You may wonder why you’ve been working out for years and you’re still looking average compared to the guy who has been regularly working out for only a couple of months and he’s already jacked. The difference between an average gym guy and a huge jacked guy is, in most cases, anabolic steroids.
This is the reason why there are lots of people all over the world who are choosing the steroids path, despite the fact that there are so many warnings saying they are dangerous. Anabolic steroids indeed can become dangerous, but is already a proven fact that they might not be dangerous when used properly, and people can benefit a lot from using them.
We are talking about physique and performance enhancement purposes and mostly for growing as much muscle mass as possible. Nonetheless, is important to understand that how big someone is going to blow up on the steroids is highly depending on many different factors, but the first and most important one – depends on which compound they are going to use.
Taking in consideration that most of us want to pack on size and get as much muscles as he can, we are going to talk about the best steroids for such needs and they include – Anadrol (nicknamed A50 with active substance Oxymetholone) and Dianabol (nicknamed Dbol with active substance Methandienone).
- Dianabol is shortly called Dbol but it also got nicknamed “the breakfast of champions” as is thought to be an extremely helpful anabolic and androgenic steroid for physique and performance enhancement purposes and is also considered to be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorite anabolic steroid in his prime.
- But we also have Anadrol which has the nickname of A50 and even Abombs and it got this nickname because is working like a “bomb”, being one of the favorite steroids for mass monsters in bodybuilders with names such as Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates including others.
Anadrol vs Dianabol is a very famous and common comparison and debate. A lot of steroid users tend to compare these 2 steroids as they are both super effective for growing amazing amount of muscle mass. You may wonder “Which one is better?”
It very much depends on various factors, you may have different people with different answers to this question.
We are going to compare these 2 steroids, we would discuss about each steroid in particular and would share anything that you need to know about these 2 powerful steroids. We hope that this Anadrol vs Dianabol review is going to be helpful to our readers as you can see the main differences between these 2 compounds and what you can expect from administering each of these steroids.
In this article, we would share important details about each of them, their benefits, their side effects, how they are working and which one is best suitable for your own specific needs.
Anadrol vs Dianabol
When comparing these 2 compounds, milligram per milligram, you would notice that Anadrol is more powerful than Dianabol, it can be noticed on paper numbers, and when administering it. Anadrol is a more potent version than Dbol as it would offer a little bit better results but due to it being more powerful, it would also offer more severe side effects too.
Anadrol is more powerful than Dianabol and this is the reason why Abomb (or A50 or any other Oxymetholone compounds) are recommended only for experienced steroid users.
Taken in consideration that Anadrol is more dangerous and is a more toxic steroid than Dianabol, people also consider that Anadrol is a less optimal steroid than Dianabol when checking the Benefits vs Risks ratio. Not everyone can tolerate Anadrol, and you are much more likely to respond well on Dianabol, therefore, Dbol is a more popular steroid.
Therefore, Dianabol is more suitable to beginners but Anadrol might offer better results to absolute professionals.
Those people that are considered beginners in the anabolic and androgenic steroid journey, they should start off with Dianabol with a moderate dosage, this would make sure they get amazing gains, without experiencing too much side effects. A Dianabol only cycle (in modest dosage) is quite a common cycle among steroid beginners who want to gain muscle mass and strength and do it fast.
Beginners would find out that Anadrol is way too powerful for them. In fact, A50 is considered to be one of the harshest steroids out there. Is considered one of the absolute most powerful oral steroids and that’s why, it should be used only by those people with enough experience and if they are absolutely sure that they need this compound.
Despite the fact that Anadrol is more likely to offer more muscle growth and get you stronger – doing it all faster, is also more likely to offer negative side effects such as hair loss, acne, bloating, hypertension and so on and so forth. Strong androgenic steroids such as Anadrol is the reason why most bodybuilders are bald and a huge estrogenic activity is what makes them get so bloated.
