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3 Best Steroids for Beginners (Plus 3 to Avoid)

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Disclaimer: The following article is for educational purposes only and NOT to promote the use of illegal steroids. If you have any questions or concerns, Dr. Touliatos is currently available for consultations.

Millions of people around the world take steroids; however, only a small percentage do so in a responsible manner.

High doses, taking the wrong steroids too early and failing to implement an effective PCT are all common errors among beginners.

A lack of knowledge when using steroids significantly increases the risk of danger. A beginner is more susceptible to harsh effects, as their bodies have not had a chance to build up any tolerance to such compounds.

In this article we will reveal the safest steroids for beginners, helping to minimize the risks/side effects experienced during a first steroid cycle.

Top 3 Steroids for Beginners

Each one of these steroids is suitable for beginners. Which one you take will depend on your personal preference of administration and what you want to achieve from your cycle.

1. Testosterone

A testosterone-only cycle is the most popular protocol for a beginner. This is because beginners want to experience big gains in muscle and strength, but want to stay away from harsh compounds.

Testosterone produces exceptional gains, without excessively harsh side effects.

The only downside for some beginners is that testosterone is predominantly an injectable steroid. Therefore, if users want to take orals during their first steroid cycle, Anavar and Dianabol would be preferred options.

Different Esters

These are the most popular forms of testosterone in bodybuilding:

Note: There isn’t a ‘best testosterone’, all different forms of testosterone will build equal amounts of muscle and strength. However, some will kick in faster and require more regular injections. The only other difference is the shorter, faster-acting esters are a little more potent, resulting in more actual testosterone entering the bloodstream.

Test Suspension

Testosterone suspension is essentially pure testosterone in water. It is not typically recommended for beginners because it is very fast-acting, thus it has an immediate effect on the body, instead of gradually entering the bloodstream.

One benefit is that suspension is going to produce fast gains, as it is pure testosterone and thus does not need to be broken down. However, the bad news is it requires very frequent injections, as it also leaves your body fast.

Test suspension requires 2 injections a day, which is not ideal for a beginner. Furthermore, suspension is one of the worst steroids to inject, as it requires a big needle (a newbie’s worst nightmare). This is because test suspension is not micronized; thus because of its larger crystals, syringes are likely to get clogged. Unsurprisingly, suspension injections are often painful.

Most experienced steroid-users are cowards when it comes to taking test suspension, so beginners are extremely unlikely to enjoy this. In reality, they would probably never take injectables again if this was their first cycle.

Testosterone Acetate

Testosterone acetate is a fast-acting form of test, with a half-life of 2-3 days, although slower-acting than suspension.

Gains will come by fast, however frequent injections are needed (although not as frequent as test suspension).

One injection a day is required with test acetate.

A large needle is not needed and injections are not typically painful.

Testosterone Propionate

Testosterone propionate is also fast-acting, albeit slower than suspension and acetate. Injections are required every other day.

Propionate may appear to be cheap; however, because it is dosed at only 100mg/ml, whereas other forms of testosterone are commonly dosed at around 250mg/ml. Therefore it actually works out to be expensive.

Typically, test propionate has a price approximately 50% higher than other forms of testosterone.

Furthermore, propionate injections have a tendency to hurt, to the extent where people have reported limping afterward. Therefore, beginners do not usually opt for propionate.

Testosterone Cypionate & Enanthate

Bingo. These are the esters used by most beginners because they require less frequent injections (once every 4-5 days).

I have listed Cypionate and enanthate together because the body absorbs each compound at a similar rate.

Users will need to wait a little longer for them to kick in; however, this form of testosterone is often comfortable/enjoyable for beginners to take.

Testosterone Undecanoate

Injectable test undecanoate is a very slow-acting form of testosterone. A unique advantage is that it can be injected just once every two weeks.

However, because it takes a long time to peak in your bloodstream, with a half-life of 34 days (1), users will need to be very patient, as it can take a month to kick in.

