Nolvadex vs. Clomid and PCT Explained

 

December 4, 2013  

What is Post Cycle Therapy (PCT)?
What is Post Cycle Therapy (PCT)? If you’ve been doing any reading about using prohormones or steroids, you’ve probably wondered this yourself, at least when you first started doing your research.
After using a prohormone or steroid, the hormone balance of your body is usually out of whack, with the usual result being your natural testosterone is low (because you took a compound that artificially boosted it) and your estrogen elevated (to offset the higher testosterone). When you stop taking the compound, your testosterone blood levels drop very quickly, but estrogen and other catabolic (muscle destroying) hormones can remain high. This can make it difficult to keep the gains you made on cycle. The purpose of PCT is to quickly restore your body’s natural production of anabolic hormones and reduce catabolic ones.

In order to understand PCT, you eed to know a bit of how your body works when it comes to producing hormones and building muscles. Relax, I’ll try to keep this painless.
In males, starting in puberty, the Hypothalamus begins to secret Gonadatropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH). This causes the pituitary to produce Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luetenizing Hormone (LH). These two hormones act on the testes to stimulate cells called Leydig cells to produce testosterone (and androgen).
When an androgen (either your own natural testosterone or an anabolic steroid you’ve taken) binds to a receptor inside the cell, it gives the cell a message to do something. In the case of testosterone, one of the messages it sends is to increase nitrogen retention, allowing your body to use more protein and build more muscle. Now that’s a very simplified version of how it all works, but it’s essentially what happens and why steroids enable you to gain muscle.
But there’s a flip side. The increase in andoUnder the control of this heightened state of androgens, you also go through androgenic development as well as anabolic development. This can be seen in puberty when males grow body hair experience voice changes, as experience genital development and growth.
Back to the whole hormonal process….
So your hypothalamus makes GnRH which stimulates the pituitary to make LH and FSH, which in turn causes the testes to stimulate the Leydig cells to produce testosterone. But if excess testosterone is produced, it can interfere with GnRH production. This can affect LH and FSH, and that can affect natural testosterone production. This is how your body maintains a balance and keeps excess hormones from being secreted.
So you can see what happens if you artificially raise testosterone levels. This signals the hypothalamus to stop producing GnRH, which means no signal goes out to thepituitary to make FSH and LH, which means no signal to teh Leydig cells to make testosterone. Now you’re in a situation where your body takes a while to start up the natural production process again. This can result in losing all that muscle you just gained. That’s where your PCT comes in as you kickstart this process as quickly as possible.
Nolvadex vs. Clomid
It seems like everyday questions concerning PCT pop up, and weather one should use either Clomid or nolva or a combo of both. I hope that this article may help to clear up some misconceptions.
While practically similar compounds in structure, few people ever really consider Clomid and nolva to be similar. Its not just a common myth in steroid circles, but even in the medical community. This misconception originates from their completely different uses. Nolvadex is most commonly used for the treatment of breast cancer in women, while Clomid is generally considered a fertility aid. In bodybuilding circles, from day one, Clomid has generally been used as post-cycle therapy and Nolvadex as an anti-estrogen.
But as I intend to demonstrate this is in essence the same. I believe the myth to have originated because nolva is clearly a more powerful anti-estrogen, and the people selling Clomid needed another angle to sell the stuff, so it was mostly used as a post-cycle aid. But few users really understand how Clomid (and also Nolvadex, logically) works to bring back natural testosterone in the body after the conclusion of a cycle of androgenic anabolic steroids. After a cycle is over, the level of androgens in the body drop drastically. The body compensates with an overproduction of estrogen to keep steroid levels up. Estrogen as well inhibits the production of natural testosterone, and in the period between the return of natural testosterone and the end of a cycle, a lot of mass is lost. So its in everybody’s best interest to bring back natural test as soon as humanly possible. Clomid and Nolvadex will reduce the post-cycle estrogen, so that a steroid deficiency is constated and the hypothalamus is stimulated to regenerate natural testosterone production in the body. That’s basically how the mechanism works, nothing more, nothing less.
Both compounds are structurally alike, classified as triphenylethylenes. Nolvadex is clearly the stronger component of the two as it can achieve better results in decreasing overall estrogen with 20-40 mg a day, than Clomid can in doses of 100-150 mg a day. A noteworthy difference. Triphenylethylenes are very mild estrogens that do not exert a lot, if any activity at the estrogen receptor, but are still highly attracted to it. As such they will occupy the receptor and keep it from binding estrogens. This means they do not actively work to reduce estrogen in the body like Proviron, Viratase or arimidex would (by competing for the aromatase enzyme), but that it blocks the receptor so that any estrogen in the body is basically inert, because it has no receptor to bind to.
This has advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that when use is discontinued, the estrogen level is still the same and new problems will develop much sooner. The advantage is that it works much faster and has results sooner than with an aromatase blocker like Proviron or arimidex. Therefor, when problems such as gynocomastia occur during a cycle of steroids one will usually start 20 mg/day of nolva or 100 mg/day of Clomid straight away, in conjunction with some Proviron or arimidex. The proviron or arimidex will actively reduce estrogen while the Clomid or Nolvadex will solve your ongoing problem straight away. This way, when use is discontinued there is no immediate rebound.
So which one should you use? Well personally, I’d have to say Nolvadex. Both as an on-cycle anti-estrogen and a post-cycle therapy. As an anti-estrogen its simply much stronger, demonstrated by the fact that better results are obtained with 20-40 mg than with 100-150 mg of Clomid. For post-cycle, this plays a key role as well. It deactivates rebound estrogen much faster and more effective. But most importantly, Nolvadex has a direct influence on bringing back natural testosterone, where as Clomid may actually have a slight negative influence. The reason being that tamoxifen (as in Nolvadex) seems to be the best choice for PCT.