On the other hand, there are professional bodybuilders, powerlifters and strongmen that really love Dianabol, but they are usually preferring Anadrol because the more powerful steroid is capable to offer more results, they get better strength and more muscles which is very important in the competition where absolutely every single detail is important.
Nonetheless, it does looks like most of those cycling with Anadrol, still use Dianabol either in a stack, or in separate cycles, but they still combine these 2 steroids.
According to the researches done on Anadrol (if you’re interested here’s a link to the research), women seem to be capable of administering high dosages of Anadrol without experiencing virilization side effects. However, we cannot say the same about Dianabol which is capable to offer virilization in females (which is the process of masculinization – turning a woman into a man).
As much as it seems like, the high tolerance of women to Anadrol’s masculinization effects may be because of its direct stimulation of the estrogen receptors – an essential chemical alternation to Dianabol – and that’s different from Dbol. That’s because Dbol is converting the testosterone into estrogen through aromatization – it doesn’t stimulate the estrogen receptors directly as Anadrol does.
With all of this being said, despite Anadrol being considered a more powerful and harsher steroid than Dianabol, it does seems like is more suitable for women. Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean that is absolutely safe for women, even if they do use this steroid, should be used with very big care in low dosages.
Other than that, Dianabol and Anadrol are usually not being stacked together in the same cycle and that’s due to the fact that they both increase blood pressure. If using them together, there’s a risk that your blood pressure is going to spike way too high. Plus to that, both of these 2 steroids are liver toxic, this means that using them together in same cycle, your liver may get too strained which may lead to liver damage.
In order to continue gaining huge amount of muscles but not risking with your liver too much, a lot of bodybuilders stack Dianabol or Anadrol with an injectable steroid which is safer than an oral. The injectable steroid would work wonders in combination with the oral without increasing the side effects risks but increasing the benefits and results. Usually is either Deca Durabolin (Nandrolone), Equipoise (Boldenone), Trenbolone or Testosterone.
A stack with Anadrol and Dianabol may work very well, but only for as long as both of these steroids are administered in low dosages. Instead of increasing the dosage of one steroid, is better to add another but not increasing the dosage. Doing so, it would offer amazing results.
Nevertheless, there are still rumors suggesting that administering 2 steroids in low doses might not be as good as running only one with a full dosage.
Anadrol vs Dianabol Explained
Anadrol Profile 
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Anadrol is the brand/ trade name of the active substance Oxymetholone. Anadrol is the first and the most famous brand name but any other compound containing Oxymetholone of high quality is considered the exact same Anadrol that is also called A50 or Abombs.
The active substance of Anadrol – Oxymetholone, was firstly introduced many years ago in 1959 by a pharmaceutical company which discovered that Oxymetholone is extremely helpful at helping patients suffering from anemia as well as many different muscle wasting diseases. Now Hilma Biocare offers Oxymetholone of highest quality and lowest price.
With such claims, is quite obvious that bodybuilders wanted to experiment with this compound and they did, finding it super helpful for growing crazy amounts of muscle mass and strength.
Many years ago, Anadrol could be taken as a prescription drug by bodybuilders in order to grow them a huge amount of strength and muscles, but then FDA has banned this steroid for using it for the purpose of physique and performance enhancement because is considered toxic.
Nowadays, Anadrol (Oxymetholone) is prescribed to patients suffering from anemia or wasting diseases including others, and although banned to be used for growing muscle mass – is still widely used by many.
Anadrol Benefits
Anadrol is having a lot of benefits and results – they are extremely appreciated by those who want to go through a helpful bulking cycle. The benefits of Anadrol, in fact, are considered to be very similar (almost the same) to those of Dianabol. Nonetheless, the difference between them is that with Anadrol, the user get more pronounced benefits and results as they have more gains.
