tice1212

And one reason I like to pulse a-drol/or d-Bol as the sides are maintained much easier and you can run it longer with better results…. Now, if one is at a sticking point/platuea at end of a cycle I prefer to backload my orals to finish strong and further my gains(marcus has mentioned using the water retention to make further gains at that point as well)…

The infamous steroids stack; what is it and what is its purpose? A steroid stack is the combining of various steroids where the ultimate goal is the sum effects are greater than that of the individual sum of its parts. Basically it is combining steroids where the ultimate goal is 2+2=5. It is, however, more than this. Not only can the combined effects be greater but also the side effects can be reduced as well.

People have been stacking steroids from very early on in the steroid game. It did not take long for steroid users to realize that by combining various steroids the results of these steroids could be compounded. Almost a synergistic effect whereby the user could ultimate take in fewer mgs of steroids yet gets greater results.

There are several reasons one might stack steroids. Some might say stacking is inevitable as testosterone is believed by many (and not incorrectly so) that a testosterone base must be present in order to replace the endogenous production of biological testosterone which ceases upon merQistration of steroids. Thus any other addition of any other steroid would thereby create a “stack.” While this is true it goes farther than that. It was found that by stacking steroids the results could be increased. For example it is fairly well accepted that 500mgs of testosterone combined with 500mgs of deca will yield greater gains that 1000mgs of testosterone. Why is this? It could be as simple as deca being more potent than test thus the gains yielded are greater. While that makes sense but could it be more than just this? Also since this is the case how can you intelligently form a steroid stack that will offer this 2+2=5 benefit while reducing potential side effects?

In order to address this I think first you have to take a step back and look at the 3 steroid bases different steroids are derived from, see how they differ, and see how combining them intelligently can yield much greater benefit in the area of both gains as well as the reduction of side effects.

Steroid Bases:

Test Based- First on the list would be Test based steroids. Examples of some of these would be D-bol, Testosterone, Eq, T-bol. These steroids are exactly as they sound, they are all based on testosterone. Most all, like testosterone, aromatize to estrogen in varying degrees. This is something to bear in mind when using a test based steroid in your stack so you can plan for side effect prevention/management by using an aromatase inhibitor to manage your estrogen.

19-Nor Based- The steroids all have a 19-Nor testosterone base. This is a smaller group essentially made up of nandrolone and trenbolone with various esters. It has been said these steroids are progestins, with affinity to the progesterone receptor and are also believed to increase Prolactin. Again something to be kept in mind so a dopamine agonist can at least be kept on hand if not used so that prolactin sides can be controlled. These steroids do not to a significant degree (if at all) aromatize to estrogen. This does not, however, mean they do not impact estrogen levels. Through indirect means it has been shown that Nandrolone increases aromatase expression and thus e2 levels and tren is somewhat a beast of its own with a host of sides unique to it and also seems to compound the sides of test based steroids it may be stacked with.

DHT Based- These steroids all have DHT as a base. They do not aromatize to estrogen at all. The primary side associated with DHT based steroids seems to show especially in those prone to male pattern baldness. DHT is the androgen primarily associated with hair loss and the introduction of DHT based steroids may cause this side effect. There are several ways to combat this side such as topical anti androgens such as topical spiro and Nizoral shampoo. Examples of dht based steroids in include winstrol , primobolan , anavar , masteron and a few others.
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When looking at your first steroid stack I would take a look at the other 2 bases of steroids and make a selection from one of the other 2. You will have your test based steroid in the stack in the form of testosterone, you know how you respond to it, you know how to properly manage your e2 using an ai at the 500mg/week dosage you used. This is all valuable information and knowledge that you can take with you and apply when doing your first “stack”. Now looking at the 2 other steroid bases available and considering the effects these bases have to offer you can set about making your decision. Now both 19 nor steroids are very interesting compounds. They are both very effective at building mass, however deca is the milder of the 2 compounds with less inherent sides, yet is still a very potent anabolic yielding excellent gains. Picking from them Deca would clearly be the first of the 19 nors I would suggest trying. It only seems prudent to find out just how you respond to deca before even considering the incorporation of tren into any cycle. What about DHT’s? Well DHT based steroids are very interesting in that they don’t really offer astounding gains per se, but they do afford some excellent effects that we may desire at various points. They are androgenic but do not aromatize to estrogen yet the majority of them do not build significant mass. The best mass building dht based steroids IMO would be Anadrol , anavar and winstrol, the rest seems to be able to impact your physique but primarily seem to do so at lower bf%’s. One could generalize and say dht based steroids as a group offer aesthetic benefit more so than mass benefit (with obvious exceptions such as anadrol).