Modern bodybuilders have learned not only to gain incredible muscle mass of one and a half hundredweight, which was unimaginable for the mastodons of the natural bodybuilding era, but also to achieve a colossal, dried-out muscle definition…
Interesting, how?
It is no secret to anyone that in both cases – not without the help of pharmacology.
The list of drugs for cutting and gaining mass, on which the meat of the modern professional is grown, includes several dozen hard-to-pronounce names that instill subconscious fear.
Any reasonable person, upon seeing such a number of drugs in a first aid kit, would sincerely sympathize with its owner with the inherent wordless tactfulness in such cases: “how seriously ill must be the person who takes all this…”
Below we present the confession of an anonymous IFBB professional bodybuilder about how bodybuilding is structured from the inside, about drugs for cutting.
Main thoughts:
Cutting in Professional Bodybuilding: An Inside Look
When it comes to cutting in bodybuilding, it can be conditionally divided into two directions: natural methods (cardio, diet) and the use of pharmacology.
There is no need to explain what is more effective and what has fewer health consequences… but it is important to understand that drugs for cutting are not an absolute panacea, and even professionals must adhere to a special training and nutrition regimen, without which it is impossible to dry the body to a record low percentage of fat.
Body cutting to the level we see today in competing bodybuilders on stage requires colossal effort. You will be exhausted, hungry, miserable, and constantly asking yourself: “What the hell are you doing this for???”
Caloric deficit… a lot of cardio… terrible mental side effects from taking drugs – not very pleasant effects of cutting. There is nothing attractive about it; sometimes you feel pain and fatigue from all of this… Not everyone can endure eating the same food every time, doing cardio when your energy level is already at rock bottom, and feeling like you are getting weaker in the gym with each passing day of the diet…
The other side of cutting is that the closer you get to competition day, the more your body changes. There is something exhilarating about waking up every morning and seeing more details of definition in the mirror than yesterday. At the end of each week, feeling exhausted, broken, and hungry, you realize that another week of dieting and training has finally passed… and you feel invincible seeing the progress.
Think about this: during cutting, you are fighting against the most fundamental human needs – the desire to eat and rest… And you are winning! Yes, you constantly feel hunger, fatigue, physical pain, your brain isn’t functioning… but you overcome all of this week after week.
In the last week of cutting, something special happens, both at the body and brain level: you realize that you have learned to fight through the pain and, if you’re lucky, you even start to enjoy the process. If you have learned to endure the suffering you consciously chose, then you can face anything life throws at you.
To the dismay of many, in bodybuilding, just like in many other areas of life, the truth “the more you suffer, the better you look” is a guiding principle, especially when it comes to cutting.
I have participated in several dozen competitions, and every time body cutting is a real torture. Sometimes it’s harder, sometimes a bit easier, but every time it’s a tough trial. It manifests in feelings of apathy, lethargy, terrible mood, fatigue, constant hunger, and many other effects related to caloric deficit.
Body Cutting Supplements or How Professional Bodybuilders Cut in the 21st Century
In bodybuilding, muscle definition is as important as muscle mass size. The efforts in cutting are proportional to the demands of the judges, which become stricter every year.
In the past, when I was just starting my career, during the cutting phase I used only one anti-estrogen drug. Today, the norm is 2 or 3 (only anti-estrogens), sometimes more, and a whole range of other drugs, including anabolic steroids, growth hormone, fat burners, and diuretics.
It is also common to use sleeping pills and muscle relaxants to reduce stress levels during a strict diet.
Some lazy bodybuilders use the drug DNP to accelerate the fat-burning process. I do not recommend this, but a fact is a fact.
Here is one example of a stack of drugs for cutting in professional bodybuilding (we intentionally removed the dosage values so that the boldest do not use this list as a guide):
- trenbolone acetate – XX mg every day
- testosterone propionate – XX mg every day
- masteron propionate – XX mg every day
- winstrolor anavar – XX mg/day for 6 weeks
- growth hormone – XX IU immediately after waking up, 45 minutes before breakfast
- T3 – XX mcg, gradually increasing the dose according to individual needs
- clenbuterol – XX mcg, gradually increasing the dose according to individual needs
- nolvade – XX mg per day
- HCG – XX IU twice a week
Impressive, isn’t it?
The list of drugs for body cutting today includes a dozen items, among which are anabolic steroids, growth hormone, diuretics, fat burners…
Recommended ratio of diet, cardio, and drugs for body cutting
Body cutting in professional bodybuilding is a combination of three components: diet, cardio, and pharmacology. I always try to prioritize the three components in the following way (in order of importance):
1 Diet
The overall caloric intake can remain unchanged, while the ratio of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates can be adjusted. If that doesn’t work, I reduce the caloric intake, most often by decreasing the amount of carbohydrates.
2 Cardio
Increase or decrease the duration of cardio workouts depending on how the fat is coming off.
3 Cutting drugs
I usually use different substances at different stages of cutting. My cutting program using substances is as follows:
- 8 weeks before competitions, I take esters and increase the doses of fat burners such as T3 or clenbuterol, depending on progress.
- 4-6 weeks before competitions, I increase the doses of anti-estrogens if I want to look more defined.
- 4-10 days before competitions, I stop all injections and any substances that may lead to water retention.
All three components (diet, cardio, pharmacology) are interconnected and influence each other, and sometimes I experiment with them, placing more emphasis on one while reducing the amount of another, but the overall order remains.
For example, a large amount of cardio can lead to muscle mass loss. But what to do if the body fat percentage is still quite high? You can reduce the volume of cardio but increase the amount of fat burners.
What exactly to do, what to prioritize during the cutting phase is determined by how much time you have before the competitions, what you want to achieve, and what condition you are currently in.
The last weeks are critically important. During this time, it is necessary to deplete glycogen stores (glycogen retains water) and load up; for this, you need to perform several workouts a week to completely deplete glycogen before starting the loading phase. If your condition is optimal, then there is no need to deplete glycogen and load; you should stick to the current regimen.
4-7 days before, it is essential to stop all injections, add diuretics and anti-estrogens.
Body cutting strategies in bodybuilding (in order of priority): diet, cardio, pharmacology. Their ratio is largely determined by your current condition, how much time is left until the competitions, and the body fat percentage you want to achieve.
We professionals do a lot of stupid things.. and I really don’t want ordinary guys to follow our lead
The example of the cutting stack I provided is what I use myself. I do not recommend harsher protocols.
I don’t think amateurs who are not competing at a professional level should try any of the cutting substances or even know about them.
We professionals do some idiotic things, and I don’t want 18-year-old guys trying to look like Phil Heath to try any of this. Some things are better left unsaid because I am sure that moments after reading this information, some will rush to buy this crap.
Professional bodybuilding is a competition for the title of “Who is the biggest freak.”
I do not judge those bodybuilders who go to any lengths to achieve this state because they receive their reward – attention on stage. Some win cash prizes or receive sponsorship support. In other words, this is all a business that has its own price.
No judgment from my side. Just an inside look at how everything is actually arranged in bodybuilding.