Leucine and Muscle Growth

 

December 6, 2013 

by Mike Arnold
Over the last 20 years or so the supplement industry has released several times as many effective BB’ing supplements than it did in the previous 40 years. Back in the 1950’s, when the supplement industry was just starting in earnest, there wasn’t a single product that was worthy of ingestion, unless you considered poor quality soy powder, which was likely rancid (or would be very soon) worth ingesting. In those days nutrition knowledge was very limited compared to what it is today, so it was relatively easy to fool customers into thinking that these supplements were a virtual muscle building miracle. Of course, they were anything but, yet this did not stop fraudulent, money-hungry company owners from trying to get rich at other people’s expense.

The supplement industry did not turn the corner until the early 90’s, when we finally started seeing some decent protein powders hit the market. Prior to this time, all BB’rs were better off consuming whole food as their sole protein source, as the available technology had not yet advanced to the point where we could extract protein from food sources in a pure, undenatured form. The end result was a difficult to digest, inferior, absolutely horrid tasting product.
Everything changed when creatine hit the scene. With most users adding between 4-8 lbs in just 30 days, along with impressive increases in both maximal strength and muscular endurance, this was the first product that was truly capable of claiming “steroid-like” results. It was so effective that it single-handily revolutionized the supplement industry and proved to everyone that the industry was capable of producing products that really worked.
In just 10-12 more short years, the industry was selling legitimate oral steroids of extreme potency. While this sector of the supplement world is still alive and well, it should be differentiated from natural supplementation (creatine, protein powders, aminos, etc), as steroids are more accurately defined as drugs rather than food supplements. In order to avoid possible confusion, let me state that any references to the word “supplement” in this article will only apply to those products which are considered natural.
With so many supplements out there providing some type of recognizable benefit, how do we know which one is best? In reality, there is no single best supplement, as that which is best will be determined by someone’s goals and desires. Still, there are a handful of supplements available that have proven themselves as stand-outs in this over-crowded market. The one I want to talk to you about today hit store shelves in the 80’s as part of a combination product, but fell out of favor somewhat during the 90’s. Within the last decade it began to re-immerge as a standalone product and through continued research, was widely recognized as one of the muscle-building super-stars of the supplement world. I am referring to leucine, one of the three BCAA’s and by far the most important amino acid for BB’rs. Leucine differentiates itself from the rest of the pack by being the primary amino acid responsible for stimulating protein synthesis. As a BB’r, this is of paramount importance, as increased protein synthesis is the process by which muscle growth occurs.
In the absence of leucine, muscle growth cannot occur. One could make the claim that this is true when referring to any of the essential amino acids, as they are all required in order for protein synthesis to take place. If this is the case, then what makes leucine so special? Well, in addition to being one of the essential amino acids, leucine also functions as the primary regulator of protein synthesis via the mTOR pathway. mTOR (short for “mammalian target of rapamycin”) is one of the chief anabolic pathways in the body and a mandatory step in the muscle growth process. Depending on the quantity of leucine consumed, mTOR can be stimulated to a greater or lesser degree. The more strongly it is stimulated, the more rapidly we grow.
With a direct link having been established between muscle growth rate and leucine intake, the next logical question to be asked is “How much leucine do I need to take in order to generate a maximal response?” Fortunately, science has shown us that it takes about 4.5 grams of leucine in order to achieve this effect. However, the type of protein source consumed will play a role in determining whether or not protein synthesis is maximized at this dose. This is due to the varying digestion rates of different protein sources. Very slow digesting protein foods, such as red meat, will take many hours to fully liberate the leucine within it, resulting in a diminished response. In order to maximize this effect, this dose of leucine needs to be dumped into the system all at once, not slowly delivered over many hours.
This problem can be alleviated by either using whey protein, as its quick digestion rate allows for a maximal increase in leucine generated protein synthesis without needing to consume massive doses of protein (40-45 grams is sufficient). While whey is certainly a great protein with several noteworthy benefits, consuming such a dose numerous times daily is not only unrealistic for most, but it isn’t ideal either. The alternative is simply to use straight leucine. A single 4.5 gram serving contains almost no calories, can be quickly consumed, takes up very little room in the stomach, and can easily be added to just about anything with very little effort.
By utilizing leucine in supplement form, we are effectively able to turn any protein food into a muscle building powerhouse. For years we have been taught that if we want to get the best results from our BB’ing efforts, we need to consume the best proteins, such as whey, casein, meat, and egg protein. These have been considered prime sources of amino acids for generations. Other protein sources, such as wheat and rice protein were looked at as being vastly inferior and for good reason…because they are not capable of increasing protein synthesis to an equivalent degree.
In order to demonstrate the power of leucine, a study was conducted in which various protein sources were compared for anabolic effect by assessing their ability to increase both protein synthesis and insulin levels. See below:


