|
Formula |
C27 H40 O3 |
||
|
Molecular Weight |
412.6112 |
||
| Molecular Weight (base) | 288.429 | ||
|
Molecular Weight (ester) |
132.1184 |
||
| Formula (base) | C19 H28 O2 | ||
| Formula (ester) |
C8 H14 O2 |
||
|
Melting Point (base) |
155 |
||
|
Melting Point (ester) |
98 - 104 C |
||
| Effective Dose (Men) |
300-2000mg+ week |
||
|
Effective Dose (Women) |
Not recommended (androgenic) |
||
|
Active life |
12-14days |
||
|
Detection Time |
3-4months |
||
|
Anabolic /Androgenic ratio |
100/100. |
||
Overview and History of Testosterone Cypionate
Testosterone cypionate is one of the many esterified variants of testosterone, and is likely the second most popular esterified variant (the first being testosterone enanthate).
It is an injectable form of testosterone with a slower release rate and longer half-life.
However, the release rate and half-life of testosterone cypionate and testosterone enanthate are very much the same, and the two compounds are easily interchangeable (for example, you can seamlessly switch between testosterone enanthate and testosterone cypionate while taking testosterone on a 10-week cycle).
Testosterone cypionate has a half-life of about 12 days, while testosterone enanthate has a half-life of about 10 days, which is not a significant difference.
However, an interesting fact about testosterone cypionate is that it shows a distinct preference among international bodybuilders and athletes over the enanthate variant.
However, this distinction is not extreme and the commonalities in the use and availability of both variants are almost the same with testosterone enanthate being slightly more popular.
Neither variant offers any advantage over the other.
Testosterone cypionate was first created in the mid-1950s and was introduced to the prescription drug market under the brand name Depo-Testosterone and manufactured by UpJohn.
Unlike testosterone enanthate, which is primarily known as an international item, testosterone cypionate is known as the enanthate variant in the U.S.
Testosterone cypionate had such a positive track record that Upjohn, which merged with Pfizer in 2009, continues to produce it to this day.
Because testosterone cypionate was the American counterpart to the international product testosterone enanthate, many American bodybuilders and athletes throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s preferred to use testosterone cypionate over enanthate for no other reason than to support the American product (once again, testosterone cypionate and enanthate are almost 100% identical and there is no real reason to prefer one over the other).
However, there are very few reports of some individuals preferring testosterone cypionate over testosterone enanthate because it tends to react better at the injection site.
A very small number of individuals have reported irritation at the injection site in response to the enanthate variant, and have found the cypionate variant to be much easier in terms of comfort and response at the injection site.
Medically, testosterone cypionate, like enanthate, is primarily used to treat male hormone deficiencies (hypogonadism and andropause).
In the medical field, testosterone cypionate also has other, lesser uses, including the treatment of individuals with low bone density and muscle strength, the treatment of uncontrollable menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia), the treatment of osteoporosis, and the treatment of frail elderly patients and individuals recovering from periods of extensive muscle atrophy.
More recently, like testosterone enanthate, testosterone cypionate is being studied as a male contraceptive at a dose of 200 mg weekly.
In the 1970s, testosterone cypionate, like all anabolic steroids of the time, had a narrow range of approved medical uses.
The FDA narrowed the medical use of testosterone cypionate to the treatment of male hormone deficiencies (hypogonadism and andropause).
The case for the narrowing of the approved uses was even stronger for testosterone cypionate due to the fact that testosterone itself is a powerful androgen that is unsuitable for use in women and children, so other more suitable anabolic steroids such as anavar and primobolan could be used instead.
Chemical Properties of Testosterone Cypionate
As mentioned earlier, Testosterone Cypionate is testosterone with a cypionate ester bonded to the testosterone chemical structure.
Specifically, the 'cypionate' is cypionic acid, but once bound to testosterone, it is properly referred to in chemistry as an ester bond (or ester bonds).
Cypionate is chemically bonded to the 17-beta hydroxyl group of the testosterone structure.
Esterified anabolic steroids have a slower release rate from the injection site compared to unesterified testosterone due to their higher solubility in fat, but this is not the primary reason for the extended release rate and half-life of ester-bound anabolic steroids.
The main reason for the increased half-life and release rate is that once testosterone cypionate enters the bloodstream, enzymes bind to the testosterone cypionate molecule and break the bond between the ester and the hormone, which takes a variable amount of time depending on the size of the ester in question.
This is why larger esters such as cypionate, enanthate, decanoate, etc. have a longer half-life than smaller shorter esters such as propionate, phenylpropionate, acetate, etc.
Eventually, therefore, the esters are removed from the hormone by enzymes, and what remains after these chemical interactions is pure testosterone, which is free to act in the body.
This process of enzymes separating the ester from the testosterone molecule is the ultimate cause of slow testosterone release.
Pure testosterone alone, with no ester attached, has a half-life of about 2-4 hours. When the cypionate ester is added to it to create testosterone cypionate, the half-life of testosterone is extended to 12 days, resulting in slower release and activity of the hormone.
Properties of Testosterone Cypionate
The properties and manifestations of testosterone cypionate are similar to what anyone would expect from a testosterone preparation, with the exception of a different release rate and half-life.
It should be made clear to the reader that testosterone is literally the first anabolic steroid produced endogenously and naturally in all humans and the vast majority of animal species.
