My Experience With Cardarine (GW-501516): Dosage, Cycle Length, Results & Where To Buy
This detailed but easy-to-understand GW-501516 (Cardarine) review is going to tell you everything you need to know about the chequered history of this bodybuilding supplement. Sometimes known as a SARM (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator), it’s not actually one at all.
We’re going to cover everything you need to know. How it works, legality, dosage, what a typical Cardarine cycle looks like, how to stack it, and what Cardarine results are realistic after a single cycle.
On top of all that, you’re also going to learn about the downside: possible side effects, and the problem around finding real GW-501516 for sale.
How Cardarine Works
GW-501516, also known by the similar alphanumeric names GW-501, GW-516, GW-1516, and GSK-516, is far better known as Cardarine.
But it’s also known by the brand name Endurobol. This confuses people because it implies it’s a legitimate supplement. That’s not actually the case, because Cardarine has never completed human trials for any purpose, let alone as a bodybuilding supplement. Endurobol is a grey market product that’s never been licensed.
It was originally developed as a collaboration between Ligand pharmaceuticals (who also produced LGD-4033), and GlaxoSmithKline (which explains the alphanumeric names GSK-516) way back in the 1990s. Originally purposed as a solution for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, these investigations were abandoned back in 2007. I’ll cover the reasons why in a section on side effects later in this review.
Also in 2007, some research was published that suggested that Cardarine could improve physical performance in mice dramatically. This led to a lot of exposure, and it was then produced on the black market, primarily sold under the name Endurobol.
Cardarine isn’t a SARM (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator) at all, a fact that shocks quite a lot of people looking into using it.
True SARMs are anabolic. They selectively modulate androgen receptors, basically, they create a situation where the body spikes testosterone in muscle tissue. This leads to significant benefits but also delivers the side effect of massive testosterone drop towards the end of the SARMs cycle.
Cardarine doesn’t work that way. This is how Cardarine works:
- Cardarine is a PPAR-Delta selective agonist. This binding upregulates the availability of proteins that are involved in the human body’s energy expenditure.
- In trials, it was found that rats treated with Cardarine had improved fatty acid metabolism in muscle tissue. On top of that, even with overfeeding, they had protection against diet-driven obesity. These results were backed up in rhesus monkeys, where the same fat lowering effects were seen, including LDL-cholesterol drops.
- In 2007 study, using a purchased sample of Cardarine from GSK, it was found that a high dose of GW-501516 produces dramatic physical effects in mice. Physical performance was significantly increased, energy levels were huge, as were recovery times after significant periods of exercise. This story hit the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, which is why Cardarine then found its way rapidly onto the grey market alongside SARMs.
- Although human studies are non-existent, anecdotal evidence that Cardarine definitely does improve athletic performance comes from several doping scandals. In 2012, Costa Rican cycle riders were banned for using Cardarine. Their performance prior to this had improved dramatically.
- Cardarine was found to help with heart health, bringing general cardiovascular benefits. It can increase levels of nitric acid, prevent oxidative damage, and can therefore help to increase blood flow and oxygen supply.
Putting all that together, you’ve got a grey market chemical that’s got the potential to dramatically increase your metabolic rate. That means you’ll be able to work out harder, faster, and for longer. You’ll recover more quickly, and you’ll have increased energy levels mentally and physically.
On top of that, the fat-burning properties of Cardarine are also proven. Cardarine results over just one cycle will definitely include a significant cut in body fat. Put together, Cardarine is perfect for the cutting phase where energy is low and you want to lose fat.
Is Cardarine Legal?
Cardarine is banned by all major sporting organizations around the world. In terms of legality for buying and using it, Cardarine is not illegal. So you won’t feel any heat from the law for buying and using Cardarine.
However, Cardarine cannot be sold for human consumption, only as a research chemical for non-human use.
Any website suggesting it could be taken by humans or could have benefits will be breaking the law in most countries. That’s why every website selling SARMs has a huge FDA disclaimer at the bottom of the site.
Recommended Dosage Range
Let’s now turn attention to taking Cardarine. Crucially, you’ll want to know what the correct Cardarine dosage range is to get the optimal results. The unfortunate truth though is that no studies have ever been done on humans to determine this basic fact.
Thankfully though, there’s a decade of use in bodybuilding communities around the world, which is documented online, and a consensus has pretty much been determined on what the optimal dosage range is. A typical beginner’s Cardarine dosage is 7 mg, sometimes as low as 5 mg. The top-end dose that most people use and recommend is 20 mg.
The half-life of Cardarine appears to be as long as 24 hours, with 16 hours being the minimum calculated. So, you can take the full dosage just once per day to get continual effects.
You should also remember that this total dose should be lower if you are stacking GW-501516 with other SARMs and supplements because you have to look at the total dose and the overall effects on the body.
Cardarine Cycle Length: What’s Typical?
Alongside dosage, the second most wondered about a thing when using SARMs generally, is what should the cycle length and break between cycles be?
