I’m John Simpson. I’ve been deep into the world of bodybuilding for years, pushing my body to its limits and learning a ton along the way. Over time, I’ve experimented with a variety of cutting steroids to help get that shredded, competition-ready look. I’ve picked up a lot of knowledge from my own trials and errors, and now I want to share what I’ve learned with you.
If you’re looking to get ripped and cut while keeping your hard-earned muscle, I’ve got some solid recommendations for the best cutting steroids and tips on how to combine them for the best results. Whether you’re gearing up for a competition or just aiming to get that ripped look, let’s dive into the most effective strategies to help you reach your peak physique.
I will provide the latest information for 2024 on the top 4 steroids for cutting to burn fat and preserve lean muscle mass. I will also provide a guide on where to obtain safe and legal cutting steroids and how to combine them into a cutting stack to shred body fat more efficiently.
4 Best Steroids for Cutting Stacks in 2024 – My Recommendations
The most effective way for bodybuilders to cut and burn excess body fat is to employ the use of a steroid cutting cycle.
Here are the top four steroids for cutting detailing the legal brands:
- Anvarol – (legal Anavar)
- Win Max – (legal Winstrol)
- Clenbutrol – (legal Clenbuterol)
- Testo-Max (legal Sustanon 250)
The brands above are available to buy directly from the manufacturer and use legally. Although it is possible to use individually, it’s more common and effective to combine anabolic steroids into a cutting stack. It is highly advised to use a STEROID STACK on a cutting cycle, this allows the benefits of each to be amplified.
Top 4 Cutting Steroids for Fat Burning and Getting RippedÂ
Before I review each steroid and explain why they rank among the best options for cutting stacks, we would like to point out that the impressive benefits they can provide may come at a price.
The Best Cutting Steroids For that Ripped Look
Here are the most effective steroids for cutting fat and for building lean muscle mass. I have included the best selling legal brands that can be purchased directly from the manufacturer.
Anavar – Cut Body Fat Percentage
- Promotes FAST Fat Loss
- Boosts Energy Levels
- Retains Lean Muscle Mass
- Post-Workout Recovery
- ANVAROL is a Legal ANAVAR BrandÂ
Anavar (Anvarol is a legal brand) is a very popular and powerful anabolic steroid that many bodybuilders use to help them burn extra fat during their cutting cycles. Bodybuilders who omit this steroid from their cutting stacks are few and far between.
Anavar’s popularity as a cutting stack steroid has not come about without good reason. In addition to being one of the best steroids for accelerating fat loss, Anavar is also good for protecting against loss of muscle mass.
Bodybuilders also often comment on Anavar’s ability to improve vascularity. If you want your veins to stand out, this steroid can help.
What Is Anavar?
Anavar provides the steroid Oxandrolone. Although it is also available under other brand names, Anavar is the brand that you are most likely to encounter in the USA.
Anavar is an oral steroid. You pop it into your mouth instead of stabbing it through your skin. This can be a blessing because, when you are cycling several steroids, it can be pretty easy to feel like a pin cushion.
Unfortunately, before you can take steroids by mouth they need to undergo a 17-α-alkylation modification process that forces the liver to process them. This modification increases their hepatotoxicity so, although Anavar is quick and easy to take, it can do nasty things to your liver. [1]
Although the anabolic rating of Anavar is much higher than that of testosterone, it does not rank highly as a bulking steroid. Its value is much greater when used for cutting and, because Anavar is so anabolic, it’s great for protecting against loss of muscle mass during cutting cycles.
Anavar’s anabolic rating may be higher than that of testosterone but its androgenic rating is not. It’s much lower than testosterone and most other bodybuilding steroids.
For this reason, women who use Anavar face a lesser risk of virilization. However, although Anavar is safer for women than most other oral steroids, the risk of virilization is still there.
Anavar Benefits to Lose Fat and Get Cut
As with all the best cutting stack options, Anavar is a steroid that boosts metabolism. By doing this, it causes the body to burn more calories than normal.
