan to consider to understand how it works.

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT continuous use):

• Testosterone Cypionate: 150mg (once every four days)
• Arimidex: 0.25mg (once every four days)
• HGH: 2iu ED (Monday – Friday)

Now for a very long cycle example for experienced users only:

• Weeks 1-20: Deca-Durabolin 200mg (once every four days)
• Weeks 1-36: Testosterone Cypionate 500mg (once every four days), Masteron Enanthate 200mg (once every four days)
• Weeks 1-39: Arimidex 0.5mg EOD (tapered in last two weeks to 0.25 EOD)
• Weeks 1-52: HGH 4iu every other day, 40mcg IGF-1/D every other day (post-workout)

PCT

• Weeks 37-42: Testosterone Cypionate 50mg twice weekly
• From week 43, start reducing each shot by 5mg until you reach 0mg.

Standard Steroid Cycles

Standard steroid cycles are often the starting point for new users but are also a staple in the strategy of experienced bodybuilders. The results achieved over a 10–12-week standard cycle can be fantastic (provided you work hard in the gym). It’s also not an overwhelming length of time to commit to using steroids.

WHO is a standard cycle best for?

A standard cycle is perfect for just about anyone! Think about it for a minute: 10 to 12 weeks provides enough time to see great results while not being an excessive period to use steroids and deal with the associated side effects.

You can use this cycle length for both bulking and cutting, and it gives you massive flexibility in terms of what compounds you can use and how to stack them to achieve the specific goals you have in mind. But let me say this: Regardless of your gear, your training and diet will impact your results most.

Pros of standard cycles include:

• 10-12 weeks is perfect for gaining lean muscle. The cycle ends when you often see a diminish or plateau in gains. What does this mean for you? You won’t have to employ extreme tactics to push through stagnation (although you can certainly do things to take gains to the next level if desired).
• Longer-acting compounds have enough time to provide maximum results, and you’ll have enough time to use fast-acting steroids to bring on quick gains at the start of the cycle.
• You don’t waste time using gear when your gains are unproductive. Instead, the cycle stops, and the steroids clear your system so you can plan the next cycle to make more gains after a recovery period.

If you’re going to do recurring cycles, your off-cycle time should be at least equal to the length of the cycle itself. This allows a full HPTA recovery (aided by PCT) and a sufficient break from all steroids before getting back to another cycle.

But that’s just one side of the story… The big consideration with these standard cycles is making progress over a long period – years if that’s your goal. Each cycle should take you forward, not having you backtrack to make up for lost gains.

What does this mean for you? It means you need to learn how to recover fully in between cycles. This is just as important as the cycle itself! A 10-12 week standard cycle should give you two cycles each year with enough recovery time in between.

How much you gain and maintain after each cycle will come down to personal factors, but even a 5-10lbs maintainable gain from each cycle will accumulate over the years. The time scale of 10 to 12 weeks makes it possible to combine virtually any compounds with different length esters, essentially allowing you to tailor either a bulking or cutting cycle according to your personal goals.

What about HCG?

It starts to become possible to use HCG throughout a cycle of this length, but most guys will not need or want to use it for so long and instead use HCG towards the end of the cycle. Another option is the testosterone tapering strategy.

There are some disadvantages to standard length cycles, although for most users, the benefits are going to outweigh these well-known but usually manageable issues:

• There’s more than enough time for side effects to develop and become more prominent, so you must proactively combat each compound’s adverse effects.
• You’re almost sure to experience shutdown, so HCG will be used to recover natural testosterone and/or SERMs such as Clomid and Nolvadex.
• If you use higher doses or expensive steroids or add additional products like peptides and HCG, your costs can rise quickly.

These disadvantages of a standard length cycle are to be expected with steroid use, and they are aspects that anyone intending to use steroids should be well familiar with before proceeding!

Primary Compounds in Standard Cycles

Just like long cycles, you will almost always look at using one of the most popular forms of testosterone for a standard cycle: Test Propionate, Enanthate, Cypionate, or even the Sustanon blend, which can be the primary compound. Of course, only ONE is required.

This is why any of these testosterone steroids work perfectly as the primary standard cycle compound:

• Testosterone is the go-to anabolic for solid mass gains and strength
• A balanced anabolic-androgenic ratio means side effects aren’t at the extreme end
• Enhances the libido and overall well-being

The only time you might consider using other compounds as the primary is when you use HCG throughout the cycle due to the way HCG will be able to maintain your regular base testosterone levels rather than relying on the testosterone steroid. However, that would be more of an advanced strategy that you’d want a specific reason to follow. Most users will be satisfied with the standard testosterone primary compound.

You might be wondering about typical doses for the primary compound in a standard cycle. The range can be huge, depending on what you’re trying to get out of the cycle! Anywhere from 300mg to 2000mg per week of any of the above testosterone steroids can be effectively used in a standard cycle.

At the lower end, below 500mg, you’re looking at testosterone replacement and some noticeable boost to energy, strength, recovery, and gains. However, taking at least 500mg weekly is standard, often increasing to 1000mg for significant gains. Rarely will it be necessary to extend the Test dosage to anywhere near 2000mg.

Why not? The side effects will start to overtake the benefits at that point. You’re almost always better off adding secondary compounds instead of taking an excessive testosterone dose.

Secondary Compounds in Standard Cycles

There are almost limitless choices for your secondary compound in a standard cycle. The most common choices include:

• Dianabol (oral)
• Deca-Durabolin
• Anadrol (oral)
• Trenbolone
• Masteron
• Winstrol (oral)
• Primobolan

Your choices will be made based on whether bulking or cutting is your primary goal.

Bulking

You can add a whole range of bulking steroids as a secondary (and even third) compound, including both orals and injectables.

Dianabol is an oral steroid that brings with it some severe downsides like gyno, water retention (quite a lot of it), and associated issues with blood pressure. But Dbol is popular for good reasons. It’s fast-acting, kickstarts the cycle, and you’ll see considerable size and strength gains in the early weeks. But there’s also this to think about with Dianabol: Being a 17aa oral steroid, it’s hepatotoxic, so its use must be limited in time to avoid severe stress on the liver. Six weeks is a standard protocol for Dbol use, and it is placed at the beginning of the cycle for a serious kickstart.

Another powerful oral steroid works well as a secondary compound: Anadrol (or Drol for short). Anadrol is also a 17aa oral steroid based on DHT, which can give some similar results to DBol but often requires higher dosing (over 50mg daily and up to 150mg, compared to a max of 60mg for Dianabol). Expect a rise in estrogen levels with Drol, leading to gyno and water retention. Using an AI should keep most estrogen issues under control.

Deca and EQ (Boldenone) will also be solid choices for a secondary bulking compound. When combined with any Test ester, gains can be substantial and only limited by your commitment to your diet and workouts!

One of the biggest challenges in a standard bulking cycle is controlling water weight, maintaining gains through effective anti-estrogens, and implementing PCT.

Cutting/Lean Mass

Again, we are spoiled when choosing secondary compounds for a 12-week cutting cycle. Choices will always depend on personal goals, but in most cases, we look to gain some lean mass while dropping body fat and ideally doing so without fluid retention. What you want out of a cutting is:

• Fat loss
• Muscle hardness
• Vascularity
• Strength

How extreme you want to go depends on you. Competing, or just for your own physique goals? Your diet and training will shape your results just as much as your chosen compounds. Masteron and Primobolan are two firm favorites as secondary standard cutting cycle compounds. But there are so many other options. Some of my faves are:

• Trenbolone (yes, it’s great for cutting)
• Winstrol
• Proviron

Let’s talk about Trenbolone: Tren is injectable and comes in two esters – enanthate and acetate. It’s a powerful mass and strength builder, often used for bulking but perfect for lean mass gains in a cutting cycle thanks to its lack of estrogen conversion and associated water retention.

The great things about Trenbolone are:

• Powerful protein synthesis
• Anti-catabolic to avoid muscle loss while cutting
• Fat burning effects
• Superb for body recomposition

Then there’s some of the downsides of Tren to consider:

• Highly suppressive of natural testosterone
• Can destroy the libido
• Prolactin levels can increase
• Potentially substantial negative impacts on cholesterol
• A long list of potential side effects according to dosage includes insomnia, mood changes, hair loss, acne, etc.

Trenbolone is more of an advanced compound that should only be considered if you’re a confident steroid user! The side effects can be packed, so you should be familiar with them before proceeding. But how can you minimize the side effects of Trenbolone?

Three ways:

• Keeping the dose to the minimum effective level (max 100mg daily recommended)
• Limiting your duration of use
• Stacking it with aromatizing steroids (as you will if you use testosterone as the primary) to prevent a crash of estrogen levels.

You’ll also need to watch prolactin levels with Tren. Heightened prolactin will kill your sex drive, although this issue doesn’t affect everyone who uses Tren. A prolactin antagonist will be your friend when on Tren.

We’re not through yet: There’s Winstrol to consider. Winny is famed for its excellent cutting effects. Winstrol comes in oral and injectable forms and is based on DHT. The lack of water retention makes it perfect for cutting and getting that dry, hard physique. As a bonus, it provides a strength increase and a nice boost to protein synthesis.

There are, of course, some negatives to Winstrol, such as:

• Suppressive to natural testosterone
• Toxic to the liver (in oral form)
• Negative changes to cholesterol
• It can cause joint and ligament pain and discomfort.

It’s best to use Winstrol for shorter durations or switch it out for Masteron if you want to run it for an entire standard cycle.

Then, we have Proviron. Proviron is another compound worthy of consideration for a standard cutting cycle. It’s also a DHT-derived oral steroid, but it’s considered one of the more milder compounds.

Proviron is a steroid that has some specific uses, namely, how it helps increase free testosterone. Proviron is useful for longer cycles where you want to reduce estrogen concerns, add some muscle definition, or help boost the libido. It is even included as a PCT compound because of its minimal adverse effect on luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones.

No steroid comes without downsides, and this is what to be aware of with Proviron:

• Liver toxic; not to a considerable degree, but still a possibility
• DHT-related side effects like male pattern baldness and prostate enlargement (BPH)

Whether you use Primobolan, Winstrol, Proviron, Trenbolone, or Masteron, you will experience some nice strength gains, and you’ll benefit from minor to no water weight being added, making these secondary compounds perfect for cutting and lean mass cycles where muscle hardness and dryness is a priority.

Stacking

Combining the primary and secondary compounds into a standard cycle stack makes for a powerful cycle. Still, depending on your experience level, you might consider stacking more compounds for more significant results. It’s important not to stack any steroids together randomly. You need to have a purpose! You need to know about the properties of each compound so you can determine what benefits (and downsides) each one will bring to the cycle and how different compounds can complement each other.

Whichever compounds you decide to stack together, you get this benefit: Higher doses and more powerful effects, often without producing a level of side effects that would come with massively increasing the dose of just one compound. You might want both DHT and testosterone qualities in a cycle, or you might want to construct a cycle that minimizes side effects that you’re genetically prone to, such as hair loss or high blood pressure.

Kickstarting

Kickstarting a cycle involves making use of very fast-acting compounds. Usually, this will be orals, but some short ester injectables are also helpful. Since we’ll usually use a slower-acting steroid (such as an enanthate or cypionate ester) as the primary compound in a standard cycle, it’s a perfect cycle length to consider a kickstart.

Think about it: Why wait weeks for results to kick in if you can get off to a flying start within the first few days of the cycle? While the short-acting steroid takes off, the longer-acting primary compound takes time to start delivering effects after two to three weeks.

The best oral kickstart compounds are:

• Dianabol
• Anadrol
• Winstrol

Or, if you prefer injectables, you can look at:

• Masteron Propionate
• Testosterone Propionate

Ancillary Compounds in Standard Cycles

You can use most of the ancillary compounds mentioned above in the long cycles section. You must consider the cycle length, which will change how you use things like peptides here. Also, you won’t need the long-term HGH use on a 12-week cycle, but it helps enhance gains during the cycle (as are others like IGF).

You will also find peptides useful for PCT due to their effects on performance and providing some anti-catabolic protection without the negative impact on recovering your HPTA functionality.

Here’s why: You run a high risk of being in a catabolic state after a cycle and during the PCT stage because of low testosterone. This can cause you to lose muscle and those hard-earned gains from your cycle. So even a low dose of HGH at around 12iu per week will have great value in helping you maintain those gains.

There’s room to move with experimentation once you’re a more confident user. IGF and HGH combinations are often discussed, especially using them on particular cycle days, such as after weight training. Higher doses of HGH combined with standard doses of IGF show promising results, including improvements in gains, while it can be hit-and-miss to use IGF during PCT. Only through experimentation will you know what the best protocol is for you.

But here’s the kicker: If you’re going to be doing regular 12-week cycles, then your protocol for peptides is just as crucial as the steroids you use! Your goal will be to create new muscle fibers (hyperplasia) alongside an increase in muscle mass (hypertrophy). Plus, peptides and ancillaries will provide valuable PCT assistance to maintain more of these gains between cycles.

