Winstrol (Stanozolol)

When Ben Johnson waltzed past Carl Lewis in the blink of an eye during the 1987 Olympics, it set off flash bulbs, a new world record and fetched him his first Olympic gold.

But little did the world know that this race would permanently derail his career and put Stanozolol or Winstrol in the spotlight instead.

Until then, Winstrol or Winny were a part of hush-hush conversations in dressing rooms.

But boy, it was almost ubiquitous in the world of competitive sports and bodybuilding.

Like Charlie Francis, Johnson’s Coach would later admit, almost all top athletes of the era were using AAS.

Winstrol was one of the most popular ones of them all.

And for good reason too.

Here’s a steroid that does get converted to estrogen and is three times more androgenic than testosterone. It can allow you to reduce your calorific intake by 50% without losing muscle. That’s not all either.

If you are curious about how Winstrol fits into your current bodybuilding schedule or your AAS stack, then here’s the lowdown on this extremely powerful drug.

Chapter 1. What is Winstrol?

Winstrol or Stanolzolol is a structurally altered form of Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Also called Winny, Winnie, Stanol & Azolol, it is a C17-alpha alkylated (C17-aa) anabolic steroid which means that the unique structural alterations in the DHT hormone, make it more anabolic than androgenic.

It was created by Winthrop Labs in the late 1950s as a potential treatment for muscle wasting in terminally ill patients.

Winstrol has an anabolic rating of 320 and an androgenic rating of merely 20, making it a very appealing compound for men on a cutting cycle and women on a bulking cycle. We will talk about this in a bit.

It is available in two forms, as intramuscular injections and as oral tablets. Both forms are C17-aa steroids and will have a similar effect on your body with the notable exception being their hepatotoxicity.

Chapter 2. What are the effects of Winstrol?

So, what is it that makes Winny a crowd favorite?

Let’s look at the potential application of the compound in different common scenarios.

Section 1. The bulking cycle:

Winstrol is one of the most widely used compounds by women in a bulking cycle. It has an innate ability to help increase lean muscle mass with very little androgenic effects. This means that there’s a significantly lower chance of the woman sprouting body hair, sounding like the incredible hulk and developing a six-inch clitoris.

Section 2. The cutting cycle:

For men, the appeal of the compound stems from its ability to retain lean muscle mass and give massive strength gains without water retention, even when they are on a cutting diet. For this reason, Winstrol is commonly added to a stack as a secondary steroid, a few weeks before a competition. It makes the body dry, hard and vascular, especially if you have been on a cutting cycle and are very lean to begin with.

Section 3. For the athlete:

Athletes swear by the marked improvement in physical strength while they are using Stanozolol. That’s strength without any additional body weight. Club that with the lean muscle gain and added bone density and you have a very desirable compound for just about any athlete. Additionally, Winstrol helps to strengthen tendons despite contradictory statements being floated around.

• Very little risk of Aromatization: Since Winstrol does not get converted to Estrogen, the risk of developing Estrogen related sides are almost zilch. This means, you will not develop gynecomastia or retain a boatload of water while you are on the compound. That’s a very beneficial effect for some users who are extremely sensitive to estrogenic sides.
• Reduced risk of androgenic sides: Since it has such a low androgenic rating, you are less likely to experience androgenic side effects like acne and hair loss. Well, you might well experience these sides if you are genetically predisposed to them. But if you are not, then there’s a good chance that you can keep your mop top.

Chapter 3. How to use Winstrol?

There are two ways to use Winstrol depending on what form you choose.

Winstrol Oral pills are usually taken twice a day (it has a 9-hour half-life) and the dosage varies from 40-80mg depending on your tolerance to the compound, your goals and your experience with AAS.

A typical Winstrol cycle should not extend more than 6-weeks and you should not use any other C17-aa steroids during the cycle.

Injections have a slightly longer half-life and are taken once a day during the cycle. The dosage varies between 50-100mg depending on the above mentioned factors.

Chapter 4. What are the side effects of Winstrol?

Despite the low androgenic rating, Stanozolol is a c17-aa anabolic steroid. Therefore, the first and most important side effect is the Hepatotoxicity.

Section 1. Liver Damage:

Winstrol, especially in its oral form can be highly hepatotoxic. So, expect that your liver values will be all over the place when you are on it. Having said that, a lot of the stress that the liver experiences can be reversed with proper supplementation. However, if you have poor liver health to begin with, then Winstrol should be off-limits for you.

Section 2. Cholesterol levels:

Winstrol will cause your LDL (Bad cholesterol) levels to spike and your HDL (good cholesterol) levels to reduce. So, if your heart health is in reasonably good shape, you’d want to keep an eye on it constantly while you are on Winny. Supplement with fish oil every day. On the contrary, if you have poor lipid levels to begin with, then you wouldn’t even want to touch it with a barge pole.

Section 3. Suppression:

Winstrol will suppress you. But it probably won’t shut you down. Having said that, it’s rarely used as a base steroid. So, ensure that you follow a good PCT protocol to kick start your normal testosterone production post cycle.

Chapter 5. To sum it up

All said and done, here’s a brief summary of Winstrol.

It’s a great compound that will keep you lean and shredded on a cutting cycle. It will help increase strength and improve your joint health.

But it will also wreak havoc with your lipids and can be severe on your liver.

Be responsible with AAS and you should be fine. But be on a constant vigil. If your body tells you that something’s not right, it probably isn’t. Don’t ignore even the mildest of symptoms.