SARMs Dosage Chart: Studied Doses, Cycles, and What the Research Shows

A SARMs dosage chart has to answer two different questions: what dose did researchers actually give people in clinical trials, and what dose do users say they take? For most compounds those numbers are far apart. Ostarine was studied at 1-3 mg a day in its muscle-wasting trials, while users commonly report 10-25 mg. LGD-4033 was tested at 0.1-1 mg a day, while reported doses run 5-10 mg. Many popular compounds, including YK-11, S23, and SR9009, have never been given to humans in a published trial at all.

This SARMs dosage chart lays out both sets of numbers side by side for 17 compounds, along with half-life, commonly reported cycle length, and regulatory status. Muscle & Brawn is an independent news and information publication. We publish, we do not sell, and we do not encourage the use of SARMs or anabolic steroids. Nothing here is a dosing recommendation. No SARM is approved by the FDA for any use, and all of them are banned in tested sport under the WADA Prohibited List.

The Complete SARMs Dosage Chart

The chart separates “Studied dose (human trials)” from “Commonly reported dose.” The first column comes from published clinical trials. The second reflects what users commonly describe in forums, surveys, and online communities. It is not a recommendation, and it has not been tested for safety.

A few notes on reading this SARMs dosage chart:

• MK-677 and Cardarine are not SARMs. MK-677 is a growth hormone secretagogue and Cardarine is a PPAR-delta agonist. SR9009 and SR9011 are Rev-Erb agonists. They are included because they are sold and discussed alongside SARMs.
• 4-Andro is a prohormone, not a SARM. It converts to testosterone in the body and is regulated as an anabolic steroid in the US.
• Half-life figures for Ostarine, LGD-4033, MK-677, and Cardarine are approximate values from early pharmacokinetic work. RAD 140’s 44.7-hour half-life comes from its phase 1 trial. Where no human data exists, no figure is given.
• WADA sections: S1.2 covers SARMs and other anabolic agents, S2 covers growth hormone secretagogues, S4 covers metabolic modulators such as PPAR-delta agonists, and S0 covers any substance not approved for human use.

Studied vs. Reported SARMs Dosage: The Five Compounds With Human Data

Five compounds account for most SARMs searches and most of the published human research. This is what each trial actually tested, and how that compares with the SARMs dosage users commonly report.

Ostarine Dosage (MK-2866, Enobosarm)

Ostarine is the most studied SARM in humans. In a 12-week phase II trial in 120 healthy older men and postmenopausal women, enobosarm produced dose-dependent gains in lean body mass, with the 3 mg dose reaching statistical significance against placebo.

A second phase II trial gave 1 mg or 3 mg a day to patients with cancer-related muscle wasting for up to 113 days. Both groups gained lean mass compared with baseline, with a median of 1.5 kg at 1 mg and 1.0 kg at 3 mg.

Later breast cancer trials used higher doses. A 2024 phase 2 study randomized women with advanced breast cancer to 9 mg or 18 mg a day. Increased liver enzymes were among the most frequent serious drug-related events.

The commonly reported ostarine dosage in bodybuilding communities is 10-25 mg a day for 8-12 weeks. That is three to eight times the dose used in the muscle-wasting trials, and no trial has tested it in healthy young men.

LGD-4033 Dosage (Ligandrol)

The only published human LGD-4033 trial randomized 76 healthy men aged 21-50 to placebo or 0.1, 0.3, or 1 mg a day for 21 days. Lean body mass increased in a dose-dependent way. So did suppression of total testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and HDL cholesterol. Free testosterone and FSH dropped significantly at the 1 mg dose. Hormones and lipids returned to baseline after the drug was stopped.

The same trial reported a long elimination half-life and dose-proportional accumulation with repeated dosing. That matters because the commonly reported lgd 4033 dosage of 5-10 mg a day is 5-10 times the highest dose tested, often run for 8-10 weeks instead of three.

RAD 140 Dosage (Testolone)

RAD 140 was first characterized in animal models, where it showed anabolic activity in muscle with less effect on the prostate.

Its only human trial was a phase 1 study in 22 women with metastatic breast cancer. Patients received 50, 100, or 150 mg a day. The most common adverse events were elevated AST (59%), elevated ALT (46%), and raised bilirubin (27%). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 73% of patients. The measured half-life was 44.7 hours, and 100 mg was set as the maximum tolerated dose.

The commonly reported rad 140 dosage among users is 10-20 mg a day for about 8 weeks. That is lower than the trial doses, but the trial population was very different, and RAD 140 has since appeared in case reports of cholestatic liver injury in otherwise healthy men. For how RAD 140 is commonly paired with a GH secretagogue, see our RAD 140 and MK-677 stack report.