- Huge Muscle Mass Growth
- Big Boost in Strength Levels
- Orally Active Steroid
Huge Muscle Mass Growth
When you are searching for steroids that are capable to offer as much muscle mass growth as is possible, there’s a good chance you would find Anadrol on the first place. Abomb is considered the perfect steroid for packing on sheer mass. Everyone using this steroid noticed that they are capable to gain a good amount of weight during their cycles.
Those who never had experience with Anadrol and they go on the first A50 cycle ever, is quite common for people to gain huge amounts of weight which can be from like 20 lbs up to like 40 lbs (from one cycle).
According to those who used the compound and have experience, they shared that most of the weight is made up of muscle tissue as well as water weight, some of which say that they should be equally divided in half. Even if not in half, there’s still said that a very good amount of it is made of water weight.
But thanks to this, the pumps that you can get from using Anadrol are purely mind blowing. There’s a lot of water weight that is getting “trapped” inside of the muscle cells and therefore, the muscles are looking insanely huge with great pumps. In fact, this would result in excessive pumps, making you look full and muscular both in the gym and outside.
In fact, there are some people who suggest that the pumps can get too much during their workouts, that’s because they are feeling uncomfortable in the lower back region when they are deadlifting.
- This is the reason why is very recommended to get a good amount of rest in between your sets and workout sessions. With a proper rest and healing time, this sensation isn’t going to get too painful or extreme.
Big Boost in Strength Levels
Except for the fact that Anadrol is one of the best steroids in existence for adding sheer muscle mass, is also one of the best when talking about increased strength level. You don’t only look muscular, you are going to be really powerful too, all along with increasing muscle mass. Because Anadrol is so amazingly helpful for those who want to increase strength, is one of the favorite and most popular AAS among powerlifters and strongmen.
When checking the steroid from the science point of view, there are 2 reasons that seem to make Anadrol such a powerful compound for offering such huge boosts in raw strength and power.
- First reason is the fact that Anadrol is a DHT (dihydrotestosterone) derived compound. This is an extremely powerful androgenic hormone, is one of the most important hormones when talking about strength and is about 5 times the potency of testosterone.
- The second reason is that A50 is causing a huge increase in water weight, with huge bloating and water inside of the muscles. That’s also very important for those who want to increase strength levels.
In fact, Anadrol is considered to be so potent for boosting the strength levels so much, that there are some bodybuilders and powerlifters that won’t reach the extended limit of lifting weights they received from Anadrol. They won’t be lifting their maximum – they would lift lighter weights on a purpose. They do so in order to avoid injuries such as muscle tears, ruptured tendons or others which is common when lifting too much heavy weight.
According to the bodybuilders, this could happen when a person’s strength is suddenly going to increase a lot. Therefore, you are capable to lift extra weight, but the rest of your body is in “shock” and wasn’t able to fully get used to the extra work load.
Orally Active Steroid
Anadrol is an orally active steroid and this is considered beneficial by some people due to the fact that it requires to injections, therefore is easy and safe to be administered. It got nicknamed A50 because usually, it comes in dosage of 50 mg strength per pill.
But this could also be seen as a negative thing.
That’s because usually, oral steroids are more hepatotoxic (increasing liver strain) when compared to injectable steroids, other than that they may cause higher blood pressure too and lastly – they are having a shorter half life compared to most other injectable steroids.
We would discuss more about the side effects of the compound in more details below.
Anadrol Side Effects
This is a steroid and as any other – it does offer side effects. But is not only the fact that it has possible side effects, as mentioned, it offers some of the harshest side effects compared to other steroids, being among the most powerful ones, that’s why Anadrol is thought to be a harsh steroid. Here are some of the most common side effects of A50:
- Hepatotoxicity
- Hypertension
- Testosterone Inhibition
- Gynecomastia
- Water Retention
- Oily Skin and Acne
Hepatotoxicity
Once again, Anadrol (Oxymetholone) is an orally active steroid with C17 alpha alkylation that is allowing the steroid to survive the liver without being destroyed and therefore making it effective coming as pills.
