Trenbolone, commonly known as “Tren”, is a synthetic anabolic steroid best known for its ability to help build significant muscle mass and strength over short periods of time. Trenbolone was originally developed for veterinary use, specifically to help maximize muscle growth and feeding efficiency in cattle. Despite being illegal for human use, there have been many people who have found ways to obtain and use Tren due to its enticing effectiveness and benefits. However, it does come with many serious health side effects.

In this article, we will discuss Trenbolone, how it works, its side effects, and safer (and legal) options as alternatives. Something important to note is that Trenbolone has not been approved for use in humans, so research is severely limited on how it works in the human body. Most of the research results, performed on animals, are extrapolated to humans based on what we currently know.

What is Trenbolone

Trenbolone was created as a veterinary drug to help maximize the growth and efficiency of cattle. Its focus is on quickly and effectively raising the muscle mass of steer or heifers over the typical 18–24-month lifespan they have before slaughter. Because of this, there aren’t significant considerations for long term health when using this drug on cattle. The long-term dangerous side effects are why Trenbolone is only approved for veterinary use and is illegal for any human use.

How Trenbolone Works

Trenbolone works similar to testosterone by binding to androgen receptors. The difference is that trenbolone has a significantly higher binding affinity to these receptors compared to testosterone. This ultimately amplifies its effects compared to natural testosterone, leading to marked increases in anabolic and androgenic effects on the body.

Increase in IGF-1 Levels

One of Trenbolone’s most significant contributors to muscle growth is its affect on IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor 1). Trenbolone increases both circulating IGF-1 and muscle-specific IGF-1 levels, critical for muscle growth and repair. IGF-1 works by inducing proliferation of muscle cells, leading to hypertrophy of muscle tissue.

Increase Red Blood Cell Count

Trenbolone increases Red Blood Cell count likely by stimulating Erythropoietin levels. This is many positive effects on circulatory support for muscles including oxygenation, nutrient delivery, and waste disposal.

Protein Synthesis and Degradation

Trenbolone enhances overall muscle growth by both increasing the rate of protein synthesis and decreasing the rate of protein degradation. This ensures that while more muscle is built, less muscle is broken down, leading to a net growth in muscle mass. One of the suspected reasons responsible for muscle growth is the enhanced uptake of ammonium ions, nitrogen heavy molecules critical for the synthesis of amino acids, and thus proteins.

Androgen Receptor Activity

Trenbolone binds to and activates androgen receptors in the body at a level similar to, if not higher, than dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a powerful form of your body’s natural androgen. This interaction is responsible for many of the secondary sex characteristics associated with male hormones including: increased body hair, deeper voice, and muscle growth, all without the conversion to estrogen or other metabolites. This is what makes Trenbolone ideal for people wanting a lean bulk while avoiding the development of things like gynecomastia (male breast enlargement).

Inhibition of Glucocorticoids

Trenbolone displays an inhibitory action on glucocorticoid activity in the body, such as cortisol. Cortisol is thought to be responsible for muscle breakdown and has other negative effects related to muscle growth. Check out our article where we discuss the effects of cortisol on muscle growth, and what you can do to alleviate them.

Side Effects of Trenbolone

As previously mentioned, Trenbolone is designed for use on cattle destined for consumption, meaning they only live for 18-24 months. It was not designed for animals living longer terms, and especially not for human use. Because of this, there is very limited research and knowledge on how Trenbolone affects the human body. Here is the limited information we have on how Trenbolone affects the body in a negative way.

Hypogonadism

Hypogonadism, or reduced testicle size, is one of the most significant side effects of Trenbolone. Taking Trenbolone causes a strong suppression of the body’s natural production of testosterone, the result of feedback systems designed to tightly regulate your hormone levels. This leads to downstream effects of decreasing Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), two important hormones responsible for the production of male hormones. When levels of LH and FSH decrease, the result is decreased stimulation of the testes, leading to atrophy or Hypogonadism. This is also responsible for long term negative effects on Testosterone and other hormones, as FSH and LH disruptions can persist for months or even years.

Liver Toxicity

Liver toxicity is another serious issue with Trenbolone. Its chemical structure is designed to resist breakdown by the body in order to maximize its half-life and potency. However, this puts extra load on the liver, which is trying to breakdown and expel foreign compounds. Increased load and stress on hepatic cells leads to liver cell damage, inflammation, and scarring, ultimately permanently impairing the liver’s function. This can be seen in blood tests shown as elevated liver enzymes, a common marker for liver stress.

Cardiovascular Issues

Trenbolone has long term negative consequences with cardiovascular function as well. Related to its influence on liver damage, Trenbolone also causes significant shifts in cholesterol levels. Damage to liver hepatic cells through Trenbolone use reduces the liver’s ability to produce good HDL, and decreases its ability to remove bad LDL. This leads to elevated LDL and lower levels of HDL. LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is the smaller form of cholesterol, responsible for getting into your blood vessels and causing buildup, leading to atherosclerosis. HDL, or high-density lipoprotein is the larger version of this cholesterol, unlikely to get into your blood vessels. HDL is crucial as it is able to grab onto LDL and deliver it to your liver for processing and disposal. This is why you want higher HDL and lower LDL levels.

“Tren Cough”

Tren Cough is one of the more unique side effects exhibited by Trenbolone usage. When Trenbolone is inadvertently injected into the bloodstream instead of subcutaneous fat, it travels directly through circulation to the lungs. It is believed that through its androgenic effects, Trenbolone causes marked release of prostaglandins, important for promoting and controlling the inflammatory part of immune response. It is thought that fast injections of Trenbolone into vasculature, cause a high amount of prostaglandin release in the blood, which makes it way to the small vessels in the lungs. Bradykinin, a subset of the prostaglandin cascade, contracts smooth muscle in the lung airways, causing bronchoconstriction, or narrowing of the airways. This is what induces your body’s cough reflex, causing what we know as “Tren Cough”.

Estrogenic and Progestogenic Effects

While Trenbolone does not convert to Estrogen, like many other Androgenic supplements, it still has progestogenic and estrogenic effects. Trenbolone unfortunately has a high binding affinity to progesterone receptors. This leads to stimulation of other estrogenic mechanism in the body, causing gynecomastia, and other unwanted secondary hormonal side effects.

Insomnia and Neurotoxic Effects

Trenbolone also has a significant impact on the Central Nervous System and serotoninergic receptors. One of trenbolone’s more notable impacts in this area is that it induces insomnia. This occurs through its ability to significantly decrease the density of serotoninergic receptors, leading to insomnia, aggression, irritability, anxiety, depression, and more. Among performance enhancing steroids, Trenbolone has one of the most marked impacts in this area.

Alternatives to Trenbolone and Steroids

There are many natural supplements that can be used as an alternative to steroids, and provide significant improvements to your muscle building regimen, in a safe and effective manner. If you’re already lifting heavy, consuming a good diet, and taking your vitamins for overall health, you may be a good candidate for our safe, legal, and highly effective prohormones. These are supplements derived from natural sources, that carry many of the same benefits of steroids such as Trenbolone, without the nasty side effects.

19-Nor Prohormones

Trenbolone is chemically known as a 19-Nor compound. At Capitol Nutrition, we sell a few extremely popular 19-Nor focused prohormones which work in a similar, but much safer way. These are taken by many people, including some of our own staff, and help provide solid lean mass growth. Check out each of the product pages below for more in depth information.