Standard Cycles: Putting it all together

There are dozens of combinations and cycle plans you can go with. Here’s just one example of a standard 12-week cycle, including ideas for beginner, moderate, and heavy users.

Basic standard cycle:

• Weeks 1-4: Dianabol 30mg daily (split into three doses)
• Weeks 1-10: Testosterone Enanthate 250mg every three days
• Weeks 8-12: Proviron 50mg daily

PCT

• Nolvadex 40mg daily for week 12, drop to 20mg daily weeks 13-15. Optionally: Tribulus for weeks 16-20.

Moderate Standard Cycle:

• Weeks 1-4: Anadrol 150mg daily (split into three doses)
• Weeks 1-12: Testosterone Enanthate 400mg every three days
• Weeks 1-9: Deca-Durabolin 200mg every three days
• Weeks 8-12: Winstrol 50mg daily
• Weeks 1-14: Arimidex 0.25mg daily (take every other day in the final two weeks)

PCT

• Weeks 12-14: HCG 5000iu every five days (twice), decrease to 2500iu every five days for another two shots.
• Weeks 15-17: Clomid 150mg daily for the first week, 100mg daily for the second week, and 50mg daily for the third week.

Heavy Standard Cycle:

• Weeks 1-10: Testosterone Prop 100mg daily, Masteron Prop 50mg daily, Trenbolone Acetate 100mg daily
• Weeks 1-11: Arimidex 0.5mg daily (except final week, to be taken every other day), HCG 250iu every three days. Optional: IGF-1 40mcg every other day post-workout.

PCT

• Testosterone Propionate tapered from weeks 12 to 20.
• Start at 30mg every other day for the first four weeks.
• In the final four weeks, reduce the dosage by 5mg weekly.

Medium Steroid Cycles

Medium cycles are helpful when you have a specific reason for doing a cycle of this length in the 6-8 weeks. And there are two main reasons why you would run a medium-length cycle instead of a standard cycle. These are:

• Blast cycles: A medium cycle can be either a portion of a longer continuous cycle or can be used as a standalone blast cycle.
• Cutting or lean mass cycles: An intensive 6-8 week lean mass or cutting cycle where you commit to a strict diet and workout can deliver some extreme results. But this type of cycle is hard work and requires a total commitment to reap the rewards.

The idea of a medium cycle blast is to use high doses (sometimes very high doses, for experienced users only) for the short term to get quick gains, break through a plateau, and reduce side effects from those high doses to a minimum. This means you’ll use fast-acting compounds – either orals or short-ester injectables.

You can find a lot of advantages from a medium-length cycle of 6-8 weeks, but let’s look at three upsides:

• Limiting side effects: By limiting the amount of time you’re on steroids to no more than two months, side effects have less time to develop and worsen. That doesn’t mean you will not get any side effects; some can take only days to rear their head. But things like gyno, liver toxicity, blood pressure, and so on can be limited in their severity when you’re on this shorter cycle. You’re still likely to experience testosterone shutdown, though, unless you’re using only mild compounds. Still, you can usually get away with a shorter PCT to get testosterone levels back on track.
• Optimal for muscle gain: A cycle of between 6 and 8 weeks is perfect for gaining muscle using orals and short-ester injectables because they start kicking in within the first few days. This means your gains come on quicker, and you can avoid hitting a wall where gains diminish or plateau, which is often the case after the 8-week mark. Instead of slugging through a plateau, it can be better to clear the steroids out of your system after the 6-8 week period, go through a recovery period, then prepare for another cycle for more gains. With this routine, you can fit in three quality medium-length cycles yearly.
• On-cycle HCG: Medium-length cycles make it a viable option to use HCG to maintain your primary testicular function, with 6 to 8 weeks not being excessive. Your FSH and LH should be able to recover relatively quickly if you use HCG at moderate dosage levels. It also results in a quick and easy Clomid or Nolvadex-based PCT of 3-4 weeks max, starting within a few days of your final injection.

Yes, you will find some downsides to medium-length cycles. But for most experienced users, these aren’t deal breakers and are just things you expect to deal with when using steroids. The two main cons of medium-length cycles are:

• Limited selection of steroids: You need to use steroids that will provide results within six weeks and no more than eight weeks. That means fast-acting, short-ester compounds. It means oral steroids.
• Testosterone shutdown: When you’re a seasoned steroid user, you’ll always be prepared for significant testosterone suppression and possible shutdown, so this is no surprise.

There’s no use in using slow injectable esters that take weeks to show effect when you only run them for two months or less. So, while this limits your steroid options, there is no shortage of excellent compounds. But with the use of often very suppressive compounds on these medium-length cycles, you can expect complete or close to total shutdown. HCG can alleviate this somewhat, but PCT will still be required.

Primary Compounds in Medium Cycles

One dominant compound used for a 6–8-week cycle is testosterone Propionate. Here’s why:

• Testosterone always works well
• Fast acting ester
• Balanced androgenic-anabolic ratio to avoid extreme side effects
• Libido and well-being are enhanced
• Effective for blasting and cutting
• There are minimal negative aspects besides more painful and frequent injections.

Typically, you inject Test Prop daily, at anywhere from 50mg to 300mg, depending on your goals. You’re not tied into using Testosterone propionate as the primary compound – you can certainly take other approaches. This includes:

• HCG use: When using HCG throughout the cycle, it becomes possible to use other primary compounds. This is because the HCG is taking care of your base testosterone levels. In this case, you could look at a Winstrol and Trenbolone stack as the main compounds.
• Continuous cycle: The 6-8 week cycle could be part of a much longer continuous cycle where your primary compound is a longer ester like Testosterone Enanthate or Cypionate. In this case, your medium cycle would be a blasting cycle using the faster-acting compounds.
• Mild compounds: Suppose you’re not using very suppressive compounds. In that case, you might not need a higher dose of testosterone as a primary compound (Primobolan and Anavar are two examples of milder compounds).

Some will choose a Dianabol-only cycle for six weeks, with that oral steroid not being hugely suppressive, but it does have the downside of producing a lot of water weight. This cycle type can be done at 20mg to 100mg daily.

On the other hand, you can look at Anavar-only cycles as well as a deviation from using testosterone as the primary compound. Anavar-only 6-8 weeks cycles could be between 40mg and 100mg daily dosing, with less suppression than Dianabol. But you won’t get massive gains with Var like you can with Dbol. Anavar is superb for fat-burning and drying out the physique, though, so if that’s your goal, it’s the go-to compound.

Then there’s Primobolan to consider as the sole compound, running at anywhere from 350mg to 600mg weekly. Primo helps maintain muscle mass on a cutting diet but is likely to cause relatively high suppression at higher doses, and that’s the point where you’d also get the strength and lean mass gains. Primobolan is generally not considered the best sole compound for this length cycle because you would typically want to use it for more than eight weeks.

Secondary Compounds in Medium Cycles

You could use just about any short injectable ester or oral steroid as a secondary compound in a 6 to 8-week cycle. The typical choices are Anadrol, Winstrol, Trenbolone Acetate, Masteron Prop, Dianabol, and Anavar.

Cutting/Lean Mass Compounds

This type of cycle will be focused on fat-burning and adding strength. I’ll concentrate on NPP and Anavar here because I already covered Winstrol, Primo, Tren, and Masteron above.

Oxandrolone (Anavar) is a 17aa oral steroid that gives you an excellent strength boost with minimal size gains and little or no water retention.

Anavar will promote fat loss and comes with some advantages for recovery. Side effects are easily controlled, with no estrogenic sides, no hair loss, and suppression is kept to a minimum. As if that’s not enough, you can get away with no PCT and often no need for any ancillary compounds.

But wait, let me tell you something…

Anavar is hepatotoxic but not to the same level as other orals like Dianabol. You will want to limit Anavar’s use to 6-8 weeks, which is why it’s excellent for medium-length cycles. Doses are optimal from 40 to 100mg daily, depending on your desired goals. If you plan to stack it with any compounds that will suppress you anyway, it’s possible to take up to 150mg daily.

In my opinion, it’s best to use Anavar in milder cycles where you can minimize suppression while maintaining your gains. And while those gains won’t be massive, they will be steady and reliable.

But there’s more:

NPP (Nandrolone phenylpropionate) is Deca-Durabolin with a short ester, so you get much the same effects as Deca, but they come on faster.

One difference many users notice is that NPP is a little weaker in its actions, including the good and bad effects. So often, there are fewer gains and strength and reduced water weight and suppression. A bonus is joint support; for some of us, this is the main reason to add NPP to the cycle. NPP is a pretty mild compound useful in cutting cycles, and you will find the gains not challenging to maintain (potentially due to less water retention). Dosing of NPP will typically be in the 50mg to 200mg daily range.

Blasting

As I’ve already detailed, blasting for size and strength is nearly identical to using Anadrol or Dianabol as a kickstart in longer cycles. What might change is your training and diet to tweak the results according to personal goals. You can’t go wrong with Dianabol or Anadrol for a blasting phase or any other compounds mentioned above for cutting cycles.

Stacking

We can usually increase the doses in a stack for a cycle of this length, but it will depend on your tolerance for each compound and the associated side effects. The main difference for stacking in this cycle is that you can use orals alone or as part of a stack for the whole cycle, thanks to their shorter cycle length.

You can get away with stacking orals together – for example, Anadrol and Winstrol. I still mostly prefer injectables to avoid hepatotoxicity, Anavar being one exception. But if you don’t like injecting, then orals are still a perfectly viable option.

Ancillary Compounds in Medium Cycles

You can use the same ancillary compounds as the 10-12 week cycle plans, although you won’t get some benefits that need a longer cycle. Fat loss from longer-term HGH use comes to mind. However, you can consider adding something like Clenbuterol or even T3 (Cytomel) or T4 if you’re an advanced and confident user who wants to ramp up fat burning.

Medium Cycles: Putting it all together

A 6-8 week cycle can take on countless different forms. Below are just a few samples to give you an idea of what you could do. Some of these also include PCT protocol suggestions.

Mild Oral Cycle:

• Weeks 1-6: Dianabol 30mg daily (split into three doses), OR Anavar 60mg daily (split into three doses)

Mild Cutting Cycle:

• Weeks 1-6: Primobolan 200mg every three days, Winstrol 25mg daily
• Weeks 9-12: Tribulus

Oral Stack:

• Weeks 1-6: Anadrol 100mg daily (split into two), Winstrol 50mg daily (split into two)
• PCT: Nolvadex or Clomid for three weeks

Moderate Lean Mass Cycle:

• Weeks 1-8: Testosterone Prop 100mg every other day, Trenbolone Acetate 75mg every other day, Masteron Prop 50mg every other day, Arimidex 0.25mg every other day, HCG 250iu every three days
• PCT weeks 9-12: Clomid or Nolvadex

Blast Cycle:

• Weeks 1-8: Testosterone Cyp 150mg every three days, Testosterone Prop 200mg daily, NPP 100mg daily, Arimidex 0.5mg daily
• Weeks 9+: Continue regular cruise cycle or TRT doses

Short Steroid Cycles

Short cycles run briefly, usually just 2-3 weeks. This gives you very little time to gain the benefits of any steroid. This means such a short cycle will be favored by people with specific reasons to run a cycle of this length rather than a standard one.

This typically includes:

• Blitz cycles – Like blast cycles, you’ll want a good amount of steroid experience before trying this. It involves high-intensity use of steroids and other compounds combined with extreme training. This usually takes place over just two weeks. So you go all out during that very short period, using powerful steroids and additional compounds like T3, HGH, IGF-1, and even insulin optionally. You over-train on a blitz cycle at a level that couldn’t be maintained for much longer than two weeks. It causes a shock to the body, resulting in rapid growth. You can continue to build on that growth once the blitz cycle ends.
• Steady gains cycles – A short, steady gain cycle is ideal if you’re not aiming for a significant body recomposition, huge mass gains, or major fat loss. You should already be in decent shape from previous fitness work. In some cases, this sort of cycle is going to be ideal for someone who wants to achieve more subtle results without receiving the kind of attention you get from more intense steroid use. Steady gain cycles are often repeated – so you will do two or three weeks and then take a three or four-week break before restarting another cycle. Want to know the best part? The gains will be slow, steady, and reliable, so you need patience and realistic expectations. However, the benefits include not being exposed to severe side effects that come with higher doses and continual steroid use. This means faster recovery and more easily maintainable gains in the long run.

Although the results are very different, whether you do a short blitz or steady gains cycle, the cycle design, as well as the pros and cons of each, are going to be similar:

• Minimal side effects and shutdown: There’s hardly enough time for your testosterone to become suppressed on this short cycle, and you will likely find the cycle ends before the testicles begin to shrink in size. This means your levels of FSH and LH rebound quickly, and some will even find that natural testosterone INCREASES in the weeks following the cycle, resulting in some additional gains even after you’ve stopped using the steroids. This short cycle limits the severity of side effects as there’s not enough time to develop to a high level. You can still see temporary issues like increased blood pressure, or if you’re using high doses, you might see early gyno development or some acne. Even using orals is not likely to cause liver toxicity.
• Subtle and gradual gains: Are you looking to make some nice gains without people wondering if you’re on gear? There are many reasons why some of us want to do that, and it’s possible in these cycles. So, instead of gaining 20lbs in two months, you might gain that amount in around one year, raising fewer questions from the people around you.
• Consistency: Everything about this cycle is consistent: Diet and training can remain similar throughout the year, and there are no ups and downs in mood, libido, or other areas. Your focus stays consistent, so motivation is not likely to dip, making it easier to stick with your plan and goals.

