I’ve been meaning to write a “SARMs before and after” article for a while now, and here it is. I just got finished with a 90 day cycle of Ostarine, Ligandrol, and Cardarine, and the results have been nothing short of incredible to be completely blunt.
Over the past 90 days I’ve jumped up by around 18 pounds of muscle, and lost about 7 pounds of body fat. So in other words I’m actually MORE muscular and MORE lean than I was before I took SARMs. For anyone trying to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, you know how big of a deal this is!
In this article I’m going to chronicle my “SARMs before and after” experience, and discuss what it was like, the dosages I took, where I got my them from, and anything I would’ve done differently.
So, without further ado, let’s get started.
SARMs Before and After Results
That’s me right above in those SARMs before and after photos. The first picture (on the left) was pre-SARMs, or technically “Day 1.” The second picture was around “Day 85” even though it was technically supposed to be a 90-day cycle, I decided to take the picture a little bit early.
Before I started taking SARMs my weight was around 147lbs and was around 12-13% body fat. Certainly not “out of shape” but definitely not turning heads at all. In the second picture, which was near the end of my SARM cycle, my body weight shot up to 160lbs at 8% of total body weight being fat. Not bad, not bad at all.
In total, my SARMs transformation experience taking them was incredible. My energy levels shot through the roof, I had WAY more strength, and I was way more aggressive in all endeavors in life. I attribute this mainly to the Ostarine.
As you can see, I’m also far more defined and lean in the second picture. While the Ostarine certainly helped with this, I attribute this effect primarily to the Ligandrol and Cardarine I was taking. Those two SARMs are usually taken for shredding, and boy did they do a damn good job at that.
As for the food I ate, I followed a traditional bulking diet. I did cheat here and there, but for the most part, I aimed to get about 180 grams of protein per day, and about 300-500 calories above maintenance.
My Stack & Dosages
UPDATE: Since Proven Peptides has shut down recently, I now recommend Science Bio. For your convenience, I have updated the links in this article accordingly.
Depending on your goals, the cycle you want to run might change… but if you want similar results to me, you can follow my dosage guidelines.
For my cycle, I took the following doses each day:
In retrospect, I would’ve doubled the doses, but I wanted to use the “minimum effective dose” to see just how powerful these selective androgen receptor modulators really were.
For my source I used Proven Peptides, which was a great experience. They are quick to respond via email, and even have a phone line you can call.
(They’re out of business now, so I recommend Science Bio instead).
My package arrived within 5 days, and they are definitely legit.
Ostarine (25mg)
I would attribute a lot of the mass gains I got to the MK-2866, more commonly known as Ostarine. I took 25mg of this stuff each day. Studies have shown that it’s one of the strongest SARMs out there, and after my cycle, I can personally attest to this claim myself.
I felt the Ostarine kick in within just a few days, and noticed increased strength. Within a week I was breaking personal records in the gym, too. MK 2866 is one of the best SARMs for packing on lean muscle mass while also accelerating fat loss and preventing muscle wasting.
Ostarine is probably my favorite selective androgen receptor modulator, because not only incredibly versatile (it can increase muscle mass OR be used for cutting), but also has so few adverse effects.
Ligandrol (10mg)
Ligandrol, otherwise known as LGD-4033, is another great SARM, too. I took 10mg of this stuff each and every day, for 90 days straight to see how much muscle growth I could achieve.
MG per MG, Ligandrol is actually stronger than Ostarine. Many people compare Ligandrol to anabolic steroids, because of how incredibly anabolic it is. LGD 4033 is known for its sheer muscle building abilities, and is known for helping users pack on wet muscle mass (as opposed to cut and dry).
Ligandrol also speeds up protein synthesis, accelerates fat reduction, increases bone density, and much more. In just a few months (even on just LGD 4033) you could see a significant increase in muscle.
Cardarine (10mg)
I didn’t really know what to expect with Cardarine, to be honest. I still ended up taking 10mg/day for my cycle, though… and I’m glad I did. The SARMs results I got from Cardarine were amazing; my endurance literally shot through the roof overnight.
According to studies, Cardarine can increase endurance by over 200% compared to placebo. I definitely noticed this in myself. This helped me go harder and longer in the gym, which was great. I found that it was easier to do long and grueling workouts than ever before.
