About Equipoise
Equipoise is a steroid hormone developed for use in horses. Although it has not been approved for use in humans, bodybuilders and athletes in a number of sports have used Equipoise to build muscle and/or enhance performance. In the United States, is illegal to possess without a prescription and has a number of side effects.
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What Is It?
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Equipoise is a brand name for the veterinary steroid hormone boldenone, a drug used to treat horses. Molecularly, its structure is similar to the naturally occurring hormone testosterone, and Equipoise produces a number of similar anabolic (muscle building) and androgenic (masculinizing) effects.
Veterinary Use
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Veterinarians have used Equipoise to treat horses who are underweight, malnourished, run-down or in otherwise poor physical condition after disease or periods of overexertion. Equipoise stimulates the appetite in these animals (causing weight gain), increases lean muscle mass, and restores the natural quality of the horse's hair. The standard veterinary dose is .5 mg Equipoise per pound of the horse's bodyweight, injected every three weeks until the desired changes have been effected (usually after one or two injections).
Please note that using Equipoise on race horses can lead to fines and/or suspension of the horse from participation in future competition. In 2007, horse trainer Gai Waterhouse was fined when her horse "Perfectly Poised" tested positive for Equipoise after a race.
Medical Use
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In the United States, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved boldenone for use in humans.
Bodybuilding
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Bodybuilders have used Equipoise during all phases of their training. During "bulking" phases, Equipoise will stimulate the appetite while promoting the growth of lean muscle tissue. Stacking (using more than one steroid at a time) boldenone with testosterone will amplify this effect.
During "cutting phases," bodybuilders can use Equipoise to help keep the mass they gained during bulking periods, and stacking it with Winstrol (stanozolol) or Trenbolone acetate will allow them to drop fat while keeping muscle more effectively.
Bodybuilders have reported taking 200 to 800 mg weekly dosages of Equipoise to achieve these effects.
Athletics
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Equipoise is banned by most professional and amateur sports, and a number of athletes have been punished for testing positive for using boldenone, including fighters in boxing and mixed martial arts (Ultimate Fighting, and PRIDE leagues), Major League Soccer (MLS) players, and participants in Australian Rules Football.
Participants in these sports might take Equipoise to incur its muscle building benefits (which promotes strength and enables greater recovery after heavy training periods or sessions), or because boldenone indirectly stimulates the production of red blood cells by facilitating the production of erythropoietin (EPO) by the kidneys (EPO is a hormone that tells the bone marrow to produce red blood cells). This latter effect allows endurance athletes to train longer and harder, as more blood cells increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of their blood.
The long half-life of boldenone in the blood (the amount of time it takes the liver to break down half of the substance injected) results in many athletes testing positive for this steroid long after use.
Side Effects
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Use of Equipoise is only intended for horses that will not be sold for human consumption. The effects on horse might include increased aggression.
Bodybuilders have reported minimal side effects, and consider Equipoise a very mild steroid. Unlike testosterone, boldenone does not convert to estrogen; however, it does cause some mild masculinizing effects that include increased acne and facial and body hair.
Legality
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In the United States, boldenone is illegal to possess without a prescription, which Federal Law mandates must be written by a licensed veterinarian. The US Department of Justice has classified it as a Schedule III drug, and the illegal possession, distribution or sale of Equipoise can be punished as a felony by up to five years imprisonment (state laws vary).
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