A Comprehensive Guide About SARMS and Ostarine
Whether you’re new to bodybuilding or you’ve been in the game for a while, you’ve seen the resurgence of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). They’re quickly becoming a popular alternative to steroids.
But what are SARMs, exactly? What kind of results can they provide? Are they legal? Are there side effects of taking them?
If you follow dosage guidelines, SARMs such as Ostarine will help you gain incredible strength, put on muscle mass, and maintain it afterwards. And incredibly, you can achieve all of this without the side effects that usually accompany steroid use.
Keep reading for a guide to SARMs—learn what they are, how they work, which to take, and how to start your new bodybuilding journey with SARMs.
What Are SARMs?
Selective androgen receptor modulators were introduced in the 1940s by Ligand Pharmaceuticals. They were first introduced as a treatment for cancer, osteoporosis, and other diseases. Then, they were known as “steroidal SARMs.”
It didn’t take long for researchers to discover that “steroidal SARMs” had several side effects. Patients would gain muscle rapidly—up to 30 pounds within a matter of months—but the adverse side effects made doctors question the supplements’ safety.
Steroid and these steroidal SARMs can cause side effects such as gynecomastia, low libido, liver damage, and heart disease. Doctor’s couldn’t continue to prescribe them in their current form, so they were forgotten for decades.
In the 1990s, companies began to experiment with “non-steroidal SARMs,” which is what we now refer to only as SARMs. The chemical structure of these wonder drugs are protein-based, so they provide benefits with almost no side effects.
How Do They Work?
With no side effects, many people question the efficacy of SARMs. But their secret is contained in their mechanism of action that selectively targets androgen receptors. They work by binding to skeletal muscle androgen receptors while avoiding receptors in the prostate and other organs.
SARMs help your muscles grow, without the common side effects of steroids, such as an enlarged prostate.
SARMs vs Steroids
Anabolic steroids (or only “steroids”) are a class of testosterone and non-testosterone derivatives. They stimulate muscle growth in humans. German scientists developed them in the 1930s, trying to gain an edge on the Olympics.
Steroid use did not become popular among bodybuilders until the mid-to-late 1950s.
There are several types of steroids and SARMs. They all have relatively similar effects, but their mechanism of action differs. Most steroids will bind to all androgen receptions, but SARMs only bind to a select few.
This difference may seem small, but it’s a game-changer for athletes who can’t handle the adverse side effects of steroids. SARMs typically only have 1-5% of the potential side effects that athletes on steroids experience—but they are 80-90% as effective as steroid use.
SARMs vs Prohormones
Prohormones aren’t much different than steroids. As steroids are made illegal, the law specifies a specific type of chemical. In an example, when the US outlawed selling testosterone, they defined the molecule Androst-4-en-17β-ol-3-one.
This loophole allows pharmaceutical companies to tweak the molecule by adding a single atom where they could. A popular prohormone has the chemical formula androst-4-en-3,17-dione. This formula is only slightly different than the testosterone mentioned above. When you ingest the prohormone, your liver converts it to a hormone similar to testosterone. Just like that, you’ve taken a steroid.
Sounds like a simple way to get around the law, but these prohormone supplements are often more toxic than steroids. The danger lies in how much work your liver has to do to process them.
On the other hand, SARMs don’t have this toxicity issue. They’re bio-available, which means they’re easy for your liver to process. They’re safer, which is why they’re still widely available to bodybuilders today.
What Are the Benefits of Using SARMs Over Steroids?
We’ve already discussed how SARMs are safer than steroids and have fewer side effects, but there are other positives to consider.
Other benefits of taking SARMs over steroids include:
- They are non-toxic and don’t cause liver damage.
- They increase bone density.
- They don’t shut your natural testosterone production down.
- They build lean, dense muscle.
- You recover faster when taking them.
- They improve strength
- They can heal joints and tendons.
It may sound too good to be accurate. Still, you really can gain significant amounts of strength, recover faster than ever before, and have healthier, denser bones without experiencing adverse side effects. Does this sound like a sweet deal to you?
What is Ostarine?
Ostarine is one of the more popular SARMs. It was developed by a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company called Merck to stop and reverse muscle and bone wasting.
It’s currently undergoing new testing. Researchers hope that Ostarine can help cancer patients that suffer from muscle and bone atrophy.
In the meantime, bodybuilders around the world are buying Ostarine and using it to improve their physical performance with its anabolic properties.
Ostarine is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because it actually works to improve muscle gain and performance, giving athletes that take SARMs an unfair advantage.
What to Expect
When taking Ostarine, rest assured that it produces excellent results while being a very mild supplement. This is what makes it the most popular SARM on the market.
Since Ostarine is not suppressive, you don’t have to worry about amortization. Still, keep your PCT on hand just in case you can’t get your hormone levels back down to normal.
Ostarine has a reputation of having little to no side-effects, producing lean gains, and holding on to muscle during large caloric deficits. It’s a flexible compound that is excellent for both gaining muscle and cutting fat, depending on your goals and how you use it.
If you want to gain muscle, expect to gain between four to ten pounds without gaining fat in a standard 12-week cycle.
If you want to lose fat, you can use Ostarine and go on a significant caloric deficit of 500-1000 calories, while maintaining your earned muscle. It will also increase your strength gains and strengthening of soft tissues, such as tendons and ligaments—all while increasing your recovery time.
Negatives of Ostarine
Again, the side effects of Ostarine are few and far between, keep in mind that everyone reacts to supplements differently.
If you follow the recommended guidelines on dosing, you’ll likely be fine. However, if you dose higher than recommended, you may experience adverse side effects such as cold sweats and lethargy.
What Are the Best SARMs Dosages?
While SARMs in the UK are relatively safe, you should be sensible and smart about how you use them—just as you would with any other drug or compound.
Check the bottle for the recommended dose and always start on the lower end of what is recommended. This strategy gives you room to grow. If you start high, you leave yourself with nowhere to progress to.
At lower dosages, you may eliminate the need for any PCT. Just be smart with your SARMs cycle and be amazed at the benefits you’ll experience when taking it correctly.
Where Do You Buy Ostarine?
You should always purchase SARMs from a reputable manufacturer. Pay attention to where the products are sourced from and whether they are lab-certified by a third party. The company should be able to vouch for the quality of their supplements.
Due your due diligence when shopping around for Ostarine in the UK, as you may stumble upon companies selling prohormones and passing them off as SARMs. They do this because prohormones were banned in 2014 and many companies are trying to deplete their inventory by claiming they are selling SARMs.
The saying it’s “too good to be true” is also correct when buying SARMs. If the prices are unbelievably low, you’re likely looking at fake SARMs. Expect to pay around $50 for one month’s supply of Ostarine; therefore, the recommended 12-week cycle will cost about $150.
Try SARMs for Yourself
SARMs are still a relatively new set of compounds that are still undergoing testing. Exciting research suggests that they are incredibly effective at helping interested users gain muscle, lose fat, and increase strength without the nasty side effects that accompany steroids.
All in all, SARMs are a relatively new set of compounds which are currently undergoing testing. What research we do have suggests that they’re incredibly effective at helping users put on muscle, lose fat, and gain strength—all while having virtually none of the side effects that steroids often present.
We sell high-quality SARMs and supplements that are safe, effective, and legal. They are manufactures in the UK to the highest quality standards, using pharmaceutical grade ingredients. Our Reflex Labs Ostarine is an all-rounder which can be used alone or stacked.
Check out our extensive list of supplements and contact us if we can help you decide which one is right for you!