I usually keep a relatively low profile on the subject of doping when it comes to publications on the Internet, as I believe that there is generally an "unpleasant" mood.
Everyone knows that the misuse of certain substances to promote performance and muscle growth is omnipresent and yet anyone who tries to "educate" and not instruct is immediately put in one of these drawers where you don't want to end up.
Yet education would be more than necessary if you look at today's scene, which is sometimes contaminated with dirty products and incorrect applications.
Everyone thinks they know better and yet, apart from pimples on the back and perhaps mammary glands, nothing grows. Enough of my introductory words.
Today I want to talk about the most expensive doping agent, which athletes hope will not only lead to muscle hypertrophy, but also to improved fat burning and hyperplasia (the division of muscle cells).
We are talking about growth hormones.
First of all, in Part 1, I would like to introduce you to excerpts from the book "Anabolic Steroids", which for years has been regarded as the "doping bible" par excellence.
Let the most important lines of the rather extensive chapter sink in, before we move on in Part 2 to a scientific fact-based explanation based on a new study by Hermansen and colleagues, which also looked at the use of growth hormone for doping purposes in healthy young athletes.
Are the true effects of doping with growth hormone really that spectacular, or is the substance grossly overestimated by the authors of the book?
Science will show - stay tuned!
Growth hormone / HGH / somatropin in the "Black Book"
Insiders and long-time followers of the scene are familiar with "The Black Book", which is currently available in a completely legal version from 2016.
For many years, all current and available doping substances for bodybuilders have been cataloged and presented here. The authors also provide an insight into available versions of the individual substances, give clear recommendations on how to take them, provide so-called cure plans, but also provide information on potential side effects to be expected when using them.
You can think what you like about a work like this, but it seems more sensible to deal with it than to handle banned substances completely awkwardly on the advice of the dealer or after researching in anonymous forums if you have decided to go down the doping route for yourself.
The following text is quoted from the chapter "HGH, Somatropin" and contains what you should know in terms of the comparison between the practice bible and the new study.
In general
"Growth hormone is a natural polypeptide hormone consisting of 191 amino acids, which is produced in the anterior pituitary gland in response to appropriate stimuli, such as intense exercise, sleep, stress and low blood sugar."
"It is not without good reason that it is referred to as the "youth hormone", as natural growth hormone production decreases steadily from around the age of twenty."
"It is not unusual for the majority of all sixty-year-olds to produce only around 25% of the natural amount, which is directly linked to physical and mental decline."
"In principle, it can be said that growth hormone is one of the strongest and most effective anabolic and lipolytic hormones available to bodybuilders for muscle building and fat loss. No anabolic steroid comes close to the muscle-building potential of growth hormone. Whether you are an advanced bodybuilder or a professional athlete, growth hormone will positively influence the muscular appearance of the body like hardly any other hormone"
"Those who know how to use growth hormone properly rave about the results. On the other hand, those who use growth hormone but don't really know what they are doing are often punished with disappointing results."
"Most of the somatropin molecules in the blood travel directly to the liver, where they gain entry into the liver tissue via the abundant growth hormone receptors. There, growth hormone begins to produce somatomedin C, also known as "insulin-like growth factor 1" (IGF-1), which is interesting because this substance is ultimately primarily responsible for muscle growth and fat loss."
"The problem that the liver faces is that it cannot simply produce IGF-1 just because some growth hormone is present. To produce IGF-1, the liver cells need 3 other hormones in addition to growth hormone 1) the male sex hormone testosterone 2) the polypeptide hormone insulin produced in the pancreas and 3) the T3 thyroid hormone liothyronine. If he does without the additional supply of these important cohormones, and thus without the formation of IGF-1, the results are less optimal"
"In the blood, IGF-1 is immediately bound to carrier protein complexes, the so-called IGF binding proteins (IGBP)... IGFBP-3 is primarily responsible for our IGF-1, which binds approx. 90 % of all IGF-1 molecules in the blood... The half-life of unbound IGF-1 is only a few minutes, while bound IGF-1 has a half-life of 16 hours."
