Definitions and terms every steroid user needs to know…

Even if you are (or consider yourself) well versed in steroids, this should be a good refresher course in steroids for most of my readers; I’m not just going over definitions, but also going in depth on some of the biology and chemistry for them.

And although I’ve seen people using various medical/chemical/biological terms on the Internet (in forums and discussion boards), but…well, judging from the context I’m seeing them used in, I’m pretty sure that people don’t actually know what they mean (by pretty sure, I mean positive). By that, I’m saying I’m 100% sure people are totally incorrect, on most of the forums, most of the time (by most, I mean all).

Of course, there’s various “educational” posts available, which attempt to give us definitions for the terms we’re seeing in use on those forums. Do we really need someone to define the word “bro” for us?

Alright, with that being said, I’m going to move on to some useful definitions for the average steroid user.

Androgen: This is a catch-all term for drugs (or synthetic compounds) and/or naturally occurring hormones that stimulate the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics. Usually when we (I) talk about them, we’re talking about

Androgen Receptor: This is the receptor “reserved” for steroids like testosterone and such (in other words, androgens). When the androgen receptor binds with an androgen, it forms a dimer, travels to the cell nucleus, and imparts gene transcription.

Aromatization: This is the process by which testosterone converts to estrogen, via the aromatase enzyme. This occurs in various tissues, such as skeletal muscle and adipose tissues. Also, you’ll experience less of this if you have less adipose tissue (less fat on a cycle means fewer sides, believe it or not).

Dihydrotestosterone: This stuff, also called DHT, is made from testosterone in your body via interaction with the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, which adds 2 hydrogen atoms to testosterone. It has a variety of effects in the human body, and is responsible for certain unwanted side effects such as hair loss. DHT interacts strongly with the central nervous system, and has both anabolic as well as androgenic effects.

Estrogen: This is the primary female sexual hormone. Men don’t want much of it floating around, as it is responsible for some nasty side effects like water retention, gynecomastia, acne, etc. It also may aid in growth by helping production of IGF and GH and may even enhance immune function. It can also increase the amount of androgen receptors in the body. We certainly want some of it around, but not too much, as it can also lower testosterone levels.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone: This hormone (commonly referred to as FSH) is a gonadotropin, which is responsible for egg-cell-containing follicles in the female ovaries, and it also stimulates follicular cells to secrete estrogen. In males, it helps stimulate the production of sperm cells in the testes during puberty. It also may tell the testes to secrete testosterone, but certainly influences the number of leydigs cells, which we secrete testosterone. . Finally, FSH stimulates the production of Androgen Binding Protein in the Sertoli cells.

Glucagon: This is a hormone that is produced in the pancreas and regulates blood sugar levels. Unlike insulin, glucagon is released when blood sugar levels are low. It causes the release of glucose from glycogen.

Growth Hormone: Growth Hormone (GH) is a protein that stimulates your body’s cells to undergo more rapid cell division. It enhances the movement of amino acids through cell membranes and causes an increase in the rate in which they convert molecules to proteins and decrease the rate they use carbohydrates and increase the rate they use fats. It is secreted in rhythmic pulses, especially while you’re asleep and has an important anabolic effect on the body.

Hormones: A hormone is simply a substance secreted by a cell that has an effect on another cell. They can stimulate changes in target cells even when they are only present in miniscule amounts.

Hypothalamus: This releases gonadotropin- releasing hormone, and also controls most secretions of the pituitary gland.

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular-Axis: This is usually called the HPTA, and as you can guess, it basically regulates all of the hormones that stimulate the production of testosterone as well as GH and other goodies. Needless to say, keeping your HPTA in good working order is very important.

Insulin: Insulin is a protein secreted by the pancreas that acts on the liver to stimulate the formation of glycogen from glucose and inhibits the conversion of non-carbohydrates into glucose.

Insulin-Like Growth Factor: Insulin-like growth factor is released from the liver in response to GH. It has an important anabolic effect on the body.

Luteinizing Hormone: This stuff (usually called LH, in shorthand) promotes the secretion of sex hormones. We’re hoping to keep it high (or not let it get too low) so it keeps telling out testes to secrete testosterone. Both LH as well as testosterone is secreted in pulses between eight and fourteen times per day, testosterone being preceded by LH by approximately an hour. Testosterone is, of course, controlled via a negative feedback loop, thus a higher level of testosterone in your body causes a decrease in LH.

Negative Feedback System (or loop): This is the system by which your body recognizes an abundance of a particular hormone and consequently stops producing it. In simple terms, if you are injecting testosterone, your body will sense this and stop producing its own.

Pituitary Gland: The anterior lobe of this secretes a variety of hormones such as growth hormone, thyroid- stimulating hormone, prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone. You want to keep this thing healthy and happy.

Prolactin: This is a protein that promotes milk production in the female body, and even worse, if you screw up, in the male body. Prolactin causes a decrease in Luteinizing Hormone, and this lowers testosterone (see below).

Prostaglandins: Some of these regulate cellular responses to hormones and stimulate the secretion of a variety of hormones.

Receptor: This is a thing in the cell that is basically like a parking spot. When a steroid hormone comes in, it’s like parking a car in that spot. The steroid hormone then tells the cell to do something. If the hormone is testosterone, it may tell the cell to “build more muscle!” If the hormone is estrogen, it may say, “Watch Desperate Housewives!” Well, not really, but you get the idea.

Steroids: These are compounds whose molecules contain fairly complex rings of Carbon and Hydrogen atoms. Steroid hormones include (but are not limited to) testosterone and estrogen, and we will be primarily concerned with those two although we will examine many other hormones. Sometimes we use the term “steroid” to mean anabolic steroid, which is only one possible type. Steroid hormones (like testosterone) are soluble in the lipids that make up cell walls. This means they can get into a cell and mess around with the receptors in the nucleus, which is exactly what we want.

Testosterone: This is the primary male sex hormone. Settle in, this is going to be a long explanation, but possibly the most important one. Testosterone is manufactured in the Leydigs cells in the testes, at about 2.5-11mgs/day for the average male. You know those dudes with full beards in Junior High School? Yeah, they are probably producing somewhere around the upper limit. The testosterone molecule floats around in your body eliciting various changes including the building of muscle, and development of male sexual characteristics. Remember those receptors I told you about earlier? Yeah, well testosterone “parks” in those spaces and delivers it’s message (“Build more muscle”), then “unparks” and drives around the lot looking for another spot to park in and deliver it’s message. In normal males 2% of testosterone is unbound to protein (free), 54% is bound to albumin and other proteins, and 44% is bound to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: This is a protein bound to a carbohydrate. Yum! No…just kidding…it is a protein bound to a carbohydrate, but what it does is control the secretion of hormones from the thyroid gland.

That was by no means a comprehensive list of the hormones in your body, or their functions, and of course it’s not everything that each and every hormone does or can do under special circumstances. But it’s good enough for our purposes here, and knowing what those hormones do will help you know what the various steroids will do in your body. Hopefully now you have a better basic understanding of the primary hormones and terms used regarding anabolic steroids.