March 30, 2001
Issue # 40

EXTREME Q&A
by Jason Meuller

AE WEEKEND IN THE BAHAMAS!!

Ok, here’s the deal. Bryan (Workout Guru) has a buddy who sells casino charters.  Bryan has spoken with him and he’s agreed to give us 40 seats on his charter in August.  The charter is $499.00 and includes the following package: 

Rear of the Crystal Palace Resort

There are many other activities besides gambling!  You can go parasailing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, fishing, shopping (duty free liquor! & cheap Cuban cigars), clubbing, work on your tan, workout, play volleyball, get drunk, fall down, get drunker, fall down again.

I realize that with the requirement to leave from Birmingham this adds some additional expense but it’s still a bargain!  Additionally on the flight in we will have a couple drawings allowing you to win upwards to $1000 to possibly $2000 dollars, drawing fee is $10 and $20 dollars.  We will leave on a Friday and be in Nassau, Bahamas by noon and depart around 1pm the following Monday.  Should everyone like to stay at the same hotel that drives or flies in early on Thursday, we can put four to a room and get a good rate at the Madison hotel here for about $15 a person.  We’ll then proceed to destroy Birmingham’s Southside club district…lol.  Then you could catch a return flight home for late Monday evening.  This way expenses could be kept to a minimum.  I would guestimate that you budget about $1200 to $1500 for all of your expenses to ensure that you have a good time.  Considering the trip all in all that’s a good price.  You could possibly save money by taking a cheap fair flight through MSN.  I know I’ve used them to go to San Diego, CA a couple of times for $215 round trip.  If you look you can find a cheap flight into B’ham.  I’ll be here with others to shuttle you to the Hotel. 

The pool area, complete with waterfall

Workout Guru (Bryan), Jason Meuller (Shawn), and a special guest will be there.  Much information will be available to you.  We will have a small seminar on Saturday and answer your questions.   Wouldn’t you like to workout or see how some of your favorite AE stars train in the real world and answer your questions directly, party, & raise hell?  I’d personally kill to see Jason in that pink thong Carol says he wears!

You can place your order for the trip and pay Bryan by emailing him at Workoutguru@hotmail.com.  You’ll need to set up a Paypal account at www.paypal.com it’s free and easy to use to transfer money.

You’ll get a room with a view!!!

HEADS UP FOR ALL YOU REJOOVENITES OUT THERE!

I spoke with Dr. Conan yesterday and it seems that he’s unable to process credit card orders for the time being.  So, you can currently only order products via COD.  Now, I know there are a lot of you the feel the need to clean, and some of you may be getting dangerously low on cleaner.  Fear not!!  His ability to take orders online via credit card should be restored within a week. 
. 

PROPIONATE FOR SITE INJECTIONS

Question: Why do some people advocate testosterone propionate for site injections? Sure, it leaves a big bruise but why is this? I read it was because of the high amount of alcohol in the product, but this doesn’t sound right. What is the real deal and what other steroids are also good candidates for site injection?

Answer: Despite what some “experts” may claim, propionate does indeed cause irritation and swelling at the site of injection.  Here’s the kicker.  I don’t know why.  Fortunately, that doesn’t put me in a category of dunces, as no one I’ve ever talked to could explain why injections of propionate cause swelling and irritation.  Additionally, no research I’ve done explains this phenomenon in a satisfactory fashion.

Here’s what I do know.  There are some that claim that the irritant effects of propionate are entirely due to the fact that this particular ester, for reasons that are never explained, is packaged with a higher content of benzyl alcohol than other testosterone esters.  Hmmm.  How convenient.  If there were one brand of test prop that caused irritation and swelling, I could buy this theory.  But since there is no medical or pharmacological reason to add more benzyl alcohol to testosterone propionate over say, testosterone cypionate, I seriously doubt that every pharmaceutical company in the world producing testosterone propionate decided to throw some extra benzyl alcohol (BA) into the product.  Then again, perhaps there’s a secret meeting once a year underneath the U.N. where all the heads of the pharmaceutical companies around the world get together and agree to add some extra BA into prop.

