Anabolic steroids are pretty much synonymous with the health and fitness industry at the moment, and like it or not, but that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
Today we are going to be taking a look at deca Durabolin, as we cover what a deca Durabolin cycle is, what the steroid itself is, and much more besides.
Before that, however, we need to address why people feel the need to use steroids.
Anabolic steroids have been around for decades now, with many of them having been produced during the 60s.
Now when we think of steroids, we think of them for building muscle, burning fat, and improving athletic performance.
Initially, however, many of them were developed to help treat a variety of ailments, making them medical.
Steroids are basically synthetic versions of testosterone and anabolic hormones and are banned in many parts of the world.
That doesn’t stop people from using them, however, even though they are illegal.
During the 60s, and through to the 80s in fact, many athletes would use steroids when it was found that they boosted recovery, built muscle, burnt fat, and helped to improve athletic performance.
There are countless steroids out there, with some proving more popular than others.
That’s why today, we are going to be taking a look at a Deca Durabolin cycle and attempting to find out as much about this steroid as possible.
So, let’s get started.
Table Of Contents
What Is Deca Durabolin?
Deca Durabolin is sometimes known as Deca, or scientifically, it is known as Nandrolone.
This steroid is one of the go-to steroids for bodybuilders, fitness competitors, and athletes all over the globe.
In fact, many believe that it is the second most popular anabolic steroid in existence, second only to Testosterone itself.
It is primarily an injectable steroid, though there are oral steroids variations available.
One reason why it is so popular is the fact that it only has to be injected once per week, as it is a slow-releasing steroid, meaning that it stays in your system for a long period of time.
This is very useful for somebody fairly new to steroids, or who perhaps doesn’t have the steadiest of hands.
In the late 50s and early 60s, when it was discovered what it could do, bodybuilders and people looking to bulk up would quickly turn to this steroid.
It was, and still is, in fact, often stacked with testosterone and Dianabol, to create a very potent and anabolic blend that’s perfect for muscle growth and repair.
Chemically, it is almost identical to testosterone, except for one thing.
On the 19th atom, there is one difference.
This may not sound like much, but it is the difference between a fairly anabolic steroid, to a very anabolic and effective compound.
It is popular because not only does it yield very impressive amounts of muscle growth, it also boosts strength levels, helps burn fat, increases energy and recovery rates, and even provides certain psychological boosts in the process.
It also doesn’t provide quite as many potential side-effects as other anabolic steroids, so it’s really a win-win.
Deca Durabolin Effects:
So, now that we know what Deca is, we’ll now take a look at why people would feel the need to run a Deca cycle and use this steroid to help increase their muscle mass and enhance their physique.
Key benefits of Deca include the following:
Muscle Growth
Primarily, the main reason why bodybuilders use Deca Durabolin is to increase their muscle mass and built muscle.
Deca, as mentioned, is very anabolic and is almost identical to testosterone.
Testosterone is a highly anabolic natural hormone, and when you consider the fact that Deca is even stronger, it’s easy to see why this is the go-to steroid for bodybuilders all over the world.
Deca helps to promote a positive nitrogen balance within the muscles, which in turn helps with protein synthesis.
Basically, the more nitrogen the cells in the muscles have available, the stronger the rates of protein synthesis become.
This not only promotes recovery (more on that next) but it also promotes muscle growth.
Bodybuilders looking to bulk up and add mass to their frames often stack Deca with other steroids and enjoy great results.
There’s a reason why Deca is the second most popular steroid in the world.
Great For Recovering
When you push yourself during a workout, you aren’t actually building muscle at all.
What you are actually doing is destroying your muscle tissues.
You do your growing when your body recovers and rebuilds the damaged muscle tissues and fibers in order to make them even stronger and larger than they were previously.
To do this, a process known as protein synthesis needs to be carried out, and in order for the body to initiate this, it needs access to nitrogen, proteins, amino acids, and other nutrients.
