Anadrol, also known in bodybuilding and weightlifting circles of bodybuilders and weightlifters by the name of Oxymetholone, represents an anabolic steroid that is synthetically produced by manipulating the base testosterone steroid. But compared to testosterone, its anabolic strength is 3 times higher while its androgenic value is half.
The advantage of these ratios is on Anadrol’s side. And it’s all because Anadrol facilitates a superior environment for muscle growth while diminishing its androgenic effects. Effects like male patterned baldness, acne and gynecomastia (that is, the onset of mammary tissue in male users). All effects which have a lesser chance of occurring with Anadrol, than the administration of testosterone.
We will, however, see that Anadrol does actually include the possibility that some quite serious negative effects may arise. Therefore, this anabolic steroid will have to be implemented with the appropriate protection. For example, an AI (aromatase inhibitor) is strongly recommended.
Now, let’s start by outlining that a known truth is that the best feature of Anadrol is its high versatility. This anabolic steroid exerts a significant role in all the three major purposes which a serious anabolic steroid can serve. These being the bulking cycle, the cutting cycle and the performance-enhancing cycle. These 3 areas of benefits are served almost in an equal fashion when you administer Anadrol. However the prominent one (and generally favored) would definitely be its usefulness for bulking purposes.
Historically, Anadrol was first engineered in the sixties. It found success in treating such illnesses as osteoporosis and muscular decrease and re-growth in patients who were under-nourished. It is still prescribed to patients affected by HIV and anemia. These purposes underline and explain its healthy effects on muscles and bones. Anadrol is clearly at its best for any bulking need.
Anadrol, which is also known as Oxymetholone, (Anadrol simply being its first manufactured name), represents a 17-Alpha-Alkylated steroid. This merely refers to the fact that Anadrol has had a chemical change in the 17th carbon position. This modification allows it to overcome the digestive function of the liver. Therefore it isn’t broken it down in the digestive process. Rather, it remains active in the body and enters untouched into your bloodstream. But this has a bad side to counteract; the oral form can indeed be toxic to the liver- actually Anadrol is one of the most toxic compounds and therefore protections should also be used when taking Anadrol.
When Anadrol enters your bloodstream, it is already active and its effects start taking effect quickly. On the other hand, Anadrol’s half-life is quite short, say about 8 hours, so it does act fast but has a short burst duration. It is quite common for users to split the daily dosage in halves to keep the steroid’s effects at a peak level as long as possible.
The Benefits of Anadrol:
As outlined before, there are 3 main areas where Anadrols benefits display their phenomenal effects on the user. In bulking, cutting and in enhancing physical and athletic performance.
The Benefits of Anadrol for Bulking Purposes
Anadrol has a fast and effective working predisposition. It is the ideal item for users who need an immediate effect while bulking.
This compound’s effects are hugely increased if you decide to stack it with any other injectable anabolic steroids. Among the favorite ones, we have to necessarily mention the base anabolic steroid testosterone, Deca Durabolin and Trenbolone.
For bulking purposes the major effect while implementing this steroid is in its particular ability to escalate protein synthesis, making it a real great patrimony of its users. Athletes and bodybuilders often talk about having performed only one single cycle yet having put on some 25-30 pounds during their time with this extraordinary anabolic mass-gaining steroid.
It is also fairly common for bodybuilders well advanced in this ‘art’ to use Anadrol as a booster when they have been implementing less potent anabolic steroids, but have found it difficult to progress in terms of gaining more muscle mass or physical strength. Stacking their currently used anabolic steroid with an appropriate dosage of Anadrol will make their organism reach an extremely powerful anabolic state, and consequently obtain superior muscle masses and strength.
The above stated effects are possible because of Anadrol’s ability to improve the production of red blood cells, which greatly improves the bulking phase thanks to the additional oxygen volumes being transported by the extra red blood cells, and also thanks to the improved uptake of all food’s nutrients. These latter two elements are literally taken to the tissues of your muscles and this process ultimately improves the above stated protein synthesis for enhancing your muscle mass. Which is what bulking is about.
The Benefits of Anadrol For Cutting Purposes
Anadrol does also benefit a cutting cycle, working with similar actions that occur during a bulking cycles. It stacks very well with those specific anabolic steroids which are primarily used for cutting, especially Anavar.
This is mainly due to the fact that the role which is assigned in the cutting phase to Anadrol is down to its ability to make the user maintain the levels of muscle mass they have already obtained. It only takes a very small dosage of Anadrol to make this muscle maintenance a real success for the user.
Also, it has to be underlined that several anabolic steroids used for cutting cycles are of a dry nature, which entails the possibility that the user may experience pain in their joints and ligaments. But because of the wet nature of Anadrol, these complications can be quite easily counteracted or avoided so that consequently your movements and actions are not impaired and your training sessions can be carried out without such physical complications.
The Benefits of Anadrol for the Enhancement of Performance
Anadrol, even when supplemented at rather quite low doses and without being stacked with any other anabolic steroid available on the market, has the unique ability also to significantly boost your endurance, your physical power output levels and your overall strength. Power lifters especially will enjoy the explosive strength they will achieve by implementing this anabolic steroid, which is notably useful in bench presses, deadlifts and squats.
On the other hand, the improvement of stamina and endurance levels will be very beneficial to athletes and bodybuilders of all levels, as they will be able to carry out their workouts and cycles for a longer time and at much higher levels of total effective performance.
