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Testosterone Enanthate
| Substance:
Testosterone Enanthate |
| Description;
Dose; Brand Name: Testosterone
Enanthate; 200 mg/cc; Tornell
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Testosterone enantate is an
ester of the naturally occurring andro-gen, testosterone.
It is responsible for the normal development of the male
sex characteristics. In the event of insufficient
testosterone production an almost complete balance of the
functional, anatomic, and psychic deficiency symptoms can
be achieved by substituting testosterone." (Excerpt
from the package insert of the German phar-maceutical
group, Jenapharm GmbH for its compound Testosteron--Depot.)
These lines clearly describe what an important and
effective hor-mone testosterone is. One of the many
testosterone substances is the testosterone enanthate. In
a man it is normally used to treat hypogonadism resulting
from androgen deficiency (1) and anemia (2). Surprisingly,
in medical schools testosterone enanthate is also used in
women and children. Boys and male youth take it as growth
therapy and women take it as an "additive treatment
for certain growth forms of the nipples during
post-menopause". In bodybuilding, however, it is THE
"mass building steroid." No matter what you
think of Dianabol, Parabolan, Anadrol 50, FinaJect, and
others, when it comes to strength, muscle mass, and rapid
weight gains, testosterone is still the "King of the
Road." Testosterone enanthate is the European
counterpart to Test-osterone cypionate which is
predominantly available in the U.S. (see also Test. Cyp.).
Testosterone enanthate, as most trade names al-ready
suggest, is a long-acting depot steroid. Depending on the
metabolism and the body's initial hormone level it has a
duration of effect of two to three weeks so that
theoretically very long intervals between injections are
possible. Although Testosterone enanthate is effective for
several weeks, it is injected at least once a week in
body-building, powerlifting, and weightlifting. This, by
all means, makes sense since Testosterone enanthate has a
plasma half-life time in the blood of only one week.
The decisive advantage of Testosterone enanthate, however,
is that this substance has a very strong androgenic effect
and is coupled with an intense anabolic component. This
allows almost everyone, within a short time, to build up a
lot of strength and mass. The, rapid and strong weight
gain is combined with distinct water reten-tion since a
retention of electrolytes and water occurs. A pleasant
effect is that the enormous strength gain goes hand in
hand with the water retention. Weightlifters and
powerlifters, especially in the higher weight classes,
appreciate this characteristic. In this group,
Testosterone enanthate, Testosterone cypionate, and
Sustanon (see also Sustanon) are the number one steroids;
this is also clearly re-flected in the dosages. Dosages of
500 mg, 1000 mg or even 2000 mg per day are no rarity-mind
you, per day, not per week. Sports disciplines requiring a
high degree of raw power, aggressiveness, and stamina
offer an excellent application for Depot-Testosterone. The
distinct water retention has also other advantages. Those
who have problems with their joints, shoul-der cartilages
or whose intervertebral disks, due to years of heavy
training, show the first signs of wear, can get temporary
relief by taking testosterone.
For the bodybuilder, the water retention that goes hand in
hand with Testosterone enanthate cuts both ways.
Certainly, one gets rap-idly massive and strong; however,
one's reflected image after a few weeks often shows
completely flat, watery, and puffy muscles. The muscles
appear as if they have been pumped up with air' to new
dimensions, yet during flexing nothing happens. Those who
do not believe this should bother to go visit the
so-called "bodybuilding champions" during the
OFF-season when these exaggerated quanti-ties of "Testo"
come in. A look at the now defunct bodybuilding magazine
WBF makes it even clearer. An additional problem when
taking Testosterone enanthate is that the conversion rate
to estrogen is very high. This, on one hand, leads the
body to store more fat; on the other hand, feminization
symptoms (gynecomastia) are not unusual. However, it must
be clearly stated that this depends on the athlete's
predisposition. By all means, there are athletes who even
with 1000 mg +/week do not show feminization symptoms or
fat deposits and who suffer very low water retention.
Others, however, develop pain in their nipples by simply
looking at a Testoviron-De-pot ampule. Yet the additional
intake of Nolvadex and Proviron should be considered at a
dosage level of 500 mg+ /week. As already men-tioned,
Testo is effective for everyone, whether a beginner or Mr.
