Well, it sounds like one does not need supplements. What exactly can I expect? Can I expect significant gains? Look, it is really simple. Either some supplement works or it does not. Sure, there are some exceptions, but if it really works, it should work most of the time for the majority of people, not the other way around.
If it only "works" if I eat more, than it does not work, because anyone can gain weight by eating more.
Bold claims. So, does this stuff really work? Because significant increases in testosterone and HGH (if they are real) usually produce significant increases in muscle mass. That is why steroids work.
This is kind of a tricky statement- yes, steroids work, but they work much, much better if proper nutrition, rest, and training are applied along with them. Apples for apples, something that directly binds the AR (PHs and steroids) is going to work better than something that raises testosterone through alternative means (aromatase inhibition). However, you can't stay on steroids for long periods of time w/o altering certain things significantly, and when you come off of them, you have to have proper nutrition, rest, and training, or you will lose your gains.
Will the stack work without proper diet, rest, and nutrition? I think it will have some positive effects, and if you underwent pre- and post- blood work, you will see T, GH, and IGF-1 levels increase, just like with injectible GH, ph, and steroids. We have run blood tests pre-release on each of these products, so we have an idea directionally of what the stack does- check out the pilot studies on our website. The increase won't be as much as with AAS or PH, but you also don't have to do a PCT with our products.
There are some good studies linking hormone levels with nutrition and resistance exercise, and the necessity for some levels of each parameter in gaining muscle mass:
J Am Coll Nutr. 2004 Dec;23(6 Suppl):601S-609S.
Protein nutrition, exercise and aging.
Evans WJ.
SourceNutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory, Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging, Slot 806, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
[email protected]
Abstract
Aging is associated with remarkable changes in body composition. Loss of skeletal muscle, a process called sarcopenia, is a prominent feature of these changes. In addition, gains in total body fat and visceral fat content continue into late life. The cause of sarcopenia is likely a result of a number of changes that also occur with aging. These include reduced levels of physical activity, changing endocrine function (reduced testosterone, growth hormone, and estrogen levels), insulin resistance, and increased dietary protein needs. Healthy free-living elderly men and women have been shown to accommodate to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein of 0.8 g . kg(-1) . d(-1) with a continued decrease in urinary nitrogen excretion and reduced muscle mass. While many elderly people consume adequate amounts of protein, many older people have a reduced appetite and consume less than the protein RDA, likely resulting in an accelerated rate of sarcopenia. One important strategy that counters sarcopenia is strength conditioning. Strength conditioning will result in an increase in muscle size and this increase in size is largely the result of increased contractile proteins. The mechanisms by which the mechanical events stimulate an increase in RNA synthesis and subsequent protein synthesis are not well understood. Lifting weight requires that a muscle shorten as it produces force (concentric contraction). Lowering the weight, on the other hand, forces the muscle to lengthen as it produces force (eccentric contraction). These lengthening muscle contractions have been shown to produce ultrastructural damage (microscopic tears in contractile proteins muscle cells) that may stimulate increased muscle protein turnover. This muscle damage produces a cascade of metabolic events which is similar to an acute phase response and includes complement activation, mobilization of neutrophils, increased circulating an skeletal muscle interleukin-1, macro****e accumulation in muscle, and an increase in muscle protein synthesis and degradation. While endurance exercise increases the oxidation of essential amino acids and increases the requirement for dietary protein, resistance exercise results in a decrease in nitrogen excretion, lowering dietary protein needs. This increased efficiency of protein use may be important for wasting diseases such as HIV infection and cancer and particularly in elderly people suffering from sarcopenia. Research has indicated that increased dietary protein intake (up to 1.6 g protein . kg(-1) . d(-1)) may enhance the hypertrophic response to resistance exercise. It has also been demonstrated that in very old men and women the use of a protein-calorie supplement was associated with greater strength and muscle mass gains than did the use of placebo.
