Interesting


Steroid Myths

There are few drugs in the world that are subjected to as much misinformation as anabolic steroids. When athletes were first using anabolic steroids in the 1940s and ’50s to break world records, the scientific and medical community simultaneously published studies that told us that they didn’t work. During that time the only legitimate information about these drugs was coming from the front lines; the weightlifters (and later bodybuilders) who had tried them and knew what they did. For decades there were scientists claiming anabolic steroids did not do anything to build muscle or strength and, to this day, the Physician’s Desk Reference says that they do not work to improve athletic performance.
Ultimately, medical science started playing catch up, but the damage was done and we steroid-users mostly turned a blind-eye to anything falling from the Ivory Towers of academia. And then came the Internet – where a hodge-podge of science and experience has been brought together to create some of the biggest steroid-myths we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, since they come from other steroid users and not doctors, we’ve come to accept many of them as fact. And because the internet is the primary source of information on anabolic steroids at this point, the person who screams the loudest is the one who is most often repeated – right or wrong.

Myth: Steroids down-regulate your androgen receptors (this is why your first cycle is always your best).

Truth: The logic for this myth actually makes a lot of sense – receptor down-regulation is pretty obvious when you drink a cup of coffee every day for a month, then find you need to keep increasing the size to get the same “kick”. We see (and feel) this receptor downgrade with caffeine, clenbuterol, ephedrine and a ton of other stuff, so it’s logical to think that we’re seeing the same thing with steroids. Sadly, the science tells us otherwise. Steroids actually do the opposite – they up-regulate your androgen receptors. It’s wrong to think about androgen receptors as permanent receptacles for the androgen ligand (sort of like a fixed electrical outlet in your house). In reality, your androgen receptors are constantly being turned over. When unattached to an androgen they have a half life of approximately three hours and are ultimately replaced with new ones. However, in the presence of an androgen (i.e. when they’re attached), they become more sensitive, their half life is doubled and the amount of new receptors being formed also increases substantially. It’s also important to remember that AR-mediated effects are not the whole story when it comes to anabolic steroid activity in the body. There are still a host of other effects that have little to nothing at all to do with AR, known as non-AR dependent effects, which include central nervous system stimulation and a host of other anabolic and

potentially anabolic activities. But that still leaves us with the question of why our gains seem to slow down after a few cycles, and why we need to keep upping the dose. In truth, the answer probably has more to do with the body attempting to return to homeostasis through other mechanisms than it has with the androgen receptor per se. Still, if you’re worried about your androgen receptors you can take some L-Carnitine L-Tartrate, a nutritional supplement that has been shown to increase androgen receptors (it was included in beastdrol, from NTBM for this exact reason).


Myth: Winstrol is the same whether you drink it or inject it.

Truth: When you pass a steroid through your liver it’s subject to a different metabolism to that of steroids injected directly into the muscle. In the case of Winstrol (Stanozolol), this includes greater interaction with SHBG, which lowers the amount of that carrier protein (allowing you to free up more androgen in the body). However, overall you get greater protein synthesis with the injectable route of administration, but both methods have their advantages.


Myth: If you inject double the amount of testosterone you have twice as much in your bloodstream.

Truth: Again, this one seems to make a lot of sense. If you inject 600 milligrams of testosterone you should have twice as much in your blood as you would injecting 300 milligrams. But this isn’t how it works. The dose you’re taking isn’t equivalent to the blood plasma levels you’ll achieve – nor will doubling the dose necessarily double your blood plasma levels of testosterone. When scientists compared a 300 milligram shot of testosterone to a 600 milligram shot, they found that the 300mg weekly shot will get a normal male to approximately 1,345 ng/dl, while a 600mg weekly shot will get a normal male to 2,370 ng/dl (less than double the amount achieved with half the dose).


Myth: Testosterone is testosterone.

Truth: Although this seems like something that can’t be a myth, it is. Methyltestosterone (oral testosterone) converts to a much more potent version of oestrogen (methylestrogen) in the liver, while injectable testosterone does not. And, even the injectable testosterones have their differences; short esters convert to less oestrogen than longer esters. And, just to make things even more complicated, the patches and gels are convert to dihydrotestosterone to a much greater degree than either the injectable or oral testosterones.
Both oestrogen and dihydrotestosterone have profound physiological effects on the body and, because every type of testosterone doesn’t convert to them equally, we find varying effects depending on the one we’re using. Oestrogen promotes greater adipose (fat) gain, but also greater muscle gain, while DHT gives a harder, more quality look to the physique. Still, although we see this “testosterone is testosterone” myth repeated (online
mostly) we also see top-flight bodybuilders taking advantage of the differences in various testosterones – long esters for bulking, short esters for cutting. So it’s not only the route of administration (oral, transdermal or injectable) that matters, but also the ester of the injectable versions. Testosterone is, strangely, not just testosterone.


