WARNING: This column is for information purposes only. Nothing should be misconstrued as medical advice. The content of this column is in no way an endorsement for the use of steroids, growth hormone, or any other drugs. Opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of this magazine.

Peter “Big Cat” Van Mol is one of Europe’s leading authorities on the science (and application) of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. With a biochemistry degree to his credit, he possesses the knowledge. But it’s his years of experience, constant gathering of information through experimentation and careful attention to detail that has resulted in his evolution to expert status. He has successfully advised many athletes in their training and pharmaceutical regimens, in addition to radically altering his own physique by practicing what he preaches. In this column he provides detailed profiles on both Sustanon 250 and Deca.

SUSTANON 250

Testosterone is the prime male androgen in the body and, as such, is still the best possible mass builder in the world. It has a high risk of side effects because it readily converts to a more androgenic form Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in androgen responsive tissues and also forms estrogen quite easily. But these characteristics also provide it with its extreme anabolic tendencies. While increased estrogen levels are primarily known for their downside, they also increase growth hormone output and glucose utilization, while improving immunity and upgrading the androgen receptor. Testosterone conversion to DHT, while not ideal, can be extremely potent at activating the androgen receptor and eliciting major strength and size gains. While not always the most visually appealing result, there is no steroid on earth that packs on mass like testosterone.

Sustanon 250 is a unique blend of 4 different esters of testosterone. The principle purpose of attaching an ester to a steroid is to make it more lipophilic, so that when injected intra-muscularly it can remain in the adipose tissue longer and is released in the bloodstream over time. The longer an ester, the more lipophilic it is. Sustanon 250 contains 1 short, 1 long and 2 medium length esters that are all delivered over time, which gives both a quick and sustained release. Testosterone Propionate, 30 mg (short ester/fast acting), Testosterone Phenylpropionate, 60 mg (medium ester/slow acting), Testosterone Isocaproate, 60mg (medium ester/slow acting) and Testosterone Decanoate, 100 mg (long ester/slow acting). To normal “patients” requiring testosterone therapy this is a good thing, but for a steroid using bodybuilder it’s really not.

A steroid user will use a long-acting testosterone and inject it once a week. The end of a week is usually the time when a long-acting (7 or 8 carbon) ester has tapered down to its original level and threatens to drop below that level, giving sub-par amounts of testosterone beyond that point (even though the compound stays somewhat active for 3-4 weeks). With Sustanon, that equal amount is divided much differently. Imagine a hypothetical situation where one takes either 270 mg of a an ester that lasts 6 days, or 270 mg of a blend of different esters, 90 mg each, that release over respectively 2, 4 and 6 days, analog to Sustanon. With the first one, an even amount of testosterone is released on each day. With the second one the entire first ester, half the second ester and 1/3rd of the last ester is released within the first two days. The result here is clear: the first two days one gets 165 mg, the next two one gets 75 mg and the last 2 days one gets a mere 30 mg. The levels peak much sooner, but drop off sooner, leaving you with less than adequate androgen levels as the week draws to a close.

So compared to long-acting testosterones, I find Sustanon to be a poor value. The price is roughly the same so I really don’t see the affinity people seem to have for it. Respectively Test Cypionate and Test Enanthate are much better choices. I understand the need for a fast-acting component to front-load and kick-start gains, but even then, Testoviron (200 mg testosterone enanthate; 50 mg testosterone propionate) is a much better choice. Speaking of front-loading, for this express purpose Sustanon is well suited, which I’ll explain later in the stacking section.

As with all testosterones the rate of side effects is quite high. Risks of androgenic side effects (hair loss, prostate hypertrophy, deepening of voice) as well as estrogenic side effects (gyno/ “bitch tits”, water retention, fat gain) are real, and the use of ancillary drugs such as anti-estrogens are recommended. This is something that I urge all users to take into account. Never start any cycle with testosterone without having at least a lot of Nolvadex and a few amps of HCG on hand. Testosterone is not in any way toxic, and should not give a user any problems, apart from the possibility of a high rate of standard steroid side effects.

Stacking and Use:

Because of its long-acting components, Sustanon is mostly used as a form of long-acting testosterone, similar to Testoviron, Testosterone Enanthate and Testosterone Cypionate. I don’t find it to be the best choice for this purpose, but obviously I don’t determine the trends among bodybuilders. Still doses of 500 to 1000 mg per week are often used in a single injection with decent results. Perhaps because 3 of its esters are notably shorter than enanthate or cypionate, so more of it is actual testosterone and less ester, even though the distribution is uneven.

