What are the best prohormones for cutting? With winter in full swing, now is a good time to plan your post-offseason cut. Here’s how you can make the most of your training and nutrition.
Tis the season to be bulking. All those long, cold winter nights call for big hoodies, calorie consumption and of course – epic workouts.
But what happens when Christmas ends and New Year starts? It can be a tough task to shed the extra fat that now covers your god-like physique.
How do you lean down to your best shape ever? Diet and training are the most important aspect of your cutting cycle with supplementation, including prohormones a close third place.
In this article, I’ll tell you what types of prohormone to look out for when buying for a New Year cut and also what brands I would recommend if you choose to supplement with prohormones come the new year.
We’ve selected a range of products that are both available in the UK and United States. If you want to know more about whether prohormones are legal in the U.S. read this.
What Prohormones are Best for a Cutting Cycle?
When you’re supplementing with prohormones, it’s important that you use the right product depending on your goals. It would be wasteful to take a prohormone associated with bulking/adding mass when trying to lean out.
So what are the best types prohormones for your post-winter cut?
Prohormones fall into two main categories in terms of cutting/dieting – wet and dry. A ‘wet’ prohormone will cause you to retain water and generally be more bulky. This is great if you’re bulking. Not so much if you want visible abs.
The other side of the coin is the ‘dry’ prohormones. These products will cause you to shed water and will often increase muscle hardness, perceived density and vascularity (i.e. making you more veiny).
If I’m trying to diet down, I like to take a thermogenic fat burning supplement in addition to my prohormones.
Best Prohormone Products for Your Cut
What products should you look out for when planning your cutting cycle? Here are a few of my recommendations.
I’ve also included an estrogen blocker for your Post Cycle Therapy which will help reduce any post cycle water retention, giving you the sharper look for longer.
But first a word of caution: prohormones are good because they work. But they also come with potential risks – especially if you don’t know what you are doing. To that end, always:
- Plan your cycle in advance
- Use an effective cycle support stack
- Monitor any side effects or changes to your health
- Consult a doctor before taking a new supplement or if you feel unwell
- Take a post cycle therapy product and have a full normalisation period (at least 4 weeks)
RPN Havoc – One of the best ‘dry’ prohormones.
Havoc is one of the most sought after prohormones for anyone doing a cutting cycle – and with good reason. It has low toxicity – making it great for beginners as well as very low conversion to estrogen.
But for dieters, it has an added benefit: lean, dry vascular gains. The active ingredient in Havoc is EPI short for epistane (2a 3a-epithio-17a-methyl-5a-androstan-17b-Ol). EPI isn’t a true hormone – it’s actually a designer steroid (read this to understand the difference).
I’ve personally used Havoc on numerous occasions and it has always delivered dry, hard muscles. Because of the water shedding you will need to take on extra fluids to stay hydrated. But that’s a small price to pay for being rock solid and lean.
A word of caution: not all products called ‘EPI’ contain the compound listed above. Always make sure that you are buying a prohormone and not some fake ‘natural’ alternative. Havoc can be hard to buy in the US there are alternatives like LG Sciences Epi-Andro 50 which contains the same active ingredient as Havoc – the steroid Epiadrosterone. Buy it here (US)
Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals 1-AD – Dry, Hard Gains
This shouldn’t be confused with the 1-AD which was banned back in the mid-noughties (2005 to be precise). The original 1-AD was a precursor to 1-Testosterone making it a very powerful compound.
More than ten years, 1-AD offers a different 2-step pathway to 1-Testosterone which will still deliver results although a high dose will likely be required (always read the label and follow instructions).
The active ingredient is 1-androstene-3b-ol, 17-one Decanoate stacked with 5a-Hydroxy Laxogenin Acetate. The latter is actually a mild non-medical steroid that has been shown to increase protein synthesis in lab tests. Because of the low conversion to estrogen, you can expect similar vascular gains with no bloat/water retention. You can buy 1-AD here if you live in the US.
Decabolin 19-Nor Andro – Lean Hard Gains
The problem with dirty bulking – eating all those yummy Christmas carbs – is that you’ll retain a lot of water. That’s what gives you the puffy, Pilsbury Doughboy look in the mirror.
To cut that out, a ‘dry’ prohormone will help you shed the excess water without losing muscle mass. This is really important as you cycle into your post Christmas cut.
Decabolin is a true prohormone with low conversion to estrogen and a drying effect as well as low conversion to DHT which makes it ideal for a post-off season cutting cycle.
(Get it here – United States only)
Don’t Forget Your Post Cycle Therapy – Arimistane for the win!
I’ll hold my hands up: I harp on about arimistane all the time. And with good reason. It is by far the best and most effective OTC (over the counter) post cycle therapy supplement out there.
Arimistane is actually a mild steroid that controls the amount of estrogen your body produces. This ‘aromatase inhibitor’ means lower estrogen, harder muscles and lower likelihood of crying at the end of ‘Gladiator’.
Cycling down from 75mg to 25mg after you’ve finished your main prohormone cutting cycle is smart as this gives your body a chance to enter the normalisation period without too much of a shock. Arimistane is legal to buy over the counter in the UK and USA (for the time being. In the states, you can get it here.
It sucks big time – but Arimistane is pretty hard to come by in the US – we’re not sure if its legal or not (don’t ask!). Fear not though, there are alternatives out there like Competitive Edge Labs Cycle Assist (get it here) or Red Supplements PCT 2.0
Get a Helping Hand for your Post Bulking Phase Cut
Prohormones for fat loss is only part of the story. You still need to put the work in. Prohormones aren’t magic pills. But they will enhance whatever gains you’re making – much more than natural supplements.
If you buy and supplement intelligently, you could be just a few weeks from your best condition ever.
Happy lifting and remember: have a great cycle.
Jack
P.S. We personally buy from and recommend Predator Nutrition for the UK and Europe. Click here to visit their site. If you are in the US, check out our stateside partner MySupplementStore.com here.
