TBOL Facts

Turinabol Facts

Turinabol is a unique and fascinating steroid, which originally got its start as an undetectable doping agent in East German’s 25 year covert and extremely successful doping program. It was the 1st steroid to ever be systematically employed on such a large scale solely for the purpose of performance enhancement. The success of this program is measured in the Olympic performances of the athletes who were subjected to it. Some estimates place the number of those involved at 10,000.

Turinabol possesses several attributes which made it desirable for inclusion in the East Germans’ program, one of which is the detection factor. While no longer relevant today, this drug’s rapid clearance from the bloodstream made it a common sense choice for those attempting to avoid a positive drug test. Clearing the system in just a few days, athletes were able to continue using the drug until just before the competition. This minimized performance loss and enabled the German’s to become the most dominant athletic force on the planet.

Another appealing trait was its exceedingly low androgenic rating, which comes in at an astonishing 6. To help put this in perspective, even a weak androgen, such as Anavar, has an androgenic rating of 20. At the time of its production, Turinabol was considered quite an accomplishment among those in the medical community, as it was the first steroid to achieve such a distinct separation between the anabolic and androgenic effects of AAS. This makes it a great drug for women desiring to maintain their femininity, as well as for men who want to minimize the occurrence of androgenic side effects in general.

Further reducing the drug’s side effect profile is its inability to aromatize and lack of progestagenic activity. This means all side effects associated with these hormones are absent, such as gynecomastia, fat gain, sexual dysfunction, water retention, mood swings, etc. Furthermore, Turinabol is unable to be 5-alpha reduced, preventing it from being converted into other active metabolites.

Traditionally labeled as a cutting steroid (a purpose which it serves well), due to the hard & dry appearance it provides, Turniabol is more accurately described as a cross between cutter and mass-builder, with greater emphasis on the cutting component. While it does not generate the type of lean mass increases witnessed with a potent mass-builder like Anadrol, it does deliver a more potent muscle building effect in comparison to many other cutters, such as Anavar, Winstrol, and Halotestin.

Another, although less publicized benefit of Turinabol is its ability to lower systematic SHBG levels. SHBG is a protein found in the bloodstream which binds up to 98% of all circulating testosterone and many other AAS. Once bound, the steroid remains permanently attached to this protein, preventing it from being able to attach to the androgen receptor and stimulate muscle growth. Because of Turinabol?s high binding affinity for SHBG, it will preferentially bind to SHBG before other steroids. This allows a higher percentage of AAS to remain in an unbound state, where they are freely able to interact with the androgen receptor and exert their muscle building effects. In essence, T-bol sacrifices itself so that other, more powerful muscle builders are better able to do their job.

T-bol is not the only steroid with a strong binding affinity to SHBG and other steroids do not bind to SHBG at all. In theory, as long as T-bol is paired with a stronger steroid which has a comparatively weaker binding affinity for SHBG, it should enhance the results of one?s cycle through SHBG modulation. There is no benefit imparted through this mechanism when T-bol is used alone, when it is used with steroids that do not bind to SHBG, or when it is used with weaker AAS that do bind to SHBG. Personally, when it comes to using AAS to modulate SHBG, I believe any positive effect on growth will be minimal. In my opinion, Turinabol is best used as intended and any benefits imparted through SHBG suppression are simply an added bonus.

As a methylated steroid, Turinabol is expected to possess some degree of liver toxicity, which it does, but unlike many other steroids in its class, it is relatively mild in this regard. This enables Turinabol to be cycled for 8-10 weeks at moderate dosages with little worry of excessive liver strain. 40-60 mg daily is a commonly employed dosing range.

Those who try T-bol usually end up liking it, but with it being absent from the market for such a long period of time, many of those who had used the original version of the drug are no longer around to supply their opinions and recommendations. This leaves an informational disconnect between the generations, with the current generation being largely unable to draw from the experiences and inspiration of the older vets. The end result is a diminishment of popularity, although undeservedly so. If you have been using oral AAS such as Winstrol and Anavar and are considering trying something else, you might want to give Turinabol a shot and see how you like it.