Insulin is indispensable for a bodybuilder

Insulin is indispensable for a bodybuilder

Insulin is indispensable for a bodybuilder

Active chemical: short-acting insulin

Packing: 1 bottle – 10ml.

Manufacturer: Denmark, Novonordisk

Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreas. In terms of chemical structure, this compound occupies an intermediate position between polypeptides and proteins. Insulin is produced in the pancreas of animals and humans.

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In the beta cells of the pancreas, insulin is formed from a precursor, proinsulin, a polypeptide of 84 amino acid residues with no hormonal activity.

Insulin is a specific sugar-reducing agent, has the ability to regulate carbohydrate metabolism; enhances the absorption of glucose by tissues and promotes its conversion into glycogen, also facilitates the penetration of glucose into tissue cells. In addition to the hypoglycemic effect, insulin has a number of other effects: it increases muscle glycogen stores, stimulates peptide synthesis, reduces protein consumption, etc..

You can write a lot about insulin, you can even write a whole book. Alas, pressed by the editor-in-chief, the author was forced to confine himself to only one not very long article. Of course, you cannot tell about all the charms of this drug in it, so do not judge strictly – everything is due to lack of space, and my knowledge significantly exceeds the volume of what is written.

Insulin entered the practice of bodybuilding not so long ago, but, according to some reviews, has established itself as an unsurpassed anabolic. I will not hang the label “ignoramus” on some respected experts who consider the anabolic properties of insulin so outstanding that even anabolic steroids rest next to it, but I will carefully express my own opinion – for an adult, this hormone is not an anabolic at all!

Based on this fact, as well as the potential risk not only to health, but to life itself from the use of insulin, many foreign “gurus” recommend excluding it from the arsenal of bodybuilding. But we are reasonable people, we will not succumb to emotions and rush from one extreme to another, but just try to calmly figure it out.

Insulin and its mechanism of action

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the cells of the pancreas. Chemically, it is a polypeptide comprising two polypeptide chains: one consists of 21 amino acids, the other of 30; these chains are interconnected by two disulfide bridges.

The cells that produce hormones (many hormones, not just insulin) are concentrated in the pancreas in the form of islets called islets of Langerhans. In an adult, there are from 170 thousand to 2 million such islets, but their total mass does not exceed 1.5% of the mass of the pancreas. There are six different types of islet cells, about 75% of them are b-cells, in which, in fact, insulin is synthesized. This process takes place in three stages: first, proinsulin is formed; then a hydrophobic fragment is cleaved from it and proinsulin remains; then the vesicle with proinsulin is transferred to the Golgi apparatus, where a fragment is cleaved from it, and as a result, insulin is obtained.

It triggers the glucose insulin secretion mechanism. Penetrating into beta cells, glucose is metabolized and promotes an increase in the intracellular ATP content. Adenosine triphosphate, in turn, causes depolarization of the cell membrane, which promotes the penetration of calcium ions into beta cells and the release of insulin. It should be said that fatty acids and amino acids can stimulate insulin production, in addition to glucose..

Insulin was isolated in 1921 by the Canadian scientist Frederick Ben-ting and his assistant Charles Best; two years later, both researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this discovery, and, I must say, not in vain. The start of industrial production of insulin-containing drugs saved the singanitropin lives of many, many thousands of people.

But production by production, and research had to go further, it is impossible to stop in this process. Alas, the knowledge gained as a result of them does not even pretend to be complete. The mechanism of the hypoglycemic action of insulin is still not fully understood. It is believed that it (insulin) interacts with specific receptors on the cell surface. The resulting complex “insulin + receptor” penetrates into the cell, where insulin is released and exerts its effect. Insulin activates the transport of glucose across cell membranes and its utilization by muscle and adipose tissue.

Under the influence of insulin, glycogen synthesis increases, insulin inhibits the conversion of amino acids into glucose (this is why it is so useful to inject insulin immediately after training – the protein consumed after that is not used for energy needs, as is usually the case, but for the regeneration of muscle tissue, but the one who he used to skip the theoretical part, so he will never know about it). Among other things, insulin promotes the delivery of more amino acids into the cell, and much more. And this, as you yourself understand, cannot but have a positive effect on the growth (hypertrophy) of muscle fibers..

