Winstrol (Stanozolol)

Winstrol or Stanozolol is most popular as a dry-gains steroid. Professionals usually add it to the fag-end of their stacks, particularly for contest prep.

Newbies though have the same attraction towards Winny like they have towards other orals like Dianabol or Anavar.

No need to pin (for the oral version), can be used anywhere and it boasts of some amazing results.

The commonest question that we are asked though, is ‘can we do a Stanozolol only cycle’?

Also, can you add Stanozolol to your fitness routine if you are already on a TRT dose of testosterone?

Here’s a brief primer on Stanozolol for newbies.

The top three benefits of Stanozolol

Any steroid that’s known for contest prep and is primarily used pre-contest has to be an aesthetic one.

That’s the main draw of Winstrol.

Granite-hard muscles:

Most first timers on performance enhancement drugs end up disappointed with the results they achieve. That’s because they have grossly exaggerated expectations. A rank newbie on a Test-Cyp only cycle for example, will expect to have rock hard muscles by the end of the cycle. Whereas he will end up with reasonably good gains peppered with a generous dose of water and glycogen. In other words, wet gains. Winstrol on the other hand will make you look dry. Your muscle fiber striations will be visible even if you have a high body fat percentage. And if you are lean, you will be looking rock hard.

Strength:

Winny is not one of the best options from a strength-gain perspective. But it’s pretty good. It will make you stronger for sure. That’s probably why most people recommend using it with an injectable steroid. Just in case you were unaware, Google ‘Ben Johnson’ and you should have an idea of what’s achievable with Winstrol.

SHBG Reduction:

Winstrol has a more pronounced SHBG reducing effect than most other steroids. There’s a lot of science to talk about when it comes to SHBG. But to put it in simple terms, the lesser the SHBG, more the amount of free, bioavailable testosterone.

Top side effects to be concerned about

When it comes to oral steroids, most people are concerned about blowing their livers into oblivion.

Orals are liver toxic, no doubt. But they aren’t as liver toxic as they are made out to be.

When it comes to Winstrol, there’s another side effect that’s more bothersome than slightly elevated liver values.

• Severe muscle cramps: Remember what we spoke about Winny being the perfect ‘drying’ steroid? In some people, this effect is so prominent that they end up with severely dried joints. And with dried joints come extremely painful muscle cramps. Think about cramps so severe that you cannot even lift a 10-pound dumbbell. That’s why Winny is usually stacked with Deca Durabolin. Deca is elixir for the joints.
• Lipids: Winstrol can be severe on your lipids just like other C17-aa orals. The fact that it has a much higher affinity towards reducing SHBG also contributes to this. If you intend to use Winstrol, ensure that you have a clean lipid profile and are following a heart-friendly diet and supplementation routine.
• Shut Down: Winstrol will shut down your natural testosterone production in about 3-4 weeks. Not suppression mind you, it will be a total shutdown. We have read athletes mentioning that it’s only mildly suppressive. It’s not a SARM for Christs sake.

Oral vs. Injectable Winstrol

There’s a lot of debate about the ideal way to use Winstrol.

There’s the oral form and there’s the intramuscular injectable version called ‘Winstrol Depot’.

The oral one has a very short half-life of about 9-hours whereas the injectable version has a 24-hour half-life.

However, apart from the liver toxicity, which you can bypass with the non-esterized injectable form, there’s not much difference in the two.

Some people say that the injectable version dries them out faster. But there are no logs to support this. It’s just anecdotal reviews.

If we were you, we’d stick to the orals. Easily available and less chances of being counterfeit.

PCT with Winstrol

Make no mistake, you will need a full-fledged PCT after your Stanozolol cycle.

Clomid and Nolva starting a couple of days after your last dose.

Also throw in HCGenerate if you don’t plan to use HCG injections.

N2guard is a very good supplement for on-cycle support.

Running Winstrol Solo – Pros and Cons

Many athletes want to run a solo cycle of Winny. Many have done it already and continue to do it, despite it being against common wisdom.

Pros

• Easy to use. No pins.
• Fast results. Winny kicks in a lot sooner than Test.
• Rock hard, dry gains. No water retention.
• Less risk of virilization in women
• Amazing strength gains

Cons

• High risk of a shut down by week-5
• Severe joint cramps are a possibility
• Very little lean muscle mass gains

Having done two Winstrol-only cycles, we would never do it again.

In fact, we wouldn’t run Stanozolol without Deca Durabolin in the stack, ever. The joint pains are too much to handle.

So, if you absolutely want to do orals in your cycle, go with Test, Deca and Winny.

Winstrol vs. Masteron for cutting

Both these compounds produce very identical results. So it all boils down to how you react to these as an individual, and, your current body stats.

If you are very lean, that is below 10% body fat, we would say drop the Winny and go for Mast.

There’s no better finishing steroid than Masteron.

But if you are a rank beginner, a Winny cycle will make you feel better overall and also produce some decent results.

Winstrol vs. Clenbuterol for cutting

Both of these are very different drugs.

One is an anabolic androgenic steroid whereas the other one is a drug used to treat asthma.

If you are looking purely to cut, without running anabolics, go with Clen. But use it carefully. It is a very powerful drug that can cause some serious shit.

On the other hand, if you are looking to hop on to the steroid train, go with Stanozolol for your cutting cycle.