Ostarine vs Rad 140: What Are the Differences?

Around 50% of people visit the gym at least twice per week. While many people work to get fit naturally, others turn to special compounds and supplements to accelerate their progress. 

While a significant number of gymgoers and athletes have used anabolic steroids, more of them are trying selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), synthetic drugs that are seen as an alternative. In addition to being readily available, many people believe that SARMs such as Ostarine and RAD 140 are safer than steroids and lead to fewer side effects.

In this guide, we’ll tell you more about Ostarine vs RAD 140 and will compare these two popular SARMs.

Understanding SARMs

Before comparing Ostarine and RAD 140, it’s important that you remember that SARMs can only be sold for research in the United States. They aren’t FDA-approved and are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

SARMs are risky when used by humans and are still in the research stages, so it’s important to keep this in mind. Despite these disclaimers, however, SARMs are readily available online and are often marketed to bodybuilders as legal steroid alternatives.

It’s also important to realize that SARMs are banned in professional and college sports. If you’re an athlete, you’ll especially want to think twice about using SARMs to accelerate muscle growth or using them for body-building purposes.

While we’ll be discussing the potential benefits of using SARMs in this article, remember that you’ll need to follow all laws and regulations based on your location.

What Is Ostarine?

MK 2866, which also goes by ostarine, is a SARM that’s well-researched. It has a reputation for being milder than other SARMs that are out there.

There is a lot of well-backed scientific data available on Ostarine. Right now, Ostarine is in phase 2 clinical trials and there’s a good chance that it could get approved by the FDA in the next several years.

The research for Ostarine is mostly centered around the treatment of muscle wasting disorders, but there are many potential Ostarine uses. Other benefits of Ostarine include improved muscle mass and strength.

Like other SARMs, the way that Ostarine works is by targeting the body’s androgen receptors selectively. Because it targets them in a selective way, there are fewer side effects than when taking steroids. 

What Is RAD 140?

RAD 140, which also goes by Testolone, is one of the more powerful SARMs that’s available. Like Ostarine and other SARMs, RAD 140 selectively targets the body’s androgen receptors.

The strength gains and muscle growth benefits of RAD 140 are especially high, and those who use it tend to experience significant results in the gym. RAD 140 also doesn’t cause water retention, so many people like the appearance that the SARM offers them while they’re using it.

After going through a cycle of RAD 140, bodybuilders find that they have gained a lot of lean muscle and strength.  

Half-Life of Ostarine Vs RAD 140

One of the things to consider with SARMs is their half-life. A half-life is known as the amount of time that it takes the levels of a compound to reduce to half.

Ostarine has a significantly shorter half-life than RAD 140. While Ostarine has a half-life of just 24 hours, RAD 140 has a half-life of 60 hours.

It’s important to note that while the half-life differs, the recommended dosage frequency is the same. Both of these would need to be dosed every 24 hours, despite the difference in the half-life of these SARMs. 

What Affects How Long They Stay in Your System?

While generally, the half-life for Ostarine is 24 hours and the half-life for RAD 140 is 60 hours, there are a variety of factors that can affect how long one of these compounds stays in your system.

The dosage you take is one of the main things that will affect how long a SARM stays in your system. In addition to this, your genetics and physical characteristics will play parts in how long they stay in your system.

Some of the main things that will affect the duration of SARMs in the body include your metabolic rate, your weight, and your genetics.

Choosing Dosages

Despite RAD 140 being the stronger SARM, the dosages that people tend to use are the same between both of these compounds. Generally speaking, men will take between 10-20 mg per day while women will take between 5-10 mg per day.

Remember that high dosages can cause more significant side effects as well. Consider your dosage carefully before you start a cycle of one of these SARMs.

Benefits

If you’re reading this article, you might be wondering about the benefits and advantages of each of these SARMs.

Remember that RAD 140 is the stronger option and Ostarine is a bit milder. RAD 140 will offer better benefits than Ostarine when it comes to muscle growth and fat loss.

Here’s what you should know about the reported benefits of these SARMs when used.

Increased Muscle Mass

When it comes to building muscle with a SARM, RAD 140 is one of the best options and you’ll see significantly better results with it than with Ostarine. You may be able to gain more than twice as much mass with RAD 140 than with Ostarine when following an intensive training regimen and putting in the required effort.

Remember that you’ll also need to work hard while using one of the SARMs if you want to see results.

Increased Strength

In addition to gaining muscle mass, these SARMs can also help you to gain a significant amount of strength as well.

In this category, RAD 140 is also the clear winner. RAD 140 will boost your strength significantly and you’ll be able to break your personal records regularly.

Ostarine will also improve your strength significantly as well, but not to the extent that RAD 140 will.

Keep in mind that with both SARMs, strength will likely be reduced a bit after your cycle is finished. You’ll need to keep up your training and ensure proper nutrition after the cycle is complete to maintain the strength that you’ve gained. 

