Human Growth Hormone 101: All you need to know

The Human Growth Hormone or HGH is a naturally produced hormone by our bodies that possess several benefits, all of them related to cell regeneration, growth, reproduction, and tissue repair. A synthetic version of the hGH has been used for medical and fitness purposes, and here you will learn how to use it for your physique goals

Human Growth Hormone, also known as hGH, Growth Hormone (GH), or somatotropin – the last two as the synthetic version of the first one – is an important and naturally produced chemical that influences several body functions related to cell restoration, growth, and repair.

Since the Human Growth Hormone stimulates metabolic processes within the cells to encourage their metabolism, hGH plays an important part in tissue growth and repair of muscles, organs, and bones, becoming crucial for human development.

Here, we will talk about the benefits, uses, and potential side risks of Human Growth Hormone for bodybuilding.

What is Human Growth Hormone?

As we mentioned before, hGH is a peptide hormone naturally produced by our bodies, specifically by the anterior pituitary gland under the hypothalamus control.

The anterior pituitary gland is the size of a pea and is located at the base of the brain.

Human Growth Hormone starts its release in infancy, where it fuels children’s growth; however, with aging, the pituitary gland decreases the amount of growth hormone it produces.

Since aging may naturally decrease muscle and bone mass, some people decide to try synthetic growth hormone to slow aging while keeping their bodies in optimal conditions.

Benefits, and uses of Human Growth Hormone

Naturally, Human Growth Hormone boosts growth in children and adolescents. Nonetheless, this is not the only benefit of hGH in our bodies. Here are some of the roles of Human Growth Hormone in our systems:

• Helps to regulate body fluids and body composition
• Improves muscle and bone growth
• Intervenes in sugar and fat metabolism 
• Plays an important role in proper heart function

After getting older and your bones (epiphyses) have fused, Human Growth Hormone is in charge of keeping your organism balanced by maintaining metabolism and blood sugar levels within range. 

hGH also plays an important part in maintaining – that is building, and repairing – healthy tissue in our organs – bones, muscles, brains, and more –.

Human Growth Hormone is also responsible for speeding up the healing process after an injury and tissue repair after exercising.

Additionally, hGH can aid to boost your metabolism thus helping you to burn fat and create more lean muscle.

Some studies even say that hGH can slow down aging and even improve the appearance and quality of your skin.

Uses for the Human Growth Hormone

 Thanks to its plenty of side benefits for growth and overall health, the FDA approved in 1985 the use of synthetic growth hormone or somatotropin to treat several health conditions such as:

• Children or adolescents with growth problems
• Adults with short bowel syndrome
• Muscles loss due to AIDS or HIV
• hGH deficiency or insufficiency
• Turner syndrome
• Chronic kidney disease
• Children born with low weight
• Muscle wasting disease
• hGH deficiency related to pituitary tumors, or treatment

People with Human Growth Hormone deficiency may experience a series of symptoms that impacts their overall health.

In adults, a lack of hGH can be experienced by:

• An augment of body fat
• An important increase in the risk of heart disease
• The manifestation of a reduction in their sense of wellbeing
• Frail muscles, bones, and heart

Children with hGH insufficiency may experience:

• Delayed puberty
• Impaired hair growth 
• A younger look for what’s expected for their age

In any case, by taking somatotropin these individuals will feel a significant improvement in their overall sense of well-being and physical health that will start manifesting in significant physical changes.

For bodybuilding, hGH can be taken along with other steroids to boost its properties. Human Growth Hormone has the ability to:

• Improve exercise capacity
• Increase bone density
• Build lean muscle mass
• Reduce stored body fat

hGH is in charge of triggering the growth of almost every tissue, and organ of our bodies; which is why is possible to attain rapid and cosmetic muscle growth while taking hGH; however, research says that to attain the best results injected forms of GH has to be used since pills can be broken down by digestion.

On the other hand, Human Growth Hormone plays a major role in our metabolism by increasing the production of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). This hormone lowers glucose blood levels but also increases the levels of energy in your body needed to fulfill your daily activities.