Not everything is clear about the ability of insulin to stimulate protein synthesis; so far, this ability, and, I must say, rather strongly expressed, this hormone showed only in isolated experiments, in which it was possible to achieve a local concentration of insulin more than a thousand (!) times higher than the norm. At such a concentration, insulin began to successfully perform the functions of an insulin-like growth factor, which is not typical for it under natural conditions. I want to warn those who want to see firsthand the effectiveness of insulin as an anabolic: an independent repetition of such an experiment “at home” can be the last act in the earthly life of an experimenter.

Summarizing the above, it can be argued that insulin is able to prevent the destruction of muscle fibers, which aims to replenish the body’s energy reserves, as well as enhance the delivery of amino acids into the cell – this is its main attraction. The negative qualities of insulin include its ability to enhance the deposition of triglycerides in adipose tissue, which leads to an increase in the subcutaneous fat layer. However, it is possible to fight the last phenomenon, but more on that below..

It’s a sweet word for diabetes

Normally, the blood glucose level fluctuates in the range of 70-110 mg / dl, falling below 70 mg / dl is considered a hypoglycemic state, exceeding the upper limit is considered normal within 2-3 hours after eating – after this period of time, the level blood glucose should return to normal. If the blood glucose level after a meal exceeds 180 mg / dL, then this condition is considered hyperglycemic. Well, if the aforementioned level in one person after consuming an aqueous solution of sugar exceeded the mark of 200 mg / dL, and not once, but during two tests, then this condition qualifies as diabetes.

There are two types of diabetes – insulin-dependent and insulin-independent. Insulin-dependent diabetes (type 1 diabetes) accounts for about 30% of all cases of diabetes mellitus (according to the US Department of Health, there are no more than 10%, but this data is only for the United States, although it is unlikely that the inhabitants of this country are so strikingly different from other earthlings). It occurs as a result of disturbances in the human immune system: the formation of antibodies to the antigens of the islets of Langerhans occurs, which leads to a decrease in the number of active beta cells and, accordingly, to a drop in the level of insulin production.

Insulin-dependent diabetes occurs, as a rule, in childhood or adolescence (the average age of diagnosis is 14 years), or in adults (extremely rarely) under the influence of various toxins, trauma, complete removal of the pancreas or as a disease accompanying acromegaly. The nature of the onset of insulin-dependent diabetes is not well understood, it is believed that a person must be genetically predisposed to get this serious ailment.

Moving on to type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent), it should be said that the concentration of receptors on the cell surface (and these include insulin receptors) depends, among other things, on the level of hormones in the blood. If this level increases, then the number of receptors for the corresponding hormone decreases, i.e. in fact, there is a decrease in the sensitivity of the cell to the hormone that is in excess in the blood. And vice versa.

Type 2 diabetes occurs just in adults and only in adults – in middle age (30-40 years) and even later. As a rule, these are people who are overweight, although there are exceptions.

Again, as a rule, the level of endogenous insulin production in such people is within the normal range or even exceeds it. What is the matter then? And the thing turns out to be downregulation of insulin receptors on the cell surface. The constant excessive consumption of fats and carbohydrates leads to a constant elevated level of insulin in the blood, which, in turn, leads to a decrease, including irreversible, in the number of the aforementioned receptors. Not all obese people, however, develop non-insulin dependent diabetes. Approximately half of all patients receive it “by inheritance”, i.e. has a predisposition to disease.

Why are we suddenly talking about diabetes? Here’s why. It is believed that the use of insulin by a healthy person can lead to the development of just this disease. As for insulin-dependent diabetes (type 1), then everything seems clear – the excessive introduction of insulin into a healthy body does not threaten to turn into this disease. Another thing is insulin-independent diabetes.

The additional administration of insulin over a long period of time can, like excessive consumption of carbohydrates and fats, lead to an irreversible decrease in the number of insulin receptors on the cell surface, and hence to a steady decrease in the ability of cells to utilize glucose, i.e. to type 2 diabetes. In theory, this seems to be the case. In the real world, it is unlikely that there is at least one person (I mean, an all-round healthy person, including mentally) who, for the sake of sports achievements, injected himself with insulin for years without interruption. And a period less than two or three years is unlikely to lead to any shifts towards the disease. There is, however, a risk group, which includes people with a hereditary tendency to develop diabetes mellitus. These people shouldn’t experiment anadrol in bodybuilding the anadrol in with insulin at all..

