Anabolic Steroids : Clenbuterol

Clenbuterol

What is Clenbuterol

Clenbuterol is a bronchodilator used to threat asthma and other conditions. It belongs to the sympathomimetics group of drugs, which affect sympathetic nervous system, mostly by affecting beta or alpha receptors. In clenbuterol's specific case, its effect results on increased fat loss.

How does it works

Being a beta-2 agonist, Clenbuterol works as a fat burner by binding with beta receptors (mostly type 2 in humans) in fat and muscle tissue in the body. When this bond is formed, the receptors then start a series of chemical reactions leading to the production of cAMP. cAMP then produces and activates enzymes which induce fat breakdown. Given that Clenbuterol has little effect on beta-1 receptors, it is capable of reducing reversible airway obstruction, with less cardiovascular effects, if compared with nonselective agonists. This whole process will create an increase in the body's temperature, which will make the body burn more calories. However, your body will attack this matter through beta receptor down regulation, which will dictate how long can you run clenbuterol and still get results. Clenbuterol also lowers lipoprotein lipase activity. This prevents fat deposition and makes fat more responsive to the Hormone Sensitive Lipase activity described above. It is also important to mention, that beta-2 agonists such as clenbuterol have been shown to increase T3 levels, thus enhacing clenbuterol's fat burning capabilities.

Another benefit of clenbuterol, are its anti-catabolic properties. This occurs as clenbuterol blocks both ca++ dependent proteolysis in rat skeletal muscle, as well as the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway. When beta 2 blockers are administered, the effect is not observed. Blocking these pathways inhibits muscle tissue breakdown.

One important thing that must be observed, is that in the past it was believed that clenbuterol could be used as an Anabolic in humans. This was based on several studies performed on livestock and rats, which in fact showed such results. However, the doses used on these animals, if translated into human doses, would probably kill a person.

How is Clenbuterol dosed

For males the common maintenance dose of clenbuterol is between 120-140mcgs per day. For females the dose goes down to around 80-100mcgs per day. It should however taken seriously, and each person must stablish a maximum safe dose, based on their experience.

How should I cycle Clenbuterol

This is a very important point of every drug, that some pleople overlook, or just don't go into enough detail. Clenbuterol should be cycled 2 weeks on/2 weeks off (this can change if ketotifen is used-see below). This is caused by two major factors.

1. Beta-2 receptor down regulation: this will cause the effectiveness of clenbuterol to be reduced as time goes by.
2. Long half life: it has biphasic elimination, with the half-life of the rapid phase being about 10 hours, and the slower phase being several days. This cause the theory of using it 2 days on/2 days off to flaw, as in fact you would be on the whole time, and your beta receptors would not have enough time to recover.

If you use ketotifen you could in theory stay on clenbuterol for an undefined period of time. This is because contrary to clenbuterol, ketotifen up regulates beta receptors. The recommended dose of ketotifen is 2-3mg per day, and it should be taken before bed, as it causes drowsiness.

A typical clenbuterol cycle for a male would be something like this:
day 1: 20mcgs
day 2: 40mcgs
day 3: 60mcgs
day 4: 80mcgs
day 5: 100mcgs
days 6-14: 120mcgs

Please be aware that you must set your own limits, and listen to your body.

What are the possible side effects

Common side effects of clenbuterol are increased perspiration, insomnia, muscle spams, restlessness, palpitations, involuntary trenbling of the fingers, nausea and increased blood pressure.