Androgenic anabolic steroids, also known as AAS, are very common amongst people that lift weights and are looking to bulk up and build muscle.
To build muscle, an individual must be very committed to their cause, as noticeable muscle growth does not happen overnight.
Training naturally, it can be months before you begin to notice any real differences to your physique, and thatโs assuming that you lift regularly and have your anabolic diet on point.
Training naturally might be safer, but you can certainly see why natties get frustrated.
They bust their butts in the gym, training harder than ever, along with prepping their meals, spending heaps on meat and supplements, and they barely have anything to show for it several weeks down the line.
More frustratingly still, is the fact that somebody using gear will jump on cycle, and will literally transform their physique in a matter of weeks, surpassing said natty in every way possible.
More and more lifters are being tempted to cross over to the dark side and use steroids, but they do so at their own risk.
PCT after a steroid cycle is vital, which is why weโre looking at what is Arimidex PCT today.
PCT is often overlooked after a cycle ends, and the results could be devastating.
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Why Using PCT?
When you use anabolic steroids, you change your body chemistry.
In the simplest explanation possible, steroids are basically synthetic hormones that are all based on testosterone.
Testosterone is an androgenic hormone with anabolic properties, making it perfect for muscle growth.
Steroids basically mimic the effects of testosterone, except for the fact that the effects they provide have been increased exponentially.
Now, when you mess with your body chemistry, strange and dangerous things can happen to your body.
One common issue with steroids is that many of them aromatize and convert to Estrogen, and subsequently cause testosterone in the body to convert to Estrogen too.
Estrogen to a bodybuilder is like Kryptonite to Superman.
Estrogen causes men to suffer from gynecomastia, or gyno, which literally causes them to develop breasts and breast tissue like women.
It also causes water retention, bloating, hormonal imbalances, suppressed testosterone production, complete testosterone production shut down, damage to the major organs, and much more besides.
Doesnโt really make steroids seem that appealing does it?
Well, if you run what is known as Post Cycle Therapy, or PCT for short, you can substantially reduce the risks, dangers, and side effects associated with steroid use.
There are many different drugs and compounds that can be used for PCT when it comes to steroid use, and Arimidex is up there amongst the most popular.
What Is Arimidex PCT?
Arimidex is a drug that belongs to a class of drugs known as AIs.
No, weโre not talking about Artificial Intelligence which is the same AI that has tried and failed to kill Sarah Connor on multiple occasions.
The AIs weโre talking about are Aromatase Inhibitors, like Aromasin!
Here is a case study about Aromasin VS Arimidex.
Arimidex is also known as anastrozole and it is an anti-estrogen drug.
Initially, the drug, like many steroids before it, was developed for medical purposes.
It was originally developed to treat breast cancer in women, particularly in post-menopausal women.
The idea was that, because it essentially blocks the effects of Estrogen, the drug would help treat breast cancer which was stimulated by Estrogen.
Basically, they reduced the amount of Estrogen that the female body was able to produce after a woman had gone through the menopause.
Interestingly, it is still FDA-approved and is still used for medical purposes and can be prescribed by a doctor.
However, as most typical bodybuilders are not post-menopausal women, you might be wondering why youโll find Arimidex as part of their cycle stack.
Well, the reason for this is because Arimidex can actually be used to help negate the effects of steroids on the body, specifically, those related to increased levels of Estrogen.
It isnโt actually a SERM (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator) like some people wrongly believe, but it is still very popular amongst bodybuilders running PCT.
Now, when it comes to PCT, there are two drugs that rule the roost.
Virtually all PCT cycles include at least one of these drugs.
The third-most-popular drug for PCT, however, is the one weโre looking at today.
A common misconception is that these drugs prevent Estrogen from being produced.
They donโt.
What they actually do is block the action of Estrogen in specific Estrogen receptor sites within the body.
As Estrogen is unable to bind to these receptors, it cannot do its damage.
As it is an AI, it works by disabling aromatase enzymes which cause androgens such as testosterone, to aromatize and convert to Estrogen.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Arimidex For Men?
There are many benefits associated with using Arimidex, though primarily we are going to focus on the steroid-related benefits first.
These include, but are not limited to:
1. No gyno
When men use steroids, one common side effect is gyno, or gynecomastia, as it is fully known.
Gyno is a condition that literally causes men to grow and develop breast tissue.
Now, itโs incredibly rare for a man to develop a full of breasts, although that has happened in the past.
What is more likely, however, is that the man in question will experience sore and tender nipples, which begin to swell and go puffy.
Men generally develop puffy nipples and begin to retain fat around their nipples that causes them to look swollen and unaesthetic.
Some people believe that gyno can be cured by simply losing weight and performing chest exercises to tighten and tone up the pecs.
This isnโt true.
Once you suffer from gyno, the only way to cure it is to undergo surgery.
It is rumored that The Rock himself had gynecomastia surgery during his WWF days in the late 90s.
When it comes to the gyno, prevention is the best cure, which is where Arimidex comes so useful.
