The first thing you need to understand is what a prohormone is. A prohormone is just a legal steroid that hasn’t been banned yet, don’t be fooled by the marketing hype. They are precursors to anabolic hormones like testosterone. The prohormone I used for my first cycle was Superdrol which is now banned. The good ones usually have a lifespan of about five years before daddy government steps in. Taking prohormones is as serious a decision as taking steroids.
I’ve had this post on deck for a long time because I wanted to be 100% sure I could write this in an ethical way. The only way I can do that is by telling you guys that I absolutely cannot recommend anyone take performance enhancing drugs – even legal ones. I care about each and every one of you and I don’t want anyone damaging their health because of what I write on this site.
I think the dangers of steroid use are overblown by the media but oral steroids are not healthy – legal or otherwise. By taking PED’s you’re gambling with your health – no ifs, ands or maybes. I’m not going to sell you on steroids being safe, but I am going to give you all the information you need to make an informed, adult decision.
To make an informed decision you should be over 25, have 3-5 years of consistent training under your belt, the supervision of your doctor, the proper bloodwork as well as at least two months of solid research on prohormones and TRT.
TRT or Testosterone Replacement Therapy is the exogenous replacement of your natural testosterone with the synthetic hormone through weekly or daily injections. Testosterone is also usually prescribed with 1/4 tab of Arimidex per day to control estrogen which tends to spike along with your testosterone injections. High estrogen levels lead to lowered sex drive and holding extra water weight, for me that can be as much as 6 lbs.
There is a lot to learn about TRT that is outside the scope of this post but I strongly recommend this primer from my man Mike Cernovich to get you up to speed on TRT. TRT is completely legal and can be prescribed by your doctor or more specifically an anti aging clinic or endocrinologist.
Oral cycles wreak havoc on your hormones, mood and sex drive so it’s important to use testosterone on cycle to keep your body functioning properly. TRT will also help you keep a lot or all of the gains you pick up on cycle. If you’re not ready for TRT then you’re not ready for steroids as far as I’m concerned. Playing with your hormones is no joke.
A lot of guys do oral cycles without test, throw their mood and sex drive in the gutter and then do a month of PCT to try and get their normal test levels back. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it takes three months, sometimes they don’t recover their natural test baseline at all. Many of those guys end up losing a lot of their gains because they don’t have the hormone levels to support their newly acquired muscle.
This doesn’t make sense to me. Risking your health for gains you can’t keep is pointless to me. Before you consider your first cycle you should be prepared for a lifetime of hormone replacement therapy. This is a big decision. On TRT you can safely max out your levels and keep gains well above what you would be able to hold naturally. I’m currently holding 55 lbs. of lean body mass which would be impossible for me at age 33 without TRT.
My Training History
My quest for the perfect physique is a long one. In high school, at 5’10 I weighed 118 lbs. at 8% bodyfat – tiny. The body I wanted was the body Mark Wahlberg had in the early 2000’s. That was the guy girls in my high school drooled over and that was the guy I wanted to be. Looking back now it’s easy to see that he was on gear but back then I had no idea.
I grew up in the internet dark ages and didn’t know about your drug free genetic potential. I didn’t have an insanely efficient minimalist routine and I didn’t know that every guy I wanted to look like was on steroids.
After close to a decade of being a hardgaining, plateau-sticking, ectomorph I had gained 37 lbs. of lean muscle naturally. I then spent the better part of 3 years trying to push past what I now know is my lean genetic limit of 158 lbs. at 8% bodyfat. With my shirt off I looked like a UFC lightweight fighter. With my shirt on however I just looked like a lean guy. You could tell I kept fit but it wasn’t the look I was going for.
I would bulk to 180 lbs. and add another 7 or so lbs. of LBM but unfortunately it came with 15 lbs. of fat. I looked built with a shirt on but fat with my shirt off. Also every time I cut I lost almost all my lean gains. And to add insult to injury I had to spend half the year fat. I went through that cycle three times before I decided on using PEDs. At that point I was already over 30, maxed out naturally, insanely disciplined, well researched and ready to do what it takes.
Some of you guys might be wondering why I would risk my health when I had a 0.01% body and a harem of girls that would make a sultan jealous. The reason is because I didn’t have the body I wanted. I didn’t have the body I promised myself when I started lifting and I’m not the type of guy to give up on my goals. I’m the type of guy to succeed or die trying so I did what I had to. I got myself on legal, doctor-prescribed TRT and Superdrol. Here are the exact results from my cycle:
MY CYCLE
- Bayer Testosterone Enathanate 200 mg/per week injected into glutes
- Superdrol for 4 weeks at 10 mg/20 mg/20 mg/ 20 mg
- 2 BD Integra 23 Guage 1 Inch intramuscular Syringes, 1 for drawing 1 for injecting
- I followed the exact injecting protocol outlined here
- (I use 27 Guage 1/2 inch needles for injecting now – much less painful then 23 gauge harpoons)
- 1 gram Niacin per day for blood pressure
- 1 gram NAC per day for liver and kidney function
- Red Yeast Rice for blood pressure
- Cranberry Extract for kidney function
- 8 litres of water per day
- Arimidex 1/4 tab every day (ran out after 1st week and denied shipment)
- 5% Minoxidil twice daily
- RU-58841 on my research subject
- Weighted Chinups: 1 x 43 lbs. around waist
- Seated Rows: 1 x 261 lbs.
- Weighted Parallel Bar Dips: 1 x 93 lbs. around waist
- Shrugs: 1 x 350 lbs.
