Women on Steroids Myth and Truth

Women on steroids, to many those three little words sound ridiculous; for many the idea of women on steroids is nothing short of a disaster waiting to happen. However, when it comes to anabolic androgenic steroids we have a topic that is one of the most highly misunderstood and quite often spoken of in a highly disapproving light regardless of who such a discussion pertains to and in that light more often than not inaccurate assumptions are made of a highly inaccurate nature. Many will indeed be surprised to learn women do in-fact supplement with anabolic steroids; sure, we�re all familiar with those who do so of a highly extreme end, those who have sacrificed all femininity for mounds of muscle but the reality does not stop there.

Year after year, every single day many women supplement with anabolic steroids; many of the women highly admired for their beauty who possess a fit and healthy look supplement quite regularly; we�re not speaking of a small number, in-fact we�re speaking of a fairly large number. Many female athletes from all walks of like regularly take part in the anabolic game and for good reason, it works but it remains this is a fact most are not willing to accept. Make no mistake, women on steroids pales in comparison to men who supplement with anabolic hormones but the numbers of female users far extends past what most understand.

There is no doubt about it, anabolic androgenic steroid use can be very damaging to a female but when a woman is educated on the matter and responsible use is implored use can be very successful. For women on steroids the biggest risk is virilization by-which masculine traits are brought forth. For any female this is a horrific end as a large part of our personal identity is connected to our sex and the attributes associated with it; however, this horrific end can largely be avoided.

For years many myths and legends have existed regarding anabolic androgenic steroids and the use thereof but it�s important to remember myths and legends are just that, myths and legends, meaning they are absent of truth. While some of these myths may hold some truth to them in-part unless the full truth is explained the rest of the assumption is either a lie or simple ignorance. Such assumptions can be seen on a host of message boards that deal in the topic of anabolic androgenic steroids; for years many have gone to such message boards to obtain anabolic information and while there is good information on many of them there are often just as many half-truths and inaccurate assumptions. We have taken some of the most common myths and outright lies from some of the most popular message boards on the internet that deal in such discussion regarding women on steroids and left you with only the truth. While you�ll find there is still much more to learn hopefully you�ll find this to not only be an interesting starting point but one that urges you to seek the truth.

Myth: Masculine traits will occur in women on steroids and it�s largely unavoidable.
Truth: While many anabolic androgenic steroids will produce such an effect there are certain steroids that can be used both effectively and safely without such an effect occurring. Most notably is the steroid Oxandrolone or as it is more commonly known Anavar. Most women will find Anavar to not only be highly effective but to possess little to no side-effects whatsoever. Women on steroids who make Anavar a stable part of their plan will find they build a leaner and tighter physique that still possesses all the femininity they began with.

Myth: Women on steroids will gain massive amounts of weight and turn into gigantic piles of muscle.
Truth: For some women such an end is desired and if so then absolutely, it can be obtained. However, anabolic steroid use will not by itself produce this end in a woman any more than it will for a man. This is a common misconception regarding anabolic steroids as a whole but one that is often used to scare women away. In order to be big you have to eat big; steroids or not this is an inescapable fact. Women on steroids who do not follow a mass gaining diet will not blowup into behemoths by any stretch; sure, they may indeed possess more lean muscle tissue but lean muscle tissue is a good thing. Lean tissue not only lends to a healthier body but one that is more appealing; the amounts of such tissue will be highly regulated by the amounts of food you take in but the doses of the steroids will also play a role. Women who are looking for a nice athletic boost in-terms of function or appearance can reach this end through steroid use and take it as far as they want from very slight to very extreme and everywhere in-between.

Myth: Most of the women on steroids are competitive bodybuilders.
Truth: Most of the women on steroids are not competitive bodybuilders at all; however, physique sports do make up a large portion of the total users. Many and by many we mean a whole lot of figure, fitness and bikini competitors of the physique world supplement with anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Such use however by no means ends with physique competition but stretches to non-competitive fitness models to many of the celebrities the world loves and adores to some of the women you find attractive at your local super market who simply enjoy working out. There is a very good reason many women are able to hold onto a more youthful appeal and maintain a more well-rounded healthy look in far greater numbers and for far longer extended periods of time and it�s not some magical machine they step into; it is undisputedly performance enhancing drugs and anabolic steroids make up a large portion of this group.

