Is MK-677 the Holy Grail?

So, you want to add some MK-677 into your mass stack, eh? It’s true; the information on the internet is all over the place, not just for this compound but for just about anything to do with performance-enhancing drugs as a whole. This is why I am here to help teach you the right info and help guide your choices in your quest to get jacked. I have used MK-677 with several of my athletes, both male and female, so I can definitely give you some insight and some good takeaway pointers to help you decide if it’s a compound that would best help you reach your goals safely. So, let’s get this party started.

Description

So, MK-677, also known as Ibutamoren, is what is known as a Growth Hormone Secretagogue. It is not a SARM, so if someone tells you this, then don’t take their advice right from the start. MK-677 is a Ghrelin mimetic. It belongs to the GHRP (Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides) class. All the compounds in this class of drugs mimic the activity of Ghrelin on the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR1a). MK-677 stimulates the pulsatile secretion of this hormone from the pituitary gland.

MK-677 is considered a third-generation GHRP, mostly for its refined oral bioavailability. This means that it can be taken orally instead of having to inject it like the majority of the other peptides and compounds in the GHRP category. It has a half-life of about six hours, so when taken at night, it will be active for most of your sleep duration. Even though the half-life is not super long, most will attest that they can feel it working for as long as 24 hours even off a single dose.

In several different human studies, MK-677 has been shown to significantly elevate serum GH and IGF-1 levels in both the young and elderly. So, this is a good thing. It has also been shown to increase fat-free mass and energy expenditure as well. Subjects also noted an improved sleep quality when compared to placebo. Another interesting fact is that MK-677 also reduced diet-induced catabolism or muscle wasting. This makes it beneficial for those who may be dieting and looking to hold onto their muscle mass.

Structural Characteristics

MK-677 is a synthetic nonpeptide spiropiperidine with the chemical name 2-amino-2-methyl-N-[(2R)-1-(1- methylsulfonylspiro[2H-indole-3,4′-piperidine]-1 ‘-yl)-1 – oxo-3-phenylmethoxypropan-2-yl)propanamide mesylate.

It has a remarkably high level of oral bioavailability, which is very important for it to be an effective compound. It also has a prolonged half-life and window of action compared to most other GHRPs. This allows it to be efficacious with once-daily administration even though there are several protocols that can be implemented to take it more often.

Performance and Physique Benefits

So, you probably are wanting to know what MK-677 will do for you, results-wise, right? Of course, you do; that is why you wrote to me in the first place. So, I am going to cover not just what the science says about this compound but also what I have seen it do with my own eyes. This way, you get the best of both worlds. The reason for this is that sometimes what a study says it will do, doesn’t always turn out that way in the real world with athletes who are enhanced. Some things look great on paper, like communism, but then when applied, turn out to be horrible, so this is the same with all performance-enhancing drugs.

So, the first thing to note is the increase in Growth Hormone as well as IGF-1. Now, for building muscle from this pathway, it can be effective. Even though GH does have fat-burning properties, and the studies have shown that subjects lost body fat, you still have to watch your diet, and I will get into this more later. It can increase IGF-1 levels by about 50-60%, so it is a nice bump but not to a crazy level like injecting Increlex.

MK-677 has been shown in studies to help decrease muscle catabolism or wasting while in a calorie deficit. This compound will help keep you in a positive nitrogen balance, so from a medical point of view, it can be beneficial for those who are in a catabolic state due to their illness. This is also a plus for those dieting and trying to preserve as much muscle tissue as possible.

Now, if you are disciplined and can eat your six meals per day like a true bodybuilder who has everything planned out, then I can see someone dropping fat while on it. I cannot overemphasize that you stay regimented on your diet when supplementing with this compound. We want to take all the good that MK-677 has to offer, and also mitigate and avoid anything bad that can come from it as well.

Another benefit that I have witnessed is how MK-677 will benefit your sleep. For those of you who may have sleeping problems, the large majority will find that it helps you get a good night’s rest. In fact, you will sleep like a baby who had a shot of Jack Daniels laced into their bottle. This is one reason why it will also help you to grow muscle because muscles grow during sleep and not during your training. The better sleep you get, the better recovery you have, the better you grow like a weed.

