A while ago I posted a message asking if there were any women out there who haven taken tribulus and their results. I received zero response here so I decided just to take it. I read extensively about how it works and results that MEN have gotten, but not much on how it benefits women. I’ve been taking Probuilt Tribulus 500, which has trib 500mg, alpha lipoic acid & pumpkin seed extract (1-2/day). It’s been two weeks now and WHOA! have I noticed a difference! My energy is up so much that I started working out(weights and running) every day to every other day where as usually I NEED to rest for at least a day in between. Even after strenuous workouts I still have loads of energy. I am resting regularly though because I know how important it is to growth. And YES, I have noticed a huge increase in libido, which is important (and very welcome!) since it has kind of dwindled since my physical energy usually gets channelled into workouts. I suppose I will have to wait a few weeks longer before I see any results with muscle gain - which by the way do you think will come from increased testosterone levels or the fact that I am working out for longer periods and lifting more?
Erin the only woman I know of who has used tribulus reported the same results you have as well as an overall firming of the body. Actually I noticed her physique just in a matter of days getting tighter and leaner and I asked her what she was doing and she told me she had been taking tribulus for a week.
Probably a bit of both. Well, I assume you’d get some increase in T, dunno how much though. Not exactly sure how the female system creates T. But as long as you’re resting enough and eating right, the extra workouts should be a positive thing. Good on ya for posting this stuff too!
Erin-
You said that you were lifting and running every day? or sometimes every other day? The reason I ask is that, in my experience, tribulus has given me increased energy, libido, and a mental ‘edge’. However, you also stated that your libido had decreased prior to your taking tribulus because your energy is usually used up in your workouts. That is one of the tell tale signs of overtraining. Taking a supplement will help, but you should be careful not to overtrain, otherwise you will halt all progress. How often do you lift and how often/ far do you run? You need to allow your system adequate recovery time, which varies between individuals. Good luck.
I usually lift, then run for 30 min, 3x/week with a rest day in between. I find since I’ve been taking tribulus that I have enough energy to go more often than that, but I’ve been trying not to. I see the most noticeable changes in muscle growth during rest periods - whether it be a day or a couple of weeks, so I am a big believer in taking a week off entirely every month/month and a half. It’s hard though now cuz I’ve got twice as much energy!
Tribulus has been used in certain “alternative” fertility therapies for women (I believe it’s been shown to stimulate FSH). Aside from that I haven’t heard of its use by women for physical fitness. However, the Bulgarian company that developed the second-most effective trib product on the market (Tribex plug LOL) has published research that shows increased test in females who took their product for five days. You can find that study on that product’s official site. In my experience tribex seems to be more effective and would probably yield more of an increase, especially if a woman followed full dosage recommendations on the label. There’s no telling if this might lead to side effects such as clitoral enlargement, deepening of the voice, etc., as women seem to be very sensitive to androgens. That’s probably why Biotest recommends that women stay away from tribulus until more is known about its effects.