40 year old looking to improve health and increase muscle mass

[Simba]

I am 40 years old and have been pretty active all my life. I have been going to the gym regularly the last year or so but I am a hard gainer and really struggling to put on muscle mass. My wife is 26 years old in great shape so obviously I want to improve my appearance, wellness and health.

My current weight is 70kg and I'm 178cm tall. My body fat is quite low but abs are not visible and I tend to store fat in my midsection. Over the last year, I have added a few kg's of muscle mass but nothing significant so I am looking for things to help me with gains. I have been to the doctor because I suspected that my testosterone levels might be low but they were normal.

I am using a few supplements like multi vitamins, whey protein, glutamine, beta alanine, creatine. The last couple of week I've been trying to search for things that would help to maximize gains. At first I considered AAS cycle but after reading about side effects and negative health effects from steroids, I decided to not use them. Then I was thinking about HGH, but because of the cost and a huge amount of counterfeits, I decided that it is not for me either.

Now, I am looking on peptides and MK-677. I am especially interested in MK-677 because of the reason that it only needs to be used once a day and it can be used orally. As I understand that MK-677 is the same as GHRP, the only difference is that it is orally active and has much longer half-life. Can someone tell me if there are any other differences between them and which one is better. Also, if MK-677 is GHRP then does it needs to be used together with GHRH, such as CJC1295?

I am considering running an MK-677 at 20mg/day, do I need CJC1295 with it, if so at what dose should I use it? There is so much bro-science on the internet and it is quite difficult to filter the information and understand what would be the best way.

I have also read that MK-677 needs to be used along with Huperzine A to block somatostatin. And also that, Melatonin is really helpful with MK-677. Is this all true? I would also greatly appreciate if someone could suggest me a source for these things. I've read that liquid MK-677 is better than tablet form because legally, they are not allowed to sell tablets as SARM's are only allowed to be sold for "research purposes". Feel free to suggest me things that could be useful for me, I am not trying to look like a bodybuilder but I want to add about 5kg's of lean muscle and lose some body fat if that's possible.

Thanks.

[Electgen]

MK-677 should help you to increase your weight as it greatly increases appetite. It is not the best muscle builder but as you are only 70kg, I believe that from the amount of food you eat, you will be able to see some good gains.

[Algornel]

Have you considered using other SARM's? Like Ostarine, LGD? They are way better for building muscle than MK-677. MK-677 on its own is a pretty weak muscle builder. It is great for increasing GH levels, boosting appetite, improving sleep quality, anti-aging but the muscle gains aren't great. If muscle gains are the goal then it should be used together with some kind of SARM or steroid. The synergy between high GH and Testosterone levels is incredible for muscle building.

[Simba]

MK-677 should help you to increase your weight as it greatly increases appetite. It is not the best muscle builder but as you are only 70kg, I believe that from the amount of food you eat, you will be able to see some good gains.

I have always been struggling with appetite and that's why I am really looking forward to increase it with MK-677.

[bodybuilder]

I have tried both - the MK-677 and growth hormone secretagogue peptides. I didn't really like the MK-677 because it made my appetite too uncontrollable. Even if I ate a huge dinner, I would wake up during the night hungry as hell. Also, MK-677 made me hold more water weight than peptides. The sleep was also better with peptides. MK-677 could be beneficial for you because you want to increase your appetite, but you can do the same thing with GHRP-6 and GHRP-2.

It is not that difficult to do 2-3 injections per day and it's easy when you get used to it. Morning and evening injections are very easy - simply do them as you would brush your teeth or drink your coffee. Some people are struggling with 3rd injection but if you don't have to do it then you would still get good effects from 2 doses per day.

[zholtok]

MK-677 can be used solo but you would get higher GH output by using it together with GHRH - CJC1295 DAC. CJC1295 no DAC can't be effectively used together with MK-677 because it has a very short half-life and it only amplifies the pulse, it will do nothing when there is no GH pulse and you can't know when your pituitary gland releases GH. CJC1295 DAC can be used and it would be really beneficial to use it together with MK-677. Doses of CJC1295 DAC vary from the 1-4mg week but I recommend you to start with 1mg/week, split into 2 injections and then see how you handle it.

Also, I suggest you start with a smaller dose of MK-677. Start with 10mg/day and increase it slowly because if you start using 20mg/day right away then you will hold tons of water weight. You can use the Huperzine A with it, it will slightly increase the effectiveness of MK. The Melatonin would also be beneficial but I wouldn't use it... I have tried it just a few times and it made me wake up feeling really bloated and the bloat from MK-677 and Melatonin would be too much.

[Abigail]

You can use your MK-677 together with CJC1295 DAC but I recommend you to not use DAC for longer than 1-2 months because it is not too good for men and can damage the pituitary gland if it's used long term. CJC1295 DAC is actually great with MK-677 because they both have a long half life. But don't run it too long, I suggest you switch to peptides after a couple of months. Like use MK-677 + CJC1295 DAC for 2 months and then switch to Mod GRF(1-29)+ GHRP-2. That way you will keep your body from becoming less sensitive to the drug and also let yourself see the difference between different GHRP's and GHRH's.

[mrhealthy]

I've found that MK-677 it is pretty pointless to use while cutting but it is good for bulking cycles.

[Simba]

I've found that MK-677 it is pretty pointless to use while cutting but it is good for bulking cycles.

I am looking for muscle mass gains but I'm not really looking to "bulk up", more like lean gains.

I have read a lot about the water retention from MK-677 and it does worry me. Is there any way to combat it? I have heard that potassium can be used but does it help?

[bodybuilder]

I am looking for muscle mass gains but I'm not really looking to "bulk up", more like lean gains.

I have read a lot about the water retention from MK-677 and it does worry me. Is there any way to combat it? I have heard that potassium can be used but does it help?

The best things you can do to avoid bloat is to increase your MK-677 slowly, eat clean, do cardio and drink LOTS of water. The potassium won't help much but you can use it if you want.

I like Abigail's idea of cycling between MK-677+CJC1295 and GHRP+Mod GRF1-29. This would actually be a nice way of running them.

[burner09]

I don't really understand why you all are so worried about the water retention from MK-677. When I used it, at first I did experience slight water retention but it disappeared after about a month. In total, I used MK-677 for 3 months and noticed great effects from it.

Hunger was controllable
No water weight
Did experience tingling and numbness in hands
Sleep was incredible, in fact, MK-677 allowed me to sleep 6 hours during the night and feel completely rested when I was waking up. I was usually doing a power nap during the day though.
I noticed some fat loss on MK-677 and some muscle gains but nothing too significant because I used it solo.
The roundness and fullness of muscles were incredible though, felt pumped all day long.

Overall, MK-677 felt very, very similar to a 4-5iu dose of synthetic HGH.

[Simba]

Thank you very much for all the answers and your experience.

I also like the idea of cycling between MK-677 and peptides because that way I will be able to try out them all and see what I like better.

One more question. I know that peptides need to be injected on empty stomach but what about MK-677? Does the same thing apply? And what about CJC1295 DAC?

[manofsteel]

Thank you very much for all the answers and your experience.

I also like the idea of cycling between MK-677 and peptides because that way I will be able to try out them all and see what I like better.

One more question. I know that peptides need to be injected on empty stomach but what about MK-677? Does the same thing apply? And what about CJC1295 DAC?

Doesn't matter whether you take it on empty stomach or whether you take it together with your dinner. The same applies to CJC1295 DAC, they both have long half-lives and food won't affect the GH release.