We have translated several important knowledge from scientific language into human language that will help you grow muscles as efficiently as possible.
We believe that almost everyone who reads fitness texts understands that exercise can increase both strength and muscle size. However, there is a clear difference between strength training and training aimed specifically at increasing muscle size.
How muscles grow
Weight training itself does not cause muscle growth. But the load received during training causes fatigue and stimulates physiological mechanisms, which, mainly during rest, cause the muscles to increase. Growth occurs as a result of an increase in the thickness of muscle fibers and the volume of fluid in muscle cells.
The ability to gain muscle mass depends on gender, age, weight training experience, genetics, quantity and quality of sleep, nutrition and fluid intake, and even stress levels can affect the ability to gain mass. For example, work overload or insufficient sleep can significantly reduce muscle growth, despite proper training and nutrition.
Mechanical and metabolic stress
There is no doubt that if you regularly and correctly lift iron, this leads to an increase in muscle volume and strength, however, scientists still have not decided what exactly causes muscle growth.
Training causes two specific types of stress: mechanical (microtears in the muscles - read more: "") and metabolic (triggering chemical repair processes due to the energy spent by the muscles), and they both can provide the necessary stimulus for muscle growth.
The challenge for research is that both mechanical and metabolic stress act in tandem, and isolating the effects of each separately on muscle growth is not easy.
“Slow” and “fast” muscle fibers
To design an exercise program to maximize muscle growth, you need to understand physiology.
There are two main types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch and fast-twitch. Fast-twitch fibers are larger in diameter than slow-twitch fibers and, accordingly, occupy a more prominent place in your muscles.
“Slow” fibers are also classified as aerobic, due to their high oxidative abilities, which enable them to contract for a long time. They are best suited for long-term activities that require minimal effort (such as long-distance running).
Fast-twitch muscle fibers have a high firing threshold as well as a high conduction velocity and are better suited for fast efforts (which is why sprinters look athletic compared to distance runners). In other words, these are the fibers you need to successfully jerk a heavy barbell.
Repeated effort method. If you want to grow, do sets to failure
It's not enough to just lift weights at high reps unless it causes muscle failure. The body stores and uses energy very efficiently, so repeating exercises with a constant load can limit the amount of mechanical (roughly speaking, they will tear badly) and metabolic stress (little growth hormones will be released) on the muscles and minimize the results of the workout.
Simply put, to maximize muscle growth, it is advisable to do exercises until muscle failure (I can’t do it anymore!)
3 types of training
Scientists Zatsiorsky and Kremer in 2006 identified three fundamental types of training: the maximum effort method, the dynamic effort method and the repeated effort method. The first two methods are good for their purposes, but are not the most effective for muscle growth.
1. Maximum effort method
This method uses significant weights to increase the activity of “fast” muscle fibers (which we wrote about in more detail above). Roughly speaking, the maximum effort method is associated with lifting the maximum possible weight (and therefore a small number of repetitions per set).
The main stimulus from the maximum effort method is mechanical (aimed at creating micro-tears in the muscles), myofibrillar hypertrophy with a significant increase in strength and a moderate increase in muscle mass.
The maximal effort method is effective for developing strength, but it is not the most effective means of increasing muscle mass.
2. Dynamic force method
Dynamic force training does not use maximum weight, but rather focuses on moving the weight as fast as possible to stimulate the motor units.
This method is most effective for increasing the rate of force development and contractile power required in many sports or dynamic activities. However, it does not provide enough mechanical or metabolic stress to the muscles needed to stimulate growth.
3. Repeated Effort Method
The repeated effort method does not involve maximum loads, but the need to do exercises until muscle failure occurs (when it is no longer possible to perform any further repetitions in the set).
The last few repetitions, which have to be done through the burn, can involve all the fibers in the target muscle into contraction and cause significant overload. When using the repeated effort method, slow motor units are activated at the beginning of the approach, and as they tire, the “fast” muscles will also be activated.
The repeated effort method of performing an exercise to failure is most effective for muscle growth, says science. It is important to work until failure. If the load is insufficient or the approach is not performed to failure, stimulation of the “fast” motor units (as you read above, they are the ones that mainly give volume to the muscles) does not occur or the necessary metabolic conditions that promote muscle growth are not created.
Sleep and recovery are just as important as training and nutrition itself.
Rest is the most underrated element of training. No matter how long you endured the pain of those last reps or how diligently you sourced protein and calories from your diet, it is not as important as the time it takes for nutrients and hormones to promote muscle protein synthesis after exercise.
