Medications that alter hormone levels carry inherent risks. No substance of this kind can be considered completely safe. Potency varies among steroids, and anabolic agents possess side effects. However, no medication altering natural hormone levels can be considered safe. When in doubt, always consult an expert or, even better, a sports medicine endocrinologist before making choices that could be harmful to your body.
Common assumptions about performance enhancement deserve close inspection right from the start.
Oral versus injectable steroids
People often tend to think that an oral steroid is much milder than an injectable one: for some strange reason, they believe that taking a pill or drinking a liquid oral suspension is better than sticking a needle in their buttock to inject something. This is a myth from COMPLETELY DISPEL!
First of all, every steroid has its own potential toxicity, which mainly depends on the active ingredient regardless of how it is taken. Given the same level of harmfulness, an oral steroid will ALWAYS be more toxic than its injectable counterpart because the liver processes the drug twice, while an injectable product is processed by the liver only once.
If you want to use ONLY oral steroids and avoid injectable ones at all costs for whatever reason, you should know that this sport may not be for you.
First steroid cycle
When you decide to cross the line and enter the “dark side” of sports, it’s important to understand a few things about your first steroid cycle:
- Dosages and compound selection depend directly on individual goals.
- Dosages and compound selection depend directly on age and genetics.
- Compounds alone achieve very little toward physical transformation and often worsen problems without rigorous training and nutrition backing them up.
For convenience, let’s assume that most readers of this article are aspiring bodybuilders and therefore their goal is to improve their performance in the gym and build muscle mass.
We do not recommend starting steroid cycles early. You should reach your maximum potential naturally first. This rule changes if you pursue competitive bodybuilding, where steroids are necessary.
Your receptors are extremely fresh during your first steroid cycle. Because of this high responsiveness, extreme cycles are completely unnecessary. Starting with a cycle of testosterone enanthate ONLY is ideal at very low doses (200–250 mg per week, for example). There’s no need to add anything else precisely because your receptors will be highly responsive to this small amount of testosterone, and adding more would only cause side effects and make subsequent cycles less effective. MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER!
After 4–8 weeks of Test E, combined with an excellent, balanced diet, increased calorie intake, and a highly targeted workout routine, you’ll already see great results. And these improvements will be almost daily. If your progress starts to plateau, slowly increase your calorie intake and workout intensity, and ONLY THEN should you slightly increase your testosterone dose by 50–100 mg.
The initial protocol should run for twelve weeks maximum before stopping completely for post-cycle therapy to restore receptor sensitivity.
When it’s time for your second cycle, you can either increase the testosterone enanthate base slightly, or you can simply add another compound—such as Deca Durabolin or Boldenone if you’re bulking, or perhaps Masteron if you’re cutting. If you really want to use an oral steroid, you might want to substitute Deca or Boldenone with a mild yet potent oral suspension, such as Liquid Anavar, for example.
Ending the protocol
Start with the lowest possible doses. Increase them gradually as you progress. Bodybuilding is a long marathon, not a sprint, so be patient and protect your health.