Anavar also enhances training ability, making it possible to train harder and burn extra calories due to physical activity.
As I pointed out earlier, due to its high anabolic rating, Anavar also protects against loss of muscle mass while helping the user to lose body fat percentage.
It probably won’t come as a surprise to learn this popular cutting stack steroid delivers strength increases as well and it’s not unheard of for women to use Anavar as a bulking steroid.
One of the best things about using Anavar for cutting is the lack of aromatizing activity. This makes bloating unlikely and helps keep the muscles hard and well-defined.
Anavar Dosage
What’s the best Anavar dose for cutting? That depends on who you talk to. Some guys get excellent results with only 30 mg of Anavar per day. I can tell you through experience there are also plenty of guys who take 60 mg or more per day.
Women need to take much lower Anavar doses than men and 20 mg per day should be seen as the top line. Taking higher doses will increase the risk of virilization and other side effects.
Women who use Anavar also need to limit their cycle length to 4-6 weeks, but men often use this steroid in 8-week cycles.
Regardless of sex, extending the cycle length increases the risk of liver damage and other side effects.
Anavar Risks and Side Effects
Compared to most anabolic steroids, Anavar side effects are usually pretty mild. One of the main worries when using this steroid is the nasty things it may be doing to your liver. It’s an important organ and the human body does not carry a spare.
Although the androgenic rating of Anavar is low and there is no need to worry about estrogenic side effects, when you use this steroid there is still a risk of skin issues and hair loss.
Anavar usage may also cause unhealthy changes in cholesterol. Bearing in mind the dangers cholesterol can present to the heart, this is one of the more worrying Anavar side effects.
Other side effects may include:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Oily skin
- High blood pressure
- Skin rashes
- Low libido
- Testosterone suppression
Anavar suppresses natural testosterone production. All steroids do because they take over the role of this important hormone. Because the testosterone it produces is no longer needed, the body produces less of it.
That’s okay during the steroid cycle but when you end the cycle things do not just return to normal. Unless you take the right steps, your body will suffer low-testosterone issues for a long time.
Low endogenous testosterone levels cause fatigue, mental fog, and rapid reductions in muscle mass. It also makes your body become more prone to storing fat. Any benefits you got during your steroid cutting cycle can disappear rapidly so you need to do a PCT.
A PCT (post-cycle therapy) is a treatment that helps compensate for low testosterone and helps the body get production underway as quickly as possible. I recommend the legal Anavar alternative Anvarol.
Winstrol – Burn Fat and Retain Lean Muscle Mass
-
- EXTREME Strength
- Improves Workout Performance
- Sculpts Ripped and Shredded Physique
- Legal and Safe
Often referred to as “Winny,” Winstrol is another anabolic steroid that excels at shredding body fat. All the best cutting stacks have it.
Winstrol is so good that it’s possible to cut your daily calorie intake in half and still not have to worry about loss of muscle mass.
In addition to being one of the best steroids to include in cutting stacks, Winstrol is also a formidable performance enhancer. The sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for Winstrol during the 1988 Olympics.
Although there is no way to be certain he would not have won a gold medal without it, we do know testing positive for the steroid is why he lost it. To this day, the track event continues to be remembered as the “dirtiest race in history.”
In common with Anavar, Winstrol has a low androgenic rating. This makes it another popular choice with women and it’s easily one of the fastest-acting cutting steroids. Winstrol can deliver notable improvements in body composition in less than a month.
Although many bodybuilders who use Winstrol choose to inject it, there is also a pill version of this popular cutting steroid. Needless to say, the oral version presents the greatest risk of liver harm.
What Is Winstrol?
Winstrol is a brand name for Stanozolol. The same steroid is sold under many other names as well, including Menabol and Stanol, but Winstrol is the most popular brand of Stanozolol in the USA.
