Oral Steroids

If you want quick results oral steroids are the preferred choice. That’s because once you ingest oral steroids they are metabolized immediately, entering the bloodstream where it is then used by the body.

Oral steroids have a shorter half life, meaning the metabolites don’t stay in your system for long. In fact, it is this alone that makes many athletes choose oral steroids over injectable steroids, especially if the must undergo anti doping screen tests.

No steroid is without its drawbacks and that includes oral steroids, which are stressful on your liver, especially with c-17 alpha alkylation’s which is used to improve absorption of oral steroids. If these chemicals weren’t used the anabolic steroids are often not able to get past the first pass metabolism in the lifer, and therefore the anabolic effects would not be enjoyed. The liver plays a vital role in the body clearing out waste products, and storing important nutrients. On top of the side effects, oral steroids shut down your body’s hormone production. This is why most users will include a steroid, such as, testosterone with the oral steroid, so the body’s testosterone levels are backup.

Four commonly used oral anabolic steroids are Anavar, Anadrol, Dianabol and Winstrol.

Anavar (Oxandrolone)

This is the most popular oral cutting anabolic steroid used today. That’s because it’s clean and it provides high quality strength gains and a noticeable physique hardening. Just about everyone that tries it loves it. The big drawback would be that it’s quite expensive. It is well tolerated with few side effects and is one of the mildest on the endocrine system.

The biggest problem is if you are using it alone the doses have to be quite high, up to 80 mg/day but at least there aren’t any side effects. For those competing this is the steroid of choice because you won’t have any unwanted weight gain just nicely developed muscles.

Anadrol (Oxymetholone)

Anadrol is a DHT derived compound that is a 2 hydroxymethylene group, thought to be the characteristic that really defines Anadrol. It shares characteristics with many of the DHT based drugs. This is one of the oral steroids that packs the weight on. In the first two to three weeks you can expect to gain upwards of a pound every day. You might not like the water retention but it will help you bulk up which is why those elite powerlifters use it.

Side effects from Anadrol, which include high blood pressure, are experience throughout the cycle. Other common side effects include headache, shin cramps, back cramps, and elevated liver enzymes. Generally speaking you shouldn’t use Anadrol stand alone. If you stack it with injectable steroids you’ll really like the effect.

Dianabol (Methandrostenolone)

After testosterone suspension, Dianabol was the second anabolic steroid to be produced. It really is just like testosterone with a 1-2 double carbon bond, a 17a-methyl group added. This allows the steroid to pass through your liver without it being completely destroyed. Although the 1-2 double bond has a slow estrogen conversion it can still has the possibility of developing side effects.

Dianabol for the most part seen only in bulking cycle in the initial 4 to 6 week period. 20 mgs/day is a common dose for beginners, up to 60 mgs/day if you are an advanced user. The most common form is oral and it is a 17aa steroid so it’s been altered at the 17th carbon position to help it resist having the liver inactivate it, so it will cause your liver enzymes to be elevated.

The most common side effect is rapid weight gain from water retention. It shares many of the characteristics of Anadrol. Dianabol is very popular for jump starting a bulking cycle so it is stacked with injectables like Enanthate, Deca-Durabolin, and Testosterone Cypionate, which are all longer acting injectables.

Winstrol (Stanozolol)

Winstrol is a popular steroid used by bodybuilders in pre-contest conditioning. It’s known to increase muscle ‘hardness’ and vascularity. Winstrol comes in both injectable and oral form.

A commone dosage for Winstrol is 50mgs everyday. Side effects are fairly mild, but as mentioned it is a 17 alpha alkylated steroid, so it does play a role on the liver.

Oral steroids are the most popular of all steroid types. We mentioned earlier that one reason is that they get to work so quickly. Another is that you simply swallow a pill and you’re done, unlike with injectables where you must give yourself a needle – this is not appealing to everyone.