Olympia. Testosterone enanthate also strongly promotes the
regen-eration process. This leads to distinctly shorter
overcompensation phases, an increased feeling of
well-being, and a distinct energy in-crease. This is also
the reason why several athletes are able to work out twice
daily for several hours six times a week and continue to
build up mass and strength. Those who can work out again
two hours after a hard leg workout know that Testo works.
Athletes who take Testosterone enanthate report an
excessively strong pump effect during training. This
"steroid pump" is attributed to an in-creased
blood volume with a higher oxygen supply and a higher
quantity of red blood cells. Those who take megadoses of
Testoster-one enanthate will already feel an enormous pump
in their upper thighs and calves when climbing stairs.
Despite this we recommend that steroid novices stay away
from all testosterone compounds. To make it very clear:
Those who have never taken steroids do not yet need any
testosterone and should wait until later when the
"weaker" steroids begin to have little effect.
For the more advanced, Testoster-one enanthate can either
be taken alone or in combination with other compounds.
For adding mass Testosterone enanthate combines very well
with Anadrol 50, Dianabol, Deca-Durabolin, and Parabolan.
As an ex-ample, a stack of 100 mg Anadrol 50/day, 200 mg
Deca-Durabolin/ week, and 500 mg Testosterone enanthate/week
works well. After six weeks of intake the Anadrol 50, for
example, could be replaced by 40 mg Dianabol/day.
Principally, Testosterone enanthate can be combined with
any steroid in order to gain mass. Apparently a synergetic
effect between the androgen, Testosterone enanthate, and
the anabolic steroids occurs which results in their
bonding witli sev-eral receptors.Those who draw too much
water with Testosterone enanthate and Dianabol or Anadrol,
or who are more intere6ted in strength without gaining 20
pounds of body weight should take Testosterone enanthate
together with Oxandrolone or Winstrol. The generally taken
dose-as already mentioned-varies from 250 mg/ week up to
2000 mg/day. In our opinion the most sensible dosage for
most athletes is between 250-1000 mg/week. Normally a
higher dosage should not be necessary When taking up to
500 mg/week the dosage is normally taken all at once, thus
2 ml of solution are injected. A higher dosage should be
divided into two injections per week. The quantity of the
dose should be determined by the athlete's developmental
stage, his goals, and the quantity of his previous steroid
intake. The so called beach- and disco bodybuilders do not
need 1000 mg of Testosterone enanthate/week. Our
experience is that the Testosterone enanthate dosage for
many, above all, depends on their financial resources.
Since it is not, by any means, the most economic
testosterone, most athletes do not take too much. Others
switch to the cheaper Omnadren and because of the low
price con-finue "shooting" Omnadren.
Testosterone enanthate has a strong influence on the
hypothalamohypophysial testicular axis. The hypophysis is
inhib-ited by a positive feedback. This leads to a
negative influence on the endogenic testosterone
production. Possible effects are described by the German
Jenapharm GmbH in their package insert for the com-pound
Testosteron Depot: " In a high-dosed treatment with
test-osterone compounds an often reversible interruption
or reduction of the spermatogenesis in the testes is to be
expected and conse-quently also a reduction of the testes
size." Consequently, after reading these state-ments,
additional intake of HCG should be considered. Those who
take Testosterone enanthate should consider the intake of
HCG ev-ery 6-8 weeks. An injection of 5000 I.U. every
fifth day over a period of 10 days (a total of 3
injections) helps to reduce this problem. At the end of
the testosterone treatment the administration of HCG,
Clomid, Nolvadex and Clenbuterol is now quite common. To
some extent the use of these compounds helps absorb the
catabolic phase and helps elevate the endogenic
testosterone level. By this method the strength and mass
loss which occur in any event can be reduced. Those who go
off Testosterone enanthate 6cold turkey6 after several
weeks of use will wonder how rapidly their body weights
and former voluminous muscles will decrease. Even a slow
tapering-off phase, that is reducing the dosage step by
step, will not prevent a notice-able reduction. The only
options available to the athlete consist of taking
testosterone-stimulating compounds (HCG, Clomid,
Cyclofenil), anti-catabolic substances (Clenbuterol,
Ephedrine), or the very expensive growth hormones, or of
switching to milder steroids (Deca-Durabolin, Winstrol,
Primobolan). Most can get mas-sive and strong with
Testosterone enanthate. However, only very few are able to
retain their size after discontinuing the compound. This
is also one of the reasons why really good bodybuilders,
powerlifters, weightlighters, and others take the
"stuff " all year long.