In my opinion, it is ideal to start off a cycle with 500 mg of Sustanon on day 1, then another 500 mg on day 6. On day 11, you would then begin a cycle of Testoviron, Enanthate or Cypionate at 500 mg/week. This approach avoids the major crash at the end of the week and makes maximum use of the fast acting esters to saturate the system, which allows more testosterone to build up and results to come much faster.

Again, because of the 2 medium-length and 1 long ester, the compound is not very controllable. So when problems occur, simply discontinuing the product is not an effective solution. Therefore, anti-estrogenic compounds are vital. If signs of “gyno” (gynecomastia) appear, begin using 20-40 mg/day of the estrogen antagonist Nolvadex, (or 100-150 mg/day of its weaker counterpart Clomid), until a few days after symptoms disappear. The best way to avoid such problems is including Proviron or Arimidex, (aromatase blockers), while on Sustanon or other forms of test. In most instances, I prefer Arimidex, but concerning the use of testosterone, Proviron (50-100 mg per day) may be wiser since it frees up more testosterone.

Of course the simultaneous use of an aromatase blocker will compromise your gains, since it literally stops estrogen from being made. Androgenic problems can be reduced to some extent by the use of Finasteride (Proscar), which will stop the conversion of testosterone to its more androgenic component DHT. This may alleviate aggravated hair loss and prostate problems somewhat. Again, the blocking of such a conversion may decrease the gains made and will heighten the risk for estrogenic side effects, since DHT acts as an anti-estrogen. Proviron is also a form of DHT, so people worried about androgenic side effects should then naturally opt for Arimidex over Proviron when they choose an aromatase blocker as well.

Sustanon stacks well with any compound. Usually testosterone is the strongest compound in any stack, so stacking with a less potent drug allows the user a milder cycle with lower occurrence of side effects (than simply using more testosterone), without having to give up all of the potential gains. Deca-Durabolin, Equipoise and Primobolan are some of the more fitting compounds for this purpose. But naturally the king of all mass builders stacks well with almost anything.

Deca

The decanoate ester of Nandrolone is generally referred to as Deca, stemming from the brand name Deca-Durabolin by the Organon company. But there are many generic forms of this compound available. Nandrolone is perhaps the best-marketed and most easily accessible steroid, which accounts for its immense popularity. Aside from Dianabol, Deca is, by far, the most used steroid. The Deca/D-bol stack, it is often suggested, is where the practice of stacking comes from. But to what does it owe its popularity? Well, Nandrolone has unique qualities that make it unlike any other steroid known to man.

Nandrolone is more commonly known as the base steroid 19Nor-testosterone. As this structure would indicate it’s like testosterone in appearance but for one small change: the absence of a carbon atom in the 19th position. This gives it a number of very distinct features. First of all it makes Nandrolone a notably weaker agonist of the androgen receptor. That alone causes quite a reduction in the risk of androgenic side effects. This is because it is the only steroid that is affected by the 5-alpha-reductase (5AR) enzyme in a way that makes it even less androgenic. Unlike testosterone, which forms DHT (dihydrotestosterone) at the 5AR enzyme, a hormone 3-4 times as potent as an androgen receptor stimulator, Nandrolone forms DHN (dihydroNandrolone) a hormone that is even less suited than the already mild parent hormone for agonizing the androgen receptor. Those two features combined make Nandrolone a very safe bet for people at risk for prostate hypertrophy, acne and aggravated male pattern hair loss. At the same time it’s estimated that Nandrolone is 2.4 times as anabolic as testosterone, on a gram for gram basis.

Due to the many different ways testosterone mediates anabolism, claiming Deca is more than twice as anabolic as test is a bold statement. In theory maybe, but it still establishes Nandrolone as a potent muscle builder and performance enhancer that’s comparatively safe (at least androgenically speaking). This androgenic mildness is perhaps the greatest reason for its popularity. But due to the lack of immediate anabolic activity Nandrolone is rarely used alone. It’s the most known and sought after product for use as a base steroid, to use in conjunction with a more androgenic specimen to enhance the results without increasing androgenic side effects to a serious degree.

The ways in which Nandrolone exerts its anabolic effects are two-fold. First, it’s a good mediator for nitrogen retention. When nitrogen retention is high, in essence, it means that the cells are taking up more nitrogen than they are releasing. Why is this a good thing? Well every amino acid has what is known as an amino-group, which contains nitrogen. When nitrogen is retained it means there is a high concentration of amino acids in a cell, which in turn positively affects the rate of protein synthesis. Since every tissue in the body is made from protein, including muscle, this means that muscle hypertrophy is facilitated.

Second, it positively manipulates estrogen. While Nandrolone’s rate of aromatization is considerably smaller than that of testosterone, it does convert to a particularly powerful form of estrogen. This has been noted to increase glycogen storage, growth hormone release and upgrade the androgen receptor in some tissues. In this case it also entails agonizing of aldosterone, but more on that later.

