Chemical Names: Testosterone
Routes: Intramuscular Injection
Half-life:
- Suspension 12-36 hours
- Propionate 4.5 days
- Enanthate 8-10.5 days
- Cypionate 12 days
- Mix 15-18 days
What role does Testosterone play? Sperm production, increases libido (sex drive) in both men and women, the development of the penis / testes, secondary male sexual characteristics such as facial and bodily hair and deepening of the voice, however it’s most important role for bodybuilders is its muscle building attributes in which androgens promote protein synthesis.
Low levels of testosterone can cause a number of nasty effects on our bodies, like heart disease, erectile dysfunction (ED), decreased energy levels, depression/anxiety, anemia, infertility, polyuria, dry skin, poor sleep, increased abdominal fat, high cholesterol and gynecomastia to name a few. As you can see testosterone is a very powerful hormone that has many different attributes associated to it. Testosterone is produced in the testes of males and in females it is produced in the ovaries; males have naturally around 10 times the amount of testosterone than females. If you do suspect you suffer from low testosterone levels then it would be advised to seek medical assistance and possibly be put on TRT (Testosterone replacement therapy).
There are a few things that affect our body’s natural testosterone levels, such as aging, psychological changes that make a man a man such as loss of dominance or statue. Foods such as meat, fats and supplements like zinc play a role in promoting testosterone whereas other foods actually lower the production of testosterone. Sleep (REM) also plays a very effective role in the production of testosterone.
Now let’s talk about the anabolic steroid testosterone. Testosterone as I have pointed out above is a natural occurring hormone in the body and all other anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of testosterone. So in saying that you will see why it is important to have testosterone as your ground work for every steroid cycle or stack. Many people speculate that it might be better to put steroid novices on other milder and less androgenic compounds like Primobolan or Anavar. This is not a good idea as all anabolic/androgenic steroids affect our hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPTA) and in saying that, luteinizing hormone (LH) is the hormone which stimulates the testes interstitial cells to produce testosterone. And while on a steroid cycle, the effects on your HPTA axis as mentioned above will prevent your body from creating it's own testosterone production until you finish your cycle and your androgen levels are low enough for an affective PCT to be carried out. So if you do not add testosterone as your basis to every cycle you will lower your natural supply of testosterone and you could start to develop the above mentioned side effects associated to low testosterone levels.
The anabolic steroid testosterone has an anabolic to endergonic ratio of 100/100. As you can see by this ratio it is a very powerful steroid in the production of muscle and strength. However due to the high androgenic properties of testosterone many unwanted side effects associated to steroids can be expected when using testosterone. Testosterone also acts as a very powerful anti-catabolic steroid in which it protect your from the catabolic hormone glucocorticoid and help sustain muscle mass by not shifting into a catabolic state. Average doses of a testosterone range from around 500 (for beginners) right up to a few grams a week. Now as many would say testosterone is testosterone is testosterone, let us point out some of the highlighted characteristics of each testosterone profile:
