Three components of fitness for steroid users

Steroid usage is catching rage among people by the day, especially the younger players. Where its use is in no way fatal, it would still remain in one’s best favor if they are taken with the help of a medical expert. Many people think that reading about them in magazines or the internet is enough. Where knowledge imparted through these mediums is not wrong, there are minute things that one must know while practically administering steroids.

Hence do not, under any circumstances skimp on your doctor’s visit if you are following a steroid regime. This also becomes necessary because many a times excessive usage can lead to serious illnesses. So let’s have a look at three components of fitness that a user should focus at while administering anabolics.

These are his:

• Cardio-vascular health
• Muscular strength and endurance
• Flexibility

So to ensure that your fitness levels are maintained during the administration of  steroids, it is imperative to keep up with cardio along with plenty of stretching. This will greatly help in regulating the cholesterol level of the user as well. Flexibility will aid in circulation as well as assist with injury prevention.

Many anabolic steroid users often say that their cholesterol levels shoot up to great level after a cycle but are readily brought back to normal with proper nutrition and aggressive cardio workouts.

For flexibility, stretching at least three times a week for 20 minutes each time greatly helps. Also, it is becomes important to hold any given stretch for at least 20 seconds at a time. This is because durations less than that can serve to make the muscle contract and tighten up, thereby making it to become counterproductive to flexiblity and injury prevention. The user will feel a slow release when one holds a stretch steadily for over 20 seconds and stretching of the muscle will begin to happen. This is called stretching in its true sense and is what we should aim for.

Significance of testosterone in females

When it comes to women, they are more influenced by hormones as compared to men. Testosterone, for instance. It is a male sex hormone and the females only produce one-tenth of Testosterone than men, but it still plays a vital role in their physiology. A normal woman will have 300mcg hormone production at the beginning of the day but unlike men, they are able to retain a greater percentage of the hormone in blood.

The problem is that the importance of this hormone in females has not yet been understood completely. You will rarely hear that the blood testosterone levels of a female are measured or she is recommended to buy testosterone injections owing to her deficiency. In fact, most doctors don’t know how to administer testosterone even if it declines in females. So far the world only knows that androgens are male hormones and estrogen is the female hormone.

Unfortunately, there are just a few studies that explain the implications of testosterone therapy on females and in most cases the administration of the hormone was done either orally or transdermally. Since female don’t require testosterone in high concentration, these means of administration are enough to help them cope with the deficiency. But the use of testosterone is rarely considered to address the problem in females.

If you think you can get help on testosterone deficiency by seeing your local physician, then you are wrong. Seriously, it’s hard to find a physician who will be willing to give you a testosterone prescription. The fact of the matter is that you cannot find help with the normal pharmacies. You will have to do a little bit of research to find doctors who can recommend sublingual or transdermal testosterone for both men and women. However, a genuine doctor will ask for your saliva test first to identify the deficiency and to find out the testosterone levels are low enough to provide supplements. To determine the level of freely available testosterone, a blood test is also required.

In most cases, the female deficiency can be treated with testosterone patches that are capable of releasing 150mcg of testosterone on daily basis. But the treatment is way too expensive and because there is already very less testosterone in females, scientists and physicians alike don’t feel the need for women to buy testosterone injections. You can order testosterone creams or gels from online pharmacies if there are no local venders.

The females suffering from testosterone insufficiency face more or less the same symptoms as the men with androgen deficiency. They have decreased libido and desire for sexual pleasure. Besides that, they experience constant fatigue and low energy levels along with reduced bone density, increased body fat, lack of cognitive abilities, irritability, and depression. The condition is often characterized by hot flashes which compelled most doctors and scientists to understand the importance of measurement of bioavailable testosterone in females and its supplementation in case insufficiency.

A Mild Steroid Oxandrolone

Anavar is the trademark name of the anabolic steroid, Oxandrolone (Oxandrin), created by Pfizer, Inc. It is taken orally and has few known side Oxandroloneeffects, binding well with the androgen receptor when taken in sufficient dosage.

