How Effective Are Steroid Alternatives?

When it comes to building muscle and losing fat there really are few products that can compare with anabolic steroids. I mean, there’s a reason they are banned – they are super effective for muscle mass, density and strength.

On top of their benefits for building muscle, many anabolic steroids like clenbuterol and winstrol can be used very effectively to cut weight and still have maximum energy for workouts. Pretty crazy if you ask me.

Here’s the thing – it’s well known that steroids are effective, but it is also well known that they are terrible for you. Most people who abuse steroids don’t live to see their 40s or 50s.

Steroids cause enlargement of organs like the heart and liver while throwing your balance of hormones all over the place and drastically increasing your rate of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

By now I’m sure you can tell that we are not the type of organization that supports steroid use. Yep, their effective, but when you weigh the pros vs. the cons, there really isn’t a logical choice to say you should use anabolic steroids.

For this reason, many people should look to steroid alternatives – especially if they have goals of building muscle and losing weight.

The important thing to know is that some steroid alternatives can be effective, while others may not be.

Here are some things you should consider before even looking at the good and bad steroid alternatives.

They’re Not Magic Pills

Steroid alternatives are far from magic pills. They will not cause an instant growth in muscle or a drastic change in your body composition – mainly because nothing will. You still need to exercise and you still need to eat a very clean and whole-food diet.

Before you take any supplement you should understand that is exactly what they are – supplemental to your health and performance goals.

Good Ones Can Be Pricey

Just like steroids, good alternatives can be a little pricey. Somewhere in the real of $2 a serving is usually where steroid alternatives land. This means you’re looking at about $60 a month in just one supplement – not accounting for your other supplements or healthy diet bills.

Those looking for an economic option should turn to a whole-food diet and consistent exercise without the use of any supplements.

There Are No Known Side Effects

Most, if not all steroid alternatives have no known side effects. This does not necessarily mean there are no side effects, it just means that from what the company has seen in clinical trials, most people do not experience illness or any form of sickness. This means you can supplement knowing that you are not causing adverse side effects to your health – like you would if you were taking steroids.

The Best Steroid Alternatives

Let’s start with the best of the best. Here is a simple list of steroid alternatives that we find to be the most effective, and how you can grab these ingredients to help accelerate your goals.

D-Aspartic Acid

Perhaps the most popular ingredient in any testosterone boosting supplement. D-aspartic acid is an amino acid regularly found in protein-rich foods, yet when consumed in a higher dosage has been shown to boost strength and free-testosterone.

The important aspect to think about here is that research has shown this to be a temporary boost. This makes d-aspartic acid the perfect supplement for exercise, but may not be a good long-term testosterone boosting ingredient.

Products like Testogen contain some of the highest doses of d-aspartic acid.

ZMA Complex

This is a very simple combination of zinc, magnesium and B6. although this may not seem like a very effective steroid alternative research has shown that many men lack these ingredients, and when they are supplemented testosterone will raise.

This could be due to the fact that zinc consumption has a direct link to the pituitary release of free-testosterone so a higher dosage assists in the greater release of testosterone.

Either way, if you are looking for a highly effective way to boost testosterone levels and increase your vitality, a ZMA complex, like the one found in Testogen can be your best shot.

Tribulus Terrestris

This is one of those supplements where you will find endless opinions on. Here’s the scoop, Tribulus can improve your sexual abilities but it has not been shown to actually raise testosterone levels.

This does not necessarily make it a steroid alternative, yet, those looking for a super effective aphrodisiac should take a closer look at this product.

It’s also worth mentioning that since tribulus has been used since the beginning of documented supplements, we know that it is completely safe to use and its relatively cheap compared to some of its other steroid alternatives.

Steroid Alternatives That Aren’t So Effective

There are some products that you would be wasting your money on. Here are some of the most common.

Whey Protein

Although protein is an effective nutrient for helping to repair muscle tissue, there are no properties that will help drastically raise testosterone levels or have a boost in complete muscle strength. For this reason, steroid alternatives that contain whey protein should be avoided – especially if it’s the main ingredient.

Do yourself a favour and find a steroid alternative that bases its dosage off some of the better ingredients, like the ones above.

Fenugreek

This one may not deserve to be on the list of ineffective steroid alternatives but let me explain. Fenugreek does not contain any properties that would boost t-levels or assist in muscle growth.

Instead, fenugreek is usually put in t-boosters to help lower estrogen levels – which is great, but alone, or as the primary ingredient, fenugreek is not an effective steroid alternative.

Maca Root

This is actually one of my personal favourite ingredients to put into my post-workout smoothie, but it is not a steroid alternative. Maca root has some unique benefits of helping with blood flow and can even help to make you feel more energized, but saying it is a steroid alternative is quite the stretch.

How Effective Are Steroid Alternatives?

How do we really measure the effectiveness of a supplement without actually trying it? This is one of the biggest areas of concern for most people. Yeah, we can compile a list of supplements that have been shown to work and some that might not be as effective, but without trying each one how can you really know if it works for you or not.

Steroid alternatives, for the most part, are quite effective. Especially if you have a lock-down on your dosage of each ingredient, or have a high potency product like Testogen, you should see a steady increase in strength and fat loss.

As for a magic pill that converts fat into muscle without any work – we’re not sure that exists.

So, how effective are steroid alternatives? Well, you will need to be the judge of that.

Try out different combination of the best ingredients and find what works best for you, but remember – the best way to build muscle and lose weight is to make a strong and consistent effort day in and day out. Over time, you will succeed.

Related: Turn your body into an anabolic machine with the power of nutrition!

Gabriello Ianniruberto

Gabriello is a writer and strength expert best known for his science-based and practical approach to Exercise Physiology, Nutrition and Strength. After serving in a directors position for The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Gabriello moved towards writing to help more people understand the importance of living a healthy life. Gabriello’s writings have been published in several languages on some of the largest health and fitness websites helping people learn, grow and understand the complex components of optimizing human performance in a simplistic way.

Gabriello also takes on specialized, high-performance athletes who are in need of strength, mobility and conditioning programming to optimize their fitness through his Earned Fitness program.

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