HGH Dosage
An interesting aspect of human growth hormone is actually its dosage and dose response.
The type of results a user experiences will vary greatly depending on the HGH dosage.
The biggest caveat, of course, is that results are 100% dependent on the individual's nutrition and training.
Substances like human growth hormone or anabolic steroids only serve to amplify hard work and efforts that have the nutrition and training aspects well established.
For example, if an individual's main goal is to lose fat, their nutrition should reflect this through a calorie deficit or a nutrition plan that favors fat loss.
Adding a specific dose of human growth hormone will result in fat loss, and will likely result in faster and more dramatic fat loss than proper nutrition and training alone without the addition of human growth hormone.
The doses of human growth hormone are very specific in terms of the effects (fat loss, muscle gain, rejuvenation, healing, or anti-aging) they produce with each subsequent dose.
In addition, the human growth hormone dosage required to elicit various effects is dependent on the age of the individual using it, as older individuals will have a much greater response than younger individuals who already have normal physiological levels of endogenous human growth hormone.
Human growth hormone doses are measured in International Units (IU) for ease of measurement, as actual milligram measurements and concentrations can be very confusing and impractical.
For example, 1 mg of human growth hormone is equivalent to 3 IU.
This means that one vial of 10 IU of human growth hormone contains 3.33333 mg of human growth hormone.
Therefore, measuring human growth hormone in milligrams is unreliable and impractical.
Therefore, when measuring GH doses, always measure in IU units of measurement.
More information on proper reconstitution, storage, and shelf life of human growth hormone will be covered soon in the proper dosing section of this profile.
Medical Human Growth Hormone Doses
In the medical field, dosages vary depending on the medical indication being treated.
For the treatment of human growth hormone deficiency in adults, doses range from 1 to 3 IU per day and can vary depending on the individual's weight (smaller individuals typically require GH doses near the lower end of the range described above).
Human Growth Hormone Dosage for Athletic Performance and Physique Enhancement
Human growth hormone, especially when used for the purpose of enhancing athletic performance and physique, cannot be categorized into three stages: beginner, intermediate, and advanced, as advanced users may often tend to use doses of growth hormone that are quite low for beginners.
Therefore, we will describe different dose intervals within the dose range aimed at improving athletic performance and physique.
In general, the dosage range for physique and performance enhancement purposes is 2-8 IU daily, with professional competitive bodybuilders known to take doses higher than 8 IU daily, although this is not recommended.
2 - 4IU daily HGH dosage range:
This is the range commonly used for anti-aging, skin health, and some fat loss.
For someone as young as 20 years old, no dramatic changes will be noticed with doses in this range, and it is generally considered a more 'useless' dose for young athletes as it is very close to the levels of human growth hormone that are naturally produced at a young age.
Dramatic results in fat loss or muscle anabolism from this dose are unlikely to be experienced unless you are in the older age group of 40+.
4 - 6IU daily HGH dose range:
A range of 4 - 6 IU daily will produce moderate and noticeable fat loss in users, with some anabolic effects associated with it (anabolic effects can be quite dramatic if not taken in conjunction with anabolic steroids).
6 - 8IU daily GH dosage range:
In this dosage range, you will see dramatic fat loss and muscle gains that are noticeable in most individuals.
However, with any dose of human growth hormone, muscle gains will appear weeks or months after use due to the nature of the hormone.
The general rule regarding human growth hormone is that the muscle building and strength enhancing effects of human growth hormone are not as noticeable or pronounced compared to the fat loss effects.
While fat loss is almost immediate with human growth hormone use, lean mass gains are less obvious and often do not appear for weeks or months after use.
In addition, human growth hormone is commonly used in combination with other compounds, such as anabolic steroids, in which case the muscle growth effects are much more dramatic and pronounced, and occur much more quickly than when human growth hormone is used alone.
The effects of human growth hormone work synergistically with anabolic steroids, and this combination results in dramatic muscle gains.
Specifically, anabolic steroids not only increase IGF-1 levels in the body, but also decrease IGF-1 binding proteins [1].
T3 (thyroid hormone) is also commonly used in conjunction with human growth hormone to offset the effects of human growth hormone on thyroid output and increase dramatic fat loss.
Insulin is another hormone that is often used in conjunction with human growth hormone (although this is considered highly technical and using insulin with or without human growth hormone can be fatal).
Growth hormone increases the body's glucose tolerance and insulin acts to offset this effect, increasing receptor sensitivity to the increase in IGF-1 caused by human growth hormone and decreasing the level of a binding protein that inactivates IGF-1 in the body [2].
Proper human growth hormone dosing
Growth hormone has a half-life of about 30 minutes after injection, and because most of its effects are caused by the release of IGF-1, which human growth hormone signals to the liver, the half-life varies widely.
Therefore, individuals can choose whether to inject the full dose in one shot or spread it out over the course of the day.
