Deca Durabolin Benefits, Side Effects, Results

When it comes to bulking steroids that are commonly used off-season by bodybuilders, Deca Durabolin or Nandrolone Decanoate is one of the top choices. It is an injectable steroid that is commonly known as the KING OF STRENGTH STEROIDS.

It was initially developed to help patients suffering from cachexia or muscle wasting disease. It happens to be one of the few anabolic steroids that are still prescribed today to HIV/AIDS and anemia patients because of its unique anabolic and erythrocytosis properties.

Looking at its history in bodybuilding, Deca Durabolin became a popular muscle and strength gainer in the 1970s to the extent that some of the popular bodybuilders of the golden era including Arnold Schwarzenegger is known to have stacked with Dianabol for bulking cycles.

This article takes you through the Deca Durabolin benefits, side effects and expected results as well as legal and safe alternatives that can help you get amazing results in the gym without any side effects or PCT!

Deca Durabolin Benefits

Let’s have a look at some of the main benefits of Deca Durabolin:

Muscle Gains

The main reason Deca Durabolin is still used today by bodybuilders is that it can help promote muscle hypertrophy and increase both muscle size and strength. With this, it can cause a massive change in your body composition when you have it for a couple of weeks.

What makes it even more appealing to gymgoers is that it can help you gain lean muscle mass because of its ability to enhance both protein synthesis and nitrogen retention in your body. Even though it is not as powerful as some of the other anabolic steroids including Anadrol, Dianabol, or Trenbolone, it is still preferred by a lot of bodybuilders since it has comparatively fewer side effects.

Well Tolerated

It is one of the few anabolics that stands approved by the FDA. It might come as a surprise to you but Deca Durabolin is an FDA-approved medicine that is usually given to women who suffer from breast cancer. Not just this, it is also prescribed as a treatment for children suffering from dwarfism without any notable adverse effects.

One of the unique properties of Deca Durabolin is that it can increase collagen synthesis in your body which can further help improve the health of your ligaments and tendons thereby providing effective joint support. This is of particular interest to bodybuilders and weightlifters who are known to indulge in heavy and repetitive lifting making them prone to joint injury.

Joint Support

This is in continuation of the point above. Deca Durabolin also promotes fluid retention in your body and this tends to help with lubricating the joints.

Listed below are the findings of a study done on 18 men experiencing joint pain:

72% of the subjects reported	reduction in pain
28% required	less painkiller medications

The study concluded that Deca Durabolin comes with anti-inflammatory effects. I must mention here that this study confirms anecdotal reports of reducing joint pain.

No Hepatotoxic Effects – No Liver Toxicity!

One of the biggest problems with anabolic steroids that are taken orally is that they have to pass through the liver to be broken down. They tend to put immense stress on the liver and can often lead to peliosis hepatis (blood-filled cysts) or cirrhosis of the liver (liver failure).

Deca Durabolin, on the other hand, is n injectable steroid that bypasses the liver to reach the bloodstream. As such, it does not cause hepatic strain on your liver. This is one of the major reasons most bodybuilders prefer Deca to other anabolics such as Dianabol.

Long Esters

One of the distinguishing features of Deca Durabolin is that it contains long esters and this is why cycles can last up to 12 weeks. What it means is that you are likely to experience great results in the latter stages of the cycle. This is in contrast to other anabolics or AAS that peak early and cause more side effects when you are close to the end of the cycle because of high toxicity.

Deca Durabolin Side Effects

Even though there are many benefits of Deca, it is still a steroid and can produce a lot of negative side effects. Here are some of such adverse side effects that you are likely to experience when on a Deca Durabolin cycle:

Changes in Lipid Profile

I have writing and researching steroids for a long time now and I can say through my knowledge that Deca Durabolin can produce mild changes in LDL/HDL cholesterol values and can also lead to high blood pressure. However, the risk of developing heart disease because of Deca Durabolin is relatively low.

As a matter of fact, all anabolic steroids tend to result in your lipid profile and so does Deca. However, Deca Durabolin seems to be the most cardiovascular-friendly steroid that you can lay your hands on.

Deca Dick

Deca is notorious for its adverse effects on your sexual desire and performance and can lead to erectile dysfunction or the Deca Dick.

One of the reasons behind this is that Deca falls short when it comes to producing nitric oxide in your body which is important to ensure good blood flow to the penis. In simple words, Deca Durbolin compromises blood circulation to the penis resulting in soft or weak erections. In addition to this, it is also known to increase prolactin levels in your body. Prolactin is a lactating hormone that can take a toll on your libido or sexual appetite.

It is worth noting that low nitric oxide levels coupled with high prolactin can mean a complete disaster in between the sheets.

Is there some way to get over this problem?

One of the best ways to avoid getting a Deca Dick is by stacking Deca Durabolin with an androgenic steroid that can help increase nitric oxide levels in your body. Some of such compounds could include Testosterone, Anadrol and even Trenbolone.