Exercise and food are an important part of the muscle growth equation, but they're not the whole story. Adequate recovery is very important - it is necessary to give the muscles enough time to replenish glycogen reserves and undergo the processes of reconstruction and creation of new muscle tissue.
The recovery required for muscle growth is 48–72 hours between training sessions for a particular muscle group. This scientific argument, by the way, speaks in favor of split training - when each muscle group receives the main load, for example, once a week.
Inducing mechanical and metabolic stress during your gym training will only make sense while the hormones and substances necessary for muscle growth are released during REM sleep. This means that a full night’s sleep is important for muscle growth after training. Inadequate sleep and recovery will ruin your efforts in the gym and at the dinner table. Moreover, lack of sleep can increase adrenaline and cortisol levels, which can also reduce the ability to form new muscle tissue.
Lack of sleep, poor appetite, long-term illnesses, and loss of growth as a result of exercise are all symptoms of overexertion that can significantly impact a person's ability to achieve their fitness goals.
“Underrecovery” is another reason to think about overexertion. “To promote muscle growth, you need time for rest (active rest) to allow for full recovery,” says Schoenfeld (2013).
Training program for gaining muscle mass
Number of repetitions
Science suggests that for maximum muscle growth, select the weight so that you do 8-12 repetitions until muscle failure - it’s good that almost every trainer in the gym seems to know this simple fact. True, now, unlike you, not everyone knows why exactly.
Amount of rest between sets
Short to moderate rests between sets (30 seconds to 2 minutes) can cause significant metabolic stress.
Number of approaches in each exercise
According to scientists, performing 3-4 approaches provides the most effective mechanical tension for all muscles involved.
Travel speed
Scientists recommend performing movements with maximum effort faster - 1-2 seconds (for example, lifting a barbell), and the eccentric phase of the exercise (for example, lowering a barbell) for a longer period (2-6 seconds). Slower execution of the eccentric phase is necessary to ensure sufficient mechanical tension - it is this “easier” phase of movement that is most important for muscle growth. “From a hypertrophy perspective, eccentric contraction has a greater impact on muscle development. In particular, eccentric exercise has been associated with greater increases in protein synthesis” (Schoenfeld, 2010).
Free weights or machines
Scientist Schoenfeld argues that each type of resistance plays a role in optimal muscle growth: "Free weights, which involve a large number of muscles, help increase muscle density, while the stabilization provided by machines allows for greater loading of individual muscles."
Preparing for serious training
When training for muscle growth with a large metabolic and mechanical effect, it can cause serious muscle damage and is recommended for people with at least one year of training experience.
It is necessary to start with a dynamic warm-up, loading the core muscles (abs, stabilizer muscles and others) to prepare the muscle tissue for the stress of high-volume training.
Exercise order
It is preferable to start training with complex movements with free weights to engage the maximum number of muscles (for example, squats with a barbell, deadlifts are best done at the beginning of training), and during the course of the session gradually move on to machines that affect individual muscles.
Extreme exercise
The last exercise in each workout must be performed in a weight-loss machine: after all repetitions of the approach to failure, the weight is reduced and the maximum possible number of repetitions must be done with it until failure.
Weight loss approaches can cause significant mechanical and metabolic stress, as well as significant discomfort, and should be performed at the end of the session.
It is important to dose the load that is necessary for you, because “overload” can be no less harmful to muscle growth than “underload.” For example, in the program recommended by scientists for muscle growth (see below), cardio load is limited. According to Schoenfeld, "too much energy expenditure can reduce muscle growth."
The exercise program presented below is based on the latest scientific research related to increasing muscle mass.