- Leg Press Machine: 400 x 16: 1 x 615 lbs.
- Olympic EZ Bar Curls (25 lb. bar): 1 x 74 lbs.
- Weighted Chinups: 1 x 45 lbs. around waist (+2 pounds) (+25 pounds of bodyweight)
- Seated Rows: 1 x 302 lbs. (+ 41 lbs.)
- Weighted Parallel Bar Dips: 1 x 117 lbs. around waist (+ 24 lbs.) (+25 pounds in bodyweight)
- Shrugs: 1 x 412 lbs (+ 52 lbs.)
- Leg Press 400 x 34: 1 x 802 lbs. (+ 198 lbs.)
- Olympic EZ Bar Curls (25 lb. bar): 1 x 100 lbs. (+ 24 lbs.)
- Weighted Chinups: 1 x 47 lbs. around waist
- Seated Rows: 1 x 318 lbs.
- Weighted Parallel Bar Dips: 1 x 112 lbs. around waist
- Shrugs 300 x 5: 1 x 396 lbs.
- Leg Press: 1 x 737 lbs.
- Olympic EZ Bar Curls (25 lb. bar): 1 x 96 lbs.
- 155 lbs.
![Pre Cycle Picture]()
- 180 lbs.
![Last Day Of Cycle Picture]()
- 175 lbs.
![Post Cycle Picture]()
- Bloating, about 5 pounds of water weight
- Greasy hair and light acne
- pressure on lower left abdomen/pelvis, lessened through eliminating salt and staggering pills on an empty stomach
- sensitive dullness in kidneys, lessened subsided through eliminating salt and staggering pills on an empty stomach
- High blood pressure
- Lethargy by week 2.5
- Massive libido for the first 2 weeks
- Noticeable increase in muscle hardness and muscle mass
- Not having enough Arimidex on hand
- Cutting naturally prior to cycle
Conclusions
The overall mass gains on Superdrol were huge – 25 lbs. total – 15 lbs. of lbm, 5 lbs. of water and 5 lbs. of fat. One month after the end of my cycle I was still holding on to 20 lbs. (including the fat) minus the 5 lbs. of water weight. These are insane gains over a 4 week period. Superdrol definitely deserves its reputation of being one of the most powerful mass building compounds available.
For the first two weeks my libido was absolutely insane, to the point of not being able to concentrate on anything but women. In week 2 I also noticed my biggest gains, probably about 60% of my total results.The biggest gains for me were in my glutes and in the width of my back, my two strongest areas naturally. My glutes also became insanely firm and that was before I even hit the leg press in week 2.
In week 3 I picked up the rest of my gains but lost my sex drive and became lethargic. In Week 4 I didn’t gain anything and the lethargy became a real pain. I was happy to finish the cycle. If I was going to do it again I would have kept it to 3 weeks.
One thing I noticed on this cycle as well as on other cycles is that most of my gains came before my workouts which leads me to believe I probably would have got 90% of the results without even touching a weight. Gains above your natural limit are at least 80% hormonal in my opinion.
As for the side effects I felt some light pain and pressure in my left side alternating between the front and the back. Powering through was not a smart thing to do and if you guys have side effects from any drug I strongly recommend stopping whatever you’re taking. After the cycle I felt some occasional pressure in my front left side for a few months but I’ve made a full recovery since then.
At the time I thought it was my liver but I can see now it was most likely my kidneys that were taking the hit from trying to regulate the bloat. My kidneys are sensitive as is and carrying 5+ lbs. of water makes it that much more difficult to regulate. I dealth with the same thing on creatine a few years back because of all the water weight.
My blood pressure was a bit high but I didn’t notice much except being a bit more lightheaded than usual when I did heavy leg presses but overall it wasn’t a big problem for me.
Hairloss is a danger zone on any cycle because steroids tend to raise DHT, the primary hormone responsible for male pattern baldness. Luckily hairloss, which was a big worry for me, was not noticeable, I chalk this up to using RU (on my research subject) and Minoxidil. A potent DHT blocker and Minoxidil is a must for any cycle if you’re worried about your hair.
The major mistake I made was not having enough Arimidex on hand. I had a weeks supply and was waiting on an order that didn’t make it past customs. If I had enough Arimidex I would have been carrying way less water weight and would have had much milder side effects. For any cycle it’s super important to have all your supplies on hand before you start. It’s also important to test how much Arimidex you need. Most guys need a quarter tab but I need a half tab daily and a full tab on injection days because I’m sensitive to estrogen.
I also regret cutting down naturally from a bulky 180 lbs. to 155 lbs. prior to the cycle. In hindsight I would have gone in and done a straight body recomposition. A lot of guys online tell you to cut weight before you do a “bulking” cycle because of potential excess estrogen. This is stupid. I would never do another cut without gear.
The result was spending 4 months losing 8 pounds of LBM only to put it all back on with gear but minus the fat. If I had just cut with Superdrol I could have easily lost the necessary fat, kept all my muscle plus gained a few pounds. Body recomp on your first cycle with a powerful prohormone like Superdrol is 100% possible.
In conclusion, I can’t in good conscience recommend you taking prohormones but I want you to have all the information available if you choose to make a safe and adult decision. It’s also important for me to show you that my phsyique and the physique of guys like me is not possible without steroids – don’t believe the hype. With that said, if you’ve done your homework, have consulted with your doctor, are over 25 and have a solid base of training, prohormones are a powerful option for getting the physique you want.
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