“Hey, let’s make it really sting this year.”

Now, I personally have used testosterone propionate from several different manufacturers from several different countries, including the United States.  In fact, back in November of 1999, I was prescribed 700 mg of propionate per week for uhhhh, sexual dysfunction or something along those lines (or was it hypogonadism? I have forgotten. Ah, now I remember, it was for treatment of chronic wasting caused by a sore throat I had for several weeks).  Now, since I was picking this up from an American pharmacy with a legitimate prescription from an American doctor, I think we can pretty much rest assured that it really was testosterone propionate and that it didn’t contain a higher concentration of BA than any other injectable steroid.  Guess what?  The injections hurt like hell and the area of injection was inflamed for several days. Things that make you go hmmmm.

As far as site injections go, I’m not a big fan of using testosterone propionate or any other steroid for temporary increases in size.  I suppose if I were doing a show, a tremendous amount of propionate in my biceps might make a significant difference in size if I injected it a few days before the show. This would be the same kind of affect (though not as drastic) as shooting esiclene in the week preceding the show.  My point is that site injections of this nature are only temporary fixes, and the size you’ll gain will quickly dissipate about a week after you stop your site injections. I suppose this is ok if you’ve got 22-inch guns normally and just want to add a little extra peak for a show.  However, since none of you reading this has 22-inch guns onstage (including me), why not take steps to add more permanency to those gains if you’re going to resort to site injections? 

We’ve discussed site injections here on AE more thoroughly than any other bodybuilding publication.  And without a doubt, site enhancement has been one of the more controversial topics of discussion, not only on AE, but within the sport of bodybuilding.  Bottom line, I don’t care what you do to win in a non-drug tested event.  That’s my opinion.  I am neither for nor against site enhancement, to me it’s a non-issue since it can’t be tested for anyway.  However, if you’re going to stick a needle in your biceps (or any other appropriate body part), you may want to consider the following:

1. It’s best to start using site-enhancement products well before the day of competition.  For example, I’ve got a client with fairly good genetics…..with the exception of his arms.  How do I put this nicely?  Well, let’s just say his arms suck.  There now, that was PC wasn’t it?  Anyway, he’ll have been using a site-enhancement oil for almost a year by the time he does his first show.  There are several reasons for this.  Number one, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a guy put an inch or two on his arms in the 4-8 weeks preceding a show.  When this happens, I can guarantee you several things.  His arms are going to look very edemic (swollen, retaining water), a look we’ve all seen in the various magazines and probably had a hearty chuckle over.  What do you expect when you throw 100 ml’s of fluid in your bicep over the course of a few weeks?  By using a site-enhancement product in a more sane, prolonged fashion, my client is still going to get the size he needs to be competitive, but his arms will look 100% natural.  Additionally, he’ll be able to flex his arms on stage without having to use a bottle of nubain beforehand.  If you’ve ever used a site-enhancement oil, you know the pain I’m talking about.  Using a couple bottles in the weeks preceding your show is going to cause SERIOUS pain.  And when you’re onstage, that last thing you want to worry about is not being able to properly flex because it hurts too much.

2. If you’re going to stick a needle in a place it shouldn’t go, make sure it’s worth the effort.  Quite frankly, site injections scared the shit out of me until I finally worked up the courage to try it.  And I did so purely in a journalistic capacity, I assure you.  I look at it this way. If I’m going to inject oil into my arms, I’m going to want that oil impart size that’s not going to dissipate after a few days.  Over time, a quality site-enhancement product will impart much more size than injections of steroids, since by their very nature, the site enhancement products are designed to form a bolus at the site of injection that is not readily absorbed by your body.  Injectable steroids are not designed in this fashion, as the products would be ineffectual if your body couldn’t rapidly absorb the oil in which the drug is dissolved.  Your best and safest buy on a site-enhancement product is still Nuclear Nutrition’s, which can be found at www.nuclearnutrition.com. 