Deca is great for recovery because it helps to create a positive nitrogen balance within the muscles which ensures that each protein molecule retains larger volumes of nitrogen resulting in rapid rates of recovery.
Perfect For Bulking Up
If you want to bulk up and really put some serious muscle mass onto your frame, Deca Durabolin is the perfect steroid to add to your stack.
One of the main reasons why Deca is great for bulking is because of the fact that it helps you to gradually build muscle in a slow and controlled manner.
The effects are nowhere near as quick or intense as they are with a steroid such as Tren, but they’re still very noticeable.
Due to the fact that Deca has a large ester bond, results come along slowly and gradually, so if you’re planning to bulk up during the off-season, running Deca for 12 weeks relatively early in your bulk is a great way to kick start the gains.
Great For Off-season Bulking
If you’re looking to blow up like a balloon during the off-season, and pack as much size onto your frame as humanly possible, Deca Durabolin isn’t for you.
If, however, you are looking to slowly and gradually add mass to your frame and enjoy a slow and steady off-season, Deca is ideal.
Remember, Deca is a large-sized Ester steroid, so results will not come quickly.
You can’t just run a quick 4-week cycle and pack 30 pounds of muscle on because it’s just not possible with Deca.
It might be with Tren and other powerful compounds, but not Deca.
If, however, you gradually want to add a little bit of mass to your frame every week, Deca Durabolin is perfect.
Not As Many Side Effects
Make no mistake about it, Deca Durabolin is the real deal, and it is still a very powerful steroid.
It’s just not as powerful as some of the other steroids out there which are often utilized by bodybuilders.
Because it is less-potent, though, this makes it ideal for people that are looking to avoid some of the harsher side effects associated with steroid use.
Deca is still very powerful, and post cycle therapy should still ALWAYS be utilized after ending a Deca cycle, but if you are looking to avoid serious side effects such as gyno and suppressed testosterone production, Deca is very useful indeed.
Promotes Increases In Strength
If you’re looking for a steroid that will help you to break deadlifting records, crush your squat PRs, and bench more weight than you ever thought possible, Deca Durabolin is probably not for you.
However, if you’re simply looking for a steroid that helps to gradually increase your strength in a slow and controlled manner, Deca is ideal.
Deca will not make you the biggest, nor will it make you the strongest, but it will definitely help you to build muscle and to improve your lifts, and it has been listed as one of the best steroids for weight gain.
Great For The Joints
Initially, when Deca has developed all those years ago, one of the primary medical uses of this steroid was to help promote healthy joints and bones.
As we grow older, wear and tear on the joints begin to affect us all, yet bodybuilders and athletes are especially susceptible.
This is because bodybuilders are heavier than normal because of all of the muscle they are carrying, and athletes, take part in high-impact physical activity, which means that the joints absorb a lot of shocks and receive a lot of punishment.
Deca however, has been found to help promote healthy bones and joints, helping to alleviate pain and inflammation and fight and prevent conditions such as Arthritis and Osteoporosis.
Deca Durabolin Side Effects:
We’ve looked at the good, now it’s time for us to look at the bad, and the downright ugly.
If you are planning on running a Deca cycle, you need to be aware of the side-effects and potential risks associated with running a cycle.
These include the following:
Can Affect Your Sex Life
Deca has a naturally low rate of aromatization, but don’t let that fool you, because the steroid still has the ability to negatively impact a man’s libido, test levels, and sexual health in general.
If you are familiar with the world of steroids, you may be familiar with a term used by steroid users called ‘Deca D**K’.
This is a condition that results in a man failing to become aroused and achieve an erection, which obviously results in their sex lives suffering hugely.
Furthermore, in some men, impotence is a common side effect, even after the cycle has ended.
So, if you value your sex life, this is definitely something well worth considering.
Drop-in Natural Testosterone Production
Testosterone is not only important for libido and sexual health, of course, it is also very important for many other physiological processes within the body as well.