Attention: RM – repeated maximum
Day 4. Rest or low-intensity cardio exercise
Bulanov Yu. B. (book "Growth Hormone 2")
2011-23-01
Views: 56 791 Grade: 5.0
Physical activity is undoubtedly the strongest stimulator of growth hormone (GH) secretion. Under the influence of intense training, peaks in the release of growth hormone throughout the day become more frequent and increase in amplitude. When building a training plan, it is necessary to take into account the interaction of GH with other hormones during training. The higher the training intensity, the stronger the release of GH. The force of the ejection may increase during the first half hour of training, after which it decreases slightly. At the same time, the release of sex hormones and thyroid hormones increases, which potentiates the effect of GH on tissues. The release of catecholamines in the blood increases, especially norepinephrine and adrenaline. This is the 1st phase of training stress, aimed at mobilizing the body's energy resources. It was already said above that growth hormone is an adaptive, “stress” hormone. Insulin secretion decreases somewhat, and there is an explanation for this. STH, sex hormones and catecholamines are counter-insular factors that weaken both the release of insulin and its effect on tissues, otherwise insulin will block the mobilization of energy resources. STH, together with catecholamines and thyroid hormones, primarily break down liver glycogen, which is broken down into glucose and utilized by the muscles. . Muscles, oddly enough, cannot utilize glucose from the blood. They first convert glucose that enters the bloodstream into glycogen and then utilize it. When glycogen stores in the liver run out of GH, catecholamines and thyroid hormones “pounce” on adipose tissue. First subcutaneous, and then internal. Fatty acids flood the blood, but are poorly utilized. For this, glucose is needed, and there are no available reserves of glucose. Muscle glycogen (for some reason no one knows this) cannot be converted into glucose and in this case “cannot do” anything for the utilization of fatty acids. After just 20 minutes of training (for beginners), blood plasma albumin in the liver is converted into glucose, and this newly formed glucose helps to quickly utilize fatty acids. In highly trained athletes, blood plasma proteins are utilized for energy needs not after 20, but after 10 minutes of training. In master-qualified athletes, the process of “gluconeogenesis”, i.e. New glucose formations in the liver are extremely well developed. In them, almost from the first minutes of training, glucose in the liver is formed from fatty acids and glycerol. And this fat-derived glucose helps the muscles utilize fatty acids and glycerol, which are completely oxidized to form energy stored in the form of ATP. After 0.5 hours of training, the level of growth hormone in the blood begins to gradually decrease. At the same time, the level of thyroid hormones and catecholamines decreases. However, the level of glucocorticoid hormones increases, which inhibit the effects of growth hormone, thyroxine and sex hormones. This is due to the fact that adrenaline stimulates the peripheral serotonergic structures of the body (nerve cells that produce serotonin in the periphery), serotonin begins to stimulate the adrenal cortex and a large amount of glucocorticoid hormones is released into the blood. Glucocorticoids further enhance gluconeogenesis in the liver. Insulin secretion remains suppressed. Phase II of training stress begins, which is characterized by a significant increase in catabolism. This increase in catabolism is caused by the fact that glucocorticoid hormones spend mainly alanine, an amino acid that they take from muscles, for the needs of gluconeogenesis. This precisely leads to the development of catabolic processes in muscle tissue. 1 hour after the start of training, a significant predominance of catabolic processes over anabolic ones is observed. How to resolve the problem? How to prevent catabolism of muscle tissue? The conclusion suggests itself: the training should be short enough to achieve an energy deficit in muscle tissue and the synthesis of glucose from fatty acids and glycerol. If the workout lasts longer than necessary, alanine will be used for the body’s energy needs and then muscle catabolism is inevitable. Ignorant people who do not even know the basics of normal physiology write in popular magazines that it is necessary to “bomb” each muscle for almost hours to cause muscle catabolism. And the greater the muscle catabolism, the more, according to them, muscle anabolism develops during the rest period. Any more or less serious academic scientist will tell you that muscle hypertrophy develops solely as a response to energy deficiency and nothing more. If a muscle works for too long, muscle tissue catabolism develops. There can be no talk of any muscle hypertrophy. On the contrary, the muscle begins to “dry out”. In light of the above, it becomes clear why the current global trend is to shorten training while simultaneously increasing its intensity. In order to gain the required total volume of training loads, short training sessions are carried out frequently: 2-3 times a day, and sometimes even more often. Nowadays, no one is surprised by athletes who train 3 times a day for 20 minutes. The intensity of training begins to take on previously unseen forms. Some athletes do short, high-intensity workouts with no rest between sets. How it's done? Let me give you a simple example. An athlete comes to the gym and starts doing a triset: squats, deadlifts, bench press. This triset is made as follows. A warm-up set of squats, then immediately without a break (!) a warm-up set of deadlifts and immediately without a break a warm-up set of the bench press. Then everything repeats all over again. Warm-up approaches replace each other and the main ones begin. Main set of legs, then main set of deadlifts without a break, then main set of bench press without a break. And so on throughout the training. In its intensity, such training is close to sprint running. Sweat pours into 3 streams. After each approach to the bench press, the bench must be wiped with a special towel. It is not easy to get involved in such high intensity, but there is no way to do without it. Firstly, in the first 0.5 hour of training, the release of GH into the blood (in quantitative terms) is directly proportional to the intensity. The higher the intensity, the greater the release. And, secondly, without such high intensity it is not possible to complete the required number of exercises (approaches, repetitions) in 20-30 minutes. When in the mid-60s of the twentieth century. the basic concepts of muscle growth were developed, it turned out that the growth of muscle mass is directly proportional to the amount of work performed during training. The time frame for training was not limited in any way. In the 70s, an additional criterion appeared - training time. Now muscle growth has become directly proportional to the volume of muscular work performed and inversely proportional to the unit of time for which the work was performed. With equal volumes of muscle work, maximum muscle growth was where this volume of work was performed in the minimum amount of time. When high-intensity training began to become fashionable, there was a wave of craze for stimulants, including amphetamine-type stimulants. Without stimulants, short, high-intensity workouts seemed impossible to everyone. In order not to deplete the nervous system, stimulants were combined with certain steroids that have a greater affinity for nervous tissue than others. Retribution did not take long to arrive. Heart attacks and acquired heart defects began. Those who managed to replace the heart valve in time survived, those who did not have time, did not. People have become more careful. Instead of stimulants, they began to use reducing agents, economizers, energizers, and nootropics. They made it possible to perform a huge amount of work in a short time with less stress on the heart muscle. They began to train the heart separately - and this immediately yielded results. The athletes reached a new, unprecedented level. Sprint running has gained unprecedented popularity among “siloviki” and bodybuilders.
