GW 50156, also known as Cardarine, is a popular performance-enhancing drug that has gained a lot of attention in the fitness and bodybuilding community. This guide will provide an extensive overview of this remarkable compound, its potential benefits, recommended dosage, and possible side effects.
Table of Contents
What is Cardarine?
GW 50156, also known as Cardarine and Endurobol, is compound originally developed to treat obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
It has gained popularity in the fitness and bodybuilding community due to its potential to enhance endurance, increase fat burning, and improve overall physical performance.
It works by activating the PPAR-delta pathway, which increases the body’s ability to burn fat for energy and improves muscle endurance.
Cardarine history
GW 501516 is developed in the 1990s by GlaxoSmithKline and Ligand Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Cardarine went through a lot of studies and trials but was abandoned in 2007 when a study was done by GlaxoSmithKline that showed cancer development in rats.
What is less known, is that there where later studies that have contradictive results.
Even though Cardarine got abandoned because of safety concerns, athletes, bodybuilders, and others started using it because of the amazing endurance benefits and fat loss it provides. Some people also use it to improve their cardiovascular health.
What does Cardarine do to the body?
As we mentioned before, Cardarine is a PPAR delta receptor agonist. This means that it works by binding to and activating PPAR-delta in your cells (primarily in your muscles).
Activation of the receptor will increase fat-burning capacity and muscle production, as it changes the body’s fuel preference from glucose to lipids.
As a result, it is able to increase energy levels, burn more fat, and enhance endurance, meanwhile lowering blood lipid levels.
GW-501516 results
As we said, GW 50156 has great benefits in terms of fat loss, increased energy, enhanced endurance, improved cardiovascular health and more.
We will discuss the benefits of this compound in depth.
Increases fat loss
For many people the most important feature of Cardarine (GW 501516) is fat loss. Unlike most fat burning compounds, it does not act in a thermogenic way.
- Increased oxidative capacity in muscles – This means that we will burn more calories when exercising than we normally would without Cardarine.
- Suppression of Glucose metabolism – switching energy source from Glucose to fat. – This one is pretty self-explanatory. By switching the energy source from glucose to fat, we are able to directly burn off fat instead of first burning off the excess glucose that our body stored. In fact, the effect is very similar to a very strict ketogenic diet, but without actually doing the diet.
There have been a number of studies on rats and on people that proved that GW 501516 provides significant fat burning capabilities.
Enhances endurance
As we mentioned before, Cardarine increases endurance. It does this in two different ways:
- Suppression of Glucose metabolism (switching energy source from glucose to fat).
- Increased oxidative capacity in muscles.
The combination of these methods of action leads to a significant increase in endurance.
It should come as no suprise that many athletes use GW 501516 just because of this benefit. Several professional athletes use it to gain an edge over their competition.
This particular benefit of Cardarine is most noticable when used with endurance training but also applies during weight lifting. It is able to reduce recovery time between sets and increase the length of your training sessions.
Improved cardiovascular health
This is actually one of the main reasons Cardarine was researched and developed, to treat cardiovascular diseases.
Studies and animal testings on rats showed that GW 50156 has a very positive effect on our cardiovascular system. It reduced the damage done to rats, improved their blood vessels and reduced inflammation.
In fact, some steroid users who take very strong steroids that are hard on your cardiovascular system, like Trenbolone, often take Cardarine so that they can avoid damaging their cardiovascular system and can stay healthy.
In one study, 6 obese people received Cardarine in a double-blind, random and controlled trial. It helped to cure the symptoms of metabolic syndrome in all subjects without causing any side effects.
The participants took a maximum of 10 mg per day for only two weeks. After such a short period of time, positive changes in liver steatosis, insulin sensitivity and lipid levels were already visible. Therefore, we can conclude that GW 501516 is able to fight insulin resistance caused by obesity and chronic inflammation.
In yet another study, conducted this time on obese mice, Cardarine reduced the risk of heart disease by lowering LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin levels. It also reduced the overproduction of glucose by the liver. This means that Endurobol can be a good supplement for people with type 2 diabetes (if it has the same effect in humans).
