Peptides For Bodybuilding: How Growth Hormone Secretagogue Works
Peptides are becoming more popular with bodybuilders, athletes, and gym-goers. They can be used to increase muscle growth, fat loss and appetite during bulking. The growth hormone secretagogue are the main peptides that can be used to build muscle mass and enhance body composition. These include growth hormone-releasing peptides and growth hormone–releasing hormone (GHRH) agonists.
GHRH
GHRH agonists and GHRPs were created from a process called “reverse pharmacology”, which is aptly indicating their synthetic origin. However, artificial peptides show that the unnatural is slowly and persistently evolving into natural.
The term “peptide” can be used scientifically to refer to any molecule that contains 2 to 50 amino acid links, such as collagen-peptides, which form the framework for larger functional proteins in connective tissue.
When we refer to peptides for building muscle, we mean a subset of peptides which stimulate growth hormone secretion. These peptides typically consist of a short chain made up of amino acids that are bonded together in a particular order (sequence).
There are many peptides that can be used in “peptide treatment” to promote weight loss, wound healing, and muscle growth. For example, body-protecting compound (BPC-157) is one such peptide. Many of them do not operate via growth hormone-related pathways. This is why this article is focused on them.
Human Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growing Factor 1
Bodybuilders who use peptides such as CJC-1295 or ipamorelin to increase their muscle mass and fat loss do so by increasing the body’s production of human growth hormone (HGH), and insulin-like growth factors 1 (IGF-1). HGH and IGF-1 have a close connection because HGH is a precursor to IGF-1. These peptide hormones are however markedly different in terms of their physiological results.
The brain is the main source of GH production. The hypothalamus secretes a peptide called growth hormone-releasing hormone, (GHRH), that binds with somatotrophs (GH releasing cells) in the pituitary gland to release HGH into blood circulation.
HGH is a hormone that “mobilizes” fat and releases it from the adipose tissues for energy. HGH, which has anti-catabolic effects on skeletal muscles, is great for fat loss as well as preserving lean mass.
Growth hormone isn’t an anabolic hormonal hormone. It has an indirect anabolic effect by signaling the liver more IGF-1. This has powerful anabolic effects throughout the body. IGF-1 is therefore a peptide that is important for muscle growth.
The majority of the GH produced by our bodies occurs in deep sleep cycles that are in a pulsatile manner. The body’s natural GH production decreases as we get older. Alternative healthcare professionals are claiming that HGH peptide therapy can be the fountain of youth.
Although some bodybuilders and athletes use recombinant HGH or IGF-1, these peptides can be very costly. As alternatives to HGH or IGF-1, GHRPs and GHRH analogues are becoming more popular.
History Of Peptides That Increase Growth Hormone Levels
In the 1970s, scientists began to study a variety of synthetic enkephalin opiate analogues in order to better understand the function of growth hormone (GH). Because they are small, naturally occurring peptides from the brain, which resemble opiates that stimulate GH, the enkephalins were investigated. Scientists speculated that the enkephalins could be related to a mysterious natural growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), which was not yet known.
Although opiates are thought to stimulate GH secretion through the hypothalamus, rather than the pituitary, it was possible that natural peptides could release GH via a hypothalamic or pituitary mechanism. This is why methionine, leucine-enkephalin, and their analogs were studied for direct pituitary gland actions.
Noteworthy was that the pentapeptide DTrp2 – related to the native methionine-enkephalin – was found to release GH in vitro but with low potency. DTrp2 was crucial for future studies because it had a well-known amino acid sequence and stimulated GH release directly from the pituitary.
DTrp2 had no opioid receptor activity. It was also specific in its action, not releasing thyrotropin stimul hormone (TSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin(PRL) or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which all derive from pituitary cells.
Discovery Of Growth-Releasing Hormone During The Creation Of Sermorelin (CJC-1295).
The paradox of DTrp2 is that it didn’t increase GH secretion in vivo. The peptide was presumably pituitary in action and could therefore be considered a “peptidomimetic”, which can be improved upon by structural modifications. Scientists could alter the amino acids in the peptide to increase its effectiveness at activating target receptors.
New analogs were eventually synthesized, which had both in vitro as well as in vivo activity. One of the most notable features of these peptides is the creation of GHRP-6, a bioactive hexapeptide (since it only contains six amino acids).
Initial GHRPs were believed to mimic growth hormone-releasing actions of a newly discovered hypothalamic hormonal endogenous hormone. It became clear that the amino acids sequence of the natural hormone was different from what was initially thought by GHRPs.
Synthetic GRHPs have been developed by several research groups and are therefore referred to as peptidomimetics. This refers to molecules that mimic natural peptide hormonal effects like human growth hormone.
In 1982, a team comprising scientists isolated a 44-amino acid peptide from an unidentified tumor that had caused excessive HGH production in a patient. The long-acting GHRH antagonist sermorelin (aka “CJC-1295”, or “mod-GRF 1-29”) was soon created to treat growth hormone deficiency and as an investigative weight loss drug.
Many GHRPs are now available. One question that is still unresolved, however, is how much endogenous GHRH mediates GH release. This may be due to the hypothalamic effect of GHRPs.
Studies on animals and humans have shown that low levels of GHRPs don’t increase endogenous GHRH production. However, data show that endogenous GHRH is not the direct mediator of GHRP-induced GH release.
High doses of GHRPs, however, seem to increase endogenous GHRH production, suggesting that GHRH may play an active role rather than a passive part in the GH release by GHRP. Recent data showed that GHRP-6 was significantly inhibited by a GHRH antagonist in healthy young men.
