Interesting views on finasteride from bodybuilders

[jd_uk]

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/anabo ... 12823.html

blocking dht is bad guys - i wish it wasn't but it's there for a reason i guess...

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

There is no good information in there. There are plenty of anecdotal evidence examples to the contrary, anyway. The most obvious example here no gourmetstylewellness.com is peapoddy.

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

There is no good information in there. There are plenty of anecdotal evidence examples to the contrary, anyway. The most obvious example here no gourmetstylewellness.com is peapoddy.

Peapoddy is really an exceptional case, you can't act as if that's a typical example. For most guys blocking the most potent male androgen by 70%, and increasing the female sex hormone Estrogen by about 20% will certainly not have a positive impact on your workout!

What do you mean for most guys? There are numerous people on finasteride out there and they aren't having any problems in the weight room at all. Rephrase your language. "For a very, very small percentage of finasteride users..."

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

For the record I have had sexual sides while on finasteride but it did not hurt or hinder my gains in the gym at all. I am still increasing weights on all my lifts and have no trouble in there.

 

[baldydude]

No offense but no matter how how much many of you seem to downplay the importance of DHT won't ever change the fact that it is an extremely important androgen. While some of the posts on those forums are anecdotal I've noticed quite a few people who seem to well versed in this subject area. The best thing you can do for yourself is be educated on what you're actually taking and any potential physiological effects that 5-alpha reductase inhibitors can have. It is very conceivable how reduced DHT could imbalance your hormones and negatively effect your performance in the gym (as well as in other areas). BTW its a pretty glaring logical fallacy to dismiss the posts on the bodybuilding forums as simply anecdotal and then site peapoddy as a reference (Which is.. you guessed it, another anecdote).

Now before any of you try to flame me for being "anti propecia" or whatever Ill have you know I actually take the medication. Basically there is a considerable chance of causing "collateral damage" when taking finasteride. No matter how you try to spin it your body NEEDS DHT for a multitude of processes that would take me far to long to elaborate on right now. A more direct and effective method of preventing hair loss would be to specifically prevent the binding of DHT to hair follicle androgen receptors.. which is a difficult task but has apparently been met with some amount of success via topical spironolactone.

 

[Rawtashk]

I was on finasteride during all of these pictures. Perhaps I could have gotten better results if I wasn't on finasteride, but I'm happy with what I've done. Taking finasteride isn't going to turn your muscles into jello.

 

[jd_uk]

Baldydude - why are you on propecia if you realise the damage it could be doing?

I've been open minded about finasteride in the past, but when i read anywhere other than these forums, the feedback on it is always very negative. I would LOVE to keep my hair...but my body and health is still more important to me. I'd rather be the part than look the part if you get what i mean.

I will never say never...but i will continue to fight the urge to use finasteride and I hope that I never do use it. So far I have just used nizoral a couple of times a week and looking at pictures from two years ago it seems my hair has barely got worse.

I got my hormone levels checked recently and i have naturally high testosterone which i assume means i probably have a lot of DHT too...I'm naturally lean, athletic and can gain muscle and burn fat very easily...to me that is more important than having hair but of course I would love to have both. More than anything I want to feel myself and I think messing with hormones would stop me feeling like me.

It's cool that even as a finasteride user you are being realistic about the drug. I read a newsletter recently sent by proecia help and frankly it's hard to argue with the article which it links to in mens health about the negatives of blocking DHT.

 

[jd_uk]

There is no good information in there. There are plenty of anecdotal evidence examples to the contrary, anyway. The most obvious example here no gourmetstylewellness.com is peapoddy.

Do a search on propecia/finasteride on that site - there's lots about how important DHT is in the body and I think that IS important information.

 

[Rawtashk]

Okay you lost a gut? So what does this have to do with building muscle mass?

Lost quite a bit more than a gut. Pushups went from 18-56, curls from 20lbs to 50lbs, pullups from 2 to 15, etc etc etc. Can you not see the muscle gains at all?

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

I was on finasteride during all of these pictures. Perhaps I could have gotten better results if I wasn't on finasteride, but I'm happy with what I've done. Taking finasteride isn't going to turn your muscles into jello.

Okay you lost a gut? So what does this have to do with building muscle mass?

He did more than lose weight. He didn't get huge, but his arms and chest increased in size while his bodyfat went to a pretty low amount.

 

[Wuffer]

I'm by no means a bodybuilder, but i've been taking finasteride for almost a year now and my performance at the gym have been more or less the same as when I was in my early 20's (I am almost 30 now). It is entirely possible it's just because I am eating cleaner and working out smarter, but I don't feel finasteride has harmed my gains in any way.

finasteride increases testosterone by around 15% as well as estrogen. I don't know nearly enough about hormones to conclude if the estrogen increase negates the testosterone.

I think bodybuilders are an especially bad group of men to take finasteride stories from. I think taking steroids for muscle gains is an extremely bad idea, and taking finasteride WHILE taking steroids is an even worse idea. Since all that extra T is being converted into extra estrogen (with no DHT to balance things out) there is a much greater chance of things going wrong.

I know one guy from highschool that took T injections for muscle gains. He was freakishly huge for a good 5 years, then started taking it way too far, injecting more and more. He quit the injections, but his doctor says he now has the hormonal makeup of a prepubescent girl..

 

[Rawtashk]

The numbers were right there on the pic I started at 194.6, dropped to 164, then put back on muscle up to 184. I would say that about 15 of those 20lbs were from muscle. (not bragging, just telling the truth )

 

[baldydude]

Baldydude - why are you on propecia if you realise the damage it could be doing?

