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Winstrol is the best-known brand name for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that comes as oral tablets and as an injectable suspension. Winthrop Laboratories introduced it in the early 1960s, and the FDA approved it for human use. Its main approved use in the US was preventing attacks of hereditary angioedema, a rare inherited condition that causes episodes of severe swelling. It is no longer marketed for human use in the US.
In bodybuilding, Winstrol is mainly a cutting steroid. It does not convert to estrogen, so it causes no estrogen-driven water retention, which is where its reputation for a hard, “dry” look comes from. Commonly reported men’s cycles run 25-50mg per day for 6-8 weeks, usually alongside testosterone. It is also one of the harsher steroids on cholesterol and the liver, and it shuts down natural testosterone production.
This guide covers what Winstrol is, how cycles are commonly run, what results are realistic, and what the research says about its risks. Nothing here is a recommendation to use it.
Key Takeaways
- Winstrol (stanozolol) is a DHT-derived, 17-alpha-alkylated steroid. Its main medical use in the US was preventing hereditary angioedema attacks, at 2-6mg a day.
- Commonly reported men’s cycles run 25-50mg per day for 6-8 weeks, usually with testosterone. These figures come from user practice, not clinical trials.
- In a small study published in JAMA, 6mg a day for six weeks cut HDL (“good”) cholesterol by about a third. Commonly reported bodybuilding doses are many times higher.
- It does not aromatize, so it causes no estrogen-driven water retention or gyno. That is where the “dry” look comes from. It is not a fat burner: fat loss on a cut comes from the diet.
- It strains the liver, shuts down natural testosterone and is commonly linked to joint pain. In women it carries a high risk of virilization.
What Is Winstrol (Stanozolol)?
Stanozolol is a synthetic anabolic steroid built on the DHT structure, with two changes: a methyl group at the 17-alpha position and an extra ring (a pyrazole) fused to the steroid’s A-ring. The 17-alpha methyl group lets it survive the first pass through the liver when swallowed, which is why it works as a tablet. It is also why it strains the liver. Our stanozolol compound page has a short profile.
In medicine, stanozolol was mainly used to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema. Like danazol, another “attenuated” androgen, it raises the liver’s output of C1-esterase inhibitor, the protein these patients lack. The US prescribing information started patients at 2mg three times a day and tapered toward 2mg a day once attacks were under control. Stanozolol has also been used in veterinary medicine, notably in horses, to help weak or debilitated animals regain appetite, weight and strength.
It comes in two forms:
- Oral tablets: Taken daily, often split into two doses.
- Injectable suspension (Winstrol Depot): Stanozolol particles suspended in water rather than oil. Users usually inject it every day or every other day.
Stanozolol’s commonly cited anabolic rating is 320 and its androgenic rating 30, against 100 for both in testosterone. These ratings come from old animal assays and say little about effects in people, but they explain why it is seen as a muscle-sparing drug rather than a mass builder.
Why Winstrol Gives a “Dry” Look
Because stanozolol is already a DHT derivative, the aromatase enzyme cannot turn it into estrogen. With no rise in estrogen, there is no estrogen-driven water retention under the skin, so muscle looks harder and more defined at low body fat. Winstrol is not a diuretic. The “dry” look comes from what it does not do, not from flushing water out.
Users also commonly report that muscles can look flatter on Winstrol, without the full, pumped look of a bulking cycle. That effect usually fades after the cycle ends.
Winstrol Benefits
- Modest lean muscle gains
- Muscle retention while dieting
- A harder, drier look
- Some increase in strength
Muscle gains on Winstrol are smaller than with bulking steroids such as Dianabol or Anadrol. Users commonly report somewhat better gains than with Anavar, at the cost of harsher side effects.
That is why Winstrol is rarely used to bulk. Its main use is in cutting phases and contest prep, when the goal is to hold on to muscle while dieting and look as hard as possible.