Compared to other anabolic steroids available in the market Anavar is mildly anabolic, only slightly androgenic, and is not very toxic. It is also mild on the body's Hypothalamic-Testicular-Pituitary-Axis (HPTA) and does not aromatize or convert to estrogen a major problem for stronger anabolic steroids, which causes unwanted breast tissue to form (man boobs), called gynecomastia. As with any anabolic steroid however, high dosage of Anavar can reduce the production of luteinizing hormone (LH), halting the stimulation of Leydig cells in testicles to produce testosterone, and therefore can cause the testes to shrink or to atrophy. High dosages of Anavar (about 40-50mg) require Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) to stabilize protein catabolism and normalize the body's testosterone secretion. Anavar is also very popular because of its fat burning capability. Called a "fat-burning steroid," Anavar is said to reduce abdominal and visceral fat for those with the low to normal natural testosterone range.

Doctors usually prescribe Anavar for halting wasting related to AIDS and recovering involuntary weight loss to promote the regrowth of muscles. The drug Oxandrolone has also been used in treating cases of Osteoporosis in the past, showing partially successful results. Due to bad publicity in the abuse of the steroid however, Searle Laboratories (now Pfizer, Inc.) discontinued the sale of oxandrolone, but was later picked up by Bio-Technology General Corporation (now Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), released in 1995 under the trademark name Oxandrin. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Oxandrolone for orphan drug status in treating weight loss caused by HIV, Turner's syndrome, and alcoholic hepatitis. Oxandrolone has also showed positive results in treating hereditary angioedema and anemia. In a study of the effect of Oxandrolone on burnt victims, those treated with Oxandrolone were found to have improved body composition, reduce hospital stay time, and preserved muscle mass.

Because Anavar is a mild steroid, it may require a higher dosage compared to stronger steroids. It is not without side effects however. Those thinking of upping their dosage for this drug just because it is comparably mild should think twice. Some studies show that there is a link between the prolonged use of Anavar and liver toxicity, similar to the effects of 17-alkylated steroids. Even in lesser dosages, some users have reported side effects such as nausea, bloating, itching (hives), gastro-intestinal problems, depression, skin rash, diarrhea, yellowing of the skin or eyes, unusual bleeding, swelling, and unusually colored stools. In rare cases, serious or even fatal liver problems can occur, as well as the development of heart disease. Regular laboratory testing is highly recommended when taking this drug, to closely monitor the liver and to ensure that low density lipoprotein (LDL; also called the "bad cholesterol") has not increased.
For bodybuilders, normal dose for a first time Anavar user is considered to be at 10-30 mg's per day. However, 10 mg may be sufficient for someone who has never taken anabolic steroids beforehand. Higher dosages may lead to androgen receptor damage, HPTA suppression, and liver damage.

Testosterone Cypionate for Muscle Building

Testosterone cypionate is a synthetic version of the naturally occurring steroid hormone testosterone. It can be taken by itself or with other drugs, along with a balanced diet and and exercise regimen, to help build muscle. However, there are a number of potentially dangerous side effects to consider before using it.

Testosterone cypionate is an injectable, synthetic, long-acting form of the steroid hormone testosterone. Testosterone cypionate differs from naturally produced testosterone in that it contains an eight-carbon ester group, which makes it more difficult for the liver to break down. Consequently, those who use it must inject testosterone cypionate into intramuscular tissue, where it is absorbed by the body, stored in fatty tissue and released slowly over time.


Testosterone binds to the androgen receptors in muscle cells, where it stimulates protein synthesis and thereby causes muscle growth. It also acts to prevent muscle tissue breakdown (catabolism) and promotes bone density. High levels of testosterone can also cause the body to retain excess water and store it as fluid in the muscle tissues, further inflating gains.

Individuals trying to add muscle mass can take testosterone cypionate by itself. Because the ester acts over a long period of time, effective doses can range from 500 to 1,000 milligrams per week for eight to 12 weeks.

Maximum muscle gains are achieved by “stacking” (taking more than one steroid hormone at a time) testosterone cypionate with other drugs. For instance, those looking for the biggest, quickest payoff can take weekly dosages of 200 to 400 milligrams of nandrolone (Deca-Durabolin) with 500 to 750 milligrams of testosterone cypionate. Individuals who want to limit water retention typically take weekly doses of 300 to 400 milligrams of Primobolan (a mild androgen) along with testosterone cypionate.

