Q & A with SASSY69 NPC National Bodybuilder Competitor

[Prince]

Q & A with SASSY69 NPC National Bodybuilder Competitor

[Prince]

Great article by sassy on females and AAS: Women and Drugs

[heavyiron]

Awesome! Very cool of you to do a Q and A!

[XYZ]

Cool. This should be fun! IN for pop, not soda.

[Aaron Singerman]

Welcome Sassy!

Great addition here... Sassy knows more about women's AAS usage than almost anyone on the net!

[SloppyJ]

In for some good Q&A

[Anabolic5150]

Nice, Sassy has a wealth of knowledge and a great ability to get her point across.

[IslandGirl]

Awesome to have Sassy do a Q & A. Welcome chica!

[sassy69]

Thanks everyone! Ask away!

[Anabolic5150]

Sassy,

Seen you mention DeFranco shoulder warm-ups (I believe that is what you call them)

I had rotator cuff surgery in 2005 and still have issues today, can you tell me or point out where I can find out more about this method please?

[Gena Marie]

Welcome to the Q&A Sassy. You look amazing.

I think I read somewhere by you about doing chest exercises with implants. Mine are now under the muscle. I was doing a done of push up, but have stopped. What would be the best exercises for me to do for my chest. I do incline press and flies?
I hardly work my chest because I don't want to affect the look of my breasts. Thoughts?

Thanks

[sassy69]

Sassy,

Seen you mention DeFranco shoulder warm-ups (I believe that is what you call them)

I had rotator cuff surgery in 2005 and still have issues today, can you tell me or point out where I can find out more about this method please?

Joe DeFranco's Agile 8 is the overall warmup I do (primarily for legs & lower back because I have stupid tight hamstring/ IT band):

(Scroll down about 1/2 way)

DeFranco's Training ..:: The Ultimate Way To Become A Better Athlete ::..

For shoulders specifically, I do something like this:

3 sets of each, light DBs, as its still just a warmup
- front raise, palms facing in
- front raise, but at angle - 45 degree from front, palms facing in
- side raise, palms facing down

The cable "in / out":

[Anabolic5150]

Thanks Sassy, appreciate the videos and the link.

[sassy69]

Thanks Sassy, appreciate the videos and the link.

Joe DeFranco ROCKS!

[Anabolic5150]

Joe DeFranco ROCKS!

I'll be using the stretches and the rotator stuff, fighting a slight shoulder impingement right now and it sucks.

[sassy69]

I'll be using the stretches and the rotator stuff, fighting a slight shoulder impingement right now and it sucks.

What are you doing about it? Chiropractor?

[Anabolic5150]

What are you doing about it? Chiropractor?

Some stretching, massage, chiro.

[Vibrant]

Sassy, I recently had a girl ask me and I had no good answer for it. How do top female pros deal with and manage virilization from aas use?

[sassy69]

Sassy, I recently had a girl ask me and I had no good answer for it. How do top female pros deal with and manage virilization from aas use?

Can't speak for the pros - you can't look at someone and assume they cycle or not. The virilization is basically part of the deal - but how well each person's natural body chemistry manages it and the duration, compound and frequency of cycling will contribute.

[squigader]

Can't speak for the pros - you can't look at someone and assume they cycle or not. The virilization is basically part of the deal - but how well each person's natural body chemistry manages it and the duration, compound and frequency of cycling will contribute.

1) Do women run the same kind of PCT as men? One of the aims is to minimize estrogen during PCT for men, to stop its inhibitory effect on the hypothalamus, increase LH and FSH, and resume normal testosterone production. I take it that this is not the goal for women?

2) Are women a lot more sensitive to AAS' anabolic capabilities than men? A women's cycle might have 30mg of deca a week. This kind of dose wouldn't do anything for a guy after 5-7 weeks.

Apologies if the questions seem stupid, I'm not very well-versed in how these drugs are used for women! Just trying to learn.

[sassy69]

Do women run the same kind of PCT as men? One of the aims is to minimize estrogen during PCT for men, to stop its inhibitory effect on the hypothalamus, increase LH and FSH, and resume normal testosterone production. I take it that this is not the goal for women?