Cardarine side effects
There are not many studies on the side effects, especially on humans. What we do have is a lot of anecdotal evidence and user reports about the pros and cons of GW 501516. Based on that, Cardarine seems like a safe compound with few side effects.
Because many people wonder about the possible risks associated with this substance, we will discuss 2 controversial properties.
Liver
Firstly, as mentioned earlier, GW-501516 has the ability to destroy degenerated liver cells. While this is usually a positive thing, it is definitely harmful for people with liver disease. In such people, whose liver has problems with proper work without additional means, Endurobol, by destroying some cells, aggravates these problems. This is why GSK has discontinued its marketing of the drug.
Cancer
The other potential side effect is also related to the benefit mentioned above. Due to the acceleration of the expansion of some cells, the risk of their mutation is also increasing, thus increasing the risk of cancer.
Please note that the above-mentioned side effects were observed during the studies on mice. None of these side effects has been observed in human clinical trials – however, these studies were too short for such effects to be observed.
That being said, there have been no documented cases that link Cardarine to cancer in humans. Later studies have actually revealed that GW 501516 may have anti-cancer properties.
Cardarine dosage and half-life
During clinical trials, the administered doses of GW ranged from 2.5mg to 10mg per day.
Athletes typically take 10 to 20 mg daily for 6 to 12 weeks, with 20mg being the most common dosage.
Cardarine has an active half-life of 16 hours, which is why most users divide their dosage into two servings.
If you plan to take 20 mg per day, it is best to take 10 mg in the morning and 10 mg in the evening to achieve optimal results.
What to stack with Cardarine?
Cardarine is often stacked with other SARMs, both for cutting and bulking purposes. While GW-501516 has little to no influence on muscular development or strength, it has impressive benefits on endurance and stamina.
GW can be stacked with SARMs such as Ostarine (MK-2866) to increase fat loss during a cutting cycle. When used in a stack with LGD-4033, RAD-140 or S-23, it is also an excellent addition to any bulking cycle.
Many users add GW-501516 to a steroid cycle, including trenbolone. Trenbolone is the most effective anabolic steroids for increasing lean muscle mass and strength in a short amount of time while simultaneously burning fat, but it has some serious side effects.
Cardarine can minimize several side effects associated with the use of Trenbolone, especially the negative effects on cardiovascular performance and lipid levels.
This is an example cycle of 8 weeks, stacking GW-501516 with MK-2866:
| Week | Cardarine dosage | Ostarine dosage |
|---|---|---|
| 1-8 | 20 mg per day | 20 mg per day |
Frequently asked questions about Cardarine
How to use Cardarine?
Since the half-life is relatively short, it is best to divide the daily dose in half. One dose should be taken in the morning before the first meal and the other in the afternoon. If you decide to take GW once a day, it is best to do this on an empty stomach – this ensures the best absorption.
Does Cardarine require a PCT?
GW-501516 does not target the androgen receptors like SARMs. This means that it doesn’t suppress testosterone production, and as a result there is no need for a PCT for this substance.
Is Cardarine legal?
GW 501516 is legal in almost every country around the world, except for Australia. That is, as long as it is sold for research purposes. Because it is not approved for human consumption by the FDA, it can not be legally sold as a supplement in many countries. On top of that, it is considered doping by all professional sport associations.
Is Cardarine suppressive?
No, it does not target the androgen receptors in the way that SARMs (and steroids) do. As a result, it has no effect on the natural production of testosterone.
Is Cardarine a SARM?
While Cardarine GW501516 is often mistaken for a SARM, it is actually a PPARδ receptor agonist.
How long can you cycle Cardarine?
GW-501516 is generally used in cycles of 8 to 12 weeks. Based on user reports, we know that tolerance sets in after 12 to 16 weeks. To get the most benefit, it is advised to take a 8 week break after that before starting another cycle.
Is Cardarine hard on the liver?
Clinical trials on Cardarine have not shown significantly elevated liver enzymes. However, anecdotal evidence has revealed that GW 501516 can cause some stress on the liver. There is no evidence of serious liver toxicity, but it doesn’t hurt to take some milk thistle with it.
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