Effects of Methandienone on the Performance and Body Composition of Men Undergoing Athletic Training

Abstract

1. In a previous study of the effects of methandienone (Dianabol) on men undergoing athletic training, strength and performance increased, but not significantly more when the subjects were taking the drug than when they were taking placebo. The subjects did, however, gain more weight on the drug, with increases in total body potassium and muscle dimensions. It remained an open question whether the muscles had gained normal tissue or intracellular fluid. 2. In an attempt to distinguish between these possibilities the trial has been repeated, using as subjects seven male weight-lifters in regular training, and including measurements of total body nitrogen. As before, a dose of 100 mg of methandienone/day was given alternately with the placebo in a double-blind crossover experiment. The treatment periods lasted 6 weeks and were separated by an interval of 6 weeks. Body weight, potassium and nitrogen, muscle size, and leg performance and strength increased significantly during training on the drug, but not during the placebo period. 3. The finding of increased body nitrogen suggested that the weight gain was not only intracellular fluid. The increases in body potassium (436 +/- SEM 41 mmol) and nitrogen (255 +/- 69 g) were too large in proportion to the weight gain (2.3 +/- 0.4 kg) for this to be attributed to gain of normal muscle or other lean tissue, and imply gain of nitrogen-rich, phosphate-poor substance. Although this action of methandienone might be described as anabolic, the weight gain produced is not normal muscle.

Effect of Oral Androstenedione on Serum Testosterone and Adaptations to Resistance Training in Young Men

“…Gains in muscle size and strength are markedly enhanced when androgenic-anabolic steroids are taken in conjunction with a resistance-training program. [1][2][3][4] In our study, the increases in lean body mass, muscle fiber cross-sectional area, and muscle strength were not enhanced with androstenedione supplementation. These results are not surprising, since serum testosterone concentrations were not affected by androstenedione supplementation, and since androstenedione has only weak anabolic-androgenic activity in comparison with testosterone.…”

Misuse of androgenic-anabolic steroids and human deltoid muscle fibers: differences between polydrug regimens and single drug administration

“…It has been well established that the administration of androgens increases protein synthesis and decreases protein breakdown (Griggs et al 1989;Sheeld-Moore et al 1999), although this was not re¯ected in increments in muscle mass at the cellular level (Griggs et al 1989). Van Marken Lichtenbelt et al (unpublished observation) showed that the changes in body dimensions and composition induced by AAS misuse were due to an increase in muscle mass (Van Marken Lichtenbelt et al unpublished observation) and should not be attributed to an increase in¯uid retention, as has been proposed previously (Hervey et al 1976(Hervey et al , 1981. The intake of AAS in combination with strength training has been shown to induce an increase in muscle ®ber size both by hypertrophy and the formation of new ®bers (Kadi 2000;Kadi et al 1999b).…”

Effect of Meal Timing after Resistance Exercise on Hindlimb Muscle Mass and Fat Accumulation in Trained Rats.

“…However, it has been reported that LBM was increased by 4% with methandione and weight training (15), by 10% with androgenic and anabolic steroids (16), and by 1.5% (17) with creatine. Since these observations were obtained in human studies, we need to be careful to compare these data to our observation.…”