Completely different - women don't need to 'resume normal test production', and likewise, the major hormone for women is not stopped by an exogenous test source. Generally the monthly menstrual cycle comes back on its own when compounds clear the woman's body. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it needs some "PCT" to get it going - think stuff like HCG and all the stuff that would fall under the usual treatment if a woman has trouble w/ her menstrual cycle, e.g. trying to get pregnant.

You do hear about metabolic problems that women sometimes experience from too aggressive dieting during contest prep. So I think there's more tied into over all metabolism & metabolic function & estrogen for women in extreme cases of dieting than for guys - the thing is that for women, competition prep goes completely against all the things that nature has in place to help ensure the greatest chance of a safe pregnancy. And that's where things start to become problems in different ways than for men.

Are women a lot more sensitive to AAS' anabolic capabilities than men? A women's cycle might have 30mg of deca a week. This kind of dose wouldn't do anything for a guy after 5-7 weeks.

The easy answer is take a look at the proportions of test in men vs. women. For women estrogen is the dominant hormone. Maybe a good comparison of androgenic effects due to a big bump in proportional amount of testosterone naturally for women, vs a cycle would be a natural guy, vs a guy running say, deca w/ no AIs -water retention, gyno, moody, etc. Its not so much the total amount of testosterone as it is the bump in proportion between normal test & estro levels for women or men. 30 mg of deca / week would be fairly androgenic for women, because proportionally, that's orders of magnitude more test than women naturally produce. Further, it aromatizes and produces even more estrogen, so w/ the strong androgenic sides, there's even more estro. That amount for guys is only a small increase relative to the natural amount of test produced. The amount of estro as a result of aromatization, and the impact on guys, relative to the natural amount of estrogen in their systems.

The last thing to comment on is the end result - guys would be running deca to get big - build mass, etc. and might be ok w/ carrying the extra water, get the gain of more well-protected joints w/ deca specifically, etc. For women, there's no desire for water retention. Also deca is fairly long acting - for guys its great because its less frequent pinning, and for the amounts they normally pin, that's a nice thing. For women, the longer ester means sides will be more aggressive because they are present longer, and if you don't like the sides or its just too much (again considering the small amount that is still very large proportional to the amount test women naturally support) - you still have to wait for the compound to clear. This is why most people would only recommend a very short acting compound - usually anavar or winstrol, if more aggressive / more experienced, maybe test prop. But not test cyp or enanthate.

And lastly just the additional sides of high bp, etc.
Apologies if the questions seem stupid, I'm not very well-versed in how these drugs are used for women! Just trying to learn.

[squigader]

Do women run the same kind of PCT as men? One of the aims is to minimize estrogen during PCT for men, to stop its inhibitory effect on the hypothalamus, increase LH and FSH, and resume normal testosterone production. I take it that this is not the goal for women?

Completely different - women don't need to 'resume normal test production', and likewise, the major hormone for women is not stopped by an exogenous test source. Generally the monthly menstrual cycle comes back on its own when compounds clear the woman's body. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it needs some "PCT" to get it going - think stuff like HCG and all the stuff that would fall under the usual treatment if a woman has trouble w/ her menstrual cycle, e.g. trying to get pregnant.

You do hear about metabolic problems that women sometimes experience from too aggressive dieting during contest prep. So I think there's more tied into over all metabolism & metabolic function & estrogen for women in extreme cases of dieting than for guys - the thing is that for women, competition prep goes completely against all the things that nature has in place to help ensure the greatest chance of a safe pregnancy. And that's where things start to become problems in different ways than for men.

Are women a lot more sensitive to AAS' anabolic capabilities than men? A women's cycle might have 30mg of deca a week. This kind of dose wouldn't do anything for a guy after 5-7 weeks.