I've been open minded about finasteride in the past, but when i read anywhere other than these forums, the feedback on it is always very negative. I would LOVE to keep my hair...but my body and health is still more important to me. I'd rather be the part than look the part if you get what i mean.

I will never say never...but i will continue to fight the urge to use finasteride and I hope that I never do use it. So far I have just used nizoral a couple of times a week and looking at pictures from two years ago it seems my hair has barely got worse.

I got my hormone levels checked recently and i have naturally high testosterone which i assume means i probably have a lot of DHT too...I'm naturally lean, athletic and can gain muscle and burn fat very easily...to me that is more important than having hair but of course I would love to have both. More than anything I want to feel myself and I think messing with hormones would stop me feeling like me.

It's cool that even as a finasteride user you are being realistic about the drug. I read a newsletter recently sent by proecia help and frankly it's hard to argue with the article which it links to in mens health about the negatives of blocking DHT.

I'm realistic about the drug because I've done a significant amount of research into it. Yes there are horror stories out there but it seems as if these occur with a pretty small amount of users. The majority of individuals taking finasteride dont even exhibit any side effects, and an even smaller amount exhibit persistent side effects. Right now I am on an experimental trial basically in which I'm taking 0.5 mg finasteride daily. I do experienced reduced libido and if it continues to persist after a few months I'm going to stop and never take it again. Two years ago I attempted 1.25 mg daily for four months and got fed up with the sexual sides so I stopped - all side effects vanished in literally two days and I was completely back to normal.

 

[RecedingAt19]

Why does it matter? Who the f*** wants to try to look like the Hulk, anyway? The opposite sex does not find the body builder look attractive.

Unless you're a serious body builder then it shouldn't be a problem.


And I for one, noticed no loss in my gains from using Finasteride, I am still increasing my bench reps and sets.


Also, the people in elitefitness are roid monkeys. The website is for steroid users for crying out loud!

 

[IrishFella]

I can pull up a thread where bodybuilders are taking anabolic steriods and finasteride and some of them swear buy it.

EDIT: Here it is

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/anabo ... e-male pattern baldness.html

 

[israelite]

irishfella, i cycle and take propecia. when i cycle i bump up propecia 2 mg a day.
FACT: when u take any derivities of testosterone u block the 5AR enzyme from converting test into DHT by using propecia.
FACT: not all steroids cause hairloss. Turinabol has a predominantly anabolic effect which is combined with almost zero androgenic effect. very hair friendly steroid. another hair friendly steroid is anavar

FACT: Steroids such as anadrol,winny,dbol, primo, etc are derivities of DHT= HAIRLOSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nothing will save your hair when u cyle!!!!

 

[hairhoper]

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/anabolic-steroids/finasteride-hair-loss-bad-body-812823.html

blocking dht is bad guys - i wish it wasn't but it's there for a reason i guess...

I don't really agree that even if it slows down your gains, that makes blocking dht 'bad'.

Many people (including a few on here - Peabody, RSR, Rawtashk...) have shown if you care about keeping your body in good shape finasteride is not going to stand in your way.

It might slow you down sure but ultimately if you really care and work out hard you're going to have a good body (and keep your hair).

 

[jd_uk]

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/anabolic-steroids/finasteride-hair-loss-bad-body-812823.html

blocking dht is bad guys - i wish it wasn't but it's there for a reason i guess...

I don't really agree that even if it slows down your gains, that makes blocking dht 'bad'.

Many people (including a few on here - Peabody, RSR, Rawtashk...) have shown if you care about keeping your body in good shape finasteride is not going to stand in your way.

It might slow you down sure but ultimately if you really care and work out hard you're going to have a good body (and keep your hair).

I think longer term. Blocking male hormones is a bad idea all round imo. I don't want to lose a chemical which is natural to my functioning body - so many guys have problems with low testosterone/lack of sex drive when they're older...i don't want to be one of those guys. I actually asked my GP what he thought of finasteride today (my appointment was about something else) and he just said 'i dont recommend it - dht is there for a reason'.

...I'm not actually overly concerned with whether I look like the incredible hulk...i'm more concerned with being healthy. The fact that body builders say that it's not unknown for finasteride to wipe out their gains even on a steroid cycle says a lot. Personally i just want to have the body of a young guy...an athlete if i train to be that way. I did a set of 28 pull ups in the gym today...i don't want to feel like it's downhill from here on in if i take a drug to save my hair. I've no doubt that someone can look in good shape while on finasteride - hell even some women at my gym look pretty ripped - but i very much doubt that it doesn't hinder things and especially athletic performance to an extent...DHT gives you aggression and competitiveness...it's much more powerful than testosterone.

 

[israelite]

you can wipe out all your gains on steroids if u dont cycle properly.

 

[nickypoos]

This is this biggest load of crap I have ever read. finasteride most certainly WILL NOT deplete any gains at the gym.
I haven't been on these forums for over a year, and have been taking Dutasteride daily for over 2 years from the age of 18, I am now 20 and my body has transformed totally, from weighing 15stone of fat I've cut down to 10st 12 leaving nothing but lean muscle behind totally naturally in preparation for fitness modelling.
I will upload to my thread the progress of the post 2 year mark, I haven't died, I still have a full re-grown hairline, and I am pretty close to the best physical condition I could possibly achieve.