HOW TO PROPERLY BUILD A SARM CYCLE (BY THE END OF THIS ARTICLE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BUILD A FULLY CYCLE FOR YOURSELF!)
Mid Sarm Cycle Flexing with KevinDa Hulk Washington
Today I wanted to write an article that will likely be the most useful one for those who want to know the basic way to build an optimal SARMl cycle for health, hair, and of course gains. Before we start I just want to clarify SARMs are still research chemicals that have not been fully approved for human usage. By choosing to use SARMs you need to acknowledge this risk and it is up to you to maintain optimal health and to be in communication with your doctor. I believe that every human should have the freedom to make choices for their own body, but that these choices need to be educated decisions. So without further ado let's get into it.
Let's start with bloodwork. Before you start your sarm cycle you need to pull your bloods so you can know your beginning levels. I highly recommend getting things like your liver values, lipid values, kidney values (Cystatin c), and hormone levels tested for beginning your cycle. The more markers the better, but this can get expensive so plan and budget accordingly.
Okay so you have your bloods done now you need to gather the compounds. There are a variety of sourcing links at the bottom of this article for you to use after you’ve completed your research. When it comes to sarms you have a few main options. You can look into Ostarine, LGD4033, RAD-140, S-23, S4, and LGD 3033. Yes there is more but for now I will just touch on these and who should pick what. I will give you 6 sarms below all categorized in a beginner, intermediate, or advanced category.
Ostarine- A good beginner SARM that shines during cuts. It is very easy on hair and blood, and helps maintain muscle mass while cutting. It gives a boost to strength especially in higher doses, increases nitrogen retention or “fullness” while also providing a mood boost for some. It is one of the least suppressive sarms and is the typical sarm most starters introduce themselves with first.
S4- Another good beginner SARM that is very similar to ostarine. The main differences are that some report S4 is slightly stronger when it comes to burning fat and provides better vascularity. It also comes with a unique side effect that Ostarine does not have where at higher doses it can interfere with vision. The vision side effects are notably difficulty transitioning between dark and light environments as well as tunnel vision at night. These sides go away after stopping the compound but this is why it is recommended to only use it for one month at a time.
LGD4033- This is an intermediate SARM. It is one of the “wettest” sarms. By wet I mean it tends to provide a more watery full “dbol/primo” look. It gives some insane pumps in the gym and is very effective for strength and bulking. It is more suppressive than say ostarine but less then something like RAD-140. It tends to be a more hair safe SARM and is the perfect intro compound for a bulk.
RAD-140- RAD is one of the most fascinating SARMs. It is the strongest intermediate sarm in my eyes. It is highly suppressive, can cause hair loss, and noticeably increases aggression. It is amazing though for strength, gains, and also brings a very nice dry, hard, and vascular look. It is similar to LGD when it comes to strength and anabolism in my opinion but brings a much better look. RAD has also been shown in early rat studies to be neuroprotective, an antagonist at the receptors in the prostate, and a potential treatment for breast cancer.
S-23- S23 is an advanced level SARM. It is likely the most effective cutting SARM, and is so powerful that many users struggle to eat enough to really fill out on it. It gives a very hard, dry, and vascular look along with some insane strength gains in the gym. It is rough on the hair, can cause some mood issues, and can be rough on bloodwork. Above all it is highly suppressive and may even be a potential male contraceptive in the future as studies have shown male fertility drops significantly while taking it and returns when it is removed.
LGD 3033- Another SARM I place in the advanced category. If you get real LGD3033 (which tends to be an issue) then it is for many the strongest SARM in existence. It tends to provide the best strength gains and anabolism. It also gives a more dry look then something like LGD4033. To me this is the crown jewel of sarms when it comes to “power”. It does bring some unfavorable effects to blood work but at the same time it is highly effective. It has a notcibly short half life so it should be added to cycles as a pump increaser or in broken doses throughout the day to keep the blood levels stable.
So with all of these in mind you have to make the logical choice to choose what is best for you. If you are someone who has trouble filling out and putting on muscle then something like LGD4033 might be best, but if you have issues with being bloated or too full you might want to look into something like RAD-140.
So now you have selected your androgen which is perfect lets move into selecting a test base for that androgen. For the test base you have a few options. Obviously Testosterone is the best base as this will convert to estrogen which becomes limited by the middle of a sarm cycle. The next best option is a topical 4 andro cream. 4 andro is essentially a two step prohormone meaning it converts in the body to 4ad (which was banned by the FDA) then eventually to testosterone. I always recommend the topical version as you do not want to stress your liver even more on top of the stress from the androgen. The final option you can use is Enclomiphene or HCG. These are two newer options but they both work and they have both had success for users. A Lot of times by using Enclomiphene you can make the process much easier. I will say while on paper Enclomiphene should have virtually no side effects some people still get emotional sides from this.
