Guide to the different SARMS:
Ostarine (mk2866):
The oldest and best studied of the SARMS, Ostarine was developed by GTx, a division of Merck pharmaceuticals, and has been tested in FDA approved clinical trials
(
https://www.merck.com/licensing/news...s-release.html)
with no adverse effects compared to placebo. Ostarine is only very mildly suppressive and has no hepatotoxicity. There are almost no other sides.
It has a couple potential uses:
1) single agent bulk/recomp: dosed between 20 and 30 mg/day in one dose (osta has a 24h half life so once daily dosing is fine). Expect mild dry gains of about 3-5 lb of LBM in 4 weeks or 5-7 lb in 8 weeks. Osta should not be run longer than 8 consecutive weeks. Strength gains tend to be more prominent than size gains. You should run a mini pct with test booster and AI afterwards. Erase/DAA is a good combo. Osta has been shown to be good for nutrient repartitioning as well and is good for recomp with cals around TDEE or cut with a small deficit.
2) adjunct to a PH. As it can be stacked without major increases in suppression or hepatoxicity, you can add it to a mild PH like epi and expect better results. Adding 20 mg of osta to an epi cycle will yield 2-3 additional lb of LBM over what you might otherwise expect from epi.
3) as pct assist. At doses of ~10 mg, osta will help keep gains during PCT and allow strength to continue to increase while still allowing recovery with a SERM and test booster on board.
LGD-4033:
This sarm is far stronger than ostarine but much more suppressive as well. Expect gains of 5-7 lb lbm on a bulk or 3-5 on a recomp when dosed at 10 mg a day. No hepatotoxicity but significant suppeession; a full PCT is necessary after the cycle. Don't run LGD longer than 4 weeks at a time.
LGD shines as a stacked agent; as it's not hepatotoxic, when stacked with epi, you can expect almost msten or sd like gains without the profound lethargy or hepatotoxicity. You should run a stronger pct with LGD tho when stacked, at least 40/40/20/20 of novla.
Andarine (S4):
This SARM is most known as a cutting/hardening agent with androgenic properties and strength gains. It's most comparable in results with stano or furaza. It has 0 suppression or hepatotoxicity and doesn't require any pct but does have some side effects related to a metabolite that cause temporary visual sides (yellowing of vision and decrease in adjusting to darkness), especially at doses over 50 mg. when dosed at 50 mg 5 days on two days off, these sides are uncommon. As it has a short half life, it should be dosed in divided doses of 25 mg with one in the AM and one pwo. This sarm is great for cutting and helps repartition nutrients and increase muscle definition. S4 can be run for up to 8 weeks at a time.
Bonus: GW 50156 (Cardarine)
This is NOT a SARM, rather, it's a PPAR agonist. Developed by GSK, it's an agent shown to decrease body fat and increase exercise capacity. Most ppl have found it to increase their aerobic capacity dramatically. It's typically taken in two divided doses of 10 mg for a total of 20 mg/day.
There have been a few trials showing gw causing cancer in rats. However, the doses tested in the study would be the human equivalent of 500 mg a day for 18 months straight. There's no data showing risk in humans and a decent amount of studies show the receptors thotght to cause the cancers aren't present in humans. Users typically see bf% decreases of 2-3% over a month when diet/exercise is on point.