Testosterone undecanoate is also available as an oral steroid, known as Andriol (or Testocaps).

In oral form, undecanoate is very fast-acting with plasma testosterone levels peaking approximately 5 hours after a dose.

Another benefit of Andriol (oral test undecanoate) is that it bypasses the liver and is absorbed via the lymphatic system. Consequently, it is not hepatotoxic and poses no threat to the liver, unlike many other oral steroids.

Tablets can be more convenient for beginners than taking injections; however, an oral undecanoate cycle is typically very expensive, with roughly 8 capsules (280mg) needed per day, to elevate testosterone levels enough for significant mass gains.

For example, the price of Andriol from a medical practitioner may cost roughly $40 (2).

With a dose of 280mg, this would last 7.5 days. Thus, a cycle lasting 6 weeks would cost $240. Therefore, injectable testosterone is a lot more cost-effective for beginners.

Note: If beginners plan on taking Andriol (oral undecanoate), they should consume a meal with every tablet, containing at least 20g of dietary fat, which has proven to greatly increase absorption. Without this, Andriol’s bio-availability will be very low.

Sustanon 250

Sustanon 250 is a blend of 4 different esters, being:

Thus, by containing different esters, it is both fast-acting and slow-acting. In real-life terms, this means it will kick in fast, require frequent injections (every 2 days) and will remain in your system for a lengthy time, due to the presence of decanoate.

Sustanon 250 is not inherently the best form of testosterone, which some people claim. It will not build more muscle or strength than other esters — it is just a different blend.

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Testosterone Cycle (For Beginners)

Testosterone cypionate and enanthate are the most popular types of testosterone for beginners.

This is due to them being: cost-effective, not being painful and not requiring overly frequent injections (every 4-5 days).


This is a typical beginner steroid cycle. These are conservative doses, thus the side effects are going to be minimal. This will help to prepare the body for higher dosages in future cycles.

When using cypionate/enanthate, the bottle will typically be dosed at 200mg/ml.

To save complicated mathematics you could perform 2 injections a week, which would require 100mg per injection (0.5ml), for the first 2 weeks.

Then on weeks 3-5, this will be 2 x 150mg (0.75ml) injections per week.

And for weeks 6-7, it will be 2 x 175mg (0.875 ml) injections per week.

it is advised not to miss injections times, as delaying will cause testosterone in your blood to spike and then drop, which may cause increased side effects (and reduce gains).

Users will typically gain 20lbs from this initial cycle.

Testosterone Cycle Before/After


This transformation is from a bodybuilder on YouTube, who used Testosterone Propionate for his first cycle. 

These results (above) are typical, with every muscle group blowing up noticeably.

The only difference with this transformation is, if you are eating in a calorie surplus, your body fat may increase. Whereas if you are eating maintenance calories or are in a deficit, it will decrease.

Second Testosterone Cycle

A follow-up cycle to the above test cycle would be as follows:


In this cycle, the dose increases (up to 500mg) and the cycle is extended by an extra 3 weeks. This second cycle can add another 10lbs of lean mass, on top of the initial gains experienced from the first cycle.

Testosterone Side Effects

Testosterone is a mild steroid, that is prescribed regularly by doctors for TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). Thus, the following side effects are not going to be severe, however still possible:

Blood pressure is unlikely to elevate to high levels, as testosterone only has a mild effect on cholesterol values. However, beginners may want to get a check-up with their doctor before starting their first cycle, to ensure their blood pressure is not initially high.

Acne and oily skin are possible adverse effects, due to testosterone’s androgenic nature. Those who have suffered from acne in the past may be more susceptible to this, due to a genetic predisposition of increased sebum production (the oily substance) on the skin.

Some water retention is common when using testosterone; however, this won’t be as much compared to other bulking steroids, such as Dianabol or Anadrol.

Gynecomastia is possible when taking testosterone due to the steroid aromatizing (converting into estrogen). When estrogen levels skyrocket, excessive breast tissue can form in men, causing gyno or man boobs.

