Choosing Ped's to make your own cycle. Some tips and info.

Pulse1312

Pulse1312

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I'm going to share an article I read some time ago that, at least for me, was useful when it came to understanding how to combine compounds when designing my cycles. I hope you find it helpful.

ACCORDING TO THEIR TYPE OF GAINS
All steroids are capable of increasing muscle mass and strength, but they don't provide the same kind of gains or increase it in the same timeframe. Generally, steroids with androgenic activity that are capable of aromatizing (converting into female hormones called estrogens) will provide greater size gains, but due to water retention and other side effects. On the other hand, steroids that do not aromatize will produce smaller gains but with higher quality and definition, since they do not retain extracellular water and help reduce body fat percentage more effectively.
  • Examples of steroids that provide greater size gains:
  • Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) – Oral
  • Oxymetholone (Anadrol) – Oral
  • Testosterone (Cypionate, Propionate, Enanthate) – Injectable
Examples of steroids that provide smaller size gains but more quality:
  • Oxandrolone (Anavar) – Oral
  • Stanozolol (Winstrol) – Injectable
  • Boldenone Undecylenate (Equipoise) – Injectable
  • Methenolone Enanthate (Primobolan) – Injectable
  • Nandrolone Decanoate (Deca-Durabolin) – Injectable
  • Trenbolone (any form) – Injectable
Combinations for bulking phases are those that can give you the most size and weight, for example: Testosterone Cypionate + Oxymetholone. On the other hand, combinations that favor lean muscle gains are ideal for cutting or pre-competition stages, for example: Winstrol + Primobolan + Trenbolone.

ACCORDING TO THEIR SIDE EFFECTS

A) Steroids with HIGH RISK side effects:
  • Halotestin or Stenox (Fluoxymesterone) – Oral
  • Metesto (Methyltestosterone) – Oral
  • Anadrol (Oxymetholone) – Oral
  • Dianabol (Methandrostenolone) – Oral
  • Trenbolone (any form) – Injectable
B) Steroids with MODERATE RISK side effects:
  • Injectable Testosterone
  • Winstrol (Stanozolol) – Injectable
  • Nilevar (Norethandrolone) – Oral
  • Masteron (Drostanolone) – Injectable
C) Steroids with LOW RISK side effects:
  • Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone Decanoate)
  • Equipoise (Boldenone Undecylenate)
  • Anavar (Oxandrolone)
  • Andriol (Testosterone Undecanoate)
  • Anadrol (Oxymetholone)
  • Proviron (Mesterolone)
  • Winstrol (Stanozolol)
  • Masteron (Drostanolone)
  • Primobolan (Methenolone)
High-risk steroids should be avoided since most are oral and must pass through the liver before reaching your muscles, putting your health at risk as they can cause liver failure. Therefore, blends should be made between medium- and low-risk steroids, for example: Masteron + Nandrolone + Testosterone.

ACCORDING TO THEIR ORIGIN

A) Testosterone Derivatives:
  • Andriol (Testosterone Undecanoate)
  • Methyltestosterone (Metandren)
  • Dianabol (Methandrostenolone)
  • Halotestin or Stenox (Fluoxymesterone)
  • Testosterone Suspension
  • Testosterone esters (Cypionate, Enanthate, Propionate, Cyclopentylpropionate, and Phenylpropionate)
  • Blends of testosterone esters (Sten, Sustanon 250, Testoviron, Testoprim)
  • Equipoise (Boldenone Undecylenate)
B) 19-Nortestosterone Derivatives:
  • Nilevar (Norethandrolone)
  • Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone Decanoate)
  • Laurabolin (Nandrolone Laurate)
  • Trenbolone esters (Acetate, Enanthate, Hexahydrobenzylcarbonate)
  • MENT : Trestolone (7α-methyl-19 nortestosterone )
C) Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) Derivatives:
  • Anadrol (Oxymetholone)
  • Proviron (Mesterolone)
  • Winstrol (Stanozolol)
  • Masteron (Drostanolone)
  • Primobolan (Methenolone)
According to this criterion, blends should be made from steroids with different origins, for example: Sustanon 250 + Deca-Durabolin + Oxymetholone. Now, strictly speaking , I can tell you there's no single valid approach that works for everyone. Everything depends on your specific goal when using steroids. If your goal is to gain muscle mass, the synergistic blends are what have given some athletes the best results, for example: Testosterone + Boldenone + Dianabol.
 
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Good guide, however i would be careful inserting tren in the "moderate risk side effect" category, same for 19nors in general, as they can be quite difficult to manage, especially for a beginner, being very strong progestogenics, and also possessing the ability to shut down the HPT, with consequent need to supplement T4.

