There is a ton of misinformation floating around about how sarms and other research chemicals should be used. Some of the protocols that “sarm experts” push are downright lies to get you to buy more products from them. So what I want to do here is address some of these myths. Then provide examples of a sane beginner sarm cycle with minimal side effects. For more advanced SARM cycles CLICK HERE.

Common Myths About Sarms and Research Chemicals

Sarms are suppressive.

All sarms are suppressive to the endocrine system but some more than others. Ostarine is hardly suppressive at all but something like RAD-140 is mildly  suppressive. However, there have been numerous studies that show all sarms having more severe testosterone suppression after 42 days. Therefore, the cycles I lay out in this article won’t be any longer than 6 weeks.

Sarms do require post cycle therapy

Again, all sarms come with some level of suppression. Therefore, I always suggest pct in some form to bring the endocrine system back to homeostasis. The extent of your pct is based on what sarm you run and how long your cycle is. CLICK HERE to understand more about Post Cycle Therapy.

Sarms do not always work better when stacked together

Sarms work by filling the androgen receptor and telling it to do specific things like grow muscle tissue but not allowing it to unwanted things like prostate enlargement. It is my testing experience that sarms do not work better when stacked together. This is because when you take multiple sarms together, they are all signaling the androgen receptor at once and competing for dominance. The end result is diminishing returns because they end up negating each other.

These compounds were designed to provide anabolic benefits without as many side effects as steroids. We constantly hear how gear works better when you run it in a stack but these aren’t steroids and they do not work the same way in the body.

In this case more is not always better! I have a strong sense that people advising you to run the huge sarm stacks are likely doing it to get you to buy more of their products.

MK-677, Cardarine, YK-11, and SR-9009 are not sarms

MK-677 is a GH secretagauge.

YK-11 is a steroidal myostatin inhibitor.

Cardarine and SR-9009 at both PPar modulators.

Even though both get lumped into sarm, they aren’t technically sarms by nature of their chemical structures or mechanisms of action. They do however stack with sarms very well.

LGD-4033, S4, RAD-140, and MK-2866 are all sarms.

Sarms and estrogen side effects

In rare cases they can cause estrogen related side effects but it is very dependent on the individual. Some folks might get any itchy nipple and automatically think that their LGD 4033 was laced with prohormones. When in all actuality that person may just have a biological tendency to have high estrogen conversion.

For this reason, I always recommend running an aromatase inhibitor like arimistane during any sarm cycle just to be on the safe side.

How To Choose Your First Sarm Cycle

Your first cycle should only consist of one suppressive compound. The two SARMs I would suggest for a beginner would be Ostarine or LGD4033.

Ostarine is the most versatile of all the sarms and can be used for a cut, re-composition,  and in some cases a bulk cycle. It is also the least suppressive and has many benefits such as healing properties,  increase in sex drive, fat burning, and joint healing abilities. A newbie can pair this with Cardarine to create a very pronounced body re-composition  with fat loss. If you’re looking to burn fat and add a little bit of lean muscle, this is what I would use.

LGD4033 would be the best choice for those looking to do an all out bulk. Many people have claim it has properties similar to compounds like  D-bol and puts on mass very well. LGD 4033 is not as forgiving on the in the current system as Ostarine. Therefore, a little bit more extensive of the PCT might be required for some individuals who are more prone to suppression side effects. It pairs extremely well with the growth hormone secretagogue known as MK 677. These two combined create a synergistic effect for growth and recovery. If you’re looking to get big, this is what I would use.

PCT and Aromatase inhibitors

As I mentioned earlier, I always suggest using and aromatase inhibitor while using any sarm to help combat any estrogen conversion and other side effects from testosterone suppression. I personally feel that using something as strong as arimadex or letrozole is overkill for a sarm cycle. This could completely tank your estrogen levels and men actually do need a small amount of estrogen in the body.

