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Written by Dave Palumbo
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Monday, 05 May 2003 |
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When is the best time of day to take my growth hormone injection? First, I heard that it should be taken before bed; then, someone told me to take it in the middle of the night. Which is right?
Whenever trying to ascertain the truth with regard to the human body, I always recommend resorting to the basic science behind the question. In this case, we are referring to growth hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland. In the adolescent, growth hormone is released in a very pulsatile manner (i.e., it is secreted at various times throughout the day). The largest amount of growth hormone release in the body has been measured exactly 90 minutes into the “deep sleep” phase of sleeping. What this means is that the human body produces the largest amount of growth hormone while sleeping. Therefore, if we were going to take some kind of supplement that stimulated growth hormone release, the most prudent time to take it would be before bed. However, when injecting actual growth hormone, the body’s ability to secrete its own growth hormone becomes irrelevant because the amount of synthetic growth hormone being injected into the body far outweighs any that is naturally produced. Additionally, because our bodies actually produce a somewhat significant amount of growth hormone at night, the worst time to inject the hormone would be at night because then the injected growth hormone would create a negative feedback signal that would, ultimately, shut down the body’s natural production. The most logical time to take growth hormone would be upon waking in the morning, so that the growth hormone and subsequent IGF-1 release from the liver, will help “shuttle” all the ingested morning “nutrients” into the new and recovering muscle cells. Additionally, the morning hours are when cortisol (the body’s catabolic “nemesis”) levels are highest. Growth hormone, in this instance, will help counteract some of these very catabolic processes. I am a 33-year-old female bodybuilder who is planning on competing in 16 weeks. I do not want to take any anabolic steroids or growth hormone; however, I am willing to use any non-steroidal Fat Burners available. What is the most potent fat-burning cycle of supplements/drugs I can take to achieve ultimate conditioning? I would suggest taking a three-tiered attack to burning fat. First, take some kind of direct fat-mobilizing drugs such as clenbuterol (a beta-2 agonist) and/or Cytomel (T3— tri-iodothyronine). At 12 weeks out, start with two (20mcg) clenbuterol pills per day (taken in separate doses) and increase by one pill per day (every two weeks) until no more than six are taken per day. At 10 weeks out, start taking one Cytomel (25mcg) per day and increase by half a pill (12.5mcg) per day every two weeks until no more than three (25mcg) pills are taken per day. Secondly, you want to eliminate as much estrogen from your body as possible (to counteract all the water retention, lower-body fat deposits and menstrual cycle woes). To accomplish this task, take two 10-milligram Nolvadex (tamoxifen) per day spaced every 12 hours. Thirdly, take energy-wasting supplements such as HCA (hydrox-citric acid or Citrimax), or the newly formulated usnic acid supplements (10mg three to five times per day, taken with meals). Usnic acid (sold under the brand name Lipogenesis) is an excellent fat burner since it burns fat without speeding up the heart, raising blood pressure, or stimulating the central nervous system. If you religiously diet, weight train, perform regular cardiovascular exercise, and follow these three simple supplement rules, you will find that your contest preparation will not be in vain. Good luck. Note: I do not advise the use of ephedrine-based products for your purposes. Although they do mobilize some small amounts of fat, they also stress the user’s body so severely as to significantly increase the levels of the catabolic hormone cortisol (which, as we all know, breaks down lean muscle tissue). What do you think of the whole prohormone scene? Which are the best ones to take and why?
Organic chemist Patrick Arnold was the person who discovered androstenedione and introduced it to the market in 1996. Androstendione failed as a prohormone because it not only converted to testosterone, but it also converted to estrogen and cortisol (not something a bodybuilder wants in his body). Patrick also discovered and patented Androdiol (4-androstenediol) and Norandrodiol (19-nor-4-androstenediol), and introduced both of them to the prohormone industry. Androstenediol (which converted to testosterone) and 19-norandrostenediol (which converted to nortestosterone) were tremendous breakthrough prohormones in that they did not convert to estrogen or cortisol (the way androstenedione did).Patrick’s newest discovery 1-AD (1-androstene-3beta, 17beta-diol), does not fit into either of the above categories. That’s because 1-AD converts to a relatively unheard of hormone called 1-testosterone. According to ErgoPharm researchers (who are bringing this new prohormone 1-AD to the marketplace), 1-testosterone is what is known as a “double bond isomer” of testosterone.
Although chemically the only difference between testosterone and 1-testosterone is the position of the double bond, pharmacologically the two products are quite different. According to research done by the pharmaceutical giant G.D. Searle and published in the 1960s, 1-testosterone is over seven times as myotrophic (anabolic) as testosterone.The ErgoPharm researchers continued to point out that 1-testosterone differs from testosterone in another significant way, as well. Being a 5-alpha-reduced androgen (a DHT derivative), it simply cannot aromatize to estrogen. The same goes for 1-AD itself— no estrogen transformation can occur. Seeing how incredibly anabolic 1-testosterone is, it would make sense, if you are looking to gain lean muscle mass (and who isn’t?), to seek out reputable companies that produce this compound. In my travels, I have come across a few companies that produce 1-testosterone in an oil-based delivery system. In one company, it comes packaged in a 50mL bottle (100mg/mL). This company recommends taking 1-2mL per day (100-200mg per day) with food. It seems as though 1-testosterone is the premier muscle-building supplement of the moment. Whether or not it will remain legal remains to be seen; however, even if they pull 1-testosterone off the market, 1-AD (the precursor to 1-test) will be there to take its place. Note: No prohormone at the moment can compare to the muscle-building effects of synthetic anabolic steroids. However, since they are all considered controlled substances, it might not be a bad idea to test the prohormone waters while they are all still legally available.
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