Andarine (S4) SARM 101: The Bodybuilder's Guide (2024)

Andarine is a SARM that I would call one of the mildest ones we have available, but it’s one that a lot of PED users still hesitate to use at all. Here’s why: Andarine comes with a possible (but likely) side effect that understandably causes some of us to worry more than we would with some of the more common sides of SARMs or even steroids. But I’ll talk more about that later on in this guide.

What I will say now is this: I’m not here to tell you either way whether to use Andarine. I will present the facts and my experience with this SARM below so that you’re in a better position to make your own informed decision. So, let’s dive in and discover all there is to know about Andarine!

What is Andarine?

Andarine has been around since the early 2000s and, since then, has built up popularity pretty quickly among bodybuilders and performance users. But with new and potentially better SARMs being developed, Andarine has now become one of the lesser-used SARMs despite its known benefits.

Does that mean Andarine is not worth considering for your SARMs cycle? Absolutely not! I still like it, and it is still used by many bodybuilders – just not as much as some newer and more powerful SARMs.

We could almost consider Andarine to have a small cult following. Those who have long enjoyed using it will continue to, while others don’t understand the appeal.

Have you wondered how Andarine compares to other SARMs and PEDs? Make sure you check out my comparisons later in this guide to see how Andarine lines up against some of the best alternative options.

History and Overview

Andarine was developed by GTX, Inc. (one of the major SARMs developers in the world), but it was never approved for human use by the FDA, and research has since been discontinued. The areas of most interest in the medical research of Andarine included conditions like:

• Muscle wasting
• Osteoporosis
• Prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hypertrophy)

Without any published studies involving humans, we have no official data about results that can be achieved in controlled environments.

So, why did Andarine never make it to human clinical trials?

Nothing was ever revealed, but it’s widely suspected that it had something to do with the fact that Andarine causes some pretty alarming changes to how your eyes temporarily process light and dark.

We don’t know whether researchers caught on to this side effect through observing use in the performance community or whether it was through an unpublished human study. In any case, Andarine is now “history” as far as research goes, but it’s still very much alive for some of us bodybuilders.

Mechanism of Action

Andarine is a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM). It works by binding to the androgen receptor in muscle and bone tissue. This binding activates the androgen receptor, signaling cells to increase protein synthesis and growth. Because of this selective muscle and bone targeting, Andarine has fewer side effects than steroid androgens like testosterone.

But you know what? No SARM is going to be perfect. Some will cause unintended side effects, and in Andarine’s case, there’s a unique side effect that you have to live with for a while or choose another PED. I’ll go into this more later.

These unintended consequences are just a reminder of why SARMs like Andarine are experimental chemicals and the potential risks involved in using them.

Effects of Andarine (Benefits)

Andarine is one of the most mild SARMs you can use in terms of its effects. If you’re looking for extreme results, it won’t be one to go for, but it can be very effective in a cutting or body recomposition cycle.

This is not a bulking SARM when used on its own. Yes, it can promote some lean gains, but they will be moderate. If that’s your primary goal, far better SARMs that can promote much more significant muscle gains are available.

OK, I know what you’re thinking: Why bother using Andarine? Put simply, it does have some incredible effects. Here are the main ones:

Strength Gains

Andarine is capable of providing surprisingly considerable gains in strength. I say surprisingly because too many people think of this as a mild SARM. Muscle gains are mild compared to other SARMs, but strength gains are a different story.

The amount of extra strength you feel will be dosage-dependent, diet-dependent, and also dependent on how hard you usually train. Some users find that this strength boost feels more like an endurance boost, but again, this is going to come down to how you’re training.

When cutting, cardio exercise is a prominent part of working out, and there’s no doubt the extra strength in the legs can translate into added endurance.

If you stack Andarine with any bulking SARM, these strength gains are going to translate more noticeably into lifting heavier weights and will only help to further your muscle gains.

As if that’s not enough…

Andarine will also help maintain your strength levels while you’re on a cutting diet, where a lack of energy and strength are almost certain without the support of a SARM like this. Since most of us will use Andarine while cutting, I feel this effect is Andarine’s most vital and valuable benefit.

Fat loss

Even though Andarine is regularly used for cutting cycles, it doesn’t directly promote fat loss, so you can hardly call it a fat burner. If you’re already lean, Andarine will make you look leaner; your muscles will look harder, and veins will become more prominent.

The fat loss experienced on an Andarine cycle will mostly come from your hard work (training plus diet) and the extra endurance and strength you feel, which will propel your workouts to a higher intensity.

Vascularity

With body fat loss comes a more defined and lean physique and more prominent veins. Just how vascular you can appear with Andarine will significantly depend on how low your body fat levels are and how lean you are. When done right, you can see highly prominent vascularity with Andarine – especially from the three-week mark and onwards.

Improved Bone Density

With one of its core medical research goals being possible osteoporosis treatment, it’s not surprising that Andarine will have some positive benefits on bone density.

A study on rats found that Andarine is effective at preventing bone loss, so we know it works^[1]. This isn’t an effect you can see or even feel, but there are countless health benefits for maintaining stronger bones.

Increased Muscle Mass and Preservation

Andarine is often used for cutting cycles, acting as an anabolic agent to preserve your lean muscle. You could put on a few pounds of lean muscle if you’re eating enough calories, but Andarine will never match a true bulking SARM like LGD-4033 or RAD-140 for gains.

Faster Recovery

All SARMs will promote faster recovery after intensive workouts, and Andarine is no exception. There will be less muscle soreness and the ability to get back to working out quicker than you usually could.

Andarine Dosing and Administration

One of the significant downsides (in my opinion) of Andarine is that you need to take it two or three times per day.

Most other SARMs are once daily, thanks to their convenient half-life of 24 hours or so, but this is not the case with Andarine, so you’ll need to be committed to maintaining a consistent multiple daily dose for your entire Andarine cycle.

Doses

Unlike a lot of other SARMs, Andarine hasn’t been put through any human clinical trials or studies – at least none that were published. So, we do not have a baseline dosage to work with and likely never will. This means anecdotal experiences from performance users are the best way to consider a suitable dose for you.

I’m going to bring up that elephant in the room again with Andarine: the vision changes that we all want to avoid. Higher doses will raise the risk, and this side effect will be more severe.

So why not stick to no more than the upper recommended limit? That’s what I do (and I consider it the maximum dose for me, but taking less is also acceptable).

• And that maximum dose is 50mg of Andarine per day.
• Split that into 2x 25mg administrations each day.
• Going above 50mg is when side effects become more noticeable and less tolerable.

Andarine has been used for YEARS by bodybuilders, so we have a good amount of unofficial information about what doses work and don’t. The standard experience and advice is that 50mg of Andarine is ideal for most users. Here’s a general guide to Andarine bodybuilding doses for different experience levels:

Beginner

The lowest effective dosage of Andarine as a beginner or first cycle is 25mg. People who experience the vision side effects will often not go beyond this dose in future cycles. Be aware that the side effect is still very possible at this lower dose (but may not be as severe). Testosterone suppression should be minimal at this dose, too.

Intermediate

50mg daily of Andarine is a limit that many people stop at, but it’s also the dosage that typically provides the very best results. If you’re alarmed by the visual side effects at this dose, then you won’t be confident to raise it further (unless you don’t mind ignoring it, as many of us do).

Advanced

This is a path to go down ONLY after you feel very comfortable at 50mg daily over at least one month. Advanced Andarine users are known to increase to 60mg and even bump it up to 75mg per day. This high dose is almost certain to worsen the visual side effects.

Some people are just happy to persevere with the yellow/green tint and other vision issues at these higher doses in favor of better results. It comes down to whether this trade-off is worth it for you.

Female

Females can follow similar dosage guidelines to the above, although they may want to avoid the higher dose of 50mg just in case of potential virilizing effects.

Andarine is not a first-choice SARM for most female PED users. Still, when used at moderate doses, it can provide the same benefits and effects as men experience, with the possibility of increased muscle gain thanks to females being more responsive to the relatively mild anabolic effects of Andarine.

Bioavailability, Half-life, and Cycle Length

Pre-clinical studies showed that Andarine has excellent bioavailability and rapid absorption when administered orally in animal models^[2] and a very short half-life that will dominate the way you use it.

You’ll need to plan out your dosing each day because, with a half-life of just 4 to 6 hours, a twice-daily administration is needed. Some will even split it into three daily doses.

There is a benefit of a short half-life like this, though: if Andarine doesn’t agree with you or if you’re not coping with the visual changes it can cause, you can stop using it, and it will clear your body very quickly (thus ending those side effects promptly).

Are you wondering what the ideal cycle length is for Andarine? Eight weeks is the typical length, but some will run it for up to 12 weeks. Two main things to consider when planning your cycle length are:

• Testosterone suppression
• Vision changes

It goes without saying that the longer your Andarine cycle, the more pronounced these sides will be. Eight weeks is the best balance between getting the best results and managing these side effects.

Dosing Schedule and Administration Methods

With a half-life of just a few hours, you need to be committed to splitting your Andarine dose into at least a twice-daily administration. Here’s why:

• First, it stops your levels from dropping to a point where Andarine has no noticeable effects for the remainder of the day.
• Secondly, it can help to reduce the visual-related impacts. They can still occur, but it should be more tolerable without that big upfront dose hit.

So when should you take Andarine?

I like morning and evening doses, with 6 to 8 hours between each dose. I’ve read some users who swear that Andarine is effective when taken pre-workout, but this is entirely anecdotal, and you would have to experiment with your dosage timing.

Andarine Cycles

Andarine excels at cutting cycles thanks to its ability to bring about a hard, dry physique without water retention. This, in turn, promotes a nice vascular and defined body, which is what we aim for on a recomposition cycle or even a basic cutting cycle.

What does this mean for you?

The ball is in your court as far as the level of results you can see; with the proper diet and training, cutting results with Andarine can be as good as some of the more popular and powerful SARMs.

Andarine Cycle for Men

Some men might overlook Andarine and think it’s too weak of a SARM to bother with. This would be the right attitude if you only want a bulking cycle. Still, males using Andarine for a cutting or recomp stack (or even on its own) will see excellent results: Some fat loss while keeping their existing muscle, a dry and hard physique with increased vascularity, and noticeably increased strength.

Males love the lean and dry gains, the fat loss, and the strength boost, which many find is better than Ostarine. Any guy who has high-quality Andarine has nothing but positive comments about its effects.

Not surprisingly, virtually 100% of negative comments or reviews about Andarine are about its visual side effects. Some guys will deal with this by persevering, while others find they need to stop the cycle. This personal preference will depend on how badly you might be affected by the vision changes.

Andarine Cycle for Women

Andarine is not commonly used by women, at least not as much as some other SARMs like Ostarine and even steroids like Anavar. In general, women should find it to be a very similar experience to male users in terms of both results and side effects (minus the suppression).

Female Andarine users are also going to revolve around maintaining that existing muscle while dropping some body fat, noticing the physique becomes more dry, hard, lean, and vascular. At the same time, the increase in strength will allow you to raise your lifting weights.

Females will find it easier to gain muscle with Andarine than men simply because any anabolic effect will be more pronounced in women than males, who require a considerably higher anabolic potency to build a lot of mass.

Andarine vs. Other PEDs

There are dozens of SARMs, steroids, and other types of PEDs we can compare Andarine to and weigh up the pros and cons to decide on what’s better to use.

I want to look at a few of the more commonly asked-about comparisons and how Andarine stacks up against some of the most popular SARMs like Ostarine, RAD-140, and Ligandrol:

Andarine vs. Ostarine

Ostarine is a very similar SARM to Andarine in its chemical structure, and it’s almost possible to say that Ostarine is just like Andarine but without the vision side effects.

While this isn’t entirely true, they are closely related and have similar effects. And yes, Ostarine does come without those alarming visual sides. But Andarine has some advantages as well.

In my experience:

• Andarine provides better strength gains than Ostarine
• Andarine brings about more vascularity
• Ostarine feels more suppressive than Andarine
• Ostarine has healing benefits for the joints, while Andarine only improves bone density

If you don’t want to choose between these two very good SARMs, you could look at stacking them and get the best of both worlds! A popular stack is Ostarine + Andarine + Cardarine, and I’ll cover that stack later in this guide.

Andarine vs. RAD-140

RAD-140 is more of a bulking SARM, and Andarine is better for cutting. That’s a simple yet still accurate way of comparing these two PEDs in the most basic terms.

Here’s an overview of some essential differences between Andarine and RAD-140:

• RAD-140 can give you more significant muscle/mass gains than Andarine
• RAD-140 is much more potent at much lower doses than Andarine
• Andarine has more tolerable side effects besides Andarine’s vision issues
• RAD-140 requires only one daily dose (much longer half-life)

Those are just a few of the points I wanted to focus on; there’s much more to compare when looking at RAD vs. Andarine.

If you’re bulking, it’s a clear choice – RAD-140 is the better option. For cutting, Andarine is better. But what about recomp? Check out the following comparison below for my view on this.

Andarine vs. LGD-4033

New SARM users will often ask about these two and which is the better one to take, but they are quite different, and the one that’s best for you will depend on your goal.

Andarine is better for gaining strength and a lean physique, while LGD-4033 is one of the best bulking SARMs. Here are some key differences to know about:

• LGD-4033 can cause water retention, while Andarine is a dry SARM.
• LGD-4033 will be more suppressive.
• LGD-4033 will give you much more significant lean gains.
• LGD-4033 will impact your cholesterol more.
• LGD-4033 can cause flu-like symptoms.

In short, LGD-4033 comes with more side effects than Andarine but is the preferred SARM of these two if you’re doing a bulking cycle. I’d prefer not to line these two up against each other but to consider them a perfect recomp stack! More on that in the section below.

Stacking Andarine

Andarine is versatile enough to stack with different SARMs and PEDs, and in my opinion, this is how it’s best used.

It’s not a strong SARM on its own, but once you start pairing it with SARMs that have complimentary benefits, you’re going to be able to create a cycle that’s a more hardcore cutting, recomp, or even bulking stack.

Andarine + LGD-4033 (Recomp Stack)

Some users will compare this stack to doing a Masteron steroid stack. You can get some nice hard gains with this cycle, but your dosage of LGD-4033 will determine if you have to deal with much fluid retention. I prefer to keep it low and let Andarine help develop a lean, vascular result, while Ligandrol will boost pumps very nicely and help you gain some mass.

Benefits

• Strength gains
• Muscle gains
• Andarine will offset some water retention
• Fast recovery
• Great pumps
• Improved bone density
• Vascularity

Dosing

• Andarine: 50mg daily
• LGD-4033: 5mg daily
• Cycle length: 8 weeks

Possible side effects

• Water retention
• Testosterone suppression
• LGD flu
• Negative cholesterol changes
• Vision problems
• Hair shedding

Results

Moderate muscle gains are possible: 5-10lbs of lean muscle that should be all or mostly retained after your cycle. Andarine will help dry out your physique despite LGD-4033 causing water retention (one good reason to keep LGD’s dosage low in this stack). If you want more bulk from this stack, increase Ligandrol’s dosage to 10mg, but just be prepared for more water retention.

PCT

Enclomiphene: 12.5mg for three weeks, then 6.25 mg for one week. Clomid and Nolvadex are also good options.

Ostarine + Andarine + Cardarine (Cutting/Recomp Stack)

This is a powerful body recomposition stack that is focused on both gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time. With no water retention, you can achieve steroid-like cutting and recomp results with a hard, dry, defined, and vascular physique to rival that of an AAS cycle.

Benefits

• Simultaneous loss of fat and muscle gains
• More strength, stamina, and endurance
• Faster recovery
• Improved bone density
• Muscle maintenance while on a calorie deficit
• Cholesterol support from Cardarine
• Joint strengthening

Dosing

• Andarine: 50mg daily
• Ostarine: 25mg daily
• Cardarine: 20mg daily
• Cycle length: 8 weeks

Possible side effects

• Vision changes
• Testosterone suppression
• Cancer risk of Cardarine
• Headaches
• Hair shedding
• Acne

Results

Each of these PEDs brings some powerful benefits to the stack. Expect incredible endurance thanks to Cardarine, exceptional fat loss, and fast recovery times that get you training again as soon as the next day.

The supportive effects, like joint strengthening, will help minimize and get rid of any niggling aches and pains that might usually bother you. Simultaneous muscle gain can see you putting on 10lbs of lean mass while dropping 3-5% (or more, depending on your current body fat ratio) of fat.

PCT

I recommend bloodwork if you want to accurately find out if/how much you get suppressed on this cycle. Mild to moderate suppression is possible, although it might not be obvious symptoms-wise.

Bloodwork is the only way to know for sure, or run PCT anyway using a standard 4-week cycle of either Nolvadex, Clomid, or Enclomiphene.

Andarine + RAD-140 (Bulking/Recomp Stack)

Depending on how you eat and train, this can be a bulking and recomp stack in one. Both of these are dry SARMs, so you’ll see insane definition and vascularity with zero water retention.

Benefits

• Muscle and strength gains
• Bone density improvements
• No water retention
• Fast recovery turnaround
• Lean, hard, dry physique

Dosing

• Andarine: 25-50mg daily
• RAD-140: 5-10mg daily
• Cycle length: 8 weeks

Possible side effects

• Testosterone suppression
• Vision changes
• Cholesterol
• Hair shedding
• Anxiety

Results

Think of a dry Andarine cycle with an excellent definition and vascularity, plus the increased muscle gains RAD-140 will provide. RAD-140 will also build on the strength effects of Andarine, powering up your lifts. Recovery times will be further shortened.

As for how much lean mass to gain – this isn’t a hardcore bulking cycle, but with the right strategy, you can be looking at 10 lbs or more of very clean gains.

PCT

If you choose to take only 5mg of RAD-140 in this stack, you might think you can get away without PCT, but in any case, I like to cover my bases and run a simple Enclomiphene cycle of 4 weeks: 12.5 mg (3 weeks), 6.25 mg (final week).

Andarine PCT

Andarine is only a mildly suppressive SARM; you might or might not be able to use it without PCT. This is going to depend on the dose and length of your cycle, as you will expect.

But it doesn’t end there: You might not even know you’re suppressed while or after using Andarine, and that’s where bloodwork becomes vital. One thing is sure: If you stack Andarine with any suppressive SARM or other PED, you’ll need to be prepared to do PCT.

For an Andarine-only cycle?

Most of us recover naturally within two or three weeks after stopping the cycle. Andarine’s very short half-life helps with this, as most of it will be eliminated from your body very quickly after your last dose.

Make sure you check out my guide for a more in-depth look at PCT for SARMs.

Andarine Side Effects

Andarine is remarkably side-effect-free. This is possibly the most side-effect-free SARM there is, with two exceptions:

• Testosterone suppression: generally very mild, often not even requiring PCT
• Visual changes

Andarine’s most notable side effect that everyone talks about is the strange changes to your vision it can cause. And this is the leading reason why some people won’t use Andarine at all, even though it’s only a temporary problem that goes away after your cycle.

What do “vision side effects” actually mean, though? It tends to take on two or three types of experiences (none of them pleasant):

• First is a changed sensitivity to light. Many Andarine users notice that this side effect comes on at night and results in a delayed adjustment time when you move to and from light and dark environments.
• Then, the most widely reported issue is a yellow or greenish-colored tint to your vision.
• Lastly, a smaller number of Andarine users notice a black dot of varying sizes in one or both eyes, which can come and go. You might see these being called “floaters,” and they’re certainly annoying.

You might get just one of these issues, or you might be unlucky enough to notice all of them at various times.

So, how long can you expect these visual changes to last? In my own experience and from the reports of the majority of users, most of us have our vision to return to normal within one week of stopping Andarine.

As annoying as this side effect is, do you know one positive thing that comes out of it? If you get these eyesight changes, you know you’ve picked up some high-purity Andarine. If you get through an Andarine cycle with no vision problems, you’re either very fortunate or you’re using a bunk product.

What about cholesterol and liver values, you might be asking? We’re used to PEDs causing severe issues with the cardiovascular system as well as liver toxicity. Andarine is not known to pose a significant risk to either liver or cholesterol health. It’s not thought to be liver-toxic at the doses used by most bodybuilders and has a minimal negative impact on cholesterol.

That’s where bloodwork again comes into it:

Blood testing (including getting a baseline before your cycle) is the only true way to know whether Andarine is causing any negative health issues, and there’s always the risk that sensitive individuals could experience complications with this or any other SARM.

Women can expect the same side effects as men with Andarine besides testosterone suppression.

Where to Buy Andarine?

Have you thought about where you might buy Andarine once you’ve decided to run a cycle?

Andarine is sold for research purposes only, but with little to no scrutiny (for now) of who is purchasing Andarine and how it’s being used, your main concern will be finding a high-quality, trustworthy supplier.

I recommend starting your research now and not jumping into the first source you find.

So, where can I buy it? Here are my top picks:

Author’s Note: The effects of PEDs vary from person to person and depend on many variables, including type, dosage, frequency of use, and interactions with current medications. Please speak with a healthcare provider or pharmacist before starting any PEDs.

Availability of Andarine

Andarine is widely available online from all the major (and not so) SARMs, peptides, and research chemical suppliers. It will usually be labeled as Andarine, S4, or both. You can choose from two forms of Andarine:

• Liquid
• Capsules

Powder forms of Andarine are also sold. This requires more work on your part to mix and formulate each dose, so most SARM users like me will stick with liquid products as they’re the cheapest, most easily found, and easiest to take.

We know Andarine has complete bioavailability when administered orally. Hence, it makes perfect sense to use a liquid unless you really can’t stand the taste or sensation of having it under your tongue.

Is Andarine Legal?

You can legally buy and use Andarine in just about every country besides Australia, where SARMs are illegal.

Andarine (and all SARMs) are classified as investigational drugs or research chemicals in the US and most other nations. This makes it legal for manufacturers to sell Andarine to researchers.

Should you be worried about buying it for bodybuilding purposes?

You won’t be checked or verified whether you’re a researcher and what you’re using Andarine for. What sellers are not allowed to do is label or market Andarine as a drug or supplement.

In 2019, a bill was introduced to the United States Senate titled the “SARMs Control Act of 2019“. This bill aims to “more effectively regulate” SARMs and place them in the same category as anabolic steroids as a controlled substance.

However, several years later, this bill remains in the introduction stage of the process, with no further progress having been made. If the legislation does eventually pass, SARMs may become more difficult to purchase in the US.

But for now?

They can still be sold as research chemicals and easily purchased online.

Typical Pricing

Andarine is priced very similarly to most other SARMs in liquid form. A 30ml bottle of 50mg/ml concentration can cost between $60-$80. If you’re using Andarine for the first time, I’d recommend a lower concentration; 25mg/ml bottles are available, and these can be found for under $60.

Most online SARM sellers will claim their S4 Andarine is a 99% or higher purity product. Some will provide third-party certification.

As the buyer, it is up to you to research a quality Andarine supplier and not rely on the marketing. Remember that the online SARMs research chemical market is largely unregulated, allowing unscrupulous sellers to try to sell poor quality or fake Andarine.

As for the capsule form of Andarine, these will typically come in bottles of 60 capsules dosed at either 10mg, 15mg, or 25mg, costing anywhere from $60 to $90, depending on the supplier.

Final Thoughts

I’ve always thought of Andarine in the same way I do with Cardarine: that this is a SARM you’ll either be down for using or you won’t be. Yes, that’s based on just that one vision-related side-effect issue, but I know it worries a lot of people.

I’ve seen plenty of people outright say they’ll never touch Andarine just because of this. That’s understandable, and we certainly have plenty of other options. I see it as just annoying more than anything else. I’m yet to hear of anyone who has suffered permanent vision damage after using Andarine.

But you know what?

Aside from that one issue, Andarine is such an easy SARM to use with virtually no other side effects to worry about. We can hardly say that about any other SARM!

Andarine isn’t the most potent SARM; consider it somewhere in the middle of LGD-4033 and Ostarine in terms of potency. But it’s great for stacking, and I find its effects to be more than potent enough, considering how mildly suppressive it is.

I’m not here to tell you whether you should use Andarine or not – that’s up to you! I will continue using it, and so will many others who find the results outweigh the inconvenient side effects.

Related:

• MK-677 SARM 101: The How-To Guide to Ibutamoren
• S23 SARM 101: The Bodybuilder’s Guide
• Cardarine SARM 101: The How-To Guide to GW-501516

— Furious Joe