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Human Growth Hormone Peptide-2
Increases GH Secretion for Superior Muscle Gains


by Tala Chulak MSc (Nutrition), BASc (Nutrition), PTS, FIS

Photo: Isaac Hinds, Lift Studios
Location: Armbrust Pro Gym - Denver, Colorado
IFBB Pro: Andy Haman

There are an abundance of hormones that circulate within the human body. These hormones are essential for daily body functions such protein synthesis, glucose use, fat storage, bone production and protection, immunity, and an exponential amount of other functions. Among these crucial hormones is the Human Growth Hormone, which is one of the most important substances involved in muscle building, appetite control, metabolism, and bone building. Hence, for those of us looking to pack on clean and lean muscle mass, maintaining adequate levels of growth hormone within the body is extremely important. But how do we do that?

Besides the obvious sleep, exercise, and nutrition which don't drastically impact GH levels, research indicates that Growth Hormone-Releasing Peptides (GHRP), specifically GHRP-2, increases the release of natural growth hormone in the body. Therefore, supplementing with GHRP-2 can help you achieve huge gains in strength and muscle size by supporting increased release of growth hormone in the body.

Human Growth Hormone: What is it and why is it important?

Muscle building is not as simple as just putting in hours at the gym. To stimulate significant muscle hypertrophy you must pay attention to the intricate balance of training, eating, resting, and supplementing. Specifically, precise hormone regulation within the body is essential for muscle tissue synthesis. Besides the well known testosterone, human growth hormone is one of the most powerful substances in the body involved in the muscle building process. Its primary role is the growth of bodily tissues and it is often at its highest peak during the younger years while you are rapidly growing.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The release of growth hormone begins to slowly decrease as we get older meaning that your capability to build and maintain muscle mass decreases significantly with age. Gender also plays a role in how much growth hormone we release, with females surprisingly releasing more than males.

How does it work? Essentially, the human growth hormone is involved in the turnover of muscle tissue which is particularly important for those of us who are looking to add lean muscle mass. In addition, this powerful substance is involved in the remodeling of bone and collagen tissues so that as we age our bones get stronger so we are able to support our daily activities. And now for the bonus. Along with building muscle and strong bones, the human growth hormone also helps with the regulation of our metabolisms, which is a crucial factor in maintaining a super lean and chiseled body.

GHRP-2: The solution to decreases in Growth Hormone.

Although proper sleep, an effective exercise routine and adequate nutrition has been shown to be important in natural secretion of the growth hormone, you have the ability to drastically accelerate GH release. GH-releasing peptides (GHRPs) are synthetic peptides that act directly on the pituitary somatotrophs (cells in the pituitary gland which produce GH) to stimulate GH release.

"Exercise performed above the lactate threshold for a duration of 10 minutes will create the greatest growth hormone release both during exercise and for the 24 hour afterwards"

GHRP-2 is one of the most potent members of the GHRP family. It is also a synthetic compound which specifically stimulates increased secretion of the growth hormone (GH). This peptide is called a GH secretagogue because it has been shown in studies to support the increased release of growth hormone. Studies indicate that GHRP-2, along with GHRP-6, and GHRP-1, can act as potent stimulators of GH release.

So why not just use synthetic growth hormone? These secretagogues are distinct from GHRH in that they don't share a similar chemical sequence and they derive their function through action at a completely different receptor. GHRP-2 causes stimulation of the anterior pituitary gland which ultimately causes an increase in GH release. Since GHRP-2 acts directly on the feedback loop, which signals the inhibition of GH release, when natural GH secretion has been inhibited by long term synthetic use, GHRP-2 can be used to re-stimulate the natural production of GH.

GHRP-2 also affects the central nervous system by protecting neurons as well as increasing strength in a way very similar to the way certain steroids do. Studies indicate that GHRP-2 has a greater impact on the release of the growth hormone than the growth hormone releasing hormone. Hence, the benefits of increased growth hormone levels through GHRP-2 stimulation include: an increase in strength and muscle mass, body fat loss, as well as rejuvenation and strengthening of joints, connective tissue and bone mass. Enhanced growth hormone secretion also leads to the liver secreting more IGF-1 (Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1), which is thought to be the primary anabolic mechanism of action for Growth Hormone. So what else can you do to increase GH release?

Besides supplementing with GHRP-2, three of the biggest factors that play a role in the release of this hormone are sleep, exercise, and nutrition.

  1. Sleep is essential for the production of this miracle hormone because we actually make and release most of it during the first stage of our snooze time. Hence, it is essential to get a good night's rest if you are seriously training. If you are cutting your sleep short, you are not getting the optimum release of the growth hormone which decreases your muscle building capacity.

  2.  
  3. Exercise is an important stimulator of growth hormone release, which typically depends on the type of exercise you are doing. For instance, resistance training offers one of the most influential environments for exercise induced growth hormone release (EIGR). The major factors that determine how much is produced are load and frequency. When we lift heavier loads at a greater frequency (less rest time) we cause our bodies to release greater amounts of growth hormone. In addition, resistance training programs that utilize many large muscle groups at once tend to elicit the greatest growth hormone release as more total muscle fibers are called into play. With endurance training, the release of growth hormone is dependent on intensity, duration, frequency, and the type of exercise performed. Exercise performed above the lactate threshold for a duration of 10 minutes will create the greatest growth hormone release both during exercise and for the 24 hour afterwards. Due to the pulsatile release of growth hormone, the optimal environment for the release is shorter bouts of exercise performed for 10 minutes several times daily at an intensity greater than lactate threshold.


  4. Proper nutrition is also key for increased growth hormone levels. Basically you need to eat the right proportion of amino acids, fats, and carbohydrates. Amino acids such as arginine, ornithine, glutamine, glycine, BCAA's, GABA, and lysine are all essential components of a growth hormone increasing diet.

The take away message: GHRP-2 is a potent Growth Hormone stimulator!

Studies have shown that a simple oral administration of GHRP-2, in addition to other growth hormone-releasing peptides, can dramatically enhance the release of growth hormone. This means that you can achieve muscle building results similar to supplementing with synthetic growth hormone or steroids, but in a more natural and safe way. Hence, GHRP-2 is an effective synthetic peptide that can help you achieve muscle building and strength-gaining results. Exercise, proper nutrition, and rest are the most effective ways of increasing muscle mass, decreasing body fat, maintaining metabolism, and the decreasing likelihood chronic diseases. However, if you want to see serious muscle building results, increasing levels of the human growth hormone will stimulate superior lean tissue gains. Do it safely and effectively by supplementing with GHRP-2, which has been shown to dramatically increase levels of natural growth hormone in the body.

Reference:

Bowers, C.Y. (1993). GH releasing peptides-structure and kinetics. J Pediatr Endocrinol., 6,1, 21-31.
Chen, C., Pullar, M., Loneragan, K., Zhang, J., and Clarke, I.J. (1998). Effect of growth hormone-releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2) and GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) on the cAMP levels and GH release from cultured acromegalic tumors. J Neuroendocrinol., 10, 6, 473-480.
Godfrey, R., Madgwick, Z., & Gregory, P.W. (2003). The Exercise-Induced Growth Hormone Release in Athletes. Sports Medicine: 33 (8).

Copyright © 2008 DXL Magazine, All Rights Reserved

 

 
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