SARMs For Bodybuilding: The Ultimate Guide To SARMs Stacks, Dosages and PCT Supplements
If you’ve plateaued with your natural bodybuilding then the best SARMs stacks could be like rocket fuel smashing you through that glass ceiling in a matter of weeks. It’s happened to tens of thousands of people just like you, and I’m telling you that my experience is it can happen really fast.
What I’m going to do here in this quick guide is to talk to you about the best SARM stacks for cutting, bulking, strength, and maintenance. I’ll also talk about SARMs stacks for females, and you’ll get detailed usage guides for each stack.
Plus, we will talk you through the basics of using SARMs, including the legality, dosage, and formats, as well as tell you about the top seven most popular SARMs for cutting, bulking, energy, and strength.
On top of all that, I will conclude this SARMs guide with three detailed reviews of the places I’ve found over the past four years that sell 100% genuine SARMs at pretty damn affordable prices.
What Are SARMs & How Do They Work?
SARM stands for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator. Unlike anabolic steroids that hammer all androgen receptors, SARMs, as the name suggests, selectively modulate androgen receptors.
Basically, it means that SARMs target androgen receptors in muscle tissue only (mostly). So you’re not getting androgen receptors hammered in other parts of the body, which can be damaging and cause long term problems, which is why anabolic steroids are so dangerous.
That’s not the whole story though, and some SARMs are not anabolic/androgenic in nature at all. When we talk about the magnificent seven best SARMs out there later in this guide, I’ll talk you through how each one works in your body.
But however they work, they target certain hormones or chemicals in the body linked to strength, muscle development, bone density, or energy. Delivering a hit that can elevate all of these things way above do naturally.
Are SARMs Legal?
SARMs are definitely not legal if you are a sportsperson. All professional sporting bodies around the world banned SARMs from use.
Let’s be clear, SARMs work. They wouldn’t have been banned by professional sporting bodies if they didn’t, right?
In terms of national legality, in the USA SARMs are not illegal. But they are not legal for sale for consumption. They are sold as research chemicals and are not FDA regulated for human use in any way. So if somebody advertises them as beneficial to humans, then they could be prosecuted, but not if they just sell them without making any claims.
Around the world, legality varies. In many countries, it’s the same grey legality, but in other countries such as the UK, SARMs are outright banned.
So please, before you place your order, make sure you look into the legality in your own country. If you are importing them, although there is no chance on earth you’ll be arrested and prosecuted, you could have your shipment destroyed.
Dosing & Taking SARMs
When it comes to taking SARMs, you have several options for the format you can buy SARMs in:
- SARMs powder is the most basic form. It’s the cheapest format, but it’s the least easy to use. You will need to prepare it to use it. You will have to weigh the exact dose on an accurate micro scale. You will then have to mix the powder in with a suitable suspension liquid, usually something like propylene glycol. You don’t have to, but taking the raw powder can be pretty unpalatable.
- SARMs powder also comes in capsule form. It’s exactly the same raw powder but in capsules. So it’s really convenient, and you just take them like you would headache pills. You don’t have to worry about dosage, as you know exactly what you’re taking. On the downside though, SARMs capsules tend to be the most expensive way to use SARMs.
- SARMs injectables are a small part of the SARMs market. A lot of people don’t want to inject things, and admittedly it does raise the risk of infection slightly. As long as you get good quality SARMs, and you are ruthless about cleanliness, that shouldn’t really be a problem. We aren’t even talking about sticking huge needles in you, you are just tucking the needle under the skin at an angle, just enough to deliver the dose.
- SARMs sublingual liquid is the most popular and easy-to-take format. You simply drop the required number of drops under your tongue to get the right dose, and then after about 30 seconds, you swallow and then drink some water. On the downside, a standard dose is one drop, but if you’re not taking that standard dose, it’s sometimes difficult to dose correctly, especially with SARMs that only require a low dose.
SARMs Reviews: 7 Most Popular SARMs On The Market
Let’s now take a look at the seven best SARMs out there, with quick SARM reviews for each one, so that you can see how they work, to use them, and what the effects that you can get from each are.
