Best Legal Steroids 2024: Anabolic Steroid Alternatives For Muscle

It’s been said for the last few years that strong is the new skinny. Rather than striving for the waif-like underfed look of past decades, if you want to look good, you need a well-toned body with just the right amount of muscle.

That takes a lot of work and, like a lot of fashion ideals, may not be very realistic. Keeping excess belly fat off is hard enough and getting to the gym regularly is a chore. When that’s the case, people look for ways to use their time more efficiently or even find a few shortcuts to physical perfection. 

Sometimes those shortcuts are too dangerous to be worth it, as with anabolic steroids. On the other hand, steroid supplements are a legal alternative that claims to offer a lot of the same benefits in a much safer form. Does that mean there really is a way for all of us to be beach-ready every day, or is it too good to be true?

Top 7 Best Legal Steroids

• Crazy Bulk D-Bal – Editor’s choice
• Crazy Bulk Anvarol – Best Protein Supplement
• Crazy Bulk Winsol – Best for Preventing Soreness
• Crazy Bulk Clenbuterol – Best for Muscle Health
• Crazy Bulk HGH-X2 – Best for Antioxidants
• Instant Knockout – Most Energizing
• Testogen – Most Scientifically Supported

7 Best Legal Steroids Supplements For Sale 2024 

Why Shouldn’t We Use Anabolic Steroids?

Anabolic steroids are a synthetic version of human androgen hormones. There were a lot of big words in that sentence that most people are somewhat familiar with, but may not completely understand. However, to understand why using steroids can be risky, we have to understand what hormones are and why hormone imbalances are a bad thing.

Hormones

Hormones^[24] are compounds that the body makes in different glands, like the pituitary gland or adrenal gland. They serve as chemical messengers to the various parts of the body. For example, after you eat your body floods your system with the hormone insulin, to let cells know to get ready to receive some fuel.

Insulin is actually a great example of the problems that can result when hormones get thrown out of whack. If you eat too much sugar, your body is constantly being flooded with insulin. Eventually, your cells begin to build up a resistance to insulin so more and more is released to get the same signal across.

Every hormone has more than one function, however. The rise in insulin levels also can cause your body to store more fat, drive up blood pressure, and have a host of other effects. The more insulin, the more dramatic the effect, and the greater the problems that result.

Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids are a synthetic version of a type of hormone called androgens. Androgens are the male-type sex hormone in the human body. The best-known androgen is testosterone. 

Androgens are usually most closely associated with sexual development and reproduction. However, they can have other functions in the body as well. One such is to help trigger a process called muscle protein synthesis (MPS). It’s that process that builds new muscle mass after working out.

Since anabolic steroids are a man-made version of androgens, they have many of the same effects, including triggering muscle protein synthesis. Just like testosterone, though, they can also affect sexual organs, reproduction, and a bunch of other systems around the body. 

Hormone imbalances that are the result of anabolic steroids can be just as dire as an imbalance of insulin. Side effects^[25] of anabolic steroids include:

• Acne
• Stunted growth
• High blood pressure
• Heart problems
• Kidney damage
• Baldness
• Gynecomastia – breast growth in men
• Shrinking of testicles for men
• Growth of body and facial hair for women

What To Consider When Buying Legal Steroids Online?

Exercising some caution when buying anything online is probably a good idea, but supplements can have some particular issues. While it may be kind of a pain, it’s a good idea to spend some time looking into a particular supplement and judging its usefulness before starting to use it.

Additionally, the safety standards for ingredients and manufacturing are not all they could be. That leaves supplement users open to problems caused by contaminants and other problems.

Safety

Safety concerns usually pop up in two areas when it comes to nutritional supplements. The first is concerns about the quality and processing of the ingredients themselves. The second is the effect that they might have on you.

Ingredient Quality

The supplement industry in the United States is not as well regulated as it might be. For example, they just have to show a few studies that prove an ingredient won’t do any harm. They don’t have to be shown to actually be helpful. 

The actual supplement doesn’t have to be tested either, unlike a drug. As a result, contaminants and toxins sometimes slip through the manufacturing process. The effects, particularly if you’re taking large doses, can be quite serious.

There are organizations out there that evaluate different products for effectiveness and safety, however. It can often be wise to check out a supplement before starting to use it.

Side Effects and Interactions

Unfortunately, while the effects of some ingredients may not be all that they are claimed to be, they can still interact negatively with other medications. This is something that should be watched out for particularly with natural ingredients, as we don’t tend to think of those as drugs.

For example, hawthorn berry is an ingredient in HGH X2. It can potentially interact with different heart medications, medications used for mood disorders like depression, and medications that lower blood pressure.

Fenugreek can potentially interact with warfarin and blood thinners. Crazy Bulk’s Clenbuterol substitute contains bitter orange, which can interact badly with antidepressants. It can also reduce the effectiveness of various medications.

It’s always a good idea to talk over a new supplement with your doctor before starting. If nothing else, if you’re already taking some medications, it’s a good idea to look for negative interactions.

Effectiveness

Some supplements have been known to include actual anabolic steroids as one of the ingredients in supplements. That’s actually illegal and you should probably avoid those brands. All of the options we’re looking at are natural steroid alternatives, using natural ingredients to emulate to some extent to provide some of the same effects as full-strength steroids.

That’s a bit of a tall order and it’s debatable whether most of these ingredients will deliver on their promises. While there have been studies that show some link between different ingredients and increased testosterone, improved performance, or cell protection, most of those studies are very preliminary.

Let’s look at some of the different ingredients, the claims that are made about them, and what the science actually says.

Protein And Amino Acids

Anyone who is trying to build some muscle knows that protein is required for building muscle. In your body, those proteins get broken down into amino acids^[26], which can be used for a few different things, including building new muscle cells.

Moreover, your body can’t produce some of the most important amino acids, called essential amino acids. That means you have to get them from an outside source. It seems like it would make sense that protein and amino acid supplements would help build muscle, then.

As you’ll usually find when investigating human biology, things are actually a little more complicated. First off, the majority of people get more than enough protein in their diet. Second, amino acids have to be used when they’re available or they get passed through your system.

Put those two facts together and you can reach the conclusion that most of the extra protein you’re getting from those supplements is going to waste. Additionally, protein supplements are going to be most helpful just after exercising, when your body is building new muscle cells. Taking them throughout the day is less effective.

Branched-chain amino acids are the new hot ingredient for some of these brands. They include three amino acids:

• Leucine
• Valine
• Isoleucine

There’s no evidence that these three are particularly critical, however, as building new muscle mass requires all seven of the essential amino acids, among other things.

Vitamins And Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are certainly vital for good health. However, most of them are similar to protein, in that your body will use what it can and dump the rest. 

Unlike protein, however, it’s actually not unusual for many people to have a vitamin or mineral deficiency of some sort. That sort of deficiency can have a noticeable effect on energy level, mental clarity, and other aspects of your health, so supplementing vitamins and minerals can certainly be a good idea.

However, if that’s your concern, there are much less expensive and more reliable options out there.

Herbal Supplements

Natural and herbal remedies can definitely be effective for some things. Most modern medications were discovered after studying the effects of some plants used in traditional medicine, for example.

Those benefits don’t necessarily translate to the plant extracts that are used in ingredients for nutritional supplements, however. Extracts might not include all of the compounds in the plant, which means some important aspects may get left out. Of course, many herbal remedies aren’t actually effective, as well.

The other issue to be aware of is that many nutritional supplement companies base their ingredient lists on very shaky logic. For example, ginseng^[27] has been shown to be a useful treatment for male infertility. Male reproduction involves testosterone, which is part of building muscle. Therefore, ginseng can be sold as an ingredient in a ‘muscle-building’ supplement.

Price

There are a lot of ingredients in nutritional supplements that are used in many different products. A lot of the plant extracts are antioxidants, so they show up in antioxidant products. Compounds like n-acetyl carnitine are used for muscle building, pain management, depression, and a few other issues.

The upshot is that you can usually find a similar mix of ingredients in another product that costs a lot less. Particularly when it comes to supplements that are supposed to help cut weight or build muscle, even with the best legal steroid alternatives, you may be paying a premium for the brand name. 

Benefits Of Using Legal Steroids

Some of the benefits that you might see from using natural steroid alternatives include:

• Increased muscle building
• Less fatigue
• Greater strength
• Greater endurance

There are ingredients in these products that have been linked to these benefits. However, most of those links are based on preliminary science, and the link between the ingredient and the benefit can’t be made with a lot of confidence. 

As with most supplements, these might be most helpful if you’re lacking in the nutrients they provide. However, if you’re already getting enough protein, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from your regular diet, their benefit might be limited.

Risks & Side Effects

There is a whole range of ingredients that come in these products, so it’s tough to give a complete breakdown of risk factors, side effects, and interactions. We’ve already mentioned a few potentially negative interactions which you should watch out for..

In general, these products aim at producing more testosterone, making muscles use energy more efficiently, or reducing muscle fatigue. There is a lot of overlap in those areas with other aspects of the human body, so there may very well be other, negative effects. In most cases, because the study of these ingredients is ongoing, we have only a general idea of what they might be.

The side effects you’re likely to face will depend on the specific ingredients in the product you’re using.

As we’ve mentioned, if you’re already taking medication of some sort, it’s a good idea to look for possible interactions. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but a few common types of drugs to watch out for include

• Heart medications – including blood thinners. It’s just always a good idea to check on these.
• Mood disorders  – A lot of antidepressants and medications used to control anxiety are pretty powerful and screwing with them can cause all sorts of problems.
• Reproductive health – Most of these testosterone or other androgens in one way or another. If you’re already taking fertility meds or testosterone supplements, double-check with your doctor.

One point that should also be stressed is that more testosterone in your body doesn’t necessarily equal more muscle gains or strength. Building muscle is the result of a range of factors, of which testosterone levels are just one.

Additionally, if you want to find out what the consequences of too much testosterone could be, look to the effects of prescription, illegal steroids. If you have genuine concerns about your testosterone levels, it’s best to consult with your doctor.

The greatest risk most of these supplements pose is to your wallet, as they tend to package ingredients in expensive branding that can be found elsewhere for much less. In any case, the benefits of most of these ingredients are far from being definitively established. 

As with most supplements, you’re generally better off trying to get all of the nutrients you need from a healthy diet, rather than sourcing them from dubious supplement companies.

Frequently Asked Questions