There are very few downsides here, but you will want to consider the following:

• Limited steroid options: The short cycle will limit your selection of compounds to those of the fastest-acting types. So that’s short ester injectables and orals to get benefits within two to three weeks and prevent continued testosterone suppression post-cycle.
• Limits to gains: How much you can realistically gain within this short time frame is limited. How much should you reasonably expect to gain? Anywhere from just 1lbs to 3lbs is realistic regarding pure muscle gain. If any water weight is involved, your weight might increase 10lbs or even more, but it’s mostly fluid. There’s no time needed to fit in enough workouts and allow the body to recover and grow substantially in three weeks or less.

Compounds in Short Cycles

With a 2 to 3-week maximum time to work with, you’re unlikely to suffer from any severe testosterone shutdown, so you can choose from some of the best short-acting/fast ester injectable steroids and oral steroids, which take effect quickly. So, which injectables should you look at?

The old standard is Testosterone Prop as a primary or base compound. The effects of this short-ester version of testosterone are powerful and will show up during this short cycle. Take Testosterone Prop at 100-300mg daily, depending on your goals. Sometimes, orals will be stacked with Test Prop if you want to dose the injection at the lower end. There are several other fast-acting injectables you can consider if you want to stack something with testosterone:

• Nandrolone (NPP)
• Masteron Prop
• Trenbolone Acetate + HCG (to avoid shutdown)

NPP doses will usually be the same or less than your testosterone dose. Running NPP as a sole compound is not recommended, but it works well with testosterone.

Masteron Propionate works well with testosterone, and while it can bring about some muscle tightness, at moderate doses of no more than 75mg daily, you’ll see a nice boost to muscle hardness and strength.

Trenbolone acetate is one of the more challenging compounds you could use in this short cycle. Tren Ace is robust and works quickly, but at the same time, it will be pretty suppressive even during this short-term use. So, to use Tren Ace in this cycle, it’s recommended to add HCG at a low dose of around 500iu weekly (split into two administrations per week).

But there’s more: You can exclusively use orals at a higher dose for this short time. Favorites like Dianabol, Winstrol, Anadrol, and Anavar are all going to be effective:

• Using Dianabol alone is best done at 50mg to 100mg daily.
• Winstrol is better when stacked with Dianabol or Anadrol at up to 100mg daily.
• Anadrol on its own is dosed at 100mg to 200mg daily.

An Anavar-only cycle will deliver relatively weak results as it’s a mild steroid but could help get through a plateau when taken at up to 120mg daily.

Stacking

Stacking in these short cycles is essential since you’re already getting the maximum of each compound. By combining them, you benefit from a higher level of androgens without necessarily increasing the risk of side effects. Any of the above-recommended stacks, for example, the Dianabol/Winstrol stack, will provide satisfactory results.

Ancillary Compounds in Short Cycles

You won’t be as concerned about using ancillary compounds during these short cycles, but if you want to go ahead with some, you will look at the same compounds mentioned for the other longer cycles.

So how would it work? HGH would need to be taken at a high dose to make it worthwhile. Ideally, you’d combine it with IGF-1, which does better in this 2–3-week duration. You can look at T3 and insulin for the more hardcore, but only if you know what you’re doing with those compounds.

Short Cycles: Putting it all together

As always, there are countless ways you can put together a short 2 to 3-week cycle, so these are just a few examples. Between these short cycles, you can use Clomid or Nolvadex if you’re worried about LH and FSH levels, but most of the time, they rebound well.

Orals only: This is a two-week on, two-week off cycle. Preferably with a 4-week off break after two complete cycles:

• Weeks 1-2: Anadrol 150mg daily, Winstrol 75mg daily (split doses into three)
• Weeks 3-4: Off
• Weeks 5-6: Anadrol 150mg daily, Winstrol 75mg daily (split doses into three)
• Weeks 7-8: Off
• Weeks 9-10: Anadrol 150mg daily, Winstrol 75mg daily (split doses into three)
• Weeks 11-14: Off

Injectables only: for optimal recovery, this is a three-week on, four-week off-cycle program:

• Weeks 1-3: Testosterone Prop 75mg daily, NPP 50mg daily
• Weeks 4-7: Off
• Weeks 8-10: Testosterone Prop 75mg daily, NPP 50mg daily
• Weeks 11-14: Off
• Weeks 15-17: Testosterone Prop 75mg daily, NPP 50mg daily
• Weeks 18-25: Off

No Testosterone cycle:

• Weeks 1-2: Trenbolone Acetate 100mg daily, Winstrol 75mg daily (split into three), HCG 250iu twice weekly
• Weeks 3-4: Off
• Weeks 5-6: Trenbolone Acetate 100mg daily, Winstrol 75mg daily (split into three), HCG 250iu twice weekly
• Weeks 7-8: Off
• Weeks 9-10: Trenbolone Acetate 100mg daily, Winstrol 75mg daily (split into three), HCG 250iu twice weekly
• Weeks 11-14: Off

Blitz Cycle:

• Weeks 1-2: Testosterone Prop 150mg daily, Trenbolone Acetate 100mg daily, Dianabol 50mg daily (split into 3-5 administrations), HGH 2iu four times per day, IGF-1 40mcg after workout, Insulin 6iu before workout, 6iu after workout, T3 25mcg twice daily (continue using at tapered down dose during week 3), Letrozole 2mg daily
• Weeks 3-10: Off

What if you want to keep steroid usage on the down low?

If you’re one of the many people who want to know what sort of cycle to run when you want to keep your steroid use on the down low and keep your results more subtle.

Why do this? There are plenty of reasons, mostly revolving around attracting attention to potential steroid use, whether at work, by family and friends, or in sporting pursuits. Whatever your reasons for wanting to fly under the radar, I have two recommendations:

• 2-week cycles
• TRT

2-Week Steroid Cycles

These are two-weeks on, three-weeks off, two-weeks on, and four-weeks off cycles. Short-acting and fast-working compounds on a short cycle will provide small and gradual gains over time. Compounds include orals, Testosterone Prop, Trenbolone Acetate, Masteron Prop, and NPP.

With this short duration cycle, you can get away with taking higher doses and avoiding the worst side effects, with the main limiting factor being avoiding bloat/water retention. The total dose should be 500mg to 1400mg considering the compounds.

You can stick to compounds that cause little to no water retention, like orals Anavar or Turinabol. Another option is a Winstrol/Anadrol low-dose stack. Dianabol is tempting to use, but it does not give more subtle results, and water retention will also be an issue.

So, what can you do about bloating?

Keeping it as minimal as possible is the goal, and you can use low doses of something like Arimidex to lower estrogen. Some people like to add a vitamin C supplement at high doses. If you can’t get AIs, Nolvadex will still relieve water retention. Diet is also essential to promote a dry physique on these cycles – high protein and good fats, low carbs, and drinking plenty of water.

Here are the benefits of running 2-week cycles:

• Plateau breaking: Each cycle will push you further forward (as long as your training and diet are good), and you should see steady gains throughout the year, with minor or no shutdown after a two-week cycle.
• Testosterone rebound: Many guys will see an actual testosterone rebound between cycles rather than decreasing.
• Slow and steady gains: Expect to gain a few pounds each cycle, leading to under-the-radar compounding gains over time. Most weight loss will be water or glucose, which increases when you’re on-cycle.
• Short commitment: You commit to two weeks of hard work rather than 12 or more weeks on longer cycles. This keeps the motivation high and makes it easy to stick to a good eating, sleeping, and training plan.

What about the downsides:

• Daily injections: Unless you go with orals only, you’ll inject every day. On the upside, it’s only for two weeks.
• Small gains: If you want fast, huge gains, you won’t get it with this cycle, but you should know that before taking it on.
• Water retention: If you only want to use orals, the high doses will probably result in quite a lot of fluid retention.

Here are some sample 2-week cycles. The first two are testosterone-based cycles, with the third example having no testosterone:

Test, Anavar, and NPP cycle:

• Weeks 1-2: Testosterone Prop 75mg daily, Anavar 60mg daily, NPP 37mg daily, Arimidex 0.25mg daily
• Weeks 3-4: Nolvadex 20mg daily

Test, Masteron and Tren cycle:

• Weeks 1-2: Testosterone Prop 75mg daily, Masteron Prop: 37mg daily, Trenbolone Ace: 37mg daily, Letro: 0.25mg daily, Nolvadex: 20mg daily
• Weeks 3-4: Nolvadex 20mg daily

Tren, Anadrol and Winstrol cycle:

• Weeks 1-2: Trenbolone Ace: 75mg daily, Anadrol: 50mg daily, Winstrol: 25mg daily, HCG 100iu every other day, Nolvadex: 20mg daily
• Weeks 3-4: Nolvadex 20mg daily

TRT

If you’re not too concerned about testosterone, you can use Testosterone Cypionate (a slow-acting ester), providing strength and size gains and some fat loss. The standard strategy is to run this Test on a steady dose with a low dose of an AI to control estrogen. Ideally, you’ll need TRT and can get this through your doctor; otherwise, obtain the same testosterone and run it without supervision.

The usual TRT dosage of Testosterone cypionate is between 100 and 200mg weekly. Arimidex at 0.25mg every three days is highly recommended. It’s best to inject twice weekly to keep your levels up. You could even run a low dose of HCG for extra support, something like 100iu every other day. You can always run something else alongside the Test, like Deca-Durabolin. Alternatively, another option is blast cycles or regular short cycles followed by TRT for cruising.

TRT Pros:

• Pharma grade: That’s if you’re eligible for TRT testosterone from your doctor (one of the reasons you’d consider doing this cycle). Pharma grade Test is the ultimate quality, plus you get the benefit of not having to explain why you’re using steroids.
• Continual progress: TRT is a longer-term strategy, and as long as you’re sticking with a decent diet and exercise, your gains should be continual, allowing you to do it with little attention (no sudden huge gains).

TRT Cons:

• Long-term: You must prepare to commit for a long time; if it’s genuine medical TRT, it’s most likely a permanent lifelong commitment.
• Difficult to stop: Most guys want to stay on the TRT cycle because stopping it causes many negative issues. This means thinking carefully about starting TRT before jumping in.
• No huge gains: The point of the TRT cycle isn’t to get dramatic, massive gains within weeks or months, so if that’s what you’re after, you’ll want to look at some of the other cycle options detailed above.

Example of TRT:

• Week 1 onward (no specific end date): Testosterone Cypionate 200-300mg weekly (injected twice weekly), Arimidex 0.25mg every three days
• Optionally, include an additional compound. E.g: Deca-Durabolin 200mg weekly or Masteron 200mg weekly.

Steroids for Women

Anabolic steroid use among females for performance enhancement is unsurprisingly significantly lower than among males. For this reason, female steroid use is a subject where not a lot of information exists and one that is not often discussed within bodybuilding communities.

There are a lot of reasons women choose not to use steroids to enhance their physique or boost performance. Females who use steroids are at risk of considerable physiological changes. This is the natural consequence of putting much larger amounts of testosterone or similar male hormones into the female body.

Depending on how the steroids are used, this can range from relatively small changes to the development of extreme masculine traits. So, although it’s not common, some female athletes and bodybuilders do choose to use steroids for performance-enhancing benefits. When undertaken carefully, these women can achieve significant benefits while carefully controlling the side effects.

First, I must clear this up. One of the big questions I’m asked both from women AND guys who have partners who are considering using steroids is this: “Will I/she turn into a man?” The answer is a clear NO. It’s not possible to “turn into” a man, even by taking anabolic steroids. However, women can develop traits that we can only describe as masculine. That’s when androgenic substances are used and abused inappropriately.

But you know what?

That can all be avoided. Every day, females maintain their feminine appearance while using powerful AAS. You need to know how to do it properly. Below, I will cover all of the information you need to know about the best anabolic steroids (AAS) for women and how to use them with minimal risk. Let’s jump in!

Preliminary Considerations for Female Steroid Use

Using steroids is a big deal for a female. After all, this involves taking unnaturally large quantities of male hormones into the body – hormones that the female body has not evolved to function with. Anabolic and androgenic steroids are synthetic forms and variations of the male hormone testosterone.

While females usually have a tiny amount of testosterone, any more of this male sexual hormone does just what it does in males: It causes the development of male characteristics due to heightened androgenic and anabolic activity.

It’s the anabolic traits that are appealing to athletes, but as a female, you’ll also be dealing with the unwanted androgenic effects. All of this leads to some serious considerations when you’re thinking of making use of steroids for performance and body enhancement purposes.

