Historically, people have always been obsessed with improving their physical appearance and athletic performance. Ever since our childhood, we’ve been bombarded with pictures of extremely athletic bodies, whether you belong to Gen Z and grew up following the most beautiful people on earth on social media or whether you are a Boomer that grew up studying the jacked sculptures from ancient Greece, bodies and particularly “beautiful” bodies have been a huge part of our lives.
It’s unclear where this cultural obsession comes from, it could be because our bodies are our vehicles of life and it’s always something that humanity has sought to improve or because it’s what differentiates us from other suitable partners. But, regardless of the reason, this obsession has also created the multi-million dollar supplement industry. Getting a competitive edge or “results” faster has become a modern-day obsession. The latest “craze” in the supplement industry involves a flowering plant native to Central Asia called Ajuga turkestanica which contains the active component called Turkesterone.
What is Turkesterone?
Turkesterone is part of a particular type of steroids called ecdysteroids, which are a type of steroid hormone found in insects, certain water animals, and some plants (1). Additionally, ecdysteroids have a very similar molecular structure to testosterone, and research has shown them to be highly effective at building muscle and enhancing performance (2). Furthermore, the anecdotal evidence is quite extensive, and the benefits that its users are documenting range from increased muscle mass to enhancing protein synthesis.
Out of all the different ecdysteroids, the one with the most popularity and increasing trust from the public is Turkesterone. I personally tried a whole two-month cycle of Turkesterone, and I’ll be describing my experience later in this article, so don’t go anywhere!
Why is Turkesterone gaining so much popularity?
Turkesterone boomed in popularity after it was mentioned on an episode of the Joe Rogan podcast with neuroscientist Andrew Huberman. Andrew explained that in the literature, Turkesterone acted the same way as regular steroids because it increases “testosterone, performance, and recovery.” Additionally, later in the episode, he mentions that Turkesterone was essentially equivalent to Deca which is an androgen and anabolic steroid.
This episode had the bodybuilding community in a frenzy and bodybuilders & regular people who wanted to improve their performance at the gym started trying turkesterone and documenting their experience online.
The reason why the hype behind this compound hasn’t died down is because of the amazing results that its users are experiencing. So you have a general idea, this is what is being currently documented in the literature as to what are the benefits of taking turkesterone are.
Turkesterone Benefits:
- May Increase muscle growth & improve one’s muscle-to-fat ratio
- May have anti-obesity & metabolic boosting effects
- Supports muscle protein synthesis
- May enhance exercise performance by increasing ATP synthesis
- Can Assist in Muscle/Exercise Recovery
- Can help cope with stress and fatigue through its adaptogenic effects
Potential Side effects
Turkesterone is considered a lot safer overall than anabolic steroids, mostly because it doesn’t bind to androgen receptors, which is usually what causes the side effects. What this means is that Turkesterone is unlikely to cause any serious side effects commonly attributed to steroids like changes in appetite, libido, mood, and hair growth.
The only potential side effects that you should be aware of are minor side effects like an upset stomach, nausea, and other digestive issues which are common among dietary supplements.
Is Turkesterone Banned?
No, Turkesterone isn’t banned, and you can purchase it in stores as well as online. It won’t show up in a drug test and is used legally by some athletes and bodybuilders.
In the U.S., ecdysteroids are currently not banned or treated like anabolic/artificial steroids, however some are on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2021 “Monitoring Program List.” This means WADA intends to gather more information about this substance to determine if it should be prohibited by competitive athletes or not in the future. (3)
My Personal Experience with Turkesterone
I took the Black Forest Supplements Turkesterone for over 2 months. The reason I chose this company was because they claim to have the purest Turkesterone in the market, I saw a lot of people on Youtube that had a positive experience taking their Turkesterone specifically, and because they were manufactured in the U.S. in an FDA registered facility and were third-party tested.
I am a high responder to supplements so that might have added to the drastic changes that I saw while taking this supplement. I’m going to be dividing my experience per week. I jotted everything that I was feeling in a journal daily. These are just some important points from my notes:
The first week: After around 5 days, I saw noticeable improvements in my energy levels. I no longer needed any type of coffee or energy drinks to get my day started. My libido was through the roof and I did find myself “letting off steam ;)” more often than usual.
The second week: Around the 14-day mark is when I started to notice noticeable strength gains. I felt like a superhuman and my confidence increased greatly. Side note: my game with chicks drastically improved, as I had little to no shame when I was approaching them.
Week three: Everything I felt in the previous weeks was still very present this week. Additionally, my pumps in the gym were huge, I was lifting more than ever, and I didn’t get sore at all after a hard workout. Especially with recovering from a leg day, which is something that I had always struggled with. Basically, I no longer needed recovery time as I didn’t get sore.
Week Four and All the following weeks: I kept feeling all the previous effects that I’ve mentioned, and I visibly gained more muscle (I don’t know exactly how much since I didn’t measure) and I felt & looked a lot leaner.
As a conclusion
Based on the results, lack of side effects, and the natural nature Turkesterone, I would highly recommend taking this supplement. Additionally, the brand which I used worked for me, and it has worked for a lot of other people that have documented their experiences online. So I'm going to leave the link here if you are thinking about giving Tureksterone a try. If you do, or you have tried any other brands, please leave your experience in the comments. Good luck on your journey!