Whether to choose SARMs or Prohormones is a question we often get asked.
Whenever you’re looking for what supplements to take to build muscle, various different options will appear online and we’re here to help you make a clear decision on what’s best for you.
There are a ton of products on the market and it’s really hard to know what to choose from. There are SARMs, there are anabolic steroids, there are different types of protein powders and supplements and pills. There are weight gainers and creatine — and there are also prohormones.
In this article, we’re going to look over what exactly prohormones are, their potential benefits, potential side effects and how they stack up to SARMs – one of the better supplements in the market right now in terms of effectiveness and affordability. Let’s get started!
What are SARMs?
This one won’t take too long to explain. The acronym SARMs stands for ‘Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators’, and they generally help the body build muscle and increase bone density and strength, among various other positive applications and muscle gain benefits. SARMs do this by selectively increasing tissue growth in certain tissues: similar to steroids, but in a safer, more targeted way.
As it’s our core area of specialisation, we’ve written about SARMs many times before.
For more detailed information about SARMs, check out this article for more information about their safety and effectiveness. In the same vein, this article discusses their legality in detail, so you can get more information about that, too. In general, both of those articles will also give you more detailed information about the androgenic effects of SARMs overall, which will help you understand where they are in the body building supplements market compared to Prohormones.
So we’re familiar with SARMs. What are Prohormones, however?
What are Prohormones?
Prohormones are another supplement/drug available on the market to help with muscle growth. Some athletes and bodybuilders may be found using it to enhance muscle tissue. Prohormones are in an interesting situation, similar to many different options for supplements in the market: mostly because the science behind them is interesting.
To put it simply, Prohormones release hormones and stimulants into the blood that circulates through the body. The body already naturally has some of these processes and chemicals going on, but when you take Prohormones, you get far more of them in your body. These synthesize protein synthesis and provide a wide range of effects — not all of them good — to your body while all of this is going on.
We’re also going to delve deeper into the science and legality, but just know that Prohormones are similar in respects to other types of supplements or drugs like SARMs, steroids, or some protein supplements in certain scenarios. Many of the benefits or consequences are the same, it’s just the method that you go about to get those is a little bit different.
What do Prohormones Do?
When these hormones are consumed and released into your body, they circulate through the blood and stimulate protein synthesis, which allows for more protein to be created. At the same time, other things are happening: namely, Prohormones allow for your body to be sort of ‘switched over’ quickly, because along with protein synthesis, the drug also allows you to burn fat at an increased rate.
These effects combined together means that when Prohormones are taken, fat is burned quickly and muscles can be built up because the drug is doing two things at once. Some of these things come at a cost, however, and not just a monetary one. Additionally, many sellers of Prohormones market the drug as just an over-the-counter androgen, but it’s clear the drug does a little bit more than that.
Are Prohormones Legal?
Another interesting question is whether or not they’re legal. Prohormones, having many of the same side effects and benefits of androgenic steroids, are often compared to steroids. The thing is, the comparisons aren’t really too far off.
Prohormones can have a wide range of negative side effects (listed below) and these side effects, along with the way that the drug functions, have earned them an illegal status in most major countries. In the U.S., Australia, and several other countries, Prohormones have a similar if not same status as steroids and are considered illegal.
For reference, Prohormones are legal for sale in the U.K. and Germany.
Side Effects of SARMs vs Prohormones
It’s time to examine some of the potential unwanted side effects of Prohormones and their impact on body composition. We’re also going to compare them to the side effects/benefits of SARMs and see which is better or not.
To start things off, we’re going to first list eight major side effects and compare SARMs vs Prohormones: before moving onto what each drug does and how each may have a better role than the other in things like muscle building, fast burning of fat, building up bone strength, increasing endurance and reducing fatigue, and various other benefits.
| SARMs | Side Effect | Prohormones |
| ❌ | Long-term liver damage | ✅ (linked to, with long-term use) |
| ❌ | Long-term kidney damage | ✅ (linked to, with long-term use) |
| ✅ (sometimes heart damage) | Heart issues (various) | ✅ (mainly heartbeat issues) |
| ❌ | Anxiety | ✅ (linked to) |
| ✅ | Acne | ✅ |
| ❌ | Hair loss | ✅ (linked to) |
| ✅ (sometimes linked to) | Testicular Shrinkage | ✅ (sometimes linked to) |
| ❌ | Aggression | ✅ |
| ✅ (sometimes linked to) | Gynecomastia | ✅ (sometimes linked to) |
| ❌ | Fatigue | ✅ |
| ❌ | Sleeplessness | ✅ |
In general, as is clearly evident, supplements in general have a long list of different anabolic effects that may or may not happen depending on whether or not you take them, how much, for how long, and what kind of supplements you take.