These include:

• Understanding that taking anabolic steroids means putting male hormones into the female body.
• Be aware that side effects are almost certain to develop and, in some cases, can be severe and debilitating.
• Knowing which steroids are most suitable for females and which ones should be avoided altogether.
• Knowing each steroid’s half-life and how long it takes to clear the system. This is important for both drug testing purposes and side effect control.
• Solid knowledge of dosages and cycles and how to best use the right steroids for the desired results while balancing the side effect risks.

Steroid use by females should always be very carefully considered and planned to avoid the potential serious side effects that are almost certain to come about when the use of steroid hormones isn’t strictly controlled and monitored.

Female-Friendly Anabolic Compounds

There are very few anabolic steroids that we could call female-friendly. The majority of female users want to avoid (or at least minimize as much as possible) masculinization symptoms. So that leaves you with four primary anabolic steroids to consider using as a woman:

• Anavar (Oxandrolone)
• Primobolan ( Methenolone)
• Equipoise (Boldenone)
• Winstrol (Stanozolol)

Just like males who want to avoid using particular steroids that are more androgenic and can raise the risk of hair loss, women will gravitate towards those same compounds with lower androgenic effects (the cause of masculine traits developing). But unlike men who will gain little muscle with these “milder” steroids, women will find that these are more than powerful enough to promote nice muscle gains, along with fat loss and performance benefits.

But wait, let me tell you something else: Most of these steroids can be combined in a stack of two compounds; that’s if you’re a hardcore user who wants next-level results! This will raise the risk of masculine features appearing (plus any other side effects), so you need to weigh up those negatives versus positives before diving into a stack. But if you’re brand new, stick with one at a time and see how you go! Train hard, use steroids sensibly, and you WILL NOT turn into a man! What you will do is enhance your body to a level that you never thought possible!

Anavar (Oxandrolone)

Anavar is what you might call THE female steroid. Many people categorize Anavar as the best steroid for women to use. It’s undoubtedly the most popular anabolic steroid with female athletes of different types.

But if you’re new to all this, you might be surprised to learn that Anavar is derived from DHT. Despite this, Anavar does NOT come with the potent androgenic side effects of most other DHT-derived steroids.

What it does do is this:

• Promote lean muscle mass gains
• Promote gains in strength
• Make it easier and faster to lose fat and achieve a toned physique

Anavar is not without side effect risks – no steroid is risk-free. At doses anywhere above the female recommended range of 5-10mg/day, virilization is undoubtedly a possibility. Some women can be sensitive enough at those low doses to experience unwanted effects, but as long as you reduce the dose or stop using Anavar, they should go away alone.

As the single most popular anabolic steroid for females, you can be confident that Anavar comes with significant benefits. I can assure you that we would have known LONG ago if Anavar was useless for women. A steroid doesn’t become as widely used as this for no reason. So let’s check out the top benefits of running Anavar as a female bodybuilder, athlete, and physique competitor:

• Noticeable muscle gains (remember: even moderate gains will make a big difference to the female physique) – 8lbs or more in muscle gain is possible with the proper training and diet
• Harder, denser muscle mass
• Incredible strength gains
• Increases the metabolism so you burn fat more efficiently and faster
• Retain your existing muscle when dieting/cutting
• More endurance and stamina during training
• Decreases your recovery time between training sessions
• Typically safe to use for up to 12 weeks at low doses with minimal impact on the liver compared to other orals

You can’t escape the fact that ANY anabolic steroid can come with negatives. But the good news is that you can get away with little to no risk of virilizing development when you use Anavar at the low dosage range I recommend below. And as a female, those are the things you’ll aim to avoid. In any case, if any of these adverse effects do start to develop, you have two options:

• Discontinue using Anavar immediately and see that those virilizing side effects subside and disappear.
• Or, if there’s room to lower your dosage, do that and monitor the symptoms.

OK, here are the main negatives to watch out for with Anavar:

• Virilizing signs: Body hair growth, deepened voice, clitoral growth, decreased breast size
• Headaches, nausea, stomach upset
• Menstrual irregularities (not a cause for stopping use in most cases, as they will return to normal after your Anavar cycle)
• Liver enzyme changes (rarely serious at low doses, and should return to normal post cycle)

How long should females use Anavar? The recommended cycle length is in the 6-8 week range for best results while minimizing virilization risk. If it’s your first Anavar cycle, six weeks at 5 to 10mg is a perfect introduction to this steroid. More experienced females can attempt an 8-week cycle. You can start at 10mg for the first six weeks, then boost the dose to 15-20mg for the final two weeks to ramp up your results.

The maximum dosage for women who want to avoid virilization is 20mg. But you won’t necessarily ever need to take 20mg if you’re seeing excellent results at 10mg or even 15mg. Always start at the lowest dosage recommendation, evaluate your response, and then increase the dosage if you respond well and want more powerful results.

Primobolan (Metenolone)

Primobolan is another steroid derived from DHT, which is relatively female-friendly at lower doses. And those lower doses? They should allow you as a female user to avoid androgenic side effects of a virilizing nature. Still, as always, you should be open to experimenting with different dosages and lowering it if required – depending on your tolerance of side effects.

There are two forms of Primobolan:

• Oral
• Injectable (Primobolan Depot)

This is one of the milder steroids and one that men will see little benefit in using for muscle gains, but the potential for women is entirely different. Females on Primobolan will find its anabolic effects excellent, with impressive lean gains and reduced body fat – precise results will depend on your diet and workouts.

Benefits of running Primobolan include:

• Lean muscle gains
• Efficient fat burning
• Protecting existing muscle tissue on a calorie deficit
• Strength, endurance, and recovery boost
• There is a low risk of virilization when low dosages are used.

The negatives of Primobolan to watch out for:

• Liver toxicity (oral Primobolan only)
• Negative changes to cholesterol
• Menstrual irregularities (temporary while on cycle)

25mg to 50mg per day is a good starting point for new female users of Primobolan. This allows you to evaluate your tolerance and response to a low dose. Cycle length should be limited to no more than six weeks. But even a short 4-week cycle (of oral Primobolan) will be effective.

Another option is to maintain that lower dosage range of Primo while stacking it with Anavar (also at a low dosage) for combined effects. If you intend to use injectable Primo, a maximum dosage of 100mg should be the upper limit to avoid virilization. But again, a stack with Anavar and low-dose Primobolan will almost always yield better results and reduced virilization side effects.

Equipoise (Boldenone)

Equipoise is a testosterone-derived anabolic steroid, and it’s another one that female bodybuilders and other athletes often use.

Equipoise is an injectable steroid only, which can be a hurdle for women who have never used injectables before and who prefer the oral choices of Anavar or Primobolan.

Nevertheless, if females are willing to inject, Equipoise can deliver lovely, steady gains in lean muscle over a longer cycle at low doses. It’s generally well tolerated by women, providing an excellent introduction to steroids. You need to run a longer cycle with Equipoise due to its long half-life of about 15 days, resulting in a slower onset of effects in the early stages.

The main benefits of running Equipoise include:

• Protection from muscle loss while dieting
• Boosts muscular endurance and recovery
• Strength increase
• Slow and steady lean mass gains
• Low androgenic strength minimizes the risk of virilization
• Increased appetite in some users

While the risk of virilizing effects is relatively low with Equipoise (provided your dosage is not excessive), if those signs start to develop, they will take longer to subside. Why? The long half-life of Equipoise means it takes longer to exit your system. This is another good reason to start with a very low dose if it’s your first time using this steroid.

• Very slow acting
• Virilization is possible at higher doses
• It may stress the kidneys

A 50 to 100mg per week is suitable for most females to enjoy the benefits while reducing the negatives to a minimal or non-existent level. A cycle of 6 weeks at a bare minimum is needed to get the most from Equipoise due to its slow-acting nature. But you can use this steroid up to 12-16 weeks at low doses – keep watch for those virilizing symptoms over that length of time, particularly if you’re taking a dosage at the higher end of the range above.

Winstrol (Stanozolol)

Women can use Winstrol at very low doses for short periods with minimal virilization risk. This steroid will typically place you at a higher risk of virilization if you decide that the low dose isn’t enough – its androgenic (virilizing) effects are going to be more pronounced than Anavar, Primobolan, and Equipoise.

Females will generally find the other steroids detailed above are better options if gaining lean muscle is the primary goal. However, Winstrol is exceptional in other areas, particularly improving performance and cutting and dieting, where the main goal is to achieve a very lean, dry, hard, and defined physique.

Benefits of running Winstrol include:

• Increases strength, power, and speed
• Promotes fat loss, muscle definition, and enhanced vascularity
• Improve tendon and bone strength

Apart from virilization, Winstrol is well known for its negative impact on the cardiovascular and liver systems. These are two additional reasons why limiting Winstrol to short cycles is wise.

• Higher virilization risk than the other steroids above at anywhere above minimum dosage (deep voice, hair growth, breast size reduction)
• Reduces HDL cholesterol and increases LDL cholesterol
• Hepatotoxic: Oral Winstrol will stress the liver temporarily
• Joint pain or discomfort

Winstrol is quite a potent steroid; therefore, females don’t require large doses to see exceptional results. Keeping your dosage of Winstrol as low as possible will provide the dual reward of excellent results combined with minimal side effects (potentially allowing you to get away with zero side effects).

5mg of oral Winstrol per day is ideal for most females. Few will ever need to take any more than that. Some females are known to take 10mg and have it tolerated, but be prepared for some side effects to develop. If, for whatever reason, you want to go with injectable Winstrol over oral (perhaps to avoid liver toxicity), 20mg every four days is an ideal dose. Whichever form of Winstrol you take, the recommended cycle length is four weeks, with six weeks being the maximum.

Clenbuterol

Clenbuterol is perhaps the most famous “fat burner” out there. It was never intended to be a fat-burning agent; instead, it was researched and used medically for its benefits for respiratory conditions like asthma.

However, being a stimulant and thermogenic, it soon became known within the bodybuilding community that Clenbuterol was excellent at promoting fat loss. Clenbuterol does come with some severe risks, though, if abused or taken at high doses, so it should be used with caution.

The benefits of using Clenbuterol include:

• Improves breathing, heart rate, and metabolic rate
• Promotes fast fat burning when combined with intensive cardiovascular exercise
• It can prevent the breakdown of muscle and promote some muscle growth
• Some users experience a suppressed appetite

The negatives of Clenbuterol:

• Cramping
• Anxiety and jitters due to stimulant effects
• Increased blood pressure and heart rate
• Excessive sweating and fever-like increase in body temperature
• Long-term use can raise the risk of an enlarged heart, stroke, and other cardiovascular complications

We can’t consider Clenbuterol to be a safe drug, and there are undoubtedly other safer fat-burning alternatives out there (even a steroid like Anavar is likely to come with fewer risks for females).

A Clenbuterol cycle should be short and start at a low dose, especially if it’s your first time. You will want to evaluate your response to this drug before raising the dose. Typically, Clenbuterol dosages will increase as your cycle progresses to ensure your body doesn’t become used to the lower dose, which can cause stagnant results.

4-8 weeks is ideal, starting at 20mcg/day for the first 1-2 weeks, then increasing the dosage by 10mcg every 1-2 weeks (depending on your chosen cycle length). Another option is to run a 2-week on, 2-week off-cycle plan. This is less than ideal as far as results go, but it does allow you a break from the side effects if you find you’re sensitive to issues like anxiety or insomnia.

Potassium tablets can be taken to ease cramping. 100-400mg per day, depending on the severity of cramps (some users won’t require this at all). To reduce cardiovascular risk, some users take Nebivolol at 5mg daily; however, you should consult a medical professional before attempting new medications.

T-3 Cytomel

T3 is a thyroid hormone that is naturally produced by the pituitary gland. Its role is to regulate the metabolism, and its primary use in performance settings is to facilitate fat burning. People using T3 medically do so for hypothyroidism, where the body doesn’t naturally make enough of the hormone.

While Cytomel is a safe drug when used for that medical purpose, in people who do not have hypothyroidism, you’re essentially providing more of a hormone you already have enough of; as you’d expect, this can come with some risks, which you should be aware of before deciding whether to use T3 for fat burning. This is a drug not suited for beginners to PEDs.

The main benefits of using Cytomel include:

• Boosts fat loss by increasing your base metabolic rate and energy expenditure
• Improves cognitive function
• Enhances immunity
• Supports function of the muscles
• Achieve a shredded physique if you’re already lean
• Reduces cholesterol levels

What about the negatives? Here they are:

• It will burn muscle tissue along with fat.
• Increased sweating and body temperature
• Anxiety in some users
• Moderate blood pressure increase
• Increased appetite
• It suppresses the thyroid-stimulating hormone, resulting in a slow metabolism and possible weight gain for 1-2 weeks after stopping the use of T3.

Using T3 as a sole compound is not recommended. This catabolic hormone WILL cause you to lose muscle unless you include an anabolic compound in the cycle. But if you still intend to use it alone and don’t mind a bit of muscle loss and fat, starting at the lowest tablet dose of 25mcg daily is the way to go. If you respond well, the option to increase to 50mcg can be considered, and benefits will undoubtedly increase – as will possible side effects. Few will want to go beyond 75mcg daily at a maximum.

