Ever since modern science advanced to a stage where it has been possible to enhance one’s physical abilities with outside agents, bodybuilders have been at the forefront when it came to testing these new substances out.
Today, I’ll be comparing two very popular compounds, SARMs – who have vastly gained in popularity over the last few years for their amazing muscle building capabilities and peptides, who are lauded for their anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties.
I’m mostly interested in the potential benefits of these substances, their drawbacks and how the results they provide differ from one another.
Let’s get started!
When someone mentions SARMs, they are talking about Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, which are androgen receptor ligands, meaning that they bind to the androgen receptor.
The way they do that is also very interesting, as they enjoy a high affinity towards the androgen receptor, while ignoring other important organs in the body, such as the prostate.
This tells us that they are tissue-selective in their mechanism of action.
Among the biggest reasons why SARMs are used is the fact that they promote rapid muscle growth, increased power and endurance, decreased recovery times…
SARMs were first invented near the end of World War II and were developed for fifty years, unavailable to the general population.
They went public in 1998 and the rest is history.
Peptides
Many people like to call peptides a natural supplement, since you can find them in food.
Peptides are essentially smaller proteins, since they only contain up to 50 amino acids in their chain.
Contrary to popular belief, they are not anabolic, and they don’t cause side effects usually associated with steroid use.
Peptides work by stimulating the pituitary gland to release more HGH (Human Growth Hormone) into the bloodstream which has a myriad of positive benefits on the user.
HGH also increases the amount of the IGF-1 protein in the body which means that peptides can also boost muscle growth.
Peptides remain a popular supplement in the bodybuilding community for a couple of reasons, but mainly the fact that they decrease inflammation, help with muscle growth, increase fat loss and so on.
SARMs VS Peptides RoA (Route of Administration)
SARMs can be consumed orally, sublingually and intravenously, which makes them very versatile when it comes to their RoA.
On the other hand, peptides are usually taken intravenously, but methods are being developed in order to expand the range of their RoA.
In the future, we’ll mostly likely see peptides taken topically and transdermally (through the skin), but for now, SARMs remain the more convenient option, which makes me give SARMs the first point in this debate.
SARMs VS Peptides Cycle Length
The usual recommended cycle length for SARMs in no longer than eight weeks with at least an eight-week buffer period where you don’t take any SARMs.
Peptides are a bit different and since they are naturally occurring in the body, you can keep taking them for longer periods of time, but as we’ll see in the next chapter, they aren’t as strong as SARMs.
This round goes to peptides as you can keep enjoying their benefits for longer periods of time, without having to stop your cycle.
SARMs VS Peptides Benefits
This is the big marker everyone is interested in. Let’s see how these two substances compare to each other when it comes to the benefits they harbor.
Muscle Mass
Although peptides do increase muscle mass, they can’t hold a candle to SARMs.
SARMs were simply designed to promote androgenic activity in the body, while peptides are a naturally occurring substance in our body, meaning that they simply cannot contend with SARMs when it comes to muscle growth.
Strength
Once again, it is SARMs that take home the bacon. Take a SARM like YK11 and compare it to a popular peptide such as Sermorelin and you’ll quickly realize just how much the former outperforms the latter when it comes to strength gain.
Endurance
Although peptides do play a part in increasing endurance in human subjects, SARMs simply outperform them at this task.
Inflammation
SARMs do have some anti-inflammatory properties, but this is where peptides really start to shine. Peptides are naturally made to combat inflammation and it more than shows in something like BPC 157 or TB 500.
Fat loss
Both SARMs and peptides promote these two, but if I had to pick a winner, it would be SARMs. They simply are better at that task and bring more to the table in comparison to peptides.
Sleep quality
Some SARMs may actually decrease sleep quality, but with peptides, it’s an entirely different story. They were made to improve sleep quality in humans, and they act similarly to another popular compound used to improve sleep, that being Ibutamoren (MK-677).
SARMs VS Peptides - Side effects
Many people become heart-struck once they realize that peptides actually have fewer side effects than SARMs.
However, what one needs to consider is the fact that SARMs are better than peptides when it comes to building muscle mass, strength, endurance and so on, basically things that bodybuilders are after.
Let’s first take a closer look at some of the side effects of SARMs and compare them to the drawbacks of peptides.
The side effects of SARMs are:
- Testosterone Suppression
- Hair Shedding
- Liver Toxicity
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Water Retention
- Testicle Pain
- Aggression
- Irritability
- Acne
- Hyperthermia
- Joint Pain
Now let’s take a closer look at the drawbacks of peptides:
- Increased Appetite
- Water Retention
- Kidney Pain
- Joint Pain
- Acne
- Cotton Mouth
As we can see, SARMs and peptides do share a few side effects such as increased water retention, acne and joint pain.
Peptides are substances with less side effects, but they are weaker than SARMs and if you’re a bodybuilder, you should seriously ask yourself if only taking peptides will have enough of an effect on your physique to really warrant their usage.
SARMs VS Peptides - Results
Your results on SARMs will vary depending on what SARM you’re taking and whether you’re on a caloric deficit or surplus.
The same thing applies to peptides, since your diet and exercise routines are the ones that will mostly affect how your body is going to look in the end.
This doesn’t mean that SARMs or peptides don’t work, it’s just that you have a big say in what your results will be like, purely by adhering to your regime.
Take a SARM like Ligandrol for example, you will gain around eight pounds of muscle mass with it in just eight weeks.
With a peptide like TB 500, you will not gain more than one or two pounds of muscle in eight weeks.
Peptides aren’t that good at promoting muscle growth and you’ll be hard-pressed to choose SARMs if muscle growth is your goal.
Speaking of other results, such as energy, endurance and strength – a typical SARM will generally outperform any peptide out there.
Where peptides really start to shine is in promoting anti-inflammatory effects in the body and improving sleep quality. Also, they have anti-aging effects which promote longevity in users.
Does this give you an idea?
You can stack SARMs and Peptides for even better results!
SARMs VS Peptides - Pricing
Peptides are cheaper than SARMs, but you have to use them for longer so in the end, the cost ends up being around the same.
The best place to buy them is here, they are a popular vendor that sells both SARMs and some peptides at the cheapest prices, you should definitely check them out, they have my vote of confidence.
Conclusion
While SARMs and peptides have some similarities, at the gist of it, they are quite different and work well for different areas in the body.
We’ve seen SARMs dominate muscle growth, strength, weight and fat loss, energy and endurance – which are all sought after by bodybuilders – but peptides also have a few traits which makes them appealing to the common lifter. Those are anti-aging, pro-sleep and anti-inflammatory properties.
I believe that stacking these two compounds is you getting the best out of both worlds and I definitely recommend that you try it out!