Can J Appl Physiol. 2001;26 Suppl:S141-52.
Protein nutrition and resistance exercise.
Evans WJ.
SourceNutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory, Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
Abstract
Strength conditioning will result in an increase in muscle size and this increase in size is largely the result of increased contractile proteins. The mechanisms by which the mechanical events stimulate an increase in RNA synthesis and subsequent protein synthesis are not well understood. Lifting weight requires that a muscle shorten as it produces force (concentric contraction). Lowering the weight forces the muscle to lengthen as it produces force (eccentric contraction). Eccentric contractions produce ultrastructural damage that may stimulate increased muscle protein turnover and a cascade of metabolic events which is similar to an acute phase response and includes complement activation, mobilization of neutrophils, increased circulating and skeletal muscle interleukin-1 and macro****e accumulation. While endurance exercise increases the oxidation of essential amino acids and increases the requirement for dietary protein, resistance exercise results in a decrease in nitrogen excretion, lowering dietary protein needs. Research has indicated that increased dietary protein intake (up to 1.6 g protein x kg(-1) x d(-1)) may enhance the hypertrophic response to resistance exercise. It has also been demonstrated that in very old men and women the use of a protein-calorie supplement was associated with greater strength and muscle mass gains than did the use of placebo.
J Am Coll Nutr. 2005 Apr;24(2):134S-139S.
Dietary protein to support anabolism with resistance exercise in young men.
Phillips SM, Hartman JW, Wilkinson SB.
SourceExercise Metabolism Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1 CANADA.
[email protected]
Abstract
Resistance exercise is fundamentally anabolic and as such stimulates the process of skeletal muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in an absolute sense and relative to skeletal muscle protein breakdown (MPB). However, the net effect of resistance exercise is to shift net protein balance (NPB = MPS - MPB) to a more positive value; however, in the absence of feeding NPB remains negative. Feeding stimulates MPS to an extent where NPB becomes positive, for a transient time. When combined, resistance exercise and feeding synergistically interact to result in NPB being greater than with feeding alone. This feeding- and exercise-induced stimulation of NPB is what, albeit slowly, results in muscle hypertrophy. With this rudimentary knowledge we are now at the point where we can manipulate variables within the system to see what impact these interventions have on the processes of MPS, MPB, and NPB and ultimately and perhaps most importantly, muscle hypertrophy and strength. We used established models of skeletal muscle amino acid turnover to examine how protein source (milk versus soy) acutely affects the processes of MPS and MPB after resistance exercise. Our findings revealed that even when balanced quantities of total protein and energy are consumed that milk proteins are more effective in stimulating amino acid uptake and net protein deposition in skeletal muscle after resistance exercise than are hydrolyzed soy proteins. Importantly, the finding of increased amino acid uptake would be independent of the differences in amino acid composition of the two proteins. We propose that the improved net protein deposition with milk protein consumption is also not due to differences in amino acid composition, but is due to a different pattern of amino acid delivery associated with milk versus hydrolyzed soy proteins. If our acute findings are accurate then we hypothesized that chronically the greater net protein deposition associated with milk protein consumption post-resistance exercise would eventually lead to greater net protein accretion (i.e., muscle fiber hypertrophy), over a longer time period. In young men completing 12 weeks of resistance training (5d/wk) we observed a tendency (P = 0.11) for greater gains in whole body lean mass and whole as greater muscle fiber hypertrophy with consumption of milk. While strength gains were not different between the soy and milk-supplemented groups we would argue that the true significance of a greater increase in lean mass that we observed with milk consumption may be more important in groups of persons with lower initial lean mass and strength such as the elderly.
I can post more studies, but the point I am trying to make is that for optimal results from supplements, or steroids, certain parameters must be followed. Yes, the products will work on their own, but not as well in a lower-calorie, lower rest, non-exercising enviorment, as it is catabolic and basically the opposite stimulus of what you are trying to give the body.....
