Winstrol for Women: Will It Turn You Into a Man?

Men can use many different anabolic steroids without the fear of turning into women. Gynecomastia may become an issue with some AAS; however, men can continue looking and sounding like men.

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 (1); compromising a woman’s natural beauty.

Consequently, some women have questioned whether Winstrol is a suitable steroid or whether it causes virilization-related 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 (2,3,4).

When athletes and bodybuilders heard about Winstrol’s ability to increase muscle mass, they also used it to improve muscular strength and power in sports, as well as enhance 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 while also burning considerable amounts of fat.

Winstrol is certainly not the best steroid for building muscle, which is why it’s not classified as a bulking steroid; however, its effects certainly aren’t mild.

In our experience, 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 simultaneous muscle-building and fat-burning effects.

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, which they are often instructed to do by their coaches. Alternatively, any female who simply wants to lose some stubborn fat while increasing muscle tone may use it to enhance their physique.

Is Winstrol Safe For Women to Take?

Winstrol isn’t safe for men or women to take. We have found it to be a toxic anabolic steroid, posing harsh side effects (particularly to 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?“.

In our experience, yes, Winstrol commonly causes some form of masculinization.

The women we have treated on Winstrol commonly experience the following virilization side effects:

• Deepened voice
• Hair growth (on the body)
• Enlarged clitoris
• Smaller breasts
• Hair loss (on the scalp)

There are two main reasons why Winstrol is prone to causing virilization in women. This is due to Winstrol not converting into estrogen and having a low binding affinity with SHBG

We have found that steroids that do not aromatize and convert to estrogen are more likely to produce a masculine appearance in females. This is due to high exogenous testosterone levels combined with low estrogen levels, 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, we have seen very low doses of Winstrol safely taken by women without them developing any masculine characteristics. Anecdotally, we have had success with dosages up to 5 mg per day.

In contrast, female bodybuilders can take as much as 15 or 20mg of Winstrol per day to help dry out their bodies for competition, helping them get extra shredded.

15–20 mg doses are almost certainly going to make females look and sound more like men. 10 mg doses are also likely to cause a similar outcome, but over a longer period of time.

Winstrol Cycle For Women

For women intent on cycling Winstrol, we have found the following protocol to produce significant gains without causing masculinization:

This cycle is a conservative one, with a low dose of 5mg per day. We typically see this keep virilization side effects at bay while still producing lean muscle gains in women, due to the length of the cycle and the power of the steroid.

Two 2.5-mg tablets should be taken each 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 we found dietary fat reduces its biological availability (reducing results).

Better Options For Women

Is Winstrol the best steroid for women?

No, in our experience, Winstrol isn’t suitable or optimal for the majority of women who lift weights.

Some females rightfully deem it unsuitable due to its harsh side effects and the risk of it de-feminizing them.

However, there are exceptions to every rule, and Winstrol may be an effective choice for the hard-core female bodybuilder who doesn’t mind trading her femininity for a bodybuilding trophy.

Women who see us often prefer 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.

We find liver toxicity, cholesterol issues, and post-cycle crashes to be less common on Anavar, Tbol, or Primo because they are mild compounds.

The only downside to Anavar and Primobolan is that they are very expensive AAS, especially when buying pharmaceutical grade.

Turinabol, however, is a more affordable oral drug, producing significant lean muscle gains while enhancing fat burning.

Women often avoid virilization effects when taking 5 mg/day of Turinabol in 5-week cycles.

We have found Tbol’s anabolic (muscle-building) effects to be more pronounced than its fat-burning properties; thus, some choose to stack a powerful fat burner alongside it, such as Clenbuterol.

Clenbuterol cycles typically last for 30 days, starting at 20 mcg/day, with the dose increasing by 10 mcg every 3 days until reaching a final dose of 110 mcg.

Turinabol’s side effects are often very manageable, with only modest fluctuations in cholesterol, liver enzymes, and endogenous testosterone levels.

The main adverse effect we see with Clenbuterol is the risk of hypertension, with it dramatically speeding up heart rate and inducing cardiac hypertrophy (enlargement).

Winstrol FAQs

How Fast Does Winstrol Work?

Winstrol has a half-life of 9 hours, so it kicks in fast, and gains can usually be noticed within the first week. We find that women taking a small dose of 5mg per day will notice 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, so gains and side effects often 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, so 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?

Post-cycle therapy isn’t just applicable to men but also to women. Females who utilize effective PCTs under our care experience the following:

• Maintain gains post-cycle
• Restored natural hormone production
• Lack of ‘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, the standard protocol for doctors is to prescribe DHEA to increase endogenous testosterone levels in deficient women. We adopt this same protocol, which has helped many women recover post-cycle under our care. We put them on 25–50 mg per day for 4 weeks.

25 mg may be taken at the beginning of a PCT, then increased gradually (in 5 mg 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 while inhibiting fat loss.

We have seen hair thinning, recession, or loss 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.

In our experience, Anavar and Primobolan are better options for women looking to reduce hair loss during a cycle. Winsol will also not cause any hair thinning or 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. The easiest way to track this is by simply taking comparison photos in the mirror. Our patients can also utilize DEXA (DXA) scans.

Generally, when combined with a calorie-deficit diet, we see users lose 3 pounds 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 surplus) for bulking purposes, fat loss will naturally be less. Thus, it’s advised to eat with a calorie deficit of minus 500.

How Much Muscle Will Women Gain on Winstrol?

We have seen women who have gained 10+ pounds of lean muscle from their first Winstrol cycle.

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 stand 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 20–30 pounds 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-related 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.

In our patients’ labs, blood pressure often rises to high levels on Winstrol while causing unnecessary strain on the liver, compared to other steroids such as Anavar or Primobolan. Some of these side effects can also persist for several weeks post-cycle and thus will not diminish immediately post-cycle.

However, we have had women experience good results while avoiding side effects on Winstrol (when taking a low dose of 5mg or below).

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