And one more small question, it concerns growth hormone and its effect on the production of endogenous insulin. The hypoglycemic state stimulates an increase in the secretion of growth hormone, which, like adrenaline and norepinephrine, has the ability to inhibit the production of insulin. There is, however, no evidence that high doses of HGH can lead to a decrease in the number of active beta cells and therefore to the development of type 1 diabetes. If so, the likelihood of this outcome is negligible. And once again we summarize the above: the use of insulin by healthy people who do not have a hereditary predisposition to diabetes does not lead to the development of this disease in them..

Injection practice

If you get an ampoule of insulin in your hands, do not try to quickly insert it under your skin. Before doing this, try to find out a number of characteristics of this drug..

1. Name, firm and country of origin. A fairly large number of insulin preparations are produced in Russia, however, preference should be given to Western European manufacturers.

2. The type of insulin (bovine, porcine, or human). Human insulin is usually preferred.

3. Characteristics of the duration of insulin exposure (short, intermediate, long-acting or mixed type). An extremely short (!) Action drug is used for anabolic purposes..

4. The concentration of the drug. Insulin activity is expressed in units (U). Insulin is released in different concentrations, that is, one ml of the drug may have a different number of insulin units – 40, 80, 100, 500 U / ml. In Russia, as in a number of European countries, a concentration of 40 U / ml is adopted..

5. Method of packing insulin. A vial, from where the drug must be drawn into a syringe, or a penfill sleeve designed for a pen.

A standard syringe for insulin injections is designed for one milliliter of insulin at a concentration of 40 U / ml, that is, when it is completely filled, it can hold one milliliter of insulin. The marking on the syringe body is applied in insulin units and in single steps, and in numbers from 5 to 40. One 10 ml vial contains 400 units of insulin.

Always pay attention to the numbers, because the result of the error lies in a narrow range between hypoglycemia and death.!

The work cycle diagram used by chemical athletes in the off-season during the day:

Anabolic steroids (oral and injectable): approximately 200 mg of active ingredient, depending on the phase;

SI: Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids

Short-acting insulin humulin B: about 6 units twice a day;

Triiodothyronine (Cytomel): 100-150 mcg two to three times a day

Growth hormone (growth hormone): approximately 4-6 units two to three times a day, one hour after the injection of insulin;

Chromium picolinate: approximately 500-1,000 mcg 1-2 times a day (dramatically increases the membrane permeability of insulin-dependent cells).

Well, finally – we have done away with the theoretical part and realized that insulin can help a bodybuilder, both an ordinary “pitching” and a professional, on his difficult path. It’s time to put the knowledge gained into practice. I will say right away: self-injections of insulin for a beginner is an unsafe occupation. This is not for you to inject steroids: you can get the same testosterone as it fits into the syringe, and still – there is no threat to life. Insulin is another matter, a mistake in its dosage can easily send you to the best of worlds. One consolation – death will be painless enough.

Well, okay, scared – that’s enough. If you have a sufficient amount of what is called common sense, then you have nothing to fear. You just need to remember a few simple rules and follow them with great care..

It is usually recommended to start taking insulin with 4 IU (international units, these are 4 divisions on the unit scale on a special insulin syringe, it is strictly forbidden to use other syringes!). However, I am not aware of cases of hypoglycemic coma resulting from the introduction of a double dose, so I recommend that you start with it. We decided on the initial dose, then it needs to be increased daily, in small steps of 4 IU, until one of two events occurs: you reach the 20 IU mark or, less likely, you feel very strong hypoglycemia after the administration of a lower dose.

The use of a higher dose is hardly justified, and 20 IU can still be considered a fairly safe level; for most, problems begin with dosages of the order of 35-45 IU. For people who are especially careful, we can recommend two injections per day, spaced in time by 7-8 hours, the volume of each of which does not exceed 12 IU.

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I will have pity on people who prefer the evergreen tree of dry theory practice, and I repeat once again: it makes the most sense to use insulin immediately after training, or even better 15-20 minutes before it ends. However, the latter can only be recommended to those who already have experience in the fight against hypoglycemia. The use of insulin after exercise has two undeniable advantages: first, the hypoglycemia caused by the administration of exogenous insulin is superimposed on the natural decrease in blood sugar during exercise with iron, which increases the release of growth hormone into the blood; secondly, insulin inhibits the conversion of amino acids into glucose, which means that there is a guarantee that the protein contained in your post-workout drink will not go exclusively to the renewal of depleted energy reserves.

