Testosterone is a hormone that is found in both the male and female bodies, although it is more dominant in males. It performs several important functions, particularly in the male body, including contributing to bone growth and strength, muscle mass, increased sex drive, endurance and for reproductive functions. Many individuals who work out on a more stringent exercise regimen and who would like to build more muscle mass opt to intake testosterone to boost their results. One of the ways in which this can be done is through selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). But what are SARMs, how do they work and how should you take them? This article explores the answers to these questions and more.
SARMs are a substance that artificially introduces testosterone in the male body. SARMs are typically ingested orally, and as a new class of drugs, they attach to the body’s male hormone receptors (hence the term androgen receptor). Their purpose is to target specific types of tissues. However it is important to note that when it comes to the question of what is SARMs, it must be kept in mind that they have not undergone the required phases of clinical trials and they are currently not approved for professional athletes, athletes in general or as medication that can be prescribed by doctors, but rather they can be taken as food supplements instead.
Because SARMs introduce additional testosterone in the male body, the question of what are SARMs used for can be answered briefly. They help with improving bone density and muscle mass. But it’s important to go back to Biology 101 here to help you better understand the process of ingesting particular substances such as testosterone or SARMs in your system.
It all starts with the ingestion process itself, which takes place orally. It must be remembered that testosterone on its own cannot be ingested orally with the desired effects because the breakdown processes that take place in the human body will break it down to such an extent that it will not be potent enough when in the system. After ingestion, the substance ingested goes into the stomach, which contains differing levels of acidity. If the substance is broken down by the stomach’s acidity, it will not continue into the human body. However, if it is not broken down by the stomach already, it will proceed to the intestines.
Here, the “vili” or fine blood vessels will then take the substance and transport it into the bloodstream. This is known as a pre-hepatic process because this is before the substance enters the liver. Once it enters the liver, the metabolic process begins and the substance will be broken down into further smaller parts. If the substance in question has additional properties, such as SARMs, it will be broken down into the SARM component. However, testosterone that reaches the liver will become inactive because of the chemical structure of the testosterone. From there, and once metabolised, the substance will enter the bloodstream and will affect the tissue with the appropriate receptors. These receptors are limited in number but they can grow, depending on the substance ingested and metabolised by the liver.
This is where SARMs come in. They are able to pass through the stomach’s “acidity test” and can be metabolised by the liver without necessarily breaking down into ineffective parts. So, SARMs are technically created to ensure that they pass through the body’s metabolic process in order to reach the desired tissue and have an effect on it. In this case, the affected tissue will be bones and muscles.
If you have decided that SARMs are the right choice for you, you need to be aware of when to take them. In general, it is advised that you consume them at the same time every day. In addition to this, you should start with a low dose and increase this gradually. Because SARMs can help stimulate increased testosterone production, they should ideally be taken for periods that range from eight to 12 weeks. After this, take a break for about a month or four weeks so that your body can rest from the excess testosterone production and to prevent your HPG Axis from “shutting down”. Furthermore, for optimal effects, SARMs should be taken about one hour before a workout.
Once you have chosen to use SARMs, two other important questions that will arise are how do you take SARMs and how to take liquid SARMs. The answer will vary depending on the specific SARM you’ve chosen because each one has different properties and as a result, its effect on your body will differ. But what’s more is that SARMs will affect different people in different ways. These will be dependent on factors such as age, general health condition, previous or current illnesses, etc.
In general, SARMs stay in your system for a period of around 12 hours. However, this will depend on the particular substance (SARM) used and its individual half life. When talking about a half life, or a plasmic half life, this refers to the time during which the concentration of a substance reduces by half and this is dependent on the liver and the person’s state of health. A long half life will mean that the substance will stay in the organism for longer, whereas the opposite is also true.
If you are after quick results, then SARMs may really be the right choice for you. This is because SARMs take about two weeks to start working. This will, of course, depend on every individual person and some may see results faster, whereas others may see slower results. It also depends on your training regimen, the quantity of SARMs ingested as well as the age and overall health of the person.
Because of the suggested time frames for taking SARMs and then taking breaks from them, we refer to what is called a SARM cycle. This is why it’s important to be aware of the fact that the frequency between SARM cycles will depend on several factors.
On the organism side, this will depend on the liver functioning, which will, in turn, affect how frequently a SARM should be taken. This will be on an individual and case by case basis. Other factors to consider include whether you are taking any other medication in conjunction with the SARMs, your physical condition and state of health, whether you have chronic illnesses, etc.
On the part of the substance itself, you need to look at the quantity or dosage of the SARM taken at a given time, the plasmic half life referred to above, and of course, the role of plasmic proteins. The blood is full of proteins and these have an affinity with each other. If the substance which you have ingested has an affinity to other proteins, the more “connections” will be made and the higher the percentage. This means it will remain in the organism for longer and have a longer lasting effect. The opposite is also true.
Therefore, the question that asks how long you should wait between different SARM cycles will be dependent on the two primary factors mentioned above: the state of your organism and the substance you’re taking itself.
It must be remembered that no clinical trials have been conducted for SARMs and it is not the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved. This means that SARMs are not yet deemed appropriate for human consumption. However, there are some SARMs, which users have taken, that have been considered as safe to use. These include Ligandrol and Ostarine.
In contrast to steroids or steroid-structure supplements, SARMs can cause less adverse effects in the human body. Examples of problems and physical conditions that can arise with the latter include but are not limited to: excess production of androgens, priapism (permanent erection), impotence, decreased spermatogenesis (production of sperm), gynecomastia ( lactation and increased breast size), premature closing of the epiphysis (the long bones, which can harm the skeletal system), reduction of testicular size, hepatic abnormalities, aggression and mood disorders and it may provoke the formation of cancerous cells that could lead to testicular cancer.
If you want to train with SARMs, you need to first clarify what your goals are. In this case, these can range from hypertrophy (increase in muscle mass) weight loss, strength, or a combination of these. For the first two, you’re likely to have a more intense workout regimen that lasts anywhere between four to six days a week. If your goal is the latter, you will also need to increase your intensity but reduce the number of workouts to around two to three per week. An appropriate diet should also be followed in your exercise regimen.
For those that take SARMs but don’t work out and are wondering what will happen, the biological answer is that you will have an accumulated testosterone production in your body. This also partially answers the question what happens when you stop taking SARMs? Another related question is what is a PCT SARMs? This question relates to Post-Cycle Therapy, which was discussed earlier.
Chemically speaking, SARMs do not have a steroid structure, with a few exceptions. They are therefore perceived as being similar in nature but they have some significant differences. For example, SARMs are generally ingested orally, whereas steroids are injected into the bloodstream. SARMs are believed to have fewer adverse side effects to steroids. SARMs also more effectively choose which androgen receptors to bind to, whereas steroids attach to any and all androgen receptors, including those of the heart muscle, which can be harmful to your health.
Although not FDA approved, there are many types of SARMs on the market and they are generally ingested as food supplements although they have much wider reaching effects. SARMs can therefore help with bone density, muscle mass and an increased libido. So, if you’ve decided that SARMs are the right choice for you, you can always purchase them from the comfort and convenience of your home as they are available for sale online. Click here to browse the SARMS in our online store.
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