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How To Increase Growth Hormone Naturally - Maximise HGH
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How To Increase Growth Hormone Naturally - Maximise HGH

What is Growth Hormone and Why Should Athletes Care?

Overview of Growth Hormone

  • Growth hormone (GH) analogues and secretagogues are banned in sports, indicating their perceived value among athletes.
  • While GH is less critical than testosterone for muscle growth, it significantly impacts recovery, energy levels, and overall health.

Mechanism of Action

  • GH is a peptide hormone produced in the brain; the hypothalamus releases growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), which stimulates the anterior pituitary gland to produce GH.
  • Conditions like acromegaly can result from excessive GH production due to pituitary tumors, leading to abnormal physical changes.

Regulation of Growth Hormone Release

  • The release of GH is tightly regulated by GHRH and somatostatin (growth hormone-inhibiting hormone), with physiological factors influencing this balance.
  • GH secretion occurs in pulses rather than at a constant rate, with significant spikes followed by periods without release.

Functions of Growth Hormone

  • Key functions include promoting height increase during childhood, enhancing calcium retention for stronger bones, and potentially increasing muscle mass indirectly through IGF-1.
  • GH also facilitates fat breakdown (lipolysis), affects glucose metabolism by inducing insulin resistance, and transforms thyroid hormones into their active forms.

Why Do Athletes Use Growth Hormone?

Benefits for Athletes

  • Athletes may use GH for benefits such as improved joint health from increased collagen production, enhanced recovery times, better sleep quality, and potential fat loss.

Risks Associated with Exogenous Use

  • Side effects from unnatural doses include insulin resistance, water retention, carpal tunnel syndrome, organ enlargement, and accelerated cancer progression if pre-existing conditions exist.

Factors Influencing Natural Growth Hormone Production

Key Determinants

  • Sleep plays a crucial role; most GH is produced during deep sleep stages. Sleep deprivation can hinder its release.
  • Age affects GH levels; they are highest in children but decline in adults.

Influence of Other Factors

Understanding Growth Hormone and Its Regulation

The Role of Growth Hormone

  • Growth hormone acts as an anti-starvation hormone, maintaining glucose levels in the bloodstream and promoting glucose production from the liver. It also helps preserve muscle mass during fasting or starvation.
  • Released in response to stressors like hunger, low energy, and intense exercise, growth hormone is crucial for metabolic regulation and requires a properly functioning thyroid for normal secretion.

Factors Influencing Growth Hormone Levels

  • Somatostatin (growth hormone inhibiting hormone) plays a critical role in regulating growth hormone levels by inhibiting its release along with other hormones such as thyroid stimulating hormone and prolactin.
  • To maximize growth hormone levels, one might aim to lower somatostatin through factors like Arginine, dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine intake, and strenuous exercise.

IGF-1: A Key Player

  • Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), produced in response to growth hormone stimulation from the liver, promotes muscle growth and recovery while providing negative feedback that regulates further growth hormone release.
  • High IGF-1 levels can suppress additional growth hormone release to prevent excessive hormonal activity; insulin also contributes to this downregulation by signaling sufficient energy availability.

Practical Tips for Increasing Natural Growth Hormone Production

Sleep Optimization

  • Prioritize quality sleep as the largest spike in growth hormone occurs about an hour after falling asleep. Aim for deep slow-wave sleep between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. for optimal secretion.
  • Avoid blue light exposure before bed and maintain a cool, dark sleeping environment. Refrain from eating 2–3 hours prior to bedtime to enhance growth hormone release during sleep.

Exercise Strategies

  • Engage in high-intensity resistance training using large muscle groups; exercises like squats at high volume significantly boost growth hormone levels due to increased metabolic demand.
  • Endurance exercises above lactate threshold can elevate growth hormone but require sustained effort over at least 10 minutes for effectiveness; high-intensity interval training (HIIT), such as Sprint 8 workouts, can lead to substantial increases in growth hormone production.

High-Intensity Training and Growth Hormone

Compound Lifts and Workout Structure

  • Emphasizes the importance of high-volume compound lifts (e.g., squats, deadlifts, bench press) with 3 to 6 sets of 8+ reps and short rest periods (60-90 seconds).
  • Advocates for full-body or upper/lower split routines performed 3 to 4 days a week, as they are more metabolically demanding than isolated muscle group workouts.

Muscle Growth Considerations

  • Notes that this high-intensity routine may not be ideal for muscle growth due to fatigue accumulation; longer rest periods and isolation exercises may be necessary.
  • Highlights that these workouts are designed to stimulate growth hormone release through intense stress.

High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise

  • Discusses the need for high-intensity aerobic exercise above lactate threshold, ideally multiple times a day for at least 10 minutes per session.
  • Suggests maintaining effort levels around 60% to 75% of V2 Max; however, estimating lactate threshold can be challenging without monitoring equipment.

Interval Training Techniques

  • Recommends intervals lasting over 30 seconds with minimal recovery time between efforts to maintain high lactate levels.
  • Describes the "Sprint Eight" workout: eight rounds of 30-second sprints followed by 90 seconds of recovery, emphasizing running as an effective method.

Weekly Training Recommendations

  • Proposes a weekly training plan consisting of lifting sessions focused on growth hormone stimulation combined with high-intensity cardio sessions.
  • Advises against fully dedicating training solely to increasing growth hormone due to potential recovery issues but suggests incorporating some targeted sessions.