Winstrol is not a fat burner on its own. The claim that it burns fat by “slashing cortisol” is not supported by good evidence. Fat loss on a Winstrol cycle comes from the calorie deficit. The drug’s role is to help keep muscle that would otherwise be lost, and that muscle shows more definition as body fat drops.
Strength usually goes up on Winstrol, but less than on steroids that add body weight and water. It is not the compound people turn to for setting new personal records.
Winstrol in Sport: Athletes and Drug Testing
Stanozolol is on the WADA Prohibited List at all times, in and out of competition, and it has been behind some of the best-known doping cases in sport.
The most famous is Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson. He won the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in a world-record 9.79 seconds, then was stripped of the gold medal and the record after testing positive for stanozolol.
Other athletes who have tested positive for stanozolol include:
- Rafael Palmeiro (Major League Baseball)
- Rodney Howe (Australian rugby league)
- Hysen Pulaku (Albanian Olympic weightlifter)
Anti-doping labs now test for long-lasting stanozolol metabolites that stay detectable well after the drug itself has cleared. When the IOC re-tested stored samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics with newer methods, stanozolol was one of the substances found most often.
Winstrol Dosage: Commonly Reported Ranges
Clinical doses of stanozolol were small: the hereditary angioedema regimen started at 6mg a day and was tapered toward 2mg. The doses bodybuilders report are many times higher, and no controlled study has tested them in healthy men. The table below reflects user reports and coaching literature, not clinical guidance.
| Group | Reported Dose | Reported Cycle Length |
|---|---|---|
| Men, lower range | 25mg/day (oral) | 6 weeks |
| Men, most common | 50mg/day (oral) | 6-8 weeks |
| Men, high | Up to 100mg/day (oral) | 6 weeks or less |
| Men, injectable | 50mg every day or every other day | 6-8 weeks |
| Women | 5-10mg/day (oral) | 4-6 weeks |
Cycles are usually kept to 6-8 weeks. The usual reason given is that liver strain and the damage to cholesterol grow the longer Winstrol is taken, with LDL cholesterol climbing further on longer cycles.
Reported doses for women are far lower, and many women avoid Winstrol entirely because of its virilization risk (see the section on women below).
Oral vs Injectable Winstrol
Both forms are the same molecule. Users often claim the injectable works better, but there is no controlled comparison. The injectable is a water-based suspension that many users find painful, and non-sterile underground products carry a real risk of infection and abscesses.
Injecting avoids the first pass through the liver, but stanozolol is still 17-alpha-alkylated, so the injectable is not free of liver strain.
Some users “drink” Winstrol: they swallow the injectable suspension instead of injecting it. Because the 17-alpha methyl group lets stanozolol survive the liver, the swallowed suspension acts much like the tablets, with the same liver load. Underground injectables are not made to be swallowed, and their purity and dose are unknown.
Winstrol Cycles: What Users Report
The cycles below are how Winstrol is commonly run, based on user reports. They are not recommendations, and none has been tested in a clinical trial.
Winstrol-Only Cycle
The simplest cycle is Winstrol on its own, most often reported at 25-50mg per day for 6-8 weeks. Some users report much lower doses, around 10mg a day for 6 weeks, hoping to limit side effects. A lower dose may mean less strain, but even 6mg a day was enough to cut HDL cholesterol by about a third in a six-week study (see the side effects section below).
Running Winstrol alone also means nothing replaces the testosterone it suppresses. Users commonly report low libido, low energy and low mood during or after a Winstrol-only cycle, which is why most reported cycles include testosterone.
Winstrol and Testosterone Cycle
This is a commonly reported 10-week cycle that pairs Winstrol with testosterone enanthate:
| Weeks | Winstrol (Oral) | Testosterone Enanthate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-7 | 50mg/day | 250mg/week |
| 8-10 | None | 250mg/week |
Testosterone covers the body’s suppressed production, so users report better libido, energy and mood than on Winstrol alone. It also brings its own side effects, including estrogen-related ones, and it adds to the suppression the body has to recover from. PCT is commonly started about two weeks after the last enanthate injection.