MK-677 Dosage (Ibutamoren)

MK-677 has the strongest human dataset in this chart. In a placebo-controlled trial in healthy adults aged 64-81, doses of 2, 10, and 25 mg a day raised growth hormone in a dose-dependent way. At 25 mg, mean 24-hour GH rose 97% and IGF-1 climbed into the range of healthy young adults. Fasting glucose also rose significantly.

A two-year trial of 25 mg a day in 65 healthy older adults found fat-free mass rose by 1.1 kg versus a small loss on placebo. Body weight increased 2.7 kg. Fasting glucose rose, insulin sensitivity fell, and the most common side effects were increased appetite, mild leg swelling, and muscle pain. The gain in fat-free mass did not translate into better strength or function.

The commonly reported mk 677 dosage is 10-25 mg a day, which sits inside the studied range. Reported cycles are longer than for SARMs, often 8-16 weeks, because MK-677 does not suppress testosterone. Water retention is the side effect users mention most; we cover it in detail in MK-677 water retention.

Cardarine Dosage (GW501516)

GW501516 was developed by GlaxoSmithKline as a lipid drug. The first published human study gave healthy volunteers 2.5 mg or 10 mg a day for two weeks. HDL cholesterol rose in both groups and fat clearance after a meal improved. Development was later halted after long-term rodent studies raised cancer concerns.

The commonly reported cardarine dosage is 10-20 mg a day for 4-8 weeks. The top of that range is twice the highest dose tested, and the reported cycle is two to four times longer than any published human exposure. Our Cardarine side effects report covers the cancer findings in detail.

Why Reported SARMs Doses Run So Far Above Studied Doses

The gap in this SARMs dosage chart is not random. Three things drive it.

The trials were not built for muscle building in young men. Ostarine, LGD-4033, and MK-677 were tested in older adults, cancer patients, or short safety studies. The goal was preventing muscle loss, not adding muscle to trained lifters. Users looking for bigger effects push doses up.

Reported doses come from forums, not data. A 2023 systematic review of SARM safety in healthy adults found 18 clinical trials and 15 case reports. Elevated ALT was reported in an average of 7.1% of trial participants exposed to a SARM, and the case reports were dominated by drug-induced liver injury.

Products are often mislabeled. In the JAMA study of 44 products sold online as SARMs, only 52% contained a SARM at all. Another 39% contained a different unapproved drug such as MK-677, GW501516, or SR9009. Only 41% matched the dose on the label. A stated dose on a bottle is not a reliable dose in the body.

SARMs Cycle Length: What Users Report

There are no clinical trials of “cycles” in the bodybuilding sense. The longest human SARM exposures in the research are about 16 weeks for Ostarine and up to two years for MK-677. The sarms cycle lengths below reflect what users commonly report, grouped by how suppressive each compound is described to be.

Users commonly report bloodwork before and after a sarms cycle, including a lipid panel, liver enzymes, and testosterone, LH, and FSH. That reporting lines up with what the trials found: lipid and hormone changes showed up quickly, and liver enzyme changes were the most frequent safety signal.

Commonly Reported SARMs Stacks

Users commonly report combining a SARM with a non-SARM compound that works through a different pathway. None of these combinations has been tested together in a human trial.

Stacking two suppressive compounds is commonly reported to compound testosterone suppression and lipid changes. For a broader look at how these compounds compare, see our report on the best SARMs for bodybuilding.

SARMs PCT: Which Compounds Suppress Testosterone

SARMs PCT (post-cycle therapy) is a user practice, not a clinically studied protocol. No published trial has tested PCT after SARM use. What the research does show is which compounds suppress the body’s own testosterone.

In the LGD-4033 trial, hormones returned to baseline within five weeks after a 21-day course at 1 mg or less. Recovery after longer, higher-dose use has not been studied. Our PCT for SARMs report covers what users describe and what the evidence on SERMs actually covers.

SARMs Side Effects by Compound

Every compound in this SARMs dosage chart carries side effects. The FDA has linked SARMs to liver injury requiring hospitalization and lists potential risks including heart attack, stroke, psychosis, infertility, and testicular shrinkage.

In a survey of 343 SARM users recruited through Reddit, more than half reported side effects including mood swings, decreased testicular size, and acne. More than 90% bought SARMs online and did not consult a physician.

Liver injury is the most documented serious risk. Australian researchers identified SARMs among the causes of drug-induced liver injury in a 2024 case series. Hair thinning is also commonly reported with the more androgenic compounds; see SARMs and hair loss.

Legal Status of SARMs

In the United States, SARMs are not approved for any medical use. The FDA treats products containing them as unapproved drugs, even when they are labeled as supplements or “research chemicals.” All SARMs and the related compounds in this chart are prohibited at all times under the WADA Prohibited List, and tested athletes have lost eligibility after positive tests for Ostarine, LGD-4033, and RAD 140.

Rules vary by country. Our report on whether SARMs are legal covers the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.