Whatever you choose is up to you and what best suits your goals. The one thing I will say is do not add the test base right away. This is because sarms cause an initial drop in SHBG which means you will have much more free tests for the first weeks of your cycle. With that in mind I like to add it in about weeks 3 or 4.
Okay so we have our main androgen, our test base now let's look into the final compounds we can add on top to our SARM cycle so it is synergistic. After this we will get into health measures you must handle and some BASIC protocols for how to mediate side effects. So without further ado I will list some additional compounds you can add on to your sarm cycle to optimize it.
Growth Hormone Secretagogue+Metformin or Slin Pills- The GH pathway is one that works super synergistically with sarm cycles. It is going to help aid in muscle glycogen, sleep, hunger, recovery, joint health, and a ton else! While alone something like Mk677 won't make you huge when paired with an androgen it unlocks its full potential. The reason I say it should be paired with something like Slin Pills or Metformin is because a lot of these growth hormone secretagogues tend to raise blood glucose levels which not only make us unhealthy, but lead to us not being able to properly partition nutrients which hurts our gains. For this reason I also recommend to monitor your blood glucose levels using a glucometer and please pair your mk677 or CJC DAC with something like Metformin or Slin Pills which bring blood glucose levels back to normal ranges. You can also cycle your usage during the week with MK677 5 days on 2 days off.
YK-11- This is a tricky one. Number one this compound has extremely minimal data. Potentially though it may be a partial agonist at the AR and compete with the other androgens for the receptor. It does bring a unique feature though in that it is thought to lower myostatin levels. Myostatin is the body's way of essentially stopping you from growing infinitely. While there is a lot of debate and alot of mystery still surrounding this pathway I do think this unique component gives it the green light to be used in conjunction with another sarm especially when looking to maximize a bulk. Be sure to add milk thistle or Nac to keep liver healthy.
Cardarine- This compound is a PPAR delta agonist and a strong one at that. It gives the user a major boost in cardio, helps decrease LDL, increase HDL, encourage fatty acid metabolism, improve glucose levels, and lower inflammation. Its great for users looking to boost their endurance and ability to get through long cardio sessions.
L-Carnitine (Injectable)- While there are many more, the final one I will touch on is L-carnitine. L-carnitine is highly effective in aiding in the transport of long chain fatty acids into the mitochondria for conversion into usable energy. While Carnitine has enough benefits to write an article on it by itself, I would say its other major benefit is that it helps increase androgen receptor sensitivity meaning it makes your androgens work better at the same dose!.
Finally I want to get into a few of the issues you may run into on your sarm cycle and how to help fix them inside and outside! These are just basic protocols for typical side effects and are in no way medical advice, but they provide a decent guideline of how to keep you safe on cycle!
Liver Health
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2-3g of NAC
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500-1500mg TUDCA
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2-3mg per KG weekly Glutathione shot
Kidney Health
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ARB like Telmisartan to keep blood pressure down
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3000-4500mg Astragulus
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2-3mg per KG Glutathione shot
Blood Glucose Management
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500-1000mg Metformin
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4-6 Slin Pills
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Be cautious of going hypoglycemic, do not combine this right off the bat!
Lipids
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10mg Ezetimibe
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2000-3000mg Fish Oil
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1000mg Citrus Bergamot
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10-20mg Cardarine
Blood Pressure
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5-10mg of Cialis
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40mg Telmisartan
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Clean up diet (eat less sodium)
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Take Natural Vasodilators like L-Citrulline, Beet root powder
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Cut out stimulants
Acne
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Tretinoin Cream
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Salicylic Body Wash
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Proper Hygiene like changing your shirt after the gym, washing sheets, and pillow cases
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Staying hydrated
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Cutting inflammatory foods like Milk
Hair Loss
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Ru58841 (topical)
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Nizoral Shampoo (leave in 10 minutes before washing out)
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Minoxidil+derma rolling+tretinoin if none responder.
PCT
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A proper pct protocol usually consists of 4-6 weeks of Enclomiphene+Tamoxifen with the doses tapered down to prevent estrogen rebound after the androgen has properly clearly.
Sources (Code Retro to Save)
Works Cited (Please be aware with this article a lot of these concepts have been established through anecdotes and trial and error)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16826026/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X21000668
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3270338/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26496621/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31236688/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33148520/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30219962/