What Are Prohormones? Are They Helpful in Making You Jacked?

Pro bodybuilders started looking beyond supplements in their quest to gain muscle mass. However, muscle mass and conditioning in bodybuilding reached truly mammoth proportions after they started taking anabolic ste***ds. Unfortunately, these performing-enhancing drugs came with a plethora of sometimes life-threatening side effects. Thus began the quest to find something that would provide the benefits without the side effects. Prohormones are among these experiment substances.

While prohormones aren’t anabolic ste***ds, they are the precursors to the anabolic hormones that our bodies produce naturally. So, these compounds help boost how muscle-building hormones like testosterone, Human Growth Hormone (HGH), and more, that our bodies naturally produce. Ingesting prehormones ensures that our bodies produce far more than they naturally would. So what’s the catch?

Are prohormones effective and devoid of side effects?

While directly injecting anabolic compounds like testosterone gave effective results, using exogenous hormones to build muscle made them illegal in most countries across the globe. While doctors continue to prescribe ste***ds to treat specific disorders or diseases, the doses are far lower than what bodybuilders use. However, prohormones do not fall into that category and are legal.

So, prehormones immediately gained popularity and earned the nickname ‘Natural Steroids.’ Many also thought that these compounds wouldn’t affect the body’s natural production mechanism while replicating the benefits of anabolic ste***ds. These compounds promise benefits like increased lean muscle mass, superior strength, and endurance.

However, like all experimental substances with inadequate human testing, those who used prohormones found out about their side effects. According to veteran fitness influencer Scott Herman, these compounds aren’t as effective as anabolic ste***ds. Yet, they come with similar side effects and take a toll on the lover because they force the body to increase hormone output. So, those using prohormones also require additional compounds to support their protocol.

The cost of using the experimental hormone precursors

Besides a high probability of liver damage, if taken incorrectly, prohormones must be used in cycles like other PEDs. Marc Lobliner, who is preparing to make his Classic Physique debut, explained that although modern “third generation,” prehormones are designed to mitigate many of the risks, they should still be used with caution. That’s because he suspected that they might still suppress testosterone.

Lobliner and Herman agreed that although performers do not inherently inhibit the body’s hormone production, they may suppress it if used for too long or when the dosage is too high. Marc Lobliner even recommended people who plan to use prohormones use testosterone boosters as part of their post-cycle therapy.

So, while prohormones help accelerate muscle growth, they may not be as effective as traditional ste***ds. However, their side effects match those of anabolic compounds. Scott Herman concluded that “the only reason why the prohormone industry exists is because ste***ds are illegal.”