The side effects of Testosterone enanthate are mostly the
distinct androgenic effect and the increased water
retention. This is usually the reason for the frequent
occurrence of hypertony (3). Those who have a
predisposition for high blood pressure or whose blood
pres-sure is elevated when they begin taking Testosterone
enanthate should have it periodically checked by a
physician. If necessary the intake of an antihypertensive
drug (4) such as Catapresan is advisable. Many athletes
experience a strong acne vulgaris with Testosterone
enanthate which manifests itself on the back, chest,
shoulders, and arms more than on the face. Athletes who
take large quantities of Testo can often be easily
recognized because of these characteristics. It is
interesting to note that in some athletes these
characteristics only occur after use of the compound has
been discontinued, which implies a rebound effect. In
severe cases the medicine Accutane can help. The already
discussed feminization symptoms, especially gynecomastia,
require the intake of an anti-estrogen. Sexual
overstimulation with frequent erections at the beginning
of intake is normal. In young athletes, "in addition
to virilization,testosterone can also lead to an
accelerated growth and bone maturation, to a premature
epiphysial closing of the growth plates and thus a lower
height" (Jenapharm GmbH, package insert for
Testosteron-Depot).' Since mostly taller athletes are
successful in bodybuilding, young adults should reflect
carefully before taking any anabolic/andro-genic steroids,
in particular, testosterone.
Other possible side effects are testicular atrophy,
reduced sper-matogenesis, and especially an increased
aggressiveness. Those who transfer this aggressiveness to
their training and not their environment do not have to
worry. Unfortunately this is not the case in some athletes
who take Testosterone enanthate. Testoster-one and
Finaject are both primary reasons for some eruptions. In
particular, high doses are in part responsible for
anti-social be-havior among its users. One can talk here
of a sort of "superman syndrome" that occurs in
some users. Although Testosterone enanthate is broken down
through the liver, this compound is only slightly toxic
when taken in a reasonable dose; therefore, changes of the
liver values do not occur as often as with the oral I
7-alpha alkylated steroids. Further potential side effects
can be deep voice and accelerated hair loss.
Women should normally avoid its intake since it could
result in unpleasant androgen-linked side effects. The use
of testosterone in women may cause symptoms of
virilization such as acne vulgaris, hirsutism (5),
androgenetic alopecia (6), voice changes, and occasional
clitorial hypertrophy and an unnatu-rally perceived
increase in libido. Changes in voice and alopecia must be
classified as irreversible, hirsutism and clitorial
hypertrophy as in part reversible." Women who are not
afraid of this are found at many competition scenes. In
our opinion, 250 mg is the maximum quantity of
Testosterone enanthate that a fe-male athlete should take
each 7-10 days. However in competition bodybuilding and
especially in powerlifting much higher dosages and shorter
injection intervals have been observed in women.
Another interesting side effect of Testosterone enanthate
is men-tioned in the bodybuilding magazine Muscle Media
2000, June July 1993 on page 45. Judging whether this is
positive or nega-tive is left to the reader. 'A few years
ago, the Lancet Medical Journal of England reported that
they found testosterone (the proto-type anabolic steroid)
to be a remarkably effective form of male birth control.
Researchers conducted a 12 month study which included 270
men and determined that weekly injections of the hormone
testosterone were 'safe, stable, and effective.' They dis-covered
that weekly testosterone injections had a success rate of
99.2% as a birth control method. That makes it more
effective than the birth control pill (97%) and much more
effective than condoms (88%). The study also revealed that
the effects of the contraceptive injections were entirely
reversible upon discontinu-ing administration of the drug
and that the testosterone injec-tions produced minimal
side effects."
Similar studies with identical data are also in progress
at a German university clinic. Although this is not part
of the actual subject of this book, these results stress
at least the need for testosterone-stimu-lating compounds
during and after the intake of Testosterone enanthate.
Since it is effective for such a long period of time,
Test-osterone enanthate is always taken more frequently by
athletes during their "steroid intervals." An
injection of 250 mg every 2-3 weeks helps maintain
strength and mass. Whether this application makes sense
remains to be seen; the fact is that it works. |
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