WIKI4SPORT

Winstrol® is a popular brand name for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. This compound is a derivative of dihydrotestosterone, although its activity is much milder than this androgen in nature. It is technically classified as an anabolic steroid, shown to exhibit a slightly greater tendency for muscle growth than androgenic activity in early studies. While dihydrotestosterone really only provides androgenic side effects when administered, stanozolol instead provides quality muscle growth. Admittedly the anabolic properties of this substance are still mild in comparison to many stronger compounds, but it is still a reliable builder. Its efficacy as an anabolic could even be comparable to Dianabol, however Winstrol® does not carry with it the same tendency for water retention. Stanozolol also contains the same c17 methylation we see with Dianabol, an alteration used so that oral administration is possible. To spite this design however, there are many injectable versions of this steroid produced.

Structurally stanozolol is not capable of converting into estrogen. Likewise an antiestrogen is not necessary when using this steroid, gynecomastia not being a concern even among sensitive individuals. Since estrogen is also the culprit with water retention, instead of bulk Winstrol® produces a lean, quality look to the physique with no fear of excess subcutaneous fluid retention. This makes it a favorable steroid to use during cutting cycles, when water and fat retention are a major concern. It is also very popular among athletes in combination strength/speed sports such as Track and Field. In such disciplines one usually does not want to carry around excess water weight, and may therefore find the raw muscle-growth brought about by Winstrol® quite favorable over the lower quality mass gains of more estrogenic agents.

As mentioned Winstrol® is prepared in two distinct forms, as an oral tablet and an injectable solution. Although they are chemically identical, the injectable usually allows the user to take much higher dose of the steroid. This is of course because the injectables are much more cost effective, and therefore usually the preferred form of administration. You may find big differences in the appearance of one injectable product to another however. In particular there are big discrepancies in the size of the steroid particles used to manufacture the various stanozolol suspensions. For example, the European human use product Zambon uses a fine powder, capable of being comfortably injected through a 25-27 gauge needle. The Australian veterinary product Stanazolic is even better, so refined that it can pass easily through an ultra-fine 29 gauge insulin needle. Many other veterinary products on the other hand use steroid in a much larger particle size, such as Winstrol®-V in the U.S., Stanosus from Australia (reportedly Anabolic-ST is a little better) and Stanol-V from Mexico. In many instances jams and difficulty injecting have been noticed when trying to administer these products, even when using a large 22-gauge needle. But there are both advantages and disadvantages to each type of product. On the one hand the large particle size would form a longer acting deposit (depot) while the steroid dissolves, giving us the option of fewer injections. A larger shot every three to four days would likely be sufficient to keep blood levels within limits, which is a favorable schedule for a water-based product. On the other hand we are forced to use a standard size oil needle (21-22 gauge) for the injection, uncomfortable for regular administration. Products made with a finer substance do not allow for as slow acting a depot and therefore are usually injected every other day to keep blood levels steady. But shots can be given with a much more comfortable sized needle, opening up many new injection sites. Although you can jam a big "oil pipe" into your shoulder, it is really not the place for it.

For men the usual dosage of Winstrol® is 15-25mg per day for the tablets and 25-50mg per day with the injectable (differences based solely on price and quantity). It is often combined with other steroids depending on the desired result. For bulking purposes, a stronger androgen like testosterone, Dianabol or Anadrol 50® is usually added. Here Winstrol® will balance out the cycle a bit, giving us good anabolic effect with lower overall estrogenic activity than if taking such steroids alone. The result should be a considerable gain in new muscle mass, with a more comfortable level of water and fat retention. For contest and dieting phases we could alternately combine Winstrol® with a non-aromatizing androgen such as trenbolone or Halotestin®. Such combinations should help bring about the strongly defined, hard look of muscularity so sought after among bodybuilders. Older, more sensitive individuals can otherwise addition compounds like Primobolan®, Deca-Durabolin® or Equipoisee when wishing to stack this steroid. Here we should see good results and fewer side effects than is to be expected with standard androgen therapies.