It doesn’t really help you build more muscle, but it’s great if you’re skinny fat and want to improve your endurance. It also doesn’t affect your natural testosterone production, so no PCT is needed (if you’re using JUST Cardarine, that is).
My Results (Video)
Like I said, my overall SARMs before and after experience was awesome. I got to eat a shit ton of food all the time, and as long as I hit my macros, I was gaining many pounds of muscle mass and losing many pounds of fat too. In fact, I even resorted to a dirty bulk at times, because I had to eat so damn much to keep up with my gains.
I felt the SARMs kick in within a day or two, which was awesome. I felt a huge surge of strength, and could easily blow past my previous plateaus in the gym with no problems. By around Day 14 the effects began to peak, and from here on out, it was smooth sailing.
I started hitting personal records in the gym within a matter of weeks, not months, which was great. I also found it WAY easier to shred fat and build muscle, which are some obvious benefits you’ll experience after taking Ostarine and other SARMs.
The biggest benefit, in my opinion, was the increased aggression and dominance. I felt that girls could sense these things, and responded so much more favorably to me in social interactions. In addition to this, the added strength, energy, and libido were also great.
It got to the point where I had to have sex at least once a day, otherwise I’d just be so pent up with sexual energy. This is not unlike when you’re on steroids, although I felt that the effect of SARMs was much “cleaner” than anything I’ve ever done before. Very few to no side effects, very few to no worries.
My First Cycle (90 Days)
The picture above contains my entire 12 week cycle of Ostarine (MK 2866), Cardarine GW 501516, and Ligandrol (or LGD 4033), plus my post cycle therapy, or PCT for short.
For this particular SARMs stack, I decided to do a 12 week cycle instead of an 8 week cycle. I’d rather go all out for 3 months, than for just two.
The reason why is because in my experience, 60 day cycles of anything don’t always give you the “full effect” since it takes you a few weeks to really get into the swing of things and get a feel of things. With SARMs though, this wasn’t the case.
I felt the benefits of the Ostarine, Ligandrol, and Cardarine almost instantly—within a day or two. Compared to steroids, which often don’t even start to hit their full effects until after week 4, this is lightning quick.
Steroids, especially the slower acting ones such as Testosterone Enanthate, can take up to a month to fully start kicking in. I felt the effects of the MK 2866 stack hit full me in full force, after using it for just one week.
RAD 140 SARMs Before And After
For my second SARMs cycle, I decided to do a 8 week cycle of RAD 140 (Testolone) just to see how much muscle mass I could gain. After just one cycle, RAD 140 was my new favorite SARM.
I wrote a full review of my 8 week RAD 140 cycle results that you can check out for more photos of my results, but here’s a quick summary.
My Testolone Cycle SARMs Results
For 2 months I got on a cycle of RAD 140 which is a SARM known for helping users boost their strength, and gain tons of lean muscle mass. RAD 140 is comparable to anabolic steroids in this regard.
In just 2 months of using this SARM I was able to put on a whopping 21 pounds of muscle mass, while also cutting off 12 pounds of fat loss.
My RAD 140 Experience
Testolone, otherwise known as RAD 140, is one of the best SARMs on the market for building muscle mass and increasing strength in users. It’s known for packing on pounds of muscle (and lean mass at that!) while also helping users shred off pounds of fat like butter.
Here are some benefits of using Testolone:
- Amazing for Lean Muscle Building
- Great for First SARMs Cycle
- Build New Muscle Tissue
- Prevent Muscle Wasting While Cutting
- Accelerate Fat Burning
The dosage for RAD 140 usually ranges between 15 milligrams and 30 milligrams per day. Anything more than this, and you risk having some potentially negative side effects, so stay within this dosage range.
However, that being said, I didn’t experience any side effects while I was on my 8 week Testolone cycle, but you should use a SARMs PCT just to be safe.
Ostarine SARMs Before And After
Stacking SARMs is one of the best ways to gain a ton of muscle mass, increase your lifting capacity, and start cutting down fat fast as hell.
The photos above are from a SARMs stack that I took months ago, while I was using both Testolone and MK 2866 (Ostarine) at the same time.
I wrote a full review of my Ostarine and RAD 140 cycle here that you can check out, but let me give you the basic recap of what happened.
Ostarine & RAD 140 Results
In a nutshell, I shredded off 4 pounds of body fat, and gained 9 pounds of muscle in literally just 30 days. If you want proof that SARMs work, literally just take this stack.
…and if you REALLY want to bulk up, try throwing in a growth hormone secretagogue like MK 677, or maybe a healing peptide like some BPC 157 with TB 500 added in the mix.
Any Negative Side Effects?
Admittedly, when you begin stacking a powerful SARM like MK 2866 with Testolone, like I did for this cycle, your risk of side effects rises.
Thankfully, there were very few unwanted effects from my SARMs stack, although some people may experience side effects at higher doses.
If you’re a beginner, consider starting off with just 5mg or 10mg of Testolone for an 8 week cycle, and then do a good PCT (post cycle therapy) to support your natural testosterone levels afterwards.
Workout Routine I Used
Next, onto the workout routine that I used. When you’re taking SARMs, you have a very precious 90 day period where your body is absolutely PRIMED to shred fat and pack on slabs of muscle. So having a proper workout routine is absolutely essential if you want to maximize your gains.
For my workout, I used the one I’ve been using for years: Body of an Alpha. I started developing it years ago when I was deep into weight lifting, and I just wasn’t satisfied with any of the routines I found online for free. So now, I’ve put it into a package deal and I sell it for a few bucks.
My Body of an Alpha routine is specifically formulated to develop that “V-Taper” that attracts women like a magnet. And while it was in large part the reason why I gained so much muscle during this cycle, you can use whatever the fuck routine you want.
I can’t give away the full routine, because that wouldn’t be fair to the people who bought it—but I can tell you what it’s based off of. The Body of an Alpha routine combines strength training with hypertrophy, which is what I recommend, so that you get the best of both worlds. Again, I cover it all in the book, but you can do whatever the fuck you want to do.
I’ve also written about the best workout routines for men, so you can choose one from there. To get the best results on your SARMs cycle however, I recommend you do some type of split (like PHAT or PHUL).
Common Questions
I’ve been getting a lot of emails and DM’s lately asking questions about SARMs, like when to take them, how to take them, if they affect testosterone levels, growth hormone, and more.
So, I’ve compiled a list of all the SARMs questions I could think of. If you think I left something out, let me know with a comment down below!
When to Take SARMs During The Day
A lot of people worry about when to take SARMs, but it’s not that big of a deal. You can take them whenever, as long as it’s the same time each day.
Most SARMs have a short half life, which means that SARMs like LGD 4033 and others get in your system very quickly, and also get out very quickly. Personally, I just take my SARMs first thing in the morning, at the same time every day. I take them right before my workout.
You also take SARMs on your off days, too. Most people don’t realize that you’re supposed to take them every day, even on off days. If you’re taking growth hormone secretagogues like MK 677 that are going to make you sleepy and increase insulin resistance, it’s best to take them during the evening.
SARMs Before and After Results to Expect
Based on the photos above, you can probably get a good idea as to how much weight you can lose, and the maximum results you can get.
Unfortunately there’s no “one size fits all” answer, because your results will depend on if you can train harder, eat better, and the like.
That being said, users can probably put on a maximum of 15 pounds pure muscle weight from one 8 week cycle, which is still a ton.
How Long to See Results With SARMs?
Personally, I felt the SARMs kick in very quickly. The Ostarine, Cardarine, and Ligandrol hit me full force within just 48 hours.
This might sound crazy, but because SARMs work differently than steroids, they hit you much faster, and get out of your system faster, too.
I noticed a big difference in strength within just a week, in gaining muscle, and by a month I looked visibly bigger. The muscle came on fast, and it came on hard.
Are There Any SARMs Side Effects?
Thankfully, there’s a lot of research to support the fact that SARMs have very minimal side effects, if any at all, aside from mild testosterone suppression that goes completely back to normal shortly after.
In fact, one meta-study, cited by over 150 other clinical research papers, stated the following about SARMs:
“The last decade has witnessed unprecedented discovery effort to develop selective androgen receptor modulators that improve physical function and bone health without adversely affecting the prostate and cardiovascular outcomes.”
-Boston University School of Medicine
In other words, according to most clinical research, SARMs are not only incredibly powerful, but also very safe when compared to steroids, growth hormone, and other anabolics.
How to Cycle SARMs
In general, you want to do SARMs for 8-12 weeks, and then take a break for at least a month or two. Doing regular SARMs cycles prevents your HPG Axis from shutting down.
You can still keep doing SARMs, though. It’s simply best to wait 8-12 weeks in between your SARMs cycles. This gives your androgen receptors time to normalize, and the post cycle therapy time to work.
Do You Keep Your SARMs Gains?
Thankfully, yes. After your SARMs post cycle one, you can expect to keep about 80% of your muscle mass gains, so long as you do a proper post cycle therapy.
If you haven’t already, read that article. I cover exactly how you can keep almost all of your gains after your SARMs cycle, with a proper PCT.
Extra Tips from Jon
To get the most out of my SARMs cycle, I also took a bunch of muscle building supplements to support my body while on cycle.
Here’s what I took to get the most out of my cycle:
- Whey Protein (Every Day)
- Creatine (5-10 Grams Per Day)
- Pre Workout (Only on Workout Days)
- NAC (1200mg/Day)
I’ve written guides on all of these supplements, so I recommend you check them out. That being said, I’ll give a brief overview.
The whey protein is important, because you want to get enough protein for your muscles to fully recover. This is key to building muscle.
The creatine also helps a lot with explosive movements, so it’s one of the best ways to build muscle faster. Read my full guide to creatine for more info on this.
In addition to the whey protein and creatine, I also took pre workout before I hit the gym. You don’t need it, but it’s REALLY helpful.
I’ve written about the best pre workouts before, and my personal favorite is Nitraflex. I take it 30 minutes before I hit the gym, and it helps a lot.
Lastly, was the NAC. This is an enzyme that your liver uses to detoxify your body, so it was just an added precaution to keep my liver safe on SARMs.
The Bottom Line
Overall, if I had to do SARMs again, I would’ve done two things differently. First, I would’ve taken about double the doses I took, and second I would’ve eaten way more food. If I had done that, I probably could’ve put on twice as much muscle and gotten down to 4% body fat.
Even with minimum doses though, my results were pretty superb. I had just gotten done with a major product release, in which I had neglected to go to the gym for a while—so it was nice to “jumpstart” my progress back to being jacked with a little “liquid magic” in a bottle.
If you’re a beginner, I recommend you try out the classic cycle of Ostarine, Ligandrol, and Cardarine first. It’s a great combination to not only pack on slabs of muscle, but also shred your body fat down so that you look like a chiseled Greek statue.
This was the first SARMs results article I’ve ever written, so if I left anything out please let me know in the comments section below. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed the article, and feel free to give me your feedback. I wish you many gains to come, and I’ll see you next time!
❓ How Much Body Fat Can You Lose on SARMs?
How much fat does an LGD 4033 or MK 677 cycle shred? This depends on many things, such as your body composition, your testosterone production, and your own body's androgen receptors. Generally speaking however, most people can expect to start losing fat very quickly, and with just one cycle most people experience 10-15 pounds of fat loss.
❓ How Much Lean Muscle Mass Can You Gain on SARMs?
How many pounds of muscle you can gain while on RAD 140 and other SARMs will depend on a few things. Each SARM will affect your muscle tissue differently, and some are better for fat loss while others are better for muscle growth.
That being said, you can expect to pack on 10-15 pounds of lean body mass from a cycle of most SARMs out there, although with bulking SARMs like MK 677 or YK11 you might gain more.
❓ Are Selective Androgen receptor Modulators Safe?
SARMs were initially researched as a treatment method for cancer patients and otherwise healthy elderly men suffering from muscle wasting. In a nutshell, yes. Even the strongest SARMs and most potent SARMs will have minimal testosterone suppression, minimal side effects, and are very safe.
Hi, i hope I can get an answer but i was wondering if I workout 6pm everyday would it be best to always take at 5pm an hour before the gym everyday OR better to just take in the morning? Its hard to keep the same schedule for me so timing really sucks, i need to figure this out so i just need to know what you think is best.