This is positive as you can administer it as pills, but this alkylation is causing liver strain meaning that your liver enzymes would spike dramatically. This is not good for your liver health, and in case of too much dosage of too long administration – it could cause a temporary or even permanent damage to liver.
That’s why is so important to use it properly, a low level damage is usually going to reverse back to normal state few weeks after stopping the administration. That’s why liver toxicity is not a huge problem for bodybuilders who use the compound as should. But, on the other hand, if this compound would be administered for extended periods of time or being abused (too high dosage), the risks of permanent liver damage or even failure increase.
- Is highly recommended to avoid substances that can damage your liver, it can be alcohol OTC medications etc.
Hypertension
Higher blood pressure (hypertension) is a common side effect among steroids, but it seems like orally active steroids like Anadrol (especially so powerful ones) are worse when talking about this side effect. The cardiovascular strain is less on injectable steroids, that’s because the orals are stimulating the hepatic lipase and that’s a liver enzyme that is known for breaking down the HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol).
HDL is lowering the blood pressure, when using oral steroids and lowering the HDL – blood pressure increases. Injectable steroids are also known to reduce the HDL cholesterol levels, but they are known to be less harsh compared to orals, that’s why is more likely to rise your blood pressure with oral steroids.
Since Anadrol is a harsh steroid, the side effect is particularly possible on it, because is very toxic. Heart health is at risk with such steroids. Other than that, increase in blood pressure could occur due to more water retention too.
Testosterone Inhibition
You might already know that absolutely all anabolic steroids are known to suppress the testosterone levels, that’s because they inhibition the natural production of this hormone. However, the negative side effect of reducing T levels with Anadrol is known to be drastic.
Is extremely important to go through a Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) after stopping any steroid, but especially with Anadrol, which requires an intense protocol because the crash from stopping A50 could be bad.
Gynecomastia
Anadrol (Oxymetholone), as said, is a Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) derived steroid, therefore, it cannot aromatize and won’t convert into estrogen. But unlike all other DHT derived steroids (that has no estrogenic conversion or activity), it still remains highly estrogenic as it offers a huge estrogenic activity. The reason is because Anadrol is known for directly stimulating the estrogen receptors, it doesn’t increase estrogen by conversion.
This compound is known for offering a very high estrogenic activity with this being mentioned, gynecomastia is very possible as that’s a condition when too much estrogen is floating in your body.
Luckily, there are methods to prevent and fight off with this side effect. By administering Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) or Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) like Clomid or others, you would combat the side effects. However, not all of them would help as they would with other bulking steroids because Anadrol doesn’t aromatize.
Water Retention
As earlier mentioned, part of the reason why hypertension is so possible is because users of Anadrol would also retain a lot of water, this is going to lead to even more increased blood pressure. The water retention also occurs due to high estrogenic activity as well as due to the fact that most users using Anadrol are searching for bulking up, gaining as much muscles and strength as possible – so they eat a lot.
- But generally, bloating and fluid retention seems to be more profound with the steroid than with most others.
However, there’s an exception when water retention might not be as problematic – when the user of Anadrol is dieting, eating low calorie super clean foods and having a low intake of sodium. That’s usually done by bodybuilders before a show when they need to get both big, and without too much water retention. This way, they are going to look both full and dry with muscle definition.
But in the end, it does seems like high estrogen levels (which you would most likely get from Anadrol) combined with moderate amounts of sodium is going to lead to water retention. That’s why most people report this side effect on this steroid.
Oily Skin and Acne
Despite the fact that Anadrol seem to have quite a low androgenic rating on paper of only 45, the steroid still seem to be very capable of offering androgenic related side effects. It also is related with the fact that is a DHT derived steroid.
This is the reason why users of Anadrol may experience such side effects like oily skin as well as acne, especially those that are genetically prone to get such adverse effects.
You can read more information about Anadrol here.
