Cardarine (GW-50156)

Despite often being classified as a SARM, cardarine (GW 501516) is technically a PPAR-delta agonist (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors). It is commonly marketed as a SARM, analogous to how a tomato, botanically a fruit, is sold as a vegetable. Initially discovered through collaborations between GSK and Ligand Pharma in the early 1990s, cardarine entered phase 1 trials in 2000 for addressing lipid strain but was discontinued in 2008. Today, it serves as a research compound and is utilized by athletes for performance enhancement and fat burning.

Medical Uses: Primarily developed to address obesity, diabetes, lipid strain, and heart health issues, cardarine has proven beneficial for lipid strain and substantial improvement in cholesterol levels.

Athletic Uses: Athletes across various sports leverage cardarine for enhanced endurance. Endurance athletes often stack it with the AMP analog drug AICAR or use it solo to extend their exercise duration, allowing them to achieve higher RPMs without premature fatigue. For bodybuilders, cardarine offers dual benefits—fat burning and improved workout endurance, enabling harder and longer sessions.

Doping: Abused by athletes before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, cardarine was banned by WADA in 2009, categorizing it as a ‘hormone and metabolic modulator.’ Several cyclists, including Valery Kaykov and Miguel Ubeto, faced consequences for its use.

Fat Loss: Cardarine demonstrates the ability to reverse metabolic abnormalities in obese and pre-diabetic individuals by stimulating fatty acid oxidation. It induces fat burning without dropping blood sugar levels, making it effective in preventing obesity.

Stacking: Cardarine can be stacked for different purposes, such as endurance, fat loss, anabolic steroid stacks, during PCT or bridge, and in a SARMs triple stack for recomp.

Side Effects: Side effects with cardarine are rare, but proper dosage and cycling are crucial. As it is not hormonal, there’s no need for PCT or suppression concerns.

Half Life, Use, and Dosage: The recommended dose for both men and women is 20 mg per day, with a half-life of 20-24 hours. Administration methods vary, with some taking the full dose before workouts and others splitting it between morning and evening. Cardarine is commonly administered orally, followed by the consumption of juice or water.