Stanozolol is derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Like testosterone, DHT is both androgenic and anabolic. However, Stanozolol is not as androgenic as DHT. That’s why it ranks among the best anabolic steroids for women.
Winstrol Benefits to a Cutting Cycle
In addition to being one of the best steroids for shredding body fat and boosting performance, Winstrol is also useful for reducing joint pain. Lifting heavy weights regularly places a lot of strain on the joints so this Winstrol benefit many bodybuilders appreciate.
Most anabolic steroids cause increases in sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). When testosterone binds with SHBG, it is no longer capable of supporting muscle growth.
Winstrol reduces SHBG instead of increasing it. By doing this, it helps increase “free testosterone” levels. [2]
When you have more free testosterone, you can burn fat faster. You also have less need to worry about loss of muscle mass during your cutting cycles.
By enhancing physical performance, Winstrol also helps you to train harder and burn extra calories while training. This further contributes to Winstrol’s value as a steroid for cutting and shredding body fat.
Winstrol Dosage
When you take Winstrol by mouth, the dose is lower than if you are taking it via injection. Oral doses of Winstrol also need to be more regular.
Bodybuilders using Winstrol pills generally take 25-50 mg per day, split between two doses. It’s not unheard of for people to take much higher doses but doing so greatly increases the risk of side effects and organ harm.
Bodybuilders who inject Winstrol only need to do so once, every other day. The dose is generally 50 mg.
Winstrol steroid cycles typically run for 6-12 weeks.
Winstrol Risks and Side Effects
When taken orally, Winstrol is much harder on the liver than Anavar is but this is a moot point when you are running these two popular cutting steroids together. Your poor liver will be getting hit from all sides.
Winstrol also suppresses testosterone production more than Anavar does. Again though, it’s pointless comparing them when you are going to be running them together.
If you include this steroid in your cutting stack, you also run the risk of the following side effects:
- Acne
- Headaches
- Insomnia
- Nausea
- Greasy skin
- Anxiety/stress
- Depression
- High blood pressure
- Premature balding
- Low sex drive
- Testicle shrinkage
Winstrol also has the potential to elevate cholesterol. If you already have issues with high cholesterol, cycling Winstrol will only make the situation worse.
Clenbuterol – for Fat Loss on a Cutting Cycle
-
- POWERFUL Cutting and Fat Burning
- Improves Performance
- Retains Lean Muscle Mass
- Muscle Definition
Often mistaken for an anabolic steroid when it is not, Clenbuterol is present in all the best cutting stacks.
A high-potency fat burner that’s good for shredding fat, Clenbuterol is also a powerful performance booster that makes it easier to burn extra calories through exercise.
In common with Winstrol, Clenbuterol is available in two forms and can be taken orally or via injection.
What Is Clenbuterol?
Clenbuterol is a beta2-agonist that opens up the airways and functions as a stimulant. In common with other drugs of its class, Clenbuterol was originally developed as a treatment for lung conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, and COPD.
Although Clenbuterol is available as a prescription-only asthma treatment in many countries, this is not so in the USA. It’s FDA-approved as a veterinary treatment for animals suffering from breathing difficulties.
The drug’s ability to open up the airways contributes much to its value as a performance enhancer. By getting extra oxygen to the muscles, Clenbuterol makes it possible to work them harder and longer before lactic acid builds up, forcing the need to stop and take a rest between exercise sets.
Clenbuterol’s value as a fat burner was not planned but became apparent when animals using it began getting leaner.
Clenbuterol Benefits to Cut Body Fat Percentage
I have already explained Clenbuterol’s value as a performance enhancer. Now we’ll take a look at how this popular steroid cutting stack inclusion enhances fat loss and body fat shredding while maintaining muscle tone.
After it enters the blood, Clenbuterol enhances adrenaline production. It also boosts metabolism.
The adrenaline increase improves your physical performance, helping you to train harder. The metabolism boost makes it possible to burn more calories during training and also while your body is at rest.
