Deca Durabolin (Nandrolone Decanoate)

Deca Durabolin, also commonly known as Nandrolone Decanoate has been for long been used in bodybuilding as a bulking compound.

But owing to its strong progestin nature and its trait to retain water, its usage has diminished over the years, as Trenbolone, its stronger cousin went mainstream.

Despite the popularity of newer steroids like Tren, Deca Durabolin remains one of our favorite anabolic compounds. And if we were to resume using gear now, it is one of the compounds that we would add to our stack in mild doses.

Deca is a very versatile compound that can be added to just about any stack irrespective of your bodybuilding goal.

Strength? Yes. Muscle? Absolutely. Off season use? It does that too. Cutting? There’s a way to use it for cutting as well.

Most importantly, it’s so beneficial for achy joints; and after 30+ years of lifting, we’ve got more than our fair share of them.

That’s for another day.

Today, we will discuss 5 steroid stacks involving Deca Durabolin for different bodybuilding goals.

#1 – The Deca Durabolin Bulking Stack

Experience: Intermediate

Compounds: Testosterone Cyp, Deca Durabolin and Dianabol (Optional)

There are many compounds that can be used for a bulk. But the bulk these days has been separated into a wet bulk and a dry bulk. Then there’s a clean bulk and a dirty bulk. Whatever the hell that means.

For old timers like us, a bulk is a bulk. There’s only one way to do it. Eat in a surplus and throw in compounds that pack the mass fast.

For this classic bulking stack, we will use three compounds.

The base is testosterone and you can use just about any ester that works for you. We personally use Cyp. But even Test-E is fine.

Week 1-16: Test Cyp/E at 300-500mg/week. More experienced users can increase the dose to 500-750mg/week

Week 1-12: Deca Durabolin at 250-300mg/week

Week 1-6: Dianabol at 30mg/day. Experienced users can use up to 50mg/day.

Using Dianabol is completely optional. But it gives an amazing start to the cycle in terms of size and strength. By the time the test peaks, you already have a strong foundation to work with.

We keep the Deca at roughly half the dose of Test to minimize the risk of ‘Deca Dick’.

If you eat in a surplus and lift hard, you should be able to gain at least 20 lbs. of muscle mass in this cycle.

#2 – The Bulking Stack 2

Experience: Expert

Compounds used: Dianabol, Test, Deca and Trenbolone

This bulking stack will allow you to cruise past your previous bests with ease. Also, it is a dry bulk stack for those who hate water retention during their bulks.

The cycle is as follows.

Week 1-6: Dianabol at 50mg/day.

Wk 1-16: Test E/Cyp at 750mg/week.

Week 1-16: Deca Durabolin at 400mg/week

Week 6-16: Tren Ace at 50-75mg/day

You can swap Dianabol with Anadrol at 75mg/day if that works better for you.

The base steroid in this stack is Test Cyp which will keep your libido up when your endogenous testosterone shuts down completely.

Deca at 400mg/week is a reasonable dose that gives you amazing joint lubrication while adding quality lean muscle.

Then there’s Tren Ace which begins to burn fat while adding lean muscle. It is very important to take Tren Ace every day and not every other day though. This will keep the blood levels stable and prevent some of the sides that occur when levels of the compound fluctuate.

Do not attempt this cycle unless you have at least two to three years of experience with anabolics. This is a very strong cycle that can completely transform your body. But you will be dealing with some of the strongest compounds in the world. So you better know how your body reacts to them.

#3 – The Deca Durabolin Cutting Stack

Experience: Moderate

Compounds: Test, Deca and Winstrol

Mention Deca on a cut and most people would cringe at how it is ineffective. But the fact is that Deca is a very effective compound when you are cutting. There’s almost zero fatigue in the gym no matter how strong your calorie deficit is. Also, it prevents the nasty cramps that can come when your electrolyte levels get imbalanced.

Week 1-16: Test E or Cyp at 250-500mg/week

Wk 6-16: Deca Durabolin at 250mg/week

Week 11-16: Winstrol at 50mg/day

If you have your diet dialed down and are performing your cardio, you should lose fat irrespective of whether you add bulking compounds to your stack.

Test will keep your libido and your mood elevated while Winstrol will cut you up and harden the muscles in the last few weeks. Any subcutaneous water or fat will be eliminated completely at this stage giving you a clean, dry, aesthetic look.

#4 – The Athletic Stack

Experience: Moderate

Compounds: Testosterone, Deca Durabolin, Halotestin

The purpose of this stack is to help the athlete gain a fair amount of strength and energy while minimizing muscle gain.

Deca is the athlete’s favorite steroid because it is extremely good for your joints and tendons.

Week 1-12: Test Cyp/E at 250-300mg/week

Week 1-12: Deca Durabolin at 150-200mg/week

Week 1-4: Halotestin at 20mg/day

This stack should help any athlete improve their performance as the Halotestin markedly improves hematocrit, hemoglobin and RBC levels. The strength gains and aggression will be on par with what you can gain with Winstrol.

The caveat is that you wont have the painful cramps that come with other orals. Deca gives the lubrication benefits while Test keeps your wiener working when you get shut down.

#5 – The Cruising stack

Experience: Moderate

Compounds: Test and Deca

If you are on TRT doses of test year round, then at times you cant but help consider adding another compound to the cruise for various reasons.

Some people add small doses of Tren for a while and continue to cruise on test.

Others add Deca purely for the therapeutic benefits that it can offer.

Week 1-16: Deca Durabolin at 150mg/week.

You should keep some caber handy during this cycle to prevent potential gyno issues as well as to curb water retention on Deca.

Closing thoughts

All these cycles should be followed by a proper PCT plan that will help your body heal and restore the normal hormone levels.

For more details on PCT, read this thread.