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Written by Dave Palumbo
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Tuesday, 08 April 2003 |
What is the best strategy to employ when going off anabolic steroids? Also, what is the ideal amount of time to stay off the drugs?Whenever you consider stopping an anabolic steroid cycle, it’s extremely important to wean yourself off of the drugs very slowly. For instance, if someone were taking 1,000 milligrams of Sustanon per week, he would not want to just abruptly stop taking everything. The problem with “just stopping” a cycle while taking such a high dosage of steroids, is that you may suffer the very unfortunate fate of “crashing.” In bodybuilding circles, when we talk of “crashing” we are referring to a situation whereby the user abruptly stops taking any exogenous anabolic steroids, yet also has no endogenous (natural) production of testosterone (due to temporary shutdown of the pituitary gland from all the aromatizing steroids he is taking). Usually, it takes approximately two to three weeks for natural testosterone to start being produced. It is during this two- to three-week period that the user is extremely vulnerable to viruses (caused by a suppressed immune system), low sex drive (caused by a low testosterone level), and worst of all, lean muscle losses (also caused by low testosterone levels). How can we prevent this “crash” of the endogenous hormonal systems from occurring? In the first week, it is a really smart idea to slowly lower the amounts of all injected anabolic steroids. (Bring injected testosterone levels immediately down to 500 milligrams per week). In week two, go off all oral compounds and stop all injected anabolics (with the exception of long-acting injected testosterones— keep them at 500 milligrams per week). It’s a good idea to stay on long-acting testosterones (such as testosterone cypionate or testosterone enanthate) as opposed to short-acting ones (such as testosterone propionate or testosterone phenylpropionate) because the long duration esters will slowly leave the bloodstream over the course of three to four weeks. (Therefore, there will always be some hormone present). During that time, the user’s body will have a chance to start producing endogenous testosterone. Around week four, following the last dose of injected testosterone, the user should start a two-week course of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG). Every second day, he should inject 2,000 IUs of HCG. HCG is a hormone that mimics the effects of the pituitary hormone Luteining Hormone (LH). LH, in men, stimulates the leydig cells of the testicles to produce testosterone (this will effectively “kickstart” the inactive testes). Lastly (around week six), Clomid (clomiphene citrate) should be administered orally at a dose of 50 milligrams two times per day (for two weeks). Clomid is a synthetic estrogen that, in men, can perform two functions: 1) Clomid antagonizes estrogen receptors (somewhat inhibiting the estrogenic side effects of aromatizing anabolic steroids). 2) Clomid mimics the effects of the hypothalamic hormone Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GRH). In humans, GRH stimulates the pituitary gland to produce LH and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). This final role of Clomid, then, is to help awaken the pituitary gland that has been suppressed from the heavy anabolic steroid cycle that was just recently ceased.
Once the last Clomid pill has been swallowed, it’s time to allow the body to restore its natural endogenous hormonal system to normal. This restoration may take upwards of two to four weeks. I suggest staying off all synthetic anabolic steroids for at least six to eight weeks following the ingestion of the last Clomid pill. This “break” should give your liver cells adequate time to detoxify themselves and your muscle cell receptors enough time to once again become receptive to anabolic stimuli.
I have terribly painful hip joints. What are the best supplements I can take to help repair my sore hips? I have a little joint repair “concoction” I swallow down every morning before I eat my first meal. It consists of 2,000 milligrams of glucosamine sulfate, 2,000 milligrams of MSM (methyl sulfonyl methane) powder, one packet of hydrolyzed animal collagen (Knox unflavored gelatin) and 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C. The glucosamine sulfate, vitamin C and animal collagen are all major constituents of connective tissue; the MSM is an extremely bioavailable form of sulfur. There are huge numbers of disulfide (sulfur) bonds found within the various connective tissues (cartilage, ligaments and tendons) in articulating joints; therefore, by ingesting a usable form of sulfur, you will noticeably speed up the repair of both muscular and connective tissues. The addition of these four supplements on a daily or twice-daily basis will give your body all the necessary raw materials to help enable effective, efficient joint remodeling. My question pertains to injecting liquids into muscles to enhance their size. I’m aware of Synthol, but I’m worried about bad side effects. Would injecting liquid Creatine (sterilized) be a safer alternative? If it would be, please tell me the proper way to do this (what type of needle to use and how much to inject). If it wouldn’t be safe, please tell me the dangers and side effects. The use of Synthol (sterile oil) injections to help increase the size of small muscle groups is a pretty safe practice if done correctly (a lot safer than injecting a sterile water-based solution). If you were to inject a liquid Creatine solution into a muscle group, you would have to contend with two very serious problems. First off, any time you are dealing with “water” as opposed to oil, there is a much greater chance of bacterial infection occurring since bacteria seem to thrive in water-based solutions (especially the sugar-laced vehicle found in liquid Creatine). Secondly, the injection of Creatine granules (contained within the liquid Creatine solution) into any muscular matrix would cause the body’s immune system to attack and encapsulate the granules (thus causing the deposition of tons of scar tissue within the injected muscle group). I am a 19-year-old female who is into bodybuilding and plans to go “pro” one day. I’m seriously considering using growth hormone. I have studied this topic to the fullest, but would greatly appreciate an opinion from you on this matter. I am 5-foot-6, 130 pounds and about 15 percent body fat. Please discuss any information you have on this topic, including pros and cons and recommended dosages.Over the past 10 years, I have observed numerous bodybuilders of all ages and of both sexes using growth hormone and I have to admit that the individuals who experienced the best, most potent effects were the teenagers whose bone plates had not yet closed. Empirically, it appears as though open bone plates enable the GH (via IGF-1 release from the liver) to cause tremendous muscle as well as long bone growth. In teen GH-users, I observed the actual expansion of rib cages, the widening of clavicles (wider shoulders), and the growth of femurs (increases in height). Additionally, the muscular gains seen in teenagers is dramatically greater than those seen in adults, which leads me to speculate that teens have greater numbers of IGF-1 receptors on the cell membranes of their muscle cells. As far as dosages are concerned, two to four IU per day (taken in the morning upon waking) has been shown to be a rather effective dosage to stimulate muscle growth and fat mobilization. As a young, teenage woman, you could probably get away with taking one IU per day and still see efficacious results. Remember, length of time on growth hormone is always more important than the amount taken.
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Performance Nutrition 