"...A low insulin level leads to a reduced number of IGFBP-3 in the blood, which means that more IGF-1 is unbound and cross-reacts with the insulin receptor, whereby the muscle-building effect is partially lost, as fewer IGF-1 molecules are available for the muscle cell... Another point that underlines why exogenous insulin is so important for the maximum effect of growth hormone."
"However, it is now known that the muscle cells themselves also have growth hormone receptors and produce IGF-1 on site. The prerequisite is, of course, that the muscle cells, like the liver cells, have sufficient testosterone, insulin and thyroid hormone at their disposal. What is really remarkable and phenomenal for bodybuilders is that the IGF-1 produced in the muscle cell now acts as a cell growth and above all as a cell division factor, on the one hand locally on neighboring cells (paracrine) and on the other hand directly on its own cell (autocrine)."
"Last but not least, growth hormone also has a direct effect on skeletal muscle and fat cells that is not mediated by IGF-1."
"The number one rule that athletes should remember when using growth hormone is that the length of the course is more important than the dosage.... In principle, it can be said that the minimum length of a growth hormone cure, especially in the muscle-building phase, should not be less than three months. A period of 6 - 12 months using low to moderate amounts of somatropin would be better.
The longer the growth hormone is administered, the more resounding its effect on physical appearance."
"No matter how high the daily dosage is chosen, growth hormone should be injected at least twice a day for the best possible results, as it only has a very short half-life of a few hours, as already described elsewhere. Ideally, it should be administered in the morning, directly before breakfast and once again after training, directly before the post-workout meal.... It is important to consume sufficient carbohydrates and plenty of easily digestible protein at both of these meals, while keeping fat intake low."
Muscle building
"According to current scientific knowledge, the first step by which growth hormone begins to have an effect on the muscles after an injection is an increase in intramuscular cell volume... which enlarges the muscle cells and thus creates the necessary space in the muscle cell for subsequent protein storage."
"The so-called real muscle-building effect of growth hormone occurs after approx. 2 - 3 weeks of use, when increased nitrogen levels can be measured in the body."
"When growth hormone is administered, the level of amino acids in the blood drops rapidly, as these are now increasingly transported from the blood into the muscle cells. In the muscle cell itself, the growth hormone activates protein biosynthesis, i.e. the amino acids introduced are incorporated into contractile muscle protein."
"Bodybuilders who want to maximize muscle growth with growth hormone would do well to increase their daily protein consumption to at least 300 - 400 g. An ideal rule of thumb would be to consume 4 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day."
"The second mechanism - in addition to the anabolic effect described above, through which the growth hormone increases the nitrogen content in the body and thus builds muscle - is reduced proteolysis... which means that the growth hormone makes the breakdown of muscle protein more difficult or prevents it completely. The interesting thing here is that this muscle-preserving effect of growth hormone takes place at the expense of fatty acids. Instead of gaining the necessary energy through the breakdown of muscle protein during periods of stress such as dieting or too frequent or too intensive training, the growth hormone causes body fat to be burned instead. This leads to an increased breakdown of free fatty acids in the bloodstream, which are then used by the body to compensate for its energy deficit while protein reserves remain intact."
"When growth hormone is administered, a phenomenon can be observed - the muscle cell begins to divide. Part of the muscle fiber that has become too thick is split off, so that two new thin muscle fibers are created. This is referred to as hyperplasia, i.e. the proliferation of muscle fibers.... The decisive factor is that the two newly formed muscle cells can now grow in width (hypertrophy)."
Fat burning
"Since the fat cell has plenty of growth hormone receptors, it is one of the main targets of the somatropic hormone. When the growth hormone is injected, the growth hormone molecules floating around in the bloodstream form a bond with the growth hormone receptors of the fat cells and form a receptor-molecule complex. During this interaction between receptor and molecule, the growth hormone molecule transmits the information to the fat cell to break down triglycerides.... Incidentally, this effect occurs independently of IGF-1 production, as it is based on the direct growth hormone effect."
"Interestingly, an FFS/glycerol ratio of 14:1 is found in the blood after administration of growth hormone. This fact allows the conclusion that the somatropic hormone not only causes the breakdown of fat, but also simultaneously blocks the build-up of fat, i.e. the growth of the fat cell."