I would suggest running 25 to 50 mg of Arimistane because it’s not strong enough to completely crash or estrogen levels.  It works by preventing your testosterone from converting into estrogen and making you feel lethargic and having poor sex drive while on site. Now, most guys don’t experience these issues when running one sarm during a short six week cycle. However, I always want to make sure the cards are in my favor at all times.

With these cycles only being six weeks long, your PCT can be kept fairly simple. In these two cases I would suggest taking 100 mg of arimistane spread out to 2 doses a day. I would also suggest pairing it with Ashwagandha because its the only test booster that has actually has studies that prove its ability to stimulate luetenizing hormone to increase testosterone production.

LGD-4033 is more of a mass builder than Ostarine. In fact, it works so well that I have full body dexa scans before and after running LGD4033 that you can see HERE.

You may want to consider running Nolvadex for PCT of a LGD 4033 cycle because it is more suppressive than Ostarine to the endocrine system’s natural testosterone production.  I personally have never had to  PCT with Nolvadex following an LGD4033 cycle to recover. But it would be irresponsible  if I didn’t recommend doing so since this factor would be very user dependent. But I would approach this with  a  rather be safe than sorry mindset.

HERE is a good Source for Nolvadex(aka Tomoxifen).

Beginner Sarm Cycle Examples

This is the ideal cycle for a beginner and the results would be dependent  on calorie intake.  This would come with minimal side effects and good results.

Weeks 1-6
Ostarine (MK-2886) 30mg dosed once daily
Arimistane 25mg dosed once daily
Weeks 7-10
Mini-PCT
50mg arimistane dosed twice daily
600mg Ashwaghanda dosed once daily

The following cycle has cardarine added to it and would be perfect at accelerating fat loss or doing a body re-composition.

Weeks 1-6
Ostarine (MK-2886) 30mg dosed once daily
Cardarine (GW-5015) 10mg dosed twice daily
Arimistane 25mg dosed once daily
Weeks 7-10
Mini-PCT
50mg arimistane dosed 3 times daily
600mg Ashwaghanda dosed once daily

The following would be a good starting place for someone looking to bulk up. Nolvadex during PCT is optional but highly advised.

Weeks 1-6
LGD-4033 15mg dosed once daily
Arimistane 25mg dosed once daily
Weeks 7-10
Mini-PCT
50mg arimistane dosed 3 times daily
600mg Ashwaghanda dosed once daily
OR
Nolvadex at 40 mgs for weeks 7 and 8,
Nolvadex at 20mg for weeks 9 and 10

Here is a great stack which pairs LGD-4033 with MK-677. This will result solid muscle gains and an increase in growth hormone. Nolvadex during PCT is advised.

Weeks 1-6
LGD-4033 15mg dosed once daily
Arimistane 25mg dosed once daily
MK-677 25mg dosed once daily (most effective if taken first thing in the morning, fasted)
Weeks 7-10
Mini-PCT
50mg arimistane dosed 3 times daily
600mg Ashwaghanda dosed once daily
OR
Nolvadex at 40 mgs for weeks 7 and 8,
Nolvadex at 20mg for weeks 9 and 10

Make sure you have a legit source for your compounds

I wrote off SARMS for many years because every time I would buy a bottle of Ostarine, it wouldn’t do anything, So I just assumed that SARMs where just another over-hyped supplement that doesn’t deliver on its claims.

The actual problem is that the research chemical industry has little regulation and very little testing to prove its purity.  You guys would not believe how many emails I have gotten from other readers asking if I knew if certain companies had legit products because they were tired of getting screwed.

If you are looking to buy sarms, then CHEMYO is the company you want to take a look at. They’ve been around forever and have a great reputation for having great consistency with product quality and service. Additionally, They also post all their 3rd party testing results on each product page so you know that what your getting is actually real.

I’ve used some other Sarm companies in the past and this one surpassed my expectations on all fronts. CHEMYO really shines in regards to customer service and their sense of urgency in getting orders out quickly.

CLICK HERE to check out their site and use the coupon code LEAVINGWEAKNESS10 to get 10% off any of their research materials.

Here is my detailed product review and unboxing video on Chemyo so you can see their quality for yourself: