youngtricep98's picture
youngtricep98
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+ 4 The effects of Steroids on collagen and tendon integrity

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***Browsing another forum and came across this.

Since im doing everything i can to come back from my injury i thought this was a good thing to know.***** Let me know your thoughts.

While injecting test increases protein synthesis by roughly 50 times, depending on dose and time, most bodybuilders forget that it will reduce collagen synthesis by more than 50% -- more like 80%, giving you the collagen synthesis rate of a senior citizen. Since collagen makes up tendons, bros are very prone to injury if they continue to lift very heavy, unless they cycle off T and let their collagen synthesis get back to normal. It's like having the skeletal muscle of a gorilla with the tendons of a very old man.

Winstrol increases collagen synthesis. It will give you bigger tendons. However, your body compensates for this by making them more brittle, weaker, and more prone to injury. I can't tell you how many bros work out anaerobically and become injured while on winstrol. Guys who lift in the 1-5 rep range while on winstrol, to baseball players who sprint all out from a stationary position -- winstrol should be the LAST drug they choose. Most of them like winstrol because they don't get the weight gain from it but it is very detrimental to bros who train for any sport anaerobically. Tendons tear easily on it.

Also, the drugs I mention increase collagen synthesis while also increasing collagen cross-linking integrity, making for a much stronger tendon.

Winstrol, on the other hand, will dramatically increase collagen syn, but ironically it decreases collagen cross-linking integrity, thus making a much weaker tendon.

You can plan a cycle of AAS which will increase collagen synthesis and skeletal muscle growth at the same time. The key is the drug(s) you choose.

Deca, Equipoise, Anavar, and Primobolan will ALL increase skeletal muscle while at the same time dramatically increase collagen syn and bone mass and density, leaving you with a substantially reduced chance of becoming injured than if you choose to use AAS like sus, cyp, or enth.

While testosterone will increase bone mass and density, even at supra-physiological levels, the result is weaker tendons due to inhibition of collagen syn.

To plan a cycle where the goal is to increase skeletal muscle mass/strength while at the same time increase joint/tendon/ligament strength, enough to keep up with the dramatic increase in skeletal muscle, you must choose drugs like Eq, Deca, Anavar, or Primo as the base of your cycle. Testosterone and its esters can be added to your cycle to keep levels within a 'normal' physiological range (ie, 100-200 mg/wk) but must not go above this. Since drugs like eq, deca, anavar and primo will reduce endogenous, natural levels of test, these levels may be maintained with exogenous test in the 100-200 mg/wk range. Test at this dose will not inhibit collagen syn, but paradoxically, will help increase it. It is when exogenous testosterone is used > 200 mg/wk that collagen syn is inhibited.

Deca @ 3 mg/kg a week(about 270 mg/wk for a 200 lb male) will increase procollagen III levels by 270% by week 2. Procollagen III is a primary indicator used to determine the rate of collagen syn. As you can see, deca is a very good drug at giving you everything you want -- an increase in collagen syn, an increase in skeletal muscle, and increases in bone mass and density. The one thing it does not give you is wood

Primobolan, @ 5 mg/kg, will increase collagen synthesis by roughly 180% -- less than deca and equipoise but still substantial.

Equipoise @ 3 mg/kg will increase procollagen III by approximately 340% -- slightly better than deca.

Oxandrolone has over a hundred studies documenting its effectiveness at treating patients needing rapid increases in collagen syn to enhance healing.

These drugs have longer half-lives than most other AAS, so this should be considered when timing your post cycle clomid use. Here they are:

Deca: 15 days Equipoise: 14 days Primobolan: 10.5 days

Anavar has a half-life of only 8 hours so it should not pose a problem.

GH is probably the most remarkable drug at increasing collagen synthesis. It increases collagen syn in a dose dependant manner -- the more you use, the more you will increase collagen syn. It has also demonstrated this ability in short and long term studies. From what I've read, hGH at 6 iu/day increased the collagen deposition rate by around 250% in damaged collagen structures. This result indicates that the increased biomechanical strength of wounds to collagen structures treated with biosynthetic human growth hormone was produced by an increased deposition of collagen in the collagen structures.

Eq, primo, anavar, and deca are all good -- they increase several biomakers of collagen syn -- ie, type III, II, I, procollagen markers. GH just seems to do so most dramatically.

Use of any of these drugs @ supra-physiological levels with a maintenance dose of test will increase collagen syn while at the same time increase skeletal muscle mass. Skeletal muscle mass gains will not be as dramatic as with large testosterone doses but you have to weigh the risk/reward basis for yourself. Also, these drugs do not satisfy the libido like testosterone, but that is not the point of this thread. It is only to demonstrate that you can increase skeletal muscle and collagen syn at the same time with certain AAS, the decision is up to you.

link
http://www.theironden.com/threads/3384-Tendon-repair-and-anabolics

cobler_smith's picture

All my injuries have happened on cycle over the years, interesting read.

JUICEBOX0331's picture

This pretty old but exactly what i was looking for, I noticed i was getting quite a few skin tags in the last year or so and recently experienced an injured right pec "another apointment with a specialist June 30th to see if i need surgery". I have always ran test only cycles, what about taking a collegen peptide or supplement?

slingming's picture

Careful taking those data at face value, just saying. I remember that same writing floating around on all forums and sites back in the days and everyone was getting excited, but eventually no one was able to find the studies that backed up those claims and the enthusiasm died out.

Now, if that changed somehow in the meantime, that would be great. Who doesn't like healthy joints after all, uh? However, for the time being I still can't find a source to confirm that story.

my 2 cents

izzy1222's picture

If you research biochemistry research articles, you'll be able to find a few studies.

Righthook's picture

Good bump, very interesting

MajorNanners's picture

Interesting read. Was a little surprised at their suggestion of using test at almost only a trt dose, and basing your cycle mostly around the other drug instead.

LOKI 1's picture

I remember back in the 90's.. Guys at the gym would tell ya to run deca or eq with your test cycle due to making or keeping tendons strong or stronger in order to keep up with the muscles getting stronger. Always good to see stats to back that theory. Good piece. Ive seen it posted a few different places. Always a good read though!

youngtricep98's picture

i agree. since i love EQ i have no problem with this article lol

OmNom's picture

Hmm I wonder how much tren increases it.. It was after my latest tren/test cycle I formed a skin tag.. I was told by a friend who is a doctor that is a sign of increased collagen from the gear causing that.. Just chopped it off with a razer blade

jpal's picture

toe nail clippers work good for skin tags

OmNom's picture

ow that sounds painful.. Well mine are dull.. I just stretch it and slice it

j223's picture

your not supposed to copy and paste. this is an old article from steroidology.com if I can remember right

youngtricep98's picture

i see copy and pasting all the time bro. i just forgot to post the link..i stated above i found this on another forum..no way shape or form taking credit for this.

j223's picture

cool as long as you cited it's all good