LGD-4033, also known as Ligandrol is a SARM (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator) developed by Ligandrol Pharmaceuticals to treat muscle wasting diseases like osteoporosis and others. It has great benefits of increasing muscle mass, maintaining muscle and increasing strength. In this article, we will go over benefits, side effects and more about Ligandrol.
What Is LGD-4033?
LGD-4033 is a SARM, Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator, that is currently in research to treat muscle wasting diseases like osteoporosis. It was developed by Ligandrol Pharmaceuticals, hence the name LGD-4033 and Ligandrol.
It’s actually one of the most researched SARMs along with Ostarine. They are in the second stage, about to enter the third and final stage of clinical trials. It looks like they will soon be FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved.
How does LGD-4033 work?
like we said, Ligandrol is a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator. This means that it selectively binds to androgen receptors in our body. This means that we get similar benefits that steroids do except with a lot fewer side effects. Steroids are not selective, SARMs are.
Because of this, LGD-4033 has benefits like muscle building, reduced recovery time and increased strength. The side effect it has is a suppression of our natural production of Testosterone. We will talk about the benefits and side effects of Ligandrol in detail.
Is LGD-4033 legal?
A lot of people aren’t sure if LGD-4033 or other SARMs are legal or illegal. The truth is, Ligandrol and the other SARMs are (for now) not FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved for human consumption. This doesn’t mean that they are illegal, it just means that companies have to sell these compounds as “research chemicals”.
To summarize, LGD-4033 and other SARMs are legal to buy and use but because they are not FDA approved yet, companies have to sell them with “Research chemical” labels. You can read our article that covers SARMs and their legality in more detail in my article on the legality of SARMs.
You won’t have any problems buying and using SARMs, they are legal to purchase almost everywhere in the world.
In Australia, however, Ligandrol is a Schedule 4 prescription only compound. This means that it’s only legal if you have a doctor’s prescription for it.
Ligandrol and other SARMs are prohibited if you are a professional athlete. Almost all sports bodies, including the Olympics, banned SARMs because of the obvious unfair advantages they give in sports.
LGD-4033 Benefits
Ligandrol has incredible benefits like:
- Increased muscle mass
- Faster recovery
- Bone health
- Increased strength
Increased muscle mass
This is the number one reason why so many bodybuilders use this LGD-4033. It directly targets our muscles and is actually one of the best and most effective SARMs at increasing our muscle mass fast.
People report incredible results from Ligandrol. It is not unusual to get 10-15lbs of muscle in a single LGD-4033 cycle. Clinical trials and studies confirm that this compound is incredibly effective at building muscle even at low dosages such as 2mg a day. Results from a study show that a group of people who took 2mg a day developed 7 more lbs of muscle compared to the placebo group. Both were on the same 8-week training programs and diets.
People also report that their pumps in the gym feel a lot fuller and that they are more vascular.
Keep in mind, training hard and diet will be incredibly important. LGD-4033 will be useless if you don’t train or eat too little.
We recommend that you are on at least 300 calorie surplus when you try to gain a lot of muscle mass during your LGD-4033 cycle.
Faster recovery
Recovery is very important when it comes to training. We can’t train as hard sore than we can when we are fully recovered. So basically, the sooner we recover, the faster we can train hard to get more results.
LGD-4033 will reduce our recovery time by a lot. Usual recovery times are around 72 hours when we train really hard. With Ligandrol, that number goes down to only 24 hours for most people. This is great because we can workout really hard more frequently to get the most out of our cycle.
bone health
Bones are very important for our muscles because they act kind of like a framework. This means that we can’t build quality muscle mass without healthy and strong bones.
Clinical studies on rats proved that LGD-4033 increased the strength and health of bones by increasing the minerals our bones receive. This is also one of the major reasons that Ligandrol is being researched to treat osteoporosis which decreases minerals in our bones.
Healthy bones mean reduced chances of bone and muscle injury.
Increased strength
People who use Ligandrol (and also me, from personal experience) claim that it has an incredible effect on our strength. This isn’t important for health reasons (for why they are researching LGD-4033, to treat diseases like osteoporosis). But it is incredible for athletes and bodybuilders so that they can train harder.
The strength gains are very powerful, maybe not as strong as RAD-140 or YK11 but definitely up there. Of course, if you have real, high-quality Ligandrol you will experience this the most.
It’s normal to get 40lbs on your deadlift, bench press and squat over your Ligandrol cycle. You can expect to feel and get stronger week after week.
LGD-4033 Side Effects
Ligandrol is one of the most researched SARMs, along with Ostarine. They are in the second stage of clinical trials, about to enter the last. This means that we know a lot about this compound and we have access to a lot of research. Because of this, we can talk about the side effects and benefits of Ligandrol in depth.
The main side effects of LGD-4033 are Suppression and Water retention. We will talk about these side effects in more detail.
Here are also some side effects that a few people experience. Note that this is very rare and no clinical trials prove these side effects, this is why this is either a very rare individual thing or a result of bunk products with prohormones in them.
