PED Use in the Offseason for Females
by Andrew Berry on April 30, 2024So, I started an article on oral PED use in the offseason and was going to divide it into strategies for both sexes but then I started thinking more and more about female offseason PED use in general and how we haven’t done a deep dive into this topic. Despite (in my opinion) females being the fastest growing demographic to start using PEDs, there is still a shortage of information out there regarding responsible use. I’m not telling anyone to try any of this, it’s only informational and a look into some of the compounds and cycles I use with women.
There are two things that need to be mentioned regarding female drug use. The first revolves around a disclaimer and conversation I have with all females that show interest in using PEDs. There is the opportunity to have side effects that don’t affect males the same way. These could be acne, voice changes, increased sex drive, period dysfunction, sex hormone dysfunction, clitoromegaly, hair loss, new hair growth. I stress to them that I can’t tell them what compounds will cause this or that side effect or to what extreme based on dosing but if she sees something she isn’t happy with she needs to say something early. Every woman needs to decide which side effects (if any) she is ok with and keep a dialog going with her coach. Some examples of something that a female might experience and decide is ok: a slight deepening of the voice, a few stray hairs growing on the chin or the nipple region and the increased sex drive. Some might say that any of those side effects are a non-starter which is fine as well. It’s important to decide on that early on but also consider seeing these side effects while also getting the anabolic positive benefits. A lot of women, in the moment, accept the side effects because they are love with the results. Males do the same thing but at more of a detriment to their internal health and lab work. Women need to keep in mind things like when/if they want to start family planning, concern with increased androgens and PCOS and if they could live with permanent side effects. It might take some trial and error to figure out which compounds work best for you but when you find one, stick with it.
The second thing I like to mention with females and PED use is that it’s important for them to get as back to as close of baseline hormonal health between cycles. I want to see near perfect labs with women regarding sex hormones testosterone, progesterone, and estradiol at least twice a year. In a common situation where a woman gets done her contest season my goal is to get her back to a normal testosterone level of 45-65 ng/dl and a progesterone to estradiol ratio of 100-200 in the luteal stage of her period with both progesterone and estradiol being in normal ranges for that phase. In the post-contest prep example, it might take 3 months to get back to baseline levels due to the stress of the prep. Then let’s say two, eight-week cycles with 8-10 weeks off in between and then another two-three-month period to get back to perfect baseline again and that’s a whole year. Note- it never works out like that exactly, but you get the point.
So, somewhat contrary to males, often, the PED’s that women use in the offseason will not vary much from the ones they use in the pre-contest or cutting phase.
It’s also very hard to give exact doses because like males, females react to different compounds differently. I have some women where we use 5 mg of anavar a day and others where we use quite a bit more.
I’m going to talk about one of my favorite cycles to use with women here:
Primobolan injectable 10-20 mg ED or EOD
Anavar 10-20 mg ED
Testosterone Propionate- 2 mg 3 days a week (if on lab work her test and free test levels tank).
GH- 2-4 units a day
Most of my female clients are bikini, wellness and figure or non-competitors that desire that kind of look.
Other compounds that I use with women in the offseason (and contest prep) might include:
EQ- 100-125 mg per week
Winstrol- 10-25 mg per day
Masteron- 100-125 mg per week
NPP- 10-50 mg/week
Anadrol- 12.5-25 mg/day
Always keep in mind, when trying a new compound, be sure to start it on its own and in the lower doses listed.
Where does insulin fit into the mix?
For a lot of women, due to personal reasons or just that we are trying to maintain solid hormonal health in the offseason, we forgo using any steroid derivatives and rely on insulin and gh use only for some extra anabolism. There are many ways to run insulin, but my favorite is pre-workout using intra nutrition. I tend to keep women on GH year round due to the lack of side effects.
When using PED’s as a female for the first time, it’s a good idea to hire an experienced coach to help you. Anyone can tell you to take this or that but it’s important to have someone knowledgeable regarding side effects, recommending supplements for health, looking at lab work to stay on top of your health and building a comprehensive plan where PEDs is just one part of that.