The easy answer is take a look at the proportions of test in men vs. women. For women estrogen is the dominant hormone. Maybe a good comparison of androgenic effects due to a big bump in proportional amount of testosterone naturally for women, vs a cycle would be a natural guy, vs a guy running say, deca w/ no AIs -water retention, gyno, moody, etc. Its not so much the total amount of testosterone as it is the bump in proportion between normal test & estro levels for women or men. 30 mg of deca / week would be fairly androgenic for women, because proportionally, that's orders of magnitude more test than women naturally produce. Further, it aromatizes and produces even more estrogen, so w/ the strong androgenic sides, there's even more estro. That amount for guys is only a small increase relative to the natural amount of test produced. The amount of estro as a result of aromatization, and the impact on guys, relative to the natural amount of estrogen in their systems.

The last thing to comment on is the end result - guys would be running deca to get big - build mass, etc. and might be ok w/ carrying the extra water, get the gain of more well-protected joints w/ deca specifically, etc. For women, there's no desire for water retention. Also deca is fairly long acting - for guys its great because its less frequent pinning, and for the amounts they normally pin, that's a nice thing. For women, the longer ester means sides will be more aggressive because they are present longer, and if you don't like the sides or its just too much (again considering the small amount that is still very large proportional to the amount test women naturally support) - you still have to wait for the compound to clear. This is why most people would only recommend a very short acting compound - usually anavar or winstrol, if more aggressive / more experienced, maybe test prop. But not test cyp or enanthate.

And lastly just the additional sides of high bp, etc.
Apologies if the questions seem stupid, I'm not very well-versed in how these drugs are used for women! Just trying to learn.

Thanks for the very well thought out answer! Really helped me understand it!
Just a follow-up - so what does an example PCT look like for a female BB who runs a not too heavy cycle (anavar, winstrol, etc.), and how long would it take to get back to "normal" in terms of hormone balance and function?

BTW, you might want to check the last line of your response (you forgot to edit it out )

[sassy69]

Hard to multipart a response in quotes, so not worried about it

A "not very heavy cycle" really doesn't require PCT. You have to know what you're taking and be familiar w/ its half-life & detection times to have an idea of how long it may take for your body to "recover". The menstrual cycle tends to lock itself down for a while when it identifies something 'different' in the woman's body - this can range from anything like stress, sudden drop in bodyfat (i.e. dieting), sudden increase in physical activity, etc. It also responds to AAS or estrogen manipulators (e.g. nolva) by interrupting flow. (Note this does NOT mean you can't get pregnant when there's no flow.) So if you look at the detection time of a compound you're on, you could easily expect your menstrual cycle to be stopped for that long, plus another month or two while it gets back to homeostasis. (Noting the menstrual cycle likes to operate on its monthly schedule.) If it takes longer than that and there are no additional influences, then look at things like Estroven, Evening Primrose Oil, etc. to see if OTC things like that will help it get back on track. If that doesn't help, then maybe time to check w/ the OB/GYN. As I mentioned, it is not all that hard for the female body to experience impacts to the whole metabolic system - including thyroid, etc. which may show up as other issues and need to be addressed by a doctor.

[Gymgirl130]

Sassy, what do you do the last week of your contest prep as far as your carbs and water intake? Do you go low carbs all week then increase at the end of the week or high at the beginning then low then high again? Also, do you deplete water throughout the week or just deplete the day before and do you switch to distilled?

[sassy69]

Sassy, what do you do the last week of your contest prep as far as your carbs and water intake? Do you go low carbs all week then increase at the end of the week or high at the beginning then low then high again? Also, do you deplete water throughout the week or just deplete the day before and do you switch to distilled?

A little late on this response, but I also chimed in on your prep thread. For what you're doing and the trend in judging more towards 'softer', the old school peak week protocol is not as important, That said, all you can do in the last week is water manipulation - there's no more worrying about muscle building or fat loss. For Bikini I'd suggest don't change anything from what you're doing already. No need to carb up, etc. because the focus is on muscle fullness, etc. For Figure, you could go either route - if you're cutting nicely on your current diet, just keep doing it. If you need to dump some water, then typically for a Saturday show date, carb deplete (i.e. no complex carbs, up your fats a bit to compensate for the calories lost) Sun - Wed, then start increasing complex carbs, reduce the fats Thurs - Fri. Sat, go to fast absorbing carbs like rice cakes & jelly, many like to mix in PB as a fat source w/ it, small portions of chicken as your protein source. Keep it simple. Water - couple ways can do it. First: Sun - Wed: 2 gal of water /day. Thurs: drop it in half. Fri: drop it in half. Sat: sip as needed. Second: Sun - Thurs: 2 gal Fri: 1/2 - 1 gal, Sat: sip as needed. You can switch to distilled, but no real reason for Figure.