Cycle length is flexible with T3. Some people will use it for months; others will restrict themselves to a six or 8-week cycle. This all depends on your goals and if you’re stacking it with steroids, SARMs, or other fat-burning PEDs. L-tyrosine and iodine are a common combination to mitigate expected side effects. And to hold on to your muscle during an 8-week blast cycle, stack T3 with any female-friendly steroid or SARM at a low dose, like Anavar.

Female Cutting Stack

A female cutting cycle requires a different approach to males, and when it comes to steroids and other PEDs, there are only a few that women use – but even these come with drastic side effects and a high risk of virilization. Women who want to avoid any chance of developing a deep voice, body and facial hair, and other unsightly side effects are turning to the Crazy Bulk Female Cutting Stack. Do you have to compromise your cutting results to avoid those side effects? Not!

Why I Like It: You don’t lose energy and feel sluggish with this stack, even on the most strict calorie deficit diet.

It’s Worth Noting: Although you will see great results within the first 30 days to reach your ultimate physique, it’s recommended that you continue for two to three months.

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This stack combines the best safe and effective alternatives to Anavar, Winstrol, and Clenbuterol. The name of the game with this stack is a total focus on fat burning and getting lean, maintaining muscle and revealing your abs, and critically, retaining and increasing your energy and endurance while you’re dieting.

Females needing to get rid of stubborn fat from around the thighs and hips can find it near impossible to lose those final pounds without the backing of the incredible formulas in the Female Cutting Stack, which signal the body to use those last fat stores as energy (and not your hard-earned muscle, which will be retained). The Female Cutting Stack is designed to mimic the three most potent cutting and fat-burning PEDs, and it’s safe to use for longer than harsh steroids. Combined with a solid workout plan and fat-loss diet, The Female Cutting Stack is a body-transforming powerhouse that will have people turning heads. If you decide to try the female cutting stack, buy it here.

Female Bulking Stack

The Female Bulking Stack is designed to mimic the effects of three steroids that females would suffer significant side effects taking together – Dianabol, Deca-Durabolin, and Trenbolone. The Crazy Bulk alternatives provide similar positive effects but eliminate all the harsh sides (no virilization, no liver toxicity or cholesterol increase, and no acne).

Why I Like It: This bulking stack is not solely about muscle gains. It is just as effective at simultaneous fat loss, enhanced recovery, and keeping your energy and strength levels elevated for the entire cycle to support more intensive workouts.

It’s Worth Noting: One stack will cover you for a 4-week cycle, but for best results, I recommend an 8-week cycle minimum while making sure you’re eating enough quality calories to support muscle growth.

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Don’t worry – the Female Bulking Stack won’t have you turning into a man. It will add female-appropriate levels of muscle (which you can ramp up if desired with a suitable training program and dietary changes). But just as important is the enhanced muscular definition. So, it’s not only a greater increase in size around the shoulders, arms, and thighs, but the stack also promotes fat loss. Hence, your muscles become more prominent – especially in areas previously masked by a layer of fat like the abdominals.

To get those gains, you’ll need to be supported with a consistent level of heightened strength, and the Female Bulking Stack doesn’t disappoint in that area. Expect to break through personal best lifting records to push your muscles well beyond their previous limits. Will this mean you’ll take longer to recover? Not. The Female Bulking Stack reduces your post-workout recovery time significantly. DOMS (muscle soreness) is reduced to very low levels or non-existent, making you feel ready to go for another workout in no time. If you decide to try the female bulking stack, buy it here.

Female Steroid Cycles

The harsh and drastic effects that steroids have on all female users make it necessary to tailor a steroid cycle specifically for female needs. A woman using any anabolic steroid can not simply take the same dose and use the same cycle length as a male user. Here are the main differences between male and female steroid cycles:

• Short cycle lengths are required so you can manage the effects of virilization. The longer these symptoms can develop, the more severe they will get, and even the most mild steroids come with these side effects. Therefore, limiting cycle lengths is the only control option women have to reduce the severity of virilization. Four weeks is a typical female steroid cycle length, but some will extend this to 6 or even eight weeks. Male cycle length often starts at the 8-week mark and can extend well beyond 12 or 16 weeks.
• Some steroids should be avoided by female simply due to their powerful androgenic rating. Such steroids will, with certainty, cause such extreme virilization that they hold no benefit for female users. Males, on the other hand, will not have to worry about these limitations.
• Men can usually stack multiple steroids together with success, but if women stack steroids, it will multiply the virilization side effects as the androgenic properties compound together. Certainly, beginner users should not even consider taking more than one steroid at a time. Advanced female users can and do stack compounds, but one must be even more vigilant in recognizing and mitigating side effects.
• Male users will see testosterone suppression ranging from mild to severe, so they usually have to include a testosterone steroid in the cycle to maintain normal function. This is not an issue for females, so an additional steroid compound not related to performance outcomes is not necessary. Additionally, women won’t need to worry about post-cycle therapy.

Female steroid users will mostly be limited to only certain steroid compounds, will use them at much lower doses, and will limit the length of cycles to minimize the development of virilizing effects.

Factors to Consider When Using AAS

Are you female and have NEVER used a single anabolic steroid in your life? Well, you don’t want to jump in without serious consideration. By now, you should know a lot about the risks. And while you won’t “turn into a man,” 99.9% of females WILL want to avoid any masculinity… and especially irreversible effects.

The good news is you CAN use anabolic steroids as a female and enjoy the benefits. You have to know what you’re doing: Liver and cardiovascular issues are always a concern with (some) steroids, but as a female, your big focus is going to be on virilizing side effects.

I want you to know all about the main factors that contribute to the development of virilizing effects as a female steroid user. So here are the three most important factors of anabolic steroids (and how you use them) that will determine the severity of virilization that you experience:

• The androgenic strength: The ratio of anabolic to androgenic effects will be a primary factor in how fast virilization effects can develop in women. When the androgenic rating is high, you can expect those symptoms to become noticeable early on in a cycle rapidly. This is why it’s critically important to maintain a low dosage of steroids, which have more powerful androgenic effects. And if you are stacking two steroids, their combined androgenic strength will compound this factor even further. In short, you should know the androgenic rating of any anabolic steroid you intend to take and keep this in mind when you plan your dosages.
• Dosage: As your dosage of anabolic steroids increases, the likelihood of developing virilization also increases in proportion to the dosage. Yes, this will depend upon the potency of each steroid and just how severe the virilization will be. The speed at which these virilization effects manifest will also be proportional. This applies to even the mildest compounds, simply because the more androgen receptors activated throughout the body (as a result of the higher dose), the greater your chance of developing those unwanted masculine traits.
• Cycle length: The longer you use any steroid, the higher the chance those virilization signs will rear their head. Maintaining levels of male hormones in the body for increasing lengths of time provides the environment for those physiological changes to continue to advance in severity rather than being cut off and reversed when you stop taking a steroid. And that’s just one side of the story… The stronger the androgenic rating of the steroid, the shorter your cycle should theoretically be if you’re going to prevent virilization. This is why steroids like Winstrol are specifically recommended to be used at a shorter cycle length than one such as Anavar.

Once a female has decided on which steroid compound to use, or multiple compounds if a stack is preferred, it’s time to work out an appropriate cycle that will strike a balance between gaining the desired positive effects and mitigating the specific side effects that will also be part of steroid use.

Every woman will have a different tolerance regarding how much negative effect she is willing to deal with. The most hardcore female bodybuilders will have a high tolerance for more severe side effects and may not even be overly bothered by this. However, suppressing the development of male characteristics as much as possible for many other women will be a high priority during the cycle. This is where getting the dosage right can make all the difference, and so will minimizing cycle length.

Here are some basic examples of female steroid cycles. Each cycle is limited to 4-6 weeks and consists of just one steroid compound per cycle.

• Anavar: 5-10mg per day for 4-6 weeks
• Winstrol Oral: 5-10mg per day for 4-6 weeks
• Primobolan: 30-50mg per day for 4-6 weeks
• Equipoise: 50-75mg per week for 4-6 weeks
• Winstrol Depot (injectable): 60mg weekly for 4-6 weeks (ideally taken at 15mg once every two days)

As we can see, female steroid cycles are straightforward and quite simple compared with some of the cycles that male users formulate, which often involve multiple compounds, pyramid-style dosing, and much longer lengths of the cycle.

For women who are confident enough with their previous steroid experience and feel ready to combine more than one steroid in a cycle, a more advanced cycle can be undertaken. This cycle aims particularly at cutting or fat loss and is helpful for contest prep, where attaining a lean and hard physique is the goal.

• Advanced cycle #1: Clenbuterol at 20mcg every two days for seven weeks and Anavar at 10mg daily for the first six weeks.
• Advanced cycle #2: Anavar at 10mg daily, Clenbuterol at 20-80mcg daily, Cytomel at 25-50mcg daily for 8 weeks.

The addition of the thyroid hormone Cytomel in this advanced cycle assists in regulating metabolism and energy. Male users sometimes use it to aid in cutting and fat loss. These much longer advanced cycles that stack multiple steroids are advanced cycles. Females who develop virilization are always advised to stop use immediately so those effects can subside and disappear.

The above examples are a guide only, and users are encouraged to formulate their cycle plan, including modifying dosages and the cycle length within their comfort limits.

Female On-Cycle Therapy and PCT

On-cycle therapy will focus on protecting your liver, kidneys, and cardiovascular system. Even low doses of PEDs can pose a risk, but common sense actions can minimize the chance of serious complications.

• To protect the liver, take 1mg of NAC daily and a quality omega-3 fish oil supplement daily to aid your cholesterol levels and cardiovascular system.
• It’s not essential to take DHEA, but some women find it helpful to take a small daily amount: 25mg to 50mg.

What about PCT, you ask? Men almost always require PCT after steroids. It’s essential to get their suppressed testosterone back in normal working order. As a female, you are not concerned about testosterone suppression. You don’t need to stimulate any hormones after using PEDs! This is one of the significant advantages women have over men when using these substances.

One option to gradually get your body back to its natural state is to taper the dose of all PEDs being used. This can provide a smoother transition to coming off the cycle. But keep in mind: Even tapering is not essential for women. There is no hormone crash or hormonal recovery to worry about. If you’re noticing virilization symptoms, a complete termination of the steroids rather than tapering is the best action.

Since most female users will be using fast-acting and short half-life compounds that leave the system quickly, any side effects that have developed will begin subsiding relatively quickly after a cycle, provided they have not been allowed to develop over a long term of heavy steroid use. The lack of PCT requirement for females is one advantage women have over men when it comes to steroid use.

Injection Techniques

Injecting steroids for the very first time is a daunting task for just about anyone who has done it. Even the most seasoned pros can probably think back to their first injection.

Far too many people make mistakes that can put them off injecting forever. But if you get it right from your first attempt, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a confident steroid injector, and this opens many more doors regarding which steroid compounds you’ll feel confident using in the future. Injecting might seem simple at first, but there’s a lot you should know and consider before giving it a go.

Even if you’ve injected a few times already, you’ll want to be sure you’re doing it right every time to get the best results and maintain your health. Below, you’ll find the most comprehensive guide to injecting steroids, containing everything you need to know to get it right every time.

Syringes, Pins, and Supplies

If you’re committed to using injectables for a full cycle and future cycles, you’ll want to stock up on all the necessities; this includes syringes, pins, and other supplies. As a new steroid user, you might not even know what some of these items are unless you’ve worked in the medical field.

After all, we are simply using medical supplies when administering steroids. Being familiar with the necessary supplies and various terminology relating to using them will give you the confidence you need to proceed with injecting.

Syringes

Firstly, there’s the syringe. This is the main barrel that holds the steroid liquid. Not all syringes are sold with a needle. 3ml or 3cc, or 5ml/5cc are the most common syringe sizes or capacities. Syringes are low-cost items, and stocking up is easy, so you have more than enough to last a long time.

Important: 1ml = 1CC. A CC (cubic centimeter) is the same thing as a ml (milliliter); both terms mean the same thing.

Hypodermic Needles

Then there’s the needle, the part you insert into the muscle. These come in different sizes, known as gauges. This is the thickness of the needle. They can also vary in length. When looking at a needle gauge, there are two aspects to consider: what you need to withdraw the steroid solution from its vial and the gauge you need to inject it into yourself.

Insulin Syringes

Another type of syringe many steroid users also purchase is the smaller 1ml insulin syringe. These syringes with needles attached are unsuitable for muscle injection but are used instead for subcutaneous injections. Advanced users who use peptides, HCG, insulin, and other non-steroid compounds commonly use insulin syringes.

Alcohol Swabs/Pads

Other essential supplies you should always have on hand include alcohol swaps for hygiene and sterility before injecting and adhesive bandages like band-aids if you want to cover the injection site afterward.

Since you need to use new sterile equipment for each injection, you can go through many items in a long cycle. Buying in bulk will save you money and ensure you will not have to worry about running out and being tempted to reuse items, risking your health.

