Testosterone Supplementation

There are steroids based on testosterone boosting. There is male hormone replacement therapy. There are risks inherent in both.

A friend of mine recently made a comment that he could get all the testosterone he needed or wanted by going to the “right” places. Aside from the risks of running afoul of the law, there are a huge number of health risks.

Anabolic steroids do have some medical uses, it’s their abuse that leads to the problems with which we are familiar. Some of these problems include ulceration on the stomach and intestine lining, internal bleeding, extreme enlargement of heart chambers, and more. This is something that will be covered in a little more detail further on.

They promote muscle growth and secondary male characteristics. So, if you are a woman and using them, you will find that your body changes. Your voice is likely to deepen as your vocal chords thicken. This is a permanent change. As will be the growth of facial hair. The enlargement of the Adam’s Apple is going to stay with you as well.

The steroids we are talking about are listed as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). They are found under a variety of names. Juice, pumpers, gym candy, and the list goes on. In case you do not know these names are, I am not going to give you them. If you already know them, then I do not need to list them for you.

As of June 27, 2018, the publication Medical News Today published the article Anabolic Steroids: What You Should Know. In that piece, the authors stated that there are 32 types of AAS

These 32 can be categorized into one of three:

·         Bulking for building muscle

·         Performance for strength and endurance

·         Cutting for burning fat

These can be used as injections, applied as a cream, injected as a pellet under the skin, or orally

The article gives the following as examples of some of the orally taken steroids:

·         Fluoxymesterone (Halotestin), or "Halo"

·         Mesterolone (Proviron)

·         Methandienone (Dianabol), or "Dbol"

·         Methyltestosterone (Virilon)

·         Mibolerone (Cheque)

·         Oxandrolone (Anavar, Oxandrin), or "Var"

·         Oxymetholone (Anadrol), or "Drol"

·         Stanozolol (Winstrol), or "Winny"

The following are the injectables listed in the articles:

·         Boldenone undecylenate (Equipoise), or "EQ"

·         Methenolone enanthate (Primobolan), or "Primo"

·         Nandrolone decanoate (Deca Durabolin), or "Deca"

·         Nandrolone phenpropionate (Durabolin), or "NPP"

·         Testosterone cypionate (Depotest)

·         Testosterone enanthate (Andro-Estro)

·         Testosterone propionate (Testex)

·         Trenbolone acetate (Finajet), or "Tren"

There are medical uses, legitimate medical uses, for these compounds. Corticosteroids open bronchi during asthma attacks. They are used in some extreme cases of poison ivy exposure. Some cancer patients get prescribed them as are HIV and AIDS patients. AASs are classified in the USA as Schedule III controlled substances and Chapter 44, §16, Subsection 1 of the Penal Code. This makes them available only by prescription.

Some of the risks of misuse are quite horrid. The drugs increase your risk of cancer and heart attack significantly. You will experience hormonal disturbances – suppresses the production of body’s own hormone production, shrinks the glands; infertility; lowered sex drive; for women, they become obviously more masculine. Sometimes there are dangerous increases in cholesterol; dangerous increase in heart and vascular disease, increase in heart infarct and apoplexy, and cardiac muscle atrophy is also a huge risk.

Have you read about an athlete tearing a pectoralis muscle while doing curls? Think about that for a moment. How can a person tear the chest muscle while training their arms? Their biceps? How is this possible? Several common steroids enlarge and strengthen only the belly of the muscle, the meat of it. The tendons are left as weak points. So, when this guy is straining to crank out a heavy set of curls, and is straining with all his body, muscles are clenched all over – bad form, by the way – pop! goes the connective tissue in unrelated muscle groups. Nor do steroids strengthen bones or increase bone density.

No doubt, by now, you have all seen the video clip of the MMA fighter who breaks his own leg with a kick. This poor fellow loses to his own ego long before the fight opens. The bell rings, the two fighters touch gloves, and the sap throws out a low roundhouse kick. No problems. He throws a second and steps back onto his foot. This time, his shin has snapped and buckles. Why? Steroids do not, as I said, strengthen the bone. Proper training will increase bone density.

Impact to central nervous system: brain locations damaged by AAS abuse are closely located to the brain centers that control mood, sexuality, and aggressiveness; 20% to 30% of abusers display mood disorders matching psychiatric mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, psychotic reactions with hallucinations, and decreasing cognitive performance levels significantly.

But, wait! There’s more! Premature death among users is 4.6 times higher than non-users. The following is a list of the more common side effects according to www.drugs.com

·         severe acne, oily skin and hair

·         hair loss

·         liver disease, such as liver tumors and cysts

·         kidney disease

·         heart disease, such as heart attack and stroke

·         altered mood, irritability, increased aggression, depression or suicidal tendencies

·         alterations in cholesterol and other blood lipids

·         high blood pressure

·         gynecomastia (abnormal development of mammary glands in men causing breast enlargement)

·         shrinking of testicles

·         azoospermia (absence of sperm in semen)

·         menstrual irregularities in women

·         infertility

·         excess facial or body hair (hirsutism), deeper voice in women

·         stunted growth and height in teens

·         risk of viral or bacterial infections due to unsterile injections

The article Anabolic Steroids – Abuse, Side Effects, and Safety, from the above listed website, posted the following paragraph regarding over the counter testosterone precursors that were marketed and sold as supplements:

Steroidal dietary supplements can be converted into testosterone or other androgenic compounds in the body. Steroidal over-the-counter dietary supplements such as androstenedione and tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) were previously available without prescription through health food stores, however, these supplements are now illegal after amendments to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004.³ Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), another steroidal dietary supplement is still available legally; however, it does appear on the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited agents for both in- and out-of-competition. Clinical research reports indicate that these agents are ineffective or lack evidence of performance-enhancing effects and can be linked with many serious side effects and drug interactions.

