DNR IF YOU DON´T HAVE TIME
1. MYOKINES
Muscles produce their own growth hormone during training. When a muscle contracts under a load, that fibers secretes signailing molecules called myokines dircetly into surrounding tissue, all these below:
IL-6 coordinates repair and irisin improves metabolism.
The body produces myostatin to limit muscle growth because carrying extra muscle metabolically speaking is very expensive. So myostatin acts as a genetic brake. Also fallostatin bind to myostatin and deactivates it. That´s why the harder you train the more fallostatin you release, lifting the ceiling on growth. And now, here is why MYOKINE is the number one, they´re exercise dose dependent and locally produced, train your chest moderately, you get minimal fallostatin, train it brutally with progressive tension and your pecs will flood with it immediately:
Blood testosterone doesn´t spike locally when you squat, but myokines do. Two guys with identical testosterone can have wildly different results, one trains with real intensity triggering massive myokine release and the other goes through motions producing minimal signal, same hormones systemically, completely different muscle response. You can´t buy follistatin, the only way to maximize myokines is training intensity that forces production. But, there´s a ceiling, once you´ve triggered maximum release, additional volume just creates fatigue, this is why intelligent programming beats junk volume.
2. IGF-1
There´s a lot of threads here about it so I will speak briefly. IGF-1 is the acual muscle building hormone, although everyone thinks testosterone is. But where it comes determines everything:
The liver produces IGF-1 in response to growth hormone, that´s systemic IGF-1. But when you train a muscle under heavy tension, that muscle itself produces IGF-1 locally in direct response to damage.
Local IGF-1 activates mTOR, the master switch for protein synthesis, ribosomes fire, new proteins assemble, but the real magic is satellite cell activation. Satellite cells are dormant stem cells along the fibers, when local IGF-1 wakes them they multiply and fuse to existing fibers, donating brand new nuclei, more nuclei equals permanently expanded growth capacity.
This is why steroid users who quit still build faster than lifetime natural lifters years later. Donated nuclei persist, the infrastructure remains. Blood IGF-1 is background noise, muscle produced IGF-1 is the signal things are right. Studies show mechanical tension, not metabolic stress and not the pump, is the primary trigger. You can do 100 reps of cable flys and barely produce any. Or 5 brutal reps of heavy press and flood those fibers. Also, you can´t shortcut this with peptides, only the IGF-1 your muscles produce is in response to mechanical tension.
3. INSULIN
Insulin doesn´t build muscle. It creates the conditions for growth by preventing breakdown. After you eat insulin bind to muscle cell receptors.
It bind to muscle cells receptors triggering GLUT4 transporters to move from inside the cells to the surface. GLUT4 are gates, when they open glucose and amino acids flood in.
Withou insulin these gates stay closed and nutrients circulate uselessly. This is why type 1 diabetics waste away without exogenous insulin despite eating massive protein. But insulin´s real power is anticatabolic. Protein synthesis and breakdown happen simultaneously. Stimulate synthesis all day but if breakdown runs at the same rate you´re treading water. Insulin shuts down breakdown through the PI3K pathway creating net anabolic environment.
Insulin also potentiates IGF-1 by increasing receptor sensitivity. When both are elevated post-workout, you get a compounding effect neither achieves alone. But chronic hyperinsulinemia destroys everything. Constently elevated insulin from frequent meals and processed carbs creates resistance. Cells stop responding, nutrients partirion to fat instead of muscle. You become overfed and unable to grow. You need insulin spikes to build muscle. But you need insulin sensitivity for those spikes to work, staying lean and eating quality food maintains that sensitivity.
4. TEST
Two guys test at 600 ng DL, one looks like he´s trained for years, the other looks average. The difference? Androgen receptor density and sensitivity. Testosterone only works when it binds to androgen receptors inside muscle cells.
Once bound, it activates genes coding for muscle protein, but receptor sensitivity varies massively, and it´s genetic. Determined by CAG Repeat Polymorphism. Some have receptors that grab testosterone aggressively. Other barely respond, even when testosterone is high. You can have 800 ng DL with poor receptors and build less muscle than someone with 500 ng DL and excellent receptors. You can´t test receptor genetics easily but your response to consistent training reveals it. If you´ve done everything right and seen modest results, it´s so over, you´re likely a poor responder.
Testosterone also increases myionuclear number, it signals satellite cells to fuse with fibers donating new nuclei. And testosterone enhances neurmuscular drive.
More motor unit recruitment means more force, more mechanical tension, more IGF-1 and myokines. Most natural lifters have adequate testosterone for growth, unless you´re unde 300 ng DL. The limiting factors are training intensity, progressive overload or insulin sensitivity, not testosterone.
5. ESTROGEN
Crushing estrogen is one of the dumbest things you can do for muscle growth. Estrogen reduces muscle damage by stabilizing cell membranes through reduced lipid peroxidation and lowering oxidative stress by modulating inflammatory cytokines like IL6 (talked about it before) and TNF alpha.
Less damage means faster recovery. And estrogen dramatically improves insulin sensitivity by enhancing GLT4 expression and translocation. When estrogen is optimal (not high) nutrients partition to muscle, when crashed insulin sensitivity tanks and nutrients spill to fat. Women build muscle fine with estrogen 3 to 4x higher than men, they recover faster between sets because estrogen accelerates celular repair. For men, optimal estrogen is critical for strength, recovery and nutrient partitioning. But the industry sells aromatase inhibitors like essential supplements, what actually happens? stregth drops within weeks, joint ache, recovery slows, insulin sensitivity craters. Too little estrogen is catastrophically worse than too much. If you have actual symptoms like gyno, severe water retention, crashed libido, get blood work. If estradiol is genuinely elevated beyond normal range, that´s different, but most guys taking Aromatase inhibitors with normal estrogen levels are creating problems.
6. DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE (DHT)
DHT binds to androgen receptors five times harder than testosterone. But it doesn´t make you bigger, it makes you perform better. DHT increases neural drive, the electrical signal from brain to muscle, it enhances motor unit recruitment, generating more force per contraction, lifting heavier, creating more mechanical tension, triggering more IGF-1 and myokines. DHT also creates intramuscular densitiy beyond size, some physiques look thicker, more separated or harder, that´s partly DHT affecting water distribution and tissue quality. Yet, many people villainizes it: DHT casues hair loss.
Take finasteride, sure, if you want weaker lifts, reduced muscle quality and potential sexual dysfunction. Finasteride blocks DHT systemically, not just in the scalp. ¿Not genetically prone to baldness? No reason to block DHT, ¿already balding?, blocking
won´t restore hair, just slows progression while sacrificing performance. For muscle quality and neural drive let DHT function naturally.
7. GROWTH HORMONE (HGH)
Studies show GH administered alone produces less than 2 lbs of muscle gain over 6 months. Yet the supplement industry sells billions in GH peptides. GH doesn´t directly signal muscle growth, it increases liver IGF-1 production and mobilizes fat for fuel through lipolysis.
This spares glucose and amino acids for recovery, it also supports connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. But, GH alone is weak, the real power is synergy. Combined with testosterone and insulin GH amplifies their effects, this is how pros carry 50 lbs pounds more muscle than natural limits. For natural lifters their body already produces massive GH pulses during deep sleep and after intense training.
8. THYROID HORMONES
Thyroid hormones don´t build muscle, but, without optimal function nothing else works. T3 and T4 regulate metabolic rate and protein turnover. Too much burns muscle faster than you synthezsize it, too little and synthesis crawls, energy flatlines. Thyroid is extremely sensitive to calorie intake, cut aggressively while training hard and thyroid down regulates. Fat loss stops, muscle growth stops, eating 1500 calories, training 6 days and nothing happens. Cronic overfeeding disregulates thyroid oppositely, reverse T3 rises, blocking active T3, you gain fat even in controlled surplus. Standard testing is inadequate, doctors check
TSH, a pituitary hormone, not thyroid. You can have normal TSH with low free T3, high reverse T3 and broken function. YOU CAN SKIP THIS PART BECAUSE IS MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THYROID PROBLEMS. I had TSH very high, this meant that the response of the brain to the thyroid to produce T3 and T4 was double the time and effort it usually requires. I´ve researched in this topic for a while, this malfunction of the Pituitary gland generating TSH can be related to high dopamine spikes, poor sleep and high stress. Personally, when I first got the bloodwork done in Spain the doctor told me that I had clinical hypothyroidism, and needed to be treated with a daily pill for a lifetime. I did my research and discovered that this type of treatments are used in people who have problems generating T3 and T4. I focused for a year in sleep, stress and controlled dopamine and in the latest blood work my TSH indeed decreased to the optimal range. Also for people struggling with any type of thyroid desregulation I reccomend taking especially a good intake of iodine (from iodized salt), selenium (from brasilian nuts 2-3 of them contains the daily intake), good sleep, no porn or videogames or any sort of drug that spikes dopamine and avoid high stress.
