Thread: Anabolic Steroids - Tapering Information

Anabolic Steroids - Tapering Information


Just like all other elements of steroid usage, you will hear and come across the term 'tapering' all of the time. It is a belief amongst bodybuilders, often brought about by the misunderstanding of steroid esters and half-lives, that there is a secret formula to go on, and come off steroids, whereby you increase and decrease the steroid dosage in an escalating or diminishing fashion. This is all done is a bid to further increase muscle gain, and of course preserving as much of this gain, when coming off the steroids. It really is hard to find a serious steroid user who does not dedicate a portion of time, such as three or even four weeks at the end of his/her cycle, where they are gradually and methodically dropping the dosage of the steroid and tapering off slowly. Typically, most athletes are under the illusion that what they are doing here, is lowering the androgen level in their body from the synthetic source nice and slow. This is in the hope that their body will spot the slow decline in androgen level and compensate by producing more and more of its own natural testosterone production, in order to limit any crash where there is little or no testosterone. When you come off a cycle of steroids, and you have suppressed your natural testosterone production, you will be in a hormonal environment where there is little to no testosterone. Your body has limited or stopped it's natural production and you have stopped administering the synthetic false hormone. This 'crash' is where you typically loose a lot of muscle, drive, focus, motivation and become very negative, burnt out and depressed. Your estrogen levels will most likely be elevated at the same time compounding the problem even further. This steroid 'crash' is increased and pronounced with the longer duration of steroid administration, and the compensation time of your body re-starting production of natural testosterone delayed in length with the length of the cycle.


So in a bid to avoid this crash, many bodybuilders and athletes believe that slowly tapering off their dose of steroids like tip toeing around quietly will not cause such a drop. Your body will in fact not resume production of testosterone naturally in this manner, and so the theory of 'tapering' in this instance is entirely flawed and pointless. The reason for this is rather blunt. In order for your body to resume production of its own natural testosterone production, it must actually acknowledge a serious androgen deficit (a lack of) before kick starting its production to resume normal androgen levels. This deficit is never going to happen, when any amount of synthetic hormone is being pumped into the body, by any means - injection or oral. Let me throw this into perspective. When one or two dianabol tablets provides the equivalent of your bodies natural androgen supply, then tapering down from ten tablets, to six, to four, to three over a matter of weeks, is going to do absolutely nothing to signal your body to kick start its own natural production. Why would it, when it still receive an above normal level of synthetic hormone? The athlete will still be receiving an androgen overload, as far the body is concerned. Why should it try to compensate by upping production of natural testosterone? It won't. Remember when you are using anabolic steroids, you are not raising your androgen levels a little bit, you are actually sky rocketing your androgen levels through the roof, so to speak. And remember that this information holds true for all anabolic steroids, even the milder anabolics, with little androgenic properties, and not just the strong androgens. Even if one was to taper with what is typically accepted as the mildest anabolic steroids, Anavar, then you are still going to delay and suppress natural testosterone production unnecessarily.


In this regard, with tapering being completely useless, how should one discontinue their steroid cycle? Well, the obvious answer comes from ancillary drugs, as opposed to the core steroid drugs being used during the cycle. You are going to require the use of drugs that are actually able to stimulate and encourage your body to re-start natural testosterone manufacture. These include the popular testosterone stimulating compounds such as HCG, Clomid, Tamoxifen, and Cyclofenil. Each of these compounds prove invaluable in their ability to aid the balance of natural hormone production. There is absolutely no need to taper off steroids at all. It is more detrimental than positive to your body and muscle gains. You should simply come to the end of your steroid cycle and completely discontinue use completely.