The majority of peptides being raved about in bodybuilding are involved with Growth Hormone (GH) release. According to a lot of research, they are very effective. The peptides being sold online to bodybuilders are standard items used to stimulate GH release in scientific research. So they are legitimate items even if their legal status and quality is far less clear.
Here is the jist of what its all about. In very basic terms there are 2 aspects to GH release targeted by the available peptides:
1) a signal to release a 'pulse' of GH
2) a regulator of how much GH to release in the 'pulse'
GHRH (GH Releasing Hormone) tells the body to release large amounts of GH whenever a 'pulse' is stimulated. But it does not cause a 'pulse' of GH in of itself.
GHRP (GH Releasing Peptide) signals for the release a 'pulse' of GH.
By themselves, GHRP's do a little bit and GHRH's generally do nothing. But used together it becomes a case of 1+1=10. Though, in the real world of wanting to see some sort of drug-induced body composition change, GHRP + GHRH is more like 0.0001 + 0.0001 = 0.001. Its not a lot!
GHRP's mimic the hormone Ghrelin - the alter-ego of Leptin. Leptin is also known as the anti-obesity hormone. And yes, Ghrelin is its opposite. Does it sound strange that a bodybuilder would want to inject the opposite of the anti-obesity hormone? It should! Ghrelin not only stimulates a pulse of GH but also increases cortisol, prolactin, decreases insulin sensitivity, increases appetite and generally causes every other fat-gaining and muscle-losing metabolic process you can imagine. The GH is about the only upside to a generally bad story!
The first generation of GHRP - GHRP-6 - did/does a really good job of mimicking Ghrelin. It causes significant cortisol and prolactin release along with a decrease in insulin sensitivity and increase in appetite. Bodybuilders still rave about the weight gain and appetite on GHRP-6. But the vast majority of people using GHRP-6 only gain fat!
The story with GHRH isn't any better. The first generation GHRH - GRF - only lasts in circulation for a few minutes and, seemingly, not long enough for GHRP-6's 'pulse' to be amplified into a meaningful amount of GH.
But the story gets worse. To stimulate a debatably significant increase in GH a normal person using GHRP-6 + GRF requires a good 3-5 injections of EACH, per day. And no, one big dose won't work the same.
And if you decide to do 6-10 injections per day of the first generation GHRP-6 with GRF, then the most you should expect is a small LOSS of muscle mass with dramatic increase in bodyfat!. Oh, and a mild feeling of lethargy & depression!
I personally made the mistake of using GHRP-6 with GRF to prove peptides didn't do anything. I was wrong! In 3 weeks of using GHRP-6 with GRF I gained 3kg of fat and lost 1kg of muscle! I put on 2kg. But it wasn't the 'size' anybody wants! In 3 weeks I became fatter than I'd been in 3 years, with no change in diet! And unfortunately I knew exactly how bad it was because at Biologic Labs we actually measure these things. Most of the people raving about peptides don't measure anything!
Fortunately, the biochemists tweaked with the molecules and came up with new generation peptides to replace GHRP-6 and GRF.
The 2nd generation was GHRP-2 and a heavily modified version of GRF they called CJC-1295+DAC. Used together, your 6-10 total daily injections of these peptides might help you achieve a slight improvement in body composition for the first 2-3 weeks with a few weird side effects like hot flushes, hypoglycaemic episodes and weird dreams. They aren't perfect; but they're a damned side better than GHRP-6 with GRF!
Since then was a 3rd generation of refinements. Ipamorelin is a GHRP that causes no cortisol or prolactin release. And straight CJC-1295 without DAC solved the numerous issues of the version with DAC.
Using Ipamorelin with CJC-1295 (without DAC), you might see a mild improvement in body composition with no side effects... except the loss of friends because you spend half your day injecting yourself.
The positive results of properly using peptides and taking your 6-10 injections per day could be described as being about 25% of the improvement you might get from a single low dose of legal Growth Hormone therapy. And in the end, using legally prescribed GH would run you about the same cost as properly using grey market peptides. The difference is that prescribed GH doesn't require 6-10 daily injections nor the risks associated with injecting dodgy stuff you bought over the web with no quality controls or guarantee of being what it says!
But thats not the end of the peptide story. If 6-10 injections is not enough, why not add more. OK! How about an IGF? I mean, GH is only good to stimulate IGF. So why not go straight to the source?
Well, IGF's by themselves are bound and destroyed in the absence of GH. So you need either GH or your Ipamorelin + CJC-1295 to take with your IGF. And whats another 3-5 injections per day anyway?
IGF-LR3 and DES-1-3 IGF are the 2 versions typically found for sale. Both are reportedly 10x more potent than regular IGF and also resist near immediate destruction in the body.
Using either injectable IGF might add another 50% to the suspiciously minor benefits you might imagine you are experiencing from your GHRP's + GRF's.
But I know you want more!!!! So there is MGF which is the form of IGF released locally in muscle cells to cause local growth. There is massive debate by the geniuses on internet forums about whether it is worthwhile to inject MGF? Very little of an injected amount is able to stimulate the minuscule amount of surrounding muscle it is injected into. The majority is absorbed into the blood stream where it is destroyed. But hey, when did a bodybuilder buying bodgy gear over the internet ever care about such details?
So the short answer about the IGF's and MGF is that all of it together with all of the injections of GHRP's and GRF's does 2/5ths of stuff all in 99% of people who use them. Of course, there is the mysterious 1% who live in their basement and nobody has ever actually met or seen but apparently added GHRP-6 to a cycle of steroids and gained 20kg of muscle in 5 days. And of course there is Lee Priest who everybody knows only uses peptides now... well, everybody who doesn't actually know Lee knows that.
When a person asks me what I think about increasing their Growth Hormone levels with peptides I reply with the question:
"What is your Growth Hormone now?"
Of course, most wannabe drug abusers are dumbfounded by this radical question! Why would you want to measure your Growth Hormone before you injected drugs into yourself to mess with it? Thats crazy! And perhaps it is. Especially when you discover your drugs don't work or that your excellent natural GH levels aren't the reason you are fat!
But doing a simple blood test to measure your GH can still be done. We do it at Biologic Labs every day! And then you could be legally prescribed real GH. Or you can use your peptides and retest after a couple of weeks to see how much those 100's of injections are really boosting your GH and IGF? Though the reality will make for much drier reading than the ambiguous drivel you will typically find on internet forums.
Visit www.BiologicLabs.com.au for Body Recompositioning diets, training programs, strength coaching, supplements and hormone balancing. Extreme fat loss and muscle development that Personal Trainers and Fitness gyms cannot achieve.