Two important facts flow from this:
1. testosterone is the standard by which all other anabolic steroids are measured, and,
2. because testosterone is the most natural anabolic steroid already manufactured by the human body, every individual's body is already less accustomed to the effects of testosterone, and therefore testosterone is considered the safest anabolic steroid to use.
In essence, the use of testosterone for the purpose of physique and athletic performance enhancement is simply testosterone supplementation, which can be easily defined as the administration of more of the hormone already produced and utilized by the body through injection or ingestion.
Testosterone Cypionate Side Effects
When it comes to side effects, testosterone cypionate can be described as moderate.
Testosterone cypionate is often compared to its nearly identical sibling, testosterone enanthate.
The fact is that testosterone cypionate has a longer half-life due to its longer fatty acid ester chain, which may modulate the side effect profile slightly, but it's a hair-splitting issue and not very noticeable.
Since it is essentially a variant of testosterone, it carries with it all the side effects known to testosterone.
Testosterone is the primary male hormone produced in humans and all vertebrates, and is the father of all anabolic steroids.
Of course, when discussing side effects, it's important to consider that there can be a wide range of differences between individuals due to factors such as an individual's body's response, age, sensitivity, and genetics.
These are the factors that determine whether you may experience more or less of a particular side effect, or whether you may not experience these side effects at all.
Estrogenic side effects are the first and primary concern that almost all anabolic steroid users consider and research when it comes to testosterone cypionate.
Testosterone itself is known as an aromatizable anabolic steroid (i.e., a steroid that converts - aromatizes - into estrogen in the body).
Compared to other anabolic steroids, the rate of aromatization of testosterone cypionate is moderate at best.
The rate of aromatization is also highly dose dependent, and therefore depends on the total plasma concentration of testosterone at any given time.
In general, the more testosterone, the higher the rate of aromatization into estrogen.
Potential estrogenic side effects include water retention and bloating, increased blood pressure (as a result of water retention), increased fat gain/retention, and the possible development of gynecomastia.
Because testosterone cypionate is an androgenic hormone, users are also susceptible to androgenic side effects.
Testosterone is also known to be converted in the body to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a much more potent androgenic hormone, which is found in higher concentrations in various tissues, especially the scalp, prostate, and skin.
This is where the majority of androgenic side effects occur, as opposed to testosterone interacting directly with the androgen receptor itself.
Potential androgenic side effects include increased oily skin (sebum secretion), increased acne formation (related to sebum secretion), body and facial hair growth, and an increased risk of developing male pattern baldness (MPB) if you have a genetic predisposition.
Like testosterone enanthate, testosterone cypionate has not been shown in studies to cause any hepatotoxicity (liver toxicity) in the body, even at extremely high oral doses.
Of course, because testosterone is an androgenic anabolic steroid, it can suppress and block the hypothalamic testicular pituitary axis (HPTA) during use.
In other words, your body will stop producing its own endogenous testosterone.
Other potential side effects that may occur after using testosterone cypionate include negative effects on the cardiovascular system, most notably a possible decrease in “good” (HDL) cholesterol in the bloodstream during use.
Testosterone Cypionate Cycles and Uses
As with almost all testosterone variants or derivatives, testosterone cypionate cycles are almost always utilized during bulking, mass gain, and strength training periods.
While its use for these purposes is ideal, that doesn't mean it can't be used effectively (albeit in smaller doses) in cutting cycles where fat loss is the primary goal.
For the purpose of building muscle mass or strength, Testosterone Cypionate is typically used in high doses (around 500mg/week).
Due to the long half-life of the ester, it is typically used for 12 to 14 weeks at this dose.
The half-life of testosterone cypionate is approximately 10 to 12 days.
In comparison, testosterone enanthate has almost the same half-life of about 7 to 10 days.
Regardless of the cycle goal, whether cutting or bulking, testosterone cypionate is usually used in combination or stacked with other anabolic steroids with very similar properties for obvious reasons.
Typical stacks include compounds such as Deca-Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate), which is used for the same 10 to 12 weeks as Testosterone Cypionate, and Dianabol (methandrostenolone), which is the “kick-starting” compound from the start of the cycle until discontinued around week 4 or 6.
If Testosterone Cypionate is to be used in a fat loss cycle, it can only be used as an ancillary compound to maintain the natural, normal levels of testosterone in the body, leaving the more potent compounds better suited to the fat loss role to do the job.
This is known as using testosterone cypionate at a TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) dose of around 100mg per week.
Testosterone cypionate dosage and administration
Medically, testosterone cypionate is prescribed at a dose of 250 mg every two to four weeks, depending on the doctor's protocol and the patient's progress on TRT therapy.
For bodybuilding and athletic performance enhancement, testosterone cypionate is typically taken at a beginner's dose of 300 to 500 mg per week.
Intermediate testosterone cypionate doses usually range from 500 to 750 mg per week,
Advanced users have been known to use testosterone cypionate doses of 1,000 mg or more per week.
The half-life of testosterone cypionate is approximately 10 to 12 days, so it is recommended that testosterone cypionate be administered at least once a week.
However, for the best possible results, testosterone cypionate should ideally be injected twice per week to evenly distribute the dosage.
For example, a weekly dose of 500 mg of testosterone cypionate should be administered as 250 mg on Monday and 250 mg on Thursday each week.
This will minimize peaks and troughs in plasma levels, which will also reduce unwanted side effects caused by spikes in plasma levels of the hormone.
