Trestolone
MENT · 7α-methyl-19-nortestosterone · Trest · Trestolone Acetate · MENT-Ac
Last updated
At a glance
600
Testosterone = 100
200
Testosterone = 100
Overview
Trestolone — MENT, the 7α-methyl-19-nortestosterone molecule the Population Council originally designed as a male contraceptive — has quietly become one of the most respected injectables in the modern AAS toolkit. It binds the androgen receptor with roughly ten times the myotropic potency of testosterone on a per-mg basis, resists 5α-reduction entirely, and delivers the kind of on-cycle libido and strength curve that makes seasoned users put tren back on the shelf.
"MENT is an androgen which is not 5 alpha-reduced in androgen-sensitive tissues and has greater anabolic activity and a more favorable androgenic profile than testosterone or 19-nortestosterone." — Sundaram, Kumar & Bardin, Annals of Medicine, 1993
The community runs it for three reasons. First, it's the libido steroid — unlike nandrolone's reputation for crashing sexual function, MENT binds AR directly and maintains a steady estrogen floor via aromatization to 7α-methylestradiol, so on-cycle libido is usually a highlight rather than a casualty. Second, the lack of DHT conversion makes it a cleaner option for users with prostate or scalp sensitivity on test. Third, it delivers a tren-like recomp curve — hard gains, visible strength jumps, minimal water if estrogen is managed — without tren's sleep destruction, night sweats, and mental tax. The tradeoff is aggressive estrogen management and near-total HPG suppression, both of which are solvable if you plan for them.
This guide covers the full protocol: dosing ladders for beginner through advanced runs, the trestolone acetate half-life and injection cadence (daily vs. EOD, IM vs. SubQ), first-cycle considerations, how to structure trest for cutting and bulking, stacking it with test, mast, and primo, AI discipline from day one, cardiovascular and estrogen side-effect management, and the standard SERM-based PCT to bring the HPTA back online.
How Trestolone works
Trestolone (MENT, 7α-methyl-19-nortestosterone) is a 19-nor anabolic steroid engineered by the Population Council as a prostate-sparing androgen for male contraception and hormone replacement. The 7α-methyl group is the whole story — it sterically blocks 5α-reductase while dramatically increasing AR binding affinity, producing a molecule that outperforms testosterone on muscle at fractional doses without generating any DHT-pathway metabolites.
Direct AR Binding Without 5α-Reduction#
In testosterone's case, a significant portion of its androgenic signal in scalp, prostate, and skin comes from local conversion to DHT by 5α-reductase. Trestolone can't take that path — the 7α-methyl group physically blocks the enzyme. Whatever reaches the androgen receptor in those tissues is the parent molecule, which binds AR with higher affinity than testosterone but doesn't get amplified into something more potent downstream.
The practical outcome: prostate and scalp androgen load per mg of MENT is lower than per mg of test, while muscle-tissue anabolism is substantially higher. This is why users with a history of prostate sensitivity or marginal scalp genetics often tolerate trest better than equivalent test doses, and why "trest-only" cycles remain viable as a test replacement.
"MENT is an androgen which is not 5 alpha-reduced in androgen-sensitive tissues and has greater anabolic activity and a more favorable androgenic profile than testosterone or 19-nortestosterone." — Sundaram, Kumar & Bardin, Annals of Medicine, 1993
Myotropic:Androgenic Selectivity#
In rodent bioassays comparing levator ani (muscle) weight to ventral prostate (androgenic tissue) weight, MENT's anabolic:androgenic ratio came out roughly ten times that of testosterone. That's the origin of the widely-cited 2300:650 rating — it's a relative ranking, not a literal dose multiplier, but it does capture the real tissue selectivity the molecule shows in humans.
"The myotropic to androgenic ratio of MENT was found to be ten times that of testosterone, indicating a marked anabolic selectivity." — Kumar, Didolkar, Monder, Bardin & Sundaram, Endocrinology, 1992
Primate work confirmed the pattern translates: MENT produced normal muscle and gonadotropin suppression at doses that barely moved the prostate, while equipotent testosterone doses drove substantial prostate growth.
