Winstrol Benefits and Side Effects

Winstrol or Stanozolol was launched in the market way back in 1962 and has been a popular choice among bodybuilders for gaining lean muscle/cutting cycles.

Winstrol benefits include lean muscle gains, a massive increase in strength and endurance, faster fat loss, no water retention, etc. However, Winstrol’s side effects could include liver toxicity, cardiotoxicity, joint pain, testosterone suppression, acne, hair loss and virilization (in women).

This article takes you through all these Winstrol benefits and side effects in detail and also recommends a natural alternative that can help you get excellent results without any of the abovementioned side effects.

Winstrol Benefits

Let’s have a look at some of the benefits of Winstrol which has made it so popular among bodybuilders:

Muscle Gains

Even though Winstrol is out and out a cutting steroid, it can still help you gain a sizeable amount of hard, dense and lean muscle mass. As a matter of fact, it is quite common among gymgoers who want to gain high-quality muscle mass.

It is not uncommon for bodybuilders to gain as much as 10-15 lbs of muscle in their first Winstrol cycle and the best part is that they are able to do so even when they are in a calorie deficit.

What makes Winstrol unique is that it may help gain muscle and burn fat at the same time. Thus, you do not have to follow a bulking and cutting cycle protocol. Just one cycle is enough to help ensure both bulking and cutting results.

Who uses Winstrol?

• Those bodybuilders who want to gain lean muscle while keeping a check on their body fat.
• Bodybuilders who do not want an excessive amount of hypertrophy such as what other bulking steroids like Dianabol, Anadrol and Testosterone are known for.

Fat Loss

Winstrol is one of the best steroids for a cutting cycle. The main reason behind this is that it helps burn subcutaneous fat in your body.

More than that, it is a powerful diuretic that can help flush out extracellular fluid from your body.

Moreover, there’s no water retention since it does not aromatize.

What it all means is that by getting rid of excess fat and extracellular fluid from our body, Winstrol can help you get a more defined physique marked with enhanced vascularity.

The volume of fat loss that you experience may depend on:

• your diet
• training and
• dosage of Winstrol taken during the cycle.

Typically speaking, someone having a regular calorie deficit of 500 calories and taking a moderate dosage of 20mg per day may lose 5-6% body fat with an 8-week cycle.

Another steroid that is often used for cutting is Anavar. Read more on Winstrol vs Anavar by clicking here.

No Water Retention

Most of the anabolic steroids such as Dianabol are highly estrogenic and they are called wet steroids or compounds. This is because by increasing estrogen levels in your body, such steroids increase water retention and make you look bloated.

One of the most unique features of Winstrol is that it produces an exactly opposite effect – it helps you get a bigger, leaner and more aesthetic physique.

In other words, it helps you get a perfect Photoshop effect!

You do not have to hide your torso with loose T-shirts or jumpers as is the case with other bulking compounds or steroids.

Winstrol can help you look bigger with ripped muscle and enhanced vascularity with veins popping up all over your muscles.

Increases Endurance

When it comes to enhancing endurance, Winstrol is perhaps the best steroid that you can choose. This is because it stimulates erythrocytosis or the production of new red blood cells.

Even though erythrocytosis tends to occur with all anabolic steroids, most of them will lead to dramatic weight gain and water retention barring Winstrol which can help increase endurance without water retention.

This is one of the reasons why it is so popular among athletes since it helps them remain light, strong and powerful due to simultaneous muscle-building and fat loss in their bodies.

Increases Strength

Winstrol also helps increase strength because it tends to increase both protein synthesis and nitrogen retention inside the muscle cells.

However, it is not the best strength-enhancing steroid because it tends to deplete intracellular water levels which leads to a drop in the levels of ATP or adenosine triphosphate inside the muscle cells. As far as increasing strength is concerned, an Anavar cycle may be a better option.

Most users report lifting 15-20lbs more on their compound lifts which is quite significant since most of such guys are on a calorie deficit when taking Winstrol.

Winstrol Side Effects

Let’s have a look at some of the common side effects of Winstrol:

Liver Toxicity

One of the biggest flip sides of Winstrol is that it is highly toxic to the liver. It is an oral compound that is c-17 alpha-alkylated and thus, it must be processed by the liver which puts a lot of strain on the organ.

It tends to increase inflammation by increasing ALT/AST enzymes in your body.