Winstrol and Trenbolone Cycle
Trenbolone is commonly added to push the hard, lean look further and to add more muscle than Winstrol gives alone.
It is also one of the harshest combinations in common use. Both drugs are hard on cholesterol and blood pressure, both strongly suppress testosterone, and neither converts to estrogen. Trenbolone adds its own problems, including the poor sleep, night sweats and mood changes users commonly report.
Fat loss itself comes from the diet, not the drugs, so stacking two harsh compounds for a cut buys a modest cosmetic edge at a real cost to health. Users who tolerate trenbolone often save it for a bulking phase instead.
Winstrol Results: What to Expect
There are no controlled studies of Winstrol at bodybuilding doses in healthy men, so what follows comes from user reports. Results depend heavily on diet, training, dose and whether the product is genuine.
- Muscle retention on a cut: The main reason it is used. In a calorie deficit, it helps hold on to lean tissue that would otherwise be lost.
- Modest muscle gains: Smaller than with bulking steroids. How much depends on diet, training and dose.
- Harder, drier look: With no estrogen-driven water retention, definition shows more at low body fat.
- Fat loss: Users report losing fat on a cut, but that comes from the diet. Winstrol does not replace it.
Winstrol is rarely used in the off-season for two reasons. Other steroids build mass far better, and the flatter look it can give works against the full look people want when bulking.
Everyone responds differently, so no one can say in advance how much muscle a given person will keep or gain. Users typically report visible changes within a few weeks, with the full effect by the end of a 6-8 week cycle. Some of the harder look fades after the cycle, especially once the diet ends.
Winstrol for Contest Prep
Bodybuilders commonly report adding Winstrol in the last four weeks or so before a show, for a drier, harder look under stage lights. This is the setting it is best known for.
Winstrol for Bulking
Winstrol is not an effective bulking drug on its own. When it is used in a bulk, it is usually added as a secondary compound to a cycle built around stronger mass builders such as testosterone or Dianabol. Users who do this commonly report running it for the last 4 weeks of the cycle at 50-100mg per day. Adding it this way stacks one set of side effects on top of another.
Winstrol vs Anavar
Winstrol and Anavar are often compared because both are oral, non-aromatizing steroids used for cutting. Our full Anavar vs Winstrol comparison goes deeper.
| Winstrol | Anavar | |
|---|---|---|
| Compound | Stanozolol | Oxandrolone |
| Forms | Oral or injectable | Oral only |
| Main use | Cutting, contest prep | Cutting, strength, recomposition |
| Aromatizes | No | No |
| 17-alpha-alkylated (liver strain) | Yes | Yes |
| Effect on HDL cholesterol | Lowers it sharply | Lowers it |
| Joint pain | Commonly reported | Less often reported |
| Muscle gains (user reports) | Somewhat greater | Modest |
| Virilization risk in women | High | Present, usually reported as lower |
In practice, Winstrol is usually described as the stronger of the two for muscle, with worse side effects, especially for cholesterol and joints. Both strain the liver and both suppress testosterone.
Winstrol Side Effects
Winstrol is not a mild steroid. It is not the harshest either, but its side effects are the main reason it is rarely recommended as a first steroid. How severe they are depends on dose, cycle length, genetics and health. Higher doses and longer cycles make all of them worse.
- Lower HDL and higher LDL cholesterol
- Liver strain
- Testosterone suppression
- Joint pain
- Hair loss, acne and oily skin
- Virilization in women
Cholesterol and Heart Risk
This is the best-documented risk. In a small 1989 study published in JAMA, men took either stanozolol at 6mg a day or testosterone enanthate at 200mg a week for six weeks. Stanozolol cut HDL (“good”) cholesterol by about a third and raised LDL by about 29%. Testosterone lowered HDL by less than 10%. That 6mg dose is a fraction of the 25-50mg a day bodybuilders commonly report.