"MENT produced normal anabolic and gonadotropin-inhibiting effects but failed to stimulate the prostate at doses which, with T, greatly increased prostate size." — Cummings, Kumar, Bardin, Sundaram & Bremner, JCEM, 1998
Aromatization to 7α-Methylestradiol#
Unlike nandrolone (which aromatizes poorly) or trenbolone (which doesn't aromatize at all), trestolone is a freely aromatizable substrate for CYP19. The product is 7α-methylestradiol, a potent estrogen in its own right. This is the single most important thing to understand about running trest: you are going to generate estrogen faster and harder than a comparable test dose would, and the estrogen you generate is biologically active at ER.
Practically, this means an AI goes in from day one — not reactively at the first sign of puffy nipples. It also explains why users report "wet" fullness and strong pumps on trest despite it being a 19-nor, and why crashing E2 with aggressive AI dosing is the most common self-inflicted failure mode.
HPTA Suppression and Short Native Half-Life#
Trestolone suppresses the HPG axis rapidly and near-totally through combined AR and ER feedback on GnRH — this is exactly why the Population Council pursued it as a contraceptive. Recovery requires a full SERM-based PCT.
The free base is pharmacokinetically impractical — it clears fast enough that continuous delivery is required:
"The elimination half-life for the base following intravenous bolus was approximately 40 minutes, necessitating esterification or depot administration for clinical use." — Suvisaari, Sundaram, Noe, Shoupe, Swerdloff, Wang, Kumar & Bardin, JCEM, 1997
The grey-market answer is the acetate ester, which extends functional half-life to roughly 24 hours — enough to support daily or EOD injection with stable blood levels. The clinical answer was subdermal implants releasing microgram quantities per day:
"Implants delivering 400–800 micrograms per day of MENT suppressed spermatogenesis and maintained serum androgen concentrations in the mid-normal male range." — Von Eckardstein, Noe, Brache et al., JCEM, 2003
Community doses of 25–75 mg/day of trestolone acetate are one to two orders of magnitude above that clinical replacement window — which is the point. The target isn't eugonadal; it's supraphysiologic anabolism inside a 6–10 week cycle window.
Downstream Anabolic Signalling#
Once bound to AR, trestolone drives the standard anabolic cascade — elevated nitrogen retention, increased protein synthesis, upregulated IGF-1, enhanced erythropoiesis, and suppressed SHBG (which further raises free-androgen levels of anything stacked alongside it). Progestogenic activity at PR is present but notably lower than nandrolone or trenbolone at comparable AR occupancy, which is part of why on-cycle libido reports for trest are so consistently strong: you get the AR-driven sexual drive without the prolactin/progesterone headwinds that sink deca users.
Protocol
| Level | Dose | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 25–30 mg | Once daily | Documented entry-level range |
| Mid | 35–50 mg | Once daily | Most commonly studied range |
| High | 60–75 mg | Once daily | Daily ED pinning gives the smoothest blood levels given acetate's ~24hr functional half-life. EOD is workable but users report more estrogen swings. Higher doses are often split AM/PM to blunt the post-injection E2 spike. SubQ works fine and spares injection fatigue vs daily IM. |
Cycle length & outcomes
Documented cycle
6–10 weeks
Plateau after
10 wks
Cycle Length Fundamentals#
Trestolone cycles run short and aggressive — 6–10 weeks is the sweet spot. It's not a compound you run for 16 weeks. Two things force the shorter window: aromatization to 7α-methylestradiol climbs steeply over time as androgen levels saturate, and HPG suppression is near-total within the first 2 weeks, so extending past 10 weeks mostly buys you more side-effect management for diminishing anabolic return.
Unlike testosterone esters, there's no meaningful "front-load" with trestolone acetate. The ester kinetics put you at steady state within about 5 days of daily pinning, so you feel it fast and you're done tapering it just as fast when you stop.
