Deca Durabolin
Deca-Durabolin is one of the most popular Anabolic androgenic steroids of all time, and in many cases one of the most misunderstood among performance enhancers. A powerful 19-nor Anabolic steroid, without question it is one of the best mass builders on the planet, but it can also serve a purpose in a cutting cycle. Undoubtedly one of the most well-tolerated Anabolic hormones in healthy adult men, in recent years, largely thanks to myth purported by the internet's best "Bro-Scientist", Deca-Durabolin has in many cases developed a bad name. That's a crying shame, because a lot of performance enhancers are missing out on one of the most beneficial steroids they could ever use, but those in the know already understand this truth.
The Fear of Deca-Durabolin:
There are three fears that are quite common revolving around Deca-Durabolin; erectile dysfunction, water retention and Gynecomastia. It is true; Deca-Durabolin does suppress natural testosterone production, and while all anabolics suppress natural production Deca-Durabolin brings about total suppression. For this reason, the term "Deca Dick" has existed for years, but it's a bit off base or rather a meaningless fear. If you provide your body an adequate amount of testosterone, erectile dysfunction will not occur; it can't. For this reason, when we steroid with Deca-Durabolin we must steroid with some form of exogenous testosterone; the form does not matter, all that matters is that the body gets the testosterone it needs.
As for Gynecomastia and water retention, it is true; Deca-Durabolin does aromatize but only at about 20% the rate of testosterone. In any case, both conditions are very easily avoidable, and to avoid them the first line of defense is an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI). With the use of AI's such as Arimidex or Letrozole, the aromatase process is inhibited, and what doesn't exist cannot cause a problem. Just as important is your diet; many often blame excess water retention on Deca-Durabolin, when in-fact they're simply eating too much. When you eat too much (especially carbohydrates) you're going to hold more water, and if you have a steroid that aromatizes and you're also eating too much you're going to retain a massive amount of water. In any case, with an AI, a proper diet and the use of an adequate amount of exogenous testosterone, the fears of Deca-Durabolin can largely be avoided.
Benefiting from Deca-Durabolin:
If you want to grow, there are very few steroids that can promote muscle growth, lean muscle tissue like Deca-Durabolin. A very slow acting steroid due to the massive Decanoate ester being attached, gains from this steroid will not occur overnight, but with consistent and stable use, they will build up nicely. Of course, as you'll necessarily be steroiding with some form of testosterone, your growth will be even more enhanced as the synergetic effect between these two hormones is tremendous. Let's be clear; there's a reason the biggest and baddest you've ever seen have been and will always steroid with Deca-Durabolin, and if you want to grow you should consider it too.
Beyond growth, Deca-Durabolin is well-known for the joint relief it can provide. Many assume this relief is provided by the hormonal compound forcing water into the joints; after all, that's what it feels like. We're here to tell you that is absolutely ridiculous; Deca-Durabolin cannot force water into the joints any more than you can force water to magically turn into gold. Even so, through use your joints will be provided a fair amount of comfort by the manner in-which the hormonal compound increases collagen synthesis and bone mineral content (BMC). For this reason, there are those who will steroid with Deca-Durabolin when dieting, for a low dose of this Nandrolone based compound will provide some very welcomed relief. Further, it is a nice preserving agent and will enhance a diet quite nicely. It's not a steroid you'd want to use all the way up to a bodybuilding show, but it can be part of the diet, especially early on, and be received quite well.
Total Use:
If you're steroiding with Deca-Durabolin for your off-season gains, as most will be, a dosing of 200mg per week will be the minimum performance dosing, with 400mg per week being the high-end dose for most men and all they ever need. Some men will find a need to go as high as 600mg per week, but there is no reason to ever go above this amount, and such amounts should only be attempted by the very experienced. If joint relief is all you're after, 100mg per week will do the trick, but the vast majority of performance enhancers will steroid with at least 200mg per week.
In any case, regardless of total dosing most Deca-Durabolin use will extend to at least 8 weeks, with 10-12 weeks being optimal. Remember, because of the Decanoate ester attached this is an extremely slow acting Anabolic steroid; just look at the long half-life that is 15 days and you can see this fact. Due to this fact, gains will come very slow, and most will not see much due to use until 4-6 weeks have passed. At any rate, it is also recommended you end all Deca-Durabolin use at least 2 weeks before your total cycle ends. For example, if you were stacking Testosterone and Deca-Durabolin in a 12 week plan, you would end your Deca-Durabolin use at the end of week 10 and continue to steroid with Testosterone for two more weeks. If you end a cycle with Deca-Durabolin, because it is so suppressive and stays in your system for so long it will make recovery far more difficult than it needs to be.