Different effects can happen depending on the supplement, and it’s up to the consumer to decide what to put in their body. Research is important when deciding to use drugs and supplements like these.
In general, SARMs are usually much less dangerous than most supplements, and that is clear here. This list of side effects is fairly substantial and covers many of the most common side effects.
Benefits of SARMs vs Prohormones
However, when we discuss the negative side effects of drugs, we also need to cover their positive, beneficial effects.
Many people on both sides of the Atlantic take supplements like these because by targeting specific receptors in muscles, they help build muscle mass, they increase natural testosterone levels (not always necessarily a positive, but sometimes), can help build up bone and reduce fatigue and increase endurance, along with a huge list of other benefits and positives.
Both SARMs and Prohormones have many of these qualities:
Building Muscle / Putting on Muscle Quickly
Of course, the main benefit of SARMs and Prohormones is building up lean muscle mass and packing on some noticeable weight in the process. Tapping into the inherent muscle-building benefits is the main goal for most people that take these supplements. Not only do they want to look good, they want to build up that lean muscle and look fierce and strong.
SARMs vs Prohormones: which is better at muscle? With both SARMs and Prohormones, it’s not uncommon for a person to put on five or ten pounds of muscle — possibly more — within one cycle of the drug. That’s quite a boost to your lean muscle, and it will be a big, noticeable difference in your lean definition.
Even some of these benefits come at a cost, however. While some of the gains from SARMs can stay for a while, it still ultimately is assisting with the build up of the muscle. Stopping the use of the supplement may reduce your gains over time.
Prohormones are in a similar boat, but the gains with this supplement fall away at a fast rate. These are short-term gains and are not long-term.
Burning Fat
This is where SARMs and Prohormones start to have clearer differences. Besides the side effects, there are many different SARMs and many of these drugs have different effects. Of course, Prohormones are not all identical, but many of their side effects and benefits are more general, vs SARMs, which have specific stacks or products that have different benefits.
Prohormones, in general, assist in burning body fat and building muscle over a short space of time. Some SARMs do this – many do – but not all. It should be noted that you need to look into which specific SARM you want to take in order to get a specific section of benefits. Prohormones, on the other hand, do this with most products and brands. You could look at this as a ‘win’ for Prohormones here.
Reducing Fatigue/Increasing Endurance
Many high-quality SARMs boast of reducing fatigue and increasing endurance in the body. Some Prohormones do the same, but it’s hard to say how many different products and brands perform that same benefit. Identifying which supplements are helpful — and which sub-products and brands of that specific supplement — is one of the most difficult parts of taking these kinds of drugs and supplements.
SARMs, in general, are better at this benefit than Prohormones. You may be able to find a specific product for Prohormones that provides many of these benefits, but it will be difficult, and the guarantee of these benefits is inconclusive and not certain.
Building Up Stronger Bones
Finally, many SARMs provide the benefit of strengthening bones. It isn’t just the actual hardness of the bone and the increased density that is the best bonus: it’s the warding against osteoporosis and brittle bones in old age that should be considered. These kinds of health benefits can follow you for your life and really assist you in staying healthy and not suffering any kind of injury.
Prohormones don’t offer any kind of benefit like this, which is another reason why SARMs vs Prohormones is a somewhat imbalanced comparison on the side of SARMs.
Which is Better: SARMs or Prohormones?
SARMs vs Prohormones is a hard comparison to make. While the drugs are similar, each have a variety of different benefits and side effects that make them different from one another. If you were trying to lose fat and build muscle as fast as possible, for a specific date or set goal, Prohormones may be better: in the short-term, they’re the drug with the stronger application.
Short-term, however, isn’t the only consideration here. Long-term benefits are important, and with SARMs vs Prohormones, SARMs have far more long-term benefits than Prohormones. Prohormones have useful short-term benefits.
Ultimately, the choice of what you want to use is yours.
Conclusions on SARMs vs Prohormones
If you’re interested in SARMs, there are many different options to choose from. Stacks like these have a variety of benefits and can help stack lean muscle even more or burn fat.
We always recommend seeking medical advice before embarking on any new course of supplements whether you’re a competitive athlete or a newbie to the world of enhanced growth hormones. The products we sell are not advertised for human consumption and are for test purposes only.
Muscle size and tone results vary by individual and there is no substitute for a healthy, balanced nutritional plan as part of your daily fitness regimen.
If you’re interested more in the general application of SARMs, you can spend some time perusing through the many different products and supplements available: here is a list where you can do that.
For post-cycle therapy and other cycle support products, you can view those here.
Lastly — if you have any questions, want to contact UK SARMs, or want more information – read our fitness blog here and use our contact form here, respectively.
