“All hat, no cattle” the old oilman’s phrase goes. This expression illustrates the silliness of the man who doesn’t invest wisely. In the marketing world, the phrase “all sizzle, no steak” might be appropriate to describe a similar case, of the product that looks great but doesn’t have many benefits. In the bodybuilding world, the steroid Esiclene might be somewhat similar.
Esiclene, or Formebolone, is a water-based steroid. Made in Italy and very popular among bodybuilders worldwide, it is extremely weak. Yet it remains a top choice of top professional bodybuilders. Esiclene is used strictly for short-term localized muscle swelling. This results in larger, harder muscles wherever the shot is administered.
Top professional bodybuilders have been known to take 40-80 small, targeted Esiclene shots on the day of the show, 1 to 2 hours before pre-judging begins. It is an extremely painful process, but one that they are willing to endure in order to eliminate genetically weak areas and induce swelling in certain areas to mimic muscle presence. A very small gauge needle will be used, often by two trainers at once who will symmetrically inject just a drop of oil at a time into different muscle groups in order to help them swell and harden up.
Is Esiclene use worth the risks? Too many shots and one can develop blood clots immediately. One errant shot and blood may spurt across the room when a vein is nicked. The short-term stress placed on the liver from attempting to process such a volume of oil cannot be measured. It’s extremely toxic to the liver, despite the fact that it only lasts 15 to 25 hours. For this reason, Esiclene is usually only used several times per year, on the day of the show, to create the short-term illusion of muscle.
As a local competitor at the regional or state level, Esiclene should be avoided. If you’re a national level competitor, it is, unfortunately, an evil, which you may have to pursue should you have a lacking body part holding you back from reaching the next level. If you’re just a gym rat who has no plans to compete, you should absolutely never use Esiclene – the risks far outweigh any benefits. For advanced competitors, the best advice is to use it carefully and wisely, and always have your liver enzyme levels checked following each competition in which it is used to ensure no long-term damage has been incurred.
