INSULIN AND BODYBUILDING

Well, here is a topic that is very out of the realm for the vast majority of bodybuilders, competitors and/or daily lifters. First of all, if you are beginner in the performance enhancing supplementation aspect of the sport (or any for that matter), STAY AWAY FROM INSULIN! If you don’t know how to use it correctly you can die! This shit is no joke for the least bit, and should be taken very seriously, more then any other PED out there. I mean, it’s hard to really mess up using it, but if you do you’re looking at possibly serious death within hours of usage.

WHY TAKE IT?

It’s simple, to get bigger, fuller, harder. Insulin will DRIVE glycogen and nutrients directly into the muscle, and producing more muscle gains. It’s that simple. If you do it correctly, the results can be amazing, as insulin is the most anabolic agent available…nothing compares, especially when you pair it with HGH (human growth hormone) and anabolic steroids (AAS).

HOW TO MESS UP USING IT

First error many do is taking the wrong dosage. I tell someone to take 5 units, that dose not mean 5cc on a regular syringe. That also does not mean 5iu on a insulin needle. If you would do the 5cc, you would be 100% dead within minutes, hell even doing the 5iu will cause some problems if you aren’t prepared on-hand for it. 5 units is just 5 little tiny markers on the syringe. This stuff is very powerful shit, and it doesn’t take much at all to get what you need.

Another way to jack up the usage of insulin is what food you take. Every UNIT you inject, you must take in 5-10g of carbohyrdates. I always tell first timers to use the max carb about per unit, 10grams per unit, to be safe until you learn your body and how it reacts to your body. Then make sure to, depending on what insulin you use, to have clean whole food meals every 60-90 minutes after usage. This is where people can miss their mark, and say bye bye.

MY EXPERIENCE

During my competing days, I have messed with Insulin for a handful of months to see the effects of it. I used both really fast-acting (Humalog) and slower acting (Humalin-R) insulins, to see the difference in effects. I will say it was the most hardcore item I have ever taken, and I felt the effects almost IMMEDIATELY after taking it, and the effects were up and down for numerous hours (slow-acting insulin mainly). The mass I wanted to gain came on without a doubt. Within the first month of my first time using insulin (Humalin R), I went from 225lbs to 243lbs. Mind you, I wasn’t shredded, but I was hard and full; a great off-season condition. I was forcing food down my system like no other (cause I had too), and the size just kept going up. I didn’t abuse it at all, which I never wanted too, I just wanted to take enough to steadily keep my weight going up, and not destroy or harm my system. At first I used 4-5 units Post-workout, have a postworkout shake with carbs and protein, waited 60 minutes, then had whole foods with fast absorbing carbs (white rice, white potatoes, etc) with meat protein, and I did that almost every 90-120 minutes when a “low blood sugar” wave would hit me (it was intense when using Humalin R, you couldn’t ignore it). I think I went through 2-3 waves after taking that post-workout insulin. I steadily increased to 10 units post-workout, and I left it there. I only did 5 weeks ON, and then 5 weeks OFF. I always had Skittles, Jelly Beans, or Starbursts with me at all times when I knew I was going out after training sessions where I took insulin afterwards. I did 4 months of this ON and OFF cycle stuff with insulin, and I will admit I hated it. I didn’t like the effects of Humalin R, because those waves would come and go for around 4-5 hours afterwards. It sucked, and I didn’t enjoy shoveling a ton of food down my neck, but it did work.

When I switched over to HUMALOG, life was a lot better. I did an experiment with this stuff, since I only wanted to use it around the training period (just like HUMALIN-R), so I decided to experiment with pre-workout and post-workout usage. I would start with 3 units pre, and 3 units post (I steadily increased to 5 units and 5 units). During training I would make sure to have 50-100g of powdered carbs and 20g of aminos, 10g glutamine and 10g creatine with 40oz water while I trained, and I would sip on it throughout the entire workout. The pumps were insane, and I never had a negative feeling or episode (remember, CARB INTAKE IS THE KEY!!). I got great results using HUMALOG, and never got those annoying blood sugar waves for HOURS after taking it. After training (which would be 5 minutes after taking my post workout insulin of 5 units) I would drink 60-70g of dextrose with 20g of aminos and 5g creatine. 20 minutes after that I drank my 60g whey isolate (I didn’t want the whey to slow down the absorption of the dextrose, so I split the two into two separate shakes; one carb, one whey). 60-75 minutes after that, I would make sure to have a minimum of 60g of white rice and 50-60g meat protein. It pretty much was just a ton of fluids around the workout, felt like a water buffalo after I drank my intra-workout, and my two post workout shakes…so freaking full!