Much of the metabolism boost Clenbuterol provides is due to its ability to increase thermogenesis. This is a natural process that generates heat within the body, causing additional calories to be lost as heat.
Many bodybuilders who use Clenbuterol actually feel it working and comment on how it causes them to sweat more while training.
Clenbuterol also appears to suppress hunger. That’s a nice bonus because sticking to the kind of diet that causes fat burning can be hungry work.
Clenbuterol boasts minor anabolic abilities as well. It’s not a notable ability so you can forget about using Clenbuterol for bulking. However, its ability as an anabolic agent is sufficient to help protect against loss of muscle mass while cutting.
Clenbuterol Dosage
New users begin by taking 40 mcg of Clenbuterol per day and gradually increase the dose. It’s unwise to take more than 100 mcg of Clenbuterol per day but some bodybuilders go a lot higher.
As with anabolic steroids, women who include Clenbuterol in their cutting stacks take lower doses. The beginner dose is 20 mcg per day.
Clenbuterol Risks and Side Effects
Clenbuterol does not suppress testosterone production within the body. However, you are unlikely to be running the drug on its own so a PCT is still going to be necessary.
Clenbuterol can also present some pretty unpleasant side effects. Although most of them are temporary, Clenbuterol is also capable of causing lasting damage.
Short-term side effects may include:
- Dry mouth
- Anxiety
- Jitters
- Insomnia
- Nausea/vomiting
- Heavy sweating
- Severe headaches
- Muscle cramps
- Racing heartbeat/heart palpitations
- High cholesterol
Clenbuterol also has the potential to cause fragile bones and cardiac hypertrophy.
It can be dangerous to lift heavy weights when your bones are weak and any attempt to do so could have painful consequences.
It’s very easy to brush aside the risks and hope for the best but Clenbuterol can be a very dangerous fat burner to use.
In June 2020, a UK-based hospital published a case report about a bodybuilder who used Clenbuterol and sustained a myocardial injury. He was only 22 years old. That’s very young to have such a major problem with your heart. [3]
Sustanon – for Building Muscle Mass
- Â EXTREME Strength
- Â Enhances Performance
- Â Reduces Recovery Time
- Â TESTO MAX is Legal TESTOSTERONE
Testo-Max is arguably the most popular and best selling legal Sustanon brand. Testo-Max is a hybrid legal steroid alternative that gives the muscle building results of sus 20 without the side effects.
One of the best steroids for cutting and bulking, Sustanon (also known as Sus 250) is one of the most powerful steroids. Its credentials as a fat burner and muscle growth enhancer are pretty much level-pegging and you probably won’t be surprised when I tell you Sustanon is a performance enhancer as well. It is the injectable steroid or choice for lean muscle mass.
It’s not unusual for guys using Sustanon to comment on its ability to improve libido, and performance in the bedroom. The point is, the steroid’s ability to do these things is not surprising because it’s synthetic testosterone.
Needless to say, there can be side effects too but if you want to shred body fat and get lean, including Sustanon in your cutting stack is one of the best ways to do it.
What Is Sustanon?
Sustanon is synthetic testosterone that is FDA-approved as a testosterone replacement therapy. Intended to be taken via injection, it’s distributed in 250 ml ampules. That’s why you may also hear it being referred to as Sustanon 250 or Sus 250.
The ampules contain four testosterone esters. Each one consists of a testosterone molecule attached to a carbon chain.
The four esters are testosterone propionate, testosterone isocaproate, testosterone phenylpropionate, and testosterone decanoate. The chain length is different in every case. The reason for this is quite clever.
The body absorbs the short-chained esters quickly. Longer chained esters are harder to absorb so the benefits take longer to kick in.
If Sustanon were to provide only the shortest chain ester, men taking it would feel the benefits quickly but they would wear off fast as well. That would result in a requirement for regular doses.
If, on the other hand, Sustanon were to provide only the ester with the longest chain, it would take days for the benefits to become apparent.
