It is one of the oldest steroids on the market; in-fact, it was the second steroid ever created and the first oral steroid. Extremely powerful, a true performance enhancing steroid in every sense of the word; there truly is nothing like Dianabol on earth. Commonly referred to as Dbol, this is a steroid, one of the few anabolic steroids that was originally designed with nothing but performance enhancement in mind, and since the late 1950's its popularity has remained supreme. Absolutely, many steroids have come about over the years, and when they first hit the market they may take away from Dbol's popularity; however, many always come back to this long-term friend. With this in mind, we want to take a look at this extremely powerful anabolic steroid; we want to look at all the positive and possible negative effects, and we want to look at its basic nature. Further, and this is where we'll start, we want to look at the history of Dbol, for the history of this steroid has an important story to tell.
In the late 1930's, thanks to German chemist Adolf Butenandt and Croatian chemist Leopold Ruzicka the first synthetic anabolic steroid would hit the shelf in the form of pure testosterone. Shortly thereafter, the Soviet Union would begin administering the hormone to its athletes, and as a result they would crush the United States at the Olympic Games through the 40's and 50's. Of course, the U.S. would learn of the advantage the Soviets had undertaken and would begin administering the hormone to their own athletes, but they quickly found themselves in search of another advantage; an advantage beyond testosterone.
Due to its anabolic nature, it is not meant for increasing body mass or for bulking purposes. If you use it then it will not give you great gains in muscle building but it will make strong muscle tissues. Its major benefit is of preserving the muscles and metabolic activity. As it makes muscle tissues strong and strong muscle tissues help in great metabolic activity and this would eventually increase the rate with which body fat would be utilized in the body for energy. Due to this reason it is mostly used by athletes in their preparation and also by bodybuilders. In females, effects of Dbol are very friendly. In fact it gives more advantages to females as compared to males. This is because sensitivity of females to hormones is greater as compared to males. Mostly females use it as a fat burner which gives them painless and hunger less weight loss without too many of side effects and also give body and muscles a good look. That is why it is also a favorite choice for females as well. Due to this it is also referred as "The Girl Steroid".
It has some mild side effects associated with it as well. Side effects occur when you take it for a very long period of time and in more quantity. Major drawback of Dbol is that it is too costly, although available in black market but one cannot be so sure of the authenticity of it bought from there. As it is DHT and due to this hair loss and acne can occur. But hair loss only in men who have got this hair loss disease genetically transmitted. There could be high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels but only for those who are not living a healthy life style and these diseases are not transmitted genetically to the users as well. Due to the non aromatizing nature of Dbol it has taken side effects of water retention and Gynecomastia out of the equation.
As the U.S. was in need of an advantage, Ciba Pharmaceuticals would provide such an advantage with Dianabol, which would be administered to the athletes under the guidance of U.S. team physician Dr. John Ziegler. Many have credited Ziegler as being the creator of this little pill that would see the U.S. destroy its Soviet rival, and there's no doubt he played an important role; however, the patent on the compound fails to mention his name, and Ziegler was not part of the Ciba team. Nevertheless, Dbol would see the U.S. athletes thrive, and shortly after along with testosterone it would begin to find its way into every sport imaginable. Since that time, athletes from all sports, including bodybuilders, power lifters and even ball players have supplemented with Dbol, but the majority of those who supplement are simply every day gym rats looking for a better body.
Dianabol is the most popular trade name given to the anabolic androgenic steroid Methandrostenolone; a steroid that carries an anabolic rating of 210 and an androgenic rating of 60. While a mild androgenic rating, its androgenic activity often appears to be higher than what its rating implies. A steroid with a strong aromatizing nature, Dbol carries an active half-life of approximately 5 hours and must be administered at least once per day; twice daily is the most efficient. A testosterone derivative, Dianabol belongs to the C17-alpha alkylated family of anabolic steroids; a structural alteration that allows it to survive the first pass through the liver. As a result, Dbol carries a strong hepatotoxic nature, and this will be important when we look at the side-effects of this compound as will be its aromatizing abilities. Working directly with the body's androgen receptors, Dianabol promotes only a few of the primary steroidal traits; however, it does so with an immense amount of power. There are largely three traits that define this steroid, and they include:
- Enhanced Glycogenolysis
- Enhanced Nitrogen Retention
- Enhanced Protein Synthesis
Through enhanced glycogenolysis, our carbohydrate intake is maximized as glycogenolysis refers to body's ability to breakdown glycogen into glucose. As you understand, carbohydrates are a direct energy source, and when the breakdown is enhanced this energetic factor is enhanced. As for nitrogen retention, this is one of the primary anabolic factors of this steroid, as the more nitrogen we retain promotes greater anabolic activity. So important, if our nitrogen levels fall too low, we can easily slip into a catabolic state. Then we have protein synthesis, or the rate by-which cells build proteins. As proteins are the building blocks of muscle and essential to its preservation and recovery of the muscle tissue, it's not too hard to see how valuable such a trait can be.