If you’re committed to using injectable steroids for a full cycle, you’ll need to stock up on all the necessities:

• Syringes: 3ml or 3cc, or 5ml/5cc are the most common syringe sizes or capacities
• Pins: the “standard” needle is 22 gauge, 1.5 inch
• Other supplies: alcohol swaps, band-aids…

Being familiar with the necessary supplies and how to use them properly will give you the confidence to proceed with injecting.

Types of Steroid Injections

There are three established methods of administering injections from a medical perspective. While it’s essential to know these, we shouldn’t just assume that we can use just any method for steroids. As you will see, one method in particular should never be used and comes with a seriously high risk of death.

Let’s look at the three established injecting methods in general in more depth: intravenous, intramuscular, and subcutaneous.

Intravenous (IV) Injections

IV injections are used in medical situations, undertaken in hospitals under strict hygiene conditions, and carried out by medical professionals. Some illicit recreational drug users also use this type of injection.

Anabolic steroids should never be injected intravenously. Injectable steroids are placed in an oil-based solution, and it’s this oil that makes IV injection out of the question for steroids.

Extreme risks and possible death are the potential consequences of injecting steroids with the IV method. One study showed a bodybuilder who injected oil-based steroids intravenously suffered from acute respiratory distress³⁶. This situation was not an intended IV injection; instead, it mistakenly hit a vein when injecting it into the buttock muscle. This shows us how careful we must be when injecting, ensuring no veins or arteries are impacted.

The study found that blood was aspirated, indicating a vein was pierced by the needle; however, the user continued to inject. Within one minute, shortness of breath was experienced due to oil in the bloodstream. In worse scenarios, death can occur.

All steroid users must pay close attention to ensure that blood is not aspirated when inserting the needle. If this does happen, the syringe should be completely withdrawn from that area and injected elsewhere.

Intramuscular (IM) Injections

Injecting in the muscle is the method used for anabolic steroids. These intramuscular injections ensure the solution is entered deep into the muscle, which can travel steadily and safely through smaller veins rather than being placed directly into the bloodstream. The steroids are quickly absorbed, and fast-acting steroids can begin working as soon as you expect them to.

An additional benefit of IM injections is they allow you to inject more than you could via any other method, but 2ml is considered the safest maximum per injection. You also get multiple injection site options, which you can choose to rotate to avoid pain and irritation.

The most common muscle injection sites are those of the larger, stronger muscles like the thigh and buttock. Over time, you might develop a preference for which muscles you inject in depending on which compounds you’re using and the pain level.

It’s critical to be aware that it’s not normal for blood to appear when you’re injecting steroids into the muscle. If there is any blood when you insert the needle, you hit a vein or artery rather than just muscle tissue. The needle then must be removed, and no solution should be injected; instead, start again and find a new muscle spot that does not draw any blood.

Another issue can occur when you don’t insert the needle deep enough into the muscle tissue, in which case an abscess can form.

Subcutaneous (SQ) Injections

Subcutaneous or simply sub-cut injections are where the needle is placed into the skin layers. It’s a very shallow injection and one that is rarely used for anabolic steroids. Again, there is a risk of abscess formation with this type of injection if it’s not done correctly.

Steroid users will often use this type of injection when using other types of compounds like HGH, peptides, HCG, and insulin. Subcut injections are not as suited for oil-based solutions as most steroids but work well with water-based compounds.

You can only inject smaller amounts of liquid via this method, unlike the greater amount of steroids that can be injected intramuscularly. Even though most steroid users will not choose to use SQ injections for their steroid compounds, studies have shown that when done carefully and correctly, this method of injecting is just as effective in achieving ideal blood levels of the steroid as IM injections are.

As you will find, though, almost all anabolic steroid users will stick to injecting their gear through the muscle while leaving subcutaneous injections for those additional compounds that are sometimes used.

Injection Sites

I recommend becoming familiar with at least three different injection sites. Firstly, you need to rotate them regularly. Secondly, you might find you don’t like injecting in a particular spot, so you’ll want to be able to switch as needed efficiently.

Let’s look at all the recommended intramuscular steroid injection sites:

• Quads – On the upside, it’s a prominent spot on the outer quad, but it can be a painful injection site, and hitting a nerve is possible. You should be able to do up to 3cc or ml here.
• Lats are typically one of the least painful injection sites, but you’ll want a good lat size to make this a viable site, and 1.5cc or ml is usually the max injection volume here.
• Delts – The size of your delts will determine if you prefer this spot (larger and softer being more accessible). You can move the site around, e.g., the rear, middle, and front. Most guys will find 1.5cc or ml is the most comfortable amount here.
• Dorsolgluteal – or in other words, at the top of your butt cheek. This is a large muscle, so it’s one of the more accessible spots to get a needle into, but it can be difficult if you have flexibility issues. Most of us can inject up to 3cc or ml in this area.
• Ventrogluteal – This is a much smaller area located on the central part of the hip where there are thick muscles and fewer nerves and blood vessels, often thought of as the safest injection site. It’s only a tiny area compared to the dorsolgluteal, so you’ll want to be confident before trying it here.
• Biceps – It’s best to inject into the middle of the bicep and avoid the inner bicep region with more nerves. You will mostly want to stick to a 1cc volume here.
• Triceps – also limited to about 1cc, injected into the middle of the tricep. Both biceps and triceps are considered more advanced injecting sites.
• Calves – The calf isn’t a common injecting site, but some seem to like it despite being more painful than most other spots.

Avoid these spots: Two areas to give a miss for injecting are the inside of the thighs (inner quads) and the hamstrings due to the amount of nerves in these areas.

Here are some quick tips to reduce injecting pain:

• Get your muscles relaxed before injecting – it makes it much easier and reduces the risk of damage.
• Avoid making a pocket by sticking to slower injecting techniques, allowing the muscle to absorb the solution properly.
• Ensure you inject deep into the muscle for better absorption; avoid any oil injected into the subcutaneous level.
• Slightly heat the steroid before injections; briefly hold it under warm water.
• Gently massage the injection site once you’re done.
• Ice the site if the pain persists.
• Regularly rotate sites – ideally, each injection spot should have a break of 7-14 days after each shot.

Injection Protocols

Injecting is daunting for any first-time user. Here’s an idea of my protocol when I first started:

• Use alcohol to clean the top of multi-dose vials.
• Pull the maximum amount of air into the syringe, upturn the vial, insert the needle, and inject that air into the vial.
• Keep the vial upside down with the needle tip below the liquid level, slowly pull the plunger back, and draw your dosage into the syringe.
• Replace the needle.
• Use a new alcohol swab to clean the injection area.
• Relax your injecting site muscle and use your fingers to stretch out and tighten the skin where you’ll inject. Hold the needle with your thumb and forefinger and insert it at a 90-degree angle to the muscle, to the end of the needle.
• Pull the plunger a small amount and check for blood to ensure you haven’t hit a vein.
• Use a steady and slow pressure to push down the syringe plunger until it’s empty.
• Pull the needle out quickly and apply a new alcohol pad with pressure to the injection spot.
• Apply a clean bandage and safely dispose of the syringe and all other materials.

That’s it! You’ve now completed your first injection procedure safely and hygienically.

Intramuscular (IM) Injection Procedure

Intramuscular injections will make up the entirety of your injectable steroid procedures; you’ll only be using SQ if you’re using some of the additional types of compounds. So, you will want to have your technique of injecting intramuscularly down to a T and feel confident about what you’re doing.

When doing an IM injection, it’s always best to keep your syringes separate from your needles. Each of these products should be sealed in their package wherever possible. This not only gives you maximum hygiene but also makes the process simpler. But if you have syringes already fitted with their needles, you can still use them, but expect to add a few things to the procedure that aren’t required when these two items are separate.

Here’s what you’ll need for each intramuscular injection you do:

• One 3ml or 5ml syringe (3ml is usually preferred)
• One needle of a length from 1″ to 1.5″ and a gauge of between 22 and 25. Your decision about needle length will depend on which muscle you inject into. The smaller one-inch needles are suitable for almost all the muscles we inject steroids into, while only the buttock area (dorsogluteal site) needs the 1.5″ needle size. The needle gauge (or thickness) is a decision that will be undertaken on trial and error with new users as you learn to get a feel for how each gauge affects you on a pain level.
• Another needle is to withdraw the steroid solution from its vial. This needle should be between 18 and 21 gauge. This larger gauge needle can quickly draw out the steroid compound from the vial. Any length needle can be used for this purpose as all you are going with this one is extracting the steroid solution. This needle should never then be used to inject but instead should be discarded safely.
• Two alcohol wipes
• A band-aid or other form of sterile adhesive

Here is the procedure to follow for your intramuscular injection. Remember: this is the same procedure, whether it’s your first time or your thousandth time.

• Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water.
• Ensure all your equipment is brand new and sealed, and no packaging is torn or open. Discard any suspect items.
• Use one alcohol swab to swab the top of the vial from where you will extract the steroid solution.
• Remove the syringe from its packaging, ensuring its tip is not touched, breathed on, or otherwise contaminated.
• Remove the larger gauge extracting needle from its packaging and tightly attach it to the syringe.
• Keep the cap on the needle and draw in the equivalent amount of air to the solution you will extract.
• Take off the needle’s cap and plunge at a 90-degree angle into the rubber stopper while the vial is turned upside down. You then push the air into the vial to make extraction easier. Then, slowly pull out your desired quantity of the solution into the syringe.
• Take the needle out of the vial and remove air bubbles from the syringe by tapping it. Small bubbles can be pushed out, then the cap replaced.
• Use an alcohol swab to thoroughly swab the area of the skin where you’re going to inject. Wait up to 30 seconds before proceeding with the injection.
• Remove your injecting needle from its packaging and insert it into the syringe. Then, remove the cap from this needle.
• Use a steady hand to insert the needle into your muscle injection site, pushing it in all the way at an angle of 90 degrees. At this point, you must pull back the plunger of the aspirate to confirm that you haven’t hit a vein with the needle. If blood is seen, abort the injection, throw away the needle, and re-start the procedure with a new needle.
• Steadily and slowly inject the steroid solution into the muscle. Please do not go too fast: slow is better, even though getting it over quickly can be tempting.
• Take the syringe out and cover your injection site with the band-aid.

You’ve now completed your intramuscular injection procedure safely and hygienically.

Subcutaneous (SQ) Injection Procedure

For an SQ injection, you’ll be injecting just under the skin into fatty tissue. A preferred spot for this type of injection is the soft tissue of the abdomen.

Here’s what you need for subcutaneous injections:

• One insulin syringe
• Two alcohol pads
• A band-aid or other sterile adhesive

Follow this procedure for safe subcutaneous injections:

• Swap the top of the vial with an alcohol wipe and wait 30 seconds, then insert the needle.
• Take the cap off the needle and plunge the needle into the rubber stopper at an angle of 90 degrees, then withdraw the liquid from the vial by holding the vial at a 90-degree angle and extracting the contents.
• Use an alcohol pad to wipe over the injection site and wait 30 seconds.
• Squeeze the skin between your fingers at your injection site and insert the needle at a slight angle to ensure it goes into the fatty tissue and not directly down into the muscle.
• Using a slow and steady motion, inject the solution under the skin. Unlike IM injections, you do not have to aspirate with SQ injections.
• Withdraw the needle from the skin.
• Cover the injection area with a band-aid.

You’ve now safely and hygienically completed a subcutaneous injection.

Back-Filling Insulin Syringes for Steroid Injections

When you’re using steroid compounds that are fast-acting, they require more frequent injections than those compounds that have slower-release esters. In some cases, you might even need to be injecting every day. Some compounds that need to be frequently injected include Winstrol and Testosterone Suspension. Besides frequency, some of these compounds are well known to be particularly painful to inject.

Looking for ways to make the process easier makes sense when you’re in this position. One of the options we have involves backfilling insulin syringes for steroid injections. Why do this? In short, this method makes it both less painful and more convenient to administer your injections.

The needles usually used for steroid injections have a larger gauge, so when you’re using them very frequently, you can develop scar tissue as well as have to deal with the extra discomfort or pain of these needles. While this is bearable for most guys if you’re only injecting once, twice, or even three times weekly, anything more often than that, and you’ll probably be very keen to find an easier option.

You’ll need an insulin syringe and your regular gauge steroid syringe to do this back-filling method. The process is simple: draw your steroid solution with your typical syringe. Remove the plunger from the insulin syringe, then fill that syringe from the back with the 1ml of solution. You will need to remove any air that has become trapped in the front of the insulin syringe, so carefully push on the plunger slightly once it’s back in to get rid of that air at the front.

There are some challenges to know: You’re unlikely to be able to draw the plunger back before you inject due to the small size of insulin syringes, where your solution will most likely fill the whole thing. To work with this smaller size, choose an injection site where the skin is thinner so the smaller needle won’t have to push through as much fat.

This injection should be a little less painful, and the process is quick and easy enough to make it a new part of your routine. While a painful compound will always be painful to inject, the goal is to reduce this as much as possible, and backfilling provides that option.