Growth hormone course is a very expensive, effective and dangerous doping, although for medical purposes, under the supervision of doctors, somatotropin is practically harmless. Here it would be appropriate to recall the well-known Paracelsus, who somehow believed that everything is poison and everything is medicine. At the same time, they very often say that growth hormone is generally harmless, but they immediately recommend taking it together with insulin and/or thyroid hormones. A course of growth hormone, in fact, can lead to diabetes, suppress the secretion of thyroid hormones, and also contribute to the development of cancer. We definitely don’t recommend using co-ma-to-tro-pin, but, since there is no rest for the pumped-up, we’ll have to consider the reception and this- th drug.
A course of growth hormone involves injections of exogenous somatotropin, that is, we are not talking about the stimulation of its own secretion, but about the introduction of the hormone itself from the outside. There are several ways of producing co-ma-to-tro-pi-na, but we, like pot-re-bi-te-ley, are not in-te-re-su-et it’s how it’s produced, but how high-quality and cheap it is, or rather, what we’re interested in is the price-quality ratio, which we talk about in detail. -lee. The secretion of somatotropin can be stimulated with natural remedies and the use of peptides, but we will talk about this in separate articles. In this article, we will look at the best brands of growth hormone, how to check its quality, how to store it, how to take it, and what results other than cancer member, you can expect so-ma-to-tro-pi-na from the course.
Properties of somatotropin and consequences of taking
A growth hormone is a polypeptide hormone of the anterior pituitary gland, which in adolescence, until the “growth zones” of bones close, is responsible for their growth in length, which is what its name is associated with. Also, the functions of somatotropin include stimulating the synthesis of protein structures and the reduction of subcutaneous fat. This is why the growth hormone course alone is used only for “drying”, and together with AAS and/or in-su-lin also for gaining muscle mass. As you understand, in terms of protein metabolism, growth hormone and insulin are synergists, both hormones enhance protein synthesis, but in terms of carbohydrate metabolism they are antagonists. In-su-ling reduces the level of sugar in the blood, but growth hormone, on the contrary, significantly increases it. This is precisely why in long-term courses or when dosages exceed more than 10 units per day, so-ma-to-tropin is recommended together with insulin.
The natural production of growth hormone occurs according to circadian rhythms and, although the average value of the hormone in the blood is 1-5 ng/ml, during hormone releases this concentration can reach from 10 up to 40ng/ml. On average, such emissions occur every 3-5 hours and occur most intensely during sleep, and 1-2 hours after a person falls asleep, such a release necessarily occurs . Re-gu-li-ru-et-sya you work with somatoliberin and somatostatin, the first, as the name implies, sti- mu-li-ru-et the secretion of the hormone, and the second one slows it down. You raise this hormone with the hypothalamus, and all natural methods of increasing growth hormones and peptides act on the same principle - stimulate you-to-work-ku so-ma-to-li-be-ri-na gi-po-ta-la-mu-som.
Growth hormone can influence the synthesis of protein structures, both directly through co-ma-to-tropin receptors and through IGF-1. In general, the anabolic effects of so-ma-to-tro-pi-na are associated specifically with IGF-1, but the breakdown of fatty acids occurs along a different route. In practice, all of the above means 2 facts: a course of growth hormone can at the same time gain muscle mass and burn fat, but this can lead to serious consequences. -do with side effects. We have already listed them above, but it would not be amiss to say about them again: firstly, this is diabetes, but this side effect can be stopped with in-su-lin or diabetes-free CF, secondly , this is the suppression of the secretion of thyroid hormones, which is stopped by taking them during the course and, thirdly, the development of cancer cells, which is impossible to grow. It is also worth noting that insulin can lead to a hypo-gly-ke-mi-ches-koy with a fatal outcome, and thyroid hormones can -re-re-tion of own hormones.