OVERVIEW OF HUMALIN-R AND HUMALOG

The first type of insulin, and the one most commonly used is HUMULIN-R. Humulin R can be purchased from a pharmacy without a prescription. That’s right, anyone off the street can walk into a Walmart pharmacy and buy Humulin-R.

This is an insulin with a 30 min. – 1 hour onset, a 2-5 hour peak, and a 5-8 hour duration. This makes it a little more unpredictable than a faster insulin, because there is a much larger gap as to when it can peak. You could eat a meal with adequate carbs and then 3 hours later you’re feeling hypo and you better get more in you. But for purchasing/legality issues this is what most guys use.

This is an insulin I would not recommend using more than 1 time/day. I’d use it post workout and make damn good and sure you’re not using it within 4-5 hours of bedtime. You want to be awake with this stuff so you can deal with any issues that are coming on from it. I went to bed usually at midnight, because I was done training around 6:00-6:30pm usually. So this type of insulin really made life a bitch for those 2 months (1 month ON 1 month OFF, 1 month ON 1 month OFF).

The next type of insulin we will talk about is HUMALOG. This is a faster acting insulin with a 15 minute onset, 30-90 minute peak, and 3-5 hour duration. This is an insulin that you can shoot more than once a day. Two to three times a day injections are fine, but you need to be cautious of insulin stacking.

“Stacking” is when you take an injection, then take another injection say 3-4 hours later, and even though you measured out x amount of units, it was really like x+3 units because there was some residual left from your last shot. What can happen is you misjudge your carb intake and you think you had adequate carbs, but you really fell short and can start getting hypo (dangerously low blood sugar).

I would recommend using Humalog or Nolvalog over Humulin R, its a faster onset, peak, and a shorter duration. You can know what to expect from it a little easier than Humulin R. Also, being able to use it 2-3 times/day will keep you more anabolic and provide better gains.

EATING WHILE ON INSULIN

First off, I would highly advise against using insulin while strictly dieting. You just put yourself in a very dangerous state with lower nutrients and calories on insulin. Not to mention, it is easier to put on body fat with insulin if you’re not careful. I just don’t see the benefit of using it while cutting bodyfat.

While using insulin, every few hours you should have a protein/carb source. We are not doing anything like intermittent fasting, or carb backloading here. You will feed your body on a regular basis throughout the day!!! Post injection of insulin should be 10 grams carbs per every unit of insulin!!! WITHIN 15 MINUTES OF SHOT!!! And remember, with HUMULIN-R, another meal with 40-60 grams carbs, 40-60 grams protein, and SOME healthy fats should be eaten 60-90 minutes from that!!!

Always be near sugar and food. Actually, make sure its on you!! If you start feeling sweaty, irritable, having cold sweats, dizzy, shaky, hungry, thirsty, just know you’re probably going hypoglycemic and you better eat some simple sugars pretty freaking fast!!!

HOW LONG CAN I BE ON IT INSULIN?

I suggest taking no more then 4-6 weeks ON! After that you are risking turning into a diabetic, or getting your body dependent on injecting insulin daily. So to be safe, only 4-6 weeks on, then take that same amount of time OFF at the least! Some say taking 10-12 weeks off is best.

TAKE INSULIN EVERYDAY, EVEN NON-TRAINING DAYS?

No. Only take HUMALOG or HUMALIN-R on your training days.

INSULIN IN BODYBUILDING

Insulin has pushing the level of mass in today’s physiques to new levels. People don’t want to believe it, since they praise the 1990’s as the golden era of bodybuilding (which I do agree), but that is where insulin, HGH and many more new compounds came into the mix. If you look at the physiques at the beginning of the 1990s compared to the end of that decade, it’s completely clear that the mass and size went up 20-35%. Today, the usage is even higher, and many bodybuilders take insulin before/after each meal, and using high dosages often (in combination of high dosages of HGH, AAS and many other compounds). So when you see many of these bigger bodybuilders these days that have stomach distention, that is a combination of insulin usages with intaking large amounts of foods to go along with their insulin requirements.

MY CONCLUSION

If you are a beginner, don’t even think of taking this stuff; it’s way out of your league. I would only recommend it to the advanced individuals that are looking to get passed a weight gain plateau, and are under the supervision of a medical doctor and/or insulin professional. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone on carb strict diets, or highly insulin sensitive. I don’t really recommend anyone to take anything anabolic to be honest, stay as natural for as long as possible, because once you go down this road, there is no coming back. It’s the rest of your life…