If you’re familiar with one of the above mentioned compound types, then you will inevitably also be familiar with the other owing to the fact that anabolic steroids and peptides / growth hormone varieties almost always either get mentioned frequently alongside each other, or are used alongside each other.

There are some basic similarities – largely in relation to their mutual ability to develop lean muscle tissue beyond normal means, accelerate recovery and improve internal vitality.

Some of the shared benefits of anabolic steroids and growth hormone secretagogues are:

• Improved muscle building capacity
• Enhanced tissue recovery
• Enhanced energy levels
• Improved joint stability
• Increased sense of wellbeing

Overall, it’s fair to say that you’re likely to experience these positive benefits when using either growth hormone or anabolic steroid types.

On the whole, some of the mixed benefits (benefits that can be achieved when utilising either growth hormone or steroid types separately / conjunctively) an individual can achieve when using either product type include but are not limited to:

• Improved red blood cell production
• Enhanced skin cell regeneration
• Enhanced heart valve functionality
• The development of a tan
• Dramatically enhanced strength
• Improved muscular endurance
• Improved nutrient uptake
• Enhanced muscular dryness
• Enhanced vascularity
• Enhanced fat burning capacity
• Enhanced sexual function
• Improved joint recovery
• Improved immune system functionality

These benefits are just a handful of the benefits one can successfully achieve when utilising certain growth hormone and anabolic steroid types.

The reason why we listed this series of “mixed” benefits is because this list is actually comparable to the list of positive elements one can expect to integrate when utilising a combined anabolic steroid and growth hormone stack.

Theoretically, with the right combination of products you could actually achieve all of the above in the space of one cycle; on paper at least, this makes using both item types a no brainer (as many aesthetically minded trainees already believe.)

Of course, nothing good will often come without the risk of something bad occurring. This is where the stark contrast between the two products really highlights it self in the form of side effect risk.

We’d first like to state that side effect risk when taking any pharmaceutical grade compound often has very little to do with the compound itself, rather; it’s predominantly about the user, their genetics, their dosage principles and generally their individual circumstances in regards to overall health.

As such, there’s really no telling whether or not an individual may encounter issues when integrating pharmaceutical grade compounds.

You’ll be able to ascertain any increased likelihood by getting a pre-cycle health screening to determine whether or not there are any underlying conditions that could serve as contraindications to growth hormone / steroid use; a “clear” result would lead to a decreased likelihood of severe side effects occurring, but would not serve as any kind of guarantee that they would not appear nonetheless.

In regards to product specific side effects, this is where the lines between the two product types are not so blurred as they might be when comparing similarities; anabolic steroids are considered on the whole to be “riskier” items to implement when compared to growth hormone peptides and growth hormone in general.

This is largely because of the wide array of potential areas that can “go wrong” when using steroids, whereas growth hormone secretagogues really only present a handful of commonly reported side effects in comparison.

• Inhibit natural hormonal output
• Elevate blood pressure
• Lead to water retention (as can gh varieties)
• Lead to violent mood swings
• Cause liver hepatotoxicity
• Lead to depression
• Lead to elevated negative cholesterol levels
• Deplete sexual desire
• Increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes
• The development of male breast tissue (also possible when using gh secretagogues)

It should be noted that this list is by no means fully comprehensive; a full list of the side effects associated with anabolic steroid use can be found here.

On balance, you can also compare these side effects to a fully comprehensive list of growth hormone related side effects here.

Benefits and side effects are not where the comparison ends either; we must also consider the actual structure of these two compound types in order to fully understand their nature.

As you already know, growth hormone secretagogues like ipamorelin are peptides; this simply means that they consist of a simple amino acid sequence “code” that serves to trigger a certain response within the body.

Anabolic steroids are steroid hormones; we actually produce steroid hormones naturally within the human body. The difference here lies in the fact that these product types are an “altered” form of the base steroid hormones we produce organically.

How they are altered ultimately determines what kind of effect they exert on the body.

Whereas peptides exert their effect in a “passive” manner vis the instigation of chain reactions, steroids manipulate the body more directly by intervening with the structure of muscle cells / anabolic processes directly. They’re far more “hands on.”

Neither product should fairly be described as being superior or “stronger” than the other – it’s really all about how you choose to use each one in terms of following an optimal nutrition and training plan whilst on cycle that’s going to make the biggest difference.

Some anabolic “experts” believe that any steroid or growth hormone variety can actually be used for any goal; what determines the fruition of your end results is the aforementioned aspects of your regime.

This statement can neither be definitively labelled as wrong or right – the truth will always lie in the hands of the user. What we can definitely take from this thought process as a fact is that what we eat and what we do whilst using either product type will ultimately make an enormous difference in regards to our success.