Both options are acceptable and neither has been found to be advantageous over the other, except for personal experience, preference, and convenience.
Human growth hormone is primarily designed for subcutaneous administration (using an insulin syringe), but it can also be administered intramuscularly.
Importantly, the fat-reducing effects of human growth hormone do not occur at the subcutaneous site where it is injected.
Fat loss from human growth hormone occurs systemically, and contrary to rumors about growth hormone, there is no such thing as spot reduction.
After being injected into the subcutaneous tissue, human growth hormone is transported into the bloodstream, where it first travels to the liver before exerting its effects on the body.
First, it's important to realize that human growth hormone is a very fragile molecule, and strong shocks, shaking, or exposure to high temperatures will destroy the molecule and render it useless.
Therefore, human growth hormone products should always be handled with care.
In addition, human growth hormone should always be refrigerated.
The lyophilized form of human growth hormone has been found to have a shelf life of about 18 months when stored in the refrigerator (about 2-8 degrees Celsius or 35.6-46.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
At room temperature (20 to 24 degrees Celsius or 68 to 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit), it is destroyed and becomes unusable after a shelf life of about 30 days.
Care should be taken to avoid exposing the powder to extreme heat (for example, leaving it in a car in the summer) or extreme cold, which can destroy the molecules.
Extreme heat and heavy shaking have been proven to destroy the HGH protein and render it inactive [3].
Once reconstituted (mixed with sterile or pasteurized water), the shelf life of human growth hormone is incredibly short.
Reconstituted human growth hormone should always be refrigerated, and the two types of water in which it is reconstituted determine its specific shelf life.
The reconstituted product has the following shelf life
Bacteriostatic water: Human growth hormone reconstituted in bacteriostatic water (water containing a small amount of benzyl alcohol for sterilization and preservation) has a shelf life of approximately 2 weeks to 20 days (refrigerated).
Sterile water: When reconstituted in sterile water (pure distilled water containing only water with no sterilants), human growth hormone has a shelf life of approximately 5 days (refrigerated).
If reconstituted in water, prolonged exposure to temperatures higher than refrigeration will destroy the hormone within a few hours.
Growth hormone is always manufactured as lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder and should never be packaged premixed with water.
Reconstitution and titration: The amount of human growth hormone an individual can obtain depends on the amount of sterile or sterile water that reconstitutes the human growth hormone powder.
For example, a vial containing 10 IU of lyophilized (freeze-dried) human growth hormone powder is exactly that amount: 10 IU.
However, it must be reconstituted with water, and if an individual wants a concentration of 1 IU per 0.1 ml, the powder must be reconstituted with 1 ml of water.
If the individual wants a concentration of 2 IU per 0.1 ml, the powder is reconstituted with 0.5 ml of water.
If a concentration of 5 IU per 0.1 ml is desired, the powder is reconstituted with 0.5 ml of water.
Thus, the concentration of human growth hormone once composed can be made more concentrated (by adding less water) or more diluted (by adding more water) depending on the individual.
However, most individuals will add 1 ml of water for a convenient concentration, allowing them to dose 1 IU of human growth hormone per 0.1 ml (for example, such a concentration would mean 0.5 ml = 5 IU of human growth hormone).
Effects and Results You Can Expect from Taking Human Growth Hormone
When using human growth hormone for athletic performance/physique enhancement purposes, the first thing you will experience is dramatic fat loss.
Muscle growth, mass gain, and strength gains from human growth hormone will slowly appear over time after use.
As mentioned earlier, the general rule with growth hormones is that the muscle building and strength gains from human growth hormone are not as noticeable or pronounced as the fat loss effects.
While fat loss can be seen almost immediately with human growth hormone use, the lean mass gains are less obvious and often don't appear for weeks or months after use.
You will also see muscle growth effects much more quickly when using human growth hormone in combination with other compounds, such as anabolic steroids, where the muscle growth effects are much more dramatic and pronounced than when using human growth hormone alone.
The effects of human growth hormone work synergistically with anabolic steroids, and this combination results in dramatic muscle gains.
In addition to changes in athletic performance or physique, you may also experience benefits such as improved sleep quality, more energy on a daily basis, healthier skin tone and fewer wrinkles, improved overall mood and quality of life, disappearance of joint pain/problems (due to the restorative effects of human growth hormone), and improved immune system function.
Medical references
[1] Growth hormone-induced increases in serum IGFBP-1 levels are reversed by anabolic steroids in drug-abusing power athletes. Clin Endocrinol (Ocf) 49:459-63, 1998.
[2] Identification of an insulin-responsive element in the human gene promoter for insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1. J Biol Chem 268:17063-68, 1995.
[3] Influence of formulation variables on the stability of lyophilized human growth hormone. Pikal MJ, Dellerman KM, Roy ML, Riggin RM.Eli Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana 46285. 1991 Apr;8(4):427-36.
