If you know anything about female competitive bodybuilding, you will know that Anavar is one of the most commonly used AAS (anabolic-androgenic steroids) among female athletes.
Unlike most AAS, Anavar poses a very low masculinization risk and it provides incredible gains even at very low doses.
With SARMs, women can achieve the benefits of Anavar with only a fraction of the side effects and with absolutely no risk of masculinization (with some exceptions).
Unfortunately, information regarding the safe usage of SARMs for females is hard to find. For this reason, they often follow the same protocols as men and end up having to deal with unnecessary side effects. As a result, they blacklist SARMs forever and miss out on an otherwise near-perfect PED group, especially for females.
This is the most comprehensive guide for females to safely and efficiently use SARMs. It is based on the latest academic data, and more importantly, the analysis of hundreds upon hundreds of anecdotal reports and experiences from women that used and experimented with SARMs. As well as a handful of my personal clients who are all competing in bikini.
Before I get into the best SARMs for women, protocols for each, and cycling instructions, it’s important to clear some things up regarding side effects.
These side effects only apply to the SARMs and protocols recommended in this article. If you decide to get your hands extra dirty and take SARMs that are not recommended for women, or take high doses, you will almost certainly experience more severe side effects.
As a female, you do not have to worry about testosterone suppression or any of the negative symptoms that come with it.
You will mainly face:
But dry joints, acne, aggression, and even hair shedding are possible with RAD-140 at a high dose or other stronger SARMs which I do not recommend for females (more about dosing protocols later).
Masculinization is extremely unlikely to occur as long as you stick to the guidelines and recommended dosages from this article.
These are the same protocols that hundreds of women on Reddit (r/steroidsxx) and other forums have successfully run. They are also based on a number of female users that made the wrong choice of following protocols designed for males and experienced masculinization.
So you should not be concerned about getting a deeper voice, facial hair, or clitoral enlargement.
The one side effect that a lot of women report even at low doses is a change in their menstrual cycles. In some cases, menstruation happens sooner than it should, and in other cases, it happens later than it should. This side effect fully disappears after the cycle.
Every one of the SARMs will have a negative impact on your lipid panel. You will almost certainly experience an increase in your LDL and a decrease in your HDL cholesterol.
Keep in mind that the effective dosages for women are considerably less than for men, so the impact on your lipid panel will also be considerably smaller.
Because this side effect does not affect the way you feel day to day, the only way to determine its true impact is to do bloodwork before and after the cycle.
Every one of the SARMs is likely to cause liver toxicity to a certain extent.
Though Ostarine, and especially Andarine, are known to be mild on the liver, many users don’t experience any level of liver toxicity at all.
RAD 140 is also known to be safe on the liver. We have anecdotal bloodwork showing elevated enzymes from it, as well as anecdotal bloodwork showing absolutely no signs of liver toxicity whatsoever. In any case, a clinical trial found that RAD 140 does indeed increase liver enzymes.
Considering the low doses, you are likely going to experience very mild hepatotoxicity, if at all. Bloodwork before and after the cycle is the only way to determine the extent of this side effect as well.
You can learn how to do bloodwork in The SARMs Wiki, but in short simply test your Lipid panel and Enzymes before and after your cycle and compare them.
The best SARMs for women are:
They are very well tolerated among females and are extremely unlikely to cause masculinization.
I have never seen a female run S-23, YK-11, or LGD-3303, but I assume that they would be way more likely to cause masculinization as they are known for causing androgenic side effects in men. Stay away from them.
Because women cannot do the same protocols as men without facing undesirable side effects, they must take much lower doses. Precisely measuring doses to a milligram isn’t possible with pills and can only be done with liquid SARMs using a dropper.
On the upside, SARMs cycles are much cheaper for women as one bottle can last you multiple cycles.
Let’s take a look at the four SARMs that females should stick to:
Ostarine is the first SARM that a female bodybuilder should take if she wants to delve into the world of PEDs.
At 5mg a day, it will provide a nice boost in strength and performance, as well as a significant increase in muscle mass.
In a calorie deficit, it will retain muscle mass while increasing vascularity and muscle hardness. It is also reported to have joint and connective tissue healing properties. As far as side effects go, you may experience any of the three we talked about earlier, but to a very mild extent.
It is the most researched SARM out there, and also the most widely used one for both men and women. It is definitely the safest pick out of the bunch.
Doses of up to 10mg a day are well-tolerated, with users reporting a significant improvement in terms of benefits compared to 5mg, with only slightly more serious side effects in terms of cholesterol and liver toxicity.
Once a day dosing is fine.
Protocol:
Andarine is also popular among female athletes. It will provide the same benefits as Ostarine, but with a noticeably harder and more vascular look, making it ideal for contest prep or a photo shoot.
Additionally, as you probably already know, Andarine will cause a yellow tint that can impair vision in certain situations.
The ideal dose range for females is from 10 to 25mg a day.
Its half-life in humans is unknown, so dividing the dose between morning and night would be wise. Ideally on three separate occasions: once in the morning, at noon, and finally once before bed.
Protocol:
RAD-140 is one of the most powerful SARMs a woman can take without suffering from masculinization.
