If you’re a bodybuilder and you are considering the use of anabolic steroids, you need to be very aware of the condition known as Gynecomastia.

Gynecomastia occurs when the mammary glands (yes, males have them too!) grow beyond their normal size. Gynecomastia often occurs during puberty to some degree, but most men manage to shake the condition as they mature. In males who use anabolic steroids, the condition is fairly common. Steroids cause the hormone levels of the body to fluctuate. Administration of artificial testosterone (very common among male bodybuilders) leads to a spike of testosterone levels in the body. The brain produces more estrogen to match the elevated T levels. The cell receptors in the mammaries respond to this additional estrogen by growing.

Gynecomastia is seen fairly often on bodybuilding stages, particularly among amateur bodybuilders who are still learning the ropes about steroid use. Advanced bodybuilders tend to get the gyno under control, either through intelligent supplementation, or through surgery.

Some bodybuilders (often the same ones who spend more time reading about training than actually training) will notice a hardening and growing of the pectorals when the begin training. This is the muscle growing and becoming harder – a very desirable goal of bodybuilding training and eating! Only when the bulk of the new size appears underneath the nipple should you be concerned that Gynecomastia is arriving.

Some adults will develop Gynecomastia from medications they are given for other conditions. Some people will have it their whole lives as a result of being overweight, or displaying poor hormone balance due to puberty. Most of the time, Gynecomastia is faced by those who have dabbled in anabolic steroids, and not taken precautions. Gynecomastia can be avoided if you keep your cycles reasonable, and use what is known as a PCT, or post-cycle therapy, product following your steroid cycle. There are a wealth of AIs and SERMs that you can take to help eliminate the advent or development of Gynecomastia. Nolvadex is probably the most popular of these, and its use is recommended to any bodybuilder using anabolic steroids. Once Gynecomastia has developed, it will require surgery to remove.

Pro-Hormone users are perhaps the worst sufferers of Gynecomastia – even more than bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids. The effects of anabolic steroids have been studied greatly over decades, and users generally have a wide variety of resources upon which to tap to ensure they are aware of all possible consequences of using the drug. Pro-hormones, on the other hand, lack this great depth of documentation. They are steroids, by definitely and composition. They have been molecularly altered in some small way which makes them legal in many states. Their effects are just as real as running an actual AAS cycle. Upon completion of a PH cycle, you need to utilize PCT just as you would with a heavy anabolic cycle. You also need to have liver enzyme values taken as you would with an actual oral cycle. And above all, you must be especially aware of the potential for Gynecomastia, the enemy of the bodybuilder!

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