This way, IGF-1 actively intervenes in the metabolism by managing blood sugar levels; thus helping you to reach higher levels of energy for performance boosting or exercise enhancing purposes.

Potential side effects

Even though hGH can bring several benefits to your performance and overall health – such as rejuvenation, better physique, and athletic advantage -, the excess of this hormone – as well as the lack of it – can cause some negative side effects to take into consideration.

As we know from history, people who suffer from an excess of the Human Growth Hormone can experience a medical condition known as acromegaly; which characterizes enlarged organs, thickened bones, swollen hands, and feet.

People with acromegaly can also suffer from high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart diseases. 

Although this condition is extremely rare, it is very important to balance hGH intake to avoid these symptoms as possible side effects.

Besides, here are other risks healthy adults can find while having a Human Growth Hormone treatment:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Edema in legs and arms
• Pain in joints, muscles, and nerves
• Numbness or tingling of the skin
• Insulin resistance 
• Gynecomastia (in men)
• High bad cholesterol levels
• Rise of the risk of suffering some types of cancers, since hGH can boost the growth of cancerous tumors

 Human Growth Hormone and Body Building

According to scientific research, the use of the Human Growth Hormone as a performance-enhancing agent dates back to the end of the 19^th century, in which Charles Édouard Brown-Sequard, a renowned physiologist and neurologist self-injected “first blood of the testicular veins; secondly semen; and thirdly juice from a testicle … from a dog or a guinea pig” for three weeks in 1891 experiencing an overall boost of his strength.

Few scientific studies followed this initiative until identifying the etiology of acromegaly in 1909, by partially understanding the role that pituitary hormones possess in our system. 

It was until 1945 that hGH was successfully extracted and purified to be used to promote growth in children and animals suffering from hypopituitarism; thus showing a dramatic improvement in their overall growth and health.

In 1962 hGH was then tested in adults, in which it was proven the enhancement the sense of wellbeing, vigor, and ambition.

Printed evidence of bodybuilding uses for hGH was found in a 1982 magazine named The Underground Steroid Handbook by Daniel Duchaine that encouraged gym goers and body enthusiasts to cycle with hGH to promote muscle gains and a considerable boost in their performance.

In fact, hGH can become a potent anabolic agent solo or combined with synthetic testosterone as research supports.

According to one randomized study, by taking 2mg/d of GH subcutaneously, and testosterone 250 mg/wk intramuscularly the participants achieved reduced their stored fat, increase their lean body mass by a rise in extracellular water, and experienced an overall enlarged body cell mass from this stack. It also influenced total sprint capacity by augmenting it.

hGH Dosage

For medical purposes, Human Growth Hormone is usually administered between 1iu and 3iu daily. In some rare and extreme cases, 4iu may be needed to achieve the expected results.

With hGH it is very important to keep the administration at very low doses, since rising them will increase the risk of the appearance of any side effects. 

Nonetheless, the good news is that the Human Growth Hormone is only needed in very low doses to accomplish your physique goals.

Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced hGH Dosage

Typically, the Human Growth Hormone is taken by experienced bodybuilders that have developed tolerance to steroids, know how to make a good stack, and also can control the dosage of every compound for optimal results.

However, beginners can start with minimal medical doses to check for any improvement, and then increase them if needed.

Intermediate and advanced users will both benefit by using doses between 2iu and 4iu daily.

Women can also be benefitted from hGH using it in doses between 1iu and 2iu daily.

Take into consideration that hGH does not kick immediately and that your body pumps it at least 3 times a day; which is why is so important to know your body well enough to make the injections at the time of the day when blood levels are low to keep them steady.

Subcutaneous injections are suggested as well as cycles of 8 weeks and more to be able to experience the benefits of the compound.

As we mentioned before, you can safely stack hGH with Testosterone Cypionate for at least sixteen weeks. Doses are 2iu to 4iu of GH daily and 400mg of test weekly from the 2^nd half of the cycle.

Finally, advanced users can combine hGH with Tren in a 6-month cycle that will depend on the tolerance of the gH side effects. 400 milligrams of Tren or, 400mg of Tren, Testosterone cypionate, and hGH to achieve the best results by maximizing each of their capabilities.