Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - This Is Everything You Need to Know About SARMs

Episode Date: November 17, 2017

You’re watching your calories and macros. You’re giving your workouts everything you’ve got. You’re spending a small fortune on workout supplements. And it’s all not enough. The needle just isn’t moving as quickly as you want. Maybe you’ve thought about turning to steroids. You know they work, but you also know about the side effects and health risks, and you’re not ready to take that plunge (har har har). And then you stumble upon SARMs, and you can’t help but wonder: Are these the holy grail of bodybuilding supplements? Can they really help you gain muscle and lose fat almost as effectively as steroids, but without any of the downsides? And they’re cheap and legal!? It beggars belief. That’s why many people are claiming that SARMs are the ultimate supplements for health-conscious bodybuilders, and why many athletes are singing their praises for performance enhancement and muscle-building purposes. It definitely sounds too good to be true, but is it? What does the science say? Well, in this episode, we’re going to get to the bottom of all of it. We’re going to look at what SARMs are, how they work, what research says about how effective and safe they really are. 4:04 - What are SARMs and how do they work?  10:23 - Why do people supplement with SARMs?  11:19 - How well does SARMs work?  15:51 - Are SARMs legal? Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

they're saying it's a very targeted way to induce muscle growth because they say that SARMs tell your muscle cells to grow, but without all the noise and mess that's caused by steroids. If you want to know what SARMs are and how they work and how effective they are, and if they are dangerous or not, then you definitely want to listen to this podcast. Now raise your hand if you've ever been here. So you're watching your calories, you're watching your macros, you're giving your workouts everything you've got. You are spending a small fortune on workout supplements. And despite all of that, it's just not enough. The needle simply isn't moving as quickly as you want. And then maybe you've thought about turning to steroids because you know that they work, but you also know that there are side effects

and potential health risks. And so you're just not ready to take the plunge. Get it? And then you hear about SARMs and you can't help but wonder, are these actually the holy grail of bodybuilding supplements? Can they really help you gain muscle and lose fat almost effectively as steroids, but without any of the downsides? And are they actually cheap and legal? I mean, it all beggars belief, right? It sounds too good to be true. And that's why many people are claiming that SARMs are, we are going to talk about how they work, and we're also going to go over what research says about how effective and safe they really are. This is where I would normally plug a sponsor to pay the bills, but I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in, so instead I'm just going to quickly tell you about something

of mine, specifically my newest supplement, which I'm very excited about, which is a 100% natural nootropic or brain booster called Ascend. Now, unlike many nootropics, Ascend doesn't target just one aspect of your mental capabilities at the expense of others. And it also doesn't rely on stimulants, which can produce immediately noticeable effects, but can also undermine critical brain functions and of course result in unwanted side effects. Instead, Ascend contains clinically effective dosages of five different nutrients that have been scientifically proven to support and enhance your focus, memory, mental speed, creativity, mood, and overall brain health. So if you want a healthier, happier, and higher performing brain that allows you to think faster, focus deeper, and feel better, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and try Ascend today.

And just to show how much I appreciate all of you podcast peeps, use the coupon code podcast at checkout and you will save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. So you really can't lose here. Head over to www.lesionathletics.com now, place your order, and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet. And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full refund on the spot. Alrighty, that is enough

shameless plugging for now at least. Let's get to the show. All right, so let us begin at the beginning. What are SARMs and how do they work? Well, SARM, which is spelled S-A-R-M, by the way, it stands for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator. And what it is, is a type of drug that is chemically similar to anabolic steroids, and therefore it can have similar effects in the body. Now, there are quite a few of these drugs on the market, and some of them are stronger and have a higher risk of side effects than others, but the more popular ones are as follows. You have MK2866, GTX-024 or Osterine. You have LGD-4033 or Ligandrol, LGD-3303, GSX-007 or S4 or Andorine, and finally GW-501516 or Carterine. Now, you might be wondering why these strange alphanumeric names, and that's

because SARMs haven't been approved for medical use. And so pharmaceutical marketers haven't bothered naming them yet. So you're looking at scientific names for compounds. Now, to understand how these drugs work, we first need to talk a bit about the physiology of hormones and how hormones work in the body. So hormones are chemical messengers that your body uses to communicate with cells. You can kind of think of them as like outgoing mail that contains important instructions. And when they reach these cells mailboxes, so to speak, the hormone receptors, the commands are then carried out. Now, androgens are a special type of hormone that produce masculinity. So they produce deeper voice, they produce facial hair, they produce more muscle and lower body fat levels and so forth. And the most well-known

androgen is one that you have absolutely heard of, and that is testosterone, but there are other ones as well. Now, androgens, they exert their effects in the body in three primary ways. One, they bind to your cells androgen receptors. So receptors specifically for these types of hormones. And you can think of receptors as like a lock and a key. So the hormone is the key and the receptor is a lock and it fits and then things happen. And another way that these types of hormones exert effects in the body is by converting to the hormone dihydrotestosterone, DHT, which then binds to androgen receptors. And lastly, by converting to the hormone estradiol, which is a major estrogen hormone, and that binds to a different type of receptor on cells, which of course are estrogen receptors.

