July 05,2023

Why is insulin needed?

Insulin, what does it do?

Let’s focus on the main function of Insulin here: it takes glucose and amino acids to our muscle cells (Insulin has many other functions such as driving potassium and much more but let’s focus on the main aspect most want to hear about Bodybuilding).

So insulin drives glucose and amino acids straight to our muscles, which is what we love so much about it. Sometimes as a Bodybuilder, you might not be able to adequately shuttle all the nutrients to your muscles (due to many different factors). One such factor is eating high amounts of food. Eat all you want, but if you are not able to shuttle nutrients to your muscles optimally you will suffer health consequences and just urinate that extra glucose out.

Another factor is that bodybuilders use drugs, such as HGH. Every study ever done on HGH shows it worsens insulin sensitivity. Now add to this fact that generally higher doses of HGH cause even worse insulin sensitivity, and you can see how many can end up with a very severe state of insulin resistance. Like we hear time and time again from actual IFBB pro Bodybuilders, that they had felt HGH slowed and even prevented muscle gains for them while using it.

Insulin is shown to cause hyperplasia of the muscle cells.

The difference between hyperplasia and hypertrophy is very basically: Hypertrophy is the growth of the cell which is not necessarily permanent. Hyperplasia is the cell splitting into 2 new cells and stays as permanent growth.