Talking about a typical Cardarine cycle, the maximum I’ve ever seen anyone use was 12 weeks. The minimum I’ve ever seen anyone do is 8 weeks. For me, I went in the middle of that and do Cardarine cycles of 10 weeks.
That’s not the whole story though, and if I’m stacking Cardarine with other SARMs, then as well as altering the dose, I usually lower the cycle from 10 weeks to 8 weeks.
I’d also recommend that you always take a break between cycles equal to the cycle length, to make sure your body has a good break, and so you can monitor any problems between cycles.
Cardarine Results After One Cycle
Let’s get to the “meat” of this Cardarine review now, by talking to you about the Cardarine results you can expect after your first cycle. Let’s talk from the point of view that you are coming to SARMs for the first time, and you have either been working out naturally, or you’re new to this.
This is what Cardarine results and benefits can be:
- Cardarine will deliver significant increases in your strength and endurance. This is brilliant if you’re a beginner because it will allow you to push yourself harder and for longer. This will gain muscle mass, build your endurance, and allow you to burn more fat. These increases can be felt within a couple of days of starting to take Cardarine.
- Cardarine results will also include a significant decrease in body fat. From the beginning of trials on animals, it was shown that Cardarine could definitely strip fat. It reduces glucose utilization, which triggers the body to burn fat as fuel over the more readily available glucose. This is especially beneficial to low-intensity exercise like workouts, rather than rapid energy-burning like running, because it allows the body that extra time to focus on fat burning even more.
- Although you’ll burn fat, Cardarine has muscle protective properties. That means that even in a calorie deficit, it will not start eating into your muscle tissue, so you will protect your gains.
- Cardarine helps with recovery times. Because it’s supplying more energy to the body, it won’t be so tired, there will be less strain, and the better availability of glucose will also mean that muscles can repair more quickly.
A Simple Cardarine Stack
Cardarine is perfect for cutting fat and increasing your endurance, which makes it perfect for a cutting cycle. Here’s a simple cutting stack that includes Cardarine that I’ve used twice:
- 20 mg Cardarine
- 10 mg Stenabolic (SR-9009)
- 5 mg Ligandrol (LGD-4033)
- 5 mg Testolone (RAD-140)
- Cycle length is eight weeks
- PCT supplement required
Cardarine GW-501516 User Reviews
User reviews of Cardarine are mostly positive. When I was researching it, I focused on people who I knew from just their posting, or from chatting to them, were serious about their bodybuilding.
These is just a couple of reviews from people I’m aware of personally who love the benefits of Cardarine:
“It’s blown my 5 and 10k times out of the water I just end up stopping out of boredom rather than anything else on 20mg I honestly think it would be a miracle drug if it wasn’t for its rather nasty side effects in rats”
“Amazing compound. 20 mg a day split 10mg morning and 10mg before an evening workout. by two weeks, could have sex indefinitely. No fatigue during extreme workouts. Increases in endurance and cardiovascular performance caused immediate strength gains to be had during weight training.”
Before & After Photos Warning
So GW-501516 reviews are generally favorable, as long as you get the real deal. I’ve seen a lot of people moaning it doesn’t work, but then it turns out they are taking high doses with no effect, which is a clear sign that they’ve got crap SARMs.
Before I go on to tell you where to find 100% pure and real Cardarine for sale, I just want to talk to you about those before and after photos you’ll see.
Just like any other, Cardarine’s before and after photos are mostly fake or irrelevant. They will be optimal results, you don’t know the length of the cycle, you don’t know the stack, you know none of the details in reality.
On top of that, a lot of sites just put up generic images, or they are anabolic steroids results. The best way of looking at a before and after is to take a photo of yourself at the start of your first cycle and take photos every week to see how you are developing.
Also, Cardarine is about strength and endurance.
Does GW-501516 Have Side Effects?
I just want to quickly talk about Cardarine side effects.
Although no side effects are ever reported, the potential one that nags people is that a rodent study that caused GSK to ditch it back in 2007, showed that it caused cancer cell growth in mice.
Although that’s true, the concentrations those mice were being given were incredible, like dosing several hundred milligrams per day, every day for months on end. That’s like getting them to smoke 100 cigarettes per day for five years and then expressing surprise that their lungs are screwed.
With moderate use, being sensible in your cycle length, then you got no more chance of getting cancer than if you just smoke a single cigarette per day. Practically negligible.
Where To Find 100% Pure GW-501516 For Sale
I want to finish this Cardarine review by telling you where you can find 100% pure GW-501516 for sale.
Swiss Chems
Swiss Chems are my go-to SARMs and peptides vendor. I’ve used these guys on and off for several years. The only reason I moved away from them was mostly because of Science.bio (but they has been closed recently).
I preferred buying liquid because it was cheaper, and the powder was even cheaper than that. I would put it into my own capsules to benefit from exact dosing and convenience. The capsules they sold were quite expensive as well. Brilliant for beginners, but not so good for people doing frequent cycles of stacked SARMs.
