This is from an article series I wrote. It should answer all your questions in-depth. Send me a PM if you have any questions:
For a pre-contest scenario where you want as lean and dry of a physique as possible I recommend relying on anabolics and compounds that don’t aromatize. Part of the reason conditioning has really suffered the past two decades in bodybuilding is the massive amount of androgenic compounds competitors are taking. Androgenic drugs, such as testerone, will aromatize into estrogen and leave you with a watery and soft looking physique. Testerone is cheap to manufacture and acquire and that is why underground labs try to push it. It is not a great steroid. It has not been manipulated for the goal to build muscle and decrease body fat such as compounds like winstrol, anavar, and equipoise. Some testerone is needed to maintain homeostasis in the body and maintain a sex drive but nowhere near the 1g+ weekly I see people routinely using. I recommend using 0.5mg of arimidex every three days throughout the cycle to keep any possible aromatization as minimal as possible, even with using just a low dosage of testerone.
I recommend no testerone at all the last 2-3 weeks before a contest and relying solely on anabolics. By having no androgenic drugs in your system the last 2-3 weeks, no compounds will aromatize leaving you with a rock hard and dry physique. Especially when you properly manipulate your sodium, water and carbohydrates the last few days (covered in art 4).
I know this is very unconventional thinking and most people will disagree with me. It is hard to persuade people who are stuck in their way of thought but I will use this example. European bodybuilders routinely come in drier, harder and more shredded then North American bodybuilders. This is true at the local and professional level. The steroid laws are completely different in Europe. Your doctor will prescribe steroids to you if you ask for them under the condition that you routinely get blood work throughout the cycle. European competitors don’t have to rely on what’s available because their doctor will prescribe the drugs for them. Doctors are educated on the dangers of high androgens to your prostate, cholesterol and heart health and are more likely to prescribe anabolics, indirectly giving competitors the exact type of cycle I am recommending. A doctor is also only going to prescribe a seasonable dosage, reinforcing all the ‘less is more’ statements I made in regards to dosages.
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