[Powermaster]

Hi Sassy,

I am asking for a female freind who has been an AAS user for some time. I believe she cycles on & off for 3 weeks at a time but I am not sure of dosages.
My question is have you ever heard of any older female AAS users ever had to introduce any female hormones such as progesterone to mitigate some of the AAS sides?
A bit more background:
Age 50
Has had a hysterectomy; so only natural hormonal production is adrenal.
Maintains a very lean physique so possibly little estrogen conversion from body fat.
Most pronounced problematic sides: sleeplessness, hair thinning, & workout recovery takes longer than it used too.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[HANDSOME STRANGER]

Hey sassy I am asking this question a little premature but my wife and I were speaking last night and looking at videos on youtube.. But my question is on the self tan how important is it to be even?? Are there points deducted for it not being even or to dark????? We say thanks in advance for your input and we both agree you look amazing in the pictures prince put up.

[sassy69]

Hi Sassy,

I am asking for a female freind who has been an AAS user for some time. I believe she cycles on & off for 3 weeks at a time but I am not sure of dosages.
My question is have you ever heard of any older female AAS users ever had to introduce any female hormones such as progesterone to mitigate some of the AAS sides?

A bit more background:
Age 50
Has had a hysterectomy; so only natural hormonal production is adrenal.
Maintains a very lean physique so possibly little estrogen conversion from body fat.
Most pronounced problematic sides: sleeplessness, hair thinning, & workout recovery takes longer than it used too.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Why is she cycling on & off every 3 weeks? I kinda feel like saying its time to revisit the whole AAS strategy. Also does she get regular bloodwork (I'm thinking of thyroid specifically) and what is she cycling? Is it stuff that aromatizes or not? If she's had the hysterectomy, is she on any estro replacement therapy to support it?

[Powermaster]

Why is she cycling on & off every 3 weeks? I kinda feel like saying its time to revisit the whole AAS strategy. Also does she get regular bloodwork (I'm thinking of thyroid specifically) and what is she cycling? Is it stuff that aromatizes or not? If she's had the hysterectomy, is she on any estro replacement therapy to support it?

I can only answer a few of these but will ask her about the rest.
I do not know why on & off every 3 weeks but can speculate this is what an EX told her she should do...Hmmmm right there big mistake eh?
No regular bloodwork. I did suggest that many times.
test C & Deca so yes i would assume aromatizes.
No estro therapy that I am aware of.

Thank you for your suggestions.

[sassy69]

I can only answer a few of these but will ask her about the rest.
I do not know why on & off every 3 weeks but can speculate this is what an EX told her she should do...Hmmmm right there big mistake eh?
No regular bloodwork. I did suggest that many times.
test C & Deca so yes i would assume aromatizes.
No estro therapy that I am aware of.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Wow. I dunno what to say. That's guys' style cycling. The very experienced cyclers may be using this stuff regularly, but generally we recommend for women to stay away from the long esters because they are the ones that promote the androgenic sides. And of course, the longer esters mean you can't just stop the cycle and the sides go away. I'm also surprised because both Test Cyp & Deca have high anabolic ratios so there's some pretty hefty aromatization associated w/ them. I guess I don't know what to tell you. Since you don't come across many women running that stuff, I don't really know what to tell you. I would suggest at least getting some blood work done. You can get a full female panel at a testing center w/o seeing a doc if you don't want. At the very least to get a baseline. I suppose the additional aromatization helps? I have no idea. I would think just as a hysterectomy patient she could get some advice from a doc.

I'm really reaching here - the hairloss and all that could be thyroid as well. I'd want to at least get that eliminated as a potential issue in itself The low estro is another issue. At that point, that's where I'd start looking at general post-menopause hormone management (basically same effect as the hysterectomy).