Tired of typing, end of thread.
1. MYOKINES
Muscles produce their own growth hormone during training. When a muscle contracts under a load, that fibers secretes signailing molecules called myokines dircetly into surrounding tissue, all these below:
IL-6 coordinates repair and irisin improves metabolism.
The body produces myostatin to limit muscle growth because carrying extra muscle metabolically speaking is very expensive. So myostatin acts as a genetic brake. Also fallostatin bind to myostatin and deactivates it. That´s why the harder you train the more fallostatin you release, lifting the ceiling on growth. And now, here is why MYOKINE is the number one, they´re exercise dose dependent and locally produced, train your chest moderately, you get minimal fallostatin, train it brutally with progressive tension and your pecs will flood with it immediately:
Blood testosterone doesn´t spike locally when you squat, but myokines do. Two guys with identical testosterone can have wildly different results, one trains with real intensity triggering massive myokine release and the other goes through motions producing minimal signal, same hormones systemically, completely different muscle response. You can´t buy follistatin, the only way to maximize myokines is training intensity that forces production. But, there´s a ceiling, once you´ve triggered maximum release, additional volume just creates fatigue, this is why intelligent programming beats junk volume.
2. IGF-1
There´s a lot of threads here about it so I will speak briefly. IGF-1 is the acual muscle building hormone, although everyone thinks testosterone is. But where it comes determines everything:
The liver produces IGF-1 in response to growth hormone, that´s systemic IGF-1. But when you train a muscle under heavy tension, that muscle itself produces IGF-1 locally in direct response to damage.
Local IGF-1 activates mTOR, the master switch for protein synthesis, ribosomes fire, new proteins assemble, but the real magic is satellite cell activation. Satellite cells are dormant stem cells along the fibers, when local IGF-1 wakes them they multiply and fuse to existing fibers, donating brand new nuclei, more nuclei equals permanently expanded growth capacity.
This is why steroid users who quit still build faster than lifetime natural lifters years later. Donated nuclei persist, the infrastructure remains. Blood IGF-1 is background noise, muscle produced IGF-1 is the signal things are right. Studies show mechanical tension, not metabolic stress and not the pump, is the primary trigger. You can do 100 reps of cable flys and barely produce any. Or 5 brutal reps of heavy press and flood those fibers. Also, you can´t shortcut this with peptides, only the IGF-1 your muscles produce is in response to mechanical tension.
3. INSULIN
Insulin doesn´t build muscle. It creates the conditions for growth by preventing breakdown. After you eat insulin bind to muscle cell receptors.
It bind to muscle cells receptors triggering GLUT4 transporters to move from inside the cells to the surface. GLUT4 are gates, when they open glucose and amino acids flood in.
Withou insulin these gates stay closed and nutrients circulate uselessly. This is why type 1 diabetics waste away without exogenous insulin despite eating massive protein. But insulin´s real power is anticatabolic. Protein synthesis and breakdown happen simultaneously. Stimulate synthesis all day but if breakdown runs at the same rate you´re treading water. Insulin shuts down breakdown through the PI3K pathway creating net anabolic environment.
Insulin also potentiates IGF-1 by increasing receptor sensitivity. When both are elevated post-workout, you get a compounding effect neither achieves alone. But chronic hyperinsulinemia destroys everything. Constently elevated insulin from frequent meals and processed carbs creates resistance. Cells stop responding, nutrients partirion to fat instead of muscle. You become overfed and unable to grow. You need insulin spikes to build muscle. But you need insulin sensitivity for those spikes to work, staying lean and eating quality food maintains that sensitivity.
4. TEST
Two guys test at 600 ng DL, one looks like he´s trained for years, the other looks average. The difference? Androgen receptor density and sensitivity. Testosterone only works when it binds to androgen receptors inside muscle cells.
Once bound, it activates genes coding for muscle protein, but receptor sensitivity varies massively, and it´s genetic. Determined by CAG Repeat Polymorphism. Some have receptors that grab testosterone aggressively. Other barely respond, even when testosterone is high. You can have 800 ng DL with poor receptors and build less muscle than someone with 500 ng DL and excellent receptors. You can´t test receptor genetics easily but your response to consistent training reveals it. If you´ve done everything right and seen modest results, it´s so over, you´re likely a poor responder.
Testosterone also increases myionuclear number, it signals satellite cells to fuse with fibers donating new nuclei. And testosterone enhances neurmuscular drive.
