musclebuildingforum.com

You’ve probably seen a lot of “1:1” or “1 to 2.5” ratings when looking at various steroid profiles over the years... You may have the habit of skimming past them, assuming they are part of the technical mumbo jumbo... Let’s make sense of these numbers... Ratings Steroids are given ratings which define the ratio of anabolic to androgenic properties. ..The “best” drugs, or those which are most effective for building muscle, usually have a ratio of 1 to 1... In other words, they will be listed as having a 1:1 ratio in the anabolic and androgenic effects tables... Such drugs with that perfect rating include testosterone and methyltestosterone. Most other drugs will have a slightly higher androgenic rating... The rating for Nandrolone, for example, is 1:4... This means the drug can be as high as four times more androgenic (virilizing) than it is anabolic (which leads to muscle growth)... The greater the androgenic properties, the greater propensity for side effects... Anabolism (a.k.a. cell growth) These effects are the desired ones... When you take steroids, your red blood cell count spikes. Your appetite increases. Your bone growth becomes more efficient... Muscle cells possess the tools they need to form and grow, and remain at this larger size permanently at the cell nucleus level... Skeletal muscle grows from the anabolic effects of steroids... Androgenic (a.k.a. virilizing) These side effects make the bodybuilder more “manly”... Aggressiveness in the gym is affected by the androgenic properties of a steroid... The amount of male side effects suffered by women is dependent upon the androgenic rating of a drug... The androgenic effects faced by men include hair growth, increased sexual libido, and that dreaded drop in sperm count as the testes receive the order from the pituitary gland of the brain to halt production of natural testosterone... In women, the androgenic effects of steroids are much more pronounced and negative. A permanent deepening of the voice and a squaring of the jaw can occur. Clitoral enlargement, balding of the scalp and new hair growth all over the body can occur as well... For this reason, women should always avoid steroids high on the androgenic count... Understanding the anabolic versus androgenic effects of the steroids you are using will help you in several ways... First, you will be able to avoid consuming compounds which tend to have too high of androgenic effects... If you see an androgenic rating of 2 or more, you will realize the side effects are going to be pretty high... Secondly, you will have the ability to select steroids based upon your personal needs... If anabolism or cell growth is what you need, say for a lack of muscle size, then selecting a highly anabolic compound will be in your best interest... Or, if you have a lack of libido or male energy, then going with a higher androgenic ratio would be in your best interest... Knowing the difference will also allow you to cycle on and off of higher androgenic property drugs during the course of a single cycle, keeping the side effects at a minimum while enjoying the most possible positive results...