In bodybuilding, to achieve the ideal result, you can not do without additional drugs that stimulate muscle growth. These include insulin - a peptide hormone that is produced in our body. Injection insulin in bodybuilding has been used for a long time, but it is rarely used by beginners due to numerous side effects. You can read about what pros and cons of insulin, how to take it and what effect it can have on the body, in this article.
What is insulin?
Insulin is a peptide hormone that is produced by the pancreas. Its task is to lower the level of glucose in the blood. The release of insulin occurs at a time when the level of "safe" sugar begins to exceed 100 mg / deciliter. Insulin neutralizes glucose and processes it into either muscle or fat. Thus, it prevents the burning of fat and contributes to the set of muscle mass.
Insulin has strong anabolic properties and a wide range of effects on our body:
- Increases the rate of breakdown of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
- Accelerates the absorption of amino acids.
- Lowers blood sugar.
- Enhances metabolism.
- Slows down the breakdown of proteins and fats.
Bodybuilding Insulin
Transport hormone insulin is a strong and dangerous drug, so experts categorically do not recommend using it for beginners. Without knowledge using this hormone, you can achieve terrible side effects. But if you take insulin correctly, you will achieve excellent results.
Carbohydrates, which are transported by insulin, provide a lot of energy, and proteins and fats provide muscle growth. That is, using insulin, you will inevitably accumulate fat. In order to increase the percentage of muscles and at the same time not “get fat”, you will have to follow a number of rules:
- Carefully monitor your diet. The diet of a bodybuilder using insulin injections should mainly consist of protein foods. Carbohydrates need to be reduced to a minimum.
- Also, the final form after a course of insulin injections will depend on the type of your figure. This hormone works best on ectomorphs and mesomorphs. If you have a large percentage of adipose tissue, and you know that you are prone to rapid weight gain, then you should refuse to use insulin. Indeed, in this case, instead of muscle, you will accumulate fat.
Anabolic effects of the drug
Why inject insulin in bodybuilding? This hormone affects several processes at once, having anabolic, anti-catabolic and metabolic effects. The intake of insulin in bodybuilding is accompanied by increased absorption of amino acids by the muscles. Since insulin is a transport hormone, the digestibility of leucine and valine increases significantly. In addition to amino acids, increased doses of magnesium, phosphate, potassium and other beneficial substances begin to enter the cells. Earlier we wrote that the course of insulin in bodybuilding can increase not only the percentage of muscles, but also fat. This happens due to the enhanced synthesis of fatty acids and their subsequent conversion into adipose tissue. If insulin is not enough, then the body, on the contrary, begins to burn fats.
Anti-catabolic effect
In addition to the anabolic effect, insulin also has the ability to reduce the hydrolysis of proteins, i.e., inhibit their degradation. This property allows athletes to build muscle much faster.
Metabolic effect
Insulin effectively increases the body's metabolism:
- Enhances glucose uptake by cells.
- Activates key glycosylating enzymes.
- Reduces the amount of glucose in the liver, which is made from proteins and fats.
- Increases glucose stores in cells by converting it to glycogen.
The benefits of insulin
If you have not received a medical education, then it will not be easy to understand the processes of chemical exchange of insulin at the cellular level. Therefore, the following are the positive effects that this drug has on the body:
- Insulin helps increase muscle mass. As you know, muscles are made up of proteins (amino acids). In the human body, they are produced by ribosomes - the most important organoids of a living cell. And they are activated precisely by insulin. If the human body does not produce this hormone, then the proteins simply stop being synthesized. That is why diabetes (insufficient production of its own insulin) is deadly. The course of insulin in bodybuilding allows you to increase the amount of this hormone in the body and, accordingly, the production of protein and the muscles formed from it.
