Having worked out for weight loss, fitness and bodybuilding in the past, Nick Denyer felt he'd let himself go during COVID lockdowns. And who can blame him? With gyms closed, restrictions around movements and travel bans, getting out and about was increasingly difficult.
But for Nick, the problem was amplified by his personal situation. He'd experienced mental health challenges since childhood and found that losing fitness affected his general mood and outlook.
"It wasn't a good time for me," Nick says. "I didn't really want to leave the house, but getting back to the gym definitely helped."
During the weeks before he spoke with Elite Supps, Nick changed his diet, including fasting for the first six hours of each day. Plus he began taking Turkesterone before working out.
"It's only been a few weeks but I've noticed a positive change in how I feel day-to-day and in my overall physique," he says. "I've lost three to four kilos and my partner has mentioned it several times. She sees the change, too."
Key points
- Natural plant extract. Turkesterone comes from Ajuga turkestanica, a plant native to Central Asia.
- An ecdysteroid. It belongs to a family of compounds studied in the context of resistance training.
- Men and women. It has no androgenic response and does not stimulate testosterone receptors.
- No PCT needed. It is legal and does not require any post cycle therapy.
- Simple dosing. Typically taken in capsule form once or twice daily, starting with one 500mg capsule in the morning.
What is Turkesterone?
Equally effective and safe for men and women, Turkesterone is a natural extract from the flowering plant from Central Asia known as Ajuga turkestanica. So Turkesterone is named after the plant, and the mountain range in which the plant grows wild, the Turkestan Range.
More interesting to those of us in the fitness world is the extract known as Turkesterone, which users are loving for its support of their training goals. Of course, users report that it supports their training and body composition goals as part of a healthy diet and exercise program.
How is Turkesterone used?
Turkesterone belongs to a family of compounds called ecdysteroids. These are natural anabolic compounds that, according to a research paper from America's National Center for Biotechnology Information, have been studied in the context of resistance training and general athletic performance.
Ecdysteroids are an active area of research, and the human evidence remains limited. Most of what is known comes from cell and animal work rather than large trials in trained people.
This confirms in lab tests, at least, why Turkesterone is becoming such a smash hit in the fitness space.
Is Turkesterone just for men?
Turkesterone is equally valuable for women as it is for men.
Certain anabolic steroids and non-steroidal compounds have earned a bad reputation, and quite rightly, for their side effects. We wrote a while ago about why SARMS should be avoided, and outlined safer alternatives that can be taken instead.
Many anabolic steroids create an effect by imitating hormones that naturally occur in the body. Put simply, by imitating hormones, they stimulate receptors and therefore create various metabolic reactions.
If testosterone receptors are stimulated, for example, these compounds are associated with various performance-related effects in the body.
The problem with these steroids has been their side effects, including hair growth, mood swings, sleeping difficulties, menstrual cycle disruptions, acne and more.
Turkesterone however, has no androgenic response. Androgens are hormones that encourage male traits. Testosterone is an androgen. Men and women both have androgens in their systems, men simply have more.
As Turkesterone causes no androgenic response and does not stimulate testosterone receptors, it is healthy and effective for women.
It is popular among those seeking to support their training goals without the concerns associated with anabolic steroids.
As a result, it's also perfectly legal and doesn't require any type of post cycle therapy (PCT). PCT is a harm-reduction and testosterone-normalisation measure for those who've been using certain types of anabolic/androgenic steroids.
What should I expect?
Turkesterone has been one of our faster-selling supplements. It is worth being straight about why: demand has been driven by interest in ecdysteroids generally, not by settled evidence. The human research is still thin.
Users such as Nick report feeling positive changes in their training performance and general wellbeing. This, and users also report feeling well-recovered after training sessions.
"I think it's a combination of things, including diet," Nick says. "But I feel a lot better mentally, I've noticed positive changes in my physique that others have commented on too - she's quite impressed. And I'm losing weight."
All up, this purple-flowering plant that grows in mountainous regions has delivered a popular supplement for those looking to support their training and fitness goals.