Deca has been found to suppress natural testosterone production, and in some cases, shut it down entirely. To compensate, bodybuilders often stack Deca with Testosterone, though in some cases, people may be required to inject testosterone for the rest of their lives because they will have messed up their natural test productions.
Mild Androgenic Side Effects
Remember, the side-effects associated with Deca are far less severe than with other steroids.
It is mildly androgenic, which means that you could experience mild androgenic side effects.
These include things like: oily skin, acne, mood swings, reduced sperm counts, loss of hair is prone to baldness, increased rates of hair growth, and night sweats and hot flushes.
Deca Durabolin Cycle:
Now that we know what this steroid is, how it works, and what it can do to you, here’s a look at a typical Deca cycle that you could potentially try for yourself.
Remember, this is just a rough guide and should not be taken as gospel.
Weeks 1 – 10 400mg Deca PW, stacked with 500mg Test-E and 30mg PD of Dianabol.
Deca and Test Cycle:
There are a number of steroids out there that stack with Deca Durabolin very effectively, though testosterone is arguably the most efficient.
If running a test and deca cycle, many users out there recommend running test-e alone for the first cycle, at 500mg per week for 8 weeks.
Following that, once you’ve run PCT when you begin your next cycle, then you can include deca Durabolin as part of your latest cycle.
This should look something like this:
Weeks 1 – 14: Test-Enanthate at 750mg per week
Weeks 1 – 12: Deca Durabolin at 600mg per week
Weeks 17 – 19: PCT in the form of Nolva and Clomid at 40mg and 150mg respectively, tapering down to 20mg and 50mg
Weeks 1 – 4: Superdrol at 30mg per day
Weeks 13 – 17: Superdrol at 30mg per day
*HCG should also be run throughout the duration of this cycle.
Deca Durabolin Dosage:
So, just to be perfectly clear on cycles and to ensure there is no confusion, a Deca Durabolin dosage cycle for 10 weeks would be:
- 400mg per week of Deca
- 500mg of Testosterone Enanthate per week
- 30mg of Dianabol per day
Deca Durabolin Results:
So, just what kinds of results can lifters expect when using Deca Durabolin for getting big and jacked.
Will the steroid actually get them big and jacked or will they get lean and shredded?
Well, while it generally depends on genetics, work-ethic, diet, and training, the general consensus is that deca is a great steroid for beefing up during the off-season.
It is not a cutting steroid, so if you’re looking to get ripped then you might want to give deca a miss.
If you’re looking to bulk up and add quality muscle mass and size to your body, deca Durabolin is a very effective steroid to have at your disposal.
Gains of up to 30 pounds of muscle mass in less than 3 months are far from out of the question, and in fact, some dudes have gained more.
The amount of size that you gain will depend on what you stack the deca with of course, as well as how hard you train in the gym and how well you eat.
If you eat, sleep, and live like a bodybuilder however, the results you see when using deca will be insane.
Is PCT Required?
Before we wrap things up, we need to address PCT.
When using steroids, it doesn’t matter whether you run something mild like winstrol or something incredibly powerful like deca Durabolin, PCT is always required.
PCT stands for post cycle therapy, and it is something that you run once your steroid cycle has ended.
You see, although Deca Durabolin doesn’t present as many side-effects as some steroids, it can still damage your body if you aren’t careful, and it doesn’t mean that PCT is not needed.
Estrogenic side-effects are unlikely, but there is still plenty of damage that could be done to your body.
You see, when you use Deca, due to fluctuations in hormones it suppresses and even shuts down the natural production of testosterone within the body.
This can have long-term side effects to your health and well-being.
PCT is therefore basically to restore your body back to working order, just like it was before you began the cycle.
Ideally, you need SERMs, or Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators, and HCG, which stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropins.
Ideally, when it comes to PCT after a Deca Durabolin cycle, Nolvadex and/or Clomid are the compounds of choice.