It is imperative to eat and train properly in order to gain muscle while taking testosterone cypionate. It recommends heavy resistance training, as this will cause micro-tears in muscle fibers, which the body will then repair and replace with new muscle tissue. In order to enjoy maximum muscle gain and quick recovery it’s important to eat two to three grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. For example, a 200-pound athlete with 10 % body fat has 180 pounds of lean body mass and consequently would need 360 to 540 grams of protein daily.

Testosterone cypionate can cause side effects, including high blood pressure, depletion of good cholesterol, jaundice, and heart and liver disease. As testosterone is an androgen, users may also experience deepening of the voice, greasy skin, acne and greater facial and body hair growth. Women are more prone to suffer these effects and may also experience a disruption of menstrual cycles, altered libido and an enlarged clitoris. Excess amounts of testosterone can undergo aromatization, a natural process that converts it to estrogen. In men, this can cause erectile dysfunction (including impotence) and lead to gynecomastia (the development of breasts). Additionally, taking excess amounts of exogenous (externally produced) testosterone can dampen the body’s natural production, and users may have to take injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in order to begin producing their own again.

Synthol demolishes muscle tissue

Synthol is no longer a novelty. Some bodybuilders have been injecting themselves for years with a mixture of 85 percent MCT oil, 7.5 percent lidocaine and 7.5 percent alcohol, targeting muscle groups they feel are not growing fast enough. Surgeons are now starting to notice the long-term effects of the Synthol rage: and they are not mild.

Synthol was concocted in the 1990s by the bodybuilding guru Chris Clarke. It's a 'site enhancement oil', consisting of fatty acids that accumulate in the muscle tissue where you inject the oil. As a result muscles grow at a fantastic rate. Bodybuilders like Greg Valentino developed an unnatural physique by using the substance and became world famous. Peter Hiesinger followed his example  and became ill.

Doctors have already written about the dangers of bodybuilders injecting themselves with oil, but more recently case studies have started to appear that describe the long-term effects on bodybuilders who injected themselves with Clarke's brainchild years ago. Injected fat, the study has shown, causes inflammations that decimate muscles over time.

This happened for example to the 29-year-old bodybuilder that the surgeon Suleiman Ghandourah of University Hospital Marburg. Four years ago he started injecting Synthol into his biceps, but recently these muscles started to play up. They hurt so much that the man had to stop training, and in the end he was constantly in extreme pain. The man's biceps [below left] not only looked strange, they felt strange too. It looked as though they had developed holes in them. When the doctors made an MRI scan of the man's right biceps which was in worse condition - they saw that the muscle was now made up of separate parts. There was oil between the muscle fibres [below left] and the remaining muscle tissue was inflamed.

The doctors decided to amputate the most seriously damaged part of the biceps, a piece measuring 11 x 5 x 5 cm. This helped. Six months later the bodybuilder asked the doctors to perform the same treatment on his other biceps.

The doctors operated on the man's arms. They discovered to their amazement that the man had almost no muscle tissue left in his arms. His arms were filled with pus and fat. The surgeons removed these, but when they did an MRI scan a year later they saw that hardly any muscle tissue had been restored. Three years after the operation the man was still suffering from pain and could no longer train at all.

The New Sit-Ups

Here's something you probably never thought you'd hear out of the mouth of a fitness pro: Stop doing sit-ups. But according to Jay Cardiello, celebrity strength and conditioning coach, not only do sit-ups and crunches isolate very few muscles in your abdomen, they also aggravate an existing problem for most Americans: the anterior tilt.

"Most people sit at a desk all day, staring at their computers or talking on the phone, which creates a hunched-over position or an anterior tilt in your body," Cardiello says. "So you're already crunching forward at work all day – why would you want to do that at the gym?"
To train your abs, do planks instead, says Cardiello. Planks and side planks work your abs, in addition to your posterior side – the underdeveloped, underutilized backside of your body that includes your back, butt, and hamstrings. "A full-body movement like a plank or side plank works more joints and activates more muscles than doing crunches, and they train your posterior and anterior at the same time," Cardiello concludes.

When doing planks and side planks, remember to keep your spine as straight as possible, without hunching your upper back, raising your hips, or letting your hips or knees drop. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, or until you lose form, and repeat if you don't feel any strain or pain. When regular planks become easy, try doing them on an unstable surface, like a Swiss ball or even a bed, to create a sense of imbalance and force your body to recruit even more muscles.