Fat Loss

While these SARMs won’t cause you to lose fat on their own, they can help with body recomposition goals as long as you pair them with an adequate caloric intake. You’ll need to eat at a caloric deficit or have only a small caloric surplus in order to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

Taking one of these SARMs will aid in the process of body composition in similar amounts and the results won’t vary as much as in the other categories.

Remember that although they can help with body recomposition, these SARMs are more commonly used for muscle growth rather than fat loss. However, it’s true that they aid in body recomposition and with retaining and gaining muscle as long as you’re following a proper diet as well.

Side Effects

As with steroids, there are side effects to using SARMs such as Ostarine and RAD 140. It’s important that you don’t ignore these but that you take them into careful consideration if you’re thinking about using a SARM for muscle building or for any other purpose.

While RAD 140 offers stronger benefits than Ostarine, Ostarine offers fewer and lighter side effects. This makes deciding between them a bit more difficult.

Here are some of the main side effects that you should think about when using one of these SARMs.

Testosterone Suppression

Like anabolic steroids, SARMs can suppress the body’s natural testosterone and prevent the body from producing it. This is true with both Ostarine and RAD 140 as well. However, the amount that these two SARMs suppress testosterone varies by quite a bit.

RAD 140 is likely to cause major testosterone suppression in a person who takes it, especially if the dosage was high. Ostarine, on the other hand, doesn’t cause nearly as much testosterone suppression as RAD 140 does. 

Increased Aggression

When taking steroids or SARMs, one side effect that people worry about is increased aggression. When it comes to Ostarine and RAD 140, these side effects aren’t very common as some of the other side effects.

Ostarine virtually has no effects on aggression or mood, so you won’t need to worry about this particular side effect. On the other hand, it is possible to experience increased aggression and mood swings with RAD 140, although this isn’t true for everyone.

RAD 140 is actually the only SARM that is consistently linked to increased levels of aggression in the same way that steroids can cause increased aggression. 

Liver Toxicity

Another side effect that comes from using SARMs is liver toxicity. Every SARM will be somewhat hepatoxic and the same is true for both Ostarine and RAD 140.

With this in mind, it’s important to consider the dosages of the SARM you use carefully. A lower dosage will be less harmful than a higher dosage.

If you’re only taking one of these SARMs for a cycle, however, you likely won’t have problems with liver toxicity. It’s only with extended usage and high dosages that most people should be concerned.

With pre-existing liver problems, however, you’ll need to think carefully about using Ostarine or RAD 140. You should consult your doctor to ensure that you’re making a wise decision. 

Joint Pain

While it’s uncommon with these compounds, it’s possible that you could experience some joint pain when taking either Ostarine or RAD 140.

This side effect may or may not occur and may vary based on the size of your dosages. However, you’ll want to keep this side effect in mind and watch out for it. It’s one possibility that you may need to deal with if you use one of these SARMs.

Hair Loss

It should come as no surprise to you at this point that while Ostarine is pretty kind to your hair, RAD 140 causes some unwanted side effects. Many users of RAD 140 report that they shed a pretty good amount of hair while on a cycle.

Keep in mind that this hair loss tends to be temporary and your hair should come back fine once your cycle is over. 

Cholesterol

Another side effect of these SARMs is that they can decrease high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the body and this can lead to a reasonable increase in blood pressure. RAD 140 cholesterol changes can be even more significant than that of Ostarine.

It’s important to consider the state of your health when taking a SARM and ensure that it’s right for you. If you experience hypotension, it’s best to avoid these compounds. 

Pricing

One of the final things to compare between Ostarine and RAD 140 is the price. Typically, you’ll find that the pricing isn’t significantly different.

RAD 140 is usually just a bit more expensive at around 15-20% more than Ostarine but the price difference isn’t significant enough to make a big difference in your decision-making process when choosing to use one of these SARMs.

You’ll want to consider the benefits and side effects first and foremost when choosing which of these compounds to use. 

Summing Up the Differences

As you can tell from the information above, deciding between these SARMs isn’t as clear-cut as you may have hoped.

RAD 140 is clearly the stronger compound and will have a much more significant effect on your muscle growth and strength development over the course of a cycle. However, the side effects of this SARM tend to be worse as well, so it can be more dangerous than Ostarine can be. Ostarine offers milder benefits than RAD 140 but the side effects are much less extreme as well.

You’ll need to consider your willingness to take risks and your physical health if you’re thinking about using SARMs to ensure that you can stay safe during a cycle. 

Making the Choice to Use a SARM

If you want to understand the differences between Ostarine vs RAD 140, be sure that you consider all of the information outlined above. You need to be sure that you understand both the benefits and the side effects of SARMs such as Ostarine and RAD 140 before you decide whether using them is right for you.

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