Discover everything you need to know about the popular SARM Ostarine, also known as MK-2866. Ostarine is one of the most popular SARMs in the bodybuilding and physique world – no surprise once you learn about the potential effects of this research-backed compound.

What Is Ostarine?

If you’ve been around the bodybuilding or physique sport world for even a short while, you’ve probably heard about Ostarine. But what is this compound, why do some people use it, and should you consider it (or should you look for a better alternative)? To begin, it’s worth mentioning that this is widely considered one of the safest anabolic SARMs on the market.

MK-2866 is a SARM (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator) which is popular with strength, power and physique athletes who are looking for ways to boost muscle mass and strength with fewer or no side effects compared to harsher compounds such as steroids or prohormones. It was originally developed to help treat muscle-wasting conditions, so you can understand why bodybuilders are drawn to it. It preserves lean tissue when conditions would usually lead to catabolism (for example, dieting or high-frequency training).

How Does MK-2866 Work?

Like any SARM, MK-2866 can mimic testosterone (the primary anabolic hormone), stimulates the body’s androgen receptors and boosts the steroid hormone receptors. It can activate stem cells, helping to regenerate and build muscle and bone tissue – exactly what bodybuilders want. For this reason, MK-2866 is thought to have fewer side-effects than anabolic steroids because SARMs do not affect the organs. They are very selective by their very nature, which is the main advantage of any SARM. Of course, this can change if someone stacks Ostarine with an anabolic steroid.

Ostarine is renowned for improving both training performance (strength and power) and physique appearance (through bigger, denser muscle mass). However, its noteworthy advantage is injury repair and recovery; it has an excellent affinity for joint repair in particular.

Muscle Gain & Recovery with MK-2866

One reason many bodybuilders use MK-2866 is for its impact on the IGF-1 gene, as well as muscle cells and cells in connective tissues. Ostarine may stimulate these cells which means faster recovery from training stress. Less time out for recovery (or less soreness during your next training session) means you can train more frequently, achieving a greater workload across the training week. This is likely to result in greater muscle growth from the training stimulus.

In one human study of 120 healthy elderly people, Ostarine significantly increased lean muscle mass as well as fitness levels with no side effects or steroid-like risks.

5 Potential Effects Of Ostarine

There are five key reasons a bodybuilder might choose to use Ostarine.

#1 Muscle gain
The SARM is often used as a compound to aid muscle gain because of its effect on stimulating muscle cells. Not only does this mean you may gain additional muscle tissue but you are likely to protect the muscle mass you already have (important during a fat loss phase).

#2 Recovery
It can mean faster recovery from DOMS and training fatigue. This means you can train more frequently and you can push harder during each session.

#3 Fat loss
It is thought to slow or stop muscle breakdown (catabolism) whilst the body is getting leaner. This means you can push harder during a dieting phase without the usual worry about losing muscle, resulting in the holy grail of lean gains.

#4 Cardiovascular health
Ostarine can have a number of benefits for heart health, including reduction of triglycerides, reduced lipids and reduced total cholesterol. It may also help lower blood glucose levels and improve insulin resistance.

#5 Increased metabolic rate
It is thought to increase base metabolic rate, meaning you will burn more calories during training, NEAT and cardio. It can also increase endurance and give you better stamina, which will also mean longer more intense training sessions. All these combined means you are likely to burn more calories – good news if you are trying to get shredded.

How Long Does MK-2866 Take to Work?

As with most supplements, one of the most commons questions asked is how long MK-2866 takes to work. Anecdotal evidence shows that people tend to feel a great sense of ‘wellbeing’ within 2-3 days of using Ostarine. A sense of vitality, positive mood, good energy and holistic ‘balance’.

Many bodybuilders and athletes report noticeable consistent strength gains within the first 2-3 weeks of using the compound. In terms of physical changes; body composition and muscle definition, results will usually be seen to the eye from 4 weeks onwards, however, it’s important to understand that this ultimately comes down to so many individual factors. Your current body composition, your goals, your training and diet, as well as recovery protocols. Everyone will respond to different compounds in different ways whilst your efforts and commitment will play an even bigger part in how quickly you see results.

Ostarine & Bodybuilding

MK-2866 is best known for is building muscle and burning fat – two things all bodybuilders are interested in at some point during their lifting career (even if they never want to step on stage).

Muscle gain: remember how we said Ostarine was originally developed to help tackle muscle wasting diseases? People who want to build more muscle tissue, and hang on to the muscle they’ve got, can use MK-2866 to harness those anti-catabolic effects.

Fat burning: Ostarine has muscle preserving properties, meaning you can diet more aggressively or for longer without losing muscle tissue. Retaining muscle during a diet phase means you’ll also retain more strength, so you can train harder and heavier, all leading to a positive circle of lean gains.

But there’s more than muscle building and boosted fat-burning abilities. Ostarine can also boost bone health, help reduce LDL and triglycerides and improve insulin resistance. These are all things which can be attractive to bodybuilders looking to gain mass and strength.

How to Stack Ostarine

Bodybuilders use Ostarine in a few different ways. This is what you need to know.

Using Ostrarine by itself: Ostarine MK-2866 can be used alone. It should be used as a cycle (like any SARM) of 12 weeks for men, up to 8 weeks for women. Men should use between 15-25mg and women should use 5-10mg. Ostarine has a half-life of 24 hours so there is no need to split the dose across the day.

With other SARMs: bodybuilders typically stack Ostarine with other popular SARMs, like Ibutamoren MK677 or Ligandrol LGD-4033. Ostarine can also be used in a so-called “triple SARM” stack of Ostarine plus Andarine and Cardarine (although Cardarine isn’t a true SARM).

Choose The Best Ostarine Supplement

Like any SARM, it’s important you choose the best-quality Ostarine MK-2866 supplement. Don’t go for the cheapest product. Check the label carefully and look for smart ingredients which are designed to optimise the product’s effectiveness so you see the best gains.

We love our best selling Mutagenic Labz Ostagainz, which delivers 10mg of pure Ostarine MK-2866 along with Piperine in every dose (to aid digestion and absorption). It’s non-liver-toxic, has no androgenic activity, and promises minimal side effects – with maximum results. Click here to try it for yourself. Choose an Ostarine product you can trust, backed by a reliable name in bodybuilding supplements.

We should point out that Ostarine – like all SARMs – is not approved for use in tested strength and physique sports but for those of you who don’t want to compete with the tested federations? There are so many reasons to try Ostarine by itself or as a stack, whether you’re dieting, bulking, or aiming for a body recomposition phase.