In the world of anabolic steroids testosterone is king; in-fact, all anabolic steroids owe their allegiance to the testosterone hormone, for without it they would not exist. Of all the forms of anabolic steroids it is testosterone that was first and regarding mass production Testosterone Propionate was the first to hit the shelves in mass quantity ready for human use. Testosterone Propionate is one of the longest existing anabolic steroids and since its inception and into the present day it has remained one of the most popular of all time. Its popularity stems from many points but first and foremost it remains popular because it is simply pure testosterone, a hormone of great anabolic and androgenic power. Further, as we will shortly see testosterone is one of the more versatile hormones we can ever become acquainted with and while all testosterone forms are simply that, testosterone, Testosterone Propionate holds a special place in the hearts of many performance enhancers due to its fast acting nature. Regardless of anything else Testosterone Propionate is the easiest testosterone form to control, it is very easy to maintain stable levels, easy to control in-terms of side-effects and generally one of the more user friendly anabolic androgenic steroids anyone could ever choose.
Testosterone is a hormone produced by both men and women and is essential to our very functioning existence. As it is responsible for a host of functions we can see the majority of the functions when we examine low levels of the hormone and the negative effects it can cause. As for Testosterone Propionate, what we have is identical to the testosterone hormone you naturally produced, the only difference being Testosterone Propionate is synthetically manufactured.
How important is the testosterone hormone? Largely the examination of low levels can tell us everything we need to know and while low levels in of themselves are not life-threatening they can be beyond problematic and lead to many problems that can be life-threatening indeed; look at it like opening a door that should remained closed. Individuals who suffer from low testosterone and while more men will fall prey many women do as well, will often find symptoms such as increases in body-fat, loss of muscle tissue and strength, the inability to lose body-fat even when dieting and exercising, loss of libido, erectile dysfunction in men, a weakened immune system, lethargy, depression, a lack of mental focus, a lack of clarity of thought; the list goes on and on. Again, directly none of these conditions are life-threatening but you’d be hard pressed to make a positive argument regarding a single one. Further, it’s no secret, excess body-fat and a loss of muscle tissue is well-known to be the gateway to many serious physical problems, many of which are quite life-threatening indeed. An interesting note, in recent year’s low testosterone has also been linked to dementia, most notably regarding fatal Alzheimer’s disease.
For the individual who suffers from low levels, when he supplements with testosterone and Testosterone Propionate can be used for just that, he will in-fact see each and every area that was once found lacking improved upon and to a strong degree this is exactly how we can look at performance enhancing. For the performance enhancer the idea is simple, to take the levels of testosterone past what can be produced naturally thereby enhancing the traits and functions for what it is responsible for greatly. It really is that simple and is nowhere nearly as complicated as many like to make it out to be.
So how does it all work? By its nature and direct mode of action Testosterone Propionate as a pure testosterone form greatly increases nitrogen retention in the muscles as well as overall protein synthesis. Both of these traits are key factors in building lean tissue as well as preserving it and as lean tissue increases so does our overall metabolic rate. If nothing else this makes the hormone immeasurable in-terms of how truly beneficial it is but as you may have guessed its direct mode of action goes much deeper.
Testosterone Propionate will dramatically reduce and inhibit the release of glucocorticoid hormones in the body. This is important because these are the hormones that destroy muscle tissue and promote the storage of body-fat; while you may not be familiar with all glucocorticoid hormones you’ve probably heard of one, the most famous of all, cortisol. By supplementing and increasing our testosterone levels through the use of Testosterone Propionate we now have less cortisol in our body; again, promoting greater metabolic activity.
Testosterone also plays a key and vital role along with IGF-1, a naturally produced peptide hormone of immense anabolic power and importance. IGF-1 effects nearly every single cell in the human body and the more testosterone in your system the greater release of this peptide hormone there will be. IGF-1 also play a direct role alongside another peptide hormone, the most famous of all, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and it is the release of IGF-1 that plays a very important role in how much HGH you produce.
While this gives you a general understanding of the testosterone hormone you still need to understand the Propionate ester. Propionate is not a steroid, it is not a hormone, it is an ester that can be attached to a hormone and testosterone is not the only one. Propionate is one of the smaller esters we have available, not the smallest but pretty close; of the most common esters used the only smaller ester most will use will be Acetate. As a small ester based testosterone, Testosterone Propionate will become active and noticeable very quickly and as to be expected will carry a very short half-life; meaning, the total duration of activity is very short lived, thereby making frequent administration necessary. Testosterone Propionate carries a half-life of approximately 4 days and will need to be administered at least every 3 days with every other day being far more optimal. Further, as more of an interesting note, as the Propionate ester is so small it will take up very little mass in the compound; meaning a larger portion of the compound will be pure testosterone. For example, 100mg of Testosterone Propionate will yield more usable testosterone than 100mg of a larger ester based form such as Testosterone Cypionate. In the end, while worthy of note it is of little consequence since dosing can easily be adjusted to receive the same amount with any form.
As Testosterone Propionate is just that, testosterone it is for all intense purpose one of the very few perfect anabolic steroids. Individual goals can greatly vary from treating low testosterone, performance enhancement, bulking, cutting, improving athletic performance or simple vanity and Testosterone Propionate can have a place in each and every one. As is evident from the hormones description above Testosterone Propionate can greatly add muscle mass, increase strength, improve metabolic efficiency, improve athletic performance and grant you a greater sense of well-being; is there really much more you could want? Further, because Testosterone Propionate is such a fast acting anabolic steroid, while most will tolerate it very well if you are one of the few who does not for whatever reason, simply discontinuing use will be very simple as the hormone will clear in just a few days.
