5 Fast Facts You Need to Know About Turinabol

The MLB is expected to announce new suspensions this week related to a PED called Turinabol. What is Turinabol and how is it used? Let’s take a closer look.

The MLB is Expected to Announce More PED-Related Suspensions from Turinabol Soon

Chris Colabello won’t be the only MLB player suspended this year due to Turinabol usage. On May 4, 2016, ESPN reported that more PED busts were coming from the MLB, including suspensions related to Turinabol.

That would cap a long line of suspensions that have occurred over the past few weeks, including Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, who tested positive for exogenous testosterone and Clostebol in his system.

Meanwhile, earlier this season, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello tested positive for Turinabol, along with Phillies left-hander Daniel Stumpf.

All three received 80 game suspensions.

The new Turinabol PED suspensions in the MLB are not expected to include any big names, according to ESPN. The players have already been notified of their positive PED tests, although they have weeks to appeal the decision, so it may take some time before information is released.

It’s expected that the players will each receive 80 game suspensions (unless their appeals are successful).

Why is Turinabol so Popular Today?

Turinabol isn’t some dramatic new drug. Instead, it’s been used by athletes for years.

The only reason you’re hearing about Turinabol today is that Turinabol testing has taken a major leap forward in the last two years. Anti-doping labs have adopted the new testing technology, while athletes have continued using Turinabol as they always have.

Another reason why Turinabol is the fact that it’s available in a legal, over-the-counter supplement.

You Can Buy Turinabol in Supplement Form

Supplement manufacturer Shredded Labs actually sells a Turinabol supplement. Their supplement, Alpha-4D, uses an oral form of Turinabol.

None of the players who tested positive for Turinabol claimed to have taken that supplement. Nevertheless, the US Anti-Doping Agency placed Alpha-4D on their list of “High risk supplements” back in March 2014.

Alpha-4D describes itself as an “extreme bulking stack” and “the strongest prohormone on the planet”. It’s priced at $61 for a package containing 60 capsules (approximately 1 month supply or 3 week cycle).

Turinabol is a Unique Anabolic Steroid with Its Roots in Cold War-Era East Germany

Turinabol is one of the more unique anabolic steroids available today. It’s a blend between Clostebol and Methandrostenolone, which creates a steroid with powerful anabolic effects while also minimizing androgenic characteristics.

In layman’s terms, it gives you steroid-like results without steroid-like side effects.

Another thing that makes Turinabol unique is its history: the drug was first produced by an East German pharmaceutical company named Jenapharm back in 1962. It was used for decades among men, women, and even children in a therapeutic setting. Doctors would prescribe Turinabol as a way to preserve lean muscle mass and bone density without severe side effects.

Pretty much nobody had heard of Turinabol until the 1990s, when East Germany’s widespread steroid usage became public knowledge. It turns out that East Germany was giving enormous amounts of steroids to its Olympic athletes and getting away with it.

Why did Germany get away with such widespread steroid usage for decades? It was because Turinabol was virtually undetectable on test at the time.

How Does Turinabol Work?

So how does Turinabol actually achieve its lean muscle boosting benefits without any negative effects? The substance is taken orally, where it’s chemical name is 4-chlorodehydromethyltestosterone. It’s essentially a structurally-altered form of Dianabol (which is a derivative of testosterone).

With Turinabol, you’re adding testosterone to your body orally. An added advantage of Turinabol is that it carries an added chloro group at carbon 4, which inhibits the hormone from aromatizing. This is the mechanism that prevents dangerous Turinabol side effects – like higher estrogen imbalances.

What does all this mean? It means that Turinabol is a relatively mild steroid that gently promotes higher testosterone levels in the body without causing serious harmful side effects. It doesn’t flood your body with so much testosterone that your hormones get out of whack, but it’s still shown an ability to promote muscular endurance and powerful physical benefits.

Ultimately, Turinabol is a relatively mild steroid that has been successfully used as a PED for decades. Today, enhanced testing has shown us just how popular Turinabol usage is among professional athletes.