– This post about “What are SARMS” comes from Jon Anthony, who creates content at Masculine Development –
SARMs, otherwise known as “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators,” are a new class of muscle-building compounds sweeping the world by storm. Travelers, bio-hackers, and average gym-goers alike are using these fascinating new compounds to pack on slabs of muscle and melt fat off like butter, in just a few short months.
But just what are SARMs? In short, they’re basically the new form of “legal steroids.” With just a little bit of extra work, you can drastically transform your body, with almost no side effects.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at the picture down below.
That’s me. Using a SARM called RAD-140, I put on 21 pounds of solid muscle and lost 12 pounds of fat in literally just two months. I had zero side effects, and felt incredible the entire time.
Are you curious? Intrigued? If so, then please, do read on.
What Are SARMs?
As I said before, SARMs stands for “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators.” This means that when you take a SARM, it selectively targets certain receptors in your body, which are associated with muscle growth and fat loss.
Contrary to popular belief, “Steroidal-SARMs” have actually been around since the 1940’s. They were first developed as a treatment for cancer patients, who were suffering from muscle loss. Doctors were initially shocked at how well the SARMs helped cancer patients bulk up, but they were put on the shelf due to having far too many side effects.
Fast forward nearly 50 years, and research was resumed. After purchasing the rights to do research, a pharmaceutical company known as GTx, Inc. developed the holy grail that every bodybuilder wants: “Non-Steroidal SARMs.”
This is what we now refer to as “SARMs.” After much research was done, and the SARMs were perfected, they began sweeping the underground bodybuilding community in the early 2,000’s.
How Do SARMs Work? Are They Like Steroids?
Now, I know what you’re thinking – this probably sounds too good to be true. Well, I thought so as well, until I understood how SARMs work. To understand how SARMs work however, first, we need to understand how steroids work.
When a bodybuilder takes a steroid like Trenbolone Acetate or Testosterone Enanthate, they inject a chemical into their body which targets all androgen receptors, with no discrimination.
So, in layman’s terms, the “muscle growth” androgen receptors are targeted, which leads to the massive muscle gain you see in steroid users. Unfortunately, however, other androgen receptors are also targeted, such as the ones in your organ and heart tissue.
In addition to this, traditional steroids go through a process known as “aromatization” which leads to extremely high estrogen, and countless side effects, such as acne, gynecomastia, rapid mood swings, and more.
SARMs however, only target certain androgen receptors, associated with muscle growth and fat loss. Hence their name, they can “selectively” target the good receptors, and ignore the bad ones, so that you literally get the benefits of steroids, without any of the side effects.
What Are the Benefits of SARMs?
I’ve been in the fitness industry for years now, and I’ve seen a ton of scams out there… so I’m very careful when I do my research. Fortunately for us however, there is an enormous amount of research backing the efficacy of SARMs.
The biggest benefit of SARMs, is quite obviously, muscle growth. In fact, one study conducted by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine found that SARMs present an “unprecedented opportunity” to improve physical function, bone health, and strength gains, without causing any of the negative side effects that steroids are known for (Source):
“The last decade has witnessed unprecedented discovery effort to develop selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) that improve physical function and bone health without adversely affecting the prostate and cardiovascular outcomes. SARMs hold promise as a new class of function promoting anabolic therapies for a number of clinical indications, including functional limitations associated with aging and chronic disease, frailty, cancer cachexia, and osteoporosis.”
Many users, upon taking SARMs, report extremely powerful benefits, such as the author of this article himself. It’s not uncommon for users to put on 10, 20, or even 30+ pounds of muscle in the span of just a short few months.
In fact, SARMs have been proven to be so effective, that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) outright banned them from the Olympics (Source).
In addition to this, they also help improve bone density, which indirectly allows your body to handle higher amounts of weight in the gym. Researchers in Japan found that when given SARMs for 4 weeks, their lab rats exhibited markedly increased bone density (Source):
“A novel nonsteroidal androgen receptor (AR) binder, S-40503, was successfully generated in order to develop selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). We evaluated the binding specificity for nuclear receptors (NRs) and osteoanabolic activities of S-40503 in comparison with a natural nonaromatizable steroid, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The compound preferentially bound to AR with nanomolar affinity among NRs. When S-40503 was administrated into orchiectomized (ORX) rats for 4 weeks, bone mineral density (BMD) of femur and muscle weight of levator ani were increased.”
