Women and Steroid Cycle Length

Q: “How do you recommend women arrange steroid cycles in terms of duration? Are the factors basically the same as for men? Do the 2-week cycle ideas apply, or is there as much importance to limiting duration as there is for men?”

A: In deciding how many weeks anabolic steroid cycles should be, the concerns for women are almost entirely different than for men.

For men, the factors generally are balancing anabolic results versus long term suppression of natural testosterone production and versus adverse health effects such as increased cardiovascular risk. For women, the factors can include any or all of balancing anabolic results to risk of virilization, the experience of unwanted psychological effects, disruption of menstrual cycle, and swings in body weight or composition. It’s really an almost entirely different set of concerns.

With regard to 2-week cycles, the benefit which men enjoy of extremely fast recovery of natural testosterone production does not apply. I have never known a woman to do a 2-week cycle and have never recommended it. The only reason I can think of why it might be appropriate for a particular woman is if she wished to do steroid cycles in sync with her menstrual cycles, for whatever personal reason. This reason might be to yield minimal disruption to her cycles.

I wish to be perfectly clear that this would be only for the highly experimental woman who doesn’t mind trying something that so far as I know has never been done. It isn’t a recommendation on my part to do it, but rather the only reason I can see to choose a 2-week cycle, as you asked about whether women might use such cycles.

For a second opinion, my wife estimates it’s likely to send a woman to hell, or more likely, her husband. It always takes practical experience to say; a theory regarding anabolic steroids can only indicate whether something could be worth trying or probably not worth trying. Most or nearly all times I would say that that one is not worth trying. But a given woman might conclude differently for herself.

With regard to limiting duration to avoid prolonged suppression, again it is different for women than for men. It’s safer for a woman in my opinion to use a lower level of anabolic steroids continuously or near-continuously, providing that blood tests support that the use is healthful, than to fluctuate between a higher level of use and “off” periods.

About the author

Bill Roberts

Medicinal chemist

Bill Roberts is an internationally-recognized expert on anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). He received a bachelor degree in Microbiology and Cell Science and completed the educational and research requirements for a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at a major American university.

Bill entered the nutritional supplement industry prior to completing his doctoral thesis but his education was invaluable so far as being able to design/improve nutritional supplement compounds, since it was in the field of designing drug molecules and secondarily some work in transdermal delivery.

His education was not specifically "geared" toward anabolic steroids other than expertise with pharmacological principles having broad applications. This has allowed Bill to provide unique insight into the field of anabolic pharmacology with knowledge of points which he would not have known otherwise.