Sorry to grave dig a bit, but I have to add in my .02. I don't post much, and I don't claim to be an expert in any field, but I have personally used steroids before. I did what seemed like months and months of research before I ever took my foray into it, and would like to add some comments. This is going to be a long post.
I find it funny, looking back on it now, realizing that Mark McGwire and the media exposed his steroid use back in 1998. Does anybody remember the locker room reporter who asked what that bottle of pills with the lable "Andro" was? I do, and though I didn't really care what it was then, I do now.
Andro, known as Androstenedione is a real deal androgenic anabolic steroid (AAS). It was DEA-legal to sell and buy back in 1998. There are a variety of chemical structure compounds, but the one in that bottle was most likely 1-Androstene-3b-ol,17-one. It is regarded as the best overall compound for strength and mass gain when not stacked with any other AAS. Somehow, McGwire was able to cover it up with saying it was just a "supplement," just like his creatine. It was Mark McGwire who pretty much single-handedly caused creatine to gain huge popularity. People knew creatine wasn't an AAS then, and so assumed that andro wasn't an AAS because it was a pill just like creatine. It's pretty amazing to look at that and wonder just how nobody really investigated the issue thoroughly enough to get him suspended or banned from baseball.
Personally, I think 4-androstenedione is a pretty weak AAS overall. You typically have to take 300-600 mg of it to see results, and that's a lot. 4-androstenedione is more popular these days as a PCT (post-cycle therapy) drug, as it helps get natural testosterone production in the adrenal gland back to normal levels. It still gives a noticeable strength and size gain, but there's another DEA-legal AAS available.
You would have to assume that a high-profile athlete like McGwire would have access to a chemist who would advise McGwire to use 4-andro as a PCT or in-season cycle. He did. Patrick Arnold was the primary BALCO chemist who introduced androstenedione to the market, along with 1-androstenediol and DMT. 4-andro remains in your system for about 5-6 weeks in large enough traces to fail a sports doping test. That's a pretty quick turnaround, especially considering popular injectibles like deca-durabolin remains 18 months, dianabol 5 months, and winstrol 2 months.
I can't speak for personal strength gains on 4-andro. I never took it. The one and only cycle I did 3 years ago was superdrol. The chemical compound of that is 2a,17adimethyl-5a-androst-3-one-17b-ol. Seems like it would be similar to 4-andro since it looks similar, but even the slightest difference could completely change what it does to you. In this case, the 17a-chain makes it a methylated orally bioavailable compound, which does two things:
1) puts a lot of strain on the liver, making a liver supplement mandatory
2) makes it significantly more potent with a much lower dosage
I only had to take 20 mg of superdrol a day, compared to the 300-600 mg of 4-andro required. That was a 4 week cycle, followed with a 4 week PCT, which were supplements that strengthened the liver, joints, lowered blood pressure, reduced estrogen count, reduced bloat, lowered heart rate, et. al.
I looked up some old lifting logs I kept during that 4 week "on" cycle, and here were the results. First lift is week one, 2nd lift is week 4.
Bench 290 X 2 ......330 X 2
Squat 365 X 2 ........405 X 4
Deadlift 405 X 3 ........405 X 7
Overhead Press 185 X 6 ........215 X 4
body weight 197 lbs ......212 lbs
body fat % 8% .........7%
I know those numbers are weak compared to beasts like Trent Richardson, who I'm told is bench pressing 425 and squatting 630 right now, but for my body weight I was elated at the results. Please don't misinterpret that as me accusing Trent of using AAS, as I've met him face to face and his muscle structure just doesn't have that roid look. He's just a genetic freak and I'm not.:biggrin:
Superdrol is not known as Superdrol anymore, because it was banned by the FDA years ago, and the company that made it went out of business. Superdrol is made by several companies under different names now. They were the premier source of AAS to amateur and pro athletes of all sports, and when the new round of doping testing came about that could detect it and get players kicked out of leagues and the Olympics, that's when the company went out of business. The interesting thing is the actual drug, 2a,17adimethyl-5a-androst-3-one-17b-ol is still very much DEA legal. It does dot appear on the schedule III banned substances list. In fact, in January 4 2010, three new AAS were added to the list. Pheraplex, 19-tren-tfo and DMT, but not Superdrol. It's FDA banned, meaning your grocery store and GNC can't sell it, but it's still legal to buy and sell, which is strange considering it's probably the most potent one available, and pretty much the last legal AAS available.
I enjoyed my 8 week journey into what AAS can do to your body. It was an interesting experiment, and I didn't have to sneak or smuggle anything because not one bit of anything I took was illegal. I'll never do it again though, because I'm not obsessed with looking like a cartoon character anymore and it was pretty expensive to buy all the support supplements needed to do it safely. I will say this though: in those 8 weeks I've never felt better in my entire life. I was happy, energetic, had lots of energy, and was upbeat all the time. I didn't have roid rage, and I hardly had any side effects at all, because I used AAS the safe and correct way with proper supporting supplements and PCT. I had a bit of high blood pressure and I had some headaches and queasiness from time to time, but that was it.
