ACTIONS OF DIFFERENT ESTERS

There are many different esters that are used with anabolic steroids / androgenic steroids, but again, they all do basically the same thing. Esters vary only in their ability to reduce a steroid's water solubility. An ester like propionate for example will slow the release of a steroid for a few days, while the duration will be weeks with a decanoate ester. Esters have no effect on the tendency for the parent steroid to convert to estrogen or DHT (dihydrotestosterone: a more potent metabolite) nor will it effect the overall muscle-building potency of the compound. Any differences in results and side effects that may be noted by bodybuilders who have used various esterified versions of the same base steroid are just issues of timing. Testosterone enanthate causes estrogen related problems more readily than Sustanon, simply because with enanthate testosterone levels will peak and trough much sooner (1-2 week release duration as opposed to 3 or 4). Likewise testosterone suspension is the worst in regards to gyno and water bloat because blood hormone levels peak so quickly with this drug. Instead of waiting weeks for testosterone levels to rise to their highest point, here we are at most looking at a couple of days. Given an equal blood level of testosterone, there would be no difference in the rate of aromatization or DHT conversion between different esters. There is simply no mechanism for this to be possible.

There is however one way that we can say an ester does technically effect potency; it is calculated in the steroid weight. The heavier the ester chain, the greater is its percentage of the total weight. In the case of testosterone enanthate for example, 250mg of esterified steroid (testosterone enanthate) is equal to only 180mg of free testosterone. 70mgs out of each 250mg injection is the weight of the ester. If we wanted to be really picky, we could consider enanthate slightly MORE potent than cypionate (I know this goes against popular thinking) as its ester chain contains one less carbon atom (therefore taking up a slightly smaller percentage of total weight). Propionate would of course come out on top of the three, releasing a measurable (but not significant) amount more testosterone per injection than cypionate or enanthate.

WHAT AN ESTER IS, AND HOW IT WORKS

If you have taken an interest in anabolic steroids you have noticed the similarities on the labeling of many drugs. Let's look at testosterone for example. One can find compounds like testosterone cypionate, enanthate, propionate, heptylate; caproate, phenylpropionate, isocaproate, decanoate, acetate, the list goes on and on. In all such cases the parent hormone is testosterone, which had been modified by adding an ester (enanthate, propionate etc.) to its structure. The following question arises: What is the difference between the various esterified versions of testosterone in regards to their use in bodybuilding?

An ester is a chain composed primarily of carbon and hydrogen atoms. This chain is typically attached to the parent anabolic steroid at the 17th carbon position (beta orientation), although some compounds do carry esters at position 3 (for the purposes of this article it is not crucial to understand the exact position of the ester). Esterification of an injectable anabolic/androgenic steroid basically accomplishes one thing, it slows the release of the parent steroid from the site of injection. This happens because the ester will notably lower the water solubility of the steroid, and increase its lipid (fat) solubility. This will cause the drug to form a deposit in the muscle tissue, from which it will slowly enter into circulation as it is picked up in small quantities by the blood. Generally, the longer the ester chain, the lower the water solubility of the compound, and the longer it will take to for the full dosage to reach general circulation.

Slowing the release of the parent steroid is a great benefit in steroid medicine, as free testosterone (or other steroid hormones) previously would remain active in the body for a very short period of time (typically hours). This would necessitate an unpleasant daily injection schedule if one wished to maintain a continuous elevation of testosterone (the goal of testosterone replacement therapy). By adding an ester, the patient can visit the doctor as infrequently as once per month for his injection, instead of having to constantly re-administer the drug to achieve a therapeutic effect. Clearly without the use of an ester, therapy with an injectable anabolic/androgen would be much more difficult.

Esterification temporarily deactivates the steroid molecule. With a chain blocking the 17th beta position, binding to the androgen receptor is not possible (it can exert no activity in the body). In order for the compound to become active the ester must therefore first be removed. This automatically occurs once the compound has filtered into blood circulation, where esterase enzymes quickly cleave off (hydrolyze) the ester chain. This will restore the necessary hydroxyl (OH) group at the 17th beta position, enabling the drug to attach to the appropriate receptor. Now and only now will the steroid be able to have an effect on skeletal muscle tissue. You can start to see why considering testosterone cypionate much more potent than enanthate makes little sense, as your muscles are seeing only free testosterone no matter what ester was used to deploy it.

How to Keep Your Body in an Explosive Growth Spurt

It is important to adjust your meal planning every two weeks to ensure you adjust your caloric intake to accommodate your added muscle mass. The best way to burn extra calories is to have more muscle. A more muscular body will be able to enjoy more calories without getting fat.

At the same time if you do not add extra calories to compensate for your new muscle tissues you will sooner or later hit a plateau as a result of not eating enough.
After two weeks following the training and meal plan weigh yourself and measure body fat:


1. If your weight has increased by two to four pounds and your body fat either stayed the same or decreased leave everything as is.( this is what you want)
2. If your weight decreased add another 800 calories daily until bodyweight stabilizes then calculate your day two calories by multiplying your new maintenance daily calories by 125%.
3. If your weight stays the same then add another 500 calories per day until weight stabilizes then recalculate your day two calories by multiplying your new maintenance weight by 125%.