Now, under normal circumstances, your body carefully regulates androgen production, and it relies on sensitive feedback mechanisms to prevent imbalances. But when you introduce anabolic steroids into the body, your cells become flooded with androgens, of course, and so many that all available receptors become fully saturated. And what this does is it sends an extraordinarily powerful message to all cells that are listening, including muscle cells, which then grow rapidly in response. And of course, this is good times for us weightlifters, but there are liabilities. For example, research shows that some of the side effects of anabolic steroid use are reversible and some aren't. Permanent damage

is possible. For example, some of the reversible changes include testicular atrophy, shrinking acne, cysts, oily hair and skin, elevated blood pressure, and bad LDL cholesterol levels, increased aggression, and lowered sperm count. And the irreversible damage includes male pattern baldness, heart dysfunction, liver disease, and gynecomastia, or bitch tits. And another major downside to steroid use is the risk of biological and psychological addiction. In one study, they found that 30% of steroid users developed a dependence syndrome. And if you speak to enough honest drug users, you will hear all about the addictive properties of these drugs. So for many years now, scientists have been trying

to develop steroids or steroid-like drugs that aren't as detrimental to people's health and well-being. And supplement marketers claim that SARMs are just that. They say that these are non-steroidal drugs that are designed to stimulate the androgen receptors in just your muscle and bone cells, which then has little effect on other cells in the body and thus on the endocrine system as a whole. So in a sense, what they're saying is when you take regular old anabolic steroids, you're kind of like carpet bombing your system with androgens. It gets the job done, but it's sloppy and it results in a lot of collateral damage. When you take SARMs though, it's like drone striking just the asshole whistleblower

journalists. I mean, bad guy terrorists. No jokes aside, they're saying it's a very targeted way to induce muscle growth because they say that SARMs tell your muscle cells to grow, but without all the noise and mess that's caused by steroids. Now, technically speaking, SARMs accomplish this in two ways. One, it's true that they do have a special affinity for certain tissues like muscle and bone, but not for others like the prostate, liver, and brain. And two, they don't break down into certain unwanted molecules that cause side effects like DHT and estrogen as easily as steroids do. And that second point is rather significant because one key characteristic of SARMs is they are not easily converted into an enzyme called 5A reductase, which converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone DHT, which is a driver of many of the unwanted side effects of steroid use. Studies also show that SARMs are resistant to the enzyme aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen. And finally, because SARMs are

less powerful than regular steroids, they shouldn't suppress your natural testosterone production as heavily, making them easier to recover from. Now, why do people supplement with SARMs? Well, these drugs were originally developed for people with diseases like muscle wasting, osteoporosis, anemia, and chronic fatigue. And as I mentioned earlier, they were intended to be a healthier alternative to testosterone replacement therapy. And whether they are ultimately going to fulfill that vision is yet to be determined. In terms of bodybuilding, bodybuilders usually take SARMs for one of two reasons. One, to kind of get their feet

wet with anabolic drug use before going into more traditional steroid cycles. And two, to increase the effectiveness of their steroid cycles without exacerbating the side effects or health risks. And many body builders also believe that SARMs are especially helpful for cutting because they help retain lean mass, but don't seem to increase water retention in the same way that certain steroids do. Now, how well do these drugs work? If we look to the literature, we find that research shows that SARMs indeed are not as powerful for muscle building as traditional steroids are, but they are certainly more effective than anything natural you can take like creatine or beta alanine or citrulline malate, even which can help you gain muscle faster, more through increasing the total amount of volume you can do

in your workouts. And SARMs are also popular among athletes because they are harder to detect in drug testing. Now, if at this point you are ready to run off to Google with your wallet in hand, not so fast. We are not done yet. Now we need to talk about the safety factor. Are SARMs safe? Now, these drugs have been around for a couple of decades and unfortunately are still lacking in human research. We really just don't know enough about how they work and we don't know enough about their potential long-term side effects, which are very legitimate causes for concern. Now, here's what we do know, though. One, SARMs do suppress your natural testosterone production. And one of the key selling points for many of these drugs is the claim that they do not blunt your body's production

of testosterone. And this is a lie. They absolutely do. For example, in one study, And this is a lie. They absolutely do. For example, in one study, male subjects taking three milligrams of the SARM osterine per day for 86 days experienced a 23% drop in free testosterone and a 43% drop in total testosterone levels. That's very significant. And similar effects were seen in another study as well with the drug ligandrol. In fact, SARMs are actually being investigated as a male contraceptive because they lower your levels of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone, which in turn reduces your sperm count and testosterone levels. And, you know, all that really isn't surprising when you consider the basic physiology in play. When you introduce androgens into the body exogenously from the outside of the body, you're putting them into your body,

