Bodybuilders and athletes are always looking to improve their performance during training and in the gym. However, some bodybuilders are willing to take risks and make questionable decisions for gains. While ste***ds may be the most popular category of PEDs in bodybuilding, they even use minimally tested substances like Cardarine.

Cardarine, or GW501516, is a synthetic compound developed in the 1990s. It was a product of big pharma, the result of a collaboration between two pharmaceutical giants. They initially developed the drug as a potential treatment for hyperlipidemia (elevated fats in the blood). However, things didn’t go too far before it was abandoned.

How and why do some bodybuilders use Cardarine?

During the early 2000s, pharmaceutical companies tested Cardarine extensively in animals. After showing some promising results, they moved to human testing. However, the compound didn’t make it past the preliminary testing stage in humans. So, unfortunately, no large-scale, long-term studies exist.

However, the bodybuilders and athletes who use the substance do so following how much the initial human tests used. The participants of these studies took between 2.5 to 10 mg of Cardarine. Most bodybuilders who use it stick to these dosages to experience the purported benefits of the compound.

Cardarine showed several benefits besides improving blood fat levels, as it was originally developed to do. The drug showed that it could help prevent type-2 diabetes in mice. Other animal studies using the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist resulted in fat loss in mice.

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Participants of the initial human studies also reported improvements in stamina, work capacity, and fat loss within days of taking Cardarine. IFBB Pro Greg Doucette has also reported feeling similar benefits when he used the drug. “It improved my endurance. I go to the gym, rest less between sets, (and) never get as tired. It really did work,” said Doucette.

The fitness influencer even revealed that bodybuilders have used the drug for years. So why did they stop testing if GW501516 turned out to be such a promising drug?

The alarming side effect of using GW501516

After the initial human testing, scientists found that Cardarine led to the rapid development of cancer in animals that received higher doses. They also found that administering the compound at a dose of 1.4 mg per pound/3 mg per kilogram could lead to cancer.

After the concerning findings, the pharmaceutical companies cut funding and discontinued further research. Researchers also stopped any limited human studies that were underway. Hence, besides being a potential carcinogen, no one knows if the drug has any other side effects.

Shortly after the finding, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) added the substance to its list of banned substances in 2009. WADA introduced urine and hair tests for the banned substance that same year. However, despite the risk and WADA’s bans, some endurance athletes and bodybuilders continue to use Cardarine.

After the alarming findings, companies also officially stopped producing the drug. So, it became incredibly difficult for these athletes to get their hands on the substance. Yet, the demand led to the drug becoming available through the black market. Today, Cardarine is available on the dark web alongside several other banned PEDs.

However, these untested and unregulated products put their users at even greater risk. Untested compounds have a high chance of being contaminated with other harmful fillers. These fillers have the potential to multiply the Cardarine’s side effects and may even introduce unrelated side effects.

Hence, while bodybuilders like Greg Doucette have used Cardarine, it’s not safe. Today, the synthetic compound has joined the ranks of the many promising compounds that were ultimately deemed unsafe by WADA.