On the days of weaning from the gym, injections can be done in the morning on an empty stomach, 20-30 minutes before the first meal. This very meal can (and in the case of training, it is necessary, because there is no other way out) to be replaced with a cocktail, which ideally should contain the following substances:

– 50-60 grams of whey protein;

– carbohydrates at the rate of 7 grams per 1 IU of injected insulin;

– 5-7 grams of creatine;

– 5-7 grams of glutamine.

An hour and a half after the cocktail, a normal meal should follow.

The best place to inject insulin is in the belly fat fold. Don’t immediately tighten your stomach and pretend that you don’t have fat there at all – absolutely everyone has it. The introduction of insulin into the fold on the abdomen is completely painless and is easily tolerated even by people who are used to fainting from one type of syringe needle. In addition, it is nearly twice as effective as injection into the arm..

What is hypoglycemia and how is it recognized? Oh, hypoglycemia is impossible not to recognize! It’s like a state of alcoholic intoxication: you can know about its existence only by hearsay, but, having experienced it for the first time, you immediately unmistakably determine (if you are still able to determine something) – yes, this is it! By the way, these two conditions – alcohol intoxication and hypoglycemia – are somewhat similar. The latter begins with a sharp increase in the feeling of hunger, dizziness appears, as in the case of slight intoxication, hand trembling. A person suddenly begins to sweat, his heart begins to beat faster.

All this is accompanied by changes in mood – a feeling of euphoria arises, or vice versa drostanolone dipropionate masteron forum mass – irritability increases; both are subsequently replaced by drowsiness. Mild hypoglycemia is not dangerous, while severe hypoglycemia can lead to loss of orientation, a person is not able to understand what is happening, and in time? take the necessary measures. In order to stop hypoglycemia abruptly, drink some sugar-containing drink, you can just dissolved sugar in water, eat something sweet – sweets, cakes, cake, and finally, just eat anything until H (alarm symptoms disappear. in severe cases, you need to inject! intravenous glucose or adrenaline, but here you cannot do without help from the side.

Which drug to choose

Well, everything is extremely simple here, the choice is not so rich. The best drugs available on our market are called “Humulin” and are produced by Eli Lilly (USA) or its French subsidiary, and you should opt for them. All the drugs of this company available on our market, indicating the duration of the effect, are summarized here in such a small plate:

For use in bodybuilding, fast or short-acting insulins are most suitable, although you can also use the combinations Humalog Mix 75/25 or Humulin 50/50 (the combinations are sold ready-to-use, however, we do not find them so often). The fast and short acting insulins can be administered twice a day, the combination is applied only once a day, preferably in the first half of the day. Medium-acting insulins with an “L” index and long-acting are suitable only for patients with diabetes mellitus.

How to deal with fat storage

In order to combat this most unpleasant phenomenon, there are several ways. The first of these, and the most secure, is called

Metformin

Metformin is an oral medication used as a mild antidiabetic agent. Its original purpose is to prevent the liver from producing excess glucose. Subsequently, this drug was also noticed such a type of activity as increased utilization of glucose by fat cells and skeletal muscle cells. In medical practice, metformin, among other things, is prescribed for diabetic patients in order to avoid excess accumulation of subcutaneous fat. The negative properties of metformin include its tendency to cause diarrhea in about a quarter of those taking this drug. I hope that there is no need to explain that diarrhea to you..

There are several drugs on our market that contain metformin as an active ingredient. I personally liked “Siofor” by Berlin-ChemieAG the most. There are two types of this drug, differing in the content of metformin in one tablet – “Siofor-850” and “Siofor-500”. The usual daily dose of the drug is 1500-1700 mg, divided into two doses. In case of diarrhea, the dose can be reduced to one gram.

Insulin + triiodothyronine

This is a more “advanced” way to combat excess fat storage. You already know what insulin is, and triiodothyronine is a thyroid hormone, i.e. thyroid hormone; for brevity, we will call it TK below. It must be said right away that manipulating the level of thyroid hormones can lead to truly irreparable consequences, therefore, these drugs should be taken only under medical supervision. If you do not have the opportunity to do a weekly blood test, then it is better not to start taking TK.

However, this applies only to high dosages, dosages of the order of 25 mcg can still be considered safe, although not sufficiently effective. TK is able to accelerate metabolism, thus, its effect to some extent compensates for the ability of insulin to accumulate fat – triiodothyronine lets this fat “into the energy furnace” of the body.