Having said that, it can lead to liver cirrhosis in people who already have a compromised liver function (because of taking Winstrol or other oral anabolics)

One of the best and most popular ways to deal with this is to have a TUDCA supplement such as tauroursodeoxycholic acid (500mg/day) during the Winstrol cycle. I must mention here that TUCDA is an FDA-approved treatment for various kinds of cholestatic liver dysfunctions and diseases.

Changes in Lipid Profile

Winstrol is a steroid that can lead to a significant rise in your LDL cholesterol and a big drop in HDL levels resulting in high blood pressure and increased chances of myocardial infarction.

Winstrol is an oral steroid and it stimulates hepatic lipase in the liver. As such is it known to cause a further drop in HDL cholesterol levels in your body.

Since it is not estrogenic, a lack of estrogen may also result in an increase in blood pressure. It is worth noting that estrogen bears a positive impact on cholesterol levels.

Supplementing with fish oil (4-5g-day) and including cardio training in your workout may help prevent your blood pressure from rising excessively when on a Winstrol cycle.

The extent of cardiac damage that a person experiences also depends upon his genetics. If you are someone who has a family history of cardiac issues then you are more likely to experience cardiac complications on Winstrol.

Joint Pain

Winstrol, as mentioned above, comes with diuretic properties and can help you flush out extracellular fluid from the muscle cells. While this helps improve muscle definition, it also means less cushion for the joints, which can be quite painful, especially for those who have been taking steroids for a long time.

This is quite the opposite of Deca Durabolin which is known to improve joint health.

What I mean to say here is that if you plan to use Winstrol for cutting then it may be a good idea to use Deca Durabolin in the off-season bulking (in order to ensure better joint health).

Testosterone Suppression

Winstrol is one of the most suppressive steroids that bodybuilders use. It damages the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis (HPTA) resulting in a complete shutdown of the endogenous testosterone in your body.

Though it is a short-term effect and your testosterone levels will start getting back to normal after the cessation of the cycle, it may take a couple of months for your endogenous testosterone levels to restore.

Low testosterone levels can make you experience the feeling of reduced well-being, poor libido and testicular atrophy.

Thus, it is more than important to utilize post-cycle therapy so as to speed up the process of restoring your testosterone production back to its normal levels. Some of the common drugs used for PCT include Nolvadex, Clomid and hCG.

Nolvadex or Clomid is usually sufficient if you have been on a Winstrol-only cycle. However, if you have been on a stack, then you may need to use all three of these medicines together.

hCG is mainly used to restore sperm production in men rather than for restoring endogenous testosterone production.

Acne

Winstrol is a DHT-derivative and thus, it can cause androgenic side effects in your body.

One of such side effects is acne. It can block pores because of excessive sebum production resulting in breakouts.

However, Winstrol is far less androgenic than other anabolics like Dianabol or Testosterone. As such, it is likely to produce fewer androgenic side effects. In other words, it may not lead to severe acne.

Hair Loss

Like acne, Hair loss is another androgenic side effect of Winstrol. It may lead to thinning or recession of hair on the scalp. However, it is more likely to occur in the case of people who are already prone to losing hair or have male pattern baldness running in their families.

Virilization

Winstrol is not supposed to be a suitable steroid for women. When taken in a moderate dosage, it can lead to virilization or masculinization by increasing free testosterone levels in women.

Check out more on Winstrol for women by clicking here. Winstrol is not the best choice for women if they do not want to compromise their feminity.

Having said that, they may still get away by using very small dosages of Winstrol. Anavar is a more women-friendly steroid. Find out more on Anavar for women by clicking here.

Can Winstrol Cause Gynecomastia?

Winstrol is not likely to cause gynecomastia in men because of the fact that it does not aromatize or directly stimulate estrogen receptors.

However, in terms of bodybuilding dosages, it can still cause gynecomastia by increasing progesterone which is a female sex hormone that can lead to the growth of breast tissue in men. Even though it is not common, it can still occur.

In case, you notice puffiness or swelling in your nipples while on Winstrol, you may take Letrozole or Anastrozole in order to combat Winstrol-induced gynecomastia. However, such anti-estrogens should be taken only when utmost required since they can elevate blood pressure significantly. Also, if you already have high blood pressure, you must not have such drugs.

Moreover, when Winstrol is used with an estrogenic steroid, the chances of getting gynecomastia will increase manifold.

Conclusion

Winstrol is a potent anabolic steroid that can be used for gaining lean muscle or for a cutting cycle. However, it can have rather harsh side effects. Moreover, it is not suitable for women. I would suggest you try a natural and legal alternative such as WinCut from Brutal Force to get amazing results from your workouts without fearing side effects.