Here’s this study we see so many times quoted by many members of the community claiming that low dosages of Anavar alongside testosterone replacement therapy can be more effective than even 600mg of testosterone. Let’s take a look:

Context: Repletion of lean body mass (LBM) that patients lose in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has proved difficult. In healthy, HIV-seronegative men, synergy between progressive resistance exercise (PRE) and very high-dose testosterone therapy has been reported for gains in LBM and muscle strength.

Objective: To determine whether a moderately supraphysiologic androgen regimen, including an anabolic steroid, would improve LBM and strength gains of PRE in HIV-infected men with prior weight loss and whether protease inhibitor antiretroviral therapy prevents lean tissue anabolism.

Patients: Volunteer sample of 24 eugonadal men with HIV-associated weight loss (mean, 9% body weight loss), recruited from an AIDS clinic and by referral and by advertisement.

Intervention: For 8 weeks, all subjects received supervised PRE with physiologic intramuscular testosterone replacement (100 mg/wk) to suppress endogenous testosterone production. Randomization was between an anabolic steroid, oxandrolone, 20 mg/d, and placebo.

*Results: Twenty-two subjects completed the study (11 per group). Both groups showed significant nitrogen retention and increases in LBM, weight, and strength. The mean (SD) gains were significantly greater in the oxandrolone group than in the placebo group (5.6 [2.1] vs 3.8 [1.8] g of nitrogen per day [P=.05]; 6.9 [1.7] vs 3.8 [2.9] kg of LBM [P=.005]; greater strength gains for various upper and lower body muscle groups by maximum weight lifted [P = .02-.05] and dynamometry [P = .01 -.05]). The mean (SD) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level declined 0.25 (0.14) mmol/L (9.8 [5.4] mg/dL) significantly in the oxandrolone group (P < .001 compared with placebo)...

Conclusions: A moderately supraphysiologic androgen regimen that included an anabolic steroid, oxandrolone, substantially increased the lean tissue accrual and strength gains from PRE, compared with physiologic testosterone replacement alone, in eugonadal men with HIV-associated weight loss.

Some selections omitted for clarity and relevance.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10208143/

The takeaway from the above study is that when HIV-positive men were given a resistance training program and administered 20mg of Anavar every day alongside a TRT regimen of 100mg weekly, they gained an extra 3.1kg (6.8lb) of LBM after a 10-week trial compared to the men given a resistance training program and administered the TRT only.

According to this study, the TRT Anavar group saw an 82% increase in LBM over the TRT-only group. keeping this relative number in mind, let’s look at another familiar study:

The Effects of Supraphysiologic Doses of Testosterone on Muscle Size and Strength in Normal Men

Methods: We randomly assigned 43 normal men to one of four groups: placebo with no exercise, testosterone with no exercise, placebo plus exercise, and testosterone plus exercise. The men received injections of 600 mg of testosterone enanthate or placebo weekly for 10 weeks.

Looking at Table 4 on the study (linked below), the results are as follows:

*The placebo, no exercise group gained a mean of 1.3kg total body weight and 0.8kg LBM.

*The placebo, exercise group gained a mean of 0.9kg total body weight and 2.0kg LBM.

*The 600mg test, no exercise group gained a mean of 3.5kg total body weight and 3.2kg LBM.

*The 600mg test, exercise group gained a mean of 6kg total body weight and 5.9kg LBM.

Some selections omitted for clarity and relevance.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199607043350101

The point of linking this study is to show that in the exercise group, administration of 600mg testosterone increased LBM gains by 3.9kg. Compared to the study where the subjects gained an extra 3.1kg with the 20mg Anavar daily, it seems apparent why people would come to the conclusion that the Anavar is just as effective as 600mg testosterone; HOWEVER, one critical factor that every study consistently overlooks is that lean body mass includes everything in the body that is not fat mass, and *temporary glycogen and water gains are included here.** These values do not accurately indicate the amount of muscle tissue being built.*

Another crucial point is shown in the testosterone, no exercise group: they gained 3.2kg of LBM by doing nothing except shooting up gear. So you could take this as var did nothing for the HIV-positive men in the first study and/or all steroids cause temporary glycogen and water retention with orals being stronger in this regard.

Oral steroids are notorious for their quick, temporary increases to glycogen and water, and Anavar, mild as it is, is no exception.

To reiterate my point: the extra gains made from Anavar in the first study were likely composed mostly of water and glycogen. Some additional muscle was made, of course, but not enough to make it more effective than a blast-level of test.

This is definitely an open discussion. I would love to hear what your all’s thoughts are. In my opinion, it is not an accurate statement to claim that 20mg of Var daily is a suitable replacement for blast-level test.

EDIT: Another factor to take into consideration is that the men in the first study were already in the process of losing weight from HIV/AIDS-related muscle wasting, so they were likely in a position of a caloric deficit which would lead to glycogen depletion and lower hormone levels. Adding exogenous androgens that drive the storage of glycogen and water would have a more significant effect in these men.