- Insulin slows down the degradation of muscles, i.e., their destruction. Experienced bodybuilders are well aware that no matter how much you consume protein and do strength, with the constant destruction of muscles, it will be useless. When are muscles burned? With a calorie deficit and too active cardio loads. In addition, new proteins are synthesized daily in the body and old ones are destroyed, even if you do nothing. Therefore, for those who want to significantly increase the percentage of muscle mass in the body, insulin can be of great help.
- Insulin increases the digestibility of amino acids. Amino acids are vital substances for the human body. But we are not interested in all of them, and BCAA is a group of proteinogenic amino acids. Insulin activates their “delivery” to muscle cells, which, again, helps to build muscle.
Minuses
Insulin, like any substance with a strong influence, can be used not only for the good, but also to the detriment. Before applying the course of this hormone, it is important to weigh the pros and cons. The last point can be attributed to many properties of insulin:
- Insulin blocks the enzyme, which is responsible for burning fat in the body. Hormone receptor lipase simply ceases to break down triglycerides, due to which a person can quickly gain excess weight.
- Insulin slows down the conversion of energy from fats and increases from carbohydrates. And this means that it will be very difficult to get rid of adipose tissue.
- Insulin increases the synthesis of fatty acids in the liver, which, again, contributes to the rapid accumulation of adipose tissue. And since getting rid of it during a course of insulin is very difficult, athletes taking this hormone have to carefully monitor their diet twice.
- Insulin activates lipoprotein lipase. Lipase breaks down fat, converting it into absorbable fatty acids, which are easily absorbed by fat cells.
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Side effects
Incorrect dosage determination, unaccounted for body features, too long a course of insulin can have irreversible harm to the body.
- Excess of this hormone can cause hypoglycemia. Drowsiness, cold sweat, confusion are all signs of critically low blood glucose.
- Even a single course of insulin can cause diabetes. In the event that your body already had problems with the production of insulin, this will lead to a serious illness. Also, diabetes often appears in those athletes who do too frequent and long courses.
- The pancreas reduces the level of its own production of insulin. Scientific studies have shown that the tissues of this organ are also changing, which means that the process may be irreversible.
In order to avoid all these unpleasant consequences, before taking an insulin course, you need to consult a specialist, pass all the necessary tests and calculate the possible risks.
Insulin and growth hormone
Despite the fact that taking insulin is associated with great risks and serious side effects, sometimes it is simply necessary. During a course of growth hormone in bodybuilding, insulin protects the pancreas from exhaustion. The fact is that growth hormone has the ability to release glucose into the blood, which negatively affects the body's own production of insulin. The pancreas is forced to secrete large amounts of insulin in response to such glucose “jumps”. That is why, if you take growth hormone for a long period, insulin can save you from diabetes.
How and how much to take insulin to bodybuilders?
Many novice bodybuilders ask how to take insulin in bodybuilding. The initial dosage is calculated as 1 IU per 5-10 kg of body weight. The reaction to insulin may manifest itself in different ways, so the course is often adjusted when taking the drug. For example, if you feel weak and drowsy, then the dosage of insulin is reduced.
Injection is usually given immediately after training, and 15 minutes after the injection, you need to eat something sweet. After an hour you need to have a full lunch. How to do the injection itself? The drug is administered using a special syringe with a short needle, which is called insulin. The hormone is injected into a leather fold on the stomach, because there are no large veins. The duration of the course is selected individually and usually is 1.5-2 months with interruptions. Which bodybuilding insulin is best used? The best reviews can be found on the preparations Novorapid Penfil or Novorapid Flexpen.
Bodybuilding insulin: reviews
Testimonials from people who have already experienced the effects of insulin can help novice athletes who are only considering whether to take this drug or not. Most bodybuilders advise taking hormone to those who are serious about increasing their muscle mass. But the most important condition for conducting a course of insulin is strict health control during and after administration. In medicine, there have been cases when improper use of insulin has been fatal. There are also people who have earned diabetes in this way. But with proper use and compliance with all recommendations, an insulin course can significantly improve the quality of your body.