Anavar (Oxandrolone)

Anavar was developed to treat conditions of muscle wasting and rapid weight loss, as is a common reason for inception with any anabolic steroid. Developed in 1964, by Searle Laboratories to treat such conditions, Searle is no longer in existence as it was bought and absorbed into Pfizer in 2003. However, it was Searle’s development of Anavar that is of importance because this is a pharmacy that has brought us some of the most well-known medications and other items we still use today, most notably, Celebrex, Ambien, Dramamine and NutraSweet. As you can see Searle developed some very important products over the years and its development of Anavar is no exception because with its inception one of the safest anabolic steroids for both men and women would hit the shelves. 

Anavar  

Comprised of Oxandrolone, Anavar as it is commonly known is a Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) anabolic steroid with almost no androgenic qualities and mild anabolic properties. An oral steroid, Anavar is like most oral steroids a C17alpha-alkylated medication (17-aa) meaning it has been altered at the 17th carbon position to allow it to survive ingestion by surviving the first pass through the liver; without the 17-aa alteration the steroid would be destroyed before it ever entered the blood stream. By this alteration the steroid is allowed to survive and enter the blood stream where it becomes active and the benefits are received. As you may understand the 17-aa process can be toxic to the liver, for this reason many individuals will avoid oral anabolic steroids but as it pertains to Anavar we must make an exception. Unlike most 17-aa medications Anavar appears to be very mild on the liver, so mild that most who use it experience little to no elevation in liver enzymes. 

Once in the blood Anavar becomes active very quickly, as is common with most oral steroids, especially those of a DHT nature. Further, this rapid activity time is largely due to its very short half-life which is approximately 9 hours. Because the half-life of Anavar is so short daily administration of the medication is necessarily frequent with twice daily ingestion of the medication being optimal. You could easily administer the medication only once per day and still receive the benefits of Anavar, however, if we are to keep blood levels stable twice per day will be more efficient as once per day administration would result in very little of the medication still being active in the body once a 24 hour period has passed. Granted, for lower end doses, especially for females once per day will prove to be sufficient.

The Benefits of Anavar

As a very mild anabolic steroid Anavar is not well-suited for bulking cycles or gaining phases; you will not produce a vast amount of lean muscle tissue through its use when speaking of performance enhancing purposes; however, what is produced will be solid muscle tissue. The greatest benefits associated with this particular steroid lie within muscle preservation and metabolic activity. This simply means Anavar has the ability to not only aid in reducing body-fat but preserving muscle tissue while on a calorie restricted diet; further, the more muscle tissue we have the greater our metabolic activity will be thereby increasing the rate in-which body-fat is utilized for energy. Because Anavar is apt for fat reduction and muscle preservation it is commonly used by physique athletes during their competition preparation, as well as by common gym rats who simply want to look leaner and tighter at the beach. 

The Side-Effects of Anavar

Most anabolic steroids carry with them the possibility of many adverse side-effects. It is important to keep in mind these side-effects are only possible, they are by no means guaranteed or assured and are largely avoidable when used responsibly. However, negative side-effects can occur when steroids are abused and even in some who are sensitive even though they use responsibly they may fall prey to negative outcomes; the same can be said of Aspirin. While many anabolic steroids carry vast possible negative side-effects such as estrogenic related due to aromatization, Anavar does not possess these traits. Anavar does not aromatize making common side-effects such as Gynecomastia little to no concern; Further, as most steroids are very suppressive to natural testosterone production Anavar is very mild in this regard, so mild that one could take Anavar and still produce some natural testosterone. However, some suppression will still exist and the extent will largely be dose dependent. 

Anavar & Women

Anabolic steroids can be very damaging to women as they can often cause masculine effects due to virilization, such as deepened vocal chords, body-hair growth and clitoral enlargement. However, due to its mild nature Anavar appears to be virtually side-effect free not only for men but for women as well, making it the ultimate anabolic steroid for any female user. While this steroid can be used successfully by both men and women, because it is so female friendly many refer to Anavar as “The Girl Steroid.” 

Anavar Cycles & Doses

Most men who use Anavar will necessarily need to use a large amount to receive any noticeable benefit as this steroid’s extremely mild nature will require it. Most men will find 50mg per day to be the minimum dose if they expect to see any positive and noticeable results with 80mg per day being far more common. Conversely, as women are more sensitive to anabolic steroids lower doses need to be applied; further, lower doses absolutely ensure side-effects will remain non-existent. Most women will find 10mg per day to be nearly perfect with 20mg per day being the maximum amount of Anavar most will ever want or need to use. 

Regardless of who uses it, men or women, Anavar can successfully be used for longer periods of time than most oral anabolic steroids, however, 6-8 weeks of use is common place. For most it will not matter at which point of a steroid cycle you include Anavar, however, if you are trying to lean out, to get the most bang for your buck the steroid will be best served towards the end of a cycle, as its benefits will be far greater and pronounced the leaner you already are.