And yet, before using this hormone, you should think twice – the disorders of the thyroid gland, which it is capable of provoking, may be irreversible. For those who decided to try, we give an approximate scheme for using TK in conjunction with insulin. You have already, I hope, learned the scheme for using insulin, so I will not give it here, I will only note that insulin is used daily throughout the cycle. Weeks 1 and over the counter boldenone side effects the top boldenone on the 4: 25 μg TK according to the scheme: 2 days of intake / 1 day of rest. Weeks 2 and 3: 50 μg TK according to the scheme: 2 days of intake / 1 day of rest.

Insulin + DNP

Let’s agree right away: I didn’t write this, and you haven’t read it. Or so – after reading, immediately burn. Only a complete sadist can recommend the use of 2,4-dinitrophenol, and this is the full name of the chemical drug DNP, to a person far from competitive bodybuilding. Therefore, take into account all of the following simply as a set of interesting and instructive facts, and not as a guide to action..

In order not to dwell on DNP for a long time, I will say that this drug is as far from pharmacology as the oil tycoon is from the problems of ordinary citizens. The main field of his activity (DNP, not the tycoon, of course) is the fight against all kinds of insect pests; Simply put, DNP is poison. The use of 2,4-dinitrophenol is accompanied by so many side effects that a separate article is required to describe them. But nevertheless, a more effective fat burner today simply does not exist. The scheme for using insulin in conjunction with DNP may look like this:

Day 1-8: DNP at 4-5 mg per kg body weight Insulin 15-20 ME Day 9-16: Insulin 15-20 ME Day 17-24: DNP at 4-5 mg per kg body weight Insulin 15-20 ME Note that DNP should not be taken for more than 8 days in a row, and it is almost impossible to take DNP during hot weather, unless you are lucky enough to spend all your time in air-conditioned rooms.

Simple nutritional rules

But no matter how you fight with the deposition of fat “chemical” methods, all efforts will turn to dust with incontinence in the diet. Therefore, for the duration of insulin “therapy” forget about the existence of animal fats, however, and vegetable too. Skip the egg yolks, if you haven’t already, drink only skim milk. Try not to remember sweets too; hard, I understand, but what can you do! The main source of calories for you should be protein, you need to consume about 5-6 grams per kilogram of dry (no fat) weight per day. In addition to protein, amino acids should be taken, with particular attention to alanine, glutamine, arginine and taurine.

The intake of carbohydrate food should not reach such amounts that stop hypoglycemia completely, otherwise the release of growth hormone will stop.

You need to learn how to vary your carbohydrate intake so that you still feel mild (!) Hypoglycemia without the risk of going into a hypoglycemic coma. That is why it is advisable to take carbohydrates with a low glycemic index in combination with a protein-carbohydrate mixture such as mega-gainers. You should also try to completely eliminate foods containing saturated fatty acids (animal fats) from the diet. In addition, the diet should contain a sufficient amount of complete protein (at least 2.5 grams per kilogram of weight), vitamins and minerals. It’s not a bad idea to include aerobic activity during this period (at least 20 minutes).

And a little more about the beneficial properties of insulin

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Insulin has antidepressant properties, it has a calming and stabilizing effect on the nervous system. This property of insulin is especially valuable for bodybuilders who are prone to depression after the end of the cycle due to a sharp drop in testosterone blood levels. By the way, the author of the article fully experienced this effect of insulin on himself. Hypoglycemic coma (naturally, under the strictest medical supervision) is sometimes used in the treatment of certain mental illnesses.

What else may interest bodybuilders is the fact that insulin enhances the action of anabolic steroids by increasing the permeability of the cell membrane. However, we must not forget that high doses of aromatizing steroids can promote female fat deposition (i.e. in the most inappropriate places for this – on the hips and waist) and by themselves, and insulin will only enhance this process. Therefore, if possible, you need to limit yourself to non-aromatizing steroids, since their choice is large enough.

Instead of a conclusion

Now you have some idea of ​​what insulin is and how to use it in bodybuilding. However, don’t jump to conclusions. Yes, insulin is a powerful muscle growth anabolic. However, the consequences of its use can be unpredictable. And before you start this dangerous game, think, is it worth it? One of the greatest bodybuilders of the twentieth century, American Steve Reeves built his muscles without any “pharmacology” and, nevertheless, is still considered a living symbol of bodybuilding. So, after thoroughly studying this article, I repeat, do not jump to conclusions and try to make the right choice..