More motor unit recruitment means more force, more mechanical tension, more IGF-1 and myokines. Most natural lifters have adequate testosterone for growth, unless you´re unde 300 ng DL. The limiting factors are training intensity, progressive overload or insulin sensitivity, not testosterone.
5. ESTROGEN
Crushing estrogen is one of the dumbest things you can do for muscle growth. Estrogen reduces muscle damage by stabilizing cell membranes through reduced lipid peroxidation and lowering oxidative stress by modulating inflammatory cytokines like IL6 (talked about it before) and TNF alpha.
Less damage means faster recovery. And estrogen dramatically improves insulin sensitivity by enhancing GLT4 expression and translocation. When estrogen is optimal (not high) nutrients partition to muscle, when crashed insulin sensitivity tanks and nutrients spill to fat. Women build muscle fine with estrogen 3 to 4x higher than men, they recover faster between sets because estrogen accelerates celular repair. For men, optimal estrogen is critical for strength, recovery and nutrient partitioning. But the industry sells aromatase inhibitors like essential supplements, what actually happens? stregth drops within weeks, joint ache, recovery slows, insulin sensitivity craters. Too little estrogen is catastrophically worse than too much. If you have actual symptoms like gyno, severe water retention, crashed libido, get blood work. If estradiol is genuinely elevated beyond normal range, that´s different, but most guys taking Aromatase inhibitors with normal estrogen levels are creating problems.
6. DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE (DHT)
DHT binds to androgen receptors five times harder than testosterone. But it doesn´t make you bigger, it makes you perform better. DHT increases neural drive, the electrical signal from brain to muscle, it enhances motor unit recruitment, generating more force per contraction, lifting heavier, creating more mechanical tension, triggering more IGF-1 and myokines. DHT also creates intramuscular densitiy beyond size, some physiques look thicker, more separated or harder, that´s partly DHT affecting water distribution and tissue quality. Yet, many people villainizes it: DHT casues hair loss.
Take finasteride, sure, if you want weaker lifts, reduced muscle quality and potential sexual dysfunction. Finasteride blocks DHT systemically, not just in the scalp. ¿Not genetically prone to baldness? No reason to block DHT, ¿already balding?, blocking
won´t restore hair, just slows progression while sacrificing performance. For muscle quality and neural drive let DHT function naturally.
7. GROWTH HORMONE (HGH)
Studies show GH administered alone produces less than 2 lbs of muscle gain over 6 months. Yet the supplement industry sells billions in GH peptides. GH doesn´t directly signal muscle growth, it increases liver IGF-1 production and mobilizes fat for fuel through lipolysis.
This spares glucose and amino acids for recovery, it also supports connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. But, GH alone is weak, the real power is synergy. Combined with testosterone and insulin GH amplifies their effects, this is how pros carry 50 lbs pounds more muscle than natural limits. For natural lifters their body already produces massive GH pulses during deep sleep and after intense training.
8. THYROID HORMONES
Thyroid hormones don´t build muscle, but, without optimal function nothing else works. T3 and T4 regulate metabolic rate and protein turnover. Too much burns muscle faster than you synthezsize it, too little and synthesis crawls, energy flatlines. Thyroid is extremely sensitive to calorie intake, cut aggressively while training hard and thyroid down regulates. Fat loss stops, muscle growth stops, eating 1500 calories, training 6 days and nothing happens. Cronic overfeeding disregulates thyroid oppositely, reverse T3 rises, blocking active T3, you gain fat even in controlled surplus. Standard testing is inadequate, doctors check
TSH, a pituitary hormone, not thyroid. You can have normal TSH with low free T3, high reverse T3 and broken function. YOU CAN SKIP THIS PART BECAUSE IS MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THYROID PROBLEMS. I had TSH very high, this meant that the response of the brain to the thyroid to produce T3 and T4 was double the time and effort it usually requires. I´ve researched in this topic for a while, this malfunction of the Pituitary gland generating TSH can be related to high dopamine spikes, poor sleep and high stress. Personally, when I first got the bloodwork done in Spain the doctor told me that I had clinical hypothyroidism, and needed to be treated with a daily pill for a lifetime. I did my research and discovered that this type of treatments are used in people who have problems generating T3 and T4. I focused for a year in sleep, stress and controlled dopamine and in the latest blood work my TSH indeed decreased to the optimal range. Also for people struggling with any type of thyroid desregulation I reccomend taking especially a good intake of iodine (from iodized salt), selenium (from brasilian nuts 2-3 of them contains the daily intake), good sleep, no porn or videogames or any sort of drug that spikes dopamine and avoid high stress.
Tired of typing, end of thread.