By providing four testosterone esters that work at different speeds, Sustanon delivers a quick testosterone boost that lasts for three weeks. It is a staple in most bodybuilders and athletes’ steroid stack.
Sustanon Benefits for a Cutting Cycle
Testosterone is the male sex hormone. Men need it to attain and retain masculine characteristics. It’s also an anabolic steroid that plays a key role in protein synthesis and muscle growth.
A testosterone cycle helps the fat-burning process as well and does many other things besides. Women also need to maintain adequate levels of testosterone but the amount they require to remain healthy is much lower than men.
Testosterone is also an important natural steroid that plays a key role in protein synthesis and helps your muscles to grow.
Sustanon is man-made testosterone that does everything natural testosterone does. That includes enhancing fat shredding and muscle growth. It does not cause testosterone suppression.
Sustanon Dosage on A Steroid Cycle
Bodybuilders normally have two Sustanon injections per week. Men who are using the drug as a treatment for low testosterone only get one injection every three weeks. The truth is, bodybuilders are deliberately overdosing on Testosterone.
This abuse of the drug is understandable. If they used it in the way it’s meant to be used, the benefits would not be so good.
Although there would still be an initial overall testosterone boost that may double circulating testosterone levels, natural testosterone production would begin to decrease. So would the benefits. It would be a case of replacing natural testosterone with a synthetic alternative.
Bodybuilders who inject Sustanon two times per week will experience a significant increase in testosterone, along with all the associated benefits. Abusing Sustanon in this way presents many risks.
Sustanon Risks and Side Effects
Sustanon replaces natural testosterone. The benefits are obvious if it’s being used as a hormone replacement therapy.
However, bodybuilders are unlikely to have ultra-low testosterone levels so the testosterone esters Sustanon provides cause a testosterone overload that limits natural testosterone production. That means if you use Sustanon for bodybuilding, when you stop, your testosterone levels will be very low, necessitating the need for a PCT.
Other Sustanon side effects may include.
- Acne
- Oily skin
- Hair loss
- Man boobs
- Testicle shrinkage (men)
- Unnatural growth to the clitoris + developing masculine traits (women)
- Unfavorable changes in cholesterol
- Heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular issues
Using Steroids for Cutting Cycles
After you have increased your muscle size, it’s only natural that you should want to show off your muscles and enjoy the fruits of your labor. The best cutting steroids can help you to do this by enabling you to shred fat faster. There is much debate over whether steroids or SARMS are more effective at reducing body fat.
But what is the best steroid for cutting? The truth is few bodybuilders choose any one option. In order to get the maximum fat shredding results it is generally best to combine several anabolic steroids in a cutting stack.
Stacking is a popular practice. It always has been and it always will be because combining steroids is such a good way to burn fat faster without losing muscle mass.
Of course, these days, many bodybuilders are stacking supplements instead of steroids, and, with such good alternatives available, who can blame them for that?
Using oral or injectable steroids for bodybuilding is dangerous. It’s also illegal and testing positive for steroids gets people banned from participating in competitive sports.
What are Steroid Cutting Cycles?
A typical bodybuilding calendar will alternate between periods of bulking followed by periods of cutting.
During bulking cycles, the primary focus is muscle growth. You train hard and eat plenty of protein and calories to encourage your muscles to get bigger.
It’s normal to gain fat as well as muscle and to build more muscle tissue. The amount of fat gain can be particularly bad if you use a technique known as dirty bulking.
Dirty bulkers eat as much as they can as often as they can to maximize their calorie overload. There is no need to choose healthy options. Pizza is okay. So is a burger and fries.
When you are dirty bulking anything goes. It’s sometimes known as the “see food diet” because when you see food you eat it.
All bodybuilders gain fat during their bulking cycles. The big difference is dirty bulkers are likely to gain much more. Fat sits on top of the muscles, covering them, and ruining muscle definition. Weight gain by any means.