Post-workout is the most important time to maximize muscle growth and results. This is because muscle tissue is at its best.
Why Combine GHRPS And A GHRH Alonist?
It is a good idea to simultaneously take GHRPs and a GHRH antagonist in order to maximize growth hormone. These peptides create a strong “pulse”, which mimics the innate pulsatile nature GH secretion in humans, by combining them.
What about taking a GHRH or GHRP agonist on its own? A GNRH agonist (notably CJC-1295) is like an override signal for somatostatin, which is “putting the brakes on” your pituitary. Once a GHRH antagonist activates the “countdown,” GHRPs become the de facto launch sequence, propelling your levels of GH into orbit in minutes (quite literally).
What Do Peptides Do For Muscle Growth And Weight Loss?
CJC-1295 (or GHRP-6/GHRP-22) is a common peptide combination for improving body content. CJC-1295 and other GHRPs are usually given in a 1:1 ratio, at 1 mcg/kg of body weight. A 100-kg person (220 lbs), would take 100 mg of CJC-1295, and 100 mg of the appropriate GHRP in each dose. This dose will cause a rapid increase in growth hormone levels.
These peptides need to be administered subcutaneously or intramuscularly in order to maintain their functionality. They can be eaten orally, and they will be exposed to enzymes in your gut which would break down the amino acids into smaller pieces. This could lead to the elimination of the functional sequence. If the formulation is correct, GHRPs or GHRH agonists may be administered intravenously.
For any significant benefits to be noticed, it is necessary to take multiple daily doses and continue using the peptides for a long time. Peptides have a short-term effect that is not significant, with the exception of an increase in appetite.
Bodybuilders often inject these peptides 30 minutes before performing cardio to help with fat loss. The spike in growth hormone can have permissive effects upon lipolysis. Pins are often used to gain muscle.
How Do You Use Peptides For Bodybuilding? Natural Or Enhanced?
The natural bodybuilding community has criticized the use of peptides to build muscle. Many natural bodybuilders argue that taking performance-enhancing peptides is tantamount to using anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS).
The peptide saga has been complicated, and categorizing these substances as “performance-enhancing drugs” is open to interpretation. They may alter or not natural biorhythms depending on which peptides they are and how they work. However, it is clear that peptides such as ipamorelin (Mod-GRF 1-29) and CJC-1295 (Mod–GRF 1-29) are synthetically derived. This prevents natural bodybuilders from using them.
Some bodybuilders claim that certain peptides such as GHRPs or CJC-1295 don’t break the “naturalness barrier” because they increase the body’s production of growth hormone. Technically speaking, it’s not the same thing as injecting HGH and IGF-1, which are forms of hormone substitution therapy.
Benefits
It is not clear if “peptide therapy” with the growth hormone secretagogue has significant benefits for body composition. These compounds are rarely studied for their effects on athletic performance and body composition. However, one study on MK677 (ibutamoren), an oral growth hormone secretagogue, shows modest gains in muscle mass and lean mass relative to the control group. There is plenty of in vitro data that shows the muscle-protecting properties of GHRPs.
Competitors who adhere to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of banned substances do not allow the use of a synthetic growth hormone secretagogue. These peptides have been banned by almost every natural bodybuilding organization.
It is not clear how they can test athletes or bodybuilders for peptide therapy, notably GHRPs, and CJC-1295, which work by mimicking the innate growth hormone pulses secreted in the endocrine systems. The increase in plasma growth hormone levels following injections of GHRPs and CJC-1295 is very brief, lasting often less than 30 minutes. Their biological half-lives also are short. Recent evidence indicates that GHRP-2, GHRP-6 and ipamorelin metabolites have longer half-lives and can be detected in urine.
How Do Peptides Help You Lose Weight Or Build Muscle Mass?
Injectable peptides are used by many bodybuilders and gym-goers. They have been able to extrapolate the benefits of muscle-building and fat loss from rodent studies and from anecdotal data from others on Internet forums. Peptides are often lumped in with other PEDs, such as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), despite them being a different class of compounds that have unrelated mechanisms of effect.
Curiously, many people are open to the idea of using SARMs for bodybuilding, despite their poor track record. Although GHRPs and other synthetic peptides may be less dangerous than SARMs in general, they can still cause side effects similar to HGH such as water retention, headaches, and decreased insulin sensitivity.
SARMs as well as synthetic peptides are subject to side effects. This is because nobody can tell where the compounds came from when they order online. They are technically not legal to be sold over-the-counter in the United States. This means that you may not get what you ordered.
You might be lucky enough to find a compounding pharmacist or doctor who will prescribe you a SARM and GHRP. However, this is unlikely unless you have a medical condition that requires them. We are clear that building muscle and reducing body fat isn’t a medical condition. Neither is wanting to be young again.
Contact Domestic Peptides For Growth Hormone Secretagogue
If you have questions about taking a drug containing peptides, such as the Growth Hormone Secretagogue, ask your doctor or feel free to reach out to Domestic Peptides, the best place to buy peptides. Domestic Peptides offers the best pricing on USA peptides online with a massive inventory containing DMAA, Cabergoline, MK677, and more are ready to ship right away.
WARNING: This product is a very potent chemical. This product is NOT for human use and can be harmful if ingested. This product is for research/laboratory use only. Product is NOT in a sterile solution and is NOT to be injected. This product should only be handled by licensed, qualified professionals. This product is not a drug, food, or cosmetic and should not be misbranded, misused or mislabeled as a drug, food or cosmetic.