On an interesting note, the 5-alpha-reduced versions enlighten us to the anabolic effect of Nandrolone as opposed to testosterone. Since Nandrolone is weakened at the 5AR enzyme and testosterone becomes notably stronger at the 5AR enzyme it makes sense that testosterone would be a better anabolic mediator in tissues with a high concentration of this enzyme, and that Nandrolone would be the stronger of the two in tissues with a lower count of 5AR enzyme. Because 5AR is not as well represented in muscle tissue it accounts for the finding that Nandrolone is 2.4 times more anabolic when it comes directly to muscular hypertrophy. It also explains why it’s less of a risk for androgenic side effects such as benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH) and androgenetic alopecia (MPB). Both the prostate and the scalp have high concentrations of the 5AR enzyme.

If, indeed, the overall yield of estrogen is so much smaller, and so is the rate of androgen receptor stimulation, how then is Nandrolone so anabolic? The common belief is through a third receptor: the progesterone receptor. It has been concluded that both Nandrolone and several of its metabolites do indeed activate the progesterone receptor and are altered by it. On one hand progestagenic activity decreases the estrogen receptor concentration in some tissues, but also mediates estrogenic action in other tissues. So while estrogenic side effects are fairly uncommon with Nandrolone use alone, they can indeed occur and the implications of Nandrolone’s activity as a progesterone indicate these potential side effects aren’t to be solved with an aromatase inhibitor alone (like Cytadren). As long as there is estrogen in the system (indicating a possible increase of the problem when stacked with another aromatizing compound) progesterone can agonize its effects. And since progesterone receptors are found in breast tissue and have been linked to the formation of milk ducts, progestagenic activity may aggravate gynecomastia. While such problems are rare, when they occur they aren’t easily treated.

It makes sense, then, that those particularly prone to the effects and side effects of estrogen would take extra precaution. Blocking aromatase, considering the previous paragraph, would be a poor choice, but competitively inhibiting the estrogen receptor itself with clomiphene citrate (Clomid) or tamoxifen citrate (Nolvadex) might bring some relief since a large portion of progestagenic action is nullified if there is no circulating estrogen around (or if it is kept from being activated by the estrogen receptor). It is generally assumed that 1 mg (of either Clomid or Nolvadex) every day for every 20 mg of Nandrolone injected weekly is sufficient. For example, 200 mg Deca weekly requires 10 mg of Clomid or Nolvadex daily.

Slightly higher doses, or the use of an aromatase inhibitor like Cytadren, can be stacked if Nandrolone is used in conjunction with another aromatizing steroid. It has also been noted that the steroid Stanozolol (Winstrol) may provide relief as it too binds to the progesterone receptor, but remains unaltered by it. How strong of a competitor it is in such a case and what sort of doses would be needed are as much your guess as mine, so this may be a non-issue. But it does bode well for the stacking of Nandrolone with Stanozolol in that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Another benefit of Deca use often reported is the pain-free training because Nandrolone lubricates the joints. It stores a lot of water (as synovial fluid) in the joints, which eases the impact of the heavy weights handled by bodybuilders and weight lifters. One may wonder how Nandrolone can do a better job than a steroid that aromatizes much more, such as a testosterone ester, but it’s quite easily explained. One study demonstrates Nandrolone metabolites are also aldosterone agonists. Although we aren’t entirely sure of the mechanism by which this occurs. But, while sparing you the details of this complex hormone, aldosterone has a strong function in the retention of sodium in the body. High sodium levels correlate with a high storage of water and that would explain the aforementioned effect. This explains why more bulk and a certain loss of definition are not uncommon with Nandrolone, perhaps more than with testosterone.

One last note that is of critical relevance to drug tested athletes is the interaction between Nandrolone and esterase. Injectable, non 17-alpha-alkylated hormones are often esterified. This means attaching an ester to a specific position on the steroid causing it to be more lipophilic. That means it stores well in body fat and is slowly released into the bloodstream, giving it a time-released character. The more carbons an ester has, the longer it will last. For the drug to become active it needs to remove its ester. When released into the bloodstream simply the suspension in H2O will solve that. But in body fat the ester can also be removed by the enzyme esterase. But esterase works two ways, meaning in some cases it can also attach an ester. Nandrolone is such a case.

