Anavar is intrinsically weak steroidwith a high price-tag and low availability, oxandrolone owes its largepopularity due to its safety. In sharp contrast to oxymetholone,oxandrolone is quite generally considered to be the safest of allsteroids. Its effects are more than well-documented and have been for afew decades now. The medical community values oxandrolone as a safealternative for more harmful steroids, which is why it is consideredsafe for use in children and even in patients suffering hepa-toxicityas the result of alternate steroid use¹.

It's most noted medical use has been in the expediting of wound healing^2,3 often practically applied to the treatment of burns ^4,5,6.But recently its gaining popularity again as a means of keeping weighton HIV-infected patients suffering from wasting due to theimmuno-deficiency virus. It was also considered safe for use inprepubescent children with a growth delay⁷. No major harmful effects were noted from this particular therapy, eventhough one study⁸reported that the use of oxandrolone did speed up the onset of pubertyin these children. Furthermore oxandrolone has found frequentapplications in the treatment of other wasting symptoms for hepatitisand cancer as well as the treatment of osteoporosis in both men andwomen of all ages.

Oxandrolone wasintroduced in the year 1964, when Searle came out with the originalAnavar. It quickly became the popular drug in the sports crowd forpeople looking for a safer alternative to the major steroid at thetime, Dianabol (methandrostenolone). It remained one of thebest-sellers for well over 2 decades until it was indefinitelydiscontinued in the year 1989. Much to the regret of the recreationalbodybuilding and powerlifting community. The prices have remained highfor the little stock that remained available. The only brand readilyfound was oxandrolone SPA, manufactured in Milano, Italy. That is,until 1995 when its use in the treatment of the then vastly spreadingimmuno-deficiency disease AIDS⁹ sparked the interest of BTG,a US-based company who came out with Oxandrin. The first widelyavailable oxandrolone product since Anavar production was stopped.

The main reasons forthe wide-spread use of oxandrolone in sports is because it is veryappealing to female athletes as well as male athletes. It causes littleor no virilization properties, demonstrated by its medical uses totreat women. This is rather surprising since oxandrolone does notaromatize either. It's the only steroid that is both safe andconvenient without producing excess estrogen. That makes itparticularly useful when cutting up for a contest or preventing anincrease in body-fat due to estrogenic effects. In fact the main use ofoxandrolone to a bodybuilder is in the maintenance of lean mass whilereducing body-fat. Oxandrolone itself may not actually reduce body-fat,but it too plays a key role in the process. Like most non-aromatizingcompounds it has a repressing effect on the appetite making it easierfor the user to control cravings and stay strict with his diet.

Oxandrolone also haslittle effect on the body's own natural hormone production. Thenegative feedback was found to be very minor, meaning that during shortterm use no suppression of Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH, startof natural testosterone production) was noted. This meant that whatevergains made, as little as they may have been, were very easilymaintained post-cycle. So there was also no use for products likeClomid or Nolvadex in conjunction with oxandrolone consumption. Theeasy to maintain low gains would indicate a low binding to the androgenreceptor. While not extremely high, it should actually be noted that itdoes have quite decent binding to the androgen receptor. But the reasonfor its mild effects is quite likely the low dose used. Rarely if everare doses higher than 20 mg used on a daily basis. Either because ofconvenience or due to the high price. But comparing that the doses ofother steroids this is remarkably low. So its only logical the gainsand side-effects aren't particularly notable.

Of course abodybuilder has limited use for a compound that is both a weak androgenin the doses mostly used and doesn't aromatize since no mentionableeffect on mass can be produced to satisfy the chemically enhancedathlete. Therefor it is best noted that oxandrolone is most popularwith power- and weightlifters to enhance strength without increasingbodyweight. This is valued highly since strength athletes often competein weight-classes. Oxandrolone does not increase strength throughandrogenic stimulation, at least not primarily. It stimulates theformation of phosphocreatine, a body compound that can replenish ATP(adenosine tri-phosphate) , the main energy currency of the livingorganism. This gives an incredible increase in short term anaerobicperformance, the type needed for explosive action such as sprinting andlifting weight.

For bodybuilders thebest results are seen when stacking oxandrolone with a highlyandrogenic compound. Either during a mass stack with aromatizableproducts to boost strength a little more, or in conjunction with anon-estrogenic compound. This is most beneficial since it can maintainlean mass, decrease appetite, improve sharpness of the muscle and keepstrength levels up without giving increased androgenic risk (acne,prostate hypertrophy, hair loss) when stacked with pure androgens(stanozolol, drostanolone). For those looking for safe maintenance ofmuscle mass a stack of Anavar with Primobolan is not a bad investment(but a big investment). The common use of oxandrolone is estimated, at0.125 mg per pound of bodyweight. For men it should be closer to 0.2 mgper pound, for women 0.08 mg per pound per day.

The downsides tooxandrolone are minor. The worst problem by far is the pooravailability and high price. But it has to be noted that, eventhoughoxandrolone is nowhere near Halotestin or anadrol in hepa-toxicity, ittoo is a 17-alpha-alkylated substance that can cause liver damage ifused for long periods on end. Other common side-effects includeheadaches, loss of libido, diarrhea and dizziness.

The conclusion tofollow these paragraphs is of course that oxandrolone is understandablystill a popular and very versatile steroid, much desired by bothexperienced athletes and novice users because of its many properties.While few will say this is the best or their favorite steroid, youwon't find many that will have anything negative to say about iteither.

Stacking and Use:

Because of its mildnature and the low doses generally used with oxandrolone there is verylittle use for secondary compounds like anti-aromatase drugs, estrogenreceptor antagonists or blood pressure medication. That in itself maysomewhat make up for the high cost and little gains made on it.

In stacks Anavar issometimes used to increase strength or help maintain it during massphases. Oxandrolone obviously has very little to add in terms of masscompared to the other substances used to obtain such goals. It fades incomparison to test, Deca, Anadrol, D-bol and such. Nonetheless it isadded quite often, perhaps because people assume it will make theoverall stack less hazardous, but that's a myth of course. Frankly Iwould imagine there are better and cheaper things to waste your moneyon if mass is what you seek.

On a cutting phaseoxandrolone makes a good match for 120-140 mcg of clenbuterol dailystacked with something in the nature of Halotestin or Winstrol. Thecombination improves muscle hardness and striation as well as supportmass and strength retention. Experienced users would preferably addtestosterone propionate or Equipoise no doubt, rather than Halotestinor Winstrol due to less hazard to the liver associated with those twodrugs, especially Halotestin.

Mostly it is used fordecent strength gains without gaining too much weight, particularlysuited for weight- and powerlifters and martial artists. In thataspect, and in my humble opinion, Winstrol would be a good choice for astack. 50 mg of Winstrol every day to every other day stacked with30-40 mg of oxandrolone daily would give a very good result in overallstrength enhancement without adding a mentionable amount of weight tothe frame.