Taking an effective aromatase inhibitor (AI), such as Arimidex, will significantly decrease the chances of gyno happening. However, a drawback to taking AI’s is that they may exacerbate blood pressure.

Thus, a good idea would be to monitor your nipples and if they start to become excessively puffy, you could run an AI from that point onward. Arimidex works very quickly, with 1mg shown to decrease estradiol by 70% in just 24 hours.

The higher the testosterone dose, the higher the chances will be of users developing gyno.

Testosterone also has the pattern to accelerate hair thinning on the scalp, due to high DHT levels. However, this side effect usually reverses itself post-cycle. Although if steroids are cycled for extended periods of time, such thinning or recession may become permanent.

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2. Anavar

Anavar (Oxandrolone) is the safest of all steroids for beginners, with it being considerably milder than testosterone.

The benefits of Anavar are:

The drawbacks of Anavar are:

Therefore, if a beginner wants to build a ton of muscle from their first cycle, Anavar isn’t the best choice. However, if they want to get ripped; building some muscle, whilst simultaneously burning fat – Anavar is a great choice. Especially for beginners who want to avoid needles and are anxious about the side effects of steroids.

Anavar is so well-tolerated, that it is commonly prescribed to women and children, to help them gain lean mass, which gives a clue regarding its safety profile.

Even though Anavar is an oral (like testosterone undecanoate), it is not particularly liver toxic. In Anavar’s case, this is because the kidneys help to process oxandrolone, reducing the hepatic toxicity and workload on the liver.

Anavar Cycle (For Beginners)


This cycle is suitable for beginners, using modest dosages. In follow-up cycles, users may start on week 1 using 20mg per day, with cycles lasting up to 8 weeks.

Test & Anavar Cycle

If beginners would like further muscle and fat loss gains, they can stack Anavar and Testosterone together. However, the risk of side effects increases slightly, compared to running Testosterone alone.

The main disadvantage with running this cycle is the increased endogenous testosterone suppression post-cycle; however, this can be corrected with an effective PCT.

A beginner taking this cycle will gain approximately 25lbs, whilst burning a noticeable amount of fat.

Anavar Side Effects

In these dosages, Anavar’s side effects are going to be very minimal. However, the following effects are possible:

However, it is common for Anavar-users to report no side effects when taking this steroid. Testosterone suppression is almost certain; however, this effect is only minimal. Some beginners will choose not to take a PCT after Anavar, as endogenous testosterone levels typically recover quickly. However, when stacking it with Testosterone, a PCT is recommended.

Some hair thinning is possible, due to Anavar being a DHT derivative, although if a person’s genetics are not predisposed for male pattern baldness – Anavar won’t suddenly cause it.

3. Dianabol

Dianabol (Methandrostenolone) is a very well-known steroid, famous for being one of the favourite steroids of the ’70s, among Arnold Schwarzenegger and classic bodybuilders. It is still widely used today with it remaining as one of the best steroids for building size and mass.

Dianabol is an oral and beginners can take it if they want big muscle gains but want to avoid needles.

Dianabol is not excessively harsh when taken in modest doses during a first cycle. However, the side effects are likely to be more pronounced compared to the previous testosterone and Anavar cycles.

Dbol is also one of the best steroids for strength, commonly adding up to 70lbs on compound exercises, during a first cycle.

Dianabol Cycle (Warm-Up Cycle)


Because Dianabol is stronger than the other two steroids on this list, the above cycle can be performed as a warm-up cycle, before hitting higher doses. Beginners will gain around 15lbs with this cycle, which is a lot of muscle for how modest the doses are.

The main goal of this cycle is to prepare the body for the next cycle, which will yield bigger gains.

Dianabol Cycle (For Beginners)

With higher dosages, this cycle will add roughly another 15lbs, on top of the 15lbs previously gained from the warm-up cycle.


If beginners do not utilize a warm-up cycle and start with this, they will gain roughly 30lbs; making it more effective than taking testosterone by itself.

