Few other hormones have generated more excitement and hype in recent years than HGH. From reports of incredible fat loss to tales of increases in lean muscle that defies genetics, HGH has been touted as one of the panaceas of all bodybuilding woes. Depending on which statistics you trust, reports of as many as 80% of professional athletes have used or are using HGH as a supplement to their training program.
The purpose of this guide is to give you a good working knowledge of HGH and how to intelligently use it. While this is not intended to cover every conceivable nuance of HGH use, it should provide you with a solid background to create your cycle around. So lets take a look at this hormone called HGH.
WHAT EXACTLY IS HGH?
Human Growth Hormone (somatotropin - also referred to as rHGH, HGH, or GH) is created by the pituitary gland, the primary form consisting of a 191 amino acid chain. When we are young, HGH is in big part responsible for the proper growth of bones, muscle, and other tissues. To little of this hormone and we remain dwarfs … too much and we become giants and/or suffer from abnormal growth deformities. As we become adults, HGH is responsible for keeping muscles from wasting away, supports healthy immune system response, regulates aspects of our metabolic function dealing with increased fat metabolism and healthy body composition in later life, and maintains and repairs our skin and other tissues.
Our levels of HGH peak while we are adolescents and then begin to drop off sharply beginning in our 30’s. By our 60’s, our daily HGH secretion can be as little as 10% of what it was during our youth. Many of the markers of aging are affected by this decrease in HGH. Some of the results of this are:
· Increase in fat.
· Decrease in muscle and lean body structures.
· Decreased skin texture resulting in a less youthful appearance.
· Decreased bone density, onset of osteoporosis.
· Decreased brain function, loss of intellect with aging.
· Decreased sex drive.
· Decrease in overall physical and mental well being.
· Increase in sleep disorders, lower quality of sleep.
· Depression and fatigue.
The addition of supplemental HGH beginning in the later 30’s can reverse or improve these symptoms in the majority of people attempting therapy. This is why you will often hear references with respect to HGH as “the fountain of youth” and other similar terms. It can present a better quality of life for those aging as well as provide some great benefits for bodybuilders.
For bodybuilders, HGH (and the IGF-1 that is a result of its use) is the only substance that can actually initiate hyperplasia, which in the interest of our use in bodybuilding equates to new muscle cells. While use of anabolic steroids can cause hypertrophy (the enlargement of existing muscle cells), steroids do not offer the ability to recruit and mature more muscle cells. HGH can. HGH also increases protein synthesis, which can be responsible for hypertrophy. HGH also strengthens and heals connective tissues, cartilage, and tendons. These uses are what make it so attractive to athletes in all sports, and in bodybuilding in particular.
HOW IS HGH RELEASED IN YOUR BODY?
HGH is secreted from the pituitary in a pulsatile fashion, generally following a circadian rhythm. A number of stimuli can initiate an HGH secretion, the most powerful being short duration, high intensity exercise and sleep. During the first few hours of sleep (deep sleep stages), Somatostatin is turned off and GHRH is turned on, resulting in HGH bursts.
HGH secretion is stimulated by Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) which is produced by the hypothalamus. HGH, and IGF-1 create a negative feedback loop, meaning when their levels are high, it blunts release of GHRH, which in turn blunts the release of more HGH.
Somatostatin (SS), secreted by the hypothalamus as well as other tissues inhibits the secretion of HGH Somatostatin in response to GHRH and to other stimulatory factors such as low blood glucose concentration. High levels of IGF-1 also stimulate Somatostatin secretion.
Ghrelin is a peptide hormone secreted from the stomach. Ghrelin binds to receptors on somatotrophs and potently stimulates secretion of growth hormone. Ghrelin, as the stimulator for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, potently stimulates secretion of growth hormone. The ghrelin signal is integrated with that of growth hormone releasing hormone and somatostatin to control the timing and magnitude of growth hormone secretion.
Once HGH is released, it is very short lived. It is generally metabolized and gone within a half-hour. During this half-hour, it travels to the liver and other tissues and induces them to secrete a polypeptide hormone called Insulin-like Growth Factor One (IGF-1).
HOW DOES HGH DO ITS WORK?
As mentioned above, HGH is short lived, but during its short half-hour or so activity per burst from the pituitary, it exerts itself through direct and indirect effects.
Its direct effects are the result of the HGH binding its receptor on target cells. Fat cells (adipocytes) as well as myocytes (muscle cells) have HGH receptors. On fat cells, HGH stimulates them to break down triglyceride and suppresses the fat cells ability to uptake circulating lipids.
Its indirect effects are in the process we described in the section above. When HGH travels to the liver, the result in its pass through the liver is the secretion of IGF-1. When this IGF-1 is secreted, it stimulates proliferation of chondrocytes (cartilage cells), which result in bone growth. It also plays a part in stimulating both the proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts (the precursor to skeletal muscle fibers). IGF-1 also stimulates amino acid uptake and protein synthesis in muscle and other tissues.
HGH stimulates protein anabolism in many tissues. This reflects increased protein synthesis, decreased oxidation of proteins, and increased amino acid uptake. As mentioned above, HGH enhances fat utilization by stimulating triglyceride breakdown and oxidation in fat cells (adipocytes).
HGH can affect the function of other hormones. HGH can suppress the abilities of insulin to stimulate the uptake of glucose in tissues and enhance glucose synthesis in the liver, though administering HGH actually stimulates insulin secretion and can create a state of hyperinsulinemia. This combination can lead to decreased insulin sensitivity, which in turn can lead to hyperglycemia. HGH can also have a slight inhibitory effect on the thyroid, though this varies greatly from individual to individual. We’ll discuss more on how to deal with these potential effects later in this guide.
Okay, so we have a hormone that can assist with maintenance and healing of most of the body’s systems, can create new cartilage, bone, and muscle cells, can assist with protein uptake, decrease the oxidation of proteins, and can accelerate the rate at which fat is utilized. This paints the picture of the excitement that follows HGH. So how do we utilize this to our advantage? Let’s look at what is involved in exogenous HGH use.
HOW DO I INCREASE MY LEVELS OF HGH?
To state it simply, we need to inject exogenous HGH. There are a few methods to increase your own production of HGH, but for the most part these aren’t going to give us the increase necessary to promote the benefits mentioned above in their full measure.
By adding several grams of Arginine and Glutamine to our daily supplement program, we can increase our levels of HGH. This increase equates for a very small amount though, so unless are very young or we are only in need of a modest jump in production, this is not an optimal way to proceed.
As mentioned at the beginning of our guide, intense short duration exercise will also induce a sizable HGH release.
Another possibility is to inject GHRH. This peptide is available from research companies and when injected at doses of 100mcgs per day, sub-q it does seem to show promise in increasing levels of HGH. At this stage, there isn’t a real cost advantage to this over rHGH, so unless we are trying to promote some of the other forms of HGH in addition to the primary form, there is no clear advantage to this course of action.
What we are left with is acquiring and injecting recumbent Human Growth Hormone. The remainder of our guide will concentrate on its use.
INJECTIBLE HGH AND ITS USE
HGH only comes in the form of a lyophilized powder. Any other form that you see advertised or run across is NOT true HGH. The only way to administer true HGH is by sub-q or intramuscular injection.
HGH is somewhat fragile by nature, and it needs to be protected from light and heat. HGH should be stored between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit at all times both before and after its reconstitution.
There are a couple of American brands of HGH that can survive in normal room temperature for a reasonable amount of time BEFORE reconstitution (Genotropin – 3 months, Saizen – until expiration) , but for the most part it is better safe than sorry. All brands of HGH should be refrigerated after being reconstituted, and all brands should be protected from light at all times.
