This is the ultimate guide and review of Andarine, also known as S4 or Gtx-007. A SARM that is rising in popularity, especially in combination with Cardarine.
You will find this guide very useful if you have questions about Andarine similar to these:
- What is Andarine and how does it work
- Where to buy high-quality, pure Andarine
- Is S4 legal in my country
- What are the benefits and side effects of S4
We will answer all of these questions as well as cover other topics about this compound such as the half-life, dosages, example results with before and after photos, and more.
If you, for some reason, don’t have enough time to read this article, check out this YouTube video. It’s not as in-depth as this article is but it still nicely presents what you should expect from an S4 cycle.
Let’s start off by firstly explaining what Andarine actually is.
S4 is a SARM – Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator.
It’s very similar to the other SARMs such as Ostarine, LGD 4033 or RAD140 because they all basically do the same thing. The major difference between them, however, is how strong and how suppressive they are.
Most people place Andarine somewhere in between Ostarine and LGD 4033 in suppressiveness and strength. Having tried all of these SARMs, I think that this is quite accurate. S4 is definitely a lot stronger than Ostarine and weaker than LGD 4033.
An interesting about Andarine is that a lot of people believe that it’s the most effective SARM on the market. This is because it’s very strong/effective compared to how mildly suppressive it is.
How does Andarine work
Andarine, and other SARMs, work similarly to the way steroids work. The difference, however, is that steroids bind to all androgen receptors, SARMs, on the other hand, only selectively bind to androgen receptors.
Because Andarine selectively binds only to the androgen receptors in the muscle tissue and bones, we get steroid-like benefits, without (most of) the nasty side effects.
We will go over the benefits and side effects of Andarine later in the article.
Is Andarine legal
Obviously, this is an important thing, what good would Andarine be, if it was illegal, right?
Let’s clear this up right away, Andarine is legal to buy and use in every country in the world with the exception of Australia, we will go over the legality of Andarine in Australia later in the article.
You won’t get into any problems buying it or using it. It’s sold under the labels of “Research Chemical” or “Not for human consumption” because it’s not FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved, not yet at least.
Andarine in Australia
As we said earlier, Andarine is legal to buy and use in every country in the world except for Australia, they have different laws from the rest of the world when it comes to SARMs.
Basically, Andarine is illegal in Australia without a doctor’s prescription for it.
Still, a lot of people buy and use Andarine in Australia without a doctor’s prescription.
If you want to learn more about the legality of Andarine and other SARMs, check out our article where we answer the question; are SARMs legal? We go over the legality in every country.
Competetive sports
This compound (Andarine) is listed as a prohibited substance by the WADA (World Anti Doping Agency), the USADA (the United States Anti Doping Agency) as well as the ASADA (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority).
Andarine is banned by almost all sports bodies, including the Olympics and because of that, it’s prohibited for professional athletes.
The reason for the ban on Andarine in professional sports is because of the obvious unfair advantages it provides when it comes to muscle mass and strength.
Don’t take Andarine if you are a competing professional athlete.
Andarine benefits
Andarine (S4) has a lot of very promising benefits and this is probably what you are most interested in when it comes to S4.
The benefits of Andarine are:
- Increased muscle mass
- Fat loss
- Faster recovery
- Body recomposition
- Increased strength
Now let’s go over each benefit in more detail.
Increased muscle mass
This is a great benefit of Andarine and is one of the main reasons for its popularity.
Even though this compound isn’t meant for gaining as much muscle mass as possible, most people are easily able to get 5 lbs of muscle on their S4 cycle.
Andarine is better for getting you shredded which means that you will gain some muscle (not as much as LGD 4033 would give though) and lose fat at the same time.
Fat loss
This is another part of why Andarine is getting so much popularity lately.
Not only does S4 speed up the fat loss but it also makes us keep muscle mass on a calorie maintenance diet. With Andarine, you will lose fat even when on a slight calorie surplus. I, however, recommend that you eat at calorie maintenance on your Andarine cycle. This way you will very effectively lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
Most people are able to lose about 4-5% of their body fat over their S4 cycle. Keep in mind, however, that your results are very dependent on how hard you train and what diet you stick to during your cycle.
