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There are many prohormones, but there are only a few that convert to 5α-dihydrotestosterone or more commonly known as DHT. DHT prohormones are not designed to pack on a ton of mass, but they are useful when stacking them with other mass builders. DHT prohormones increase aggressiveness, improve libido, promote a positive energy balance, and have a known “hardening” effect. For these reasons it is often why they are stacked with other compounds that reduce libido, cause lethargy, or if their overall goal is hardening up. DHT administration also produces a mild, but noticeable effect by decreasing serum estrogen levels (1).
More recently, and perhaps more fascinating than all of the above, is a published clinical study on the effects of 5α-reductase inhibitors and the effect it has on lean body mass gains when taken with testosterone (2). This was a very complete and well done study, so I’m really not doing it justice by only discussing a small portion of their finding. Still we will focus on what’s relevant for DHT prohormones. Overall they found that changes in fat free mass (lean body mass) did not differ in men who were given 5α-reductase inhibitors vs. men who did not receive them. What’s more relevant to us is that they suggest that 5α-reductase inhibition in men with low testosterone impairs erectile function. They suggest this explains why previous studies on DHT administration to men with low testosterone, resulted in lean body mass increases. They go on to summarize it by saying:
“These findings support the proposal that testosterone and DHT can interchangeably sub serve androgen-dependent functions investigated in this trial.”
For our purposes this means that taking a DHT prohormone when your testosterone levels are normal or high, will likely not do much in terms of strength, lean body mass, or even any further increase in libido or sexual function. That also means it’s best not to start a cycle with a DHT prohormone, but rather begin a more suppressive compound such as Alpha Mass (1-DHEA Enanthate), and add in the DHT prohormone in week 2 or 3. At that point your natural testosterone will be suppressed and the DHT prohormone can exert its full effect. It also may be beneficial to continue using the DHT prohormone 1-2 weeks after you discontinue Alpha Mass and before entering PCT.
Stay tuned for Part II, where we will discuss actual DHT prohormones, where they falter, how they can impact fat distribution, and a potential way to overcome some of their limitations. Also check out these before/after photos of one of our beta testers for an upcoming ForeRunner Labs DHT prohormone tentatively named 5 Alpha Test.
For more information please visit the Lab - Advanced Muscle Science: Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) Prohormones Part I
