Does HGH make you stronger?

HGH or Human Growth Hormone has become a very popular PED in the fitness world. Being used for its effects on fat mass as well as recovery, thousands are willing to fork up the necessary hundreds of dollars per month to get their hands on it. There is a coincidence that most users of this Peptide are incredibly strong… Is the HGH the root cause of this strength?

HGH could potentially make you stronger. When it comes to the world of PEDs, it sometimes has this weird way of following “rules”. For literally 99% of the people on earth, yes, HGH could potentially make them stronger, especially if they administer it at the right time and right doses. If you are currently using Anabolic Steroids, then the addition of HGH is unlikely to increase your strength more.

For the most part, HGH will not really be used to increase strength anyways. Yes, it causes a great increase in IGF-1 levels (Insulin-like growth factor 1) which has been connected to increased lean mass.

That being said, there are studies showing neither exogenous HGH or IGF-1 will cause a significant change in lean body mass.

Does Growth Hormone make you stronger?

Growth hormone (GH) has a complex relationship with strength.

In children and individuals with GH deficiency:

Yes, GH can increase muscle mass and strength. This is because GH stimulates the production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which plays a key role in muscle growth and repair.

In healthy adults with normal GH levels:

The effects of GH on strength are less clear. Some studies have shown that GH can increase muscle mass, but not necessarily strength. Other studies have shown no effect of GH on either muscle mass or strength.

It is important to note that:

GH should only be used under the supervision of a doctor.
GH can have serious side effects, such as acromegaly (enlargement of the hands, feet, and jaw) and fluid retention.
GH is not a magic bullet for building muscle and strength. It is important to combine GH with a proper exercise program and diet.

How does HGH make you stronger and what’s responsible?

As mentioned, HGH could potentially increase your strength if you are currently not using any Anabolic Steroids. The reason why Steroids could spoil your gains is due to the fact that they are way more powerful compared to HGH.

This is why very few will ever only use HGH to increase strength. That being said, there is one mechanism in which HGH could potentially increase strength. Here’s how:

Growth Hormone enters the bloodstream and begins circulating
It reaches the pancreas, which in turn releases both Lipase and Glucagon
Lipase is a hormone that will release fatty cells from Adipocytes into the blood as Free Fatty Acids, while Glucagon will release Glycogen from the Liver into the blood
In response to the Glycogen in the blood (sugar), the pancreas will release gobs of Insulin to partition both the Glycogen and Fatty Acids into the Muscle Cells
These two can then be used to drive anabolism and help with energy production when engaged in a heavy activity
While all of this is happening, the Liver will release a certain amount of IGF-1 into the blood, which is capable of stimulating the proliferation and differentiation of muscle stem cells

By both driving anabolism and giving fuel to the muscle cells, HGH can potentially increase strength. There are some other ways that HGH could “increase strength” as well, such as burning fat, and retaining muscle, and you end up with a greater power-to-weight ratio.

Does HGH also make bones stronger?

This is where the odds will turn in favor of HGH. Yes, HGH can directly influence the strength and even growth of bones. When you are a child, HGH is important for both the length and thickness of bone growth. As you being to age, the body stops partitioning any Growth Hormone to make bones longer, and will only use the hormone to increase their thickness.

This is due to the fact that HGH will cause a direct increase in IGF-1 levels, which have been shown to increase bone density and thickness. Many people have said that HGH can change the structure of your skeleton, however, this has never really been seen in the scientific community.

What are the other benefits of HGH?

Human Growth Hormone is a rather forgiving compound when you look at the adverse effects, and because of this, more people are willing to use HGH just willy-nilly. With so many people using the compound exogenously, we have a massive amount of empirical and anecdotal evidence to look at. These are the benefits of HGH:

Fat Loss: This is the benefit Growth Hormone is most known for. Thousands of people are using HGH to simply burn extra body fat without having to put in so much work to get the extra pounds off.

Unlike stimulatory fat loss agents, Growth Hormone will help you lose fat without driving you into a higher heart rate zone. The mechanism by which Growth Hormone can help you lose fat is as follows:

As Growth Hormone circulates the body and reaches the Pancreas, it will release both Lipase and Glucagon into the bloodstream
Free Fatty Acids (FFA) are liberated from Adipocytes via Lipase
FFA are transported by the blood to different parts of the body
FFA can then enter metabolizing tissue/cells (Cells with Mitochondria, except for Central Nervous Tissue
Long-chain-fatty-acid—CoA ligase (Enzyme of the Ligase Family) is the catalyst of the reaction of FFA with ATP
This reaction forms AMP and inorganic pyrophosphate and gives off fatty acyl-adenylate
Fatty acyl-adenylate reacts with coenzyme A to give off a fatty acyl-CoA molecule
The Carnitine shuffle is used for the acyl-CoA to enter the mitochondrion
Beta Oxidation then takes the FFA (acyl-CoA molecule at this point) and cuts it into two carbon chains
These carbon chains combine with co-enzyme A to form acetyl CoA
Acetyl CoA condenses with oxaloacetate to form citrate
There is then combustion of acetyl-CoA to CO2 and water, and the energy released from this combustion is captured to form 1 GTP and 11 ATP molecules per acetyl-CoA molecule

This process is a very low-impact version of Beta Oxidation and will happen without causing too many adverse effects.

Longevity: This is the particular benefit that most people will end up using Growth Hormone that isn’t strictly for the purpose of looking better. It will come as no surprise that Growth Hormone has been shown to have positive effects on hair, skin, bone tissue, joint health, and even neural health. Thus, it has been coined “the youth drug” and is used by various individuals ranging from the elderly to high-level athletes.

Recovery: This is very similar to longevity, but there are a lot of people who claim their recovery from one session to the next is significantly better after administering Growth Hormone. This is apparently not just for muscle health, but for joint health as well – most likely due to Angiogenesis – the growth of new arteries that can help transport food and oxygen.

Are there any Negative Side Effects of HGH?

As with most drugs, when you take too much, you’re going to be experiencing some adverse effects. The same can be said for Growth Hormone, however, it seems to be relatively low on side effects. That being said, here are the side effects of Growth Hormone:

Insulin Resistance and Diabetes: As mentioned before, Growth Hormone will cause a release of Glycogen from the liver into the blood which in turn will raise Insulin levels. This constant back and forth between high and low blood sugar levels can lead to insulin resistance and, if done for too long, even diabetes

Edema: Growth Hormone has a nasty habit to cause the retention of water and salt. Both of these will increase bloating in the body and when left unchecked, can result in edema

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Due to the hydrating effects of Growth Hormone, the cells around the nervous system may begin to swell the nervous system shut, causing numbing effects in the hands and feet

Pain and Swelling: You can expect both pain and swelling around the injection sites

Legal Alternative to HGH

While the side effects of HGH are rather low compared to other drugs, the fact that it could lead to Diabetes is an eye-opener to most. While the chances of that happening are low, there is still a chance. If you are looking for a compound that is not going to cause you any adverse effects, you could look at HGH-X2 produced by Crazy Bulk.

While the best part of all the products produced by Crazy Bulk is the fact that they’re all legal, they also can provide you with similar effects to the actual compound without the side effects. This means you could see a great increase in HGH without worrying about insulin resistance when you use HGH-X2.

FAQs

Does HGH make you thicker?

Thicker is a very general term, but yes, Growth Hormone could make you “thicker”, although it is more likely to make you thinner. If you react exceptionally well to Growth Hormone you might build a tonne of muscle from it, but most people are more likely to lose weight when using Growth Hormone.

If you are 100% driven to use Growth Hormone as a means to gain muscle mass, you might want to combine it with Insulin as well.

Does HGH give you muscle?

HGH can help you build muscle, yes. Very rarely will anything give you muscle, and while it has been shown that Testosterone can build muscle without exercise, it is unlikely that HGH will grant muscle growth without training. You’ll have to train with resistance.

How long does HGH take to work?

There are no year-long studies using Growth Hormone in higher doses, and thus we have to rely on the comments from users. The consensus is that Growth Hormone will take a minimum of 10 weeks before you actually see results. The reason for this is unclear, however, most people will take Growth Hormone for a minimum of 3 months.

Does HGH work for cutting?

Growth Hormone is used exogenously most often for the purpose of burning fat. A study in 1999 compared a Growth Hormone vs Placebo group when both were following a calorie deficit. The Growth Hormone group lost 1.6 times more fat, while actually building lean muscle tissue. The placebo group lost fat as well but lost muscle mass as well. Yes, HGH can be used for cutting.

What happens if you inject HGH into muscle?

Nothing, HGH can be taken Subqutaneously or Intramuscularly.

Is it better to take HGH before or after a workout?

The timing of Growth Hormone administration is an incredibly difficult thing to comprehend. The reason is that your timing can influence the effectiveness and the total effects the compound has. Timing protocols for HGH are as follows:

For Muscle Gain: If you want to gain muscle, take HGH before going to bed away from food

For Fat Loss: If you want to lose fat, take HGH before doing fasted cardio in the morning