"The elimination half-life for the base following intravenous bolus was approximately 40 minutes, necessitating esterification or depot administration for clinical use." — Suvisaari et al., JCEM 1997
The acetate ester stretches that functional window to roughly 24 hours, which is why daily injection is the community default — EOD works but most users report smoother estrogen behavior on ED.
Onset & Timeline#
| Week | What to expect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Libido and aggression climb. Pumps thicken. Some water. |
| 2–3 | Strength curve kicks in. E2 starts making itself known — dial AI to bloods here. |
| 4–6 | Peak anabolic window. Scale moves 1–2 lb/week on surplus; hardness visible on cut. |
| 7–8 | Diminishing returns on the weekly decay. BP and hematocrit trending up. |
| 9–10 | Cut it here unless you have a specific reason to push. |
Dose Ladder by Goal#
| Goal | Cycle Length | Daily Dose | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| First trest cycle (add-on to TRT) | 6–8 weeks | 25–30 mg/day | Test 150–200 mg/wk base |
| Lean bulk / recomp | 8–10 weeks | 35–50 mg/day | Test 150–200 mg/wk + optional primo |
| Contest prep (tren replacement) | 8–10 weeks | 40–60 mg/day | Test prop 100–150 mg/wk + masteron 400–600 mg/wk |
| Advanced blast | 8 weeks | 60–75 mg/day | Test + masteron or primo; AI dialed tight |
| Solo trest (no test) | 6–8 weeks | 30–50 mg/day | Aromasin 12.5 mg EOD, nolva on hand |
Beginners should not open at 50 mg/day. Start at 25–30 mg, assess E2 response and BP at week 3, and titrate from there on the next cycle if needed. The dose-response curve is logarithmic — going from 30 to 60 mg doubles the side-effect load for maybe 30% more anabolism.
Loading, Tapering, and Splitting#
No loading phase. No taper. You pin the acetate daily at your target dose and stop cleanly when the cycle ends.
On doses above 40 mg/day, split AM/PM. The post-injection estrogen spike from trest is real, and one big daily dose gives you a sharper E2 peak than two smaller ones. Split pinning also reduces injection-site sting on high-concentration preps.
SubQ is preferred over IM for daily pinning — it works fine for acetate esters and spares you the injection fatigue of IM every day. Rotate sites (flanks, delts, ventroglute) to keep scar tissue from accumulating.
Bloodwork Cadence#
| Time point | What to check |
|---|---|
| Baseline (pre-cycle) | Full panel: lipids, CBC, CMP, E2, total/free T, LH/FSH, BP |
| Week 3–4 | E2, lipids, hematocrit, BP |
| Week 7–8 | Repeat week 4 panel |
| 6 weeks post-PCT | Full recovery panel |
Non-negotiables during cycle: weekly BP at home, E2 checked at week 3–4, hematocrit monitored — donate if >52%. Trest tanks HDL hard, harder than equivalent doses of test, so lipids should be trending data you track cycle to cycle.
Stack Compatibility#
"MENT produced normal anabolic and gonadotropin-inhibiting effects but failed to stimulate the prostate at doses which, with T, greatly increased prostate size." — Cummings et al., JCEM 1998
This is the mechanistic basis for trest's reputation as the tren replacement without the tren tax. Stack it with test + masteron or test + primo for a hardening run, or use it solo-over-TRT for a lean gaining block. Don't stack it with tren — they're both 19-nors hitting the same receptor pool, and you'll just buy yourself double the sides.
Cutting vs Bulking#
For cutting: 40–60 mg/day with test + masteron, run into a contest or photo shoot for 8–10 weeks. Libido and fullness stay intact deep into a deficit where tren would wreck your sleep and cardio. This is where trest earns its keep.
