Master the Art of Safe Injections

Hey Anabolic Sensei, I just wanted to touch base with you. I have to say that your article on injections was truly amazing. I have scoured the internet for both videos and articles and it is by far the most in depth content I have found all over the internet.

I had a few questions about injections that I was hoping you could answer. In the article you discussed about the speed of injection in terms of breaking the skin. You mentioned that you like a controlled injection over a fast stabbing dart like technique. Why do you like this way better?

Now you also mentioned the different gauges and needle lengths briefly in the article but is it the same for every body part? What about when you use different compounds like oil vs water based injectables? What if someone has a good amount of body fat would then need a longer syringe tip?

What about your thoughts on hitting a nerve? Is this common? How many injections have you performed for your athletes in your career? Did you ever have any problems like having to deal with a bad shot or infections? You mentioned in the last article that the quads can be a place for shots but some coaches do not like this idea. Why is that?

I know I just asked you a ton of questions so I apologize for taking up so much of your time. Please keep up the amazing work. Us newbies appreciated what you are doing for us. I want to start my first cycle shortly and I will be going with your guidance on sourcing. I really don’t trust some random internet site that is selling underground gear made from Chinese raws. You really opened up my eyes with your underground lab series that you did.

A: Hey man its good to hear from you. Thank you for the kind words about my last injection article. I did spend a lot of time on it as I tried very hard to not leave out anything that I do when performing an injection. I wanted to go above and beyond with it due to the fact it is one of the most important things to learn for enhanced athletes at any level. I have gotten messages from readers that were even advanced users of anabolic’s on how they even learned things from the article.

Ok yes you do have a lot of questions there my friend. No worries that is what I am here for. My job as a coach is to tackle each and every question and give my clients the best information available. I will cover all your other questions and reach out to me when you need some source guidance when ready. This way you will have quality advice along with real pharma grade anabolic’s not bathtub brew like you mentioned from contaminated Chinese Raws by ordering from random internet site.

 Now your first question is about the speed and style of my injection technique. As you know from my injection article I perform a more controlled technique with all the injections that I perform. Others do like a stabbing or throwing a dart kind of motion but that is not something I like or prefer. In fact when I do injections for my athletes they can’t believe how good my technique is and how I make it even less painful than when they do it themselves. First off just throwing the dart as some call it is not a good idea. You will often not stab yourself in the exact spot you intend and this can result in you not injecting where you planned. I have seen guys even mark their sport with a marker (which is not recommended for hygiene reasons) and still be off by an inch from they want to pin.

The next reason why I don’t like it is because it feels like an amateur is doing your injection. Now I have gotten shots from the doctor (not steroids though) and their technique was absolutely horrible. I went and got a tetanus shot once when I cut myself on some rusty metal. The doctor’s technique was absolutely horrendous, on every level. I could have given her a lecture and a lesson how to do it properly. 

Next let’s also take a look at the safety of a controlled technique vs just fast and sloppy injections. You have to realize that in the muscle you are injecting it is surrounded by veins and capillaries. It is actually like a jungle in there. One thing you need to know is that if you dart it hard and fast some may find that less painful (my clients don’t though) but you can run into different issues. 

The main thing you have to realize is that when it is fast its is much easier to go  into or through a vein. This is not something you want especially if you are injecting Tren in any form. You will have a coughing fit like nothing you have ever experienced. I will cover this more in another article. When you inject with a slower controlled technique as the needle tip penetrates the muscle tissue it can push those veins etc out of the way without piercing them.

Now in terms of the length of the syringe tip, the first thing you have to realize with all intramuscular injections is that it needs to go deep in the muscle. So yes if you are carrying more fat than Big Pun then it warrants you use a longer syringe tip to make it through the vast forrest of adipose tissue (nice way to say fat) and also penetrate the muscle. For the average person I like to use a 1 inch length tip for body parts like delts (both side and rear), quads, lats, and triceps. For glutes the standard is 1.5 inch tips due to a layer of fat that most people have on their bum. 

Now when the person is contest lean I am talking under 8% body fat certain times you can play with the pin length. One example is that for some of my Figure and Bikini girls competitors I will use a 5/8’s inch for the delts with no problem. Now I can see some people already commenting on Bikini athletes using actual injectables. Well sorry to break it to you folks but if any of you think Pro level Bikini girls are just taking Anavar then you are an idiot. Yea maybe the low level girls doing regional shows who are beginners do that but when you  are talking IFBB Pro Bikini that is a different story. Since they possess much less muscle tissue than a 250 pound male bodybuilder and their body fat level is almost non existent I feel its deep enough and still intramuscular depth in certain circumstances.