Low Testosterone

Deca Durabolin is one of the most suppressive steroids. In other words, it can suppress testosterone production in your body. For this reason, it is imperative that you plan a PCT beforehand with drugs like Novaldex or Clomid in order to get your natural testosterone production back on track as soon as you come off a Deca cycle.

Estrogen and Progesterone

Even though Deca does not cause major aromatization of testosterone ( it is known to have a 20% rate of conversion of testosterone into estrogen), it can significantly increase the female sex hormone progesterone. This tends to stimulate breast tissue in the mammary glands and can potentially lead to gynecomastia.

One of the best ways to prevent a high level of progesterone is with anti-estrogens such as Anastrozole.

Deca Durabolin Results

Let’s find out what results to expect from a Deca Durabolin cycle:

Week 2

One of the most important things to keep in mind that it that Deca Durabolin is a steroid that is not taken daily but just a weekly dose is more than adequate.

When on a Deca Durabolin cycle, it is not usual for bodybuilders to experience any major benefits within the first few weeks. However, most users being experiencing comfort and relief in joints by the second week.

Week 4

As you enter into the 4th week, you begin experiencing muscle gains. Even though there’s nothing dramatic happening by this time, mass gains get more evident. You are likely to notice one to two pounds of muscle gains as each week passes on.

What is interesting though is that these gains are clean gains. What it means is that it is neither fat nor water which means better muscle definition. As you move ahead with the cycle, strength and power tend to improve considerably from week 5 onwards. You find it easier to churn out those last and final reps. Not just this, you may also find yourself adding more weight to the barbell.

Week 12

The results become more and more apparent by the time you are into the 12 weeks of this cycle. It is not uncommon for bodybuilders to gain as much as 15-20 pounds of muscle by the end of the 12th week.

What is evident, however, is the muscle gains are of better quality than those that are made with steroids that act fast. The gains that you make are going to last longer and do not immediately disappear once you conclude the Deca Durabolin cycle.

In other words, the gains made are long-lasting gains. Possibly, the gains that you make with this steroid are more long-lasting than any other steroid.

Deca Durabolin Before and After Pics

When it comes to famous users of Deca Durabolin, one celeb name that often pops up is Bradley Martyn. Check out my detailed article on if Bradley Martyn is natural or on steroids by clicking here.

Legal Alternative to Deca Durabolin

Legal steroids are getting increasingly popular with more and more bodybuilders trying them out to experience great results without the side effects associated with real steroids. Brutal Force is one such brand that it known for its high-quality and 100% safe supplements that mimic steroids to help with both bulking and cutting.

DekaBulk from Brutal Force mimics Deca Durabolin and can help you get amazing results from your workouts. It can help increase your strength, boost muscle growth, provide joint support and can make plateaus a thing of the past. It is a no-prescription formula and it does not have any side effects.

DekaBulk has been getting awesome user reviews and comes with a complete money-back guarantee. Click on the button above to read my complete and unbiased Dekabulk review.

Comparing Deca Durabolin with Other Steroids

Let’s compare Deca Durabolin with some other steroids

Deca Durabolin vs Equipoise

Before we begin comparing these two anabolics, let me spell out what Equipoise or Eq is.

Equipoise of Boldenone Undecylenate is an injectable steroid meant to be given to horses of gaining lean body weight. Like Deca, it is a modified form of testosterone with a double bond being introduced between carbons 1 and 2.

It is supposed to be slightly more powerful than Deca. Moreover, it is also high in terms of androgenicity.

Equipoise is more estrogenic than Deca Durabolin. It is known to have a close to 50% rate of conversion of testosterone into estrogen. When the two steroids are compared EQ is 400% more estrogenic than Deca Durabolin.

In stacks wherein EQ is used in place of Deca Durabolin, the end results are often quite similar.

Deca Durabolin vs Trenbolone

Deca Durabolin and Trenbolone are two steroids that are injectable. However, this is where the similarity between the two ends.

Trenbolone is one of the most powerful steroids. On paper, it has a very high anabolic rating of 500 whereas Deca has an anabolic rating of 125.

What it implies is that Trenbolone can lead to a lot more muscle gain as compared to Deca Durabolin. However, when it comes to reality the weight gained at the end of a cycle may be somewhat similar. This is because Deca causes fluid retention in your body and Trenbolone may lead to fat loss.

It is important to highlight the fact here that Trenbolone is one of the most potent and harshest steroids. In comparison, Deca Durabolin is mild and is also an FDA-approved medicine, as mentioned above.

Trenbolone is likely to be more detrimental to your cardiac health and can lead to cardiac hypertrophy or enlargement of the heart.

While trenbolone is highly androgenic, Deca Durabolin is not. What it means is that Trenbolone can lead to androgenic side effects including acne, hair loss, oily skin and prostate enlargement. These side effects are rare with Deca Durabolin.

Even though Trenbolone can produce a dramatic effect in terms of body composition, it is also likely to produce severe side effects.