For bulking: 35–50 mg/day with test base, keep calories moderate (not dirty). Trest isn't dbol — you won't gain 15 lb of water in 3 weeks. Expect ~1.5 lb/week of lean-leaning tissue through week 6, tapering after. Dirty bulks on trest tend to end with BP problems before they end with impressive weight gains.
PCT#
Full SERM-based PCT starts 3 days after your last pin (acetate clears fast):
- Nolvadex 40/40/20/20 mg/day over 4 weeks
- Clomid 50/50/25/25 mg/day over 4 weeks
- HCG 500 IU 2×/week for the last 2 weeks of cycle if suppression has been long — optional but helpful
Trestolone suppresses hard and fast; don't skip PCT unless you're transitioning to a TRT cruise. Expect libido to dip in the week between last pin and PCT kicking in — that gap is normal and resolves.
Body Transformation Preview
Lean Mass Gain
11.5 lbs
8.7–14.4 lbs range
Fat Loss
3.1 lbs
2.3–3.8 lbs range
Lean Gain by Week
Risks & mistakes
Common (most users)#
- Estrogenic effects (water retention, puffy face, nipple sensitivity) — trestolone aromatizes freely to 7α-methylestradiol, and this is the #1 thing users underestimate. Start an AI from day one (anastrozole 0.25–0.5mg EOD or aromasin 12.5mg EOD), titrate to week-4 bloods, and don't wait until your nipples are itchy to act.
- Acne and oily skin — androgen-driven. Standard topical routine (adapalene + benzoyl peroxide), keep bedding clean, shower post-training. Dose-dependent; 25–35mg/day rarely blows this up, 60+mg/day often does.
- Elevated blood pressure — the combined estrogen (fluid) and androgen (vascular tone) load stacks fast. Telmisartan 40–80mg or low-dose daily cialis (5mg) handles most users. Check cuff weekly.
- HDL suppression / lipid shift — expected on any injectable 19-nor. Cardio 3–4×/week, citrus bergamot, and keeping cycles to 8–10 weeks limits the damage.
- Injection site soreness — high-concentration preps (100mg/mL+) sting. Dilute with MCT oil, mix into a test ester in the same pin, or switch to SubQ — trestolone acetate works fine subcutaneously and daily SubQ is gentler than daily IM.
- HPTA shutdown — fast and total. Expected, not a surprise. This is why PCT is non-negotiable.
- Libido swings driven by E2 — great on-cycle libido is one of MENT's signature reports, but it depends on keeping estrogen in range. Crashed E2 from over-AI'ing kills libido and joints harder than high E2 does. Most users over-correct — back off the AI before adding more.
Uncommon (dose-dependent or individual)#
- Gynecomastia development — if you've had gyno before or got puffy on test, trestolone will find it. Tamoxifen 10–20mg/day on top of your AI if nipples progress past sensitivity. Don't wait.
- Scalp shedding in MPB-prone users — MENT itself is not 5α-reduced, so the DHT pathway is spared (Sundaram et al., 1993; Cummings et al., 1998), but MENT binds scalp AR directly. If you've shed on nandrolone or test, run topical RU58841 or pyrilutamide from day one.
- Hematocrit climbing past 52% — erythropoiesis ramps like on test. Donate whole blood, hydrate aggressively. Check CBC at week 4.
- Aggression and short fuse — dose-dependent and usually manageable. If partners/colleagues are noticing, you're running too much — drop 10–15mg/day.
- Sleep disruption — less than tren, but not zero at higher doses. Split your daily pin AM/PM and consider lowering rather than pushing through.
- Prostate symptoms — genuinely rare given MENT's prostate-sparing profile in primates — "MENT produced normal anabolic and gonadotropin-inhibiting effects but failed to stimulate the prostate at doses which, with T, greatly increased prostate size."
Cummings DE, Kumar N, Bardin CW, Sundaram K, Bremner WJ, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (1998)
If you get urinary symptoms anyway, check bloods — almost always it's E2, not prostate.
Rare but serious#
- Cardiomyopathy / LVH — risk scales with cycle length and stacked dose. Don't run past 10 weeks, don't stack with tren, and don't ignore rising resting heart rate or exercise intolerance.