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN I HAVE GYNO?

Question: Can you tell me how to diagnosis myself with gynecomastia? See, I read about it on the Internet and it is really vague. I mean, I don’t even always see what they are talking about in the pictures. I hear it has to do with swelling of the region around the nipple, but other people talk about tingling nipples. Frankly I am confused...And if I do have gynecomastia what can I do about it?

Answer: I liken gynecomastia to a raging case of herpes.  By the time you’ve got it, you definitely know it.  I’m not talking from personal experience here, at least as far as the herpes thing goes.  But, I did have a pretty healthy case of gyno for about a year, so bad in fact that I wouldn’t let anyone see me without a shirt and I’d spend hours in my bedroom staring at my cans in the mirror.  For man-tits, they certainly were arousing. Sorry, I digress.

Gynecocomastia is simply defined as enlargement of the male breast.  In steroid users, this is caused by excess levels of female hormones.  Please pay attention.  Notice I didn’t say excess levels of estrogen, rather, I said female hormones.  That’s because a few of the steroids that can cause gynecomastia do so because they exert progestogenic activity and the drugs used to combat the deleterious effects of excess estrogen WILL DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING at preventing side effects caused by excessive levels of progesterone.  Luckily, there a very few steroids that exhibit progestogenic activity, and excess level of progesterone are much less likely to cause gyno than excess level of estrogen. 

Ok, so let’s say you’re taking 750 mg of testosterone per week.  Testosterone will aromatize into estrogen, as will halotestin, methandrostenolone (Dianabol), and boldenone undecyclenate (Equipoise).  Ooops, now I’ve thrown you another curve.  What the hell is aromatization?  Since this isn’t a chemistry class, let me simply clear things up that the chemical process through which testosterone is converted to estrogen is referred to as aromatization and the enzyme that facilitates this conversion is known as aromatase. 

I’m answering a lot of questions you didn’t ask, but here’s why.  My best advice to avoid getting gynecomastia is to use antiestrogens if you’re going to use steroids that aromatize.  Don’t wait until you feel an itch or a tingle, make it part of your stack from the beginning.  There is absolutely no way for you to gauge your susceptibility to the effects of estrogen, I’ve known guys that have taken heavy doses of testosterone for years without any antiestrogens and never had a problem with gynecomastia.  I’ve also known athletes who’ve developed gyno weeks after their very first cycle. 

People describe the sensations surrounding the development of gyno differently, but basically it’s some form of irritation.  Whether it be swelling, itching, burning, tenderness, or puffiness, you’re going to notice something isn’t right.  Gyno is not an overnight phenomenon, there are definite indicators that you’re getting into trouble.  However, if you’re mid-cycle and don’t have nolvadex on hand, what are you gonna do, quit?  Even if you do, your estrogen levels will be elevated enough that the gyno will continue to develop until your body returns to homeostasis. Furthermore, if you choose to ignore these initial symptoms and continue using gear, you’ll eventually develop a tumor (or tumors) as the now estrogen-stimulated breast tissue begins to grow.  Now, what we as bodybuilders refer to as a tumor would be a welcome sight to a pre-op male transsexual, so I guess everything is relative.  But relatively speaking, developing gyno is akin to stepping on stage with a sandwich board which reads:

“Yes, I use steroids, and no, I have no idea how to use them properly.”

If you do develop tumors, you’re probably going to need surgery.  I’ve had it done, as have probably 90% of the professional bodybuilders in the IFBB.  The surgery is no big deal, but can be expensive, running anywhere from $2000-$5000.  If you take precautions from your very first cycle, surgery should not ever be needed.

Questions can be submitted to Jason Meuller via his email address, Jason@anabolicextreme.com.  

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