Related to the above is the fact that MK-677 will help you recover faster from your workouts. This means that you will not be as sore from your training sessions and will allow you to handle increased volume and still make progress from it. With an increase in Growth Hormone, it will help those connective tissues heal at an accelerated rate. Many report that their beat-up joints feel better as well. This most likely is due to a combination of the increased collagen production, as well as the water retention cushioning those joints in the same way potent steroids like Anadrol provide the same benefit.

Now, when it comes to the benefit of increasing hunger, listen up. For some hard gainers, it can be very hard to eat enough quality foods to gain muscle. Some people just do not possess the appetite to get in six or more meals per day. Plus, it is also the composition of that meal. Yeah, it’s easy to eat a burger and fries, but it’s not so easy when you have to eat chicken and rice or steak and potatoes meal after meal. It can become quite obnoxious, even for the most disciplined of us. This is where MK-677 really shines as it can increase the appetite greatly, thereby helping you to get in all the meals you need. For someone that can ward off the temptations of junk foods and sweets, MK-677 can really help you eat enough of the high-quality foods you need to pack on serious mass.

One side note on this is its relation to carbohydrates. One thing that I have witnessed is that when taken before eating carbs, it will cause the majority of you to keep craving more carbs. This can be great for someone in the offseason trying to get in the 800-1000 grams of carbs needed for the day. I have found it very beneficial for older people, 35 and above, to get in their meals. This is because as you get older, your appetite decreases. Hell, I can only eat maybe half of what I could eat in my twenties now that I am older. Plus, some oral steroids like Anadrol, for instance, can decrease your appetite, so stacking this with MK-677 can help override this issue.

MK-677 will also help you to gain some lean tissue and increase strength as well. Now, not all the weight you gain will be pure muscle, as water volume both inside and outside the muscle cell will be increased. Most people who are eating a surplus of clean calories and minimizing their junk food intake will gain between 10-15 pounds during their 8-12 week run.

You can also look forward to a few other benefits as well. You will get some very nice pumps in the gym, that is for sure. If you are a pump chaser like so many of you are, you will really like the fact that MK-677 will help engorge your muscles with blood in a big way. It will also help to provide a fuller, rounder look to your muscle bellies as well. For leaner athletes, the increased water retention along with the increased cell volumization will provide great synergy. You will look bigger, fuller, with a rounder muscle belly as well. This is what everyone wants, right?

Many of my athletes also noticed that the hair on their head thickened as well as their nails grew harder and faster. Not only did their hair get thicker on their heads, but it also grew at an accelerated rate. A couple of my guys that like to get their hair cut every couple of weeks to keep everything in tip-top shape noticed that they had to go more often to the barber because it was growing like a chia pet. You will also notice an improvement in your skin quality as well. This is due to the fact that it helps increase collagen in the body, thus providing this anti-aging effect on appearance.

Another thing to note for female athletes is that it will not cause virilization. This is due to the fact that it is not a steroid but a Growth Hormone Secretagogue. So for ladies, they do not need to worry about changes in their voice or hardening of the face, which happens with androgenic compounds. Another plus that many women will like is the fact that it has been shown to increase bone density. This is a bonus for women, especially over the age of 35 who may be concerned about osteoporosis in later years.

Side Effects

Ok, so we looked at the good; now we have to look at the bad and ugly. In fact, things aren’t that crazy bad with this compound when taken properly, so let’s go over what you need to look out for. Water retention will occur when taking MK-677, but this can be a positive or a negative depending on your current physique. If you are under 10% body fat, then the increased water retention will make you look massive and full. If you are a fat slob, then taking MK-677 most likely will make you look even more like a fat slob, so it probably isn’t the best compound to take as part of your stack.

You can take care of the water through other compounds as well as diet. Where it can become a problem is for the fact that if you have high body fat levels and then you add more water into your physique, then it won’t look so good. It then can also increase your blood pressure if the water retention gets too much, but that can happen with almost all mass-producing compounds. This is why when on cycle, you constantly monitor your blood pressure no matter what compounds you are cycling.

One thing to note here to help minimize this is to keep your water intake high. You should be, as an enhanced athlete, be consuming 3-4 liters of water daily anyway, so being consistent is a must. Next, you have to keep track of your minerals and electrolytes in proper balance. Your sodium to potassium to water ratio must be in proper balance to help eliminate excess water retention or prevent it from happening from the start.

