Dianabol vs Anadrol
Dianabol and Anadrol are two of the most powerful bulking steroids that are commonly used to gain both muscle mass and strength. Both of these are oral compounds and yet if you study Dianabol Vs Anadrol you will find a lot of similarities as well as differences between the two.
Dianabol Vs Anadrol
Check out the main similarities and differences between Dbol and Adrol in the table below:
Feature | Dianabol | Anadrol |
1. Muscle Size and Weight Gain | A Single cycle can help gain 20-30 lbs of weight with 30% being water weight. | A Single cycle can help similar weight gain of 20-30 lbs and close to 10 lbs is water weight. |
2. Strength Gains | Can increase compound lifts by at least 30 lbs | Superior to Dianabol in terms of strength gains as it is a DHT derivative. Can increase compound lifts by 40-50 lbs. |
3. Pumps | Great Pumps | Super Awesome Pumps |
4. High Blood Pressure | Increases blood pressure | Causes higher elevation in blood pressure than Dianabol |
5. Liver Toxicity | Causes liver toxicity | More hepatotoxic than Dianabol |
6. Gynecomastia | Can cause man boobs | Can cause man boobs |
7. Trapezius and Deltoid Hypertrophy | Grows both trapezius and deltoids | Causes greater muscle growth in both trapezius and deltoids |
8. Suitability for Beginners | Beginners may try this steroid | Not suitable for beginners |
9. Appetite | Increases appetite (but do not combine it with alcohol) | Suppresses appetite (since it is highly toxic to the liver) |
10. Fat Loss | Burns fat since it increases testosterone | Burns more fat since it is more androgenic and leads to a bigger boost in testosterone |
11. Suitability for Women | Causes virilization and is not suitable for women | Well tolerated by women and does not cause virilization |
The above table sums up the main similarities and differences between the two steroids. Read on for a detailed comparison between the two steroids:
Similarities Between Dianabol and Anadrol
Let’s have a look at the similarities between the two steroids first:
Muscle Size and Weight Gain
Both Dianabol and Anadrol are essentially bulking steroids and thus, they are likely to cause an increase in both body weight and muscle mass. Both of them can actually cause an almost similar weight gain in users on their first cycle. Such users typically gain 20-30 lbs of weight in the first cycle itself.
However, at least 30% of the weight gained is because of excess water retained in the body. More often than not, users are likely to lose this water weight post-cycle whether they are on Dianabol or Anadrol. Ultimately, they are left with lean muscle mass post-cycle if they keep lifting.
Strength Increase
Both Dianabol and Anadrol can increase strength but Anadrol tends to be a better performer here mainly because it is a DHT or dihydrotestosterone derivative, which is a powerful androgen.
While it is not uncommon for the users to lift at least 30 lbs with Dianabol when doing compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, or bench presses, Anadrol can push this by as much as 50 lbs in these compound exercises.
Pumps
Yet another similarity between the two anabolics is that they can help you get super awesome pumps. The reason behind this is that they lead to an increase in intracellular water retention and glycogen.
However, these pumps can sometimes be problematic especially if your lower back gets excessively pumped. Trust me, this can be really painful. In order to avoid this, you need to take longer rests in between sets and also use potassium and taurine supplements.
High Blood Pressure
Both Dbol and Adrol are class 17 AA steroids and as such, they are likely to stimulate hepatic lipase, a liver enzyme that affects your lipid profile adversely. In other words, it can elevate LDL cholesterol and thereby lead to elevated blood pressure.
Moreover, both these compounds are estrogenic in nature and lead to water retention in the body. Now, this could have serious repercussions with respect to your cardiac health since water retention is likely to make blood more viscous resulting in reduced blood flow to the vital organs.
Liver Toxicity
Both these compounds are oral steroids and they are likely to cause inflammation and damage to the liver.
Here are some important points to keep in mind:
- It is advised that during the cycle, you must take 500mg/day of TUDCA in order to cut down hepatic inflammation
- ALT and AST markers are likely to rise considerably during the cycle. However, they may get back to normal levels once you are off-cycle, provided you have an otherwise healthy liver.
- Taking larger doses of these steroids or taking them for excessively long periods can increase the chances of liver injury and damage.
Both Can Cause Gynecomastia
Both Dianabol and Anadrol can lead to gynecomastia through different mechanisms.
While Dianabol converts testosterone into estrogen readily, it can lead to the appearance of man boobs that can be hugely embarrassing for men.
Anadrol, on the other hand, does not aromatize but it directly stimulates the estrogen receptors.
- While on Dianabol, it is recommended that you include an AI or aromatase inhibitor in order to prevent gynecomastia.
- AI is not useful in the case of Anadrol. Instead, a SERM may be used to stop estrogenic effects directly in the mammary glands.