Dianabol Side Effects

Dianabol can cause the following:

Dianabol will raise blood pressure more notably than testosterone or Anavar. Therefore, it is recommended not to use an AI before any signs of gyno occur. Also to decrease any such elevations in blood pressure it would be best to perform cardio 3-5 times per week.

Gynecomastia is possible with Dianabol, and thus the same protocol should be used as with testosterone; only introducing Arimidex when early signs of nipple swelling appear (if at all).

Unlike Anavar and Testosterone, Dianabol is particularly hepatotoxic; thus some liver support should be taken during your cycle. A recommended supplement is TUDCA (Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid), which has been shown to effectively decrease raised liver enzymes, indicating hepatic stress.

Dianabol isn’t as androgenic as testosterone, thus oily skin and acne are less likely, however possible.

Hair loss is less likely compared to testosterone, due to less androgenicity, which is why many bodybuilders from the ’70s retained their hair follicles; compared to bodybuilders today, who are practically all bald. The reason being is that IFBB pros today are taking heavy dosages of very androgenic compounds.

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Other Steroids for Beginners

Testosterone, Anavar and Dianabol are the 3 most common steroids used by beginners and are arguably the most optimal.

However, there are other steroids that can be taken by beginners. For example, Turinabol is another compound that can be taken by beginners, although it will be harsher than Anavar, but less than Dianabol.

Deca Durabolin is certainly mild and suitable for beginners; however, it isn’t typically used by itself. Instead, it can be added to testosterone or Dianabol for increased muscle gains.

However, this would not typically be stacked as a first steroid cycle, but in a later cycle instead. This is because Dianabol and testosterone are harsh enough by themselves for a beginner cycle.

Steroids to Avoid

Some bodybuilding coaches recommend their clients take the above compounds as a first cycle, which can be dangerous.

Anadrol is one of the most toxic steroids on the market, that experienced bodybuilders even struggle to tolerate. Consequently, they will purposefully avoid taking this steroid, because of how they react to it. Blood pressure can rise to very high levels on Anadrol and thus the cardiovascular strain is deemed to be excessive to beginners. There is also the risk of hepatic strain on Anadrol.

Trenbolone is another harsh compound that people often react negatively to, despite it yielding amazing results. The post-cycle crash on Trenbolone is also severe; leaving users feeling mentally low, as well as their testosterone being shut down.

Some beginners will take Winstrol as a first cycle, which will be harsh on the body. Winstrol is similar to Anavar in regards to gains, with Winstrol being slightly more effective. However, Winstrol’s side effects are a lot more severe in comparison, with testosterone getting shut down, liver damage and blood pressure rising to high levels. Winstrol is also a lot more androgenic than Anavar, thus oily skin and hair loss are more likely to become an issue. The only main advantage Winstrol has over Anavar is that it’s considerably cheaper; however, as a first cycle, beginners are recommended to put their health first (instead of their wallet).

Summary

The best steroids for beginners are any of the following:

The best type of testosterone for beginners is typically cypionate or enanthate. These are cost-effective injectables that do not need to be injected as regularly as other forms of testosterone; with such injections not causing any notable pain.

In regards to which steroids to use, it will depend on the person’s goals and budget.

If money was no object, and a beginner wanted to stick to orals; they could take Testosterone Undecanoate or Anavar. Or, they could take both of these compounds at the same time for further results. However, stacking these two together will cost around $500.

However, if a person was on a normal budget, they could opt for Dianabol or Testosterone Enanthate, running just one of these.

For bigger gains in size and mass – Dianabol would be the best choice, followed by Testosterone.

If the main goal is to burn fat and get ripped, Anavar would be the best choice.

The worst steroids for beginners are Anadrol, Trenbolone and Winstrol.

These are just too harsh on the body, which will inevitably cause long-term damage. Taking these during a first cycle is like jumping in the deep end when you are first learning how to swim. There are other toxic steroids that should be avoided, such as Superdrol and Halotestin (for example); however, these are not commonly known or taken by beginners.

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