Still not convinced?
Another SARM known as Cardarine, was shown to increase the endurance of lab rats by over 200% compared to placebo, according to researchers in China:
“To examine whether GW501516 can enhance the running endurance capacity of mice, we treated age-matched wild-type KM cohorts with either vehicle or GW501516 for 3 weeks. Trained mice increased their exhaustive running distance by 744.4 m (31.2%) after 3 weeks of GW501516 treatment (TG versus TN) (Fig. 1a). GW501516 treatment for 3 weeks in sedentary KM mice also significantly enhanced running distance by 750.3 m (68.6%) compared to untrained control mice (p < 0.01 for NG versus NN). Similarly, even GW501516 treatment alone (NG group) for only 1 week improved the running distance by 671.8 m (48.6%) compared to the vehicle control group (NN group)”
There’s also a growing body of research surrounding individual SARMs such as Ostarine (MK-2866), Ligandrol (LGD-4033), and Testolone (RAD-140). While more research should certainly be done, there is enough preliminary and anecdotal evidence for us to conclude that when it comes to building muscle without any side effects, SARMs are the way to go.
What are the Best SARMs?
When it comes to SARMs, not all of them are created equal. There’s a plethora of them out there, and when you’re first getting into the world of SARMs, it’s hard to know which ones you should take. Ligandrol? Cardarine? Andarine? So many to choose from.
I’ve personally been on two cycles before, the first being Ostarine, Cardarine, and Ligandrol — you can see my SARMs before and after results here.
So, speaking from my own experience, and the research conducted, here is a list of the best SARMs out there:
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Testolone (RAD-140)
Testolone, otherwise known by its research name “RAD-140,” is by far the most powerful SARM out there. According to the anabolic/androgenic ratio theory, it’s literally 90% as powerful as pure testosterone, with only 1% of the side effects.
According to a research report conducted by researchers at Cambridge University, RAD-140 is a “potent, orally bio-available, non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator,” which yields muscle gains comparable to actual anabolic steroids themselves (Source).
The typical dosage for RAD 140 ranges from 25mg to 50mg per day. It is recommended that users first start off with 25mg per day, assess their tolerance for a couple weeks, and then adjust it accordingly.
My most recent cycle was on RAD-140, which can be seen in the picture above. I put on 21 pounds of muscle, and lost 12 pounds of fat, in literally just two months.
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Ostarine (MK-2866)
Ostarine is another powerful SARM, and although it’s not as powerful as RAD 140 (Testolone), there is an ample amount of research backing up its efficacy at building muscle.
In fact, one 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II clinical study conducted on 120 healthy individuals found that SARMs such as Ostarine significantly increase lean body mass, improve physical function, and even improve insulin sensitivity, hence the fat loss (Source).
The typical dosage for Ostarine is 25mg per day. Almost no side effects have been reported when taking this dosage, and most people who do report side effects while taking Ostarine, are taking a dosage of more than 4x this much.
When I was on my Ostarine stack, I personally noticed differences within a day. I found that I was breaking personal records in the gym just a couple weeks in as well, which was great.
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Ligandrol (LGD-4033)
Ligandrol was first synthesized by Ligand Pharmaceuticals in 2005, hence the name. It quickly grew in popularity, after numerous professional bodybuilders discovered how effectively it can get you that “cut and dry” look.
Ligandrol is also extremely safe, according to researchers. One meta-study drawing conclusions from studies done by numerous universities, found that Ligandrol is “very well tolerated” among subjects, and that users even reported an increased “sense of wellbeing” (Source).
The recommended dosage for Ligandrol is between 10mg and 20mg per day. Most users respond very well to a 10mg dosage of Ligandrol, it is recommended that you start there.
Personally, I did experience the “cut and dry” effects of Ligandrol. I will present you with SARMs before and after pictures later in this article, so that you can see for yourself.
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Cardarine (GW-501516)
While Cardarine isn’t technically a SARM, it’s often grouped together with other SARMs due to the nature of its effects. Scientifically speaking, Cardarine binds to “peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors” rather than androgen receptors, but the effects are just the same.
One study conducted by researchers in China found that Cardarine literally “reprograms muscle fiber types to enhance running endurance,” making it an excellent choice for marathon runners, triathletes, and your average cardio bunny as well (Source).
