If you want the knowledge, techniques, and secrets to TRIPLING your gains in half the time with half the effort using SARMs then buckle in, because you’re in the right place!
Chances are, if you’ve been in the fitness world for at least some time, you’ve likely heard about a little something called SARMs or more specifically a SARMs cycle.
Whether it was used to accuse someone of being a fake natty or the CRAZY benefits people get whilst running these fitness cheatcodes.
If you’ve heard of these, and you’re an avid health enthusiast, then you likely are intrigued by the benefits that people on these Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators claim to produce.
“What IS a SARMs cycle? What’s the best stack for beginners? How can I make the MOST of my cycle?“
All these questions and more will be answered in this ultimate and definitive guide to your first SARMs cycle.
With that said, let’s not waste any time and dive right in!
What Is A SARMs Cycle?
A SARMs cycle is a predetermined length of time where people will supplement with Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, or most commonly known as SARMs.
This time frame is usually between 30-90 days and during this time, (depending on the specific SARM that a person may experiment with) users will experience a MASSIVE increase in strength, fat loss, as well as athletic performance.
SARMs were originally created to help people who suffered from certain muscle-wasting diseases, and it was found that these SARMs were very effective in not only preserving muscle mass in these patients, but also INCREASING lean tissue as well.
“Early clinical studies have demonstrated potential uses for SARMs in the treatment of cancer-related cachexia, benign prostatic hyperplasia, hypogonadism, and breast cancer, with positive results.” [R]
And yes, you read that right. Many SARMs have also been found to have cancer-fighting effects with positive results.
TRENDING: The FDA HATES This #1 Rated Online SARMS Vendor! Click Here To Read More.
But, this likely isn’t why you’re here and rest assured we’re getting to the good stuff.
SARMs Cycle vs. Steroid Cycle
The first question people often have is something along the lines of “Sooo… SARMs are basically steroids but safe and legal?”. Yes and no.
The difference between SARMs and steroids is in the first word which is SELECTIVE androgen receptor modulators.
SARMs do not target your bodily organs in the same way that steroids do, making them MUCH safer than steroids whilst still producing outstanding results.
| SARMs Cycle | Steroid Cycle |
|---|---|
| Lasts roughly 60-90 days | Anywhere from 90 days to FOREVER (also known as TRT) |
| Extremely Safe (very hard to get side effects) | Extremely Risky (pretty much guaranteed to get side effects.) |
| Great Muscle Building/Fat Loss | INSANE Muscle Building & Fat Loss |
I’m not going to b.s. you like some other fitness “gurus” who tell you that SARMs are better or even on par with steroids, because they are definitely not.
That said, you can 100% still get the same results. It may take longer, but you’ll quite literally be doing it roughly 95-98% SAFER than steroids.
My SARMs Cycle Results
Now I’m not going to lie, I’m a little bit hesitant to share my results, because people have this idea that if you take any slightly non-natural compound, then you cheated the whole way and never had to put in any work.
This is certainly not the case, and I want to make it clear that I have been training naturally for roughly A DECADE and only recently started dabbling in them. (At the time of writing this article, I currently do not take anything but this may not be the case once I’m done focusing on growing my business.)
With that said, however, I’ve definitely gotten some pretty crazy results. With a 30-day RAD-140 and MK-2866 cycle, I got absolutely SHREDDED and it is definitely one of my favorite stacks to use.
Aside from that however, many of you may know that MK-677 (Ibutamoren) is usually my go-to, and technically it isn’t even a SARM, it’s just often grouped alongside them.
MK-677 is my favorite for several reasons; You can take it forever if you want without the need for breaks, you sleep better, build more muscle, it clears your skin, helps you recover faster and more.
In fact, I’d say 60% of my “SARMs experience” came from MK-677. The other 40% came from RAD-140, MK-2866, and a little stint where I tested out YK-11 which I might talk about later.
Again keep in mind that I had been training for nearly a decade before I tried anything, and if you haven’t been in the gym for at LEAST a year, then I would strongly advise you to NOT take any SARMs.
After roughly 9 years though, I had felt that I had reached damn near my genetic potential and proven to many people the limits of what one could do naturally, and I felt I was ready to take the next step.
As you can see from the pictures above, even just a 30-day SARM cycle can make a HUGE difference.
Benefits Of A SARMs Cycle
While you may be inclined to think that increased muscle gain, fat loss, and women throwing themselves at you (kidding… kind of) are the only benefits of a SARMs cycle, then think again.
The truth is that if you run a SARMs cycle, then depending on which ones you take you could experience a MYRIAD of benefits.
These benefits include, but aren’t limited to:
- 50% Increased REM (Deep) Sleep w/ MK-677 [R]
- Drastically Increased Strength w/ RAD-140 [R]
- Superhuman Endurance w/ Cardarine [R]
- Increase Bone Density w/ SARMs [R]
- and more…
It really depends on which you plan on taking. You can obsiously experiment with more than one at a time, but if you are a beginner, it isn’t reccomended.
While the list of benefits is vast, for the sake of this article and maybe your main interests, we’re going to be focusing on the three main benefits: Muscle Growth, Fat Shredding, and Athletic Performance.
Increased Muscle Growth
The first and most prominent benefit and the main reason why people choose to run a SARMs cycle is the SKYROCKETING of increased muscle gain.
Sarms increase muscle gain, by targeting your androgen receptors in a similar way that pure testosterone does.
If you remember from my various articles on boosting testosterone, you’ll remember that more testosterone, or in this case, more androgenic activity equals more gains. Plain and simple.
In the picture above, that was the results taken from a study done on RAD-140, where they were using even just mild doses, WAY below what people would typically use in a SARMs cycle.
As you can see, even in mild doses, SARMs like RAD-140 can drastically increase lean tissue and even decrease fat at the same time.
Increased Fat Loss
But muscle gain isn’t the only reason people run a SARMs cycle, because on the other side of the coin you have the crazy fat loss benefits.
I say crazy because they really are. When you have things like Cardarine that’s often marketed as a “workout in a bottle” and 99% of people who have taken it agree?
Then you know it’s legit.
While there are several different SARMs that can aid in fat loss, I personally think that Cardrine could be most effective for you due to the fact that it literally puts your body into an automatic state of ketosis. (Where your body runs on fat, rather than its usual energy source of carbs).
“Decreased utilization of carbohydrates as energy and a proportional increase in fat oxidation were presumed to be the central mechanism for PPARδ-enhanced physical endurance and this was confirmed by observing a reduced respiratory exchange ratio in GW501516-treated animals” [R]
In fact, Cardarine works so well for fat loss, that I would actually recommend AVOIDING it if you are already super lean to minimize any potential side effects.
But, unless you’re already shredded, then feel free to run it in a SARMs cycle because it’s truly one of the best not only for fat loss but athletic performance too, which we’ll talk about next.
Athletic Performance
Lastly, you have the benefits to athletic performance, and since there aren’t many studies (or even anecdotal reports) I’ll be giving my own experience to help you decide.
In simple words: SARMs can make a MASSIVE difference depending on which you take.
Some SARMs can impact athletic performance indirectly by just the general increase in strength and muscle gain which applies to nearly every sport.
But some SARMs can improve athletic performance directly such as Cardarine, which has been shown to increase athletic endurance by up to 70%! [R]
And believe me, you NOTICE this difference too. I personally play a lot of basketball and it was during the pickup games that I noticed it the MOST.
It literally feels like you CAN’T get tired, and makes you feel like prime Lebron James or something.
Lastly, you also have the subtle benefits such as faster recovery, and things like improved bone density, and tendon/joint health meaning it will drastically reduce chances of an injury, which if you’re an athlete is CRITICAL.
p.s. Make sure you are not violating any rules if you play professionally, as a lot of the supplements talked about in this article are BANNED from professional competition.
Best SARMs Cycle
Now, obviously “best” is subject to whatever your goals may be. So in order find that best SARMs cycle for you and for the sake of this article, we’re going to break it down into 3 main categories.
Another thing to note is that many SARMs often have multiple benefits. Take MK-2866 for example… It not only has been shown to build muscle in users, but also reduce fat at the same time. [R]
This means that while most SARMs will help you no matter what your goal is, there are a few that not only work for a certain goal, but also work synergistically with others, which is what this section will be about.
These are the 3 main goals we’ll be targeting with various SARMs cycles:
- Best For Bulking
- Best For Cutting
- Best For Strength & Athletic Performance
Keep in mind, these things are STRONG and they work. And as cheesy as it sounds, with great power comes great responisiblity.
So if you’re a naturally lean hardgainer/ectomorph, then do NOT take an advanced cutting SARMs cycle to get more shredded. You’ll just end up causing way more harm than will do you good.
That being said, if you have your goal, and are ready to cut the time it takes to achieve it in HALF, then I recommend you to keep reading…
Best For Bulking
Say you’re trying to get jacked and you’ve (hopefully) been training for at the very least a year or two and have a solid foundation of knowledge and experience.
If this is the case, and you know what you’re doing, then a bulking SARMs cycle can definitely give you a serious advantage.
When it comes to running a SARMs cycle for bulking, these are your best bet:
- MK-677 (Beginner)
- RAD-140 (Intermediate)
- LGD-4033 (Intermediate)
- YK-11 (Advanced)
It’s important to understand what your specific research purposes are and what will benefit the most with the least amount of harm.
If you’re thinking about running your first bulking SARMs cycle, then start with MK-677 for at least a month or two, just to get used to the idea of exogenous compounds.
You can also stack a few of these together to get an even stronger bulking effect. This is called stacking, and if you want some good examples, you can check out the bottom of this article here.
Best For Cutting
On the other side, you have cutting and getting shredded. In my opinion, this is where SARMs really shine.
Don’t get me wrong, SARMs can definitely pack on lean muscle, it’s just that shredding fat on a cutting SARMs cycle will produce INSANE results.
With that said, here are the best SARMs for cutting:
- Ostarine
- Cardarine
- S4 (Andarine)
If you had to only pick one from this list, make it cardarine by far. If you’ve read any of my other articles on SARMs then you know that Cardarine is labeled as a “workout in a bottle”, and trust me, whoever says that isn’t lying.
The way Cardarine does it is by putting your body into a state of ketosis, where it switches your body’s main source of energy from the usual carbs, over to a more effective source which is bodily fat:
“Training increases energy availability by promoting catabolism of proteins, and gluconeogenesis, whereas GW501516 enhances specific consumption of fatty acids and reducing glucose utilization.”[R]
Not only does it burn fat like crazy, but because your body is running off a more effective source of fuel, your endurance will shoot through the freaking roof!
I can definitely attest to this; trust me, you’ll feel it almost immediately.
Best For Strength/Athletic Performance
Yessir, now we’re at my personal favorite topic: Peak Human Performance.
One thing to note is that ALL SARMs will help with athletic performance, whether it be through getting stronger, faster recovery etc,
That being said, there are a few key ones that will have you feeling like Lebron James i.e. an enhanced SUPER athlete.
These compounds are as follows:
- MK-677 (For recovery and tendon health)
- RAD-140 (Increased strength and explosive power)
- Cardarine (Superhuman endurance)
Again, every SARM will help indirectly, but these are just on a different level, especially Cardarine.
Cardarine will make it so that you can literally run over twice as long as you usually do and not get gassed. It translates to the gym too. You don’t need as long between sets and can go harder than usual, leading to more gains.
Note: Do NOT use these substances in a professional setting where they are banned. Remember, SARMs are for research purposes only!
How Long Is A SARMs Cycle?
Now that we have the best SARMs depending on your various goals. Now we can get into what the science says for how long a SARMs cycle should be.
Now, trust me, nobody hates it more than me when someone says “it depends”.
So as a general rule of thumb, most SARMs cycles are anywhere between 30-90 days. There is no need to go beyond 90 days, due to the law of diminishing returns, and you’ll just end up causing unnecessary harm to your body.
Especially if you’re conducting research with something like YK-11, which is a VERY strong SARM. If this is the case, then 60 days would probably safer, lest you run the risk of temporarily suppressing natural testosterone production.
If you do take a SARM for too long or you dose too heavily and you DO start experiencing the effects of natural testosterone suppression, do NOT freak out.
The worst case scenario is you stop whatever you’re taking and your body will balance out to its usual state in a week or two, and again that’s the WORST case scenario, so don’t freak out.
SARMs Cycle Length
Now, let’s say you’re taking something that doesn’t affect your body’s testosterone at all, like MK-677 for example.
If this is the case then you could theoretically run it permanently and not get ANY side effects since it encourages your body to produce its own natural hormones, as opposed to say steroids which supply your body with excess androgenic hormones which is what causes shutdown to occur…
This is one of the reasons that MK-677 is my favorite because it’s got crazy benefits, and not only will you not get any bad side effects from long-term use, studies say MK-677’s benefits actually get BETTER the longer it’s used:
“The ghrelin mimetic MK-677 enhanced pulsatile GH secretion and significantly increased FFM over 12 months and was generally well tolerated. Long-term functional, and ultimately pharmaco-economic, studies in elderly adults are indicated.” [R]
This is why it’s important to do your own research. I’m not saying to take non-androgenic SARMs long term, but at the same time I’m not saying NOT to… That result will ultimately come down to you and the recommendations of your doctor.
Safety & Side Effects
Now you know we had to talk about this at some point. And it’s important that we do since the knowledge of SARMs cycles getting more popular and public due to things like TikTok, you end up having people making honestly really stupid decisions.
These days, more people know about SARMs cycle and their benefits than EVER before. So because they’re hopped up on all the benefits, they may not even THINK of the negatives.
Not you however, because you’re obviously a champion reading this article, and in the long run, YOU will have the edge over the competition.
To get it out of the way, here’s a list of the main reported SARMs side effects:
- Hair Loss
- Slightly Increased Aggression
- Headaches
- Teststerone Suppression
- Increased Appetite
To be honest, you are very unlikely to experience any of these side effects as long as you stay congruent to the protocol you’re given.
In fact, for me personally, the only time I’ve ever gotten side effects is when I was being a dumbass and took way more than I was supposed to of a strong SARM to get ready for a sick pool party.
But again, the only thing that happened was slight testosterone suppression and when I took my favorite post-cycle therapy (which we’ll talk about next) I was back to 100% in like a week.
The moral of the story, don’t be stupid and you won’t get any side effects. It’s really that simple.
SARMs Cycle Support
Now, let’s say you’re still skeptical and REALLY worried about side effects.
If that’s the case then I will personally give you a list of natural counter measures to all side effects.
Here’s a list of the best countermeasures:
- “I’m prone to hair loss” (So am I, and if it ever becomes a problem, I recommend this anti-hair loss shampoo. It works wonders)
- “I’m worried about the stress on my liver” (You can take a natural liver support specifically designed to counteract the effects of SARMs)
- “I don’t want to be a roid rage asshole” (I recommend meditating, but if you want a “magic pill” then I recommend Onnit’s new mood)
For the testosterone suppression, you’re going to want to look into a predesigned cycle therapy (PCT). I usually prefer a natural one.
Especially because SARMs have such a minor effect on your natural test levels, you don’t need a PCT that was designed for steroids.
PCT For SARMs Cycle
As alluded to before, you may hear some people say “You need Nolvadex or Clomid to fully recover!!”
Yeah definitely not. Ignore those people because you’ll probably end up doing WAY more harm than good.
For a SARMs cycle pct, I usually prefer to use a natural testosterone booster, with my personal favorite being testogen.
Not only will you go 100% back to normal afterward, but you’ll also keep most of your gains, and you’ll still feel like a badass.
Most of the time, you technically don’t need a PCT for a SARMs cycle, but I like to take the natural one to be safe and because there’s literally zero downsides.
Post SARMs Cycle: What To Expect
“Will I lose my gains after a SARMs cycle?” Is one of the most common questions people have and to be fully transparent with you, yes you will, but how much you lose will depend on how you handle your post-SARMs cycle.
For example, the guy who decides to take a break from fitness and gets sub-optimal protein barely works out, and doesn’t take the natural testosterone booster will probably lose somewhere between 50%-80% of his gains.
On the other hand, you have the total champion (you) who post SARMs cycle, will continue to train hard, get MORE than enough protein, and boost testosterone naturally will probably only lose 10%-20% of your gains.
Keep in mind too, that unless you are literally at your genetic limit, then you can still easily surpass your results while you were on SARMs.
SARMs are a tool to help you reach your goals, but they should not be the main thing you use.
If you have the choice to use a better routine/perfect your diet, and upping your SARMs dosage, then choose the former ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
Want A Full Bodybuilding Blueprint?
Overall, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read this article and I hope you gleaned some useful information from it.
If you’d like to take your results to the next level, then I’d kindly direct your attention to my flagship program The Aesthetics Blueprint.
I poured my absolute heart and soul into it, and the results that me and my clients have had speak for themselves, and I’d like YOU to experience these results as well.
Alternatively, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave a message down below or shoot me DM on Instagram @realmatthewcarter and I’ll get back to you whenever I can.
And as always, I’ll see you guys next time!