Over the winter I tend to train inside rather than climb outside. This was an ideal opportunity to run some “phase one trials”, and the first compound I was really interested in trying was Anavar (Oxandrolone). I ran it for about five weeks at dosages between 20mg and 40mg per day. Bear in mind that this was only my second experience with performance enhancing drugs (after Ostarine), so my ponderings in this case are obviously coloured by my inexperience, and inability to subjectively compare it’s effects to previous anabolic steroid use.
Later in my winter training season I had a quick go at Winstrol (Stanozolol). This was a shorter duration experiment, lasting only about two weeks as my objective was mainly to confirm that the effects (both desired as well as side effects) justified future experimentation. As it happened I did learn some important lessons even though the exposure wasn’t really long enough to get a particularly accurate idea on how the effect felt compared to Anavar, particularly as I was more cautious with dosing Winstrol. However this is what I’ve got.
I’m already learning that the use of anabolic steroids in climbing is of limited benefit. These compounds are unfortunately not the holy grail and other than bio-identical hormones used at physiologically relevant dosages, it’s beginning to become clear that androgens should only be used in a climbing context acutely, at very conservative levels, and for specific defined aims.
The reason for using these two particular compounds would be to achieve increased strength, neuromuscular efficiency, and an energy boost during discrete short training blocks. As well as augmenting the anabolic effects of my testosterone/nandrolone base, this will hopefully lead to the ability to work harder, and therefore increase training stimulus during the timeframe of the block. As both these compounds are quick acting, the best time to take it them is an hour or two before training so that peak effects are experienced at the most useful time. I’ll go into more detail in a future post about how this whole strategy can be slotted into an overall framework for climbers.
Anavar is an orally active anabolic steroid with a serum half life of about 9 hours. On paper it’s the perfect performance enhancing drug for climbers and it was my first choice of compounds to try. It has a reputation for being mild; for me it was nothing of the sort (more on that later).
These are the reasons why I initially thought Anavar would be highly suitable for climbers.
- It’s has less liver toxicity than most other orally active anabolic steroids. Therefore it can be run for longer without issues
- It promotes collagen synthesis so it may help keep tendons healthy during intense training
- It’s the only anabolic steroid that’s been observed to reduce both subcutaneous and visceral fat
- It doesn’t aromatise into estradiol so there’s no oestrogen related fluid retention or gynecomastia symptoms to worry about
Winstrol is structurally similar to Anavar and its effects are often seen as comparable. It’s available in both oral and injectable forms; I used the oral form at 25mg a day. Anecdotal reports suggest it’s a bit less potent than Anavar milligram for milligram, so this dose may work out to be lower, in terms of therapeutic effect than my minimum Anavar dose. The serum half life of the oral version is a little shorter than Anavar’s and the half life of the injectable version is about a day. It’s known as being “stronger” than Anavar but in actuality this claim usually refers to the fact that it possesses a higher likelihood of undesirable side effects. It is also quite a bit more toxic for the liver so it shouldn’t be run for as long a duration as Anavar.
Winstrol has a diuretic effect that Anavar doesn’t. It’s clinically prescribed in low dosages to cure hereditary angioedema and this could obviously be beneficial for a climber who wants to carry minimum water weight. However this same effect can manifest as reduced synovial fluid in the joints which can cause pain and increases the potential for injury. There’s also some differences in Winstrol’s effect on collagen synthesis compared to Anavar which I’ll go into at the end of this post.
So how do the two drugs compare subjectively? A good start would be to examine the way I felt during the first exposure to each compound, as both of them had significantly psychoactive effects. I’m going to use the following vocabulary very loosely as a way to describe “feels” rather than suggesting that this is actually what’s happening chemically in the brain. I’m hoping that anyone who has had sufficient experience of “party drugs” may be able to take away some sort of meaning from a phenomenological experience which doesn’t translate very well into language. Anavar felt serotonergic, like MDMA, whereas Winstrol felt dopaminergic like cocaine. There! Told you it would be fuzzy. I’m obviously not suggesting that these compounds share anything in common or can be used as a substitute for each other. OK?
