by Staff Writer
It is important to consider when planning a steroid cycle, the timing of dosing to be administered, as this is the active half-life of steroids, esters and ancillary compounds being employed. The half-life can be explained as the time, or t level, it takes to become half of the starting level of a given compound. For example, at time 2t, the level is a quarter of the starting level and at time 3t, the level is an eighth of the starting level, etc. This information is important in the timing of your dosing when attempting to achieve a more stable blood concentration, which leads to bigger overall results and maintenance of gains. Some fluctuations of concentration levels are ok, and are also mostly unavoidable, but really should be kept to a minimum.
A graph showing the half-life of Nandrolone using various esters and in different injection sites.
Oral steroids: Drug – Active Half Life
- Methyltestosterone – 4 days
- Anavar (oxandrolone) – usually 9 hours
- Dianabol (methandrostenolone, methandienone) – usually 4.5 to 6 hours
- Winstrol (stanozolol) tablets or depot taken orally – usually 9 hours
- Anadrol / Anapolan50 (oxymetholone) – usually 8 to 9 hours
Depot steroids: Drug – Active half-life
- Deca-durabolin (Nandrolone decanate) – usually 15 days
- Equipoise – around 14 days
- Finaject (trenbolone acetate) – usually 3 days
- Primobolan (methenolone enanthate) – usually 10.5 days
- Sustanon or Omnadren – from 15 to 18 days
- Testosterone Suspension – 1 day
- Testosterone Propionate – 4.5 days
- Testosterone Cypionate – 12 days
- Testosterone Enanthate – 10.5 days
- * Winstrol (stanozolol) – 1 day
*Please note that winstrol depot does not actually possess a classical half-life since it is un-esterified therefore the microcrystals dissolve slowly. Once they have all dissolved, levels of the drug will fall very rapidly. It is still an important consideration, and it has been included it with a half-life of one day. Steroid esters:Drug – Active half-life
- Formate – 1.5 days
- Propionate – 4.5 days
- Hexanoate – 9 days
- Phenylpropionate – 4.5 days
- Butyrate – 6 days
- Valerate – 7.5 days
- Acetate – 3 days
- Cypionate – 12 days
- Caproate – 9 days
- Isocaproate – 9 days
- Undecanoate – 16.5 days
- Heptanoate – 10.5 days
- Enanthate – 10.5 days
- Octanoate – 12 days
- Nonanoate – 13.5 days
- Decanoate – 15 days
Ancillaries: Drug – Active half-life
- Cytadren – 6 hours
- Arimidex – 3 days
- Clomid – 5 days
- Ephedrine – 6 hours
- Clenbuterol – 1.5 days
- T3 – 10 hours
A basic example is if one was to inject 100mg of testosterone propionate and allow blood levels to peak. In 4.5 days time (half-life duration from the above tables), and providing no other injections had taken place, this level would be reduced to 50mg and a further 4.5 days down the line and levels would have dropped to 25mg, and the value keeps halving every 4.5 days.
Active Half-Life of Steroids Esters and Ancillaries
Active Half-Life of Steroids Esters and Ancillaries