your body recognizes this spike and it responds by reducing its own production. We also know that the more SARMs you take, the more side effects you will experience. So despite what you may have heard, SARMs are not completely free from side effects. The side effects just tend to be minimal at small doses. Bodybuilders, however, at least many of them, don't generally take small doses. And that's why they often experience many of the side effects that are associated with traditional steroid use, including acne and hair loss. We also know that SARMs are probably easier to recover from than regular steroids. And the reasons for that are really already covered. We recall that they don't convert into DHT or estrogen in the same way that steroids do, which means they also don't

impact your endocrine system as negatively. SARMs also aren't as anabolic as pure testosterone, which means that they probably don't suppress your natural testosterone production as much. However, I will say that there really isn't enough research available to know that for sure. We also know that SARMs may raise your risk of cancer. For example, several large trials on the SARM carterine had to be canceled because it was causing cancerous growths in the intestines of mice. And you may have heard about this and you may have heard that the doses used were much higher than anything us fitness folk would ever ingest, but that's not quite true. We have to keep in mind that rodents eliminate drugs from their bodies much faster than we do. So they have to receive higher doses to see the same effects.

So in the case I just cited, the mice were given about 10 milligrams per kilogram of carterine per day, which when you adjust that for the human metabolism comes out to about 75 milligrams per day for a 200 pound man. And that would be a high dose. But if you poke around on bodybuilding forums, you will find people that take that much and even more. And lastly, on this point, I know that you can't just extrapolate rodent research to humans because despite sharing 98% of their DNA, we are not big mice. So it's not clear that, you know, if that drug or other SARMs actually do increase our

risk of developing cancer. There's actually evidence that SARMs, at least certain ones, may inhibit certain kinds of cancer. So we just don't know yet. Now let's talk legality. Are SARMs legal? And the answer is yes, they are legal to purchase online or over the counter for now. And the reason for this is a legal loophole that you may have heard of, and that is the experimental chemicals loophole, meaning that these are being sold for non-human consumption purposes only. And okay, sure, right. So if you're an athlete, you should know that SARMs though, they are not permitted in most

sports. The World Anti-Doping Agency has already banned them. And the International Olympic Committee is supposedly gearing up to start testing for them as well. Also, given the history of steroid legislation, it's probably just a matter of time before SARMs are just banned altogether. So to wrap up, the bottom line on SARMs is these are drugs that deliver some of the benefits of anabolic steroids with fewer of the short-term side effects. These drugs are not as effective as steroids, but they definitely do

boost muscle growth more than any natural supplement on the market. They also appear to be safer than steroids as well, but that doesn't mean they're safe to take. Research clearly shows that these drugs do suppress natural testosterone production and they do negatively impact your endocrine system. And there's also evidence that they may increase the risk of certain types of cancer as well. Furthermore, we really have no idea if there are long-term health effects of SARM use because the research isn't there, but given the nature of the drugs, there likely are reasons to be concerned over the longterm. So if you want a very cut and dried recommendation from me, here it is. Stay away from SARMs. In my opinion, the risks of these drugs just far

outweigh the benefits and they're really not necessary to build a muscular, strong, and lean body that you can be proud of. make this the most popular health and fitness podcast on the internet, then please leave a quick review of it on iTunes or wherever you're listening from. This not only convinces people that they should check the show out, it also increases its search visibility and thus helps more people find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then just subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss out on any of the new goodies. Lastly, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at mike at muscleforlife.com and share your thoughts on how you think it could be better. I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback, so please do reach out.

All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode and I hope to looking for constructive feedback. So please do reach out. All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode and I hope to hear from you soon. And lastly, this episode is brought to you by me. Seriously though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead I'm going to just quickly tell you about something of mine, specifically my newest supplement, which I'm very excited about, which is a 100% natural nootropic or brain booster called Ascend. Now, unlike many nootropics, Ascend doesn't target just one aspect of your mental capabilities at the expense of others. And it also doesn't rely on stimulants, which can produce immediately noticeable effects, but can also undermine critical brain functions and of course result in unwanted side effects.

Instead, Ascend contains clinically effective dosages of five different nutrients that have been scientifically proven to support and enhance your focus, memory, mental speed, creativity, support and enhance your focus, memory, mental speed, creativity, mood, and overall brain health. So if you want a healthier, happier, and higher performing brain that allows you to think faster, focus deeper, and feel better, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and try Ascend today. And just to show how much I appreciate all of you podcast peeps, use the coupon code podcast at checkout and you will save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return

the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. So you really can't lose here. Head over to www.legionathletics.com now, place your order and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet. And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full refund on the spot.