With repeated use, Anavar retained a level of background stimulation which could be rather annoying, whereas Winstrol faded into the background and it was possible to forget that I had taken it. Neither compounds felt in any way recreational or euphoric after the initial, virgin dose. Presumably the sympathetic drive experienced from Anavar could be leveraged for performance enhancement by playing with dosage and timing while avoiding it interfering with sleep (it did a few times), and general day to day well-being.
Although Winstrol fit in to daily life better, to the extent that it wasnt annoyingly psychoactive/stimulating, I did notice a couple of cognitive downsides to using it. Firstly, my memory of the whole cycle is a little fuzzy; this it turns out has been established as a known side effect of the drug. Secondly I felt a lack of motivation and get-up-and-go. If these effects end up translating to less “psyche” for climbing and training then there’s literally no point in running the compound as enthusiasm is what makes me want to climb in the first place. More self experimentation is required before I make a decision on this but it’s potentially a show stopper.
One last subjective difference: with Anavar, I felt constantly on the verge of “bonking“. I could negate this feeling by increasing my carbohydrate consumption and it felt as if this extra energy was being shuttled directly into my muscles which became full and rounded. This impressive loading of glycogen (and probably creatine too) was responsible for a sudden and noticeable weight gain. Muscular fullness was far less of a concern while taking Winstrol and this can definitely be seen as a pro in its favour. If I was a bodybuilder looking for a visual effect I’d have loved Anavar but as a climber on a calorie deficit, being in a state of borderline hypoglycaemia which can only be addressed by consuming more food, isn’t helpful.
So how to use these two compounds? Seeing as my winter training activities can broadly be categoirised into two types: power and strength, why not use each compound in a way which plays to their strengths and circumvents their weaknesses? Because multiple studies show that Anavar upregulates collagen synthesis (and therefore stimulates tendon repair), it’s an obvious candidate for power training blocks focussed around dynamic loading where injury is a considerable risk. I’m thinking specifically about campussing and large dynamic moves requiring contact strength.
Winstrol’s effect on collagen synthesis is a little more complex than Anavar’s. Studies have shown that although it does promote tendon growth via enhanced collagen synthesis it also results in a “stiffer tendon that absorbs less energy and fails with less elongation”. This is due to the architecture of the new tissue and the fact that it’s more highly cross-linked than tendon tissue grown under natural conditions (which tends to retain more elasticity and flexibility). Furthermore Winstrol increases procollagenase expression which can potentially lead to connective tissue breakdown; although this has only been demonstrated in the skin and not in the tendons so it’s a little uncertain whether the phenomenon is a concern to us or not. Because of the suboptimal effect on tendon health in addition to the synovial fluid issue caused by it’s dietetic effect, it would suggest that Winstrol is more appropriate for static training such as finger-boarding.
Anecdotal reports from bodybuilders suggest that a great deal more muscle bulk can be gained with Winstrol compared to Anavar, although it is uncertain whether there is much research to substantiate these claims. If there is any truth to these anecdotal reports, it would be a further reason to limit the use of Winstrol to training blocks focussing on static hanging exercises designed to develop the finger flexors only. This way hypertrophy would be limited to the forearm and rotator cuff muscles which tend to be small in size and their increase in volume would be unlikely to have a great effect on the overall weight of a climber.
To summarise, neither of the two compounds are perfect. Winstrol carries the risk of injury in addition to some weird cognitive effects. Anavar causes fuller (heavier), muscles and a distractingly stimulated mental state. Hopefully all of these effects can be mitigated by running the compounds at more appropriate doses for sports performance (I’ll go into more detail on dosing in a future post).
A final note: if you’re a cis man, IE you own testicles and require them to produce male sex hormones for you, both these compounds will shut down your natural testosterone production. It’s not a good idea to be on either of these unless you’re also on testosterone replacement. If you have an oestrogen-dominant body, Winstrol may cause you to develop secondary male sex characteristics such as a deepened voice, increased body hair, and male pattern baldness; Anavar will do this to a lesser degree and is the most common anabolic steroid to be used by women (but at smaller doses than a man would use).
Doping For Climbers 