We recommend always using proper post-cycle therapy (PCT) after running a SARMs cycle. However, the duration and dosing of the protocol will be much different than following an anabolic steroid cycle. However, this also depends on which SARMs you use and how much you run. An example is a study done on Ostarine MK-2866, which showed it was not suppressive when running at 3mgs per day or less.[13] The problem with studies like this is they ignore that a performance-enhancing drug (PED) dosage necessary to illicit the best gains in an athlete would be 10X that amount.
Another factor is that certain non-SARM drugs, including GW501516 Cardarine, Nutrobal MK-677, and Stenabolic SR9009, are not suppressive at all. These are sold as SARMs but not the same thing, so the effects on the body will not be the same as the mainstream actual SARMs.
When you run SARMs, it is important to understand how our hypothalamus-pituitary-testis axis (HPTA) works. The pituitary glands are the brains of our reproductive system, and they produce luteinizing hormone (LH) and folliclestimulating hormone (FSH).
When you use SARMs, it will signal your pituitary glands to stop producing more hormones, causing it to become suppressed, which will reduce LH and FSH levels. When this happens, it will reduce the amount of feeding into your Leydig cells, which will cause lower testosterone levels. Luckily, we know from bloodwork that the suppression from SARMs is significantly less than that from anabolic steroids. However, it is still enough that if you do not have a proper PCT in place, you run the risk of having a slight crash when you come off the SARMs, which will accelerate the loss of muscle mass, strength, and even libido. Many people also experience a drop in motivation, poor mood, and erectile dysfunction.
SARMs will leave the system much faster than most anabolic steroids, so your post-cycle therapy should be starting sooner. Most SARMs have around a 24-hour half-life. Half-life means that after that amount of time. Half of the compound will remain in your system, then after another duration of that time, half will be left, and so on. A good rule of thumb to figure out active life is multiplying the half-life by 5X. In this example, if something has a 1-day half-life, then that means it will be active in the body for around five days. Due to the fact most SARMs are only active around five days after you stop taking them, we recommend you start PCT immediately following your last dosage to ensure your PCT products are at peak levels once the SARMs clear your system. This will help give you a soft landing and make things much easier on yourself.
Remember, the objective of using a PCT after SARMs is not to jumpstart your HPTA, cause a rebound, or any other type of bro science theory. The ONLY objective of PCT is to provide your body with a soft landing. Unfortunately, if PCT is not done correctly, it will not only cause a hard landing, but it can delay your recovery. I have seen instances where people have needed months to fully recover from a SARMs cycle because they did not do things correctly. In the worstcase scenario, there have been examples of people who created permanent HPTA damage from running way too aggressively PCTs that did more harm than good.
The bloodwork and the HPTA
I have seen thousands of bloodwork from people who have run SARMs, and I can confidently say that they are nowhere near as suppressive as anabolic steroids. This is excellent news and means that it will be easier to recover from them because your LH and FSH have a much shorter distance to bounce back. A man should have LH and FSH levels somewhere between 3IU/L and 8IU/L. Remember, without healthy levels of these two hormones, you will not produce testosterone properly. Your total testosterone levels should be somewhere between 350-950ng/dl. When you use anabolic steroids, your LH and FSH will drop to near 0, meaning you are completely shut down. This also means it will take you much longer to recover after using them since you have a much longer way to go to get back to normal levels.