Anabolic steroid use more broadly is linked to heart muscle damage, worse lipids and faster artery disease, according to a 2017 American Heart Association scientific statement. Steroid use is also linked to higher blood pressure. People with heart disease, high blood pressure or poor cholesterol to begin with face the highest risk.
Liver Strain
Winstrol, like other 17-alpha-alkylated oral steroids, is hepatotoxic and puts stress on the liver. Raised liver enzymes (ALT and AST) are common on a cycle and usually settle after stopping.
That does not make it harmless. 17-alpha-alkylated steroids have been linked to cholestatic liver injury (blocked bile flow, often with jaundice) and, with long-term use, to peliosis hepatis (blood-filled cysts in the liver) and liver tumors. The risk rises with dose and time on the drug. People with existing liver problems, or who drink heavily, are at higher risk.
Joint Pain
Aching joints are one of the most common complaints on Winstrol, and older users may notice it more. The usual explanation is that it “dries out” the joints by reducing synovial fluid, but that has not been shown in studies, and the cause is not well understood.
Some users take glucosamine or omega-3 supplements for joint comfort. There is no research on whether they help with Winstrol-related joint pain.
Testosterone Suppression
Winstrol shuts down the body’s own testosterone production by suppressing the pituitary signals (LH and FSH) that drive it. After a cycle, natural production can take weeks to months to come back, and some men take longer. During that time, users commonly report fatigue, low libido and low mood. See the PCT section below.
Hair Loss, Acne and Oily Skin
Winstrol is androgenic, so acne and oily skin are possible, and it can speed up male pattern hair loss in men who are genetically prone to it. It does not do this by raising DHT. It is a DHT derivative and acts on the same receptor. That also means finasteride, which blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT, does not reduce Winstrol’s effect on the scalp.
Some users report that shedding eased after the cycle ended. Hair already lost to male pattern baldness does not reliably grow back.
Side Effects Winstrol Does Not Cause
- Estrogenic gynecomastia: Winstrol does not aromatize, so it does not cause estrogen-driven gyno on its own. In a stack, gyno risk comes from the testosterone or other aromatizing compounds.
- Estrogen-driven water retention or bloating
Winstrol for Women
Winstrol is sometimes used by women looking for muscle definition, fat loss on a cut and better athletic performance, because it adds some muscle without water gain.
The trade-off is a high risk of virilization: masculinizing effects such as a deeper voice, facial and body hair, clitoral enlargement, acne and menstrual changes. Stanozolol is itself an androgen. Like other oral 17-alpha-alkylated steroids, it also sharply lowers SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin), which leaves more free testosterone in circulation. Voice changes and clitoral enlargement may not reverse after stopping.
Women who use it commonly report 5-10mg a day for 4-6 weeks, and reports of virilization rise with dose and cycle length. For this reason Winstrol is widely considered a poor choice for women. Our guide to Winstrol for women covers this in more detail.
Common Winstrol Stacks
Winstrol is rarely recommended as a first steroid (see our guide to steroids for beginners). In cutting cycles it is most commonly combined with:
- Testosterone (enanthate or Sustanon): The most common pairing. Testosterone replaces the body’s suppressed production.
- Anavar: Two oral, 17-alpha-alkylated steroids together. The liver strain and the drop in HDL cholesterol are likely to add up.
- Clenbuterol: Not a steroid but a beta-2 agonist, used as a stimulant for fat loss. It adds its own risks, including a fast heart rate and tremors. See Clenbuterol vs Winstrol.
- Trenbolone: Covered above, and one of the harshest combinations.
None of these stacks is mild. Each added compound brings its own side effects. In a 2023 study of 641 men who had stopped anabolic steroids, those who had used more compounds were less likely to recover their hormone levels.
PCT After a Winstrol Cycle
Post-cycle therapy (PCT) is the practice of taking drugs such as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) or clomiphene (Clomid) after a cycle to help restart the body’s own testosterone production. Neither drug is approved for this use.