Andarine is one of the newest SARMs, and in common with the newer types of SARM it’s more potent so it requires a lower dose. It’s perfect for increasing lean muscle mass, and also for cutting fat.
These are the details you need to know to use Andarine successfully:
- Half-life is only around four hours meaning multiple daily dosing
- The recommended dosage range is between 20 mg and 80 mg
- The Maximum recommended cycle length is 12 weeks (more typically 10 weeks or less)
- Perfect for bulking and cutting
- Not suitable for beginners
- Has notable side effects
- Androgenic so PCT supplement required
If you’re looking for a better definition, to get a lean and chiseled look, then Andarine is perfect. You won’t bulk up much, but you will a little and your muscle will start to look incredibly defined, especially as you will be cutting fat. On the downside, it’s one of the few SARMs that have a specific side effect at higher doses (only reported 50 mg or above in my experience), where vision becomes tinted yellow. This is temporary and slowly goes away when you stop taking it though, so long gaps between cycles are required.
YK-11 is an incredibly powerful SARM, and in fact, is closer to a synthetic anabolic steroid in construction and mechanism of action. It’s based on DHT, which is a stronger form of testosterone. That means it is an agonist of androgen receptors outside muscle tissue (notably the prostate), which can lead to some problems if you are not sensible.
Everything you need to know to use YK-11:
- Half-life is up to 6 hours so dual daily dosing needed
- The recommended dosage range is between 5 mg and 10 mg per day
- The longest recommended cycle is 10 weeks
- Incredibly aggressive muscle building potential
- Not a beginner’s SARM
- Will require the use of a PCT supplement as is highly androgenic
So, if you’re looking for a SARM that’s as close to an anabolic steroid as you going to get, without spilling over into that generally aggressive anabolic steroid format, then this is the one to look for. Its muscle-building potential is incredible, aggressive, and rapid.
Cardarine is not actually a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator at all. It’s something called a PPAR-Delta modulator. It still targets chemicals in the body, but it works by increasing the action of protein receptors that help with the development of muscle tissue.
On top of that, those protein receptors help with the oxidization of fatty acids and play a role in the speed of our metabolism. As well as all that, it has been found to reduce glucose use. Put together, this stuff is energy in a bottle.
Here’s the lowdown on what you need to know:
- Half-life is up to 24 hours so single daily dosing is fine
- The dosage range is between 5 mg and 10 mg
- Recommended cycle length is a maximum of 10 weeks
- Builds strength and endurance, develops muscle, and cuts fat
- Not androgenic so no PCT is required
For me, Cardarine is perfect for stacking with one of the best SARMs for bulking. It underpins it by boosting energy and endurance, cuts fat, and also helps to fuel the muscle development of an androgenic SARM.
Ostarine is the original and classic SARM. It’s also the weakest, and the most accessible, so perfect for beginners. Ostarine is good for stripping fat. It was designed to maintain muscle while stopping fat from building up in people with degenerative illnesses.
This is all you need to know about using Ostarine:
- Half-life is around 24 hours so dosing once per day
- The dosage range is between 10 mg and 80 mg (usually around 30 mg)
- Recommended cycle length is up to 12 weeks
- Good for cutting fat and protecting muscle
- Mildly androgenic so PCT may be required
Ostarine is the most accessible beginner bodybuilding supplement available. Unless you take a high dose or you’re susceptible, you probably won’t need a PCT supplement to deal with testosterone drop. You will cut significant fat using this SARM while protecting, and even slightly increasing your gains.
As the name suggests, Testolone is highly anabolic in nature. It twangs your anabolic receptors and produces the effects of a spike in testosterone. If you’re looking for wild gains, really huge bulking, then this is definitely one of the best SARMs for bulking you can get your hands on.
This is what you need to know to use Testolone successfully:
- Half-life is up to 20 hours so once-per-day dosing is fine
- The dosage range is between 5 mg and 20 mg per day (10 mg average)
- The best cycle length is around 10 weeks (12 weeks maximum)
- Has the ability to build a large and dense muscle mass
- Highly androgenic so PCT supplement is needed
Just watch out when using this stuff though, because it is highly androgenic. You will need a strong PCT supplement and is one of the few SARMs I would recommend you use Clomid for.
- S-23
S-23e has had very little testing, even anecdotally in the bodybuilding community is around well, because it’s one of the newer types of SARMs. It’s very strong and very anabolic. But you not going to gain huge amounts of muscle, rather, muscle strength is the key to this.
This is how you use S-23:
- Half-life is very short at around four hours
- Typical daily dose three times per day is between 10 mg and 20 mg
- Typical cycle length is around 8 weeks (10 weeks maximum)
- Builds strength, build muscle, cuts fat, increases vascularity
- Androgenic SARM so will require PCT
Andarine is widely used on its own to sharpen muscle tone. Basically, you’ll be cutting fat, strengthening yourself, and increasing the density and chiseled nature of your look. If you’re looking to gain strength before hitting a massive bulking phase, then this is the SARM to use.
Ligandrol is a more potent version of Ostarine. I don’t mean it’s constructed in a similar way, but it has the same bodybuilding benefits. It’s one of the most potent SARMs for cutting that you can get.
This is all you need to know about using Ligandrol:
- Half-life can be as long as 30 hours so dosing once per day is fine
- The dosage range is typically between 3 mg and 10 mg (10 mg is very high)
- Recommended cycle length is a maximum of 10 weeks
- Excellent for cutting fat while retaining muscle
- Can be suppressive so a mild PCT is usually required
So if you are wanting to cut dramatic amounts of fat quickly, say to kickstart your journey with SARMs, then Ligandrol is absolutely perfect, especially if you intend to pump hard and you want to protect, and even gain muscle mass.
Best SARMs Stacks For Every Goal
Now you understand a bit more about the traits and usage of the top seven best SARMs out there, let’s look at how you can stack them for maximum effect.
You see, there is no point in using the best SARMs for cutting or the best SARMs for bulking if you’re using them individually. You’re not getting the full potency of hitting your body from all angles, so when you work out you’re going to get maximum gains or maximum fat cutting.
Best SARMs For Bulking
This is a simple SARMs stack for creating massive gains in a short space of time. In one cycle you will notice significant improvements in your lean muscle mass, your strength, and your definition.
Instructions for this bulking SARMs stack are:
- 5mg Ligandrol
- 15 mg Testolone
- 15 mg Ostarine
- the total length of this stack cycle is eight weeks
- you will need a long break (at least eight weeks) between cycles
- androgenic so PCT supplement required
This will deliver huge lean muscle gains in a few cycles. Even just after the first SARMs cycle, you will notice that this is one of the best SARMs stacks for bulking. Alongside the massive gains, Ostarine will protect them even in a calorie deficit, so that you can cut fat as well.
Best SARMs Stack For Cutting
Let’s look at how you can use the best SARMs for cutting to create a potent cutting stack that will deliver significant drops in body fat, while at least maintaining, and sometimes gaining, lean muscle mass and tone.
These are the instructions for this basic cutting stack:
- 10 mg Ostarine
- 10 mg Cardarine
- 5 mg Ligandrol
- Total cycle length is eight weeks
- The gap between cycles should be at least six weeks
- Could be mildly androgenic but unlikely
Ostarine and Ligandrol combined to create the fat cutting machine while protecting your muscle tone and any gains you make. Then Cardarine delivers strength and endurance that you can power through your routines, helping you to burn even more fat, and create an even better definition while building strength.
Best SARMs Stack For Strength
The goal of the SARMs stack for strength is to create the platform to then go on and build massive bulk by combining bulking SARMs with a routine that makes your muscles explode with growth.
The components of this best SARMs stack for strength are as follows:
- 10 mg Cardarine
- 10 mg Andarine
- 10 mg Ibutamoren (MK-677)
- Total cycle length is 10 weeks
- The gap between cycles should be at least eight weeks
- PCT supplement will be required
MK-677 delivers huge increases in energy, while Cardarine backs that up during your workout, and increases your metabolism after it. Plus, you have the anabolic Andarine which targets strength in bone and muscle, and combined these three SARMs deliver massive gains in strength and durability to grow the strength of your frame to build on.
