|
Home :: Supplements
The correct way to use HMB supplements...
For anyone wanting to gain 20 or 30 pounds of muscle in a hurry, the
process can often seem painfully and frustratingly slow. Some people gain
muscle very quickly. Others, however, make little or no progress at all.
That's one of the reasons products such as HMB supplements — which
promise to make muscle growth faster and easier — have become so
popular.
HMB supplements
HMB is short for beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate.
Small amounts are found in certain foods such as catfish and alfalfa.
Although HMB supplements have only become popular since the mid 1990's,
the role of HMB in cholesterol metabolism has been studied for several
decades. Scientists in the 1950's discovered that HMB (then known as 3-hydroxyisovaleric
acid) plays a role in the synthesis of cholesterol.
HMB supplements were first developed to help farmers raise leaner cattle
and other farm animals. Specifically, HMB improves growth and immune function
in animals, such as chicken and sheep. Some research shows it also reduces
subcutaneous fat (that's the fat stored directly under the skin) in steers.
The recent interest in HMB started when Dr. Steve Nissen — the owner
of several use patents on HMB — began researching the amino acid
leucine (pronounced loo-seen) and how it affects muscle growth.
Nissen and his colleagues discovered that it was a compound called alpha-ketoisocaproate
(known simply as KIC) that was active in animals. However, Nissen felt
that something further down the metabolic pathway might be responsible
for the effects that were being attributed to KIC. After testing many
different compounds, HMB was the one that was most active.
Leucine is an essential amino acid. Your body can't make it by itself,
so you need get it from your diet. However, only a small amount (roughly
five percent) of the leucine you eat is converted into HMB. For the production
of HMB to reach gram quantities per day, you'll need 20-50 grams of leucine.
Consequently, getting enough HMB from your diet alone is virtually impossible.
That's why using a HMB supplement is really the only way to get enough
of it to match the doses used in the research.
Muscle growth
To understand how HMB supplements are supposed to work, it's important
to know a little more about the process of muscle growth.
Your muscles are in a constant state of change. New proteins are being
made, while old ones are broken down, or degraded. Skin goes through the
same process. Old skin dies off, and your body synthesizes new skin to
take its place.
To build muscle, the rate at which proteins are being made has to be
greater than the rate at which they're being broken down. Think
of it in business terms. For a company to be in profit, for example, income
must be greater than expenses. In much the same way, for muscles to grow,
protein synthesis must be greater than protein breakdown.
When you train with weights, you stimulate protein synthesis. However,
protein breakdown is also increased. HMB supplements are supposed to limit
the amount of protein breakdown that takes place following exercise. This,
in turn, should lead to greater muscle growth. It's a little like a business
cutting costs in order to increase profit.
Although many popular supplements have little or no evidence...
|
The rest of this report is available in the Members-Only Area.
Subscribe
to the Members-Only Area and you'll enjoy immediate access
to a "secret vault" of expert knowledge and university-tested
tips and tricks you can use to shed stubborn fat once and for all... get bigger biceps, broader shoulders, a bigger bench press... or strip away the fat from your belly to reveal a flat and attractive stomach. Click
here now to join.
|
If you're a member, you can click
here to continue reading.
|