Ask Author L Rea: Q And A, May 2005.
By: Author L Rea
Q: Mr. Rea, in your first book CME (Chemical Muscle Enhancement) you explained that clenbuterol loses its effectiveness after two weeks because of decreased beta-receptors. Does this still happen using a daily dosage of 2 on-2 off? Also, could the effectiveness be prolonged if clenbuterol was used 1 week on-1 week off?
A: As most are aware, Clenbuterol is a European asthma medication that has fat burning and anti-catabolic effects similar to that of ephedrine products (only far more powerful).
Clenbuterol is used by many athletes to increase the amount of calories burned daily and shift the body's biochemical environment toward using fat stores as the primary energy substrate while sparing lean muscle mass. This means that the user gets to lose fat at an increased rate and keep most of the hard earned muscle during a calorie restricted diet.
The drug is dependent upon its ability to merge with and bind to specific beta adrenalgenic receptors. After about 2 weeks of continuous administration the number or concentration of these receptors on target cells (those we wish to stimulate) decreases leaving fewer and fewer places for the circulating Clenbuterol molecules to merge and do their thing.
There is research that supports the belief that it is the resulting increase in fat burning inhibitory alpha-adrenalgenic receptors that causes this, but I, and many others believe it is simply a matter of receptor burn-out. However it is predominantly the antihistamine and CNS (central nervous system) stimulating effect of the drug that decreases in activity at about the two-week mark.
The fat burning value continues for sometime thereafter. In most cases, for those who report that the fat loss stops after a couple of weeks of administration, it is more so a matter of total calorie intake daily than the effects of the drug that are in question. (Yes, everyone is still looking for a magic pill and no one really wants to cut calories. No one sane that is.)
The employment of a 2-day on & 2-day off administration protocol is common for this reason as the increase calorie expenditure resulting from the CNS stimulation plays a synergistic role in how fast a user looks like an anatomy chart. So obviously maintaining the effect for a prolonged period is desirable.
The possibility of a one-week on & one-week off dosing protocol has been done with little in the way of success. The reason is another of the body's Action/Reaction Factors: It is the continuous over-stimulation of the beta-adrenalgenic receptors that increases fat burning in the first place. One week on and one off simply allows for the post use return of the fat lost during the week of administration.
The two-day on & two-day off technique merely allows a short rest due to the drugs 34 hour half-life. In short, the one-week on and one-week off outline is actually a one-step forward and one-step back design and the 2-day on & 2-day off protocol has provided a 2 steps forward and one step back result... with a prolonged effective period of about 4 weeks.
Clenbuterol reduces the level of taurine in the heart. Taurine is an amino acid that must be present to stabilize cardiac rhythms and intake of taurine. The addition of supplemental taurine (1g 3 times daily minimum) has been noted by many to improve results and obviously has helped to reduce some of the negative side effects of non-medically monitored Clenbuterol use.
Some have added other drugs that increase the effectiveness of Clenbuterol. Ketotifen is such a drug. Commonly prescribed to asthma sufferers under the brand names Apo-Ketotifen, Novo-Ketotifen and Zaditen, Ketotifen has the unique ability to maintain beta-adrenalgenic receptor integrity for a much longer period of time than even the 2-day on & 2-day off approach. The usual dose has been 1 mg (1 tablet or 5 milliliters (ml) of syrup) twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening.
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Q: Ok my first question is one of huge debate. Since I'm rather new to this side of bodybuilding and the difference in opinions can make one just say 'the hell with it all". So I turn to you.
Post-cycle becomes a big blur to me. I understand why you have to take the drugs you mentioned but which one or ones is the clear champion of choice to retain mass? Clomid, Nolvadex, Proviron, Cytadren, etc all of the drugs you spoke about have their distinct abilities. But hands down what is the best post-cycle recovery drug and/or combination.
A: The post-cycle phase of any AAS (anabolic androgenic steroid) use is at least as important as the AAS protocol structure itself. When considering the potential negative side effects of AAS, the possibility of temporary total endogenous (produced in the body) androgen shut-down is without doubt among the most common. This of course means that post-cycle an individual is usually producing the amount of testosterone common to a castrated mouse. This results in serious lean tissue loss, little or no libido and a physique dominated by the female hormone estrogen.
The reason that AAS inhibit or shut-down endogenous androgen production is due to a negative feed-back loop in the androgen production system called the HPTA (hypothalamus-pituitary-testes-axis is a male's androgen producing system). The negative feed-back loop is caused by the excessive estrogen increase realized from use of AAS that aromatize (convert to estrogens) and from an androgen level overload placed upon a part of the nervous system that helps regulate natural production. In short, too much of any hormone in the system will result in a shut-down of natural hormone production of one or more types.
The Post-Cycle Phase requires elimination of the excessive estrogen from the system and regeneration of the HPTA. (One aids the other, actually) The most common and effective protocol has always been a combination of the drugs Clomid and HCG. Both are drugs used in fertility medicine to increase sperm counts in men and healthy placement of the egg in women (They make people horny and fertile).
HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) is a hormone produced by pregnant women. Interesting enough is that it is very similar in structure to LH (luteinizing hormone) thus allowing HCG to replace LH in the male body. Why would anyone care? LH is the hormone produced by the pituitary gland that tells the testes to produce androgens. More LH means more testosterone.
Clomid acts as a weak estrogen in the human body. This means that it blocks estrogen receptors everywhere including the hypothalamus. The result is that the negative feed-back loop is blocked as well while the excess estrogen naturally clears from the body.
So HCG gets "the Boys" back to work in an overtime manner and Clomid helps to get the entire HPTA functioning again. End result: Better post-cycle mass retention and happier significant others.
The most common protocol employing these drugs has been to administer 1500-2500iu of HCG every third day for 21 days beginning a week after AAS discontinuance. Then Clomid was added on day 15 of the HCG period at a dosage of 100mg daily for 5 days and 50 mg daily for another 10 days.
Post-Cycle Related Articles:
Q: My name is Boris and I'm from Europe. I did read your book (CME) and I found it great. I have a question about long chain IGF-1. I would like to ask you if you know how to prepare the solution, how long is it usable and how you store it in the fridge (temperature) in the multi-use vial.
I have one multi-use vial (1mg) R-3 IGF-1 from GroPep and I keep it in the fridge. On the vial it says 2-4C, but I don't know if this is for the powder only or for the mixed solution. I did receive one that was mixed already. Can you also advise me how much and how often should I use it.
A: The hormone you are referring to is Long R-3 IGF-1. This is a structurally altered form of r-IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor-1) that is several times (somewhere around 100 fold) more powerful than the naturally occurring form. Long R-3 IGF-1 is one of the somewhat newer drugs to hit the bodybuilding scene.
With its increased availability has of course come freakier athletes as well. Most black market preparations of Long R-3 IGF-1 are mixed with benzyl alcohol (BA) for stability and longevity. (Certainly not the best method) In fact once reconstituted with BA the hormone remains semi-stable at room temperature for several weeks... though refrigeration is always best.
The most common dilution is 2ml of BA for every 1mg of Long R-3 IGF-1 powder. This means that there is 5mcg for every iu drawn into an insulin type syringe. Many users also fill the rest of the syringe with bacteriostatic water to act as a diluent and for better dissipation. Most who use Long R-3 IGF-1 administer 20-40mcg two or three times daily IM for 28 days. Due to the fact that the drug becomes nearly ineffective at that point, the wiser ones have adopted a 3-4 weeks on and 3-4 weeks off protocol to maintain beneficial results.
Author L Rea
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