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.
Men can use many different steroids, without the fear of turning into a woman. Gynecomastia may become an issue with some compounds; however, men can continue looking and sounding like a man.
However, the same cannot be said for women who use steroids.
Many females are limited in regards to which compounds they can use, as many AAS cause masculine side effects; compromising a woman’s natural beauty.
Consequently, some women have asked whether Winstrol is a suitable steroid, or whether it will cause virilization side effects. Read on to find out everything you need to know, regarding Winstrol for women.
What Is Winstrol?
Winstrol, otherwise known as Stanozolol, is an oral steroid originally designed for medicinal purposes; helping to treat osteoporosis, breast cancer and post-trauma patients in a severely catabolic state.
When athletes and bodybuilders heard about Winstrol’s ability to increase muscle mass they also used it to improve muscular strength/power in sports — as well as enhancing body composition.
Why Do Women Use Winstrol?
Winstrol is a very effective steroid for women in regards to gains. Females will build a significant amount of muscle and strength on Stanozolol, whilst also burning considerable amounts of fat.
Winstrol is certainly not the best steroid for building muscle, which is why it’s not classed as a bulking steroid; however, its effects certainly aren’t mild.
Winstrol is one of the best steroids women (or men) can take for transforming their bodies in a short space of time. This is because of its muscle-building and fat-burning effects, which take place simultaneously.
In contrast, many other steroids are either effective for building muscle OR burning fat — but not both.
Women who are competing in a bikini or bodybuilding competition may take Winstrol and often are instructed to by their coaches. Alternatively, any females who simply want to lose some stubborn fat, whilst increasing muscle tone may use it to enhance their physique.
Legal Winstrol Alternative
Winsol is our #1 rated legal Winstrol product. It replicates the fat-burning and muscle-building effects of Winstrol, but without any unwanted side effects.
It is FDA-approved and can be purchased online without a prescription.
Winsol is best suited for women wanting to reduce their body fat percentage, whilst simultaneously increasing muscle tone and building lean muscle.
Is Winstrol Safe For Women to Take?
Winstrol isn’t ‘safe‘ for men or women to take, being a toxic anabolic steroid, which poses many side effects. This is why it’s classed as an illegal substance.
The two main side effects associated with Winstrol are associated with its strain on the heart and liver.
However, if Winstrol is used in moderate to low doses, in short cycles, the risk of developing long-term side effects is greatly reduced (compared to those who abuse this steroid).
However, most women want to know: “Will Winstrol make me look like a man?“.
The answer is usually yes — or at least it is a strong possibility.
Many women who take Winstrol will experience virilization side effects such as:
- Deepened voice
- Hair growth (on the body)
- Enlarged clitoris
- Smaller breasts
- Hair loss (on the scalp)
There are three main reasons why Winstrol is prone to causing virilization in women. This is due to Winstrol:
- Not converting into estrogen
- Having a low binding affinity with SHBG
Steroids that do not aromatize and convert into estrogen are more likely to produce a masculine appearance in females. This is due to high exogenous testosterone levels, combined with low estrogen; causing an excessive imbalance and dominance in male hormones.
The second reason why women can start to look like men on Winstrol is that it has a low affinity when binding to SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin). SHBG works to lower free testosterone levels, thus free testosterone levels will spike significantly on Winstrol.
The higher free testosterone levels rise, the more likely virilization symptoms will occur in women.
Can Women Take Winstrol (Without Turning Into a Man)?
Winstrol is not a steroid that requires large doses to produce great results in women, because it’s a powerful steroid (and women naturally only have small amounts of testosterone).
Thus, very low doses of Winstrol may be safely taken by women, without them developing any masculine characteristics. In this case, no more than 5mg per day should be taken.
In contrast, female bodybuilders can take as much as 15 or 20mg of Winstrol per day to help dry out their body for competition; helping them get extra shredded.
15-20mg doses are almost certainly going to make females look and sound more like a man. 10mg doses are also likely to cause a similar outcome but over a longer period of time.
Winstrol Cycle For Women
If a female is intent on cycling Winstrol, the protocol below is likely to produce significant gains without causing masculinization.
This cycle is a conservative one, with a low dose of 5mg per day. This is likely to keep virilization side effects at bay, whilst still producing lean muscle gains in women, due to the length of the cycle and the power of the steroid.
2 x 2.5mg tablets should be taken per day. Winstrol pills usually come in 5mg tablets, thus users may use a pill cutter to split each pill in half.
Users should also avoid taking Winstrol tablets with food, as dietary fat can reduce the biological availability of the compound, decreasing gains.
Better Options For Women
Is Winstrol the best steroid for women?
No — for many women, it isn’t suitable or optimal.
Some females deem it unsuitable because its side effects are harsh and there’s too much risk of it de-feminizing them.
However, there are exceptions to every rule and Winstrol may be an effective choice for the hardcore female bodybuilder that doesn’t mind trading her femininity for a bodybuilding trophy.
More suitable steroids for women are Anavar, Turinabol or Primobolan.
These steroids have very low virilization rates, thus moderate doses can be taken, without noticing much in the way of side effects. Liver toxicity, cholesterol issues and post-cycle crashes are less likely to occur on Anavar, Tbol or Primo, because they are more mild compounds.
The only downside to Anavar and Primobolan is that they are very expensive compounds, especially when buying pharmaceutical grade.
Turinabol however is a more affordable oral, producing significant lean muscle gains, whilst enhancing fat burning.
Women often avoid virilization effects when taking 5mg/day of turinabol in 5-week cycles.