I wanna say, in the minimal risk category should only belong DHT derivates, primo, anavar and equi, as they're very easy to manage.
 
Hey maybe you should move Tren up to "Steroids with HIGH RISK side effects" as the neurological and psychological side effects alone are a pretty big risk. For the 19-Nortestosterone derivates, lets add MENT to the list. ;)

I can do a write up for my real life experiences with MENT if it helps, but I would add it to mid risk as it does not shut down for as long as Nandrolone and Trenbolone do. You're up and running after 30 days while Nandrolone and Trenbolone can stunt your own production for up to 12 months (not fully, but partially).
 
Pulse1312 said:
I'm going to share an article I read some time ago that, at least for me, was useful when it came to understanding how to combine compounds when designing my cycles. I hope you find it helpful.

ACCORDING TO THEIR TYPE OF GAINS
All steroids are capable of increasing muscle mass and strength, but they don't provide the same kind of gains or increase it in the same timeframe. Generally, steroids with androgenic activity that are capable of aromatizing (converting into female hormones called estrogens) will provide greater size gains, but due to water retention and other side effects. On the other hand, steroids that do not aromatize will produce smaller gains but with higher quality and definition, since they do not retain extracellular water and help reduce body fat percentage more effectively.
  • Examples of steroids that provide greater size gains:
  • Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) – Oral
  • Oxymetholone (Anadrol) – Oral
  • Testosterone (Cypionate, Propionate, Enanthate) – Injectable
Examples of steroids that provide smaller size gains but more quality:
  • Oxandrolone (Anavar) – Oral
  • Stanozolol (Winstrol) – Injectable
  • Boldenone Undecylenate (Equipoise) – Injectable
  • Methenolone Enanthate (Primobolan) – Injectable
  • Nandrolone Decanoate (Deca-Durabolin) – Injectable
  • Trenbolone (any form) – Injectable
Combinations for bulking phases are those that can give you the most size and weight, for example: Testosterone Cypionate + Oxymetholone. On the other hand, combinations that favor lean muscle gains are ideal for cutting or pre-competition stages, for example: Winstrol + Primobolan + Trenbolone.

ACCORDING TO THEIR SIDE EFFECTS

A) Steroids with HIGH RISK side effects:
  • Halotestin or Stenox (Fluoxymesterone) – Oral
  • Metesto (Methyltestosterone) – Oral
  • Anadrol (Oxymetholone) – Oral
  • Dianabol (Methandrostenolone) – Oral
  • Trenbolone (any form) – Injectable
B) Steroids with MODERATE RISK side effects:
  • Injectable Testosterone
  • Winstrol (Stanozolol) – Injectable
  • Nilevar (Norethandrolone) – Oral
  • Masteron (Drostanolone) – Injectable
C) Steroids with LOW RISK side effects:
  • Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone Decanoate)
  • Equipoise (Boldenone Undecylenate)
  • Anavar (Oxandrolone)
  • Andriol (Testosterone Undecanoate)
  • Anadrol (Oxymetholone)
  • Proviron (Mesterolone)
  • Winstrol (Stanozolol)
  • Masteron (Drostanolone)
  • Primobolan (Methenolone)
High-risk steroids should be avoided since most are oral and must pass through the liver before reaching your muscles, putting your health at risk as they can cause liver failure. Therefore, blends should be made between medium- and low-risk steroids, for example: Masteron + Nandrolone + Testosterone.

ACCORDING TO THEIR ORIGIN

A) Testosterone Derivatives:
  • Andriol (Testosterone Undecanoate)
  • Methyltestosterone (Metandren)
  • Dianabol (Methandrostenolone)
  • Halotestin or Stenox (Fluoxymesterone)
  • Testosterone Suspension
  • Testosterone esters (Cypionate, Enanthate, Propionate, Cyclopentylpropionate, and Phenylpropionate)
  • Blends of testosterone esters (Sten, Sustanon 250, Testoviron, Testoprim)
  • Equipoise (Boldenone Undecylenate)
B) 19-Nortestosterone Derivatives:
  • Nilevar (Norethandrolone)
  • Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone Decanoate)
  • Laurabolin (Nandrolone Laurate)
  • Trenbolone esters (Acetate, Enanthate, Hexahydrobenzylcarbonate)
  • MENT : Trestolone (7α-methyl-19 nortestosterone )
C) Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) Derivatives:
  • Anadrol (Oxymetholone)
  • Proviron (Mesterolone)
  • Winstrol (Stanozolol)
  • Masteron (Drostanolone)
  • Primobolan (Methenolone)
According to this criterion, blends should be made from steroids with different origins, for example: Sustanon 250 + Deca-Durabolin + Oxymetholone. Now, strictly speaking , I can tell you there's no single valid approach that works for everyone. Everything depends on your specific goal when using steroids. If your goal is to gain muscle mass, the synergistic blends are what have given some athletes the best results, for example: Testosterone + Boldenone + Dianabol.
Click to expand...

