Steroids for Maximum Muscle Gains
Steroids and Their Main Uses
Before we get into the meat of this article, it's important to understand how steroids work. Just like other types of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), steroids are used to enhance your athletic abilities by increasing testosterone levels. Testosterone is what's responsible for naturally boosting muscle size and strength; however, there are many side effects associated with having high levels of testosterone in the body which is why not everyone chooses to use these products. Most individuals will only use them while trying to pack on mass or when prepping for a competition (i.e., bodybuilding).
There are three main types of steroid hormones you should be aware of:
Testosterone (T) – Testosterone (Enanthate, Cypionate, Propionate), Dianabol, Halotestin and Turinabol.
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) – Masteron, Proviron, Primobolan, Anavar, Anadrol and Winstrol.
Nandrolone (19-nortestosterone) – deca durabolin, NPP and Trenbolone (Acetate, Enanthate, Hexahydrobenzylcarbonate – Parabolin).
Each of these hormones has a different effect on the body. For example, testosterone is anabolic (promotes muscle growth), while DHT is more androgenic (responsible for many of the masculine traits such as facial hair and a deep voice). Nandrolone is less androgenic and more anabolic than testosterone so it promotes more muscle growth.
How Do Steroids Help with Muscle Gain?
When you take steroids, the drug molecules will bind to your androgen receptors (AR), which are in your muscle cells. This then sends a signal to your DNA telling it to start producing more muscle proteins. As a result, you'll see an increase in muscle size and strength. However, it's important to note that not everyone will respond the same way to these drugs. Some people will experience a lot of side effects while others won't see any benefits at all.
This is largely due to individual differences in the androgen receptors. In other words, your genes will dictate how your body responds when you take steroids. So if you have a high number of androgen receptors, you're likely to see the best results. Conversely, if you have a low number of androgen receptors, you may not see any benefits from using steroids at all.
The Natural Limit for Muscle Mass Gain
When looking at average rates of muscle growth among men who are not using steroids (non-steroid users), some standard values have been established. According to research conducted, trained athletes were able to increase their body weight by an average of 2.5 kg in six weeks while following a resistance-training program. However, the vast majority of this weight gain was from an increase in water retention, not muscle mass.
In another study, this time looking at the natural limits for muscle growth, found that the upper limit for muscle gain in a month was around 0.5 kg. So based on these two studies, it's safe to say that you can expect to gain an average of 0.5-1 kg of muscle in a month without using steroids. This number is likely lower if you are new to training or are genetically predisposed to being thin.
Extrapolating this data to familiarize yourself with what you can expect to gain in one month on a cycle is relatively simple. For example, if you weigh 90 kg and are taking a mild steroid like Anavar (Oxandrolone) for one month, you could anticipate gaining around 2-4 kg of total body weight. This may not sound like much until you realize that the majority of these gains will probably occur in the first four weeks. So essentially, your monthly muscle gain would be much higher than 1 kg per month despite only using them for 30 days. However, this increase will not come entirely from muscle mass. You can expect much of this weight gain to be lean tissue, along with some additional water weight.
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