Differences Between Dianabol and Anadrol
Trapezius and Deltoid Hypertrophy
Anabolic steroids are likely to lead to a massive transformation of the deltoids because they have a larger number of androgen receptors in them. Thus, both Dianabol and Anadrol are likely to cause a lot of muscle growth in both your trapezius and deltoids.
However, Anadrol leads the way when it comes to growing trapezius and deltoids since it is more androgenic in nature than Dianabol. You are likely to get full-blown 3D shoulders with Androl.
Side Effects Severity
Anadrol is a steroid that is supposed to be more powerful than Dianabol causing bigger muscle and strength gains. Its side effects are also likely to be harsher as compared to Dianabol.
- Anadrol is known to result in higher elevations in blood pressure and liver enzymes. One of the reasons could be that typically Anadrol is taken in higher dosages such as 50-100mg/day whereas Dianabol dosage usually ranged between 20-40mg/day.
- Anadrol is more androgenic in nature and thus, androgenic side effects such as acne vulgaris, male pattern baldness or hair loss, etc., are likely to be more severe than those caused by Dianabol.
- While Dianabol can be taken by beginners, Anadrol is a steroid that is just not suitable for those that have no or zero experience with steroids.
Appetite
Anadrol, as mentioned above, is highly toxic to the liver. Your liver is likely to get strained when you are on an Androl cycle and in self-defense, your body may reduce hunger in order to reduce the workload on the liver. Thus, it may lead to a suppressed appetite.
Dianabol, on the other hand, is less hepatotoxic and it is not uncommon for users to experience exactly the opposite or an increase in their appetite.
Fat Loss
All anabolic steroids are essentially forms of exogenous testosterone and since testosterone is a powerful fat-burning hormone, all anabolic steroids including Anadrol and Dianabol are likely to burn subcutaneous fat in your body.
Since Anadrol is more androgenic than Dianabol, it burns slightly more fat. However, what you need to keep in mind is that this enhanced fat loss is often not visible since it gets hidden because of excess water retention in the body (while the user is on the cycle).
Another important point to keep in mind is that while on a bulking steroid, you are likely to be in a state of caloric surplus. Thus, it is possible for you to gain and accumulate fat too. Having said that, Anadrol is likely to be a better performer when it comes to minimizing fat gain while being in a caloric surplus.
Because of its fat-burning potential and the ability to fill up muscles, Anadrol is often used as a cutting steroid, especially by those competing in Men’s physique. In order to avoid water retention, such men usually lower their sodium intake since it is the combination of estrogen and moderate amounts of sodium that leads to extracellular water distribution.
Suitability for Women
One of the major differences between Dbol and Anadrol is that while Dianabol is not suitable for women, they can use Anadrol without any fear of virilization.
Dianabol is known to cause virilization leading to clitoral hypertrophy, growth of facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, etc.
Anadrol is one of the few anabolic steroids that is well-tolerated by women without experiencing any effects of virilization even with larger doses in the range of 100-150mg/day for 30 weeks!
The main reason behind this is that Anadrol has a low affinity when binding to SHBG or sex hormone binding glubulin.
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Anadrol vs Dbol: Which is the Better Steroid?
The answer to this question depends mainly upon what the user what to achieve.
For instance, if you want more strength or 3D shoulders and if you are not a beginner, then Anadrol is a better choice for you.
On the other hand, if you do not want to suffer from hair loss or other harsh side effects and yet be able to gain muscle and strength then Dianabol is the steroid that would best suit you.
I must mention here that as far as men are concerned, Dianabol is preferred over Anadrol since it has less severe side effects.
Anadrol, on the other hand, is the only option for women since it does not cause virilization.
Lastly, it is never a good idea to stack both Anadrol and Dianabol together since it can lead to dangerously high values of cholesterol and AST and ALT enzymes. Such a stack should always be avoided.
Legal Dianabol Alternative
Dianabol has almost always been popular with bodybuilders. Even though CIBA stopped producing it many years ago, a lot of bodybuilders source it from the grey market. However, this is a time and age when you should be looking at natural or legal Dianabol alternatives such as D-Bal from Crazy Bulk. It is great for gaining both muscle and strength and can help burn fat too. One of the most unique features of D-Bal is that it can help you gain high-quality lean muscle mass. The best part is that it has no adverse side effects and can be combined with other legal steroids from Crazy Bulk for even better results.
It comes at a fraction of the cost as compared to Dianabol and does not even require a PCT. You can check out my unbiased and detailed D-Bal review by clicking here.
References:
Tanveer Quraishi, author of Steroids 101 has extensive experience in the field of bodybuilding and has been writing online on various muscle-building and other health topics for many years now. He is not just interested in bodybuilding but is a great football player too. When he is not writing for his site or training at the gym, he loves to spend his time with this wife and kids.