Tribulus

M

Matthew

New Member
I checked PubMed, T-Mag etc and noticed that most of the studies done on Tribulus is at best inconclusive/conflicting and at worst has no effect on muscle strength or mass. There does however appear a plethora of anecdotal recommendations. I tried Tribex for a couple of months and found no difference in strength or mass but I did notice an increase in libido, but this only lasted for about a week. I also noticed that in the FAQ that Bryan doesn't mention it as a 'must have' either.
I am not saying it doesn't work for most people (although it didn't appear to for me but I didn't 'scientifically' get my T measured either), I was just wondering if anyone has found any current 'proper' studies to confirm/deny its efficacy. Thanks.
 
I've had mixed results with tribex in the past. On the one hand I've had exceptional strength increases with the stuff, and other times I've had no results at all.

Thanks for the link to Bryan's article on the tribulus studies. He appears to conclude that genuine tribulus will elevate estradiol as well as test levels. While this isn't ideal, I don't think it is too big a problem. Hear me out.

Bryan points out that nobody using tribulus is getting gyno & water retention, so thats not really an issue. That leaves 2 potential problems re: elevated estradiol.

1) Test suppression. High estrogen levels create feedback, signalling the body to reduce test production. But this obviously wasn't an issue in the studies as T levels were increasing concurrently with estradiol.

2) Increased fat accumulation. Possibly the only real issue in this respect. However, increased T levels (increasing fat burning), use of CLA and careful control of diet should mitigate the worst of this.

Also bear in mind that William Llewelyn and his fellow roid gurus have asserted that elevated E levels, in conjunction with elevated androgen levels are essential for maximal growth. They argue that this is one of the factors contributing to the superior effectiveness of aromatisable compounds. They argue that increased estrogens either upregulate or increase the numbers (I don't recall which) of GLUT-4 insulin receptors.

Is tribulus going to make us all HUGE? I don't know, but I wouldn't be overly discouraged by a little extra estradiol.
 
Yeah... I agree estrogen isn't necessarily categorically "bad".

My problem is that it's just sort of sketchy... meager results, scant evidence, inconsistent product quality. And as I've said before, if you've decided tribulus is OK to take (according to whatever code of conduct you are adhering to), I can't see any reason someone would not also consider using things that would work better, like low dose 4-AD (maybe doing a week on followed by a week off). (Unless you belong to some sporting association that bans use of PHs.)

Check this out, for example...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez....bstract
 
Good point about the prohormones. Sadly, though, it looks like the States will inevitably join the rest of the world in banning them. :mad: Tribulus may soon be one of the few available T boosters left for a natural trainer.
 
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