Recommended SARMs Stack For Females
SARMs for females is tackling the same subject from a different angle. Females tend to have different goals, primarily toning, fat loss, and strength. Rarely do they want to gain muscle.
So this is the best SARMs stack for females if you have those goals:
- 5 mg Ostarine
- 5 mg Cardarine
- 3 mg Andarine
- Total cycle length of 10 weeks
- Take a six week gap between cycles
- Won’t need a PCT supplement
What you’re getting here is significant fat burning, really aggressive fat burning. Plus, you’ll also get stronger, and endurance gains. It will allow you to burn fat, tone up, increase your strength, and also to deliver a very small increase in muscle mass.
How To Use PCT Supplements & Avoid Side Effects
When it comes to using SARMs safely and successfully, to avoid side effects you will need to keep the dose as low as possible.
Start with the lowest possible dose you can within the recommended range, and work up each cycle. If you’re using a single SARM, and you not seeing in effects after about a month, then add a few milligrams to the dose for the rest of the cycle. Experimentation is the key.
When it comes to PCT supplements, if you’re using an androgenic/anabolic SARM then using one is vital. You should also be aware of the signs of testosterone drop, especially physical signs like gyno, where your breast tissue feels firmer or larger.
These are the two most widely used PCT supplements out there, which are used with the best SARMs stacks, and with individual SARMs:
- Nolvadex is the milder of the two SARMs PCT supplements most frequently use. Created as a treatment for breast cancer, to minimize estrogen production, its ability to stop the conversion of testosterone into estrogen will allow your testosterone levels to rise again.
- Clomid is the more powerful of the pair. Far more powerful than Nolvadex, and not always needed unless you are using SARMs that are highly anabolic, or you know that you will suffer from a steep testosterone drop. It was originally designed to deal with female infertility problems, but it’s also incredible for allowing testosterone levels to recover.
Ignore The SARMs Before & After Photos Out There
One topic I just want to cover before I conclude this series of SARM reviews, as well as telling you about the best SARM stacks, is to warn you about before and after photos.
When you are reading about SARMs, you will see frequently SARMs before and after photos. Mostly they will claim to be the result of the article writer’s work. They will claim to be current, and I will claim to be the result of SARM’s use.
I’m telling you, that most of the time they are crap. They are not real, they are anabolic steroid results, or they are exceptional. Most of the time now stock images or stolen, and the person who’s written the post has not achieved those results.
You need to create your own before and after SARMs photos. Forget believing what other people show you, show yourself.
Take the advice I’ve given you here seriously. Use the best quality SARMs for your needs, and work hard for the length of the cycle. Back it up with a great diet, and cardio work, and keep pushing through personal bests, and I’m telling you that you will get incredible SARMs before and after photos yourself.
My Recommended SARMs Companies
I want to conclude this SARMs guide by telling you where you can buy the best SARMs generally, totally pure and safe to use.
Whether you are wanting to use SARMs for cutting or bulking individually or as a stack, these are the websites that sell the guaranteed purest SARMs available.
I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass here, it’s all there in black and white. They all publish purity reports from independent third-party labs showing the purity of the SARMs they sell. That’s why after three years in this game of trying to find the best sellers, these are the only SARMs sellers I trust.
1. SWISS CHEMS
My go-to SARMs source is the well-established company called Swiss Chems. Not based in Switzerland, they are very definitely (from my research) based in the USA. They sell a good range of SARMs in capsule format. So this is SARMs powder put into capsules for easy consumption and dosing.
Historically, SARMs capsules have been very expensive compared to liquid, often double the price. This is definitely the case with Swiss Chems. However, during the middle of 2021 the prices started to come down dramatically. Right now, they are within $10 of comparable SARMs liquid prices.
They sell 10 types of SARMs in capsules, as well as PCT supplements, and now even some nootropic substances for focus and clarity as well. Let me just quickly give you a trick to get another 15% off the prices, which brings SARMs capsules down to the same price as a liquid.
