I took 25 mg of oxandrolone (anavar) daily for 32 days, and here’s exactly what happened. Before I get into the results, I want to set the stage properly. I did not change my diet or my training for this experiment. I track my food every single day, so I know precisely what I put into my body. Throughout the entire 32 days, I consistently ate 2,900 calories per day. I also track every workout — I never miss a training session, although sometimes the timing is less than ideal with my schedule.
Because oxandrolone is an oral steroid and can be hepatotoxic, I also ran liver support the entire time. Specifically, I took 500 mg of TUDCA daily and 1,200 mg of NAC daily in an attempt to protect my liver as much as possible.
Physique & Performance Changes
Looking purely at my physique, I can clearly see that I got leaner while simultaneously improving my body composition. Even without changing food intake or training intensity, there is undeniably a recomposition effect when taking oxandrolone. My muscles looked fuller, harder, and more defined — something you can’t really chalk up to placebo once you visually see the changes.
One thing that was extremely noticeable: the pumps were insane. On some days, the pumps were so intense that they actually became limiting. I didn’t mention this in the video, but I can say from experience that oxandrolone hindered some of my cardio, especially on leg days. I usually do my cardio right after my lift, and there were days where my legs were so pumped that it was legitimately difficult to get through 110 flights on the stepper. It wasn’t fatigue — it was just an almost painful pump.
Bloodwork Changes
Bloodwork is where things get interesting. Across the board, most markers didn’t move dramatically — but a few did, and they’re worth talking about.
The downside:
My HDL cholesterol was nearly cut in half.
This is a known effect of oxandrolone, but seeing it firsthand was disappointing, especially since I was only on 25 mg, which is a fairly modest dose compared to what some people run. Oxandrolone is notorious for negatively impacting lipid profiles, but I still hoped the effects would be mild. They weren’t.
The upside:
My SHBG dropped significantly, which caused my free testosterone to rise substantially.
This is what people mean when they say oxandrolone “makes your testosterone work better.” By lowering SHBG, you free up more active testosterone, increasing the amount that’s actually bioavailable and doing work in the tissues. On paper and in the way I felt, this effect was very noticeable.
What I Would Change Next Time
If I were to run oxandrolone again, there are two major things I would change:
- I’d lower the dose. I genuinely want to know how low I can go while still seeing a positive effect. Maybe 10 mg? Maybe even less? Clearly 25 mg worked, but the lipid hit wasn’t worth it for me. A lower dose might preserve the benefits while minimizing the downsides.
- I’d be much more aggressive about managing my lipids. Knowing how sharply my HDL dropped, I’d take steps to mitigate that in real time — things like fish oil, citrus bergamot, dietary fiber increases, and other evidence-based lipid supports. I wouldn’t just “wait and see” on bloodwork next time.
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