Women will take somewhere in the range of 5-10mg daily, or two and a half to five 2mg tablets. Although female athletes usually find stanozolol very tolerable, the injectable is usually off limits. They risk androgenic buildup, as a regular 50mg injection will provide much too high a dosage. Here the tablets are the general preference. It is obviously much easier to divide up pills than it is to break up a 1cc ampule into multiple injections. Those who absolutely must experiment with the injectable would be most comfortable dividing each 50mg ampule into at least two separate injections. At this point the dosage will adjusted by the number of days separating each shot. 25mg every third or fourth day should be a comfortable amount for most. More ambitious (and risk taking) females would take 25mg every second day, although this is not recommended. Although this compound is only moderately androgenic, the risk of virilization symptoms should remain a concern.

With the structural (c17-AA) alteration, the tablets will also place a higher level of stress on the liver than the injectable (which avoids the "first pass"). During longer or higher dosed cycles, liver values should therefore be watched closely through regular blood work. Although less common, the possibility of liver damage cannot be excluded with the injectable however. While it does not enter the body through the liver, it is still broken down by it, providing a lower (but more continuous) level of stress. Such stress would of course be amplified when adding other c17-AA oral compounds to a cycle of Winstrol®. When using such combinations, cautious users would make every effort to limit the length of the cycle (preferably 6 to 8 weeks). It is also of note that both versions of Winstrol® have been linked to strong adverse changes in HDL/LDL cholesterol levels. This side effect is common with anabolic steroid therapy, and obviously can become a health concern as the dose/duration of intake increase above normal. The oral version should have a greater impact on cholesterol values than the injectable due to the method of administration, and may therefore be the worse choice of the two for those concerned and this side effect.

As discussed in the opening section of this book, the oral use of stanozolol can also have a profound impact on levels of SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin). This admittedly is characteristic of all anabolic/androgenic steroids, however its potency and form of administration make Winstrol® particularly noteworthy in this regard. Since plasma binding proteins such as SHBG act to temporarily constrain steroid hormones from exerting activity, this effect would provide a greater percentage of free (unbound) steroid hormone in the body. This may amount to an effective mechanism in which stanozolol could increase the potency of a concurrently used steroid. To further this purpose we could also addition Proviron® (1 methyl-dihydrotestosterone), which has an extremely high affinity for SHBG. This affinity may cause Proviron® to displace other weaker substrates for SHBG (such as testosterone), another mechanism in which the free hormone level may be increased. Adding Winstrol® and Proviron® to your next testosterone cycle may therefore prove very useful, markedly enhancing the free state of this potent muscle building androgen.

Stanozolol products coming from Mexico appear to be the most popular on the black market at this time. These are the Stanol-V products from Ttokkyo and the Aussie injectable imports Stanosus from Jurox and Stanazolic from Ilium. The product Stanosus was actually replaced recently with the new name Anabolic-ST, now labeled by Grupo Comercial Tarasco (a distributor for Jurox Australia). The change in label may have something to do with the recent controversy in Australia over this country's high rate of steroid exports to Mexico (and their subsequent diversion to the U.S. black market). Both products can still be found in circulation at this time however, so don't let this worry you. The Ttokkyo product line has brought home a good share of the Mexican Winstrol® market by now though, releasing the first 100mg/ml stanozolol injectable and 10mg tablet ever to be produced commercially. Although some complain about the lower viscosity and troublesome nature of the injectable product when it comes to administering it (you will probably need a 21 gauge needle), for most the 100mg dose is just too high to pass up. The 10 mg tablet is also in high demand for those tired of the old low dose/high cost 2mg tabs. With such attention being paid to high dosed products as of late, it is not surprising that two new versions of Ilium's Stanazolic have hit the market. Their new version of the favored Stanazolic injectable comes in a 10ml vial and carries the same whopping 100mg/ml dose as the Ttokkyo product, and judging by the high quality of the 50mg version is likely to grab a lot of attention itself. The second is a 6mg stanozolol capsule, which comes packaged in bottles of 300. Although not the 10mg dose of Ttokkyo, it is still triple the strength of a normal Winstrol tablet and the only other product currently available to carry over 5mg. In spite of all the Mexican imports however, the Zambon brand preparations from Spain do still seem to be make their way to the States. These products are supplied in 2mg tablets and 50mg water-based injectable ampules. In addition Genepharm has released a generic recently, containing a 5mg per tablet dosage.