5 Things We Can Learn From Arnold About Building Muscle

Arnold Schwarzenegger is arguably the ultimate American success story.

In this article, we'll examine 5 mechanisms that perhaps contributed to Arnold's bodybuilding success.

1. Chase the Pump

Arnold was a big proponent of training for "the pump." The pump is a phenomenon whereby muscles become engorged with blood following resistance training. It's primarily achieved by performing multiple sets with moderate to high reps.

2. Keep Your Mind on Your Muscles -Arnold was astute when he claimed that resistance training was more than simply lifting a weight from point A to point B, stating that "the weights are just a means to an end; how well you contract the muscles is what training is all about."

3. Visualize Performance - Arnold frequently employed a technique called visualization (a.k.a. motor imagery) whereby he mentally pictured the way he wanted his muscles to look, and then imagined them taking this form while training.

4. Strike a Pose - Watch nearly any training video of Arnold from back in the day and you'll see images of him posing in front of the mirror. Arnold would pose between sets, pose after a workout, and pose on his off days.

5. Go Heavy - Arnold didn't believe that bodybuilders should train like powerlifters. Rather, he felt that bodybuilders needed to master many different techniques. One essential technique for physique mastery was, in his opinion, maximal strength training. Arnold stated that "the basis of bodybuilding is developing muscle mass by lifting heavy weights."

How to Become a Hardcore Squatter

It’s time to enter beast mode. To become a hardcore squatter you need to:

Building muscle isn’t magic. It’s hard work. And the cornerstone of hard work is a dedication to the fundamental mass building exercise, squats. So stop being a pussy, quit your whining, tell you friend who keeps saying “squats will ruin your knees” to bite it, and head to the gym.

You know that little movement you do in the squat rack with the bar on your back – the one where you load the bar and only sink down 3 inches – well I have news for you. That’s not a squat. That’s not even a 1/2 squat. That’s called a quarter squat, my friend, and the only thing this quarter squat will accomplish is helping you reach the grave a lot sooner.
If you want to be a man, go deep. Real men go deep. Deep squats build beastly quads, and raw brute strength.

The squat is NOT a standing leg press. You do NOT push yourself up from a squatting position with your legs. The squat is a hips, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, abs AND quads movement. But have no fear, your quads WILL grow.
Here’s how you squat. Sink deep into the hole, then raise your ass up to start the movement, and pull your hips forward to finish the squat.

The New Risks of Testosterone Therapy

A study of more than 8,700 men diagnosed with low testosterone found that those who received injections or other testosterone-boosting products were 30 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke, or death. Testosterone therapy can be a beneficial treatment, since low-T can cause a rise in plaque in the arteries, an increase in fat in the midsection, and higher blood sugar. "The danger comes when men who are not actually low on testosterone buy these supplements and obtain super high levels without a doctor monitoring them," says Dr. Larry Santora, medical director of the Dick Butkus Center for Cardiovascular Wellness in Orange County, California. "Men using these products need their levels monitored, as well as their blood pressure, blood sugar, and lipid levels."

3 steps to ensure maximum muscle growth

1. Lift more weight - Simple, right? Well, I don’t mean for you to just try and lift as much weight as you can every time you head into the gym. I mean that if you’re doing a program, keep track of exactly what you’re lifting every time you’re in the gym, and then try and best it the next time you’re working out doing the same exercise.t.

2. Sleep - This whole post I’ve talked about training, and different steps to take when you’re in the gym, but one of the most important factors in your eventual success actually happens in the bedroom – and no I don’t mean sex. Allowing your body the proper recovery is maybe even as important as the workout. It’s in rest and recovery that our bodies repair the muscle tissue that we’ve broken down during exercise – in effect, “building muscle”. Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

3. Drink water – lots of it. - Our muscles are actually made up of 70-80% water, which means that if you’re going to get the most out of your muscles, you’re going to have to keep them hydrated. Not to mention the fact that a healthy supply of water boosts the metabolism, helping your body burn fat.

In 1997, a German study found that protein synthesis occurs at a higher rate in muscle cells when they are well hydrated, compared to dehydrated cells. So keep your muscles hydrated!