Enhanced recovery
S4 will enhance your gym recovery time.
On average, people’s recovery time after a hard gym session is about 72 hours. With Andarine, that number goes down to about 24 hours.
This means that you will be able to get back into the gym faster and train hard more frequently which will result in more muscle and strength gains.
Body Recomposition
This is what Andarine is meant for, making you shredded. You will lose body fat and gain muscle mass at the same time.
People that are “skinny fat”, have a lot of fat but not a lot of muscle mass will see the greatest improvement with the help of this compound.
To get the best results, stay on a calorie maintenance diet. This way you will burn fat very effectively and gain muscle at the same time.
Increased strength
Andarine like all other SARMs also increases your strength. The strength gains won’t be as good as they would be with LGD 4033 or RAD140 but they will be a lot better than with Ostarine, for example.
I gained about 10-20lbs on all of my major lifts on my S4 cycle. The best thing, however, was that I kept almost all of my strength gains by continuing to train hard after the cycle ended.
Andarine side effects
Andarine has gone through quite a bit of research but not as much as other SARMs such as LGD 4033 or Ostarine. From the studies so far and from the anecdotal evidence from people that use it we can tell that there are two main side effects.
S4 side effects:
- Testosterone Suppression
- Impaired vision
Let’s go over each side effect and explain it in detail.
Testosterone Suppression
Andarine, like every other SARM, suppresses your natural production of Testosterone. An important thing to know is that it suppresses, it doesn’t shut it down.
Your natural production of Testosterone will return back to normal in a few weeks after the cycle. Generally, S4 is more suppressive than Ostarine but a lot less than other SARMs such as LGD 4033 or RAD140.
Remember, SARMs aren’t very suppressive if they are real and high-quality. Often, companies sell bunk SARMs that are way more suppressive than they should be, that’s why it’s so important that you buy real, pure, high-quality SARMs.
When it comes to doing a PCT (Post Cycle Therapy), keep this in mind:
Andarine and other less suppressive SARMs (usually) don’t require a PCT, your body will recover naturally. Doing a PCT can have more side effects than the cycle itself. We will talk more about this (doing a PCT for Andarine) later in the article.
Another important thing to know about Andarine suppression is that if you stick to normal dosages (up to 70mg a day) and normal cycle length (up to 8-weeks) it most likely won’t be even noticeable. Assuming, of course, that you have real, pure Andarine.
Andarine vision
This is the side effect that Andarine is infamous for. Some people report that their vision is more sensitive when they are taking this compound and that it takes a longer time for their eyes to get used to the light or dark.
Some people also report that their vision experiences a yellowy frame.
People that experience this side effect usually experience them from the third week and it lasts until the end of the cycle. After the cycle is over, it goes away on its own.
It’s true, S4 can cause this side effect but it’s important to know that it won’t cause any permanent vision damage, as some people think.
As long as you stick to normal dosages and normal cycle length, you’re unlikely to even notice this. I, for example, didn’t notice this side effect and my dosage was 50mg a day.
If you experienced this, it will go away in a few weeks after the cycle and you shouldn’t have to worry about it.
Andarine half-life
From the studies and the information we have, we can safely assume that the half-life of Andarine is 8 hours.
This means that in order to keep the levels of the compound in our body optimal, to get the best results, we should split our dosage into two or even better, three parts.
If we take our dosage into two parts, we should take the first in the morning and the second before going to bed.
If we take our dosage in three parts, which is even more optimal, we should the first in the morning, the second during lunch and the last before going to bed.
Andarine dosage
The recommended Andarine dosage is 50mg a day.
This dosage seems to have the best results for most people and no side effects in majority of the cases. Don’t forget to split your dosage into two parts and take 25mg in the morning and 25mg in the evening. This is because Andarine has a half-life of around 8 hours.