Once again, like I explained earlier, your diet must be bang on. But to be realistic, the large majority of you may have good but not great discipline when it comes to controlling your food cravings. For those who then binge out on bad food choices, then I can see the fat increase from not only this pathway of excess caloric intake but one more as well. So making sure you do not start loading up on junk and processed foods is a must. Otherwise, instead of trying to pack on lean dense muscle, you will be gaining more body fat than planned.

The second way it can increase your body fat level is due to the fact that it can increase your rate of insulin resistance. MK-677 can make your muscle cells less sensitive to insulin, the same way pre-diabetic individuals are. This is why if you have elevated blood glucose levels or high HB-A1C levels, I would not use this compound. It will make the issue worse and not help you to attain the results you want. I have all my athletes monitor their blood glucose levels three different ways.

From their blood draws with their doctor, I always make sure they get their HB-A1C checked, which tells me how insulin sensitive you are over a 12-week period. Then I also have them do an oral glucose tolerance test. I have them check their serum insulin levels as well. Then at home, I have them use a glucometer to monitor things on a daily basis. Since I keep a very accurate detailed account of my clients’ blood work, along with their food logs, and glucose readings, I can always adjust the compounds they are using or decide not to use certain compounds if it will work against what we are trying to accomplish.

The other note that should be looked at is the athlete’s body fat percentage along with their glucose levels. The reason why I say this is if an athlete is more endomorphic in structure (puts on fat easily), many times they are also more insulin-resistant than their ectomorphic (skinny structure) counterpart. If either of these two sounds like you, then I would not use this compound until you get leaner and your insulin sensitivity improves.

I already mentioned earlier about MK-677 increasing insulin resistance with some people. One very important tip that I do with all my athletes using MK-677 is to combine it with Metformin. If you are not familiar with this drug, it is given to Type II diabetics to help improve insulin sensitivity. By combining the two with my athletes, I have seen very little or nothing at all in terms of their morning glucose reading as well as their postprandial reading two hours after a meal. I am a huge fan of Metformin, even though some coaches are not. The health and longevity as well as the protective benefits for enhanced athletes that it offers are too good not to take.

Now one huge misconception that I see all the time over the internet is that MK-677 will not shut you down. This is a lie, so do not listen to those that say this. Even though it is not a SARM, it will shut down your HPTA axis just as anabolic steroids and SARMS willdo, just through a slightly different pathway. It can alter Prolactin levels so when you come off, you can end up producing less endogenous Testosterone. So, if you are one of those “Fake Nattys” that think they can get away with taking this compound and not have to pay the piper at the end of the cycle, you are dead wrong, my friend.

One last thing to consider is that just like taking injectable Growth Hormone, it can, for the first month or so, make you feel a little lethargic if taken during the day. This is a common trait GH users will find when they first start using this drug, and the same can be said about those using MK-677 as well. This will not last forever, so if you are using this compound and can grind through the first month or so, it should wean off. I have not found this to be too bad of an issue with my athletes, but if for some reason it is for you, then you can avoid daytime dosing and just keep it before bed.

Cycling Information

So, you are probably wondering what kind of program, diet, and cycle would MK-677 work best with? From reading all the info I put together above, MK-677 is best used for mass cycles when you are at a respectable body fat level. This can be used for a rebound cycle after a competition to help take advantage of that “Growth Surge” that comes after dieting down for months. At this time, you are very lean and will be perfect to help fill you out with some quality mass gains going into your offseason growth phase.

MK-677 stacks well with long and multi-estered forms of Testosterone. This includes Testosterone Enanthate, Testosterone Cypionate, Sustanon, Omnadren, Triolandren, and Testoviron. To layer in your anabolics, Deca and EQ are great additions as well. One warning if you stack it with EQ: the pumps will be very intense. Both are known to dramatically increase muscle pumps, so by stacking them together, it will be on a whole other level. For orals, Anadrol, Dianabol, and Turinabol will all complement it well.

For those “Fake Nattys” out there that don’t want to take steroids because your mommy wouldn’t approve, then MK-677 can be stacked with SARMS as well. It pairs well with RAD-140 and or LGD-4033 to help you pack on some size and density.

