Dr. Mike Israetel made a bold prediction on the Trensparent podcast, arguing that anabolic ster**ds as they exist today will soon be replaced by a new generation of solutions. His outlook is based on current pharmaceutical research that could reshape performance enhancement within the next five years.
During his conversation with host Nyle Nayga, Israetel explained why he believes non-androgenic anabolics will eventually make traditional ster**ds obsolete.
“Right now, multiple gigantic pharmaceutical companies are looking into non-androgenic anabolics like crazy. Why would they do that? They don’t give a care about bodybuilders. I’m saying you see my tear running down my face. Nobody cares about us, bro.”
According to Israetel, the true motivation behind this research has little to do with bodybuilding. Pharmaceutical companies are focused on older and untrained populations who lose muscle mass while using GLP-1s. Rapid weight reduction without sufficient protein intake or resistance training can accelerate muscle loss, which presents a serious health concern, especially for aging adults.
Israetel also outlined why he sees traditional anabolic ster**ds as fundamentally flawed.
“Anabolic ster**ds are real attempts to try and create muscle growth from the ster*id nucleus of testosterone. Testosterone is not designed to grow muscle. It’s designed by evolution to make you more masculine, which all of the side effects it gives you are like, oh yeah, I guess that’s how men are different from women.
He contrasted this with the next wave that’s currently under development, which operate through entirely different biological pathways. These include agents that target muscle growth signaling directly rather than manipulating androgen receptors. In theory, these non-androgenic anabolics could deliver dramatically more muscle growth with far fewer downsides than legacy compounds.
“Why the ( ) would you ever take Primo if you could just take this ( ) thing and you could dose it 10 times typical human trials, still has almost no side effects, and you grow those muscles to a point where you’re like, uh man, this is getting really wild right now.”
Israetel predicts that by the late 2020s, at least through gray market channels, these innovations will be available to consumers. With major pharmaceutical companies investing heavily and artificial intelligence accelerating candidate development, he sees their eventual emergence as highly likely.
He envisions a future where enhanced athletes maintain basic testosterone replacement strictly for general health and masculinity while relying entirely on non-androgenic compounds for muscle growth. This model, he argues, could significantly lower long-term health risks while producing superior physical results.
Beyond safety, Israetel suggested these advances could change how athletes train. With more targeted growth mechanisms, individuals could focus intensely on lagging muscle groups for extended periods while other areas maintain size with minimal training volume.
He also issued a warning about current products marketed as muscle growth blockers or enhancers.
“There are zero functional myostatin inhibitors that have passed phase one trials that don’t mess you up. Human trials just haven’t happened on these things.”
According to Israetel, anyone claiming to use legitimate versions of these compounds today is almost certainly being misled, as real candidates require controlled medical environments and carry enormous costs.
For now, he says his own approach remains conservative. He has no intention of returning to high doses of traditional ster**ds and is content to wait for what he believes will be a pharmaceutical shift that fundamentally changes performance enhancement while offering far better long-term health outcomes.utcomes.