Injection Complications

There’s a lot that can go wrong with gear injections. This ranges from injecting into the wrong spot or too often in the same spot, causing pain, irritation, or infection, to much more serious issues like accidentally injecting into a vein and putting your life at risk.

We can consider complications of steroid injecting in two main categories: those at the local level at the injection site itself, which you can usually visually see, plus those that can occur internally out of sight but can potentially be far more dangerous.

Potential steroid injection complications can include:

• Pain at the injection site: Some compounds are much more painful than others. Additionally, injection sites should constantly be rotated to allow the muscle to recover.
• Impacting a vein or artery: Our number one goal when injecting into the muscle is to avoid getting the needle into a vein or artery; this is why the larger muscles are chosen. Oil-based steroids, when injected into a vein – even only a small amount of solution – can cause a range of effects depending on how much went in. You will, at the very least, feel dizziness. Further symptoms can include shortness of breath, coughing, and chest tightness. If these symptoms persist for over a few minutes or become unmanageable, seek medical assistance. In severe cases, steroid users have ended up in the emergency room due to these poor injection techniques.
• Coughing and flu symptoms: These two are more side effects of specific steroid compounds but can occur quickly after injection. Trenbolone is famous for causing this effect; some will also experience it with Winstrol. Importantly, you should know this isn’t a serious complication, but it could be something you’d be very concerned about if you weren’t familiar.
• Infections: Using equipment that isn’t new and sterile or has become contaminated with bacteria before you’ve injected puts you at a considerable risk of infection. Inflammation and swelling are key symptoms of infection; if it worsens, you can start feeling feverish.

These are just a few of the things that can go wrong when injecting steroids. Most people will experience an issue one way or another when using steroids over many years. It’s best to learn what minor or major issue needs more immediate attention or care.

Learning, for example, how pain might feel post-injection compared to what an infection feels like can mean the difference between making a decision to get medical help or knowing that you’ll heal naturally. This comes with time and experience, but knowledge is power, and the more you know about what can go wrong, the less chance you’ll have of seeing any serious complications.

Steroid Side Effects

We’ve all heard about or seen horror stories about steroid side effects³⁷, and for a lot of guys, these can sometimes be enough to sway you away from steroids. But there’s no one-size-fits-all scenario when it comes to the side effects that steroids can cause. The first two considerations just about any would-be steroid user makes are: What results can I get, and what will the side effects be?

Not only are there dozens of different anabolic steroids out there, each with potentially different potencies and effects, but every individual user will react in their way to the compounds. Throw in other variables like dosage, cycle length, stacking compounds together, existing health issues – and potential steroid side effects can become a lot more complex.

Male-Specific Side Effects

By far, the most critical and concerning side effect for men using steroids is the way the introduction of synthetic hormones into the body slows down or often shuts down, the normal functioning that produces testosterone. This means the male body stops producing testosterone on its own³⁸. Once the steroids are stopped, the body is no longer receiving the artificial hormones, and the user is left in a state of very low or even no testosterone.

Some steroids are more potent in this effect than others, but all males will need to deal with this side effect regardless of which compound is being used. While the body will slowly begin to regain its normal testosterone function again once steroid use comes to an end, this is almost always too slow for men to wait for; hence why, the implementation of post-cycle therapy is so critical following a steroid cycle.

You can’t use steroids without considering the side effects. And steroids can indeed come with some severe side effects. These will affect everyone differently; many will be heavily dependent on dose. Some will depend entirely on genetics. So what should you expect? There are some “common” side effects that most steroid users will deal with at some point, and to some level of severity ranging from mild to severe.

We can place the side effects into general categories:

• Androgenic: Acne and hair loss are the main ones. Genetics plays a big part. DHT and testosterone steroids are most likely to bring on hair loss if you’re genetically inclined³⁹.
• Estrogenic: Gyno and water retention will also ruin your physique and cause health risks (blood pressure)⁴⁰. Higher doses present a higher risk, but sensitive guys can have gyno develop at low doses. Arimidex and Nolvadex are practical tools to combat these sides.
• Testosterone suppression: Prepare to have your natural test shut down⁴¹ at anything near or above the TRT dose (200mg, for example). Running HCG can help, but PCT is vital to get your test back on track.
• Cardiovascular: Some cardio-related adverse effects will be caused by estrogenic activity, namely water retention that some steroids induce, which can raise your blood pressure. Some compounds will reduce HDL cholesterol and/or raise LDL cholesterol, raising heart disease and stroke risk⁴².
• Liver toxicity: Stress to the liver is likely when using oral steroids of the 17a-alkylated type (most of them). These steroids pass through your liver and will change liver enzyme values⁴³. Avoid serious liver toxicity risks by limiting the use of hepatotoxic compounds to no more than six weeks.

There’s the estrogenic and androgenic side effects. Then there’s the impact on testosterone production. We have cardiovascular-related side effects, liver toxicity, and impacts on mood and well-being. It’s worth repeating: No two people will have the same side effect experience, even if you take the same steroid at the same dose for the same cycle length.

Plenty of variables will affect how you respond to a steroid. Things like:

• Your age
• Genetics
• Any existing health conditions
• Diet
• Current weight or body condition
• Dosage
• Duration of use

Other male-specific side effects of steroids include the development of breast tissue (gynecomastia) as a result of increased estrogen levels. Roid rage, or changes in anger and aggression control, can also impact male steroid users. Not all men will experience increased aggressiveness, and research has shown that only a tiny percent of them notice this side effect.

Hair loss, while it can also potentially affect female users, is primarily a concern for men who use steroids. Those genetically predisposed to male pattern baldness can see this developing prematurely due to increased DHT. While not a health issue, hair loss can be distressing for young steroid users.

Female-Specific Side Effects

What we have to remember when it comes to females using anabolic steroids is that you are introducing male androgen hormones into your body at levels much higher than would ever be produced naturally. That includes when you’re taking even the lowest doses.

So, while women have low levels of natural testosterone, even a small exogenous administration taken regularly is going to have a massive effect! That’s why females can quickly put on lean muscle with very low doses of anabolic steroids. It’s also why those same low doses can quickly lead to undesirable side effects developing⁴⁴, many of which are going to be very different from the types of side effects that male steroid users worry about.

Nevertheless, a few shared side effects will still affect any steroid user regardless of gender. These relate to your vital organs and the cardiovascular system:

• Increased cholesterol
• Liver toxicity
• Kidney damage

With the lower dosages you take as a female and shorter cycles, the above serious side effects should be manageable. Do all the common sense: Maintain a healthy diet, include cardio workouts in your training, and avoid high doses of liver-toxic oral compounds.

We’re not through yet: By far, the MOST concerning side effects the majority of females want to look out for when using PEDs relate to the development of masculine traits, also known as virilization⁴⁵.

Let’s get this part straight, though: no female will turn INTO a man by using PEDs or other steroids. But you can develop physical features that take away most of your femininity if your use of PEDs is not within the limits I’ve outlined in this guide.

The most concerning effect for most women is virilization or the development of male characteristics. This is what the testosterone hormone and other similar hormones that drastically increase male androgens do to the female body. This masculine trait development can include:

• Deepening of the voice
• Growth of hair on the face and body
• Enlargement of the clitoris
• Hardening or roughness of the skin

Additionally, females who continue using higher doses and longer cycles of strong androgens as anabolic steroids lose some feminine characteristics. Namely:

• The breasts can reduce in size
• Menstrual cycles can change or stop – This usually returns to normal when the steroids are stopped.

These effects come about due to how androgens affect the body and when estrogen function is altered.

Steroids that have more powerful androgenic properties will be the steroids that will cause virilization faster and more severely than steroids that have a lower androgenic rating. Some steroids are completely off-limits to females for this reason; they are too androgenically powerful to be of any positive benefit to women.

There are other serious side effects women need to be aware of when considering steroid use. Some of these are the same as the risks men face. These include:

• Birth defects: pregnant women must never touch anabolic steroids as they will bring about severe birth defects in the fetus.
• Liver toxicity: if a steroid is liver-toxic to male users, the same risk applies to females.
• Raised cholesterol: steroids that are known to raise cholesterol in men can pose the same risk to women depending on the particular compound and dosage taken.

Let’s look at the main virilizing and related side effects female PED users need to be on alert for:

Body and Facial Hair Growth

Can there be a more obvious sign of female steroid use than the growth of hair on the face and body? People will notice this quickly despite it starting slowly (depending on which steroid, your dose, and how long you use it). While you can use topical androgen blockers to try and stop hair growth, it will be a case of dropping the PED dosage or stopping use completely for most women. Any situation where you’re developing body/facial hair is one where your dosage is too high, and the easiest fix is the obvious one mentioned above.

Reduced Breast Size

You might be familiar with men who will do anything to avoid the development of gynecomastia when using steroids as a result of high estrogen levels. But… When it comes to female PED use, it’s the reduction in breast size that you need to be aware of as a side effect. More potent androgens are going to pose a higher risk here. While this side effect is not likely to develop as quickly as voice changes or hair growth, it’s a reminder of why keeping lower doses and using milder compounds is essential.

Clitoromegaly

Enlargement of the clitoris due to the presence of excess androgen hormones is an alarming side effect but not uncommon in females who use high doses of potent androgens. Females who choose to use Testosterone, Dianabol, or other potent androgenic steroids will almost always be aware of and even willing to tolerate this side effect.

Maintaining the use of milder PEDs like Anavar at low doses and for short cycle durations is usually sufficient to allow you to avoid clitoral enlargement. If changes start to develop, they are usually reversible early on, so don’t ignore them. But if allowed to continue developing through continued use of the steroids, it can become so pronounced that the only treatment option will be surgical.

Deepened Voice

One of the first and most noticeable red flags will be a deepening of the voice. Even a slight voice change indicates that your steroids are beginning to stimulate virilization. As you know, the male voice begins to deepen at puberty. With androgen receptors existing in the larynx and vocal muscles of females as well, the exact mechanism applies if you’re taking excessive doses of male androgens.

Your dosage and how long you use a steroid will determine your risk of voice changes and, specifically, just how deep your voice could get. It starts slowly, with a noticeable but often intermittent crackling or hoarseness of the voice, which you might mistake for an illness. But other people will soon start to notice your vocal change if it progresses with continued steroid use.

The good news is this: Voice deepening can be halted and reversed by ceasing anabolic steroids once you start noticing those early signs. If you continue using steroids and allow these voice changes to keep progressing, it can be much more difficult or even impossible to reverse.

Menstrual Irregularities

Menstruation cycles can easily be disrupted by changes to estrogen and other hormonal imbalances as a result of using PEDs. And it’s not only menstrual cycles that can temporarily change – fertility can also be affected (however: avoid using any PEDs if you’re attempting to fall pregnant). Some of the ways menstrual irregularities can show up when you’re using steroids or SARMs include:

• Infrequent or unpredictable cycles
• Complete absence of cycles
• Changes in your cycle symptoms compared to when you’re not taking androgens

It can sometimes take a few months after stopping your PED cycle before your normal menstrual cycle resumes. Some women will find a quick recovery of normal cycles; this will depend on the individual and which PEDs were taken.

Birth Defects

It should not need to be said, but I will say it anyway: “Using anabolic steroids while pregnant is out of the question.” The very high risk of abnormalities and severe birth defects is real. It’s almost certain that things will go wrong. Most of these birth defects will relate to the development of the sex organs of the fetus. Women should avoid ALL use and contact with any anabolic steroids while pregnant or attempting to become pregnant.

Health, Legal, and Financial Issues

The health risks of anabolic steroid use apply to all of us – no matter where you live in the world. The financial risks will vary greatly depending on the local availability of the compounds you want to use. Some steroids are surprisingly cheap, but others can run you into thousands of dollars for one cycle. And the legal risks?

These can be serious in a lot of countries. Take the United States: Anabolic steroids are listed as a Schedule III drug in the US. This puts them in the same restricted category as things like codeine/aspirin mixes, ketamine, and the opioid Buprenorphine.

Think about it: We know that anabolic steroids have severe health and legal risks. Yet thousands of people continue using them every day. I feel obliged to at least inform you of the risks of steroids, in particular relating to:

• Health
• Legal
• Financial

Author Note: This is NOT expert advice – I’m not a doctor or lawyer. Always do your due diligence before deciding to use steroids or any other prohibited substances.

Health Issues

It’s never safe or healthy to use high doses of steroids beyond the normal levels of testosterone your body typically produces (if you are male). More so, using steroids for a long duration raises the risk. But higher doses for long periods (usually several months) are what we like to do to make progress. And it doesn’t stop there.

Some steroids are harsher than others. Orals, for example, come with that well-known risk to the liver, so it’s out of the question to use them longer. Blood pressure and cholesterol increases are some of the other significant risk factors for regular and high-dose steroid use.

The fact is this: Everyone has a different tolerance level and response to any drug. Steroids included. So, whether a specific dosage causes complications can be very different for the next person. In other words, don’t just blindly copy what someone else is taking. Only YOU can decide if taking any steroid is worth the health risk.