Hey man, really appreciate you sharing this article. Honestly, it’s a great way to organize the landscape of compounds, especially for those trying to wrap their head around how to combine PEDs intelligently. Breaking it down by type of gains, side effect profile, and chemical origin makes it very digestible. So again, thank you… this kind of info is always useful to revisit, even for those of us who’ve been at this for a while.

That said, when I look at PEDs, I usually apply a risk management mindset to them (maybe that’s the PM in me talking). I see them like a high-stakes investment portfolio, so each compound brings a return, but also comes with a risk score that has to be managed accordingly

Here’s how I personally classify them, based on risk level and the need for mitigation:

Let’s start with the high-risk compounds, the real troublemakers. These are your system stressors, they can hammer the liver, skyrocket blood pressure, destroy your lipids, and mess with your brain chemistry. For me, that group includes Halotestin, Methyltestosterone, Dianabol, Trenbolone (any ester) and Anadrol. I know the article puts Anadrol in the low-risk category, but honestly, with the appetite swings, liver stress and blood pressure impact I’ve seen, I’d be cautious. These compounds are tools, sure, but ones you only bring out with serious intent, tight cycles, and full protective protocols in place.

Then there’s the moderate-risk group. These compounds are effective and widely used, and while they have clear risks, those can usually be handled with good planning and intelligent support. I’m thinking Testosterone (all esters), Masteron, Boldenone (watch the RBC and blood pressure), and Winstrol (especially the injectable version — the oral one is rougher on the liver). You still need support here: liver function tracking, estrogen control if needed, blood pressure monitoring, and cholesterol-friendly habits, but it’s manageable territory (EVEN BETTER WHILE USING ALLAES!!)

Finally, we’ve got the lower-risk compounds. These are usually well tolerated, especially in moderate doses. You’re looking at Oxandrolone (Anavar), Primobolan, Nandrolone Decanoate (with some attention to prolactin and mood), Proviron, and Testosterone Undecanoate. They’re not “risk-free”, of course, no PED really is!! but they offer a better long-term tradeoff between gains and system stress.

When it comes to designing a cycle, I prefer to think in terms of synergy and risk-adjusted return. For example, combining a base of Test E with Primo and Anavar gives you solid lean gains with a good safety profile, other said clean, controlled and sustainable. On the other hand, something like Test + Tren + Masteron creates a super potent synergy, but it’s not something you’d want to run without serious planning, cardiovascular and neurological screening, and heavy antioxidant and neuroprotective support.

Anyway, thanks again for sharing this. It’s a great mental model to build from. And like you said, no single approach works for everyone, the real art is in tailoring the cycle to the goal, the experience level, and the body’s feedback.

Let’s keep exchanging ideas and make the forum SHINE!!! always great to bounce thoughts with someone who’s clearly thinking ahead. 💪🏼
 
I understand that your list and categorization are quite subjective, although they are still valid. However, I would place nandrolone among those compounds that are just as effective as testosterone and methandrostenolone. We all know the classic muscle mass and strength building stack for powerlifters — testosterone, nandrolone decanoate, and dianabol. When athletes use this combination, there is usually significant water retention, which gives a big boost in strength. Interestingly, it’s nandrolone that causes the most water retention. Many athletes have noticed that when you add nandrolone decanoate to testosterone and dbol, you start looking like a huge pig.

I also want to mention a compound that not many people know about, and so it’s often left out. This is dihydroboldenone. I only found out about it a couple of years ago. I was surprised at how powerful it is for muscle mass and strength gains. Despite being a DHT derivative, it differs greatly from drostanolone and primobolan. In terms of its effects, it can be compared to trenbolone, excluding the impact on the nervous system and fat burning, which is much more pronounced with trenbolone. For me, DHB has become a must-have compound for building muscle mass and strength.
 
I'd disagree with the categorisation based on their origin. None of the so-called DHT derivatives actually include DHT in their synthesys, neither do they share many similarities with it (especially the fact they're not substrates 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, with the exception of proviron).
 
I will share my 2 cents on choosing the right anabolics:

1st step: testosterone base.
Figure out how much testosterone you need to support your physiological functions. For most people, this is around 175-200mg per week. This is the TRT/cruise dose, where you get enough estradiol to support all bodily functions, release the most IGF-1 in the liver and not have gyno issues.

Step 1.5: GH.
Add as much as you can tolerate or afford. For growth, you want the maximum IGF1 spike.