Myth: Steroids don’t work unless you train and eat properly.

Truth: We’d love this to be true, wouldn’t we? But the truth is that numerous studies conducted on burn victims, the elderly and other special populations, tell us that anabolic steroids will work to build muscle even in the most catabolic conditions, and in the absence of training. We see the same thing with people who have terrible training programmes but continue to make gains because they’re juicing. For optimal results, steroids are added to a proper programme and diet, but they’ll help even if you’re doing everything wrong. Hey, I didn’t make the rules, I’m just telling you what the science says!

Myth: The injection site doesn’t matter.

Truth: A study conducted by Minto et. al. in 1997 examined the differences between injecting in the deltoid (shoulder) versus the gluteus (butt). While we’d logically assume that if we’re injecting 100mgs of Nandrolone into the body it shouldn’t matter where the injection site is, but in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Injecting in the gluteus results in significantly higher blood plasma levels of the anabolic steroid in question. Put more simply, the men who received gluteal injections in the Minto study ended up with more Nandrolone in their bloodstream! In practical terms, this means if we’re going to inject one ml of anabolic steroid per week, we’d probably be getting the best results by alternating butt cheeks (or quads). For the guys doing a few ml per day, they’re going to have to stick themselves anywhere they’ve still got a piece of unscarred skin showing!




Myth: As long as the milligram amount is the same, the concentration doesn’t matter.

Truth: It seems like a reasonable assumption to say that a 100mg shot of Nandrolone is going to hit you the same, regardless of whether it’s 4ml of 25mg or 1ml of 100mg, right? Wrong. Minto (the guy from the myth above) took a look at Nandrolone volume per injection and compared it to final blood plasma levels, and found that the more highly concentrated shot (100mg in 1ml of oil versus 4ml) actually produced a higher concentration of steroid in the bloodstream (yes, even though the total milligram amount was exactly the same). This means you’re actually getting a better product when you purchase something like Equibold 350 (a 350mg/ml Equipoise from Anabolic Research Laboratories), as compared to purchasing an equal amount of Ganabol (which is 50mg/ml).


Myth: Equipoise (Bolednone) works similarly to Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone).

Truth: These two anabolic steroids have been considered interchangeable in cycles since the first series of Underground Steroid Handbook updates were published (they were a newsletter, written by the late Dan Duchaine). When Dan first introduced Equipoise to the bodybuilding world, he stated that a quick look at it’s structure revealed that it probably worked something like Deca. Well, nothing could be further from the truth.
Deca is a progestin, an anabolic steroid derived from 19-nor testosterone, while Equipoise is simply testosterone with an additional double bond. If we look at their characteristics (conversion to oestrogenic metabolites, conversion to 5a-reduced metabolites), we find very few similarities between the two drugs. And while Equipoise has a reputation for increasing appetite, Deca lays claim to healing injuries and relieving joint pain. Deca is also likely to cause a bit more water retention than Equipoise, although, when we talk in those kinds of terms we really start getting into a very subjective realm. In reality these two drugs are pretty dissimilar, but because of a single error, made a couple of decades ago, we still see them being used interchangeably in cycles.


Myth: You should take Milk Thistle on a cycle that includes orals.

Truth: While it will help protect your liver, the active component in Milk Thistle effectively reduces nuclear androgen receptor levels and down-regulates several androgen-regulated genes primarily by inhibiting the transactivation activity of the AR, and can also inhibit nuclear localisation of the androgen receptor. Milk Thistle will also have an inhibitory effect on the insulin-like growth factor receptor-mediated signaling pathway. All in all, there seems to be a reasonable expectation that this stuff is anti-anabolic. It’s a real loser to include during a cycle. A much better alternative is Prunella Vulgaris, which has been shown to protect liver cells and activate the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor, thereby allowing it to work as an anti-oestrogen as well. As long as you’re going to take oral steroids, you may as well take a liver protector that isn’t going to hinder your gains.