Counterfeits:

Winstrol®, both in tablet or injection, is a popular target for counterfeiters. Being that the legitimate item is not widely manufactured, knowing what to look can help us a great deal. The best advice from the beginning is aside from the Greek product by Genepharm, never to purchase an item, tablet or injectable, which bears only the generic name stanozolol. All of the other legitimate products currently circulating carry a specific brand name.

Injectable:

Winstrol®-V, the multi-dose injectable produced in America and Canada, is the one duplicated most by counterfeiters. With tight controls you will likely not see the real thing anymore, so avoid all of them. If you want to risk it make sure the steroid crystals separates deeply and quickly when the bottle is at rest. The particles in real Winstrol®-V are also too large to be drawn into the finer gauge needles (25-27 gauge should jam quickly).

In Mexico you can trust Anabolic-ST, Stanazolic and Stanol-V by Ttokkyo. No fakes of these products are known to exist at this time. Additionally Stanazolic and Stanol-V are protected against counterfeiters with security hologram stickers, so look for these when shopping just to be safe.

For the injectable, the only legitimate item really left on the black market is the Spanish 1 ml ampule from Zambon (I believe Zambon still makes an injectable in Italy as well, but it does not seem to circulate here anymore). Copies of this product have been noted, but so far have been easy to spot. As with Winstrol®-V the particles will separate out of the solution if the ampule is left to sit for a length of time. The crystals however are smaller, can be injected with a higher gauge needle and take longer to settle than their N. American counterpart, so don't let this alarm you. Recently the style of the Spanish Zambon ampule has changed, reflecting a thinner and more generic look. That is unfortunate, as the old amps were very unusual in appearance, and as such seemingly more difficult to duplicate. The size and shape of the newer amps are similar to that of many products on the market at this time, and no longer bear their distinct wide base. The packaging on the new version looks a little different as well, the box being printed in a more appealing light shade of gray. The fact remains however that we have only seen fakes of the older ampules thus far, so for now the new version remains a safer buy.

Oral:

With Winstrol® tablets, the key again is knowing what few products you should purchase. To most popular items that can be trusted at this time are the Ttokkyo Stanol-V tablets and the Greek generic by Genepharm. Neither appears to have been targeted by counterfeiters as of yet, and therefore can be trusted. The Stanol-V tablets come in both bottles of 100 and 500 tablets, and are orange in color. Remember to look for the security hologram on the Ttokkyo product and a Greek drug ID sticker on the Genepharm tabs to guarantee legitimacy. Also expected to circulate in high volume soon are the new Stanazolic 6mg tablets. As with all steroids imported into Mexico by Denkall, Stanazolic capsules carry a security hologram sticker. Be sure to look for it before purchasing.

The Zambon tablets from Italy and Spain are also currently safe buys, the Spanish product being much more popular in recent years. The Italian item is packed in strips of 10 tabs, 2 strips to a box. The Spanish comes in strips of 20, only one strip in a box. In both products the tablets are pink in color. The Spanish tablets also contain an imprinted "W".

Menabol from India is another legitimate tablet, but not seen here in much volume. This can be trusted when found in strips of 10 tablets, 10 strips to a box. Cetabon from Thailand can occasionally be located on the black market as well, and comes 10 very distinct redish colored tablets per strip. Aside from those products listed above I would trust no other stanozolol tablet unless you are absolutely sure of the source.