- Headaches
- Mild hair loss / Hair shedding
- Testicle pain
- Insomnia
- Joint pain
This is why it’s so important to buy high-quality LGD-4033 and other SARMs, so you can avoid these effects. Now let’s go over the two actual side effects which are suppression and water retention.
Suppression
Suppression means a suppressed production of natural Testosterone. The keyword here is suppressed, it is a lot different than shut down. Steroids shut down your natural Testosterone production, SARMs suppress it.
Every SARM is suppressive, including LGD-4033. But obviously Ostarine is very, very mildly suppressive and other SARMs like YK11 or S23 are a lot more.
Ligandrol will definitely suppress your natural production of Testosterone to some extent. But if you have a real, high-quality product and not some bunk items, your body will recover naturally in a few weeks after the cycle so you really shouldn’t have to worry if you have good products. For most people, the suppression is barely noticeable if they stick to the right dosages and cycle length.
We will talk about if you need to do a PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) for LGD-4033 more in-depth later in the article.
Water retention
A lot of people report water retention as a side effect when they are on an LGD-4033 cycle. This really seems to be an individual thing. I didn’t get that side effect and clinical trials showed that most people don’t.
The most common reason that people get water retention is that they drink way too little water. You should drink over 2 liters, preferably at least 3 liters, of water every day. This way you almost definitely won’t experience any water retention.
Water retention isn’t something to worry about because it will go away in a few weeks after the cycle.
Ligandrol dosage
The recommended LGD-4033 dosage is between 2.5 to 15mg a day. We recommend beginners to start at lower dosages and work their way up. Also, make sure that your cycle won’t be longer than 8-12 weeks. This way you will get great results with no side effects.
LGD-4033 half-life
Studies have confirmed that Ligandrol has a half-life of 24 hours. This means that we should take a dosage once every 24 hours, this way we will have optimal levels of LGD-4033 in our body and get the best results.
If you miss a dosage, don’t worry, just take a normal dosage the next day and continue with your cycle normally. Don’t take double dosages to make up for the missed ones.
LGD-4033 PCT
A lot of people aren’t sure what PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) even is and they just do it because they heard that it’s good. PCT is a cycle of taking usually Nolvadex or Clomid at certain dosages to bring your Testosterone back up from the suppressed state.
PCT is needed for things like steroids but for SARMs it’s definitely unneeded. Things like Clomid and Nolvadex can have serious side effects so you really shouldn’t mess with PCTing if you don’t need it.
You won’t need a PCT for LGD-4033, just make sure that you stick to the recommended dosages and don’t overextend your cycle.
You will be able to recover naturally after any SARM cycle (the only exception could be S23) in a few weeks. Just make sure that you have real, high-quality SARMs and you won’t require a PCT.
My Ligandrol experience
I did a cycle of LGD-4033 about one year ago. My cycle looked like this:
| Week | LGD-4033 | PCT |
| 1-8 | 2.5mg a day | No PCT |
With a dosage like this, I gained great benefits and experienced no side effects at all. I didn’t need to do a PCT (Post Cycle Therapy), in fact, I didn’t even feel suppressed after the cycle. My blood test showed a small suppression but it was nothing much and I easily recovered naturally after a few weeks after the cycle.
My goal was to lean bulk and gain at least 6lbs of lean muscle mass after the Ligandrol cycle and keep that mass after. I didn’t really care that much about strength gains but they were insane as well and felt really good. Because of them, I was able to train with heavier weights every week.
I was able to gain about 8 lbs of muscle, which is 1 lb of muscle a week gained during the cycle. I was taking my training and diet pretty seriously so that definitely helped. Remember, Ligandrol will be useless without proper training and diet.
I was able to keep all the muscle mass I gained after the cycle and even most of my strength gains by continuing to train hard and keeping an eye on my diet.
To summarize, my experience was amazing. I gained even more muscle than I first wanted to and I had no side effects. The strength gains were also incredible. I will definitely do another cycle like this in the future if I will want to gain more muscle.
If you want to check out some Ligandrol results, check out our LGD 4033 results with before and after pics article.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ligandrol is a great compound for a beginner or advanced lifter. It has many incredible benefits like increased muscle mass, shorter recovery times, increased strength and fat loss. Ligandrol also has almost no side effects and is really well researched in clinical and human trials. It is considered very safe to use. Of course, make sure that you have real, pure, high-quality LGD-4033 to avoid side effects from bunk products. This is why we recommend that you buy from trusted sellers like these companies. Their compounds are 100% real and high-quality (tested by us).
FAQ
What Is LGD-4033?
LGD-4033 or Ligandrol is a SARM (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator). It works similarly to steroids but without the nasty side effects that they could have.
What is the proper Ligandrol dosage?
The proper LGD-4033 dosage is between 2.5-15mg a day. If you are a beginner you should start at a smaller dosage and work your way up.
What is LGD-4033 half-life?
Ligandrol has a half-life of 24 hours. This means that we should take our dosage once every 24 hours to get the best results.
Does LGD-4033 need a PCT?
No, Ligandrol doesn’t need a PCT (Post Cycle Therapy) if you have pure, high-quality LGD-4033 and you kept a normal dosage and cycle length. Your body will recover naturally in a few weeks after the cycle.