Looks like proven peptides is done. Just bought from science bio
Where do you recommend ordering everything from? Well at least the Sarms and pct.
As of now Rat’s Army. I say in the article, bro.
What do you recommend for people who have never taken sarms before? Is it necessary to stack or should a newbie just start with ostarine and a pct before moving to a stack cycle
I’d start your lab rat w/ either Ostarine or RAD 140
Hi, so everywhere I’ve been reading its best to take the dose first thing in the morning same time everyday. However I cant get to the gym until 6pm (ish). Would I be better holding off the dose and taking it at say 5 each day or will it not make much difference? Cheers in advanced!
It doesn’t matter as long as you take it the same time each day, Josh
Do you take the post cycle the same time with the stacked SARMS or use the SARMS for a few weeks and the post cycle for a week then go back to SARMS?
Hey great article man! I’m a female athlete and this is gonna be my first sarms cycle (I’m stacking ostarine, cardarine, and Ligandrol) and I was wondering how much I should be eating for maximum results to really build muscle and get a lower bf%. Should I be eating at maintainence or higher ??
I’ve found that eating at a 500 calorie surplus is good (even to do a recomposition), but that will change depending on the person. I’d just play around w/ macros and calorie goals and see which one works best.
Great write up, man. Just subscribed to your email list, too
Glad to hear it!
I think people have been stealing your before and after pictures, Jon. I’ve seen these pics on a ton of other websites for some reason
Yeah dude, they have. People have been ripping my pictures off for like over a year now, so be careful. Some of them even slap their own logos over mine (which really pisses me off), then use MY pictures to promote their own random SARMs companies. Pretty slimy.
Hey Jon I don’t know the makeup of your audience but it seems like if you have a lot of ogs here 45 and up for similar reasons you seem knowledgeable imagine what sarms would do to an OG!!!!!
Maybe I’ll write an article on that. Definitely lots of OG’s here
Loves me some Osta. Question for ya though Jon. I’ve seen mixed opinions on this, and was just wondering yours. I didn’t see any mention of it, or I missed it, but did/do you use any type of AI on-cycle? Some say its a must, some say its not at all. I’ve run cycles both ways and didn’t notice any difference, and wasn’t about to get blood work done when I wasn’t noticing any problems. Thoughts???
Depends. If you do really high dosage SARMs then yeah it’d probably be best, but my first 3 cycles didn’t even have one, I just did a test booster post cycle.
Hi Jon, how tall are you and how old are you? Your results look very impressive.
I am currently 19 years old 5ft8 170lbs at about 15% bodyfat. I started lifting 3 years ago and started at 110lbs. I have never taken any steroids yet, however I still do not feel “big” enough as my arms are still 15 inches and I’ve been stuck at this weight for a while. Any advice for a 19 year old to get bigger and leaner, and whether it’s safe to try any SARMS or should I wait until I’m older?
Thanks a lot
Hey, mate. I’m 5’8″ and 23 years old. It’s probably safe, but don’t take my word for it, I’m not a doctor. I didn’t use any unnatural methods until I was 21.
Get your testosterone levels checked and see if that’s the cause. I’d also get a good routine (of course, I recommend Body of an Alpha) and just eat more. A lot of the time your issue isn’t necessarily “working harder” but just “eating more.”
Hope this helps!
Has it been easy to keep the gains after you stop using?
Any experience using the Rad140? That one sounds very interesting.
Yep! I kept about 85% of my gains afterwards. Only reason I would lose my gains is if I couldn’t work out for some reason (traveling, work, etc.)
I completely agree with Jon and have to thank him for turning me to SARM’s. I’m a 40 year old guy, and have exploded in size…packed on more muscle the past 4 weeks than I have the prior year… I’ve never received so much feedback from family, friends and girls (they can sense masculinity from miles away-like a shark a d blood in the water). You always feel jacked it’s like you can feel your muscles growing during the day…it’s amazing stuff. I supplemented with Red PCT (snagged a bunch before discontinued) and Red Growth..again at Jon’s recommendation. Thanks for doing the research and writing about it Jon- the stuff is the real deal.
Of course, man! Glad to hear you exploded in size and are getting tons of positive feedback, haha.