Testosterone Undecanoate is a modified form of testosterone, where a undecanoic acid ester has been attached. Esterified forms of testosterone are less polar than free testosterone, and are absorbed more slowly from the area of injection. Once in the bloodstream, the ester is removed to yield free, active testosterone. Esterified forms of testosterone are designed to prolong the window of effect following administration, allowing for a less frequent injection schedule compared to injections of free, unesterified steroids. Nebido is designed to maintain physiological levels of testosterone for up to 14 weeks after injection. The half life of Testosterone Cypionate & Testosterone Enanthate is approximately 8 days after injection, requiring a more frequent injection schedule and less stable blood hormone levels than Nebido potentially offers.

As far as being a prescribed medication like Testosterone Cypionate and Enanthate, Nebido has yet to be cleared by the FDA, although it is already currently being prescribed in 86 foreign countries.

Muscular Development Magazine writer William Llewellyn published an article in the March 2010 issue on Nebido and its current FDA bid for acceptance. Click on the links below to read the article.

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References

Llewellyn, William. Anabolics. 9th ed. Jupiter, FL: Molecular Nutrition, 2009.

Llewellyn, William. “U.S. Aveed/Nebido Delayed.” Muscular Development Magazine Mar. 2010: 299-300. Print.

16 grams of fat per bar sounds alarming at first, but learning that the product contains ‘good fats’, the nutritional value comes to light. The manufacturer states, “(Supreme Protein Bars) contain healthy fats, including flaxseed oil, an excellent spectrum of vitamins and minerals and zero trans fat”.

However, considering that each bar contains 360 calories and 34 grams of carbohydrates, it is apparent that this bar’s most beneficial use may be as a light, non-filling pre workout meal or quick post work out supplement before the ‘real meal’.

Check out Bodybuilding.com’s protein bar finder, to search for the perfect protein bar to suit your needs.

“The scientific debate over which form of protein possesses the greatest anabolic power came to an end a few years ago, with one form emerging the clear winner. Compared to whey concentrates, caseins, milk or soy proteins, whey protein isolate (WPI) contains the highest amounts of the valuable microfractions in whey that support increases in lean muscle mass. It has higher concentrations of the essential branched chain amino acids L-isoleucine, L-leucine, and l-valine, and is a rich source of the powerful microfractions alpha-lactalbumin and glycomacropeptides, which are key factors in enhancing bioavailability, boosting immune response and greatly increasing anabolic activity. Whey isolate also has demonstrated a nutrient partitioning effect, driving nutrients away from fat storage and toward accumulation of lean muscle tissue. Finally, high quality whey protein isolate contains no fat, lactose or impurities”.

Advanced Muscle Science offers 3 pro hormones that are of interest to the supplementing bodybuilder that are discussed in this post and are as follows:

• 1-AD:pro hormone to 1-Testosterone
  
• DecaVol:pro hormone to Nandrolone
  
• 4-AD:pro hormone to Testosterone
  

1-AD, or 1-Androsterone with a chemical profile of 1-Androstene-3b-ol, 17-one is a precursor pro hormone to the steroid 1-Testosterone (5alpha-androst-1-en-3-one, 17beta-ol), which has an Anabolic value of 200 and Androgenic rating of 100 as compared to Testosterone Propionate.

1-Test is derived from dihydrotestosterone, more specifically, it is a 5-alpha reduced form of the anabolic steroid Boldenone. Structurally it is an un methylated form of Primobolan (methenonlone).

The original oral version of 1-Testosterone (5alpha-androst-1-en-3-one, 17beta-ol) was sold on the U.S. supplement market from 2002 until it was banned in 2005. Orally, it was delivered in oil-solubilized softgels to help deliver the steroid to the body via the lymphatic system and bypassing the first pass through the liver since it is a non methylated steroid.

Since the pro steroid version of 1-Test is no longer legal, Advanced Muscle Science has released a pro hormone version of the drug as 1-Androstene-3b-ol, 17-one. As a pro steroid, the hormone was dosed at 100-250 mg a day with/as oil-solubilized softgels. Since the pro hormone version has to convert and is somewhat weaker, dosage should be in the 300-600 mg a day range and will need to be taken with a softgel oil since it doesn’t already come in this form.

The problem with the need for higher dosing results in this supplement being a little more expensive to use, as it is sold in a bottle containing sixty- 100mg capsules. So with one bottle, you can squeeze out a 3 week cycle; two bottles would probably be more appropriate. However, the advantage of using this supplement is that it is non hepatotoxic, so if you can afford to buy and administer the proper dosage, you are looking at a decent and safe anabolic.

DecaVol, or 19Nor-Androsterone, with a chemical profile of Norandrostene-3b-ol,17-one, is a pro hormone to the steroid Nandrolone. It is a good stacking product with many positive benefits but is a rather costly supplement, more so than the 1-AD. The androgenic properties are as low as they get when it comes to supplements, so this product is easy on the hair line and prostate among other things while retaining a comparable anabolic ratio to testosterone. The Anabolic value is 125 and the Androgenic value being 39 as compared to Testosterone. Another benefit of using a Nandrolone based supplement is that many users notice an affinity for the supplement to encourage joint and tendon repair.

The down side to this product is that dosing needs at least at 300 mg a day to see any positive benefits. DecaVol is sold in a bottle containing 63 capsules containing 60 mg of the active pro hormone Norandrostene-3b-ol,17-one. As you can see, a bottle of this product, when dosed appropriately, will not go very far, but if you have deep pockets, you can reap the benefits of adding this product to your supplement cycle. DecaVol is also a non methylated, liver & lipid friendly hormone.

4-AD or 4-Androstene-3b-Ol, 17-One , is essentially a pro hormone to Testosterone (4-androsten-3-one-17beta-ol). This pro hormone to Testosterone is not methylated, which means it has poor bio availability as opposed to MethylTestosterone. While Testosterone is the king of hormones, orally ingesting it is not the preferred method, especially if it is not methylated to survive the first pass through the liver. Methylation is the answer to poor bio availability but also results in the hormone becoming liver toxic. Three ways to approach the poor bio availability issue are to either

1. Up the dosage to allow for more of the hormone to absorb and survive the first pass through the liver as well as adding oil softgels to aid in absorption, both of which will also add to the cost of supplementing with this product

or

2. Open the capsule up and attempt to absorb the contents under the tongue or between the gum and cheek, delivering the drug to circulation via the mucous membranes. Sublingual or buccal intake approximately doubles the bio availability of the drug and provides peak levels of the drug more rapidly.

or

3. The addition of a methylated pro/designer steroid (offered by other manufacturers) such as Halodrol (4-chloro-17a-methyl-1,4-diene-3,17 diol) or Epistane (2a-3a-epithio-17a-methyl-5a-androstan-17b-ol) would be a good complement to this prohormone stack. The methylation may help the 4-Ad as well as the other non methylated hormones 1-AD & DecaVol be absorbed better by elevating metabolism enzymes, which over time, may result in increased absorption of the non methylated hormones. Since 4-Ad, 1-Ad & DecaVol are all non methylated, stacking all of the products together, with or without the addition of a methylated hormone, will result in a more anabolic response than just using the products individually.

References

Llewellyn, William. Anabolics. 9th ed. Jupiter, FL: Molecular Nutrition, 2009.