Endocrinology… or, why do our products work?

DHEA - Dehydroepiandrosterone

DHEA - Dehydroepiandrosterone

I hope you’re ready for a school lesson.  Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep it interesting.  This is the stuff that really matters when it comes to muscle development and overall body sculpting.  What most people don’t realize is that there’s only so much that a protein can do.  Protein supplements are great products, and we recommend you use them.  However, what do you do when you’re getting plenty of protein in your diet?  What about when your limiting factor isn’t protein?

Enter hormones.  These little guys signal your body to start and stop the metabolic pathways that control muscle, fat, bone density, and even moods.  You can’t ignore them!  Think of this – if you’re eating enough protein to fuel 180 pounds of muscle, but your hormones are only maintaining a balance in your body of 160 pounds of muscle, where does that extra protein go?  Well, it either passes through you or gets stored as fat.  We’re going to begin looking at hormones in depth, to help you maximize your potential and make your efforts as effective as possible.  Lets get started…

 

DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) – DHEA is made in the adrenal gland.  It has anabolic effects – in other words, it signals your body to build up.  It directly stimulates androgenic receptors, and is also eventually converted into testosterone by the metabolic pathway.  You want more of this to build up your muscle mass and strength.  However, a word of caution – if you supplement this, you HAVE TO WORK OUT HARD.  Excess DHEA can be converted into estrogen.  You want this converted to testosterone – not estrogen.

 

How can you maximize your DHEA for huge muscle explosions in growth?  You want this product – Annadrall.  Use this baby on your bulking phase for 3 months, then cycle off.  Remember when you’re taking it to get enough good fats in your diet – the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.  These can be found in walnuts, fish, and flax.  Work out with INTENSITY.  Good luck and prepare for a transformation!!!  More hormone info to come later.

The Basics of Insulin in Bodybuilding

The most important hormone?

The most important hormone?

Surprisingly, not many people who are trying to improve their fitness know about insulin. Protein? They know you should eat a lot of it. Creatine? They know it gives you an extra boost. Carbs? They know you should limit them if you want to lose fat. But insulin? Well, they know that diabetics have to inject it, it has something to do with blood sugar, and also something to do with making me sleepy after meals. So what exactly is insulin, what does it do, and why is it important for bodybuilders?

Insulin is a hormone. It is made in your pancreas. Its role in the body is to regulate the uptake of nutrients into cells. So insulin is a very anabolic (building up) hormone – many would say it’s the most anabolic hormone there is. Since it’s helping to take up nutrients, which cells is it taking the nutrients to? Mainly two types: fat and muscle. In case you’re new, we want muscle – not fat. So what affects insulin levels? The main ways to influence insulin levels are diet and exercise.

Diet

Diet, as you might guess, plays a huge role in determining the effect of insulin on you. In general, foods that are high in non-fiber carbohydrates (sugar, rice, potatoes, white bread) will cause your insulin level to spike up. Eating foods that are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids (fish, walnuts, soy, flaxseed oil) will increase your sensitivity to insulin, which over time will lower your insulin levels.

Exercise

Resistance training will also increase your sensitivity to insulin, which will keep your insulin levels lower. Strength training has a greater effect on insulin levels than aerobic training.

So how do we apply this if our goal is to maximize muscle and minimize fat? The basic idea is this: raise your insulin level when your muscles are in a state to take in nutrients. Keep your insulin levels in check when your muscles are not ready to take in nutrients.

Immediately after a workout, go ahead and eat carbs – even simple ones. You want to raise your insulin levels now – your muscles will be in a state ready to absorb all those nutrients for some growing time! At other times, when you haven’t worked out, limit carbs to fibrous carbs only, like vegetables and some oatmeal. Consider carbs as your reward for working out! You can also take Equipoison 250 at this time, which mimics the effects of insulin.

There’s a lot more (and I mean A LOT more) to be said about insulin, so make sure you come back later for more info!