But the prices of Swiss Chems capsules have come down dramatically in the past 12 months. In fact, in some cases almost by 50%. This puts them within touching distance of the prices of liquid now.
They sell all the main types of SARMs in capsule format. They also sell peptides, and PCT supplements as well. As well as the dramatic drop in prices, you can also get another 15% off by following these two simple tips.
First, make sure that you take advantage of the 5% cashback scheme that they run. This will build up in your account and allow you to get a discount on multiple orders.
Second, use this coupon code: gyula10
That coupon code will get you 10% discount at checkout.
Put those two together, and a 15% off brings SARMs capsules down to the level at which anyone who wants to experiment with SARMs can afford them. They are no longer a luxury, but a fantastic convenience instead.
CHEMYO
When it comes to high-quality SARMs liquid and powder then these guys are the ones you should be looking to buy your SARMs from.
There are several key reasons why I by my SARMs from these guys almost exclusively now:
- One of the best range of SARMs
- high purity
- Independently lab tested and percent guaranteed
- Large 50 mL dropper bottle doses
- Moneyback guarantee
- Free domestic shipping over $100
It’s important to understand that the larger 50 mL dropper bottles (most companies sell 30 mL bottles of SARMs) doesn’t just mean you getting the same SARMs in more liquid.
The total dose per bottle is often far higher than 30 mL dropper bottles. You are simply getting more SARMs from your money, and high purity.
In terms of Cardarine, you’ll get a 50 mL dropper bottle, dosed at 10 of hours per millilitre, for $59.99 right now.
They also do paired SARMs for bulking, cutting, and strength. Cardarine is paired with Ostarine, RAD 140 and YK-11. You’ll save 10% when you buy pairs.
Cardarine Alternative
Not everyone wants to use SARMs, and if you are one of those people but you want to get better results the natural bodybuilding alone, then there is a Cardarine alternative you can try.
But it’s not just the people who don’t want to use SARMs. I use SARMs regularly but I now stack them with the SARMs alternatives.
You can also keep running them post cycle. That helps to offset some of the problems with testosterone drop, and allows you to keep getting better results that you can naturally.
Brutal Force make a good range of SARMs alternatives. Carefully constructed to mimic the results of SARMs using only safe natural ingredients.
CARDALEAN is the equivalent of Cardarine that they make. Not as potent, but definitely worth trying.
But my advice is to run a stack of these natural SARMs alternatives underneath your SARMs stack. That way you maximize your returns on both.
The Ripped Cutting Stack is your best choice to experiment with. Four different supplements bundled together to help you cut more fat, and increase your energy output.
Used alongside SARMs, you will definitely feel difference. It can just give you another level you can’t reach the SARMs alone.
You’ll get nearly 50% off the individual item retail price if you buy the stack. Plus, when you buy two months you’ll get an additional month completely free. On top of that, you get free global shipping.
So overall, it’s an incredibly low risk way to see if you can get better results than using SARMs alone.
Rats Army – CLOSED (As Of March 2022)
Around 12 months ago I started reading about a company called Rats Army. They had a small range of liquid SARMs available at the time. I researched them and I did a small order, and the results were superb. Online vibes around the quality have also grown in number and volume.
Right now, they are my number #2 recommendation for SARMs and beyond.
Rats Army sells high-purity SARMs, peptides, prohormones, PCT supplements, and even supporting focus nootropics.
In terms of pricing, it is superb. Let’s look at Cardarine to give you an example. At the time of writing this, a 30 mL dropper bottle of Cardarine, dosed at 20 mg/mL, will cost you $51.49. An absolutely superb price in the current market.
It’s slightly more expensive if you buy the flavored versions. But it’s only around five dollars, and I recommend you do it as it gets rid of the bad taste of unflavoured SARMs in suspended liquid.
One of the other reasons I’m starting to use these guys, and I’m recommending you do, is that the range of SARMs and other chemicals they sell are definitely made in the USA.
Some companies claim they make them in the USA, but in reality, they have imported the raw powder from abroad and then just turned it into capsules or suspended it in powder.
I know for a fact that Rats Army makes the SARMs in the USA. They recently advertised on a well-known Jobsite for lab assistant, with the job description discussing the making of research chemicals at their facility.
So these are made in the USA SARMs, peptides, and supporting supplements, made to US drug lab standards.
It also means that this is a source that shouldn’t dry up as long as legislation in the USA doesn’t change.
For those reasons, Rats army is definitely the source for SARMs in the USA right now if you are looking for liquid.
NOTE: several SARMs companies have gone out of business in the past 12 months due to challenging conditions of getting hold of SARMs to sell. If you see people recommending Proven Peptides or SARMs 4 You then please ignore as they no longer trade.
Also note that SCIENCE.BIO and Rats Army have now also stopped trading. They were the best, so it’s a shame, but the two companies I recommend above fill the gap well.
Also, be wary of umbrella Labs, Chemyo, and Reaper Labz SARMs, as all of these have a pretty poor reputation for quality right now.