For more in-depth explanation on the best S4 dosage check out our Andarine dosage guide. There we go over the dosages used in human trials and the most optimal cutting and bulking dosages.
Also, make sure that you keep your cycle to a maximum of 8 weeks.
So if we keep all of this in mind, here is an example of a good, effective Andarine cycle:
| Week | Andarine Dosage | PCT |
| 1-8 | 50mg a day (split into 2 or 3 parts) | / |
This cycle doesn’t even require a PCT. Let’s explain why.
Andarine PCT
You most likely won’t need a PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) for this compound. This is because Andarine really isn’t that suppressive, your body will be able to recover naturally in a few weeks after the cycle is over. In fact, the only SARMs that you will 100% need to do a PCT with are S23 and YK11.
Andarine, on the other hand, doesn’t require a PCT.
PCT can often have serious side effects so you shouldn’t just do it because some other people do it.
The only way to really know if you require a PCT or not is to get a blood test that will tell you your Testosterone levels. With Andarine, though, in 90% of the cases, people don’t require a PCT.
Sadly, some companies sell underdosed / bunk Andarine and other SARMs that have other substances mixed into them. These products are often a lot more suppressive than they would have been if they were pure. This is why it’s so important that you buy good products, to avoid things like this.
Andarine before and after
I have done an Andarine cycle last summer and I am very happy with the results that I got.
I gained about 10-20lbs on all of the major lifts (deadlift, bench press, squat) and the best thing about this was that I was able to keep almost all of these strength gains. I achieved that by continuing to train hard after the cycle ended.
When it comes to muscle gains, I gained about 5 lbs of muscle on my S4 cycle. This is pretty easily achievable with this compound and honestly, if I trained harder and ate cleaner, the results would have been much better.
I also lost about 4% body fat. I went from 15% to 11% (visible abs) body fat.
Overall, this is a great SARM and I think it’s a great fit for people that want to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
Keep in mind, your results will be very dependant on your diet and training.
My cycle:
| Week | S4 Dosage | PCT |
| 1-8 | 50mg a day | / |
For more before and after results (with photos), check out my Andarine transformations with pics post.
Andarine for sale
Sadly, a lot of companies sell bunk S4 and other SARMs.
In order to get the best possible results from your cycle and to avoid the unnecessary side effects of bunk products, you should buy high-quality, pure S4.
I’ve tested SARMs from almost SARM companies for purity and I keep testing them every 6 months.
Because of this, I’ve put together the sarmguide.com recommendation list where I keep an up-to-date list of companies that I’ve personally verified for purity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Andarine is a great SARM. It has incredible benefits of increasing muscle mass, fat loss, strength gains and reduced recovery times.
There is also only one worrying side effect which is that it can interfere with our vision. This is not that worrisome because Andarine won’t permanently damage our vision and the vision interference seems to go away on its own after the cycle is over.
However, because of this side effect, Ostarine is a much better choice for most people.
Personally, I had a great experience with Andarine. I recommend that people who want to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time read more about it on sarmguide. As long as you stick to normal dosage and cycle length and as long as your Andarine is actually real and high-quality, you’re unlikely to have any problems.
Keep in mind, your results will depend on your training and diet.
FAQ
What Is Andarine?
Andarine (S4) is a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator or a SARM. It works similarly to steroids and has similar benefits without the nasty side effects.
What Is The Proper Andarine Dosage?
The proper Andarine dosage is 50mg a day split into two dosages of 25mg. So one dosage of 25mg in the morning and the other dosage of 25mg in the evening.
What Is Andarine Half-Life?
Andarine has a half-life of 6 hours. This means that we should take our dosage 2 times a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
Does Andarine Need A PCT?
No, Andarine usually doesn’t need a PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) if you have pure, high-quality Andarine and you kept a normal dosage and cycle length. Your body will recover naturally in a few weeks after the cycle.
However, the only way to be 100% sure if you need to do a PCT or not, is to have a blood test done after the cycle is over.