Now hitting a nerve is always possible it all depends on what body part you are referring to. It is always good to study anatomy so you have an understanding on where certain nerves are located. The biggest one to watch out for is the sciatic nerve. This runs down the middle of your glute. You do not want to hit this one as you will not be happy that is for sure. This is why glute shots are always done on the outer upper quadrant of each glute. Hitting nerves is more tricky when doing more complicated body parts like triceps, traps, and biceps. This is why if you are not an expert don’t pin these areas unless you have your coach doing for you and he knows what he is doing.

In terms of me having any issues dealing with my athletes I can’t say I have. I have performed well over 20,000 injections over the last 25 years easily and haven’t had an issue to date. Now you may think I am full of shit here but I have had busy days where I have done over 30 injections in a single work day. Yea my thumb is well trained that is for sure. I have done more shots than most doctors have done and I am not lying to you at all.

 Not one of my clients has ever had an abscess or any other problem. Nor have I hit a nerve or had any other complications during this time. I have had to deal with problems athletes ran into either from bad gear or a bad coach or both several times. Usually some other competitor runs into a problem so he starts asking people which always ends to being one of my athletes what they should do. Then my athlete sends the person with the issue my way hoping I can solve their problems. I have good story about this in an upcoming article that I am sure you will all love.

Now when it comes to quad shots there are two camps on this. Some like pinning quads, and others hate it. Some people claim that you are more likely to get an infection injecting a quad than other spots but after all the shots I have done I have not see this to be the case. I have seen just as many abscesses if not more in the delts and glutes as I have seen in the quads. Usually these are all people using underground bathtub gear or people using bad technique with horrible hygiene. One thing you have to realize with quad shots is the fact that it will cause the drugs to enter your system faster so dealing with “Test Flu” especially as a beginner.

In terms of using different gauges for oil and water based  anabolics this is all dependant on your source. In the old days when there was very little Winstrol available, many guys would use Vet grade. Usually this time you would have a couple main choices. One being the Zambon Winstrol ampoules from Spain. The other would be Summit veterinary Winstrol out of Aurora, Ontario. Now the Zambon’s were amazing as long as you didn’t get counterfeits which was a heavy problem 15-20 years ago. I have a few good counterfeit stories that will make you laugh. 

Anyways the Zambon Winstrol would go through a 25 gauge easily as it was micronized. Very nice, clean product and very smooth. The Summit brand on the other hand was much thicker and not micronized. Why should it be its made for injecting horses so who cares if it hurts them more right? This brand would never make it out of a 25 gauge and guys would have to use a 20 gauge pin otherwise the oversized crystals would clog the syringe half way through and that would be the end of the injection. Leaving you to throw it away if you didn’t have different larger gauge tips.

Even worse back in the day was a Canadian Underground lab known as Valopharm. This was one of the original underground brands putting out some horrendous products. They were popular in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Not sure why they were a popular name cause the products were absolutely horrible. I remember seeing their Winstrol and it looked like thicker than  one of those Middle Eastern yogurt drinks. It had chunks of Winstrol crystals in it that wouldn’t dissolve at all. The guy using it told me that he had to use an 18 gauge not to draw, but to actually inject with as otherwise it would clog the syringe with anything smaller. One thing I always say is that if the so called “chemist” is a real chemist he can make water based micronized suspension injections like Testosterone Suspension, Winstrol Suspension etc with precision. This is why most underground labs either don’t make these compounds or when they do its horrible at best.

In terms of the gauge that I use for oil based injectables I tend to go with the middle ground. Some guys like to be able to pin it faster because they are usually scared. While other guys like to go with a smaller gauge because it freaks them out less. For most oils I will use a 23 guage. It takes a little longer than a 22 gauge which many people use as a standard for stabbing anabolic steroids. There are other guys pinning with a 25 gauge but for many this takes too long.

 There is a big debate on what causes more scar tissue as well. Some guys feel the bigger gauges cause more scar tissue build up. But the on the other side of the coin some experts feel that having to press down on the plunger with a crazy amount of pressure actually disrupts and damages muscle tissue more. We can look this over another time.

When it comes to injecting water based anabolics like Winstrol I will use a 25 gauge pin. My source for water based products is phenomenal so it has no problems going through a gauge that small. I get absolutely no clogging issues due to it being micronized and water based. It pushes in very easily with no strain on my thumb at all. If it doesn’t cause any issues why would I go with a larger gauge?

So here you have it my friend. I hope this helped explain some of your injection questions that you had for me. Injecting is one of the most talked about issues especially for the newbie and it should rightfully be that way. When you are a beginner, performing injections feels scary at least for most of you. Once you have done it thousands upon thousands of times, then it becomes sort of like brushing your teeth. With the last two articles I have done on injection technique and proper hygiene protocol you now have a ton of solid information to help get you on your way!