Fasting and Growth Hormone Release

  • Explains how fasting can increase growth hormone levels by lowering blood sugar and insulin while preserving muscle mass.
  • Mentions intermittent fasting (16 hours fasted/8 hours eating window), which can provide a modest boost in growth hormone compared to prolonged fasting.

Heat Exposure Protocol

  • Introduces heat exposure as a strategy for increasing growth hormone, recommending sauna use based on Andrew Huberman's protocol involving multiple sauna sessions.
  • Details an extreme sauna protocol: two rounds of 30 minutes in the sauna with cooling breaks in between; shorter sessions should utilize higher temperatures.

Cold Exposure and Supplements

  • Clarifies that cold exposure does not enhance growth hormone production; thus, ice baths are unnecessary if maximizing growth hormone is the goal.

Supplements for Growth Hormone Optimization

Key Supplements Discussed

  • CDP Choline and Arginine: Recommended to be taken away from exercise to enhance growth hormone secretion, despite arginine's benefits for blood flow during workouts.
  • Nutrient Sources: Emphasis on obtaining nutrients and amino acids from food rather than relying on multiple supplements; suggests a nutrient-rich diet is more beneficial.
  • Creatine: Highly recommended due to extensive research supporting its effectiveness in improving exercise performance and muscle growth, with minimal downsides reported.
  • Cital Supplement Study: A study showed that an amino acid supplement (Cital), containing various amino acids, increased growth hormone levels by over 600% in fasted subjects.
  • Effective Supplements for Growth Hormone: Alpha GPC and Arginine are highlighted as well-supported options, along with GABA, ornithine, and creatine for those looking to experiment with supplementation.

Lifestyle Factors Impacting Growth Hormone

  • Natural Methods to Increase Growth Hormone: Recommendations include deep sleep between 10 PM and 2 AM, high-effort workouts (heavy lifting or sprinting), intermittent fasting, prolonged fasting, sauna use, alongside specific supplements like Alpha GPC and Arginine.
Video description

In this video, I discuss the functions and benefits of Human Growth Hormone, and how to optimise growth hormone naturally. This is part 4 of my Natural PEDs series, where we attempt to recreate the effects of the WADA banned substances NATURALLY. Testosterone Optimisation Guide: https://benwinney.myshopify.com/products/testosterone-optimisation-guide Ultimate Nutrition Guide: https://benwinney.myshopify.com/products/ultimate-nutrition-guide Hypertrophy Programs: https://benwinney.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage Microplastics Detox Guide: https://benwinney.myshopify.com/products/microplastics-guide Sign up to my newsletter for a FREE workout program and regular health & fitness tips: https://benwinney.myshopify.com/pages/sign-up-to-my-newsletter SUBSCRIBE if you want to reach your genetic potential: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFsCUZQUflqfQDcWkDvjK8Q ********** Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 0:43 GH production 2:10 GH functions 3:21 Exogenous GH benefits and risks 4:26 Regulation of GH 8:18 Strategy 1 9:33 Strategy 2 13:54 Strategy 3 14:49 Strategy 4 16:01 Strategy 5 ********** Sources (PMID/link): GH increases calcium retention and bone mineralisation: 12788900, 7710348, 1125163 GH may or may not increase muscle mass: 24163428 GH increases lipolysis and potentially fat loss: 10352397, 8300043, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpendmet1034 GH reduces liver glucose uptake: PMC8533955 GH stimulates liver gluconeogenesis: 19240267 GH induces transient insulin resistance: 38192102, 32966863 GH increases T4 deiodination into T3: 29274063 GH can cause water retention: 10592455 GH can cause carpal tunnel syndrome: 8287568 Most GH is produced during deep sleep: 8627466 Sleep deprivation can suppress GH release: 8875441 Sex hormones regulate GH secretion: 16984231 Nicotine increases GH: 6818588, 6508989, 18042647 Niacin increases GH: 27654882 Ghrelin increases GH: 25302229 Low blood sugar increases GH: 13975313 Vigorous exercise increases GH: 10468938, https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-200333080-00005 Arginine increases GH: 2903866 Dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and ghrelin can increase GH: 23381030 GH's interaction with IGF-1: 38192102 Insulin reduces GH: 10484056, 10224108 Drugs and xenobiotics can reduce GH: 16702112 Resistance training and aerobic training above lactate threshold increase GH: https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-200333080-00005 Sprint-8 workout increases GH: https://sprint8.com/eng/resources/white-paper-sprint-8-exercise-protocol Fasting increases GH: 35678263 Heat exposure increases GH: 3117831, 5012490, 3788622 Cold exposure does not appear to increase GH: 19444973, 16644256, 5412546 Huperzine A inhibits acetylcholinesterase: 16364207 Acetylcholine stimulates GH: 29509880, 220365 Alpha-GPC increases GH: 22673596, https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-5-S1-P15 CDP-choline increases GH: 2028709, 639755 Arginine increases GH: 9063764, 18090659 Ornithine may increase GH: 35896372, https://www.scirp.org/Journal/PaperInformation?paperID=1583 GABA may increase GH: 18091016 Glutamine may increase GH: 7733028 Lysine may increase GH: 37968448, 34199514 Glycine may increase GH: 622050 Creatine may increase GH: 11297004 Serovital amino acid supplement may increase GH: 30893070 ********** Some of the visuals in this video may have been made using Biorender.com or Generative AI. Nothing in this video is medical advice.