There are two different calorie days, day one and day two. Simply alternate between the two. After day two eat the day one calorie requirements again. When adjusting your caloric requirements every two weeks add or subtract the suggested amounts to both days.

How to Get the V-Cut Abs

V- cut -  those two lines of definition on the lower abdominals that are basically pointing to your crotch. Some people affectionately call them the “money maker” because when you can show that off you know that you are truly ripped and elite.
That “V” is shaped between the oblique muscles and some people think they are more of the abdominals because they can make a six-pack look like an eight-pack. But the v cut abs aren’t pronounced by using specialized workouts, they are earned through leanness.
They only way you will be able to see them, unless you are one of those naturally lean and shredded people that most of us hate, is by getting your body fat below 10 percent. Ideally 8 to 10 percent should result in showing off some v cut abs.
The Program
Weight training, including abdominal and core work, is recommended. However what will determine your success truly is diet and cardio.
If you were to put this into percentages it is easily 70% diet and then 15% cardio and another 15% in weight training. People think that it is the other way around and they can get by on a sub-par diet; but you can’t, at least not if you want v cut abs.
All of the excess sugar and junk you take in everyday affects how your body stores calories along with usually leading to excess calories you then fight to keep off. For this program you want to be in fat burning mode without even hitting cardio so that when you do it is twice as effective. You still need to hit the weights because muscle is important as well.
Workouts – Aim for three full body workouts a week. Utilize a program with compound exercises only and include deadlifts, squats, and clean and presses. This type of lifting program elevates hormones and the metabolism. While you won’t be on the same growth pattern, it will maintain you and get you shredded which makes you look even bigger.
Cardio – Mix in two to three sessions of steady rate cardio of about 45 minutes to 60 minutes along with two high intensity interval training sessions of about 30 minutes each week. Stagger the workouts so you don’t do two HIIT workouts in a row.
Diet – Cut back on all sugar and processed junk. Eat five to six small meals each day (or 4 meals and 2 snacks). Include protein in every meal along with either fresh fruits or fresh veggies. Dairy like yogurt and cottage cheese are fine. But you need to focus on eliminating all the garbage, especially in the morning. Breakfast needs to be your temple to start each day right and help retrain your body to shred fat rather than store it.
Try and start with scrambled egg whites and whole cut oats topped with fruit. Instead of coffee loaded with sugar and cream go black or drink plain green tea. Skip soda and beer, replacing them with water and lots of it.

Top 5 Bodybuilding Beginners Mistakes

A lot of people fall in love with the idea of wanting to build muscle. They often start out with good intentions and visualize themselves looking a certain way within a few months. More often than not they get this better image of themselves from the front cover of a magazine. All this fantasizing finally digests in their mind until they decide to hit the weights. Without thinking they haven’t really done any research and marched straight to the gym and started pumping Iron, this is were things start to go wrong.
The top 5 bodybuilding mistakes for beginners are:
Lack of commitment
Most people hit the gym thinking its going to be a quick fix and within a month or two they think they will be ready to pose for the front cover of muscle magazine, wrong. I can’t count how many of my friends have talked me into letting them train with me only to stop 5 weeks down the line. This is not only a waste of their time but also a waste of mine. After 5 weeks you should expect your muscles to feel more toned, You will even see a fairly fast increase on how much weight you can lift. But you really wont see any difference in size until 5-6 months down the line. And because it takes so long you wont notice the difference, as it is a slow progression over time. I suggest taking pictures before you start and then every 4 months onwards to compare. realistically give yourself 1 year of committed training.
Overtraining
Most beginners don’t understand that rest is also a big part of building muscle as is lifting the weights. You should generally only workout for about 45-90 minutes and not train the same muscles within 24-48 hours of each other. Its not a requirement to lift weights as often as you can for long periods of time. REST is one of the most important factors in bodybuilding.
Bad diet
Diet again is an important part of building muscle. Your body needs protein and lost of it, try and eat 25-30 grams of protein every 2-3 hrs. You also needs complex carbohydrates, try and eat 5 smaller healthy meals (protein and complex carbs combined) throughout the day so your body as always got enough nutrition rather than eating two to 3 big meals a day which your body cant digest and use all at once. Eating smaller regular meals will avoid excess food being stored as fat and give your muscles plenty of nutrition to repair themselves.
Bad form
Lifting weights incorrectly can also have a negative influence on your bodybuilding ambitions as well as cause sports injuries. If you are targeting a specific muscle always try to isolate that muscle with the weights. Always lift weights in a controlled manner and if you think you are lifting the weights wrong, ask an instructor.
Lifting too much weight
Ok this one also applies to some experienced lifters also. A few years ago down at my local gym I used to get asked by this guy (who reckoned he knew everything about bodybuilding) to spot him. He would pack the bar with as much weight as he could to do about 5 reps. Thing is, I would also have to lift the weight with him. So he ended up doing 1 rep and I helped lift the other 4 reps. He would then take his top of and pose in the mirror for 5 minutes. After 1.5 years of going to the same gym together I noticed he never made any improvement and still lifted the same weight. I also see a lot of beginners walk in the gym and lift more than they can control which also leads to bad form. My advice here is to start of low and build up. Don’t feel stupid because others seem to be lifting a lot more weight than you.