This can be especially apparent with the abs. Your six-pack isn’t going to be much good when it’s hidden behind a ton of stubborn fat.
During cutting cycles, shredding body fat is the primary aim and the best cutting steroids and stacks can help you to do it. More importantly, they help you to burn all that fat without having to sacrifice any of the muscle gains you made during bulking. In other words, increase lean muscle mass.
A correct diet plays an important role in cutting cycles too. As with standard weight loss plans, good cutting diets are nutrient-rich but fail to provide the body with enough calories. The resulting energy shortage forces the body to begin burning its fat.
Fat Burning and Cutting Steroid Stacking Goals and Advantages
Stacking steroids that cut body fat is the best way to maximize your muscle growth during bulking cycles and burning fat while cutting. That’s why so many bodybuilders do it.
Stacking is not unique to steroids though. These days, plenty of bodybuilders are stacking safe and natural steroid alternatives that are legal to buy and use.
Stacking isn’t just good practice, it’s the best practice if you are serious about getting the optimum results during your bulking and cutting cycles.
Unfortunately, as we have already pointed out several times during the article, stacking steroids doesn’t just improve the benefits. It also increases the risks.
Although you may already have heard of these steroids and have gym buddies who sing their praises, improper use can result in dangerous side effects.
“Improper use can result in dangerous side effects.” That’s a loaded statement because using steroids for bodybuilding or sports enhancement is always improper use. None of the anabolic steroids are intended to be used in this way.
Certain options, such as Sustanon, are FDA-approved medications that have specified doses. The doses used for bodybuilding are always greater than the manufacturer’s recommendations. This increases the risk of side effects. As does using them in longer treatment cycles or combining them with other steroids in bulking or cutting stacks.
Steroid side effects can be very scary. They have even been known to be fatal so it’s good that you are taking the time to learn more about these popular bodybuilding drugs instead of just taking the plunge and hoping for the best.
Cutting Steroid Cycles and Stacks FAQs
Can you gain muscle while cutting?
Although gaining muscle during cutting cycles is unlikely, it’s not impossible. However, to a large extent, your ability to do this may depend on your personal genetics.
The way you eat, sleep, and train, will be an influencing factor as well but, if you are stacking the right steroids, you may make modest muscle gains.
Stacking certain steroid alternatives can help you to do this as well.
Is it still necessary to diet while using cutting steroids in a stack?
Yes. The best cutting steroids in the world won’t do you much good if you are consuming more calories than you could possibly hope to burn in a day.
If you want to get the best results while cutting, you need to create a calorie shortfall. Work with your steroids instead of working against them.
What is a PCT?
PCT is an acronym for “post-cycle therapy.”
During your PCT, you will likely be stacking specialized drugs. Certain natural supplements can be useful in this role as well.
A good PCT is necessary after every cycle. It doesn’t matter if you have been bulking or cutting, if you have been using anabolic steroids, the need is always there.
Effective PCTs compensate for the low testosterone levels that always follow steroid cycles. They also help restore testosterone production as quickly as possible.
Are PCTs safe?
Unfortunately, the drugs that are necessary for a good PCT often have side effects. However, the risks they present are generally minor in comparison to steroids.
Best Cutting Steroids Summary and Final Thoughts
The best cutting steroids and stacks make shredding fat easier and more efficient. They also help you to retain the muscle gains and lean mass you made during bulking.
Unfortunately, using steroids for cutting also entails some very undesirable side effects including the risk of organ harm.
Just as the benefits increase when you stack steroids, so do the dangers and it would be unwise to take them lightly.
So although there are plenty of good arguments for using steroids for cutting, there are also plenty of reasons to choose legal steroid alternatives instead.
Research Sources
- Hepatic Effects of 17 Alpha-Alkylated Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids:
- Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin Response to the Anabolic Steroid Stanozolol: Evidence for Its Suitability as a Biological Androgen Sensitivity Test:
- Clenbuterol-Induced Myocarditis: A Case Report:
