In the world of Anabolic androgenic steroids, injectable forms are king, but without question oral steroids have their place in the arsenal of the performance enhancer. Oral steroids provide an extremely fast acting steroidal hormone that often packs a punch, unlike its injectable counterparts. While very useful, in most cases orals are not what we will consider foundational steroids, this belongs to the injectable class, but this by no means takes away from their value. Look at it as you would nutritional principles; when it comes to our nutrition nothing can replace real food, although vitamin and mineral steroids can be very useful and welcomed additions to a well-founded plan. The same can be said of anabolics; while nothing can replace injectable steroids, oral steroids can be a very useful addition to a well-founded plan.

Oral steroids 101:

As defined by the name itself, oral steroids are simply an Anabolic steroidal hormone that has been manufactured in a manner that allows it to be administered in an oral fashion. By their very nature most all oral steroids are C17-Alpha Alkylated (C17-aa) making them very toxic to the liver. The level of toxicity of an oral steroid can vary tremendously from one to the next, but if a steroid is of the C17-aa class it will be toxic. The C17-aa classification refers to a structural change in the hormone at the 17th carbon position. Such a structural change is necessary to the hormones very existence, for without the hormone would be destroyed by the liver before it could ever provide any benefit to the body.

While regrettable, due to the toxic factor, the C17-aa nature of most oral steroids allows it to survive the first pass through the liver and for the steroidal benefits to be manifested in the body. Of course, there are some oral steroids that are not of the C17-aa nature; most notably oral Primobolan. As oral Primobolan is not a C17-aa steroid, the vast majority of it is destroyed by the liver leaving very little of the total milligram dose usable by the body. For this reason, if you steroid with an oral steroid such as this you will inevitably need to dose a large amount to obtain the desired intended dose, and if nothing else this can be very inefficient in-terms of a cost to benefit ratio.

As most oral steroids are so toxic to the liver they should only be used for short periods of time; generally use should not exceed the 6 week mark with at least 4 weeks in-between periods of use with at least 8-10 weeks being far safer. While this liver toxic effect is concerning, there is some very good news; the liver is a remarkable organ with remarkable healing and rejuvenating capabilities. This doesn't mean we abuse our liver, it simply means it has the ability to recover. If one steroids with oral steroids in a responsible fashion, while his liver enzyme levels will increase, if he is responsible his enzyme levels will return to normal shortly after use is discontinued. Of course, we must also define "responsible use" and this can be defined by keeping doses responsible and reasonable as well as the total duration of use. Beyond these factors responsible use also means avoiding any other activities that may be stressful to the liver, such as daily or excessive alcohol consumption; heavy alcohol consumption is far more damaging to the liver than any Anabolic steroid. Further, when steroiding with oral steroids it's not a bad idea to avoid as many other oral medications as possible including many over the counter medications as many over the counter medications are far more toxic to the liver than any Anabolic steroid. It must be noted we are not implying you should discontinue necessary prescriptions, we're simply saying you'll want to avoid as much additional stress to the liver as possible in-order to keep this vital organ healthy.

Popular Oral steroids:

While there are numerous oral steroids, there are six that are most common, and of these six, they encompass all the oral steroids most performance enhancers will ever use. We have provided you the six steroids in the chart below by the actual hormone as well as popular trade name, their Anabolic to androgenic rating, as well as their bulking and cutting score.

As you can see, in-fact it may be one of the very first things you noticed the Anabolic and androgenic rating of a steroid can be somewhat misleading. For example, Halotestin carries an enormous androgenic rating but displays almost no androgenic traits; then you have oral Primobolan, which displays a decent rating in both yet very little in actual action. While the rating can tell us a great deal the actual action by-which the Anabolic and androgenic ratings perform tell us more than anything else.

Stacking Oral steroids:

As oral steroids will not be the foundation of a cycle, but rather an addition to a total stack you'll need to know what to stack your oral steroids with; after all, you want maximum results. Regardless of the oral steroids you choose, you'll find testosterone is the perfect match for each and every cycle. Beyond testosterone, any Nandrolone or Trenbolone is an excellent choice such as Deca-Durabolin and Trenbolone-Acetate. Other steroids you may find useful include Equipoise, Masteron and of course non-steroidal hormones such as Human Growth Hormone (HGH.)

In most cases, oral steroids will be used at the front end of bulking cycle's in-order to kick a cycle off; this enables gains to be made right away while the injectable steroids are building in your system. For cutting cycles, oral steroids, while they can be used at the front end are usually best served by being in the cycle during the latter half. This allows us to take full advantage of the steroid as in this case it will more than likely be one that carries hardening effects such as Halotestin, Winstrol or Anavar that will only manifest to their fullest potential once we are already fairly lean.

While the above encompasses the popular uses of oral steroids, kick starting bulking cycles and finishing cutting cycles there is one more period of use that is often left ignored, and this is mid-bulking cycle use. As we are trying to grow, even with anabolics we will inevitably hit a wall or plateau and the gains will slow or even come to a complete halt. This is where oral steroids like Anadrol and Dianabol can again be very useful, as mid-bulking cycle use will help us break through the sticking point with force and authority. In truth, this may be one of the greatest advantages oral steroids present. It should be noted; if you are using Anadrol or Dianabol for a plateau buster and a kick start this means you're probably running a very long cycle and one that should only be attempted by veterans of a hardcore nature. Most beginners and even intermediate performance enhancers will not want to use this method as they will not hit a wall in this manner.

Oral steroids & Females:

Where oral steroids are excellent additions to a male Anabolic steroid cycle, for a female they are the beginning and the end as they are often the total answer. Anabolic steroidal steroidation can be very harsh on females due to the virilizing nature of many anabolics. Such a nature can destroy a woman's very femininity and make any progress made worthless. While this is true, there are specific anabolics that can be used safely by women, as their potential of causing virilization is low, if the woman steroids responsibly. Of these steroids Anavar, Primobolan and Winstrol make up the three most effective anabolics that can be used by women and all three are available as an oral steroid.

While Primobolan is available as an oral, most females will find the injectable to be far more efficient for reasons we discussed above regarding the lack of C17-aa nature in this steroid. As for Winstrol, also available as an injectable in Winstrol Depot, in this case it doesn't matter which one you choose; however, as oral Winstrol is often available in a 10mg tab, the standard most common female dose, it only makes sense to go with the oral version. As both oral and injectable Winstrol are of a C17-aa nature, there is no safety benefit held by one and not the other. Then we come to Anavar, not only will this be the best of all oral steroids for females but the best Anabolic androgenic steroid for females period. In many circles the Oxandrolone hormone that is Anavar has been labeled "The Girl steroid" and for good reasons. This doesn't mean men cannot steroid; it simply means the hormone is more beneficial to women and as it is so well-tolerated it is more or less "The Queen" as it pertains to female Anabolic steroid use.

Standard Doses:

As we have six common and popular oral steroids, the question many have is how much should they take? Unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all answer to this question, but we can provide you a reasonable starting point. We have listed the popular oral steroids once again, this time with the average dosing for both males and females, also including high end doses that are common for advanced athletes yet not recommended for most.