In bodybuilding, to achieve the ideal result, you can not do without additional drugs that stimulate the growth of muscle mass. These include insulin, a peptide hormone that is produced in our body. Injectable insulin has been used in bodybuilding for a long time, but is rarely used by beginners due to numerous side effects. About the pros and cons of insulin, how to take it and what effect it can have on the body, you can read in this article.
What is insulin?
Insulin is a peptide hormone produced by the pancreas. Its job is to lower blood glucose levels. The release of insulin occurs at the moment when the level of "safe" sugar begins to exceed the mark of 100 mg / deciliter. Insulin neutralizes glucose and converts it into either muscle or fat. Thus, it inhibits the burning of fat andpromotes muscle mass gain.
Insulin has strong anabolic properties and a wide range of effects on our body:
- Increases the rate of breakdown of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
- Accelerating the absorption of amino acids.
- Reduces blood sugar levels.
- Increases metabolism.
- Slows down the breakdown of proteins and fats.
Insulin in bodybuilding
The 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, while 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 from the use of insulinworth giving up. After all, 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, providing anabolic, anti-catabolic and metabolic effects. Insulin intake 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 useful substances begin to enter the cells. Earlier we wrote that the course of insulin in bodybuilding allows you to increase not only the percentage of muscles, but also fat. This happens due to increased synthesis of fatty acids and their subsequent transformation into adipose tissue. If insulin is not enough, then the body, on the contrary, begins to burn fat.
Anticatabolic effect
In addition to the anabolic effect, insulin also has the ability to reduce the hydrolysis of proteins, that is, to prevent their degradation. This property allows athletes to build muscle mass much faster.
Metabolic effect
Insulin effectively increases the body's metabolism:
- Enhances the uptake of glucose into cells.
- Activates key glycose enzymes.
- Decreases the amount of glucose in the liver, which is made from proteins and fats.
- Increases the stores of glucose in cells by converting it to glycogen.
Pros of the courseinsulin
If you have not received a medical education, then it will not be easy to understand the processes of the chemical metabolism of insulin at the cellular level. Therefore, below 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 organelles of a living cell. And they are activated by insulin. If the human body does not produce this hormone, then proteins simply cease to be synthesized. That is why diabetes (insufficient production of your 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 muscles formed from it.
- Insulin slows down the degradation of muscles, i.e. their destruction. Experienced bodybuilders know perfectly well that no matter how much protein you consume and how much strength you do, with constant muscle destruction it will be useless. When are muscles burned? With a calorie deficit and too active cardio loads. In addition, new proteins are synthesized in the body every day 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 absorption of amino acids. Amino acids are vital substances for the human body. But we are not interested in all of them, but BCAA is a group of proteinogenic amino acids. Insulin activates their "delivery" to the musclecells, which, again, promotes muscle building.
Cons
Insulin, like any substance with a strong influence, can be used not only for good, but also for harm. Before using the course of this hormone, it is important to weigh the pros and cons. Many properties of insulin can be attributed to the last point:
- Insulin blocks the enzyme responsible for burning fat in the body. Hormone receptor lipase simply stops breaking down triglycerides, which can cause a person to gain weight quickly.
- 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 it is very difficult to get rid of it during the course of insulin, athletes taking this hormone have to doubly carefully monitor their diet.
- Insulin activates lipoprotein lipase. Lipase breaks down fat, converting it into absorbable fatty acids that are easily absorbed by fat cells.
Side effects
Incorrect dosage determination, unaccounted for the characteristics of the body, too long a course of insulin can cause irreversible harm to the body.
- Excess of this hormone can cause hypoglycemia. Drowsiness, cold sweat, confusion - all these are signs of a critically lowblood glucose levels.
- Even one 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 cycles.
- The pancreas reduces its own insulin production. Scientific studies have shown that the tissues of this organ also change, which means that the process may be irreversible.
In order to avoid all these unpleasant consequences, before taking a course of insulin, 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 cycle 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 a large amount of insulin in response to such glucose "jumps". That is why if you take growth hormone for a long period, a course of insulin can protect you from diabetes.
How much and how much insulin should bodybuilders take?
Many beginner bodybuilders ask the question of how to take insulin in bodybuilding. The initial dosage is calculatedas 1 IU per 5-10 kg of body weight. The response to insulin in everyone can manifest itself in different ways, so the course is often adjusted while taking the drug. For example, if you feel weak and sleepy, then the insulin dosage is reduced.
The injection is usually given immediately after training, and 15 minutes after the injection, you need to eat something sweet. An hour later, you need to have a full meal. How to do the injection itself? The drug is administered using a special syringe with a short needle called insulin. The hormone is injected into the skin fold on the abdomen, because there are no large veins. The duration of the course is selected individually and is usually 1.5-2 months with interruptions. What is the best insulin for bodybuilding? The best reviews can be found on the preparations "Novorapid Penfil" or "Novorapid FlexPen".
Insulin in bodybuilding: reviews
Reviews of people who have already tried the effect of a course of insulin on themselves can help novice athletes who are just thinking about whether to take this drug or not. Most bodybuilders advise taking the hormone for those who are serious about increasing their muscle mass. But the most important condition for the course of insulin is strict he alth control during and after administration. In medicine, cases are known when the incorrect use of insulin ended in death. There are also people who have earned diabetes in this way. But with proper use and compliance with all recommendations, the course of insulin can significantly improvethe quality of your body.