"The long-term use of growth hormone also results in an increased resistance of fat cells to insulin. This means that the growth hormone reduces the ability of the fat cells to react to the hormone insulin... The growth hormone thus prevents the build-up of fat through insulin."
"Until just under a decade ago, it was wrongly assumed that the fat-reducing effect of growth hormone was exclusively due to its direct effect on fat cells. Today, however, we know that IGF-1, which is formed from growth hormone, contributes significantly to fat loss. Due to its insulin-like effect, IGF-1 can form a bond with the insulin receptors of the fat cell and prevent the docking of insulin by blocking the insulin receptors. As IGF-1 only has a biological effect of just under 5% of that of insulin in fat cells, this accelerates fat loss enormously."
Anabolic steroids
"Anyone who uses growth hormone to build muscle must also use anabolic steroids, there is absolutely no way around it... The higher the growth hormone dosage, the more testosterone needs to be added."
Thyroid hormone
"It is no secret in hardcore bodybuilding circles that a combination of growth hormone and thyroid hormone results in better muscle building rates and increased fat burning in the medium and long term than if the somatropic hormone is given without a thyroid hormone."
"The problem is that a high level of growth hormone in the blood causes the hypothalamus to release more of the hormone somatostatin. This somatostatin then reaches the pituitary gland via the bloodstream and curbs the body's own release of growth hormone and unfortunately also that of the thyroid-stimulating hormone TSH.... As a result, the thyroid gland releases less T4 and T3, which is equivalent to classic hypothyroidism. At the same time, the blood level of T4 and T3 drops and the athlete no longer has enough thyroid hormones in the blood to ensure maximum IGF-1 production by the liver and muscle cells... The best, direct and uncompromising way to achieve a sufficiently high T3 blood level is to take a T3 thyroid hormone"
Insulin
"Both the IGF-1-producing cells in the liver and in the muscle are dependent on insulin. In addition, insulin prolongs the life of IGF-1 molecules in the bloodstream by improving the binding behavior of IGF-1 to its binding protein IGFBP-3, which in turn results in increased muscle-building and fat-burning effects."
"Too low an insulin level, i.e. an insulin deficit, leads to a breakdown of the growth hormone receptors in the liver. If growth hormone is administered at a higher dose over a longer period of time, this can lead to an insulin deficit, as the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas can no longer produce sufficient insulin. This is because growth hormone is known to severely stress the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans, which initially results in increased insulin output, but then leads to damage to these cells with subsequent reduced insulin output."
"Continuous growth hormone administration usually results in hyperglycemia, i.e. an increased blood sugar level, which is caused by this insulin deficit and growth hormone-induced insulin resistance in various body organs.... This insulin resistance not only prevents optimal IGF-1 production, but can also lead to health problems in the long term.... If, on the other hand, insulin is injected, the hyperglycemic (blood sugar-increasing) effect of growth hormone is offset by the hypoglycemic (blood sugar-lowering) effect of insulin."
Summary
The authors of the doping work "Anabolic Steroids - The Black Book" praise the use of growth hormone to the skies and claim that it not only causes muscle hypertrophy, but also muscle hyperplasia and increased fat burning when used correctly. In order for the anabolic IGF-1-dependent effects in particular to take effect, the authors believe that it is essential to always plan the administration of testosterone, insulin and thyroid hormone in addition to growth hormone.
When used correctly, growth hormone not only seems to build muscle and prevent fat gain, but also burns more body fat, despite the recommended accompanying administration of insulin, which is known as a strong "fat-anabolic" hormone.
In Part 2, there is now a brand-new counterstatement on the use of growth hormone in young, healthy exercisers, which comes from a data collection involving 11 studies with a total of 224 test subjects.
Will there be parallels or will the researchers come to a completely different conclusion?
Stay tuned!
Sporty greetings
Holger Gugg
www.body-coaches.de
Sources
D. Sinner - Anabolic Steroids - The Black Book - BMS Verlag - ISBN 978-3-00-053655-7