There are two primary reasons to supplement with Dianabol; for off-season growth and strength or to directly enhance athletic performance. This is one of the few anabolic steroids that does not have a strong cutting purpose; however, it can be implemented during such a phase. At the front end of a diet, this steroid can help you maintain a lot of strength that's often lost when dieting, and it can even help you maintain a fuller look; however, for cutting there are often better choices.
Without question, most who use Dbol will do so for off-season purposes, and in most cases, it will be to kick start a new growth phase. With such use, the individual will gain a lot of mass and strength rapidly; in-fact, gains of 20lbs in 4-6 weeks are not that uncommon. Such supplementation will normally last six weeks and should not surpass it due to this steroid's strong hepatotoxic nature; however, by then the injectable steroids you're using will have kicked in and your progress will continue. Beyond kick starting, Dbol can also be used mid-cycle to help you break through a sticking point, and it can do so in excellent fashion. Of course, if you used it as a kick start, you will need around six weeks of no Dbol use before you use it mid-cycle, and this means mid-cycle use is something only the very hardcore are going to attempt; it is not recommended for most.
Then we have athletic performance; the very reason Dianabol was created. In this case, the enhancement is quite straightforward; strength and speed are the number one attributes desired by most athletes, and through Dbol supplementation both will be enhanced. Further, due to the rate by-which this steroid helps us maximize our food intake, energy levels will be increased as well as the total rate of recovery. When it comes to athletics, this is performance enhancement at its very best, and is the precise reason so many athletes choose to supplement with this steroid.
If you've ever considered Dianabol use, from the benefits above your interest may have just increased. Of course, if you're still not convinced, if you're thinking about another potent oral anabolic steroid you may find this interesting. In many circles, you will find those who swear up and down Oxymetholone (Anadrol) is the more potent steroid; such individuals would be wrong. On a milligram for milligram basis, Dianabol is significantly more powerful than Anadrol; the reason some think Anadrol is stronger is because they'll supplement with more Anadrol than Dbol. In any case, both are excellent steroids, and you may have to try both to find the one you prefer; your genetic response to each may yield a more positive result with one or the other, but this doesn't change the fact that Dbol is the more powerful steroid.
As we discussed above, Dianabol carries a strong aromatizing nature, and is a C17-aa anabolic steroid; as such, its side-effects will revolve around these factors. As an aromatizing steroid, this means there can be a testosterone to estrogen conversion, and if estrogen levels go to high it can lead to some complications. When estrogen levels increase, the hormone can attach to the receptors and cause gynecomastia (male-breast enlargement) and it can also promote excess water retention and high blood pressure; Dbol is notorious for promoting high blood pressure. Needless to say, if you already suffer from high blood pressure you should not touch this steroid, but if it's healthy you'll need to ensure it stays this way. For this reason, in-order to combat and avoid these estrogenic side-effects of Dbol, the use of an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI) is often advised. It shouldn't be too hard to see how this can help; after all, an AI inhibits aromatase, but it goes a step further by reducing the body's total estrogen levels. Of course, and this cannot be overstressed, you must keep your doses at a responsible level; most will need at least 20mg per day for any anabolic promotion, with a maximum dosing of 50mg per day. It should be noted; if you've never used this steroid before, you should not start with a high end dose; start low and see how you respond.
Then we have the C17-aa nature of this steroid, and as stated, while this makes it hepatotoxic it is necessary to the hormone's survival. Even so, this toxic nature is rather strong, and as such use must be limited or you will damage your liver. Further, and this should be obvious, if your liver is not healthy you should not touch the first Dianabol tab. In any case, with responsible use, your liver enzyme values will still increase, but with responsible use they will return to normal shortly after use is discontinued assuming no other C17-aa anabolic steroids are being used and no other stress is being placed on the liver. This means, you are willing to avoid alcohol consumption and you are willing to limit your use of all over the counter medications; both can be extremely stressful to the liver; many over the counter medications more so than Dianabol.