During a course of somatotropin lasting up to 2 months and in dosages of up to 10 units per day, you can use Diabeton MB as a safer analogue of insulin. As for T3 and T4, that is, thyroid hormones, with dosages of up to 10 units per day and a course duration of up to 2-3 months, you can do without them. But we do not recommend that you live without androgenic anabolic steroids. In general, we don’t re-co-men-do-eat either one or the other, since amateurs don’t need it, and for pro-fessionals it’s simply not ethical, but, if you are so pumped up that you are injecting so-ma-to-tro-pin, then be so kind as to give yourself an AAS. The point here is simply a matter of effectiveness, taking co-ma-to-tro-pin without AAS is like drinking vodka without beer, you can, but there’s no point.
How to choose growth hormone
Today, the somatotropin market in Russia is flooded with growth hormones from Europe, China, as well as domestic manufacturers. European growth hormones are all very high quality, they can be bought at the pharmacy, as well as a number of Chinese and Russian preparations, but they are very expensive. Vadim Ivanov, owner of Do4a.com, conducted a number of pre-pa-ra-tov tests in 2015, checking their compliance with the declared quality, but we sis-te-ma-ti-zi-ro It was these data that produced the following table. But before moving on to its content, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that the % of pureness may vary depending on si-mos-ti depends on how long the growth hormone takes. It’s best to take the drug up to six months. The fact is that it needs to be stored at the op-re-de-lent temperature, and this is often violated, which leads to the destruction of the active substance . In terms of health, this is not scary, since somatotropin is dissolved in amino acids, but paying through the nose for protein is probably pointless.
| Name | Price for 10 units | A country | Certificate | Examination | Purity | Fake |
| Humatrope | 6000 rub. | France | There is | There is | 97-100% | There is |
| Saizen | 3700 rub. | Italy | There is | There is | 97-100% | There is |
| Rastan | 3425 rub. | Russia | There is | No | 94% | There is |
| Genotropin | 2300 rub. | Belgium | There is | There is | 94% | There is |
| Omnitron | 1750 rub. | Austria | There is | No | 93-95% | There is |
| Norditropin | 1650 rub. | Denmark | There is | No | 96% | There is |
| Jintropin | 1150 rub. | China | There is | There is | 95% | There is |
| Neotropin | 1000 rub. | China | No | No | 92% | few |
| Dynatrope | 800 rub. | Russia | No | No | 89% | No |
| Ansomon | 600 rub. | China | There is | There is | 97% | few |
| Hygetropin | 450 rub. | China | No | No | 93% | few |
The optimal drug, as the study showed, is ansomon, since all dealers without exception can imitate it. The fact is that in the Russian Federation there is no official pre-sta-vi-te-la, so anyone can order the drug directly from the factory. The quality and price of the ansomon have led to a frantic demand for this preparation, which is why it is always fresh, and the fresher the pot, the more active it contains thing, all things being equal. In general, at the time of writing the article, the optimal pre-pa-ra-t was ansomon, but what you inject yourself, people from the future, we still don’t know.
How to take a course of growth hormone
Storage of the drug: Growth hormone should be kept in the refrigerator, since high temperatures promote the destruction of somatotropin into amino acids.
Preparation of the drug: wipe the jar with somatotropin and the ampoules with the liquid with which you will dilute the drug with alcohol; the drug can be diluted with bactericidal or sterile water; the amount of liquid that you will dilute the growth hormone can be anything, it all depends on your preferences; if you dispense 10 units per 1 ml of liquid, then 10 marks on a U100 type syringe will equal 1 unit; the water drawn into the syringe must be mixed with growth hormone powder; for this, it is injected slowly through the syringe into the wall of the jar with so-ma-to-tro-pi-n, so that the water is honey-flax - but it flowed into powder, after which, with light circular movements, the mixture was reduced to a homogeneous mass in the form of a transparent liquid.
When and where to put: You need to take growth hormone in the morning before meals, 2 hours after meals and half an hour before meals, during or immediately after training, during drying, you can put it before bed if you wake up at night for in order to give an injection, then this will also be a good time for injections. In other words, injections should be given when your blood sugar is low. The drug must be administered at the same time. Growth hormones are placed under the skin, most often in the abdomen, which theoretically should contribute to a more rapid reduction of subcutaneous fat in this area. The injections are placed at an angle of 45° and are not given in the same place.
