Clenbuterol (Clen)

We wanted to start this blog entry with a classic example of the misinformation that people have about pharmaceutical grade drugs like Clenbuterol and the way this misinformation often lands them in the hospital.

Meet Tom. 26-year-old male. Been lifting on and off for the past 1-year or so. 30% Body fat. Someone hands him a bottle of Clen as if it’s a magic pill.

The dude starts to torch fat every day. Messes with the dose a little too much and ends up in the ER with severe atrial fibrillation. Barely escapes being killed in the process.

Do not be like Tom.

If you are even thinking of using Clenbuterol, ensure that you are aware of how to use it and what it can do to your body if you aren’t careful with it.

Here’s a brief guide.

Why people use Clenbuterol

We don’t know what you’ve heard about Clenbuterol.

We’ve known people though, who thought that it was an herbal grade fat burner, like some of the green tea extracts that they sell in fancy bottles to fool gullible customers.

Clen is a veterinary-grade sympathomimetic bronchodilator. Say that five times.

It alleviates the symptoms of an asthma attack by reducing the pressure in the airways and by widening it, which increases oxygenation.

Clen In Bodybuilding

But what if you aren’t suffering from asthma?

Then Clenbuterol acts like pure adrenaline. It pumps your heart, widens your airways, almost like you are trying to escape a threat or getting ready for a sprint.

Somewhat like a fight or flight response caused by ephedrine, a once-popular, now-banned stimulant.

Now think of your body being in this fight or flight mode all day. Your heart rate is elevated; your basal metabolic rate is increased by up to 10%, your aerobic capacity is improved as you can breathe better.

In a calorie deficit, you will torch fat, even if you are using Clen at extremely low doses. If you are performing cardio, you will drop pounds at the rate of knots.

But Clenbuterol is mainly used by athletes who are conditioned and are at a very low body fat percentage.  The general consensus varies. But 15% is a good yardstick to go by. If your body fat is above 15%, then Clenbuterol is not the solution.

Fix your diet and exercise hard. Once your body fat is lesser than 15%, you can think of using Clen to polish it.

Other than the fat burning effects, Clenbuterol is mildly anabolic, which means that you will lose less muscle even when you are in a severe deficit.

When administered orally clenbuterol has a special position with in the group of p,- adrenoceptor agonists, having the most prominent anabolic effect.

Metabolism. 1991 Aug;40(8):855-60.

Side effects to be concerned about

There is a reason why most experts warn you against using Clenbuterol.

It is a very powerful drug. And it can cause some serious, permanent side effects that you can do without.

So, only use Clenbuterol as a last resort or if you are competing.

If you are looking to drop fat for your next beach holiday, Clen is not the answer.

Insomnia:

The first thing that a powerful stimulant does is rob you off your sleep. And it’s not just a few interruptions in a night’s sleep. There have been instances when athletes couldn’t sleep for a minute despite using Clen first thing in the morning. If you get insomnia to the point that it becomes bothersome, reduce the dose or stop using it altogether.

Tremors and Jitters:

You will start feeling jittery after a couple of days of starting your dose. Mild jitters are manageable and won’t cause any serious problems. But if the jitters are starting to affect your daily life and behavior, then it is recommended that you taper the dose a little. Many first time users go off Clen completely because the jitters become unmanageable.

Palpitations:

Another very serious side effect that can ultimately lead to the condition that we mentioned at the onset of this blog post. Usually, heart related side effects are felt at higher doses. For this reason, it is very important that you start at a very low dose and slowly dial in.

How to use Clen

Clenbuterol these days is available in a lot of forms like liquids, sprays and even an injectable form.

We highly recommend that you stick to tablets.

They are easier to dose and micro dose if need be. Less chances of ODing accidentally.

Start with 10mcg/day. That’s lower than what most people recommend. But to err on the side of caution, fly low.

After a couple of days, up this to 20mcg/day and then gradually increase it until you reach 80mcg/day.

If you haven’t experienced any side effects yet, then slowly increase it further until you reach 140mcg/day.

Wait for two days before increasing your dose any time.

If the side effects hit, reduce the dose or stop for a few weeks.

Always stick to the 16-week/year protocol when it comes to Clen.

PCT with Clen

You do not need a traditional steroid PCT with Clenbuterol.

But it does strip your body off some vital minerals, like Potassium.

Use N2 Guard to plug any deficiencies during cycle and use M1-MK post cycle.

Running Clenbuterol without Steroids

The good part about it is that you do not need to run anabolic steroids to use Clenbuterol.

If you are an athlete who’s looking to drop some fat and are reasonably active and healthy to begin with, then you can hop on to a mild Clenbuterol cycle.

But the fact is that it’s such a powerful drug that normally, it’s only steroid users who would bother fiddling with it.

It’s frequently used in pre-contest preps along with other muscle hardening compounds like Masteron.

Clenbuterol vs. Albuterol for fat loss

There are two ways to approach fat loss.

You can either focus on losing weight, not purely fat.

Or, you can focus purely on losing fat without much difference on the scales.

Definitely go with Clenbuterol for fat loss, whereas Albuterol might help overall with weight loss.

However, Albuterol is known to be more severe side effects wise, based on anecdotal reports of course.