By-and-large the simplest way to look at the benefits are as we discussed above; when we understand what testosterone is responsible for we then understand why it’s important to make sure levels are adequate if they are lacking. Further, regarding performance enhancement when we understand again what the hormone is responsible for we understand very easily how increasing our levels increases its efficiency by in-which it functions, we literally enhance the performance of the testosterone hormone.
Anabolic steroids carry with them possible side-effects and as Testosterone Propionate is an anabolic androgenic steroid it too carries with it possible side-effects. However, it is very important to remember testosterone is not akin to taking medicine; although steroids are often labeled “Drugs” such a label is somewhat haphazard. As you recall, testosterone is a hormone you naturally produce and have so your entire life and by basic logic the presence of testosterone will generally be very well tolerated. Even so, when we present to our body anything in exogenous form there is always some level of risk; how great the risk varies from each and every item and in the world of anabolic steroids the level of risk varies with each and every one. In the case of Testosterone Propionate, as it is very well-tolerated in most healthy adult men most will not have any problems; however, responsible use will always be the safest route to follow. Of course it must be noted, “responsible use” can mean quite a few different things to different people but nevertheless, there are facts and there are real life experiences we can pull from to gauge our choices.
Of the possible side-effects you will find they most commonly include Gynecomastia, water retention, high blood pressure and issues of a cholesterol nature as well as testicular atrophy; testicular atrophy being the one guaranteed side-effect in all men. Testicular atrophy occurs for one simple reason; the presence of anabolic androgenic steroids, even testosterone suppresses natural testosterone production. As testosterone is produced in the testicles and production comes to a halt the testicles simply shrink in size; no, contrary to popular belief they do not shrink to where you can barely see them, we’re speaking of a slight decline is fullness. Once use is discontinued your testicles will return to their normal size as natural testosterone production will begin yet again.
As for the other side-effects, they are by no means guaranteed but if they do occur they will do so because of the testosterone conversion process. Testosterone converts into estrogen via the aromatase process and as excess estrogen builds up such related side-effects can become problematic. Absolutely, the total dose of Testosterone Propionate you take will play a big role; the more testosterone in your system the more testosterone there is to convert into estrogen. Individual sensitivity will also play a large role but there are things we can do if we are sensitive or as simple precautionary measures and none is better than supplementing with an aromatase inhibitor (AI.) An AI inhibits the conversion to estrogen and further reduces the amount of estrogen in the body; as the brunt of potential side-effects are brought on by estrogen you an easily see how and why this can be so beneficial.
Go to any steroid related message board and you’ll find individuals who claim Testosterone Propionate is better suited for cutting cycles and that longer ester based testosterones should be used when bulking; the point, do not listen to these people. Testosterone Propionate can be used for any cycle, as can pretty much any testosterone form; Testosterone Propionate is a perfect steroid because it is pure testosterone and it is not the ester that deems it better for one purpose or the other. It is true, some people will hold a little less water when they use this small ester version but in most cases any water problems can be controlled with diet and the use of AI’s. As for bulking, again, as this is pure testosterone and testosterone is the best agent for a bulking cycle Testosterone Propionate can be perfect. Yes, you’ll need to inject frequently regardless of the end goal but sometimes this isn’t really a bad thing. Frequent injections of small ester based anabolics are often much easier to control in-terms of maintaining stable and peaked levels of a particular hormone. In the end, when making your choice you’ll find Testosterone Propionate to be a fine one regardless of anything else but other forms can be just as good.
For the Testosterone Replacement Therapy candidate generally dosing will fall in the 100mg-200mg per week range and rarely surpassing this amount. However, as frequent injections are necessary most physicians will generally opt for larger ester forms, most commonly Testosterone Cypionate so the patient only has to inject once per week.
For the performance enhancer the dosing will be much larger and the varying levels will be much wider too but he must necessarily inject frequently as discussed if he is going to maintain stability. Generally the minimal dose when supplementing for performance purposes will be 100mg every other day with 200mg every other day being as high as most will ever go. Yes, you an absolutely take more, there is no set in stone amount but understand such high-end doses can open up the doors to side-effects that you may have wished to remain shut. In elite level competitive sports, especially in elite level bodybuilding it is not uncommon to see doses surpass a 2,000mg per week range but this can be very harsh and there is simply no way such a dosing could ever be recommended in a responsible manner.
As with all cycles, as natural testosterone production will be suppressed, once use is discontinued and responsible use will include breaks Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) is a must in order to aid and speed up the recovery process. This is where Testosterone Propionate has a bit of advantage over many other forms of testosterone; as a small ester that clears very quickly if your cycle ends with Testosterone Propionate and there is no other long ester gear present in your system your PCT plan can start almost immediately. Remember, the sooner we start our PCT the better off we’ll be and such rapid PCT application cannot be accomplished with long ester based testosterone. If your cycle ends with Testosterone Propionate you could reasonably wait 3 days before PCT therapy begins; if it ends with large ester gear you will need to wait approximately 2 weeks.
