What is Clenbuterol? How does it work?
Clenbuterol, a powerful stimulant, increases metabolism and fat burning.
Although it’s sometimes sold under other names like Dilaterol or Spiropent, most people refer to it simply as “clen” and “bute.”
It was initially developed as a veterinary medication to treat respiratory problems in horses and other animals in the 1970s. It is a bronchodilator. This means that it relaxes muscles around the airways to ease breathing.
Clenbuterol for sale was briefly marketed as an asthma medication and nasal decongestant for humans. Although it is still being used in certain countries as a respiratory medication, most people have moved to safer and more effective options.
There are three types of Clenbuterol:
- Drinkable liquid clenbuterol
- An injectable liquid
- A pill
The FDA has not approved any of them for human consumption. However, most bodybuilders prefer pills to be easy to use, store, ship, and hide.
How did clen become a popular cutting drug in bodybuilding, and not just as a way to improve horses’ performance?
Clenbuterol is able to bind to the same receptors as epinephrine, and clenbuterol can produce even greater effects including fat burning.
Clen also binds with muscle cells and stimulates protein synthesis. This is why it can also help you maintain muscle while cutting.
Clenbuterol, a powerful stimulant, increases metabolism and fat burning, opens the airways and stimulates muscle protein production.
Clenbuterol: Why do people take it?
Two reasons are the most common for people to take clenbuterol:
- To increase athletic performance.
- To lose weight faster and preserve muscle.
It is still debated whether it improves physical performance. However, most studies show that it doesn’t.
It is clear that it accelerates fat loss.
Animal and human studies have confirmed that clenbuterol increases metabolic rate and stimulates fat loss. Studies also show that it stimulates protein synthesis in muscle, which can help you maintain lean mass even if you are on a caloric deficit.
Clenbuterol is a popular choice for bodybuilders.
Some claim that it has anabolic properties that can increase muscle building. However, this is not likely based on what we know scientifically and anecdotally.
It is not clear how effective clenbuterol as a fat-burner is.
It is claimed by many seasoned users that it increases your basal metabolic rates (BMR) by around 10%. I don’t know of any research to either confirm or disprove this claim. It seems plausible based on decades worth of anecdotal evidence.
This brings us to the biggest criticism of the drug: a 10% increase in BMR is not a significant increase due to its health risks. We’ll discuss more soon.
Let’s suppose you are a muscular man and consume a lot of calories each day. The addition of clen would increase your BMR by approximately 220 calories. This would allow you to lose only half a pound per week.
Also, you shouldn’t take clen for longer than 4 to 6 week periods. Your body will develop a tolerance and reduce its effectiveness.
People will often hear that clen can help them lose 2 to 3 pounds of fat each week. However, there is scant scientific evidence and anecdotal evidence to support such claims.
What does a typical Clenbuterol cycle look like?
The majority of people who use clen do so for between 4 and 12 weeks, often in 4- to 6-week cycles.
They will take the drug for 4 to 6 weeks, then stop taking it for a 1 to 2 week hiatus. This is to allow their bodies to adjust to the drug and to maintain its effectiveness.
Here’s an example of how this cycle might look.
- Week 1: On clen
- Week 2: On clen
- Week 3: On the clen
- Week 4: On the clen
- Week 5: On clen
- Week 6: On clen
- Week 7: No clen
- Week 8: No clen
Many bodybuilders increase the dosage throughout each cycle.
The standard practice is to start with a low dose of 20-30 mcg the first two weeks. This is the same dosage as in asthma medication. After that, increase the dosage to 50-120 mcg the rest of your cycle.
This is how the first two weeks of a clencycle might look, for example:
- Day 1: 20 mg
- Day 2: 20 mg
- Day 3: 20 mg
- Day 4: 30 mg
- Day 5: 30 mg
- Day 6: 30 mg
- Day 7: 40 mg
- Day 8: 40 mg
- Day 9: 40 mg
- Day 10: 40 mg
- Day 11: 50 mg
- Day 12: 50 mg
- Day 13: 50 mg
- Day 14: 50 mg
Although increasing dosage can help with fat loss, micromanagement is important and there’s a risk of overdosing. This can lead to dangerous and frightening situations.
You can quickly search the internet for horror stories about people who did not do their due diligence and ended up on the ground with their hearts beating and their body temperatures soar.
The problem is made worse by the fact that most of the clen available on the market was manufactured underground, and is therefore difficult to know the accuracy of label claims.
When weighed against the negligible risks, overdose can be another major drawback to clen.
Is Clenbuterol Safe?
The majority of research on clenbuterol was done on animals. We don’t know enough about its potential effects on humans.
We do know that it does not look good and is therefore not approved for human consumption in most of the countries.
Here are some side effects that could occur.
- Nausea
- Nervousness
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Dry mouth
- Facial flushing
- Headache
- Heartburn
- Increased sweating
- Insomnia
- Lightheadedness
- Muscle cramps
- Vomiting
- Chest pain
While everyone’s tolerance to clenbuterol is different, most people will experience some symptoms when taking it.