Oral Winstrol clears quickly, so after a Winstrol-only cycle users commonly report starting PCT within a few days of the last dose. When testosterone enanthate is in the stack, PCT is usually started about two weeks after the last injection. The most commonly reported protocols are:
| PCT Drug | Commonly Reported Protocol | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) | 40mg/day weeks 1-2, 20mg/day weeks 3-4 | 4 weeks |
| Clomiphene (Clomid) | 50mg/day weeks 1-2, 25mg/day weeks 3-4 | 4 weeks |
SERMs & AIs
Overview
- Form: Oral Capsules
- Dosage: 25-40 mg daily for PCT or for gyno flare-ups
- Typical Cycle: 4-6 weeks
- Cost: $81.95
- Stacking Options: Higher testosterone doses or post-cycle recovery
Pros
- Large mortality benefit in ER-positive breast cancer; five years of adjuvant treatment cuts recurrence roughly by half and breast cancer mortality by about a third, with the effect persisting well past the treatment period
- Works in premenopausal and postmenopausal women alike, unlike aromatase inhibitors, which makes it the default for younger patients
- Bone-protective in postmenopausal women, since it acts as a partial estrogen agonist in bone — the reverse of anastrozole's main liability
Cons
- Endometrial hyperplasia and a two-to-three-fold increase in endometrial cancer risk in postmenopausal women, requiring investigation of any abnormal bleeding
- Elevated risk of venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism, particularly around surgery or immobility
- Hot flashes, vasomotor symptoms and mood effects are common; CYP2D6 status and strong inhibitors such as certain SSRIs can reduce conversion to the active metabolite
SERMs & AIs
Overview
- Form: Oral capsules (25 mg each, 60 capsules)
- Researched Dosage: 25 mg to 50 mg daily for PCT
- Typical Cycle: 4-6 weeks
- Cost: $69.95
- Stacking Options: Tamoxifen, HCG, Enclomiphene
Pros
- A SERM that blocks estrogen at the hypothalamus, prompting the body to make more LH, FSH and its own testosterone.
- Studies in men with low testosterone found it raised testosterone while preserving sperm production, unlike TRT.
- It is oral, inexpensive and has been in medical use since 1967, so its effects are well documented.
Cons
- About a third of each dose is zuclomiphene, a long-lasting isomer linked to mood swings, irritability and low mood.
- Blurred vision, floaters and light sensitivity have been reported; visual symptoms are a reason to stop.
- It is FDA-approved only for female infertility, so use in men is off-label, and this product is sold for research use only.
The best recent data comes from a 2023 study of 641 men seen at a UK clinic after stopping anabolic steroids. Only 48% had fully recovered their reproductive hormones. PCT was linked to faster short-term recovery, but the authors did not endorse it and called for proper research. Blood work before and after a cycle is the only way to know where recovery stands. Our guide to PCT for testosterone covers recovery in more depth.
Legality and Product Quality
United States: Stanozolol is a Schedule III controlled substance. No stanozolol product is currently marketed for human use in the US, and possessing it without a prescription is a federal offense.
Elsewhere: Rules vary. In the UK, anabolic steroids are Class C drugs. Possession for personal use is not an offense, but supply and importing are illegal.
Product quality: Most Winstrol sold today comes from underground labs. A 2022 meta-analysis of more than 5,000 black-market steroid samples found that 36% were counterfeit and another 37% were substandard, so the dose, and even the drug, in a given product is uncertain.
The Bottom Line
Winstrol helps hold on to muscle and look harder on a cut, but it is one of the harsher oral steroids, and its “dry” reputation hides real costs to cholesterol, the liver and natural testosterone.
- It does not aromatize, so there is no estrogen-driven water retention or gyno, but it is not a fat burner: the fat loss on a cut comes from the diet.
- Just 6mg a day cut HDL cholesterol by about a third in six weeks. Commonly reported bodybuilding doses are many times higher, and the drug is 17-alpha-alkylated and hard on the liver.
- It shuts down natural testosterone, hormonal recovery after steroids is often incomplete, and most of what is sold is underground product of unknown quality.
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