Learn how you can use HGH to gain lean muscle and burn fat at the same time. Growth hormone is a peptide group hormone that is synthesized by the cellular structure of the anterior pituitary gland. Today, growth hormone in sports is used to gain muscle mass, as well as improve body constitution. This substance owes its name to its ability to accelerate the linear growth of young people. The normal concentration of growth hormone in the blood is between 1 and 5 ng / ml. During peak hormone releases, this figure can reach 45 ng / ml.
Growth hormone properties
Growth hormone has a large number of positive properties. Here are those of them, thanks to which growth hormone in sports is used more and more actively:
- A powerful anabolic that can activate and accelerate the growth of cellular structures of muscle tissue.
- Slows down catabolic reactions, which helps protect muscles from destruction by glucorticoids.
- Strong fat burning properties are inherent.
- It is a regulator of the consumption of energy reserves of the body.
- Increases the speed of regenerative processes.
- Increases blood sugar concentration.
- Improves the work of the defense systems of the human body.
Some of these effects somatotropin is able to produce independently, but mostly they are of an indirect nature and associated with the concentration of IGF-1. Insulin-like growth factor is synthesized by the cellular structures of the liver under the influence of somatotropin.
The maximum rate of GR production is observed in the younger years. The older a person becomes, the less actively somatotropin is synthesized in his body. In old age, the concentration of growth hormone and the rate of its secretion are minimal.
It should be said that growth hormone is produced in cycles and throughout the day, scientists note several peaks in its concentration. On average, the maximum release of growth hormone occurs every three to five hours. The most active production of this hormone is at night, about 60 minutes after falling asleep.
What is growth hormone used for in sports?
Growth hormone preparations were created and initially used exclusively for medical purposes. However, soon athletes were attracted by the ability of this hormone to actively influence the growth of muscle fibers, as well as its fat burning properties.
At first, GH preparations were very expensive, and only professionals could use them. However, in the early eighties, a recombinant technology for the production of GR was created, which is still being improved today. As a result, the prices for growth hormone preparations began to fall, and today even amateurs can use growth hormone in sports. Although it should be recognized that growth hormone is still more expensive compared to AAS or peptides.
Since 1989, GR has been considered a prohibited drug, but athletes continue to use it. Moreover, due to lower prices for the drug, its use by athletes is constantly increasing. Note that growth hormone in sports may not be effective for all sports disciplines.
It is most actively used by bodybuilders. Growth hormone practically has no effect on the growth of the physical parameters of the athlete, which makes its use inappropriate in many sports. Let's take a closer look at all the main effects of this drug that allow the use of growth hormone in sports.
Accelerating the growth of muscle tissue
As you know, to activate the growth of muscle fibers, it is necessary to increase the rate of production of protein compounds. Scientists have actively studied this issue, since it was planned to use it to increase and maintain muscle mass in the elderly. In fact, research results paved the way for growth hormone in sports.
The bottom of the largest studies on this issue was conducted in 1993. In total, 18 people took part in the study, some of whom took growth hormone daily for two months. Note that during the second month, the dosage of growth hormone was doubled. As a result, scientists noted an increase in muscle mass, which was due to an increase in the rate of production of protein compounds.
Also, a very important factor in the growth of muscle tissue is the concentration of nitrogen in the blood. When losing weight, a person needs to reduce the energy value of the diet, which leads to the activation of catabolic processes. One of the reasons for this is precisely the decrease in nitrogen concentration. Research has shown that growth hormone can eliminate this problem, which explains why this substance has anti-catabolic properties.
You are probably wondering why athletes rarely participate in research? It's all about the IOC's prohibition on the use of somatotropin preparations by athletes, and scientists consider it unethical to invite athletes to participate in experiments. At the same time, studies were conducted with the participation of young people who were not fond of sports before.
Of course, there are differences between the effect of the drug on the organisms of a trained athlete and an ordinary person, but certain conclusions can still be drawn. For three months, a group of men conducted intensive training and took growth hormone. To track changes in the production of protein compounds, the scientists used the labeled amines glycine and leucine, which were also taken by the subjects. As a result, it has been proven that growth hormone in sports is able to accelerate the production of proteins in muscle tissue.
Burning fat
An equally important property of growth hormone for athletes is its ability to fight fatty tissues. A huge amount of research has been carried out in this direction. There are experimental results that clearly demonstrate the ability of GH to increase the concentration of free fatty acids.
Scientists managed to establish that the process of fat burning is able to activate the growth hormone itself without the participation of an insulin-like growth factor. This became known after the study of adipose cells that have somatotropin receptors, but they lack insulin-like growth factor receptors.
However, in one study, IGF was shown to enhance the fat-burning properties of GH. scientists have found that when IGF and somatotropin are used together, lipolysis processes are more active.
Effect of growth hormone on carbohydrate metabolism
Growth hormone is considered to be an insulin antagonist. Today, it is known for sure that carbohydrates are the main source of energy and during weight gain, athletes consume this nutrient in large quantities. This is what prompts the interest in the ability of GH to influence the metabolism of carbohydrates.
In the course of research, scientists were able to establish that growth hormone is able to accelerate the processes of utilization of all energy substrates, including carbohydrates. At the same time, this also applies to fats. The high energy balance of the body allows you to train with greater intensity and the effect of the drug on carbohydrate metabolism is another reason for the active use of growth hormone in sports.
Lipoprotein metabolism and the work of the vascular system
At first, scientists conducted studies involving adolescents and young people of both sexes. They were able to establish that at a low concentration of GH, the balance of lipoproteins shifts towards bad cholesterol. It is quite obvious that this negatively affects the work of the vascular system.
Scientists have shown that with a deficiency of GH, the risk of the formation of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels is much higher. Relatively recently, a large-scale study was completed with the participation of older people, the duration of which was ten years. As a result, we can say that the use of HR significantly reduced the number of cases of a decrease in the elasticity index of blood vessel walls.
The effect of growth hormone on the work of the heart muscle
Scientists have found that growth hormone can reduce the risks of developing various diseases of the heart muscle and contributes to the normal functioning of this organ. The studies were conducted with the participation of healthy people with GH deficiency. We are perhaps most interested in the results of the experiments of the first category, since in most cases athletes do not have serious health problems.
One of these experiments involved healthy men aged 31 to 36 years. They took growth hormone for one week. Moreover, the dosages of GH were quite large. As a result, after administration of the drug, an increase in heart rate was noted, but the blood pressure indicator did not change. Also, scientists did not notice any changes in the size of the heart muscle.
More recently, the results of studies of the effect of growth hormone on the myocardium have been published. The study involved healthy young men and women who took GH daily for 28 days. As a result, we can say that high dosages of growth hormone can have a negative effect on the myocardium. Scientists are also confident that the situation may be aggravated by the combined use of GR and AAS.
As you can see, growth hormone in sports can be very effective, but you should strictly follow the instructions for using this drug. The use of GH can only be recommended for bodybuilders. In other sports, the drug cannot be as effective.
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