As with Ligandrol, the typical Cardarine dosage ranges from 10mg to 20mg per day. It is recommended that you start off smaller on the 10mg side, and slowly scale your way up.
Personally, when I was on my Cardarine stack (which I will discuss more later in this article), I noticed my endurance shot up very rapidly.
Okay… So How Do You Take SARMs?
Ah, the question that’s on everybody’s mind – how do you take SARMs? In other words, you’re probably wondering if you have to inject this stuff in your ass like bodybuilders do.
Fortunately for all of us, SARMs come in primarily either liquid or powdered form, meaning they can be taken orally. I recommend you get them in liquid form, because most powdered SARMs are actually loaded with filler, garbage, junk, or dangerous pro-hormones.
Most liquid SARMs come in a vial with a convenient dropper, so you just drop the dosage you want into a glass of water, and chug it down first thing in the morning. Easy peasy.
Some people worry about the frequency of dosing, and recommend you dose twice a day, but in my opinion SARMs have a long enough half-life, that one dose per day is perfectly fine.
What’s the Best SARMs Stack?
Many users like to take more than one SARM at once, for an incredible transformation. This is known as a “SARMs Stack,” and the author himself has been on them before.
The results seen above are from my Ostarine, Cardarine, and Ligandrol stack. In this stack, I took the following dosages, once per day, first thing in the morning:
- 25mg Ostarine
- 10mg Cardarine
- 10mg Ligandrol
Overall, I ended up gaining about 18 pounds of muscle, and losing 7 pounds of fat over the course of three months.
I attribute most of the strength gains to Ostarine, since that’s mostly what it’s known for. The Ligandrol definitely helped me get “cut and dry,” and the Cardarine drastically helped improve my endurance.
When I was on this stack, I noticed differences almost immediately… and while it could have been placebo, I think it was more likely due to the fact that most SARMs are very fast-acting when compared to steroids, which can sometimes take weeks to really kick in.
If you’re a beginner, I recommend you start with this stack. It’s a great all-around stack to not only build more muscle, but get that nice “cut and dry” look. You’ll also gain a lot of endurance if you decide to go on this cycle, due to the Cardarine.
Are There Any SARMs Side Effects?
Fortunately, there’s very few side effects when you’re on SARMs. Like I said, I’ve been on multiple cycles before, and haven’t had any problems over the past couple of years.
There is some evidence to suggest that SARMs temporarily shut down your natural testosterone production while on cycle, but that it returns to normal after being off the SARMs for a couple of weeks. This is completely normal.
Personally, I get my bloodwork done on a regular basis, and my testosterone is alive and well. In fact, it’s actually HIGHER after I got off of SARMs, compared to before I got on them. This could simply be due to aging, or maybe your testosterone production bounces back even harder after getting off a cycle, so more research should be conducted to determine this.
Some users will report difficulty seeing at night when taking SARMs, but most people believe this is just due to getting “fake SARMs,” which are actually just dangerous prohormones that are marketed as SARMs. That’s why it’s so important to get SARMs from a high-quality source.
Where I Get My SARMs
As I said before, you need to be very careful if you’re buying SARMs online. A lot of websites will sell you “fake SARMs” which are actually just pro-hormones. This can be extremely dangerous, as most pro-hormones are highly liver toxic, and will lead to many side effects.
This is why I only ever get my SARMs from Proven Peptides. Every single batch is third party verified, meaning that an independent laboratory verifies it’s over 97% pure SARMs (the other 3% is just preservatives to keep them from deteriorating).
I wrote an in-depth Proven Peptides Review which you can check out if you’re considering buying SARMs. All of the results pictures you see above were taken when I was on SARMs that I got from Proven Peptides, so you can rest assured that they are 100% legit.
SARMs • The Bottom Line?
In summary, SARMs are a powerful new tool in the bio-hacker’s arsenal. Using SARMs, you can expect to completely transform your physique in just a matter of a few months.
If you are going to get on SARMs, always remember that a good, clean diet filled with lots of protein, and a great workout routine that pushes you, is going to be important.
Yes, you can still gain muscle and lose fat without these things, but if you combine them with SARMs, your results will be 10x better than before.
As I said however, be careful – always consult with a physician first, and never resort to buying low quality scam SARMs online. I recommend you do your due diligence before embarking on this endeavor, because you want to know what you’re getting yourself into.