Tbol’s anabolic (muscle-building) effects however are more pronounced than its fat-burning properties, thus a powerful fat burner may be taken alongside it, such as Clenbuterol.
Clenbuterol cycles typically last for 30 days, starting at 20mcg/day, with the dose increasing by 10mcg every 3 days until reaching a final dose of 110mcg.
Turinabol’s side effects are often mild, with only modest fluctuations in cholesterol, liver enzymes and endogenous testosterone levels.
Clenbuterol’s main adverse effect is the risk of hypertension, with it dramatically speeding up heart rate and inducing cardiac hypertrophy (enlargement).
Legal Steroid Alternatives That Work
“There is evidence, if you could use these (steroid alternatives) they would be much better than using anabolic steroids”.
Several of the herbs and amino acids, mentioned by Dr. Thomas O’Connor, are present in Crazy Bulk’s legal steroid alternatives.
CB’s products are backed with clinical research and are safe for women to use. You can view their product range (and receive 20% off) by clicking the link below.
Winstrol FAQs
How Fast Does Winstrol Work?
Winstrol has a half-life of 9 hours, thus it kicks in fast and gains can usually be noticed within the first week. Women taking a small dose of 5mg per day will notice the fat loss and enhanced muscle gains in the first 10 days — with a big increase in energy and motivation in the first 3 days.
However, Winstrol can take a few weeks to leave the body, thus gains and side effects may continue even after a person has stopped using it.
Thus, users who have drug tests in the future will want to have stopped using Winstrol for at least a couple of months in order to not get flagged in a test. The detection time for Winstrol is unknown, thus users should leave ample time for metabolites to fully leave the body.
Generally, the only authorities that will test for anabolic steroids, such as Winstrol, are sports bodies and bodybuilding federations. The army and police drug tests are usually looking for recreational drugs, with steroids needing a more advanced and specific test.
Do Women Need to Take a PCT After Using Winstrol?
A post-cycle therapy isn’t just applicable for men — but also to women. Females utilizing an effective PCT can expect the following:
- To maintain gains post-cycle
- To restore natural hormone production
- To prevent ‘crashing’
Depending on the steroid used, a PCT is either optional or essential. For example, a woman taking Anavar or Primobolan may not feel much of a crash post-cycle and thus choose not to run a PCT.
If women do use Winstrol, they are almost certainly going to experience decreased well-being and low energy levels post-cycle. This is due to a significant reduction in their natural testosterone production. Many people associate testosterone production as an important hormone in men, but it’s also essential in women for well-being, libido and motivation. A substantial decline in testosterone can result in a crash, leading to depression.
In medicine, doctors use DHEA to increase endogenous testosterone levels in women. Thus, the same protocol can be used to help women recover post-cycle, taking 25-50mg per day for 4 weeks.
25mg may be taken at the beginning of a PCT, then increasing the dose gradually (in 5mg increments).
Does Winstrol Cause Hair Loss in Women?
Hair loss is a common side effect among women who take Winstrol, which is due to an increase in DHT levels — a hormone destructive to hair follicles.
A DHT blocker may be taken to combat this, however many medications decrease overall DHT levels in the body, rather than attacking DHT specifically in the scalp. Thus, lowered DHT levels may negatively affect muscle and strength gains; whilst inhibiting fat loss.
Hair thinning, recession or loss may be reversed post-cycle when DHT levels drop back to normal levels. However, if regular steroid cycles are being run by females, this effect may become permanent.
Anavar and Primobolan are better options for women looking to remain unscathed in regards to hair loss during a cycle. Winsol also will not cause any hair thinning/loss in women.
How Much Weight Will Women Lose on Winstrol?
A better question is: how much fat will women lose on Winstrol?
Fat loss is a better measurement than weight loss, because women may not lose any weight on Winstrol. This is because they’ll simultaneously be building muscle, causing no change on the scales.
However, fat loss is quite dramatic on Winstrol and thus the best way to track this is by measuring the waist or by taking comparison photos in the mirror.
Generally, when combined with a calorie deficit diet, users can lose 3lbs per week on Winstrol. Performing regular cardio in conjunction with lifting weights will also help to enhance fat loss (and lower blood pressure).
If a woman eats maintenance calories (or in a surplus) for bulking purposes, fat loss will naturally be less. Thus it’s advised to eat in a calorie deficit of -500.
How Much Muscle Will Women Gain on Winstrol?
A first Winstrol cycle can add 10+lbs of lean muscle in women.
This is a significant gain for a steroid that’s not strictly used for bulking (and also accelerates fat loss).
Similar to measuring fat loss on Winstrol, it would be best to take pictures, rather than standing on the scales to track muscle gains. Women may also choose to measure a muscle, such as their arms to see if they’re getting bigger; however fat loss may also affect such measurements.
Another good sign that someone is packing on significant amounts of muscle is their clothes feeling tighter than usual.
Strength on compound exercises is likely to increase by at least 20-30lbs on Winstrol.
There are other steroids that are better than Winstrol for boosting strength and gaining muscle, such as Testosterone, Trenbolone and Dianabol. However, these steroids are even more likely to cause virilization side effects.
Winstrol for Women
Winstrol generally isn’t recommended for women because of the high risk of virilization symptoms. However, regardless of Winstrol’s masculinization effects, it’s still very toxic and a potentially dangerous steroid.
Winstrol will elevate blood pressure to high levels, whilst causing unnecessary strain on the liver; compared to other steroids such as Anavar or Primobolan. Some of these side effects can also prolong for several weeks post-cycle, and thus will not diminish immediately post-cycle.
However, females may be able to make gains, whilst avoiding any side effects on Winstrol (if taking a low dose of 5mg or below).
