Top 4 methods to increase HGH

I have mentioned earlier the benefits you get from increasing HGH (Human Growth Hormone) production in your body. If you want to read some more about it, you can refer to my post about the fat burning hormones here. Here are the TOP 4 methods of increasing your HGH.

Max muscle usuage: Workout as many muscle groups at one time as possible. The more muscle you use, the more fatigue and exhaustion you will experience and therefore the body will release more HGH. Usually I recommend compound exercises but if you are not a beginner, then try to modify workouts. The idea is to activate your stabilizer muscles. But make sure you don't try to do a 250 lbs bench press, on a ball. You can seriously hurt yourself. Try doing all isolation movements like bicep curls, lat raises etc. on the ball. You can do some exercises on one leg as well. The main idea if engage more muscle than you usually would in a normal exercise. If you don't bench press too heavy, then bring your legs up in the air to work your lower abs. If you don't use heavy weights then try things like overhead squats. Ohh and do full body workouts in a weight training session. Not just once body part. Be creative and remember to be safe.

Low or no fats in your pre-workout meal: I remember reading that eating fats before a workout slows down the production of HGH. Some people recommend unsaturated fats before a workout for energy as they take longer to breakdown. That is for people who are not concentrating on HGH. There are some other reasons to workout as well you know :P

Don't take carbs till an hour after your workout: Some people might kill me for saying that and they might be right as well. The only reason is that one tends to take High GI carbs or simple carbs right after a workout which increase your insulin levels. Insulin in normal circumstances is an anti-HGH hormone. There are ways to increase both at the same time they are a bit of an extreme measure if you ask me. Not taking carbs after your workout can end up in low energy levels and slower and LESS muscle repair, so do this a couple of time a week to reap maximum benefits and keep a balance.

Get atleast 8 hours of sleep: HGH is released to its max when you go into deep sleep. After an hour after you go into deep sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, you can't get into deep sleep and therefore not get everything of the HGH.

I guess this sums it up...let me know what you think :).

Understand the burn fat and build muscle hormones - Part 1

The norm in the fitness world is to look at calories and metabolism for fat loss and muscle building. A vast majority of the experts don’t give much importance to hormones and their effects, mainly due to lack of knowledge. In this three part article, I will try to give an overview of the muscle building and fat burning hormones along with the how to manipulate them based on your fitness goals. Part 1 will talk about the three MAIN anabolic (tissue building) hormones. So here you go:

Testosterone is a male hormone mainly produced in the testicles. A small amount is also produced by the adrenal glands. In women, testosterone is produced in the ovaries and by the adrenal gland, although the amount is quite small as compared to the male production. The normal range in males is 350- 1200ng/dl and the range in females is less than 100ng/dl. Women often inject additional testosterone if they want to build muscles at the pro-level. Apart from being a MALE hormone, it is the number one anabolic hormone in the human body. In order to gain muscle mass, one should concentrate on boosting their testosterone levels which are usually the highest in the morning and if the right kind of workouts are done (anaerobic) then you can REALLY boost your testosterone levels post workout (they drop after a few hours). The higher the intensity, the greater the testosterone production. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone which suppresses testosterone

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is another anabolic hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland and stimulates the liver to produce IGF-1 (Insulin like Growth Factor). HGH is also directly proportional to the exercise intensity similar to testosterone. It increases right after an intense workout and also during deep sleep. Insulin and cortisol both suppress the growth hormone. If you need benefits from the HGH and IGF-1 then you should try to keep insulin and cortisol quite low. The good thing about HGH is that you can burn fat and build muscle at the same time as one of the properties of this hormone is to breakdown fat (long story) and IGF help you grow.

Insulin is a storage (anabolic) hormone which is released by the pancreas in response to the food that you eat – mainly carbohydrates. If you get too many carbs in your system, the insulin levels rise to lower them and store them as fat for future use. That is just one part of it. If your body needs the carbs (i.e. post-workout), the insulin pushes the carbs to the muscles and also breaks down protein to help repair the muscles. Insulin spikes with high GI carbs and remains stable with low GI carbs so to avoid fat storage, one should try to stick to low GI throughout the day. Depending on your goal, you can choose what kind of carbs you need post workout.

Hope this was useful. Stay tuned, there is lots more to come.