Winstrol (Stanozolol)

Winstrol is a terrific anabolic steroid that’s sadly gained popularity for all the wrong reasons.

There are first timers looking to do a ‘Winny only’ cycle because they think that it would give them the aesthetic physique that they yearn for.

No! A Winstrol only cycle is a rookie mistake.

You know what’s worse? Using Winstrol without understanding what the compound can do for you.

There are a couple of things that we would like to clarify before we get started with this blog post.

1. Winstrol is not a cutting compound. Far from it. ‘Cosmetic’ would be the right way to describe it. If you have the muscle mass with a layer of fat and water covering it, Winny will sculpt you. But if you are hovering at 20% body fat, with very little muscle, and use Winny, you will be pissing dark urine in a few days. That’s the only notable difference you’ll see in your body composition.
2. Do not use it without a test base. Period.

Now that we have that out of the way, here’s a brief guide for first timers who are looking to use Winstrol.

Winstrol Pumps – Week 1 onwards

Winstrol kicks in fairly fast and you should start to notice insanely good pumps right from the first week onwards.

Assuming that you will be running it with Testosterone, this can make you look pumped 24/7, as opposed to just in the gym.

Be warned that for some users, the famed Winny pump tends to be a painful nightmare.

So much so that the pumps can prevent increasing training volume or going really heavy. There’s only one way to counter these sides. Dial down the dose.

If it’s counterintuitive to what you are trying to achieve, dial it down. As simple as that.

Strength gain – Week 1 onwards

Winstrol is one of the best anabolic steroids to boost your strength. If you have hit a plateau and find that the weights aren’t moving the way they used to, Winny will give you a shot in the arm. You will find that you are able to add more plates throughout the length of your cycle.

If you are a non-professional athlete looking to boost your performance without looking like a mass monster, Winny is your ticket to it.

We know that it’s been spoken to death. But Ben Johnson tested positive for Winstrol when he beat Carl Lewis to become the fastest man on earth. Enough said.

Other athletes who have been banned for using Winstrol include heavyweight Ruslan Magomedov who was recently awarded a lifetime ban from UFC for using Test and Winny.

Muscle hardness from Winstrol – Week 2 onwards

Remember what we mentioned about Winstrol being a cosmetic compound?

That’s because it will make your muscles granite-hard. That’s one of the reasons why bodybuilders add it towards the end of their bulking cycles that’s crammed with wet-gain compounds.

If they’ve been using Test, Deca Durabolin & Dianabol for instance, adding Winstrol for the last 6-weeks drains out all the water and makes their muscles pop out like they had paper-thin skin to begin with.

It is the perfect compound to add to your stack running up to a show or a contest.

Or a beach holiday if you are a recreational bodybuilder.

Dryness – Week 2 onwards

If Testosterone makes you hoard water like a sponge, or Dianabol does, then Winstrol will deflate you in days.

The muscle dryness is an incredibly aesthetic effect of the compound. It’s the ‘natty’ look that’s so popular on the gram.

Get ready for muscle striations even in places where it’s usually invisible, like on the calves. How many times have you had striated calves on a cycle? Winstrol makes you look freaky. Like a proper steroid user.

However, in the process, it can also make your joints very dry.

Only some users experience this effect though. So if you aren’t prone to it, you’ll enjoy Winny a lot more.

In fact, there is a clinical study that says that Winstrol can boost the production of collagen in a span of just days.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15403409

But if you do get dry joints, it will make you think twice about using the compound again. It can just smoke your joints, particularly the elbow.

Fat Loss from Winstrol – Week 4 onwards

Winstrol will make you drop body fat. There’s no doubt about it.

But it’s not a steroid that you would want to add to your stack purely for its fat burning properties, because it’s not as pronounced as most users expect it to be.

If you are at 15% body fat, Winstrol will get you to 12% if you are diligent with your diet.

The apparent fat loss that users experience during a Winny cycle is in fact the combination of muscle hardening, dryness and mild fat loss that gives your body a very cosmetic, finishing touch.

If you are looking for a compound purely for fat loss, we recommend Clenbuterol more than Winstrol.

But even for using that, you’d have to be fairly lean to begin with.

Hair loss from Winstrol – Week 3 onwards

It’s a DHT derived anabolic steroid.

If you are genetically predisposed to androgenic side effects from steroids, then Winstrol will wreak havoc on your hairline. You will also experience severely oily skin and acne breakouts on your back.

If you aren’t predisposed to the androgenic sides, then you shouldn’t have too many problems with your hair. A few strands here and there when you shower, but that’s about it.

In women, anything more than 10mg/day can cause virilization symptoms to worsen. Your voice can deepen and your clit can get enlarged.

Trashed lipids and liver values – Week 2 onwards

There’s a lot of talk about Winstrol being harsh on your liver. Being a 17CAA steroid, it will trash your liver values to an extent. But it can be managed with TUDCA and NAC.

The effect on your lipids can be a lot worse. It can absolutely trash your HDL levels. Subsequently, your LDL levels will rise and the HDL: LDL ratio will tank as well.

Add on-cycle cholesterol support, increase your dosage of fish oil, don’t skip on the cardio (if you can manage it with the dry joints), while you are on Winny.

It will help negate the sides to a large extent.