Dianabol Profile
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Dianabol that is shortly known as Dbol with the active substance Methandienone (also known as Methandrostenolone) is considered to be one of the best bulking steroids on the market and one of the most famous AAS. In fact, it does seems like Dianabol is absolute the most famous and widely used steroid for physique and performance enhancement purposes.
- Despite the fact that Dianabol is very similar to Anadrol and in fact, is considered less powerful Dianabol (Methandienone) is still more popular.
Dianabol has been created many years ago by Dr John Ziegler and his purpose was to create a product that is more anabolic than testosterone, but less androgenic, for avoiding the prostate enlargement side effects of testosterone and this goal was achieved.
Dbol is more potent at muscle building and strength increase than testosterone with less androgenic activity. But Dianabol was thought to be less aromatizing than Testosterone, however it ended up being more aromatized.
Overall, Dbol seem to be perfect for a bulking cycle, being nowadays one of the most best steroids and most popular ones. Is believed that Dianabol was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorite steroid to get in his best shape.
Dianabol Benefits
Dbol ended up being the most widely used steroid in the world and most famous one for physique and performance enhancement purposes for good reasons – its huge benefits combined with moderate side effects. The reason why Dbol is more popular than Anadrol despite the fact that is offering same benefits but they are less profound than Anadrol’s is because it has a better benefits to side effects ratio.
- Muscle Mass Gains
- Boosts Strength
- Orally Active Steroid
Muscle Mass Gains
Dianabol is an exceptional steroid for growing muscle mass. The gains on this steroid would be crazy fast and huge. It does offer water retention pretty much as Anadrol, however, is less powerful than Anadrol and that’s why, the gains made on Dbol will be with less water weight and maybe you would build slightly less muscles with it. However, you would receive notably less side effects and you would still pack on a big size.
According to people who already used Dbol, is not uncommon for someone who is on their first Dianabol cycle to gain up to about 30 lbs of weight gain or so. Another plus of Dianabol is the fact that less than half of that weight is going to be in form of water, unlike with Anadrol. That’s why, you are going to experience much less muscle and weight loss with Dianabol after a cycle, than with Anadrol.
Boosts Strength
Once again, Dianabol is very similar to Anadrol and therefore, is going to be amazing for boosting strength levels. Users of Dbol report big strength increases and that’s why is known to be among the best steroids for such needs.
Exactly as previously, pretty much most people who have used both of these compounds would report that Anadrol is slightly more in terms of boosting strength than Dianabol, but then again, Dbol’s side effects are far from those of Anadrol.
Anyway, is believed that there are very few steroids in existence that are capable to offer better strength boost than those of Dianabol (Methandienone).
Orally Active Steroid
Exactly as Anadrol, Dianabol is orally active steroid allowing oral administration as it comes in form of tablets. This is usually seen as a positive thing, but there are some negative ones too such as toxic for liver, shorter half life, hypertension etc.
Nonetheless, since Dianabol is less toxic than Anadrol, being an orally active steroid – is far from being as dangerous.
There is also Injectable Dianabol version available, however, is very rarely used and very unpopular. Oral Dianabol is by far the most famous version.
Dianabol Side Effects
Remember that the side effects of Dianabol are definitely possible, despite the fact that is less toxic than Anadrol. Most people reporting side effects abused the steroid. Dianabol is a more mild steroid than Anadrol, it offers less benefits – but it offers less side effects which are very likely to be less pronounced too.
Do not abuse Dbol – don’t use it in excessive dosages and don’t use it for longer than recommended. This way, you would be able to avoid the negative side effects which are:
- Liver Toxic
- Testosterone Inhibition
- Gynecomastia
- Water Retention
- Hypertension
- Virilization (masculinization) for women
Keep in mind that these are not all the possible side effects of Dianabol (Methandrostenolone). There are many other possible, but these are just some of the most commonly reported ones that you should be wary about.
Liver Toxic
Being an orally active steroid, is also C17 alpha alkylated that allows the steroid to pass through the liver (when swallowing pills) without destroying the active substance. Is less harsh than Anadrol and that’s why liver issues are less likely.
