Cardarine, also known as GW501516 or Endurobol, was initially developed in the 1990s by GlaxoSmithKline and Ligand Pharmaceuticals as a potential treatment for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
While its development was eventually halted due to concerns about its safety, the compound has since gained popularity among athletes and fitness enthusiasts for its potential effects on endurance, fat loss, and overall athletic performance.
How does Cardarine work?
Many people think that Cardarine is a SARM, which is actually not true. SARMs (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators), such as MK-2866 and RAD-140, are compounds that work by triggering the androgen receptors, mimicking the effects of Testosterone. GW501516 works by binding to PPAR Delta receptors, which regulate energy metabolism in the human body and determine if you use blood glucose uptake or fat storage for energy.
In layman’s terms, it puts your body into a state of ketosis, meaning that your body will use body fat as an energy source, so it will burn extra fat anywhere you have it.
Unlike traditional stimulant-based performance enhancers, Cardarine works by activating the PPARδ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta) pathway, which plays a crucial role in regulating metabolism and energy expenditure. By activating PPARδ, Cardarine helps to improve endurance, boost fat metabolism, and even support muscle growth.
Benefits of Cardarine
Increased fat loss
For many people the most important feature of Cardarine (GW 501516) is fat loss. Unlike most fat burning compounds, it does not act in a thermogenic way.
- Increased oxidative capacity in muscles – This means that we will burn more calories when exercising than we normally would without Cardarine.
- Suppression of Glucose metabolism – switching energy source from Glucose to fat. – This one is pretty self-explanatory. By switching the energy source from glucose to fat, we are able to directly burn off fat instead of first burning off the excess glucose that our body stored. In fact, the effect is very similar to a very strict ketogenic diet, but without actually doing the diet.
There have been a number of studies on rats and on people that proved that GW 501516 provides significant fat burning capabilities.
Enhanced endurance
As we mentioned before, Cardarine increases endurance. It does this in two different ways:
- Suppression of Glucose metabolism (switching energy source from glucose to fat).
- Increased oxidative capacity in muscles.
The combination of these methods of action leads to a significant increase in endurance.
It should come as no suprise that many athletes use GW 501516 just because of this benefit. Several professional athletes use it to gain an edge over their competition.
This particular benefit of Cardarine is most noticeable when used with endurance training but also applies during weight lifting. It is able to reduce recovery time between sets and increase the length of your training sessions.
Improved cardiovascular health
This is actually one of the main reasons Cardarine was researched and developed, to treat cardiovascular diseases.
Studies and animal testings on rats showed that GW 50156 has a very positive effect on our cardiovascular system. It reduced the damage done to rats, improved their blood vessels and reduced inflammation.
In fact, some steroid users who take very strong steroids that are hard on your cardiovascular system, like Trenbolone, often take Cardarine so that they can avoid damaging their cardiovascular system and can stay healthy.
In one study, 6 obese people received Cardarine in a double-blind, random and controlled trial. It helped to cure the symptoms of metabolic syndrome in all subjects without causing any side effects.
The participants took a maximum of 10 mg per day for only two weeks. After such a short period of time, positive changes in liver steatosis, insulin sensitivity and lipid levels were already visible. Therefore, we can conclude that GW 501516 is a great supplement to fight insulin resistance caused by obesity and chronic inflammation.
In yet another study, conducted this time on obese mice, Cardarine reduced the risk of heart disease by lowering LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin levels. It also reduced the overproduction of glucose by the liver. This means that Endurobol can be a good supplement for people with type 2 diabetes (if it has the same effect in humans).
Cardarine side effects
There are not many studies on the side effects, especially on humans. What we do have is a lot of anecdotal evidence and user reports about the pros and cons of GW 501516. Based on that, Cardarine seems like a safe compound with few side effects.
Because people wonder about the danger of using Cardarine, we will discuss 2 controversial properties.
Liver
Firstly, as mentioned earlier, GW-501516 has the ability to destroy degenerated liver cells. While this is usually a positive thing, it is definitely harmful for people with liver disease. In such people, whose liver has problems with proper work without additional means, Endurobol, by destroying some cells, aggravates these problems. This is why GSK has discontinued its marketing of the drug.
Cancer
The other potential side effect is also related to the benefit mentioned above. Due to the acceleration of the expansion of some cells, the risk of their mutation is also increasing, thus increasing the risk of cancer.
Please note that the above-mentioned side effects were observed during the studies on mice. None of these side effects has been observed in human clinical trials – however, these studies were too short for such effects to be observed.
That being said, there have been no documented cases that link Cardarine to cancer in humans. Later studies have actually revealed that GW 501516 may have anti-cancer properties.
Cardarine dosage
Since Cardarine (GW501516) has not been approved for human consumption, there isn’t a FDA approved dosage. In clinical trials, the administered dosage was 2.5mg to 10mg per day.
Most users take between 10mg and 30mg per day, with 20mg considered to be the sweet spot. For most people, this dosage provides the most benefits with limited side-effects.
When to take Cardarine
The best time to take Cardarine is at a consistent time daily. The half life is thought to be anything from 12-24 hours, so if you do increase to 20mg, for example, it would be wise to split this morning and night. You may take it with or without food. Most people choose to introduce Cardarine while dieting, but as discussed, it has benefits which might be desirable at any time during the year.
Is Cardarine Legal?
The legal status of GW501516 is the same as that of SARMs, meaning that it is legal for research purposes, but not for human consumption. Cardarine is considered to be doping by organizations such as the WADA and USDA, and is therefore banned within competitive sports.