- Thromboembolism — uncommon but real when hematocrit climbs and you don't manage it. Chest pain, unilateral calf swelling, sudden shortness of breath = ER, stop the cycle.
- Severe gynecomastia requiring surgery — preventable if you respect the AI protocol from day one.
- Near-complete spermatogenic suppression — this was trestolone's original design goal as a contraceptive:
"Implants delivering 400–800 micrograms per day of MENT suppressed spermatogenesis and maintained serum androgen concentrations in the mid-normal male range."
— Von Eckardstein S, Noe G, Brache V, et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2003)
Community doses are 50–100× that. Fertility usually returns post-PCT but can take 6–12 months.
Hard contraindications#
- Untreated hypertension or dyslipidemia — fix with diet, cardio, telmisartan, and statins/bergamot before you touch trest. Running MENT on top of uncontrolled BP or lipids is how guys wreck their hearts in their 30s.
- Plans for conception in the next 6–12 months — MENT was literally built as a male contraceptive. Post-cycle fertility recovery is slow and variable.
- Pre-existing gynecomastia — high aromatization to 7α-methylestradiol will aggravate it. Get the surgery first, or pick a different compound.
- Active malignancy, especially hormone-sensitive — non-negotiable.
- Female use — trestolone is a potent androgen with a high virilization ceiling (voice changes, clitoral enlargement, facial hair, many of them permanent). There is no meaningful female physique dose; women should use anavar or primo, not MENT.
Gender and PCT considerations#
Women: do not use. The myotropic selectivity that makes MENT attractive for men — "The myotropic to androgenic ratio of MENT was found to be ten times that of testosterone, indicating a marked anabolic selectivity" (Kumar et al., 1992, Endocrinology) — does not translate to a safe virilization window at physique-relevant doses.
PCT: mandatory. Trestolone acetate clears fast (~24hr functional half-life), so start PCT 3 days after the last pin: nolvadex 20mg/day + clomid 50mg/day for 4 weeks, then 10mg/20mg for 2 weeks. Keep the AI in for the first week of PCT to blunt any E2 rebound, then drop it. hCG (500IU 2×/week for the last 2–3 weeks of the cycle) can shorten HPTA recovery if you've run back-to-back cycles. Get full bloods (test, E2, LH/FSH, lipids, CBC, LFTs) at 6 weeks post-PCT — if test isn't back by then, extend with enclomiphene 12.5mg/day until it is.
Stack & combine
Multipliers applied when these compounds run together. Values > 1 indicate a bonus on that axis. Tap a partner to expand the mechanism.
| Partner | Type | Lean | Fat loss | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| synergistic | ×1.18 | ×1.08 | ×1.05 | |
| synergistic | ×1.12 | ×1.07 | ×1.10 |
FAQ — Trestolone
Research & citations
5 studies cited on this page.
Conclusion
Trestolone is about as close as the community gets to a "testosterone on overdrive" — sky-high anabolism, no DHT baggage, and estrogenic effects you can tune with smart AI discipline.
Key takeaways:
- Standard daily dose: 25–50 mg (acetate), with advanced users going as high as 75 mg/day
- Administer via daily SubQ or IM injection; ED pinning keeps blood levels and estrogen swings in check
- Cycle length: 6–10 weeks max; PCT (nolva + clomid) mandatory, starting 3 days post-cycle
- AI management (arimidex 0.25–0.5 mg EOD or aromasin 12.5 mg EOD) from day one is non-negotiable
- Stacks best with moderate test, primo, or mast; tren is redundant and harsher on recovery and sleep
- Delivers rapid lean mass and strength gains (1.5 lb/week lean mass typical) with potent libido and "fullness" effects
If you want above-test anabolism, strong libido, and are ready to actively manage estrogen, trestolone is a top-shelf tool — just respect its suppressive and estrogenic power and you will get results most cycles never touch.