Andarine (S4)

Known as one of the milder SARMS that allow you to keep your muscle while on a cut, S4 had quite a few takers initially.

And why not?

It could make your muscles hard, vascular and dry right from week-1 onwards. Somewhat like Winstrol, only milder.

To add to this, it creates the perfect anabolic environment in the body allowing other compounds to kick in.

S4 was all over the place. People were adding it to cutting stacks, bulking stacks, body recomposition programs.

That was until anecdotal reports of vision side effects started to do the rounds.

At first the reports were mainly about seeing incorrect colors and the yellowish tinge to things. Sort of like seeing the world in Sepia.

But when reports about peripheral blindness began to hit, S4 became the bête-noir of SARMS lovers.

So much so, that sales almost dipped to zero. No one would want to mess with their vision after all.

Thankfully, good sense prevailed.

Some seasoned SARMS users stepped in with detailed logs about their S4 cycles. Turns out that the vision changes were individual-specific and mostly experienced at higher doses.

If you were skeptical about adding Andarine to your stack due to the vision side effects, then here’s the lowdown on this amazing first gen SARM.

The History of Andarine

Andarine or S4 was created by GTX labs as part of their research program on SARMS for the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

The current results indicate that S-40542 possesses the prostate-selective SARM activity, suggestive of clinical benefit against benign prostate hyperplasia. THQ compounds may be useful for the research of mode of action of SARMs and for the development of safe SARM antagonists.

Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

S4 was so effective in preventing dihydrotestosterone from binding to the androgen receptors, that for a while, it was being considered as a side-effect free alternative to Finasteride for treating BPH.

Well, to be fair, it may still replace Finasteride someday.

But there were some concerns about vision related side effects which put Phase-II of the clinical studies on the backburner.

Being a selective agonist of the androgen receptor, S4 also displays remarkable efficacy in helping increase lean muscle mass, promote lipolysis and boost strength even when you are not exercising.

All three characteristics that are desired the most by athletes, gym rats and bodybuilders.

That explains the eventual arrival of S4 in underground labs.

And right from day 1, it just took off.

Dosage and Half-life

Andarine has a very short half-life of approximately 3 hours.

So, the dose has to be taken multiple times a day to ensure that you have a consistent level of the drug in your body.

The recommend starting dose of S4 is 50mg/day divided into two or three doses, preferably once in the morning and once with your pre-workout meal.

However, some users also report excellent results at 25mg/day.

The advantage of starting with a low dose is that you are least likely to experience the vision side effects. Moreover, why up the dose and the risk if you can achieve your goals at the lowest dose?

The Effects of Andarine

Andarine is one of the most versatile SARMS that you can ever use.

That’s because irrespective of your bodybuilding or athletic goals, it fits right into your plans without negating the effects of the other compounds.

Muscle hardening:

Andarine will make your muscles harder and more vascular, making it an excellent finishing SARM. You can add it to your stack in the last six to eight weeks before a contest and finish with a ripped, aesthetic physique. The pumps are crazy and they last all day. Not just when you hit the weights.

Strength gains:

Andarine is not the de-facto choice for a strength increasing SARM. But it is one of the positives of the compound. You will notice a difference in your strength and endurance right from the second week of using S4. Some users report that by week 5 of the cycle, they have been able to break all their previous best lifts.

Fat Loss:

The exact way in which S4 helps the body burn fat remains unknown. But it is believed that it suppresses the production of Hormone Sensitive Lipase (HSL) which regulates the metabolism of stored fat. This signals the body to utilize stored fat for energy. To add to this, the muscle hardening and vascularity help the body look shredded like never before.

Muscle gain:

There are mixed reports among users about the muscle building capabilities of S4. But there are at least two clinical studies that have proven that S4 helps users gain lean muscle mass even at low doses. If anything, the negative reports might be due to unfair comparisons drawn with more powerful mass building compounds, like Ligandrol. S4 will help you gain muscle in a bulking cycle and retain your muscle when you are in a cut of coming off a cycle.

Andarine and Side Effects

Now we come to the most interesting part of this discussion.

Is S4 safe?

Well, that depends on how you use the compound and how you define safe.

For us, ‘Safe’ stands for any drug or compound that does not cause irreparable or permanent damage at standard doses. There might be side effects. But as long as they are manageable, we don’t care a hoot about it.

So, yes, S4 is safe.

But if you stretch the dosage beyond what’s recommended, then you might experience some serious side effects, which is pretty much the case with any drug.

Having said that, you might experience mild side effects even at low doses with S4.

Here’s the most talked about one.

Vision changes:

S4 causes temporary vision changes which fade off as you come off the drug. No medical intervention or corrective measures are needed. The most commonly experienced change is seeing a yellowish tinge to your vision.

For example, a white wall might appear yellowish instead. Some people have experienced a difficulty differentiating between black and blue colors. Blue appears to be black and vise-a-versa. Some others have experienced a reduction in peripheral vision at night. There might also be some difficulty adjusting when you move from a dark room to a well-lit one.

What’s more important is that all of these effects will automatically cease once your cycle ends. Also, these side effects are more likely to occur when you exceed the 50mg/day dose. It might also be individual specific.

Other than this, there are no notable side effects. It won’t shut you down. But there might be minimal suppression which should get restored once you come off the drug.

Is S4 worth a shot?

Definitely yes. If you are considering dabbling in SARMS then S4 is one of your best bets.

It’s a proven SARM. Just ensure that you know where you buy it from.