Experiment 2 Muscle Protein Synthesis. Rates of protein synthesis in gastrocnemius muscle of rats consuming isonitrogenous meals containing wheat, wheat supplemented with leucine (Wheat + Leucine), or whey protein.
As you can see in the charts above, when leucine was added to wheat protein, the combination increased protein synthesis to a greater degree than the previous gold-standard, whey protein. As if this weren’t impressive enough, the wheat + leucine group also led to greater insulin concentrations.
It is clinically validated test results like these and many others which have earned leucine its current reputation as one of the top BB’ing supplements in the world. Leucine can be taken either with or in-between meals, as it will stimulate protein synthesis regardless…and don’t think that you must use 4-5 grams of this stuff in order to receive benefit. Even 2 grams, especially when added to slow digesting proteins, can significantly increase a meal’s muscle building potency.
Leucine is also fairly inexpensive to use, with some internet distributers selling 1,000 grams for as little as $35-40. When using 10-20 grams daily over several equally divided doses, it is an extremely cost-effective product. I consider leucine to be basic stock for any serious BB’r and in my opinion it ranks right up there with creatine as the #1 sport-supplement.

"Секретное оружие" Адольфа Гитлера

 

Историки раскрыли истинное "секретное оружие" Адольфа Гитлера: во время Второй мировой войны Третий рейх превращал нацистских солдат в "боевые машины" с помощью наркотического вещества первитина (более известного как "винт" ).

Именно под влиянием этих таблеток на основе метамфетамина немцы громили Польшу, Нидерланды, Бельгию и Францию. По данным исследования, проведенного Ассоциацией немецких врачей, с 1939 по 1945 год солдатам вермахта было выдано около 200 миллионов таблеток первитина.
Но на этом нацисты не остановились. Они также разработали стимулятор на основе первитина и кокаина для своих бойцов передовой линии фронта. Препарат под рабочим названием D-IX предварительно испытывали на узниках концлагерей.
Заключенным давали наркотик, вешали на спину 25-килограммовые рюкзаки и заставляли проходить без отдыха по 110 километров, чтобы проверить, как таблетки повлияют на человеческую выносливость.
"Идея была в том, чтобы превратить обычных солдат, моряков и летчиков в роботов, наделенных сверхчеловеческими способностями", - рассказал немецкий криминолог Вольф Кемпер, автор книги о применении наркотиков в Третьем рейхе.
"Это было последним оружием Гитлера, чтобы выиграть войну, которую он уже давно проиграл", - считает он.
Первитин помогал солдатам выдерживать нагрузки, марш-броски и воевать даже в крайне суровых условиях.
Отвечал за проект Отто Ранке, военный врач и директор Института общей и военной физиологии при Академии военной медицины в Берлине. В руководстве Третьего рейха не обращали внимания на "незначительные" недостатки плана - многие солдаты "подсаживались" на таблетки и постепенно превращались из "суперменов" в ни на что не способных наркоманов.
И это при том, что гитлеровская пропаганда твердила о важности здорового образа жизни и воздержании от алкоголя и табака для сохранения чистоты и силы арийской расы.