Duration and dosage: the duration of the course of growth hormone is from 2 to 6 months, and dosages range from 5 to 25 units per day; effective dosages start from 10 units, but they need to start from 2-3 weeks, provided that you feel normal; do-zi-rov-ki above 10 units per day are intended for pro-fes-sio-na-loving; The duration of the solo course is 2 months, if you use it for longer than 2 months, then you must include Diabeton MV, but long-term courses of 4-6 months are better because - beware, because they may require the inclusion of insulin.
Solo course: intended for “drying”, the course begins with 5 units per day, injections are given once a day, if everything is fine, then at 2-3 weeks they begin to give 10 units per day, dividing them into two doses. ema. Duration is from 2 to 6 months, if the course lasts more than 2 months, then you need to drink Diabeton MV, if the course lasts more than 4 months, then you need to drink T-Rock-Sin 25 mcg per day for protection of the thyroid gland. Injections are not given for longer than 6 months, since this threatens to clog the receptors and the production of tolerance to the growth hormone.
Course with AAS: intended for “drying”, duration of AAS course is 8 weeks, give 30 mg win-stro-la per day, and the somatotropin course completely repeats the solo course.
Course with AAS and insulin: intended for weight gain, the duration of the AAS course is 8-12 weeks, as a rule, testosterone enanthate 500 mg per week, you can also add more oxandrolone 40 mg per day, the course of a small dose repeats the solo course, but in this case it is also not necessary to give 10 units of short-acting insulin per day, give 5 units an hour after the injection of somatotropin and after that eat tightly.
A course with AAS, insulin and thyroid hormones: this course can be for weight, it can be for cutting, depending on whether insulin will be involved, but this course is simply long-term, that’s why During it, thyroid hormones are also given. Sometimes they charge 2 courses of AAS per cycle, and the dosage reaches up to 25 units per day, but this is a course for those who plan to take places in professional tournaments. So you just need to know that such courses simply exist in principle.
Without serious training there will be no progress in results. But it can be difficult to assess how “serious” they are for your body, especially for us amateurs. Sometimes an athlete works, works, performs a huge training volume, but the results do not improve. He begins to blame himself for not training enough, adds more, and eventually an adaptation breakdown occurs. The body is a very complex thing, and all processes are regulated at different levels.
Many people realize that training affects hormonal status, but few take into account the opposite: that hormonal status requires correction of training.
First of all, we will talk about amateurs, since doctors monitor professionals (at least they should). Regular medical examinations and constant selection of tests enable professionals to build a training program taking into account their current condition. But amateurs who do not perform so many medical procedures on themselves also need to know some important principles. Otherwise, sport can turn into self-torture, without any significant results.
Waterline.
Do you think the ship in your training has positive or negative buoyancy? If it’s negative, it’s clear that the craft will sink, even with a properly working engine and a hardworking crew. To put it another way: even an ideal training program and complete dedication in the fight for sports results can lead not to an increase in fitness, but to degradation or stagnation only because the trainee has driven himself below the waterline. Which? Yes, the same one that defines the boundary between anabolic and catabolic hormonal status; the one that qualified athletes and coaches are well aware of, calling it for simplicity the “T/C ratio” (“testosterone/cortisol”). And although in fact there are much more hormones that determine the corresponding state, these two will be quite enough for you and me to get a superficial acquaintance with the topic. After all, we are not writing a dissertation with you, but we need to train properly.
The testosterone/cortisol ratio fluctuates depending on the nature of training loads
The dark and light sides of the force.
It's no secret that almost everything in our body is controlled by hormones, many of which have complex, complex effects on us. However, now we will only talk about the energy function of two hormones: testosterone and cortisol. The first of them is anabolic, that is, promoting formation, growth, accumulation. The second is catabolic, that is, promoting decomposition, excretion, and consumption. For clarity, here are a couple of examples.
Example one: An athlete overcomes the distance of a marathon or even an ultramarathon. This is the third or fourth hour of highly intense competitive work. More than 3000 kilocalories were consumed - this is clearly more than the reserve of carbohydrates that could be stored by the body (besides carbohydrate reserves are never completely used up). The average heart rate of a competitor is, let’s say, 170 beats per minute (that is, the mode is far from aerobic). People who consider themselves fitness experts often say that fat cannot be burned in this mode..Then what drives this marathon runner - the holy spirit? Of course, he eats at a distance, but even taking into account what he ate and drank, it still turns out that by the third hour of work, fats very actively flew into the firebox. Due to what?
You probably guessed that we are giving an example of the work of catabolic hormones, which the body begins to actively produce as easily accessible glycogen reserves are depleted. When the hormonal status changes to catabolic, everything goes down the drain. In particular, fats are used well, which in a neutral or anabolic status (background) cannot really be made to “burn” at a high pulse. But the muscles in this state also “sag,” so if you constantly push yourself only in such modes (without recovery work), your strength potential will gradually fade.