Gynecomastia is caused when androgens in the body aromatize thanks to aromatase enzymes, causing a man to suffer from female characteristics.
Arimidex is an A.I, so androgens such as testosterone are unable to be converted into Estrogen.
The end result after a steroid cycle is a powerful, lean, and muscular chest that is completely free of any signs of gyno.
2. Reduced Acne
When you use steroids, another frequent side effect is acne.
Acne, or โbackneโ as it is sometimes called because steroid users often experience spotty backs, can really dent your self-confidence.
When men use steroids, they do so because they want to look better and feel better about themselves.
Ironically, however, side effects such as acne can have the opposite effect.
Rather than feeling good about themselves, men actually feel worse because theyโre so spotty.
If you remember what happened when you went through puberty, the sudden increase in testosterone caused you to develop spots and pimples.
When you use steroids, the same thing happens.
Arimidex, however, helps you to avoid acne after a steroid cycle.
So, you get to keep your gains, with the added bonus of having smooth and healthy skin.
3. No Water-retention
After bodybuilders finish running a steroid cycle, sometimes, again ironically, they find that their bodies look worse than before.
Sure, theyโve built muscle and they look big, but if they are dealing with a lot of excess Estrogen in the body, this can actually result in another side effect in the form of water retention and bloating.
After using steroids, most bodybuilders want to show off their gains and show off how ripped and vascular they are.
If androgens such as testosterone have interacted with aromatase enzymes however, this can actually result in excess Estrogen which causes the bodybuilder to retain water and look bloated and washed out.
Arimidex, therefore, is great for reducing and preventing water retention and bloating, making it a great drug for showing off those all-important gains.
4. Reduced Blood Pressure
It isnโt just for physical improvements that bodybuilders utilize Arimidex.
It turns out that the drug can also provide health benefits that will help you out internally too, which is crucial.
Too often, bodybuilders focus on how they look, that they forget about whatโs going on inside their bodies.
Another very common side effect of steroid use is hypertension, also known as high blood pressure.
Hypertension is known as the โsilent killerโ because it is a condition that can potentially be fatal, yet there are no obvious signs or symptoms of its presence.
Often, the only time to diagnose hypertension is to have your blood pressure tested by a medical professional.
Hypertension can cause damage to the arteries and blood vessels, it can cause damage to the kidneys, damage to the heart, it can cause blood clots, strokes, cardiovascular disease, and even heart attacks.
Needless to say, hypertension is a condition that nobody wants to suffer.
If youโre looking for just one reason to run Arimidex after your steroid cycle, how about the fact that it can help to significantly reduce and normalize blood pressure and can thereby help you to avoid/cure high blood pressure in the form of hypertension.
5. Restore Testosterone Levels
In some instances of steroid use and abuse, bodybuilders have managed to naturally shut down the production of this hormone in their own bodies.
This happens because the brain detects such elevated levels of testosterone, or what it perceives to be testosterone (steroids are synthetic versions of testosterone) in the body, and it thinks that something is wrong and that the tests are producing too much.
It, therefore, sends a signal to the testes, telling them to stop making testosterone.
Itโs kind of like switching the engine off of an overheating car and allowing it to cool down.
When a bodybuilder is on gear, his T-levels are through the roof, so he doesnโt care that his balls are no longer making the hormone.
Once he jumps off-cycle, however, itโs a different story.
Bodybuilders that do not run PCT often have to receive testosterone replacement therapy for the rest of their lives because the tests are unable to start producing the hormone again after being closed down and put out of commission for so long.
PCT in the form of drugs such as Arimidex however, helps to restore your natural hormone production levels.
PCT is like pressing the โrestore factory settingsโ button on your own body.
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Arimidex Dosage:
So, weโve looked at why itโs beneficial and what it is, but now we need to look at how much you should be taking.
Well, this can actually be tricky because the amount you take will depend on which steroid cycle you are running.
If you were running a 6-week Anavar cycle, for example, you would likely need to consume less than if you were running a 12-week Tren, Dianabol, and Test-E cycle.
With that being said, however, there are some general guidelines that most users tend to adhere to.
Each day, ideally you should aim for 0.5mg to 1mg.
Just be wary, that for some, 0.5mg per day is too much, in which case you should go with 0.5mg every other day.
Here, you can gradually increase your dosage slightly, depending on how you feel and whether it appears to be working its magic.
Arimidex Side Effects:
Even though Arimidex PCT is designed to reduce and prevent side effects from steroids, it does generally have a few common side effects of its own, that users need to be wary of.
These include:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Weight gain
- Sore throat
- Hot flushes
- Aching joints
- Trouble swallowing
- Tingling of the extremities
- Hot flushes
- Elevated cholesterol levels
is the .5 to 1 ed / eod assumed as to take while your are running the cycle or is this for pct (after cycle) ? and if for after then how long would you run that amount of arimidex before you can stop?
Both. And you would need to check your blood work before you know fully if you can go off