There will always be arguments about “roid-rage,” one of the listed side effects. From my experience early on in power lifting, I did buy androstenedione several times while it was legally available. From those several months I will tell you that the rage associated with using these products is very real a percentage of users. It was for me. I will never take or use any product, off the shelf or through a prescription, that will jack with my endocrine system again. Ever.

I had hoped to find an answer as to why testosterone replacement or supplementation increases the risk of cancer and has so many other detrimental side effects. Those why questions are yet unanswered. When I do find those answers, I will follow up with another piece. I am continuing to press forward by contacting leading researchers and institutions for this information.

For now, I hope that this is an adequate answer to the statement and question about using supplemental testosterone and hormones.

Train smart and train hard.

Heavy Lifts and Hormones

      2019. A brand new year. New insights to our inner selves and new observations of the world in

which we live. One of those observations is there are dozens of people at the gym. Far more than there were prior to the turning of the new year. New Year resolutions, no doubt. Getting fit and exercising is a noble goal. Lifting weights is one tremendous way to attain that goal.

     In this series of pieces, we are going to look at several compound exercises. Compound exercises are those which engage more than one joint to complete. For this series those exercises will include squat, bench press, deadlift, and bent row & upright row. These five movements will use every muscle in your body.

Before going into the exercises, I want to clarify one point. That being the question on whether or not certain exercises do or do not increase production of testosterone. This belief has been around for decades. Anecdotally, it has held up. Scientifically, there are a plethora of studies on each side on the matter.

I stand with those that believe that heavy weight resistance training does, in fact, increase production of testosterone, human growth hormone, and cortisol. One of the many studies I have gone over in researching this is also in the book Advanced Strength and Conditioning: An Evidence Based Approach. This was put together by Anthony Turner and Christian Cook. They were quite exhaustive in their research.

Our muscle cells have receptors for various chemicals and other compounds. Included in this litany are testosterone and growth hormone. When an athlete, and anyone who goes to the gym or runs or participates in physical activity exercises, muscle cells are torn apart. This causes the pain felt afterwards. It is traumatic, yes. When this happens, more receptors are made available for hormones like testosterone, human growth hormone, and cortisol.

Clearly, there is the opportunity for the body to use more of these compounds. That does not correlate to anything being produced, some would argue.

Anecdotally, strength athletes have used squats and deadlifts as the mainstay of their routines for decades. Why? Because these have continually proven to work when it comes to packing on pounds of muscle, enabling the lifter to move more metal, and improve their performance in their chosen field. Time and again the winning routines start with common features; the compound exercises of squat and deadlift are first on their given days. These are then followed by other compound movements. The routines are finished with a few isolation exercises.

As I am writing this, I am still trying to understand the why resistance training increases testosterone and growth hormone release. What I am seeing, though, is the increasing pile of reports and evidence that shows that heavy resistance training does increase these hormones and cortisol, too. Squats and deadlifts are the more potent and effective in producing these hormones than bench press, shoulder press, and other compound movements. This is precisely why, when we get to designing routines, these two lifts will come first.

The inferred reason why these two movements have the greatest impact on hormone production is the size of the muscles involved and the overall amount of body mass/muscles being engaged. Remember that exercise is trauma for the body. It is tearing of the muscle fibers. This tearing opens new receptors in the cells for more hormones to attach to. Consider the shear size of the muscles in your legs. These muscles include the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves. Ideally, these should be far larger than either one of your arms and the attending shoulder. The idea being along the lines of what was said in that old movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” If you tear apart muscle tissue in large enough of a quantity and in the proper manner – healthy exercise – the body will respond with the increased release of testosterone, growth hormone, and cortisol.

The larger muscle groups mean there will be more cells torn apart. More trauma equates to a larger quantity of new receptors for these hormones. This is essentially equivalent to having a few extra sets of bleachers or new seating sections put in. More seats available should mean that more people will come in.

In short, the larger the muscle group that gets exercised, in this case it begins with the legs, the greater the injury to the body. That triggers a response for the body to release a greater amount of the growth-related hormones to attach to the open receptors.

This tells us that the exercises that are going to increase hormones the most, in decreasing order, are deadlift, squat, bent row, bench press, shoulder press, upright row, and then the isolation movements. Clearly, this list does not include Olympic-style lifts. That modification would appear in this order: snatch, clean and jerk, deadlift, squat, bent row, bench press, shoulder press, upright row, and then the isolation movements. As I am not an Olympic lifter, nor do I have experience in those lifts, I am not going to cover them. This series of articles going forward will look at the proper form for those lifts.

Now, you have it, heavy lifting in compound movements, will increase the production of growth and strength related hormones. Cortisol is, in the immediate sense, a fight or flight related burst of power and strength hormone. It becomes detrimental after extended time periods.

Next time, Squat and Deadlift, how to.