Example two: A loader works day after day, unloading wagons with some kind of heavy loads. He has been working for a year, then another... He is in better physical shape than office workers who are deprived of physical activity. But the loader does NOT become pumped up like a bodybuilder, although he has a very large total tonnage. But as soon as he or even an office worker goes to the “rocking chair”, after a few months of appropriate training, the muscles will begin to grow noticeably. What is the reason? After all, obviously, not in the amount of weights lifted! As in the previous example, hormones work. The body begins to actively produce anabolic hormones in response to short-term muscle stress, into which they deliberately drive themselves into a “rocking chair”, performing exercises according to the formula “until “I can’t”, plus one more time.” This creates an anabolic hormonal state, so active muscle mass (involved in this work) begins to grow.
On a carousel swing.
So, we have established that hormonal status changes under the influence of different types of stress(and not only). The T/C ratio can be large or small (in fact, other hormones are also “walking”, which sometimes even professionals forget about), which will determine the corresponding hormonal status - anabolic or catabolic. We deliberately do not give specific numbers, since the borderline state (waterline) varies from person to person. But it doesn’t matter to us - we’re not professionals, no one takes blood tests from us several times during training.
And now, attention (!), the most important thing! The effect of training depends NOT only on how you loaded yourself, but also on what your hormonal status will be during the subsequent recovery period (after all, all positive changes in the body occur not during training, but after it). If the status is correct, the correct processes will take place and the effect will be high. If the status is NOT correct, there will be no effect (there are options “almost no” and “effect will be negative”).
Which status is correct? For most training purposes (not just muscle growth), the “correct” state will be anabolic. It is necessary for any muscle development (including the growth of muscle oxidative potential, which affects endurance). Catabolic status is useful extremely rarely and only if the stay in it is limited to a short time interval - when “cutting” or when training “fat metabolism” before extremely long competitions (Ironman or ultra marathons). Therefore, it is very important that not only the training performed is correct, but the entire training plan is structured so as not to drive yourself into the catabolic zone.
Moreover, this plan is always individual - it must take into account how quickly the body recovers and how it reacts to a particular load. You cannot copy someone else’s plan without adjusting it to suit yourself - the same sequence of training in a weekly cycle can maintain a high T/C ratio for one person, and bring this indicator down for another.
Accordingly, one person will develop with such a training plan, while the other will become overtrained and fall through the cracks. Train less, develop faster.. Such a miraculous reaction of the body only indicates that before the load was relieved, the person trained more than his endocrine system could “hold.”
His hormonal levels were not good enough (only slightly above the waterline). Reduced the load - the T/C ratio increased, and in response to more modest training influences, the body more actively turned on the processes of long-term adaptation. That's all. There are no miracles!
How to manage your hormonal levels.
- Now let's move on to practice. Firstly, The body reacts sensitively to the nature of training. It will not be possible to describe correctly what exactly happens under different loads within the framework of an introductory article, but the simplest thing can be formulated as follows: long-term training causes a progressive increase in the production of cortisol, and short-term muscle stress stimulates the production of testosterone. The answers to the question “how long” and “what is short-term muscle stress” are very individual.
- In addition, you need to take into account the gender and age of the trainee. A woman over 45 years old and a man under 25 years old are two very different organisms in terms of hormonal status. Women and veterans have lower testosterone levels than men and young people, respectively. The production of cortisol is highly dependent on training. The higher it is, the later and more mildly the body reacts to the depletion of its resources by producing this hormone. Secondly, you can control your hormonal status using indirect signs
- if you look after yourself. Drowsiness, fatigue, lethargy, apathy - indicate that you are very likely to overload yourself (there is a high probability that the status is “bad”). There are fewer signs of a “good” background. If you get enough sleep quickly and have a good sex drive, then most likely your hormonal status is “good.” Other signs are how the body accepts the load: “it worked” for you or “it didn’t work.” But this understanding comes with experience. For a good “feeling of being loved” you need more than a year or two of training experience. Third, don't forget that your
- the status can be improved a little by choosing a workout If you look at how professionals build a training plan, you will find that they try to “close” long aerobic work with strength training or alternate it with speed-strength work. For example, several morning hours of aerobic work are often followed by rest and then evening strength training. It’s better to go to bed with a “good” hormonal status.
Follow along, but don’t try to copy blindly. Your body is your own, special. Find an approach to him - he will repay you with kindness. Don't be afraid to rest after the training work done.
Source of information: 1-fit.ru (2014).