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Steroid Stacks Myth and Truth

For any anabolic steroid user the search for the best steroid stacks is always high on the list and for good reason; the more efficient the stack the better the results. While there are numerous steroid stacks we can compile and some will be better suited for different purposes, in general most steroid stacks can work well for bulking or cutting; it�s often when we get into pure athletic performance that this will vary the most. However, regardless of the purpose of use there are universal truths and you better believe it, when it comes to steroid stacks there are a host of myths; let�s dispel a few and leave only truth.
Steroid Stacks Myths & Truth:

- Myth: Deca-Durabolin (Deca) and Equipoise (EQ) cannot and should not be run in the same cycle because they are virtually the same thing

-Truth: While in many cases there will be no need to use both Deca and EQ they are in no shape or form the same thing; these are two very different hormones. This idea that they were basically the same drug was originally started by the late great Dan Duchaine but even he would eventually recant. These two hormones serve various purposes, many unique unto their own. Many performance enhancers will use both at the same time; normally a low dose of Deca will be used to relieve joint pain while EQ will play a more primary role if both are used at the same time. However, for pure size Deca will always be a far better choice in in any of your steroid stacks.

- Myth: Some steroid stacks require no post cycle therapy (PCT.)

-Truth: While some stacks will be easier on our system than others, for the adult male a PCT should always be applied. No matter the anabolic steroids used in your cycle your natural testosterone production has been diminished. A proper PCT will not only promote your natural testosterone production but will further aid you in keeping the gains you made. More importantly, the sooner we can bring our natural testosterone levels back to normal the better we�ll feel. However, no matter how good your PCT plan is understand your natural testosterone levels will not be normal for some time; the PCT only helps, it does not completely restore. If you choose not to run a PCT you will only prolong the time before your testosterone levels return to a normal state; it does not matter what you�ve heard from this or that guy, it doesn�t matter how genetically gifted you may be; this is a universal truth.

-Myth: You shouldn�t stack cutting steroids with bulking steroids

-Truth: First and foremost, get the idea of cutting and bulking steroids out of your head; almost all anabolic steroids can be used for both purposes. Although some you will find better suited for certain purposes, many steroid stacks will have the same anabolic steroids in them regardless of the purpose. For example, the steroid Trenbolone, both in its Acetate or Enanthate form can be one of the most powerful steroids we can use and serves a great purpose in any bulking or cutting cycle. For the competitive bodybuilder never is this little trick truer; the drug Anadrol is often viewed as a bulking agent only in truth it can be used successfully for either purpose as is commonly done by a many competitors. Then there�s of course testosterone, the foundation of most any quality cycle. The list goes on and on but hopefully you get the idea.

-Myth: Steroid stacks made of underground gear are just as good as ones made of human grade gear.

-Truth: Due to their price and high availability underground steroids have always been of high popularity. While there are good underground brands this myth in a general sense could very well be the biggest of all. Make no mistake, human grade steroids will always be the cream of the crop, steroid stacks comprised of them will almost always yield better results and will further be the absolute safest stacks of all.

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Breaking the Myth: If I Lift Heavy I'll Look Like A Man!

Rosie Chee talks about another myth - If I lift Heavy I'll end up looking like a man! Rosie explains the facts about resistance training.

You hear it time and again from females in and out of the gym, when it is suggested to them that they either a) lift weights, or b) increase the weight that they are lifting. �I don't want to do that, because I don't want to look like a man.� Many people, males included, have come to believe that for a female to lift weights means that she will somehow transform into the stereotype image of the female bodybuilder. This is simply NOT the reality of females and resistance training. This article will discuss and compare the physiology, the hormonal adaptations to resistance training, and the role of diet in gaining muscle, in both males and females.

Whilst males and females are structurally similar, there are many physiological differences that affect the sexes' ability to gain muscle mass.
Hormones

The primary reason that females cannot gain muscle mass as fast or to the extent as males is the difference in hormone status.

Testosterone is one of the androgenic hormones responsible for anabolism in the body. It is testosterone that is responsible for masculine traits (i.e. excess hair (especially facial), deepening of voice, increase in muscle mass). Both males and females produce testosterone, as it is necessary for hormonal balance and body function. However, males have much HIGHER levels of testosterone than females, with the �normal� range of total testosterone (in the bloodstream) being 0.95-4.3 pg/dl, compared to the 0.7-3.6 pg/dl of females. However, it is not so much the total amount of testosterone that an individual has that determines their potential/ability for muscle growth, since most of the testosterone in the body is bound to either sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) or other non-specific proteins such as albumin, but their levels of FREE testosterone (i.e. the amount of testosterone that is NOT bound in the body). In males 0.3-5% (with an average of 2%) of their total testosterone if free, with their free testosterone normal values being 270-1100 ng/dl, compared to only 6-86 ng/dl of free testosterone available to females.

The female �equivalent� of testosterone is estrogen. Whilst estrogen may increase Growth Hormone (GH), it also increases a) SHBG, which decreases the amount of free testosterone in the body; and b) cortisol, which reduces muscle mass.
Muscle Fibres and Types

There is a similar distribution of the percentage of Type I, Type IIa, and Type IIb muscle fibres in both males and females. However, females have ~60-80% of the muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and whole muscle anatomical cross-sectional area (ACSA) than that of males. Therefore, despite the potential for muscle hypertrophy in a relatively short period of time, similar percentage increases in either muscle mass or volume as a result of resistance training, results in smaller total overall gains in CSA and ACSA in females than in males.
Resistance Training and Hormonal Adaptations

Studies have shown that resistance training acutely increases total testosterone in males; whereas there is NO change in females. However, free testosterone HAS been shown to be elevated up to 25% in females after resistance training. Yet, because females have less free testosterone than males at rest, any increase is not significant enough to allow for muscle hypertrophy to the extent of a male. Therefore, it has been suggested that other anabolic hormones, such as GH may be responsible for hypertrophy in females.
Role of Diet in Gaining Muscle

Diet is an important component of gaining muscle mass. To gain muscle mass one needs to be eating MORE than Maintenance calories. Because females are generally smaller than males (i.e. smaller bone size and mass, less muscle mass, etc.), they generally require (and eat) LESS than males. If a female ate the amount that a male ate to gain mass, they would most likely end up gaining a lot of unwanted bodyfat along with muscle hypertrophy. Females are also generally more prone to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, etc. that are detrimental to muscle hypertrophy, and cause muscle loss.
Conclusion

Masculinization in females does not occur as a result of [heavy] weight training, but rather because of the excess of androgenic hormones (i.e. testosterone) coupled with the correct stimulus for muscle growth (i.e. chronic resistance training AND diet directed at muscle growth). The stereotype image of the female bodybuilder in the media is a result of said females chronically using androgenic compounds (i.e. steroids) in order to increase their muscle mass and size. For the female who is NOT doing this, they can lift as hard and as heavy as they want, and will come nowhere close to �looking like a man?".

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Oral Steroids Misconceptions

The topic of oral steroids is perhaps the most popular topic among especially newcomers and prospective anabolic steroid users. There exists no greater attraction to those looking into using anabolic steroids for the first time than the attraction of the convenience of anabolic steroids in a very convenient easy to swallow pill or capsule format. It is very important to first clarify several misconceptions about oral anabolic steroids that seems to propagate the uneducated general public. They are the following:

 Misconception 1: Oral steroids are safer than injectables.
 Misconception 2: Oral steroids are less effective/strong or more effective/strong than injectables.
 Misconception 3: Oral steroids are easier to obtain.
 Misconception 4: Oral steroids are cheaper.

Misconception 1: Oral steroids are safer than injectables.
This is perhaps the largest misconception among oral anabolic steroids, and is perhaps the second overall largest misconception in regards to anabolic steroids in general (with the first largest misconception/myth/rumor being that anabolic steroids will generate massive muscles without any hard work, training, or diet). The real truth is that both injectable and oral steroids both contain various risky compounds in each category. There exist oral steroids that present a higher risk of various dangers to the body, while there are also injectable steroids that present higher risks as well. When it comes down to it, oral steroids are both harsher on the body�s subsystems than the majority of injectables, and although there are one or two �milder� and �safer� oral steroids, the majority of them present issues of hepatotoxicity (liver toxicity) and negative cholesterol alterations that are far more impacting than most injectables. This is not a problem present with the majority of injectables with the exception of a select one or two, as the majority of injectable compounds are well tolerated by the body. The specific details in regards to why this is the case will be explained shortly in this article.

Misconception 2: Oral steroids are less effective/strong or more effective/strong than injectables.
Oral steroids are not stronger than injectable steroids, nor are they weaker. The anabolic strength rating (the determined measurement of how effective an anabolic steroid is in terms of the promotion of muscle growth) of various oral anabolic steroids does indeed match or surpass the anabolic strength rating of many injectable compounds, while several oral anabolic steroids fall short when compared to injectable compounds as well.

Misconception 3: Oral steroids are easier to obtain.
Simply put, this is not true. There exists highly popular anabolic steroids in both categories that are very easy to obtain, but it just so happens to be that the most popular anabolic steroid of all time is an oral steroid (Dianabol, AKA Methandrostenolone). Aside from this, the next two most popular anabolic steroids of all time are both injectables: Nandrolone (Deca Durabolin) and Winstrol (Stanozolol). All anabolic steroid sources and vendors should carry all types of oral steroids and injectable steroids in equal amounts available for purchase.

Misconception 4: Oral steroids are cheaper.
This is also not true. Within both categories (oral and injectable), there are both more expensive compounds as well as less expensive compounds, all related to factors such as popularity of the compound, ease of manufacture, ease of access, and so on and so forth. The overall price of an anabolic steroid cycle will also normally end up being the same in general, as anabolic steroid cycles should ideally be pre-planned and all costs and dosages calculated prior to purchase. At the end of the day, the overall cost of the amount of oral steroids to run in any given cycle is often almost the same price as any other injectable compound, with the exception of various more expensive compounds as mentioned prior. However, when compared to many injectable compounds, simple cycles, for example, of an injectable format of Testosterone ends up being far more cost effective than oral steroid cycles.

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Breaking The Female Myth: "If I Lift Heavy I�ll Look Like A Man"

Does lifting turn women into muscle bound freaks? Of course not! Find out the physiological and hormonal reasons why women can't get as big as men.

You hear it time and again from females in and out of the gym, when it is suggested to them that they either:

    a) Lift weights, or...
    b) Increase the weight that they are lifting.

�I don�t want to do that, because I don�t want to look like a man.�

Many people, males included, have come to believe that for a female to lift weights means that she will somehow transform into the stereotype image of the female bodybuilder. This is simply NOT the reality when it comes to females and resistance training.

Hormones

The primary reason that females cannot gain muscle mass as fast or to the extent as males is the difference in hormone status.

Testosterone is one of the androgenic hormones responsible for anabolism in the body. It is testosterone that is responsible for masculine traits (i.e. excess hair - especially facial, deepening of voice, increase in muscle mass). Both males and females produce testosterone, as it is necessary for hormonal balance and body function (Marieb, 2004). Males have much HIGHER levels of testosterone than females, with the �normal� range of total testosterone (in the bloodstream) being 0.95-4.3 pg/dl, compared to the 0.7-3.6 pg/dl of females.

However, it is not so much the total amount of testosterone that an individual has that determines their potential/ability for muscle growth, since most of the testosterone in the body is bound to either sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) or other non-specific proteins such as albumin (Wheeler, 1995), but their levels of FREE testosterone (i.e. the amount of testosterone that is NOT bound in the body). In males 0.3-5% (with an average of 2%) of their total testosterone if free, with their free testosterone normal values being 270-1100 ng/dl, compared to only 6-86 ng/dl of free testosterone available to females.

The female �equivalent� of testosterone is estrogen. Whilst estrogen may increase growth hormone (GH), it also increases,

    a) SHBG, which decreases the amount of free testosterone in the body.
    b) Cortisol, which reduces muscle mass.

Muscle Fibers and Types

There is a similar distribution of the percentage of Type I, Type IIa, and Type IIb muscle fibers in both males and females. However, females have ~60-80% of the muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and whole muscle anatomical cross-sectional area (ACSA) than that of males. Therefore, despite the potential for muscle hypertrophy in a relatively short period of time, similar percentage increases in either muscle mass or volume as a result of resistance training, results in smaller total overall gains in CSA and ACSA in females than in males.

Resistance Training and Hormonal Adaptations

Studies have shown that resistance training acutely increases total testosterone in males; whereas there is NO change in females. However, free testosterone HAS been shown to be elevated up to 25% in females after resistance training.

Yet, because females have less free testosterone than males at rest, any increase is not significant enough to allow for muscle hypertrophy to the extent of a male. Therefore, it has been suggested that other anabolic hormones, such as GH may be responsible for hypertrophy in females.

Role of Diet in Gaining Muscle

Diet is an important component of gaining muscle mass. To gain muscle mass one needs to be eating MORE than maintenance-level calories. Because females are generally smaller than males (i.e. smaller bone size and mass, less muscle mass, etc.), they usually require (and eat) LESS than males.

If a female ate the amount that a male ate to gain mass, they would most likely end up gaining a lot of unwanted bodyfat along with muscle hypertrophy. Females are also generally more prone to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, etc. that are detrimental to muscle hypertrophy, and cause muscle loss.


Masculinization in females does not occur as a result of (heavy) weight training, but rather because of the excess of androgenic hormones (i.e. testosterone) coupled with the correct stimulus for muscle growth (i.e. chronic resistance training AND diet directed at muscle growth). The stereotype image of the female bodybuilder in the media is a result of said females chronically using androgenic compounds (i.e. steroids) in order to increase their muscle mass and size.

For the female who is NOT doing this, they can lift as hard and as heavy as they want, and will come nowhere close to �looking like a man�.

Read More..