Nandrolone with a decanoate ester is fairly long acting (10 carbons) to begin with and if on top of that a lot of the drug can be de- and re-esterified that means the substance stays active in the body for quite a long time. This has resulted in positive drug tests for the hormone Nandrolone and many of its metabolites, most notably 19-Norandrosterone up to 18 months after last use of the drug. While this is common knowledge, the recent number of athletes (including well known soccer stars) testing positive for Nandrolone would indicate both misinformation and/or ignorance in some circles. Positive tests, with reprimands, could have easily been avoided. So anyone subject to any form of athletic drug test should refrain from using 19-Nortestosterone (Nandrolone) or any of its metabolites, including nor-prohormones.

For those of you looking to use Nandrolone as your only steroid, be aware that the gains on Nandrolone are not only mild, but also quite hard to maintain. Nandrolone, due to its combined estrogenic/progestagenic properties, is quite suppressive of natural testosterone production. Since it actively participates at three receptors, it’s very quick and merciless when it comes to giving negative feedback to the release of gonadotropin releasing hormone from the hypothalamus. But then one also has to take into account its affinity for esterases, making it stay active in the body significantly longer than most hormones. Because upon cessation of Nandrolone use you’ll still be under quite suppressive conditions, there simply isn’t enough intrinsic anabolism available to support the mass you gained, resulting in a rather quick and inglorious reduction of weight.

Personally, I prefer Boldenone (Equipoise) over Nandrolone. It’s also a relatively mild androgen that has no conversion at the 5AR enzyme, so it’s not that much more of an androgenic risk, but in all other aspects it’s a much safer steroid. “EQ” (Equipoise) doesn’t have strong estrogenic effects, nor progestagenic activity. That means it doesn’t cause bloat or fat gain and is much less likely to cause gyno. On the contrary, the gains from Boldenone are much leaner. It’s also stronger, mg for mg. It doesn’t readily re-esterify and due to its lower estrogenic effects, it is not nearly as suppressive of natural testosterone either. That makes the gains better, qualitatively speaking, and easier to maintain.

Also, as far as purchase is concerned, Boldenone is becoming cheaper and is very widely available. The availability of Deca is dropping, but it’s still the most counterfeited steroid in the world. That makes it more likely that an inexperienced buyer will get scammed looking for Nandrolone rather than Boldenone.
Stacking and Use:

Nandrolone stacks well with virtually anything. Due to its mild aromatizing and progestagenic activity, it’s primarily used as a mass building compound by all but the monstrously huge. Because some water retention is a fact, one would not desire to include it in a cutting phase, especially if it’s one of your first cycles. Nandrolone is used in doses of 200-600 mg per week. 400 mg is the common recommendation for a somewhat experienced user, when used in conjunction with another product. Nandrolone as decanoate, as found in deca-durabolin, is a long acting ester of 10 carbons. That means 1 injection weekly will more than suffice because of its long span of activity.

To this effect, it’s preferably stacked with another aromatizing compound, like a long acting testosterone (Cypionate, Enanthate or Sustanon 250). For a beginner cycle, we want to note that the testosterone compound is the most active compound and therefore more desirable to lower the dose of Nandrolone rather than testosterone. Often beginners start at 400 mg of Nandrolone and 250 mg of testosterone. A better suggestion would be 200 mg of Nandrolone and 500 mg of testosterone. Then bump the Nandrolone to 400 mg.

It also makes a good match for Anadrol or Dianabol, although neither compound can be used for the time span of Nandrolone Decanoate due to liver toxicity. This isn’t the case for a long-acting testosterone ester. Often Nandrolone and Test are stacked in conjunction with Anadrol or Dianabol for the first few weeks of a stack to boost gains and strength.

A Nandrolone stack accompanied by Stanazolol (Winstrol/Stromba) makes sense as well, especially for those who are highly prone to gyno. It’s commonly accepted that Stanazolol can compete for the progesterone receptor, and since Nandrolone can act as a progestin, this is a wise precaution. Progesterone agonizes estrogen and while Nandrolone only aromatizes slightly (cases of gyno with moderate Nandrolone use are rare), when stacking it with another aromatizing compounds like Dianabol or testosterone, you may not want to take the chance.

For secondary products, an anti-aromatase like Cytadren is not recommended since all aromatase conversion can’t be fully blocked. Using an estrogen-receptor antagonist, while obviously not foolproof, may serve some benefit. Agonized or not, without binding to the receptor estrogen loses most of its influence. Using Stanazolol and either Clomid or Nolvadex during a stack with Nandrolone is usually the best prescription. Post-cycle use of such substances to help HPTA (Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis) recover faster and retain gains is also highly recommended, and preferably for longer than you would with most stacks, since Nandrolone stays active for a very long time.

Advanced users often consider the use of low-dose Nandrolone (200 mg/week) with cutting cycles as well, which goes to prove that Nandrolone really does stack with anything.

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