Women and Anadrol
One word now about the supplementation of Anadrol and its use by females: female users are in fact not advised at all to use this anabolic steroid given that, as said, Anadrol’s anabolic rating is very high (320) and such a rating has been demonstrated to play a hugely significant role in women’s masculinization ( that is, in the onset of male features in females, such as the deepening of the voice, the appearance of body hair, and other characteristics typical of men). This masculinization process has sometimes occurred even if female users implement short cycles and low dosages of Anadrol. They will be much better off by using other anabolic steroids, which entail less of the masculinization features typical of Anadrol by supplementing instead such steroids like Anavar, Winstrol or Primobolan.
How To Protect Yourself Against Anadrols Side Effects
One thing to remember is that Anadrol is truly very beneficial and a most versatile anabolic steroid, BUT it is also and foremost a very potent anabolic steroid. Therefore it is absolutely essential that you use it abiding by the rules, recommendations and dosages that are set forth, to ensure its benefits are at the max while avoiding potential side effects.
We will outline now in detail these recommendations, side effects, recommended dosages and also proper cycles in the next chapters of this article, but please note that should you be willing to begin an Anadrol cycle, you should at the very least make sure that the following basic points are all in place:
- That you have in hand all the product needed so that you can fully cycle your Anadrol implementation program.
- In particular, that you are already procured the necessary aromatase inhibitor (AI), such as Letrozol or Arimidex.
- That you already have in hand the full spectrum of SERMs (like Clomid or Nolvadex) that you may need, and an appropriate amount of milk thistle, which acts as an extra protection provider for your organism.
- Also the necessary base testosterone is already available.
With all these in place, you have all that is required to counteract Anadrol’s negative side effects and run your anabolic steroid cycle in total peace of mind.
Remember, Anadrol is an alkylated anabolic steroid, which means that it is not metabolized by the liver on the first pass, so it remains fully available in the bloodstream, hence there being a potential for hepatotoxicity ( that is, toxicity of the liver). This is a risk that needs to be taken into account, which is why we showed you before a simple example, yet very significant, of what you need to have at hand before starting to implement a cycle of Anadrol.
As said, please do not to forget (as many often do, thinking that the end of a cycle with Anadrol is really the end of all their duties to themselves) that there is still the essential need for a Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) after the implementation of a cycle with Anadrol. For example, using Clomid or Nolvadex will help in effectively recovering your endogenous (natural) testosterone production levels, and this is when you will have really finished with your cycle of Anadrol!
The Side Effects of Anadrol
As we said previously, Anadrol is an alkylated anabolic steroid, which means that it is not fully metabolized by the human liver, so it remains fully available in the bloodstream, hence there being a risk of hepatotoxicity.
But hepatotoxicity is unfortunately not the only negative side effect that may potentially occur when implementing a cycle of Anadrol. We mentioned earlier also the potential estrogenic side effects. This is a hormonal process where estrogen is converted by means of the aromatase process and, although Anadrol does not actually ignite this process (being a dihydrotestosterone type of steroid),it does however increase the level of estrogen in the human organism.
Hence, phenomena which are to be avoided very carefully, like gynecomastia (the onset of mammary tissue in the male user) or the onset of a prolonged high blood pressure, or even water retention under the skin, call for the implementation of an Aromatase Inhibitor (such as Arimidex And / or Letrozole, as said before) so that the said negative side effects may be effectively counteracted, while also reducing the overall amount of estrogen present.
On the whole, the negative effects of Anadrol include, but are not limited to the following:
- Severe edema (water retention under the skin)
- Gynecomastia
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Elevated negative cholesterol levels
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Dizziness
- Dynamic changes in mood
Proper protection, adequate dosing and correct cycling are all factors that, when duly and effectively in place, will make the user avoid most (if not all) of the said negative side effects.
The vast majority of the above stated symptoms would not warrant any particular medical attention, provided that the user were cycling this very potent anabolic steroid in a sensible fashion. But should any of the said problems present themselves in a significant manner and over the course of a sustained period of time, this would without a doubt necessitate the proper intervention by a qualified medical professional.
Cycles and Dosages of Anadrol
Anadrol is normally supplied in tablets of 50 mg each, and in fact this is the common recommended daily dose for this anabolic steroid. Although it is quite normal to find that the usual and most effective daily dosage is 100 mg per day.
More specifically, the suggested dosage of Anadrol is as follows:
- General dosage and cycle: 50 – 150 mg per day over the course of between 4 and 6 weeks.
- Beginner’s dosage: 50 mg per day – This is a very important and definitely the top limit for a beginner, who has to first assess their individual tolerance before an additional dose can be taken.
- Intermediate users’ dosage: 100 mg per day.
- Advanced users’ dosage: 150 mg per day.
In general, a period of 6 weeks is what’s considered the ideal cycle duration when implementing Anadrol. This duration will most likely not stress your liver. However the benefits of Anadrol would start to decrease incrementally after a period of 6 weeks of implementation.
As said before, proper dosage and cycle duration are essential if you want to avoid some potentially severe side effects from the implementation of this very powerful anabolic steroid. Simply put, this is easily one of, if not THE most potent AAS variety on the planet in regards to the negative issues it can cause, so please stick to constant moderation, proper application, and adequate protection. These are the 3 vital yet essential factors that need be in place for you to maximize the overall benefits while minimizing all negative side effects during your time with Anadrol.