First, make use of the moneyback scheme. That will give you 5% back into your account on every purchase you make.
Second, use the coupon code: gyula10 at checkout. Together, that’s giving you 15% off every purchase.
For several key reasons, the supply of good quality SARMs has really dried up. This has closed many of the old sellers that people relied on and recommended.
These are why SARMs supplies are struggling:
- The Chinese banned SARMs production & export at the end of 2021
- There is increased regulatory scrutiny in the USA
- The pandemic shutdown many grey market labs
- Global shipping prices became prohibitive
- Ukrainian war shut many Ukrainian/Russian grey market labs
So put all that together and what you’ve got is a perfect storm. That’s why I now buy my SARMs in bulk and plan for the next three stacks. That way, I’m insulated for up to a year from supply issues.
The problem has been getting reliable SARMs sellers in the past six months. Thankfully, Chemyo has remained good and is now who I almost exclusively by from.
High purity, strong doses, credit card orders, and free domestic shipping over $100. Plus, they sell liquid and powdered SARMs at good prices.
As an example, you can buy Ostarine right now for $59.99. A 50 mL dropper bottle is dosed at 25 mg/mL.
You’re not just getting a larger bottle size. Most companies sell 30 mL bottles. But you’re getting not only more liquid, but a stronger total dose. Plus, you’re not paying much are a premium, making it overall cheaper.
An Alternative To SARMs
I want to finish here by talking about high-quality alternatives to SARMs. Maybe you just want a break from SARMs, can’t get your hands on them, or you want to support your SARMs use. Well, these are the perfect natural supplements. Potent, yet completely safe and natural.
Made by Brutal Force, I use these now for nearly a year and have found them perfect for three different strategies:
- To replace SARMs if you want to still get better gains you can naturally.
- To complement SARMs by running a stack of these natural supplements alongside a SARMs stack.
- Run this post-cycle to offset some of the problems with testosterone drop and to keep developing at a higher level than you can naturally.
Individually, a month’s supply costs $59.99. You’ll save one-third (a free month) by adding three months to your shopping cart.
However, the best deals are buying the stacks. I use a stack of these underneath the SARMs so that can then continue running it post cycle.
They have bulking, cutting, strength, and maintenance stacks for sale. You’ll save up to 50% on the individual supplement sale prices, and you’ll still get that third month free. On top of that, they offer free global shipping as well.
RATS ARMY – UPDATE: Rats Army Has Now Closed
Rats Army is a new SARMs vendor to me, but I’ve now completed two orders with these guys after completing my own online research and due diligence, and I’m happy to say that they are definitely ready to become the number one SARMs seller.
Rats Army is ready to take the crown for these reasons:
- The SARMs they sell are made in the USA
- Purity is very high
- Purity is guaranteed through independent lab test reports
- There’s a moneyback guarantee
- The company has a physical location in the USA that checks out
- Online discussion around the quality is good
- The range they sell is getting larger by the week
- Free domestic shipping on orders over $100
Let me just tell you how I know they are made in the USA. When researching, I found an online job advertisement from March 2022 for a lab technician assistant.
The role asked for people who could help to mix research chemicals, and could work to high standards in that environment. So it’s obvious that they aren’t importing them from abroad in some dodgy way; they are made in the USA to US lab standards.
They sell nine different types of SARMs, including cutting SARMs like Ostarine and Andarine. The prices are very good. They only sell liquid SARMs, but the dose density for the money is superb.
As an example, let’s talk about the classic Ostarine. At the time of writing this, a 30 mL dropper bottle, dosed at 25 mg/mL, costs $58.
But they also sell a range of generic PCT supplements at great prices as well. Generic Clomid and Nolvadex, along with other PCT supplements as well. All are priced at under $50.
Plus, they sell peptides, nootropics, and even a few of the modern and legal prohormones.
EDITED TO ADD: Proven Peptides, SARMS 4 You, Rats Army and Science.bio are all no longer trading. Any recommendations you see for these companies are now out of date.