Anabolic Coach’s Application and Administration

So, after hearing all the many benefits that MK-677 has to offer, you are now thinking, how the hell do I take it? Well, hold on, young grasshopper, your Anabolic Sensei is getting to that. In terms of how long I have my athletes cycle MK-677, I like to keep it at 8-12 weeks in length. After running it for that length of time, I will have my athletes take off 4-6 weeks and then repeat if they are still in a mass phase.

Now, some people will run this longer, but in my opinion, this is the best length of time to stay on it. Some compounds lose their effectiveness over time, and from what I have witnessed, I feel this is not too long or too short a period to run MK-677.

The way I have my athletes, both male and female, start using it is with 10mg at bedtime. I will then monitor how things are going over the next 7-14 days, then decide what to do from there. This includes how it is affecting their hunger levels, how the athletes look in terms of water retention, as well as monitoring their blood glucose levels with a glucometer. If things are going well, then I may increase to 20mg for men prior to bedtime.

There is also a benefit to taking it during the day as well. I have noted a good benefit of taking 10-15mg in the morning during a mass cycle. The reason for this is that it will make you hungry all day long. This is a plus for those that are having a hard time getting in all their meals, especially when they are sticking to six solid food meals and not relying on several protein shakes. For men, I like to keep the upper limit around 30mg total per day and for females, 20mg.

So, one way that I have found effective for men is to take 10mg in the morning and 20mg before bedtime. For women, I will have them take 10mg in the morning and then 10mg before bed.

I only use this compound with my athletes when they are trying to put on size in the offseason. Now, it does have some fat-burning properties, but the fact that it makes people very hungry can work against you if you are on a strict diet and in a deficit when getting ready for a competition. I also am not a fan of any compound in the contest prep period that can increase insulin resistance. I am working hard to improve your insulin sensitivity during the prep period, so having something working against me during this time is something that I don’t want to do.

For injured athletes, one thing that works quite well is to use MK-677 with other healing peptides like BPC-157 and TB-500. The synergy between these compounds is quite pronounced, so this can speed up the healing process quite a bit. I have witnessed athletes with an injury, and by stacking these three compounds together, it dramatically helped repair the small muscle tear at a faster rate.

Another thing that I do when my athletes are taking MK-677, which I touched on earlier, is to use it with Metformin. I am a huge fan of Metformin, not as a performance-enhancing drug, but more for its prophylactic and longevity benefits for the enhanced athlete. Metformin can increase insulin sensitivity, thereby mitigating some of the negative effects MK-677 can have by raising blood sugar levels. I will also keep in small amounts of cardio, implement high-volume workouts, periodic fasting, and administer other Glucose Disposal Agents (GDAs) with my clients to also keep them insulin sensitive.

Scam Warning

Now, many people are wondering if MK-677 is an illegal compound currently? At present, it doesn’t fall into any “Schedule” category of drugs. It isn’t legal for human consumption, but the loophole is that people sell it as a research chemical. This shenanigan will fall through sooner or later once the government catches on, and is exactly what has happened in the past with different Pro Hormones that were not included in the same category as anabolic steroids. But this is not the main issue here.

My warning is that you will see tons and tons of websites selling supposed MK-677. Well, sorry to break it to you, but a large majority of them are fake. I have known of several people (not my athletes) that got fake MK-677 when ordering online. It’s the same thing when people order anabolic steroids online and then either get nothing sent to them, or they do get a bunch of counterfeits sent. At the end of the day, who are you going to complain to? Maybe complain to the police? How about the FDA? Good luck with either of those options, my friend. So even when it comes to MK-677, you have to truly trust your source because counterfeit scumbags are always looking to take advantage of you and scam you out of your hard-earned money.

Conclusion

So here you have it, folks. I wanted to give everyone my take on MK-677 as I seem to be getting a ton of questions on this compound as of late. I haven’t included every single fact about this compound, but I do feel I covered just about everything that most of you will want to know when deciding to implement this compound in your next mass cycle.

So, as you can see, I do use it with some of my athletes and have found good results with it. I see a ton of bad information on social media concerning this drug, so I wanted to give everyone in our community my two cents on it as well as some other tips and tricks that won’t be found anywhere else on the net. Remember, MK-677 is a drug, so for those of you who may think it’s just a supplement, you are wrong. If you decide to take MK-677, then make sure to look over my information and make notes so you can get the most out of it, all the while minimizing any side effects.