MK-2866 (Ostarine)

Also known as MK 2866, Enobasarm or GTX-024, Ostarine is a very popular SARM (selective androgen receptor modulator). Originally, it was developed to prevent and treat muscle wasting, as well as osteoporosis. However, athletes use ostarine today as a performance enhancer to give them an edge over their competition.

Since it will not cause virilization problems in women, ostarine can be used by both females and males.

How it works

Ostarine binds to the androgen receptors just like anabolic steroids do, but it does this selectively, which means that it has considerably less side effects.

Studies

A 12 week double blind placebo controlled phase II clinical trial was conducted on ostarine, which showed that ostarine increased lean muscle mass and improved physical function without the negative side effects seen with testosterone or other anabolic steroids.

Medical uses

Ostarine was developed mainly for the treatment of muscle wasting and osteoporosis. Nonetheless, it also retains nitrogen and strengthens the joints. Therefore, it is a very versatile compound in matters of health benefits.

Athletic uses

Ostarine works like anabolic steroids do, but with way less side effects, and almost no suppression. In fact, blood work has shown that ostarine will suppress the HPTA (hypothalamic pituitary testicular axis) by only 10-20% vs. 95% seen with anabolic steroids. Hence, you can use ostarine as an additional or solo compound not only during your cycle, but also for post cycle therapy (PCT), and even the bridging phase. This makes ostarine a very versatile compound for the athlete.

Women will find ostarine to be a much safer alternative to anabolic steroids because it won’t cause facial hair, enlarged clitoris, or other masculine traits.

Furthermore, ostarine is also popular among powerlifters and bodybuilders due to its ability to strengthen bones and joints.

Healing abilities

Another reason why ostarine is so popular among bodybuilders and powerlifters, is that it has some noticeable abilities to strengthen bones and joints. This is a very important trait, since athletes may run into such nagging injuries as forearm or shin splints, neck pain, joint pain, back pain and many other injuries that never seem to go away. Unfortunately, many athletes make the mistake of taking harmful drugs to dull or kill the pain, which is merely a band aid, and on the long run this kind of abuse will make the injury go chronic and permanent.

However, ostarine can work its magic by increasing tendon strength, ligament strength, and bone density at a dose under 20 milligrams (mg) per day. Moreover, it doesn’t merely cover up the problem – ostarine actually fixes it. Thus, athletes will love ostarine’s healing effects on their inflamed joints.

Doping

All SARM’s, including ostarine, were banned by the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) in early 2008. However, this prohibition did not stop Nikita Novikov, Russian champion cyclist, from using it, since he was suspended for taking Ostarine in June of 2013.

Stacking

Depending on the objectives, there are a few ways to stack Ostarine:

1. Endurance: You can stack ostarine with cardarine for increased endurance before your workout or run.

2. Anabolic steroid stack: You can add Ostarine can to your existing anabolic steroid cycle in order to increase lean muscle mass and strength without additional side effects.

4. During PCT or bridge: Ostarine is minimally suppressive at 25 mg per day for 4 weeks or less. Thus, you can stack it into your post cycle therapy, or your bridging phase, to maintain strength and muscle.

5. SARMs triple stack: If you want to recomp (build muscle mass while losing fat at the same time), Ostarine stacks beautifully with andarine and cardarine.

Side Effects

Ostarine is not liver toxic, and it will not cause blood pressure or other organ strain.

However, some users have reported gynecomastia build up when running high dosages for extended periods of time. Hence, having an AI (aromatase inhibitor) on hand could be a good idea.

As stated, Ostarine is non-suppressive when used for 4 weeks or less at proper dosages, so no PCT is necessary. Nevertheless, those who choose to run higher dosages, and for longer periods of time, should run a PCT.

Half life, use and dosage

Ostarine’s half life is a very robust 24 hours, so only once a day dosage is necessary.

The liquid form should be shaken, squirted into the mouth, and swallowed immediately. It is also recommended to chase down with some juice or water. Furthermore, it is important NOT to hold ostarine under tongue or mix the liquid in a cup, as it can be lost.

Ostarine dosage is typically between 12.5-50 mg per day. The lower end dosages are for those who want to use it for its healing abilities, and the higher end dosages are for more recomping and muscle mass gain.