Many serious lifters may have heard of the more common SARMs such as Ostarine (MK-2886), Ligandrol (LGD-4033), and Testolone (RAD-140).
But there are rarer and newer SARMs on the market that you may not have heard of.
What Are SARMs? How Are They Used?
A sixty-day SARMs transformation
“SARMS” stands for “selective androgen receptor modulators.” These compounds work similarly to steroids by binding to the body’s androgen (male hormone) receptors and recoding DNA to become more efficient — or “tissue selective — at packing on muscle.
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Unlike anabolic steroids, which bind to androgen receptors in many tissues all over the body, individual SARMs selectively bind to androgen receptors in certain tissues, but not in others.
Although originally developed as “steroidal SARMS” for a viable cure for osteoporosis, cancer, and other diseases in the 1940’s by Ligand Pharmaceuticals, “non-steroidal” SARMS were pioneered in the 90s by GTx Inc giving us the SARMS we use today.
SARMs have presented themselves as an attractive alternative to androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) in recent years because they boast fewer side effects and because they occupy a legal grey area. SARMs are legal in most territories, with some notable exceptions such as Australia, where a prescription is necessary for them.
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It’s worth noting though, that, because of their anabolic and performance-enhancing properties, most SARMs are a prohibited substance and are listed as an S1 Anabolic Agent on WADA’s prohibited list.
As SARMs are more “tissue-selective” while boasting far fewer androgenic side effects — hair loss, acne, prostate enlargement, clitoral enlargement, unwanted hair growth, etc. —they have begun to become more popular than AAS in many parts of the world.
Bodybuilders and powerlifters alike run SARMs and even stack them with steroids to yield their desired results. This is because SARMs can yield keepable muscle and strength gains without drastic hormonal shifts.
SARMs also tend to be consumed in liquid form, another advantage if you don’t like the idea of having to inject yourself to take an anabolic compound.
SARMs cycles typically last between 2-3 months depending on the compound or stack (mixture of compounds taken), but this may vary according to several factors such as stack, user experience and dosage.
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The 3 SARMs You’ve Never Heard Of
AC-262 (Accadrine): The Lowdown on This Relatively Unknown SARM
AC-262 is a non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that was created and introduced to the market by ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, California.
Initial research on this SARM started in 2007 with animal studies and, as yet, there have been no human trials or studies done on it since. Likewise, there are few anecdotal reports about it (we could find only a handful of accounts on Reddit).
Before we go into more detail about AC-262, first we’ll give you a quick run-through of what SARMs are and how they’re used. If you want to read about SARMs in detail, we recommend consulting our one-stop primer on them, which features as part of our Ultimate Series on SARMs.
How Strong Is AC-262?
Our trusted provider SWISS CHEMS describes AC-262 as “a great alternative to… Ostarine.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/1QJI28HwyT8?feature=oembed
On the basis of two available studies (here and here), More Plates More Dates came to the following conclusions about the strength of AC-262:
“AC-262536 exerted up to 66% of the anabolic benefits of Testosterone, while simultaneously only exerting 27% as much Androgenic activity.
From this we can conclude that AC-262536 has an anabolic:androgenic rating/ratio of 2.45:1
For the record, none of the SARMs that have been developed are entirely selective for anabolic effects in muscle and bone without producing some trace androgenic effects in tissues.
The most notable being the prostate gland, which we can use as a gauge to assess how androgenic a SARM is based on its’ effect on the prostate gland to some extent.
There are several SARMs that have anabolic:androgenic ratios of 3:1 and up though, and those are fairly typical.
The highest ratio among the mainstream SARMs we are aware of is currently RAD-140 with an anabolic:androgenic ratio of 90:1.
This doesn’t mean that RAD-140 will significantly outperform AC-262536 in all aspects, but it does shed some light on what we can expect as we increase the dosage of AC-262536 in our research (the higher the dose, the more androgenic side effects we can expect to start cropping up, as opposed to RAD-140 where you can expect significantly more anabolic activity than androgenic activity each time the dosage increases).”
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Dosages
As we’ve already stated, there isn’t a great deal of information on AC-262 at the present. The rodent studies went as high as 30mg/kg, but without human studies it’s difficult to translate this into an equivalent effective human dose.
More Plates More Dates suggests that dosages between 10 and 30mg are effective, which are typical amounts for SARMs.
Do I Need a PCT if I Take AC-262?
Because SARMs mimic the role of naturally produced androgens in the human body, they will suppress levels of these hormones; however, the individual response will vary and some compounds, such as Ostarine, are generally considered to be less “suppressive” than others. As a result, some SARMs cycles might require post-cycle therapy (PCT) shortly after consumption or even liver protection such as NAC to combat hepatotoxicity from certain oral compounds.
If you want to know more about PCT, read our guide here.
What is ACP-105?
ACP-105 is a new selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), made by Acadia. The manufacturer claims that ACP-105 has as potent an anabolic effect as testosterone in in-vitro assays. In pre-clinical trials, ACP-105 has demonstrated a powerful affinity for skeletal muscle, making it a true SARM.
As with RAD 150, another new SARM we’ve recently written about, there isn’t a great deal of clinical information on ACP-105 compared with other SARMs like Ostarine. What there is, though, is certainly promising.
Before we go into more detail about ACP-105, first we’ll give you a quick run-through of what SARMs are and how they’re used. If you want to read about SARMs in detail, we recommend consulting our one-stop primer on them, which features as part of our Ultimate Series on SARMs.
How Strong is ACP 105?
Derek of More Plates More Dates fame has analysed the few studies of ACP-105, including these two (one – two) and has the following to say about ACP 105.
“The % of anabolic activity was determined to be 67%, with only 21% reversal of the prostate gland (which is used to measure androgenic activity).
From this we can conclude that this SARM has an anabolic:androgenic rating/ratio of 3.19:1
There are several SARMs that have anabolic:androgenic ratios of 3:1 and up though, so this is fairly typical.
While we can vaguely gather what we can expect from this compound (the comparisons that come to mind are Ostarine and S4), without knowing the binding affinity of the compound we can essentially only make shot in the dark guesses.
We do know what kind of interaction ACP-105 has with the androgen receptor though, which helps shed light on things a bit more.
Based on the information that was available, we know that ACP-105 is a partial agonist.
Full agonists induce greater levels of suppression, but are more potent (based on the information presented).
Partial agonists on the other hand, are less suppressive, but are typically weaker relative to Testosterone and DHT, which is the case with ACP-105.
A fairly low concentration of ACP-105 attaches to the androgen receptor better than DHT does, and is blatantly weaker than Testosterone and DHT in general.
In one sense, this is a disappointment as we are all awaiting the release of the end all be all SARM that is only exerts minor suppression, has minimal/zero androgenic side effects, and can rival or beat Testosterone in overall anabolic activity.
This is asking a lot though, and it would be more useful to simply compare ACP-105 to the other most promising mainstream SARMs to determine if it has a place in a researchers up and coming test protocols.”
So it looks like ACP-105 is more or less similar to Ostarine and Andarine in terms of anabolic performance.
The second study, in which mice that had and hadn’t been given ACP-105 were exposed to radiation and the results compared, also suggests that administration of the SARM may have motor-skill benefits such as increased speed, endurance, balance and coordination.
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Dosages
There’s not a huge amount of info on ACP 105 available, because of how new it is
The studies available on ACP 105 suggest an equivalent human dosage of around 11mg a day. Although there isn’t a great deal of information available, a dosage of 10-15mg a day seems to be agreed upon.
It’s worth noting that like Stenabolic, ACP-105 has a short half-life, which means that you may have to administer it up to three times a day, as the Redditor below notes. This may prove inconvenient for some, and lead them to prefer a SARM with a longer half-life like Ostarine.
Do I Need a PCT if I Take ACP-105?
Because SARMs mimic the role of naturally produced androgens in the human body, they will suppress levels of these hormones; however, the individual response will vary and some compounds, such as Ostarine, are generally considered to be less “suppressive” than others. As a result, some SARMs cycles might require post-cycle therapy (PCT) shortly after consumption or even liver protection such as NAC to combat hepatotoxicity from certain oral compounds.
It’s clear that ACP-105 is only a partial rather than a full agonist, which means it will have less of a hormone-suppressing effect than a SARM like LGD-4033. We believe it’s probably best for you to assume you will need some kind of PCT. Ideally, you’d have blood work done before, during and at the end of your cycle to gauge accurately the degree to which the SARM has or hasn’t suppressed your natural hormone levels.
If you want to know more about PCT, read our guide here.
How to Buy ACP-105
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RAD 150?
You may already know that there’s a SARM called RAD 140. Well, RAD 150 is RAD 140, but with some important updates; think of it as RAD 140 2.0 or RAD 140 service pack 1, etc..
Among the most important of the updates is that it has an increased half-life, or absorption time, which means that, once ingested, it can continue to be absorbed by the body for up to 48 hours. Most SARMs, by contrast, last only up to 24 hours.https://www.youtube.com/embed/PbW-u8ahl4c?feature=oembed
First, we’ll recap what SARMs are before we discuss this exciting new compound.
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The Benefits of RAD 150 over RAD 140
If you’re unfamiliar with RAD 140, we suggest you read up on it now: try our article on it, which is part of our Ultimate Series on SARMs.
It’s worth saying, first of all, that RAD 150, because it is so new, has even less clinical data to back up the claims made for it and its safety profile etc. We say this because we want you to know this if you are thinking of using it. A similar consideration is in play when you compare Stenabolic with Cardarine: both compounds have very similar properties and effects, but the latter, as the senior compound, has been studied to a far greater extent.
The lack of research on this new form of RAD 140 is a turn off for some
What is supposed to distinguish RAD 150 from RAD 140 is its duration. Because of a chemical process called esterification, RAD 150 is claimed to last much longer in the body than RAD 140; in fact, about twice as long.
The aim with this enhancement is to allow more stable serum levels of the compound over time, resulting in better muscle gain.
Not all Reddit users believe in the necessity of RAD 150
RAD 140 is generally considered to be the most ‘selective’ of all the SARMs, meaning that it has the least unwanted side effects. This is a property that has been retained, it is claimed, in RAD 150 too.
Whether RAD 150 also has the apparent neuroprotective effects RAD 140 appears to have, is unclear.
This Reddit user definitely recommends RAD 150: displaying his results for 12 weeks
All the anecdotal evidence, which will have to stand in for clinical data, suggests that users can expect roughly the same results from either compound.
When dosing with RAD 150, if you do decide to try it, you must take into account that it stays in the body for two days, rather than one.