Generally, liver toxicity is not a problem for most people who use it properly. That’s because the liver strain disappear and all the damage recovers back in a matter of weeks or maximum months after stopping the Dbol cycle.
Use liver protective supplements while using the compound and avoid any other substances that may damage your liver such as OTC medications, alcohol and others.
Testosterone Inhibition
Exactly as any other steroids out there, Dianabol is going to suppress the natural testosterone production. The level of suppression won’t be as bad as those of Anadrol or other steroids, but is still pretty drastic.
Coming off any anabolic steroid cycle requires you to run through a Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) plan. This would greatly help you to recover back to the normal production of testosterone much faster after the steroid cycle.
Gynecomastia
Dianabol (Methandienone), as said, was intended to be less aromatizing than testosterone, but it ended up being much more aromatized. Therefore, high estrogen levels are very possible with Dbol. As a result, gynecomastia is something very possible with it (pretty much as with other aromatizing steroids).
Keep in mind that this side effect can be avoided, prevented and reduced. Users are adding some Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) as for example Arimidex or others as it would level down the aromatization.
Water Retention
High estrogenic activity with Dbol is very possible, therefore, water retention is very possible either. Anadrol, on the other hand, doesn’t aromatize, however it still offers even more estrogenic activity than Dbol and that’s why, is more likely to offer more significant amount of water weight increase.
Water retention on Dianabol is usually very common, but it also can be controlled with the help of Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) in case the side effects gets out of hand as you lower down the estrogenic activity by controlling aromatization.
Hypertension
The combination of being a powerful orally active steroid that is so aromatizable is definitely going to lead to increase in blood pressure with Dianabol. The steroid is known for stimulating the hepatic lipase (and that is causing a negative impact on the cholesterol health).
Stimulating the hepatic lipase, it would lower down the HDL (good) cholesterol, which in return would increase the LDL (bad) cholesterol. Cholesterol is very important for lowering blood pressure. With negative impact on cholesterol, you get hypertension. However, it won’t be as bad compared to the one you may get from Anadrol.
Virilization (masculinization) in women
There are researches done on Dianabol (Methandienone) which suggest that the steroid is not suitable for use in women, and that’s because the studies prove that this AAS is going to offer virilization side effects (masculinization – the process of turning a woman into a man).
Vrilization side effects include:
- Deepening of the voice
- Hypertrophy and/ or enlargement of the clitoris
- Head hair shredding
- Abnormal hair growth on face and body
- Menstrual irregularities
- Behavioral changes and changes in thoughts etc.
With all of this being said, women searching for physique and performance enhancement using Dianabol should only stay at very low dosages if they want to stay away from such side effects.
However, most women needing steroids for such purposes, they are usually going for something milder like for example Anavar (Oxandrolone).
You can read more information about Dianabol here.
Dianabol Vs Anadrol Review Conclusion
In the end, both steroids are extremely popular and widely used all around the world for physique and performance enhancement purposes. Both Dianabol and Anadrol are bulking steroids that are going to offer huge increase in terms of muscle gains and strength.
Anadrol (Oxymetholone) is still considered a more powerful steroid than Dianabol (Methandienone) and for this reason, is believed to offer slightly more muscles and strength.
Nonetheless, being a more powerful one, Anadrol is considered a harsher steroid than Dianabol, and although both are capable to offer significant side effects, those of Anadrol would be worse.
This is the reason why Dianabol is mostly suitable for beginners, while Anadrol is only the choice of professionals.
In the end, Dbol seem to remain the favorite steroid with a better benefits vs risks ratio as there are people avoiding Anadrol due to its harshness.
Important! If you want to take the maximum out of these steroids, is very important to have a real compound (fakes either do less, or nothing at all, with sometimes, increased risks of side effects) and to learn how to properly use it. Only a proper use is going to reduce the side effects whilst increasing benefits.