Autumn is in full swing, which means the topic of gaining muscle mass is more relevant than ever. Such seasonality, autumn, winter - we gain muscle mass. Drying aside, we eat carbohydrates, hit the base and grow. Today's topic of conversation is growth hormone, as the most important body-building hormone. Issues of training, their construction will be considered, we will find outhow to increase growth hormone and increase its level in the bodyso that it is produced and helps us build muscles.
How to increase growth hormone through exercise
Factors influencing the production of somatotropic hormone, or growth hormone, have been determined experimentally and have scientific confirmation. A number of studies were conducted in which different groups of people were tested, certain training methods were used, and then, soon, all this was confirmed in practice.
Based on research, we can talk about some basic things that can be questioned, but have an evidentiary basis and basis.
Growth hormone production factors confirmed by experiments
1. Involvement of the maximum number of muscle fibers
The first factor that directly affects the production of growth hormone as a result of training is the involvement of the maximum number of muscle fibers in the work. How to do it? There are two ways.
Working weight. The more weight you use in training, the heavier the weights you lift, the more muscle fibers are involved in doing this work. Working weight directly affects the number of muscle fibers involved.
Muscle group. It is clear that the quadriceps femoris muscle contains many times more fibers when compared to the biceps brachii muscle, because it is larger. This means that when squatting with a large weight, a wider pool of muscle fibers is included in the work than in the case of lifting a dumbbell for biceps - as a result, the production of growth hormone increases.
2. Amount of work performed
The second important factor is the amount of work or volume that is performed in training. It has been experimentally established that lifting heavy weights during a workout involving muscle fibers 1 or 2 times will not be a sufficient condition for the production of GH. This needs to be done for quite a long time. What should this volume be? It is expressed in the number of repetitions in 1 approach, 8-10 repetitions, the total number of approaches of all exercises per workout is 18-20. These are, for example, 4 exercises of 5 approaches, so you understand.
It should be understood that the working weight will be appropriate and far from the one-time maximum. It would seem that the more weight we take, the more muscle fibers we will involve, but with the maximum weight or with 95% of the one-time maximum, we will not be able to complete the volume we set, these 7-10. For the hormone to be produced, the correlation of working weight must occur in the range of 65-85% of the one-time maximum.
3. Training intensity
The third factor is the intensity of the workout. Intensity is considered to be the volume performed per unit of time. Rest between sets affects intensity, which should not be more than a minute, but preferably 30-60 seconds.
But how do you do squats and rest for 30 seconds if you do 5 sets of 10 reps? That’s why the interval is given, there is no strictness of 70-80% percent of the maximum and 30-60 seconds. Recreation. You need to adjust the system to suit you, you need to rest more - rest, put less weight. Intensity or volumes will suffer, but a compromise must be found.
4. Duration
The question of training duration is very relevant, How long should a workout last to increase growth hormone production? On average 40-50 minutes. It has been experimentally proven that after this period, catabolic hormones begin to predominate in the human body. Anabolism goes away, cartisol increases. Such a process cannot be allowed to run wild. You need to leave training at the peak of the production of your anabolic hormones.
It is necessary to use alternation methods and supersets in your training. All to increase intensity. So that the above-mentioned volume fits into 40-50 minutes of being in the hall.
The optimal ratio will look like this:
- The optimal workout length is 40-50 minutes.
- The weights that need to be worked with are 70-80% of the one-time maximum
- Number of repetitions 8-10
- In total you need to do about 30 approaches in all exercises.
- Try not to rest for more than 1 minute
There is an interesting amendment that the “gurus” of fitness and the field of “muscle gain” might have guessed. This is about training on slow fibers and static dynamics. These workouts are considered to increase the production of growth hormone. But we get resonance, because the weights indicated above are about 70-80% of the maximum, and during static-dynamic work on slow fibers - this is 20-40% of the maximum weight, so, where is the truth? After all, not many muscle fibers are involved in the work, with such a weight.
Statodynamic exercises in the gym are considered to be those that result in the natural production of growth hormone, but why is this so? It's all about hydrogen ions, whose significant presence and growth entails an increase in growth hormone. Ions are preceded by credits received during exercises. We achieve acidification in both cases, in the first through intensity, in static dynamics - other methods.
conclusions
It should be concluded that acidification and the release of hydrogen ions is the decisive and main tool for the production of growth hormone. This is called a natural increase in growth hormone. The good news is that when training in the first case with heavy weights, which is static dynamics, you will work on the stimulation and production of growth hormone. I hope that the information was presented in accessible and simple language, and that you understood the essence and will begin to apply the above recommendations in your training.
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