It is like Ostarine but much stronger, and that is reflected in both the positive results and the side effects.
The ideal RAD 140 dose for females is 5mg/day. It is possible to successfully run it at 10mg/day without experiencing masculinization, but 5mg tends to be more than strong enough.
It has a long half-life of 60 hours, so you can dose it once a day.
Protocol:
LGD-4033 is the SARM that will put the most weight on a woman, partly due to water retention. In terms of lean muscle gains, it rivals RAD 140.
You can expect a big increase in strength, performance, and weight gain on LGD. The only thing that you should be careful with is the dose. LGD is extremely powerful even at low doses.
Men can take 2.5mg a day and have insane results if their diet and training are right.
Therefore, I believe that most women do not need to take more than that. Its half-life is long enough, so take it once a day.
Protocol:
As a female, you do not need to follow any PCT protocol as the main purpose of a PCT is to re-boot testosterone production.
But many women like to taper off the dose during the last week of the cycle.
Research chemicals like MK-677, Cardarine, Stenabolic, GW0742, and SR-9011 can all be used by women.
They do not affect sex hormones (except for prolactin with MK-677), so masculinizing side effects will never happen with any of them.
MK-677 can increase prolactin, which in women could cause:
It could also accelerate body hair growth.
It is also proven to increase blood sugar levels, which if taken for very long timeframes (16 weeks and over), can cause insulin resistance.
For these two reasons, women should take a low dose, between 5 and 10 mg/day to mitigate any of these side effects.
In terms of benefits, as a GH and IGF-1 secretagogue and a ghrelin receptor agonist, MK677 will:
Protocol:
Always cycle MK677 with Vitamin B6 (P5P) at 50mg before bed and 300mg of Berberine before every carb-loaded meal to prevent insulin resistance and, more importantly, prolactin increase.
Cardarine and all the other endurance-boosting RCs can be taken at the same doses as men.
The same side effects apply to both genders, and there is 0 risk of masculinization as they do not impact sex hormones.
Benefits:
Side Effects:
Protocol:
Stenabolic is a cancer-risk-free alternative to Cardarine and shares the same remaining properties.
The reason why Cardarine is more popular is that Stenabolic is not orally bioavailable and has a short half-life. So you would have to take it sublingually (or inject it) every 4 hours.
Benefits:
Side Effects:
In preclinical studies, there have been no adverse effects discovered or reported, with the exception of sleeplessness (if taken in the evening). However, given the lack of material, anything is possible.
Protocol:
GW0742 is another PPARδ receptor agonist, developed by the same scientist that made Cardarine. The only downside of GW0742 is the lack of scientific and anecdotal data.
Though it has still become very popular as many users believe that it can provide the same benefits as Cardarine without the risk of cancer.
Unfortunately, we lack data to confirm whether this is true, but I would personally assume that it is.
Benefits:
Despite the lack of data on GW0742 compared to Cardarine, I would personally assume that it has the same side effects.
Whether it is cancer-causing (in rats) like Cardarine is unknown, but if the cancer-causing properties in Cardarine are due to Cardarine’s PPARδ agonistic properties, then it is safe to conclude that GW0742 can also cause cancer in the same way.
Protocol:
| Week | Ostarine | Cardarine |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 2 | 5mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 3 | 5mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 4 | 5mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 5 | 10mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 6 | 10mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 7 | 10mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 8 | 5mg/day | 10mg/day |
A simple, relatively safe, and effective cutting cycle for women that ensures muscle and strength retention while losing fat by using Ostarine in conjunction with Cardarine.
Since women do not need a PCT, just taper off the dose during the last week and go back to 5 mg/day of Ostarine in order to have an easier time coming off.
This cycle will only cause dyslipidemia, and maybe mild liver toxicity.
In terms of health supplements and side effect mitigation, take:
| Week | Ligandrol | Cardarine |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.25mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 2 | 1.25mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 3 | 1.25mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 4 | 1.25mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 5 | 2.5mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 6 | 2.5mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 7 | 2.5mg/day | 10mg/day |
| 8 | 1.25mg/day | 10mg/day |
This bulking cycle is for the girls who want to put on a serious amount of mass. The muscle gains from LGD 4033 will be outstanding, and you will very quickly explode in your main lifts.
But, you can also expect a little bit of water retention.
In terms of side effects, you will face: water retention, dyslipidemia, and mild liver toxicity from the Ligandrol.
No PCT is needed; finish off the cycle by tapering off the LGD 4033 in the last week.
In terms of health supplements and side effect mitigation, take:
In terms of masculinization, SARMs are the safest PEDs a pro, an aspiring, and really any competitive female athlete can take if she doesn’t want to risk her feminine features.
As long as you stick to the safer compounds in this guide (at the recommended doses), which have been shown to be tolerated among females, and avoid the heavier androgenic SARMs like YK11, S23, or LGD 3303, you will have an incredible experience.
Fake SARMs and RCs are unfortunately very common and can lead to serious unwanted side effects (including masculinization).
On the trusted sources page, you will find the most tried & tested, well-known vendors where you can buy the highest quality SARMs available.
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