Steroid Guide Review

Unless you are a pro and are on steroids all year round all good cycles come to an end, and it is important that you make use of certain compounds (esp clomid) to aid a speedy and maximum recovery or you may stand to loose all that hard earned muscle gained during the cycle.

What is recovery & why do we need to recover?

When we take anabolic steroids our bodies receive an excess supply of androgens, oestrogens and or progesterones so our own production of natural testosterone is shut down. This is not a problem during a cycle however, when we stop taking steroids and their levels in our body begin to fall our natural test levels still remain low and inhibited and thus unless we do something to rectify this we will begin to loose mass at a rapid rate!

In order to understand how we recover and how the drugs act on the body I will briefly describe the Hypothalamic Pituitary Testes Axis (HPTA). The hypothalamus controls the production and release the gonadotrophic hormones - follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary gland. FSH and LH stimulate testosterone production and secretion in the testes.

When we take anabolic steroids the HPTA is inhibited at the level of the hypothalamus and the pituitary (by oestrogens, androgens and progesterones) which shuts down natural testosterone production. We use the drug clomid (Clomiphene Citrate; used therapeutically to aid ovulation in females) to speed up recovery after a cycle of anabolic steroids. Clomid is a weak synthetic oestrogen and it acts by reducing the oestrogenic inhibition of the HPTA thus stimulating natural testosterone production by the testes.

It is important to take clomid at a time when the levels of anabolic steroids in the body are sufficiently low enough so that the relatively low level of remaining inhibition can be overcome by clomid. If clomid is taken too early it will not overcome the inhibition by the steroids and if its taken too late then you will start to loose muscle rapidly, so timing is crucial. This timing depends on the anabolic agents used during the cycle, if steroids with a short half life (e.g. dianabol) were only used then clomid therapy can begin immediately.

If longer acting compounds (e.g. deca) were used then you must wait longer (3 weeks) until levels fall sufficiently low enough to start clomid therapy. If a combination of compounds are used then clomid therapy should be based on the waiting time of the longest acting compound. The table below shows the recommended waiting times after the last administration for a range of compounds.

Steroid Waiting time before clomid therapy
Anadrol/Winstrol/Dianabol/Test suspension 8 hours
Test Cyp/Ethanate/ Primobolan depot 2 weeks
Sustanon/Deca /Eq 3 weeks
Test prop/Tren 2-3 days

e.g. If deca, dianabol and test ethanate are all cycled for 8 weeks then clomid therapy should start in week 11 (i.e. 3 weeks after last deca jab).

So how do we take clomid?

On day 1 take 300mg (large dose used to overcome any initial inhibition).
Days 2-10 100mg/day.
Days 11-21 50mg/day.

If you are taking other anti-oestrogens e.g. Nolva, Proviron then continue to take these throughout clomid therapy they will also aid better recovery alongside clomid and safeguard from rebound gyno when coming off anti-oestrogens.

Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG)

HCG is a hormone that acts in way comparable to LH at the level of the testes. Essentially for our purposes its function is to encourage growth of shrunken testes during a cycle. It also however, increases and results in a rapid surge in testosterone production by the testes, which at a first glance may seem beneficial for recovery however, much of this is aromatized into oestrogen and thus inhibits testosterone production at the level of the HPTA. This is why I would recommend being on an anti oestrogen when on HCG as the rise in oestrogen levels could precipitate as gyno!

So the important message for HCG is do not use it for recovery of natural testosterone levels but for the recovery of atrophied testes prior to clomid therapy as natural testosterone production in shrunken testes is severely reduced and hinders recovery. HCG is best taken during the last two weeks of a cycle or during longer cycles half way through the cycle for a week or two and then towards the end thus helping to avoid atrophy.

Doses –avoid high doses in one jab and spread the dosage out over a week (to avoid possible risks of gyno). It can be taken both intramuscularly or subcutaneously. Recommended dosing is 500-1000iu /day for 2 weeks. It can be stored in the fridge after being mixed with sterile water for a week or so.

Other agents I have used to aid my recovery are ephedrine and clenbuterol and I cycle between these two compounds (2 weeks each) for a total of 6 weeks on stopping my steroid cycle. I also always end my steroid cycle by beginning a cycle of creatine. All this helps with recovery.

An important point that many people forget after a cycle is to keep up with a good diet. A 200lb person who gains 15lbs on a cycle should then eat like a 215lb person and not someone who is 200lb!