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Winstrol is the name of a synthetic anabolic DHT derivative called Stanozolol. Interestingly, this steroid is available in oral form (known as simply winstrol), and in an injectable form that is called winstrol depot. However, most people in the bodybuilding community use the word 'winny' to refer to this compound, and it has grown a cult like following, especially among the 'physique' oriented crowd.
![winstrol chemical structure](https://www.elitefitness.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/winstrol-chemicalstructure.jpg)
History
Winstrol was developed in the early 1960's by Winthrop Labs, and it is still approved by the FDA for human use, where it has the ability to treat anemia. What's more, it is also used in veterinarian medicine to help with muscle growth, bone density, appetite increase, and red blood cell production.
Just like with most other steroids, in the past 20 years interest in winstrol has grown among bodybuilders, who use it as a 'cutting' steroid ahead of a competition, or photo shoot. Additionally, winstrol can be simply added to a stack for its drying and hardening benefits.
Anabolic and Androgenic ratio
Winstrol is definitely an anabolic steroid with a very low androgenic activity. In fact, it boasts a 320 anabolic rating, and just a 30 androgenic rating. As a reminder, we can mention that testosterone's rating is 100 :100. Therefore, it is roughly three times as anabolic as testosterone is, and three times less androgenic.
Forms of delivery
Winstrol is quite a unique compound, since it can be taken either by oral means, or by aqueous (water solution) suspension, which can be either injected, or you can simply drink it. In fact, many prefer to drink the injectable version because the suspension injections are very painful.
There are oil based injectable versions of winstrol, but they are rare these days. I've only oil based winstrol once in the last 5 years, and it was a UG lab.
How it works
The key to understanding winstrol's action is to keep in mind that it is a dihydrotestosterone (DHT) derivative. DHT is a androgen hormone, which gives males man-like features. What is especially good about DHT, is that it does not convert to estrogen, and 5% of testosterone that is produced or introduced exogenously converts directly to DHT.
Regarding its chemical structure, the 3 keto group is replaced at the A-ring of the hormone, with an added methyl group to protect the compound from being obliterated in the body. This means it is a C17 alpha alklyated anabolic steroid.
Winstrol is also excellent when it comes to reducing sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). As a result, when it is added to a stack you can expect a huge increase in free testosterone ratio. This is a very important property of winstrol, since it is precisely the free testosterone that matters the most. In simple terms, adding winstrol to your existing stack makes those other steroids more effective.
Benefits for the athlete
Due to the fact that there is no aromatization into estrogen, with winstrol you get a very dry compound that is great for cutting, creating vascularity, and hardness of the muscles. Logically, it works much better for cutting if you already have low body fat, and if you have too much body fat you will not get much benefit out of winstrol in this regard, except some increase in strength.
What's more, stanozolol will also offset water retention from other aromatizing compounds. As you can imagine, doing this has drawbacks to your joints (we will discuss this later in the article). However, the pumps you get on winstrol are incredible, making it a great choice for bodybuilders and physique competitors.
In terms of performance, stanozolol can increase power and speed without adding mass to the user. Moreover, some athletes who compete in fighting sports will use winstrol to improve focus and get a little bit more of aggression.
Doping
Winstrol was banned in the 1970's by the IOC and IAAF, with the most famous incidence of doping being the case of Ben Johnson, who won the 100 meter sprint at the 1988 Summer Olympics, and then tested positive for winstrol. Unfortunately, this incident caused paranoia among lawmakers, which led to new steroid laws in the United States.
As a matter of fact, there is a long list of athletes who have been busted for winstrol use. Most likely, they were using this compound to help with fast twitch muscle fibers, causing power and speed bursts. Moreover, winstrol will not add any weight to a person's physique, while still increasing red blood cell count, which is a considerable aid for any athlete.
Dosages
Due to a relatively short half life, winstrol should be ran on a daily basis.
The oral version should be dosed two times per day at 25-50 milligrams (mg) in total, while the injectable depot version should be injected or drank every 24-36 hours at the same dosage.
I have found that a conservative dosage works just fine when using this steroid as part of a stack, and too much of it will lead to higher chances of side effects taking place. After all, winstrol makes the other compounds in your stack more powerful.
Half life
The half life of oral winstrol is about 8 hours, and the injectable version's half life is about 1 day.
Detection times
The detection time of oral winstrol is 3 weeks, while the injectable can be detected during 2 months after the last pin. Therefore, it is not the best option for tested athletes.
Side effects
As it has been mentioned above, the good news with Winstrol is that it cannot aromatize, so no estrogenic sides will occur. However, it still has some side effects to be aware of.
One of the most common side effects that come with an increased level of DHT is the fact that this hormone will fry head hair follicles. Sadly, there is no way to prevent this on winstrol, as even using 5-alpha reductase inhibitors like finasteride or dutasteride is useless here. Remember, these drugs are meant to stop the metabolization of testosterone into DHT, but winstrol is already a DHT. Therefore, these drugs will not help prevent hair loss with winstrol. In fact, there is a reason you see most pro-bodybuilders almost bald - if there was a way to prevent this from happening, they would have solved this issue a long time ago.
Furthermore, like most oral steroids, winstrol is methylated, so it is liver toxic. In fact, even the injectable version is liver toxic, so it makes more sense to drink the injectable version too and avoid additional injections. Luckily, the liver can be well protected with the use of such liver supporting supplements, like N2Guard.
Another side effect of winstrol that is almost universal is the dry joints, which seems to occur very quickly. This can be accompanied by cracking joints or a burning sensation around the joints. Obviously, if you dry out the joints it would be like running an engine without oil, so using joint support supplements is absolutely necessary. A lot of athletes will run nandrolone with winstrol to help with this, but this is not a healthy way of dealing with the problem. It would be much healthier to supplement with N2Joint RX, which has a lot of ingredients aimed at healing and strengthening the joints. Also, it has been scientifically proven that Ostabolic (Ostarine MK-2866) is extremely beneficial for the joints, and yet has none of the side effects seen with nandrolones.
Finally just like all anabolic steroids, winstrol is suppressive. Thus, you should always run a full post cycle therapy (PCT) after using winstrol.
Stacking
As mentioned above, winstrol binds well to SHBG, so it is a wise decision to stack this steroid in order to get the most out of it. Generally, users will combine it with something more androgenic, and give it a kick. This includes trenbolone, testosterone, or deca durabolin. If you choose to stack winstrol with another oral, remember that it can strain the liver big time, especially if both are liver toxic compounds.
Cycle
This is a sample cutting cycle with winstrol:
Week 1-6
Winstrol 100mgs/ED
Cardarine 20mgs/ED
Testosterone propionate 100mgs/EOD
Primobolan 100mgs/EOD
Aromasin 10mgs/E3D
N2Guard 7caps/ED
Week 7-10
Winstrol 50mgs/ED
Cardarine 20mgs/ED
Testosterone propionate 100mgs/EOD
Primobolan 100mgs/EOD
Aromasin 10mgs/E3D
N2Guard 7caps/ED
Cost and ease of access
Stanozolol is a classic steroid, so it is a must have for sources who are selling anabolic steroids. It is much easier to find this AAS in oral form, rather than in suspension form. As for the price, winny is on the more expensive side when compared to other steroids.
Female use
Although winstrol is not very androgenic, it still is a DHT derivative. Therefore, there is a chance of virilization effects if abused or used improperly.
Pictures
Forum
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