I posted this a will back as an answer to a question I was asked on another board and thought some of you may be interested in seeing it.
I will try and answer your question in a more general way and just give you some of my opinions as far as supps go. When I mentioned that there are a lot of things that are being used that don't really contribute to one's physique I was reffering more the ancillary drugs more than steroids. I fear that most of you will be some what disappointed about what I have to say. There are no real secrets to getting big. If there is I would say it's more about what you don't do than do.
IMO steroids are king in building muscle and most likely always will be. Take GH for example. I've known guys over 40 that take it and get pretty decent results as far as a rejuvination drug. A couple of IU's a day is all you need when your older to get good results. Most bodybuilders (younger) will take anywhere from 4 to 9 iu's daily. Most guys expect to make huge gains from taking GH. I've never really known anyone to gain any appreciable amount of muscle from GH alone. Everyone says to take it with gear but how do you know that it's the GH that is working? As far as I'm concerned anything that you take by itself and doesn't work, isn't going to work by adding something to it. Most guys get nothing more from GH than a bit of water retention. If that's what you want then go eat some bacon. It's a hell of a lot cheaper and more fun.
Same for IGF. I did get some fat loss from IGF but I did not gain anything in the way of muscle. It's popular to use IGF, clomid and or HCG to bridge after a cycle and to keep the gains that you have made. 30 days is the norm. So many guys tell me that they lose only a couple of pounds by doing this and their strength is maintained pretty well. Most guys are walking around with a test/epitest ratio of 20:1 or even more. How much do you really think your levels are goint to drop in 30 days? I can tell you by actual blood test results not much at all if any. I friend of mine (who reads this board, hey bro) was remarking to me how surprised he was to have maintained a lot of his mass (not all) over the last 4 months that he has been off. This doesn't surprise me as the body can and will hold on to muscle longer than you think. But if he was taking IGF for example I'm willing to bet he would be praising the effects of the IGF right now and how great it is for maintining mass. Get my drift?
Some guys bridge with anavar or something similar. Waste if time, period. How can anyone think that you are going to maintain gains that you have made from taking 2 grams a week by using 40mgs of anavar a day??? Your either on or off. Your either growing or your not. Things are different today than years ago. Take Arnold for example. He competed once a year and in the off season he got off the drugs and got small. Most guys today don't even compete and want to be big all year round. Nothing wrong with that, but lets face it, when you come off drugs you get smaller. This after all is proof that steroids work in the first place.
Over the years I have witnessed many different steroids cycles from the very complicated to the most basic. People tend to forget that steroids were not invented for bodybuilders. You don't need to lift weights to grow muscle from taking them. Don't get me wrong, it sure helps. In fact it's a must to get huge, but my point is that they are very powerful muscle enhancing drugs. I think that people don''t give them enough credit. They somehow feel if they give them credit then they look like cheaters. Not true, a lot of hard work goes into building a big body, but at the same time they are the guys who take a few d-bol a a shot of deca a week and grow like a weed and to top it off they don't even lift that hard. I'm sure we all know someone out there like that. Well lifes not fair, get used to it. We all have out strong points, some more than others.
IMO test is the best steroid to use for growth. Technically it's not an anabolic steroid, but a male sex hormone. AS were invented to mimic the results of test and minimize the side effects or the secondary sex charactaristics. The problem is that the anabolic and androgenic effects work hand in hand. People tend to feel pretty good on test and get great gains. This is no coincidence. Our bodies already produces it and it knows how to accept it better than any other steroid.
IMO test should be the foundation of a cycle. Throw in another injectable maybe and an oral. NO, orals are not that dangerous. Another misconception. Not to contradict myself, but I know guys who loves deca and d-bol and hardly ever use test. They gets great results and yep, they still able to do the nasty. Another misconception. I'm sure this is not true for everyone.
Test,(any kind) deca, Eq (not as much) d-bol , A-50's ect. These drugs have built most of the mass you see on stage today. I guess I should give honerable mention to trenbolone. This is a weird drug. Very powerful. The late Dan Ducahine once said that no one should ever use it unless they were a serious competitor. I agree. I'd say about 500mg is about a powerful as a gram of test. I think it's too hard on the body in many ways, escpecially if your older. I've known a few guys to complain about an enlarged prostate from it. Even younger guys. Throw it in the last few weeks before a show and that's it.
Getting big is not rocket science. Forget about all these fancy cycles and different ways to take stuff. It's impotant to keep an eye on your BP and take an anti-estrogen only if needed. Stick to the basics and you will grow. I realize that this only touchs upon the subject at hand and a lot more can be said. Hopefully I have not offended anyone here. These are just my opinions and I realize not everyone (maybe no one ) will agree. Even when I disagree with someonew I still respect their opinion. Peace
Note: I got permission from Disgusted to post this here.