You’re an adult, and we take responsibility for our health. But there are some basic precautions to take that can at least reduce the health risks somewhat:

• Please don’t exceed the recommended dosages for each specific compound (ideally, keep it at the mid-range level).
• Avoid higher doses and long-duration cycles.
• Include anti-estrogens like Clomid or Arimidex to reduce gyno and bloating, which in turn helps avoid high blood pressure.
• Don’t use steroids at all if you have liver or cardiovascular-related health conditions.
• Pay attention to your body – switch compounds if something makes you feel terrible.

Legal

In most countries, including the US, possessing, buying, selling, or using anabolic steroids without a doctor’s prescription is not legal. Check with your local laws to find out the specifics, and you will find some countries are quite lenient or even permissive of steroid use. While it’s not common for steroid users in the US to get caught out and prosecuted for using gear, just be aware that the possibility is always there.

So, what can you do to keep your steroid use as discreet as possible? Well, most of us buy through websites, many of which are based overseas. That means you’re receiving steroids through the mail. They could be intercepted at any point. Penalties could range from a warning to a hefty fine to going to court and potentially jail. Again, the risks are purely dependent on your country of residence!

The best bet is to get involved in the community, including steroid users, most of whom probably aren’t openly boasting about using gear. Private chats and forums will help you learn the best and safest way of buying steroids to minimize legal complications.

Financial

One of the most significant financial risks of buying steroids is when you don’t receive them; you either receive fakes or get nothing. Yes, scams can happen. But by sticking with known, reputable, and trusted sources, you should be able to remain confident that you won’t be throwing money at scammers or counterfeiters.

You can also lose money if your incoming package gets stopped at customs or anywhere else along the shipping line before it gets to you. But worse than losing money, in that case, is being caught buying steroids illegally (see the legal section above).

There’s no easy answer to being 100% sure that you’ll never run into financial issues when buying steroids (like losing your money to fraudsters) besides limiting yourself to only purchasing gear from local gym dealers whom you trust. But with the popularity of online sales, few people are selling steroids that way these days.

And when you do find someone local who’s selling, guess what? They’ve usually marked the price up so much you could have bought twice the amount from a good online source. Any regular steroid use is most likely to run you into a couple of thousand dollars annually, at least. Budget more if you’re going for the pricey compounds and minimizing your use of ancillary compounds.

Steroid Detection (Drug Testing)

A common assumption is that you only need to be aware of the half-life of a steroid to work out how long it can be detected through drug testing. But the steroid’s half-life is only one small factor and not necessarily a very important!

Evidence of steroids can linger in your body for considerably longer than its half-life would suggest, and it’s the processes that cause the steroid to remain detectable long after you’ve stopped using it that you need to be aware of.

So, if there’s any chance now or in the future that you could be tested for steroid use, or if you want to have a good understanding of the testing process and how steroids are detected (which is recommended regardless of whether you compete or not), then keep reading because I cover all the most important things you need to know about steroid detection times and how testing works.

How Does Drug Testing Work?

To put yourself in the best position to avoid landing in trouble if you intend to use steroids and enter any competitive events, understanding the basics of how steroid drug testing works is vital. This also includes being aware of all the main factors that will affect the detection times of anabolic steroids because these can be surprisingly long and well beyond what you might expect.

There can be a lot of misunderstanding about how drug testing for steroids and performance-enhancing drugs works. Many assume it’s a simple matter of supplying a urine (or blood) sample, having the sample sent to a lab, and being put through a machine that magically detects every substance. Fortunately for athletes and bodybuilders, but not so fortunately for anti-doping authorities, it is far from such a straightforward and basic process.

Anabolic steroid testing requires human resources throughout the testing chain – from the initial sample gathering to the lab testing process and analyzing results. This means it’s a resource-intensive and expensive process and at risk of human error at any point along the way.

Testers will usually test for all known steroids, but if resources are limited, then only the most commonly used steroids will be tested for. Because the testing has to target a specific steroid, the process must include every possible steroid to cover all bases.

One method that some athletes have taken over the years is to use lesser-known or very obscure steroids and other performance compounds that may not (yet) be on the drug-testing radar. Put simply, the drug testing process can not find a steroid that it does not know exists. But when it comes to the most commonly used steroids, these will always be picked up in drug testing where metabolites remain in the body.

One of the difficulties in testing for anabolic steroids, as opposed to recreational drugs, is that hormones like testosterone and DHT are found naturally in the body. Effective performance drug testing, therefore, needs to be able to differentiate between the normal presence of steroid hormones and those that exist as a result of exogenous steroid use. While this might be relatively easy to detect in females who have naturally very low levels of testosterone, in male users, it needs to be undertaken more carefully to avoid false positives.

Like all areas of medicine, advances in performance drug testing are constantly ongoing and under research. This brings about new techniques that may or may not become standard and widespread in drug testing worldwide. What does this mean for you as a steroid user who competes? You can’t assume one year to the next that the same avoidance strategies will work. Some recent advancements in anti-doping testing that labs have developed include gene doping tests, retroactive liquid testing, and long-term metabolites.

With some bodies like the Olympic authorities able to store samples for a decade, retroactive liquid testing has been able to retest older samples and inadvertently bring back positive steroid results for tests that, in the past, came back negative. The more advanced scientific analysis methods now available made this possible – and it sends an alarm out to anyone who thinks a negative result now means you’re in the clear forever.

Long-term metabolites combined with long-term storage of samples also contribute to retrospective drug testing capability. Using advanced isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, smaller trace amounts of metabolites can be detected faster than in the past⁴⁶.

While these most advanced anti-doping techniques might only be implemented by authorities at the highest sporting levels, as more modern and accurate testing techniques become mainstream and cheaper, they are often taken up by those groups on a smaller budget.

What does this mean for you as an athlete? You need to stay up to date with how steroids are being detected, when and who is testing and how often, and what strategies are being followed by steroid users who want to continue using these substances while minimizing the risk of being detected.

Anti-doping authorities are well aware that some athletes will continue to do everything possible to try and circumvent testing positive, so we can think of steroid drug testing as a game of cat and mouse, which is continually evolving.

Anabolic Steroid Metabolites

The metabolites of a steroid will be detected in urine testing (urinalysis), the most widely used form of drug testing. Metabolites are what remain of the steroid after the process of metabolism, where the steroid’s original chemical structure breaks down into smaller molecules.

We can also think of metabolites as a result of converting one chemical compound into another. So, while it’s unnecessary to be a chemistry expert to know that metabolites are a key factor in any steroid drug testing, you will want to know how long these metabolites can remain in your system.

In the distant past, bodybuilders would have been able to stop using a steroid and let it naturally excreted from the body (according to its natural half-life) and, after a relatively short duration, be confident that any drug testing would unlikely detect the steroid.

But the focus now on metabolites and especially with the discovery of long-term steroid metabolites, there’s no way for an athlete to pass a drug test simply by stopping the use of a steroid with enough time to spare before an event. A much longer period is needed to be clear of metabolites, and for some steroids, that can be many months. So it’s no longer just the half-life of a steroid you need to be aware of; it’s how long its metabolites can potentially linger in your system.

With newer scientific advances, anti-doping testing can detect long-term metabolites better than ever. Breakthroughs have resulted in detecting specific steroid metabolites for twice as long as previously possible. This means that only remaining traces of metabolites could slip past the drug testing techniques; these traces can now be picked up to return a positive result.

Specifically, scientists could pinpoint different types of metabolites to monitor – sulfate conjugates rather than the previously used glucuronide metabolites. While this might only work for some types of steroids, it demonstrates the continual advancement of anti-doping testing techniques that will make it harder and harder for athletes to avoid positive testing, even long after stopping the administration of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances.

One way some athletes still try to get around the advanced long-term metabolite-focused testing is to avoid all known steroids altogether. Remember: drug testers can only test for the substances they know about. There is no “one size fits all” test for all substances.

Some bodybuilders will, therefore, turn to new, experimental, or what is sometimes called “designer” drugs that haven’t yet come onto the anti-doping radar. Naturally, using such unknown substances comes with a whole new set of risks for the user. They also assist drug testing labs: The samples are usually saved and used for future testing baseline reference for that individual.

Factors That Influence Detection Times

There’s much more than just one factor that contributes to how long a steroid can be detected through drug testing. There are so many factors that it’s beyond your power to control them all. Still, you can go a long way in accurately predicting how long you might be at risk of steroid detection simply by understanding how each factor influences the detection time frame.

Type of Anabolic Steroid Used

The type of steroid is going to be the main factor concerning its detection time since the steroid type will determine all the other factors I’ve outlined below.

Most notably, the use of testosterone steroids is often a less risky proposition, for male users at least, because the hormone is naturally produced at detectable levels, and so the metabolites detected in urine testing are going to be similar to those produced by exogenous testosterone use; it comes down to a matter of quantity.

All testosterone steroids have esters that will vary the elimination half-life and detection time, with the exception of the very short-acting unesterified Testosterone Suspension, which can have a very short detection time of under three days.

Properties Unique to an Anabolic Steroid

Every steroid has a different chemical structure, and even slight differences can alter the speed at which it’s metabolized or how long the steroid’s metabolites will remain in the body (and hence, its detection time).

Some particular steroids are notorious for producing metabolites that are highly detectable through testing or that remain in the body for an extended time. Nandrolone-based steroids like Deca-Durabolin can be detected well after one year, so these steroids will almost always want to be avoided by anyone who’s at risk of being tested.

Dose and Duration of Use

As you would expect, the amount of each steroid you take and how long you use it will primarily influence its detection time. With higher doses, your metabolism works to break down more of the steroid at its natural rate of metabolism. Higher doses can result in slower hormone metabolism as the body works harder with its available enzymes and other substances involved in the metabolic process. This can result in an extended detection time compared with taking lower doses.

Route of Administration

There’s a big difference between oral and injectable steroids as far as their influence on detection times goes. Oral steroids are active almost immediately and leave the body quickly as they pass through the liver and are exposed to metabolic processes.

Generally, any oral steroid will have a shorter detection time than injectables, although it can still be surprisingly long (potentially several weeks) when considering the short half-life.

Injectable steroids have an attached ester that controls how quickly the hormone is released, and these steroids (and their metabolites) will always remain detectable for much longer.

Fat Solubility

Anabolic compounds are very fat-soluble compounds, meaning these are substances that are absorbed with fats and then stored in fatty tissue.

This means anabolic steroids can last longer in the body compared to more water-soluble substances. The result of this fat solubility is the ongoing presence of the steroid in your system, including its metabolites.

Some steroids will be more fat-soluble than others and so detectable for longer periods due to them remaining in the fat tissue. Deca-Durabolin is one such steroid.

Resistance to Metabolism

Detectable metabolites will remain around longer in the body the more a steroid hormone is resistant to metabolism. Eventually, the body will metabolize and excrete the steroid completely, but there is no set period, and this factor will vary between individuals. Some steroids are known to be more resistant to the body’s metabolism than others, a notable example being Trenbolone. Some of these steroids can exit the body in the urine without having been metabolized, producing a strong positive result for a long period of several months.

Half-life vs. Detection Times

It’s easy to think that by calculating the half-life of a steroid, you can work out when it will no longer be detectable in your body, and you can then pass a drug test with flying colors – right? Unfortunately, it’s not quite that straightforward.

The half-life of a steroid is a very different concept to detection time. While the half-life does influence detection time to an extent, you can not rely on a steroid’s half-life to estimate just how long that steroid might be able to be detected through drug testing.

In many cases, the use of the substance can still be detected in trace amounts of the remaining metabolites long after the compound has exceeded its active life in the body. So, while a steroid will no longer be providing you with any performance benefits, it could still be detected in a drug test many weeks or even months later.

It’s the metabolites – the remnants of the metabolized anabolic steroids – that you won’t have any idea are there until you’ve been tested. Relying on the half-life of a steroid to determine your drug test risk is, therefore, a great mistake. Only the most basic of drug testing will look for the steroid hormone itself rather than its metabolites.

However, with more advanced detection techniques, any steroid testing is undertaken by competitions and authorities with the budget to ensure in-depth tests will pick up metabolites. You should not be surprised when these metabolites are still present weeks, months, and sometimes well over a year after you’ve taken your last anabolic steroid dosage – regardless of what that steroid’s half-life is.

Final Notes

So many guys are itching to do steroids. There’s nothing wrong with enthusiasm, but diving in with zero knowledge or idea of what could go wrong, let alone HOW you should be using steroids, is going to turn your steroid experience into a living nightmare. Believe me… I almost went there myself.

So, what I’ve provided above is a guideline that can only be used as an essential guide. I’m often finding new and better ways to do things, like changing doses slightly or timing, etc. These specifics are actions we can only really experiment with ourselves, and TAKE NOTE of the pros and cons of everything you try.

People will always find different ways of doing something; this is just one person’s opinion. So please use this information as a guide and inspiration for creating your cycles and strategies, but don’t take it as the final word that you need to stick to 100%.

— Furious Joe