How do I take Turkesterone?
Typically delivered in capsule or tablet form, Turkesterone works best when taken once or twice daily. One capsule is 500mg.
We recommend starting with one per day, taken in the morning.
If you choose to move to two per day, the cycle should be one capsule in the morning and one in the evening.
Turkesterone can be stacked with other supplements. If you train in the morning, a pre-workout such as Pre Shred covers a different job entirely, so the two do not overlap.
Who makes Turkesterone supplements?
We're always a fan of the fact that local is best. We personally recommend Turkesterone from our partner Emrald Labs, an Australian based and owned business that has an obsession with quality.
The launch of Emrald Labs was considered a solution to the problems in our industry caused by the mass of low-quality products that were saturating the market at the time. The brand has lifted the quality of products across the board, and their Turkesterone is no different.
Get in touch once you try it out - we'd love to hear your stories of success.
Is turkesterone effective for muscle growth?
The honest answer is that we do not know yet, and anyone telling you otherwise is ahead of the evidence.
Almost all the research on ecdysteroids has been done in cells and animals. Human trials on turkesterone specifically are scarce. The study people usually cite tested ecdysterone, a related but different ecdysteroid, and reported strength gains in resistance-trained men. Even that trial has drawn criticism, and the same researchers found that several commercial ecdysteroid products contained far less of the active compound than their labels claimed.
So: promising enough to be interesting, nowhere near settled. We sell it, and we would still rather you knew that than found out later.
Is creatine or turkesterone better?
Creatine, and it is not close.
- Creatine monohydrate has hundreds of human trials behind it and is the most researched sports supplement there is. The effects on strength, power and lean mass are consistent and well quantified.
- Turkesterone has a handful of studies, most on a different compound, in cells and animals.
- Cost: creatine is one of the cheapest supplements available. Turkesterone is not.
If you are choosing one, choose creatine. If you already take creatine, train consistently and eat enough protein, turkesterone becomes a reasonable experiment rather than a foundation.
Compare the creatine range if you have not got that base covered first.
Does turkesterone count as a steroid?
Technically it is a steroid by chemical structure, and in every way that people actually mean by the word, it is not.
"Steroid" describes a molecular shape. Cholesterol is a steroid. Vitamin D is a steroid. What people mean when they ask this is anabolic-androgenic steroids, the synthetic testosterone derivatives, and turkesterone is not one of those. Ecdysteroids are plant and insect compounds that do not bind to androgen receptors, which is why they do not produce androgenic effects.
That is also why turkesterone is legal to sell and buy in Australia and needs no post cycle therapy. If you compete in a tested sport, check the current status with your anti-doping authority yourself rather than relying on any retailer, because monitoring lists change.
Does turkesterone raise your testosterone?
No, and it is not supposed to.
This is the most common misunderstanding about it. Turkesterone does not act on testosterone receptors and is not a testosterone booster. The proposed mechanism in the research is unrelated to androgen signalling, which is precisely why it does not carry the side effect profile that comes with hormonal compounds, and why it is used by women as well as men.
If raising testosterone is your actual goal, the levers with real evidence are unglamorous: adequate sleep, sufficient body fat but not excess, resistance training, and correcting a deficiency in vitamin D or zinc if you have one. If you suspect clinically low testosterone, that is a blood test and a GP conversation, not a supplement.
What is the strongest supplement to build muscle?
Protein and creatine. That is the whole answer, and no supplement has displaced them.
- Enough total protein across the day. A protein powder is a convenient way to hit it, not a magic input.
- Creatine monohydrate, three to five grams daily, taken consistently.
- Everything else, including turkesterone, is a marginal addition on top of those two plus consistent training and sleep.
Supplements that sound more exciting than creatine are almost always less well evidenced than creatine. That is worth remembering every time a new one arrives.
Where to buy turkesterone
Emrald Labs Turkesterone is our house-brand option, 60 capsules of 500 mg. There is a triple pack if you want to run it for a longer block, which given the 8 to 12 week timeframes in this space is the more sensible way to trial it.