2nd step: secondary anabolic.
Ideally, we want an injectable steroid and we don't want anything aromatisable, so we can avoid aromatase inhibitors (they are slightly liver toxic and nuke cholesterol). Ideal second anabolic is masteron enanthate, as it doesn't aromatise, has a medium ester, so it's concentration is stable and is brewed at 200mg/ml, so the injection volume is lower. Currently, there is a shortage of it, as well as primobolan, which complicates things. The next option is dihydroboldenone. It does not aromatise, neither is it an aromatase inhibitor. It can be liver toxic and there is a theory that liver toxicity is because that isn't real DHB, but rather remnants of the stock of methyl-DHB from the prohormone rush of the 2000s that is now being sold as DHB. Primobolan and equipoise share the double bond at position 1, which makes them aromatase inhibitors. Therefore, they can be used as secondary anabolics, but with a higher dose of testosterone, which can be a problem, because of the conversion to dihydrotestosterone. Nandrolone is quite hard to use as a secondary anabolic in higher doses, due to progestogenic effects, brain damage and it causing more aromatisation. Winstrol is obviously out of the question, because it inhibits the synthesys of collagen, making joint weaker, it's water based and has anecdotally too much PIP. Tren or ment could theoretically be used, but the cycle needs to be mild enough to be sustainable for as long as possible (since max rate of muscle gain is about 1kg per month, we want to be on cycle as long as possible with as little deleterious compounds as possible).

3rd step: tertiary anabolic.
Advanced users could potentially add a 3rd injectable in a very low dose to achieve some extra benefits (for example NPP/deca for joint health or tren for anti catabolism)

4th step: orals.
Orals pretty much don't have a place in a cycle except anavar (or potentially anadrol or superdrol preworkout) and in the last weeks before the show.

PEDs I believe have no use (in an intelligently designed "safe" stack):
  • Dianabol (too toxic and we can achieve everytrhing it does with testosterone)
  • Turinabol (just a worse version of anavar)
  • Halotestin (too toxic)
  • Proviron (not anabolic)
  • most other less known steroids
 
I like the approach to steroid use that you described. In fact, my experience suggests that I was doing something very similar. Since I’ve always trained according to powerlifting schemes and paid much less attention to fitness and bodybuilding, I rarely used steroids like stanozolol, oxandrolone, or drostanolone. Although I experimented with them, these steroids are used for completely different purposes. I can say that my ideal cycle involved using testosterone and bulganone in a 2:1 ratio to keep my estradiol levels within the normal range.

The only downside of boldenone is its effect on fertility. From what I’ve read, this steroid significantly impairs spermatogenesis. So, if someone wants to restore or maintain their fertility during a cycle, boldenone is definitely not the best choice. However, when comparing its ability to lower estradiol, which is similar to that of primobolan, I would choose boldenone because primobolan sometimes has a negative impact on chronic injuries related to joints and tendons. This is supported by the experience of many athletes in strength sports, including my own. Once someone from the strength sports community starts using primobolan, they often experience pain in areas of old injuries. So, in this case, boldenone is the preferred choice.
 
Einherjar said:
I like the approach to steroid use that you described. In fact, my experience suggests that I was doing something very similar. Since I’ve always trained according to powerlifting schemes and paid much less attention to fitness and bodybuilding, I rarely used steroids like stanozolol, oxandrolone, or drostanolone. Although I experimented with them, these steroids are used for completely different purposes. I can say that my ideal cycle involved using testosterone and bulganone in a 2:1 ratio to keep my estradiol levels within the normal range.

The only downside of boldenone is its effect on fertility. From what I’ve read, this steroid significantly impairs spermatogenesis. So, if someone wants to restore or maintain their fertility during a cycle, boldenone is definitely not the best choice. However, when comparing its ability to lower estradiol, which is similar to that of primobolan, I would choose boldenone because primobolan sometimes has a negative impact on chronic injuries related to joints and tendons. This is supported by the experience of many athletes in strength sports, including my own. Once someone from the strength sports community starts using primobolan, they often experience pain in areas of old injuries. So, in this case, boldenone is the preferred choice.
Click to expand...
Hm, there are a few things I disagree with. Drostanolone is anabolic and as I've described it has the least amount of interactions with other drugs or hormones which makes it useful. I do think it is relatively weak, miligram per miligram though. I don't know whether primo really has that negative effect on joint, but EQ being good for joints makes sense, since it improves collagen synthesys more than testosterone. My biggest worry for EQ is the blood thickness, but as far as I know, donating blood and drinking enough water should be enough. My biggest gripe with primo is just the concentration, 100mg/ml is just too low for a "weak" steroid like this. (also I think oxandrolone is very beneficial for powerlifting, I've seen better results from 30mg of anavar per day than 50mg of turinabol)
 
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