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If you’re looking to increase your strength, muscle growth and fat loss in the gym then the first port of call is to use the best training program and the right diet. If you stick to these and work hard, then you should find results are forthcoming and you can enjoy steady improvement while also seeing a range of health benefits.
For some people though, this is not enough. Either they want more pronounced results, or they want to get there more quickly. Thus they will be tempted to use PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) to get ahead and to achieve the kinds of physiques they see in the IFBB or in action films. The most obvious option for many people at this point is anabolic steroids such as Dianabol, Winstrol or Anadrol. These work by increasing free testosterone and DHT in order to trigger rapid muscle growth and fat loss. Unfortunately, they’re also illegal and come with numerous side effects. Most worrying of all, they can lead to tetsticular atrophie and impaired endogenous testosterone production. And that is why many people will turn to alternative options for PEDs. These include things like Clenbuterol and HGH. These are still illegal drugs but they work in different ways and have different – sometimes milder – side effects. And one relatively new option that is emerging on the scene is the use of peptides. GHRP 6 peptide is just such a peptide which has slightly unclear legal status and may offer a relatively safe way to get a competitive edge. Read on and we’ll look at how the drug works in more detail. How GHRP 6 Peptide Works GHRP-6 Peptide stands for ‘Growth Hormone Releasing Hexapeptide’. This is a 28 amino acid peptide that triggers additional growth hormone secretion from the pituitary gland. Growth hormone is of course a very well-known PED in its own right. This substance can be bought directly and injected/swallowed just like a steroid and leads to increased muscle mass and fat loss. Growth hormone is also produced naturally in the body and particularly during sleep at which point our body is at its most anabolic. Growth hormone puts the body into a ‘repair’ state and triggers the healing of wounds, the growth of muscle tissue and the general reversal of wear and tear. When we are young, growth hormone is what causes us to grow – but this stops in adulthood once the ‘growth plates’ at the end of our arms and legs seal over. HGH is thus capable of reducing body fat, greatly enhancing muscle growth and even reversing some visible signs of ageing. It’s also commonly used among celebrities and athletes, with Sylvester Stallone being one high profile user. Some people call growth hormone ‘the fountain of youth’ and it is a staple for most professional bodybuilders. So GHRP 6 is a peptide (combination of amino acids) that is essentially a derivative of HGH and which can increase endogenous HGH production as a result. GHRP 6 is also considered the most effective of all the HGH boosting supplements. And interestingly, GHRP 6 also acts on ghrelin – the hunger hormone – resulting in a sudden and intense increase in hunger. How Effective is GHRP 6? The benefits of GHRP-6 include: If you’re looking for a single substance to increase muscle mass and performance, then you might want to consider looking elsewhere. When used alone, the benefits of GHRP-6 are notable but not significant. Growth hormone injections alone will result in a noticeable though not gigantic increase in strength and muscularity while GHRP-6 will be a step down from that. You can think of GHRP-6 as being a ‘step down’ for HGH. Instead of injecting the substance directly, you are injecting a secondary substance that increases that target hormone. As you might expect, this is less potent and leads to less noticeable changes. In that regard, you could consider GHRP-6 to be to growth hormone what prohormones are to steroids. If it’s a huge increase in muscle mass you’re looking for, then this peptide will work best when combined with HRT, with other GHRPs or with steroids. Otherwise, you might want to look elsewhere. Side Effects On the plus side, GHRP-6 does not carry many side effects. Most users report that the only significant negative effect of the peptide is the increase in appetite – which might be considered a positive depending on your goals and your preferences. Note that an increase in ghrelin can potentially cause other issues. For one, ghrelin can increase gastric motility as the stomach prepares for food. This could potentially lead to digestive problems in high quantities. Likewise, ghrelin causes an increase in cortisol – the stress hormone. Cortisol is actually another messenger that tells the body it needs to eat and works as a counterpoint to serotonin (the ‘happiness hormone’ that also signals satiety and encourages leptin production). Cortisol is actually highly catabolic and increases the production of myostatin. Myostatin meanwhile is a substance that actually suppresses muscle growth and encourages the breakdown of muscle tissue for energy. It is by blocking myostatin production that some studies have successfully been able to genetically modify ‘super mice’ with 30% additional muscle mass. This may contribute to the reason that GHRP-6 on its own does not lead to particularly remarkable muscle growth. It’s also worth noting that HGH itself also comes with notable and significant side effects. So even if GHRP-6 were able to significantly boost HGH without increasing cortisol, then this wouldn’t necessarily be desirable. One big issue with HGH is that it encourages growth indiscriminately. This means that it can lead to enhanced muscle mass but it also leads to growth of the organs and other tissues. This can lead to cardiac hypertrophy – the dangerous enlargement of the heart – as well as increasing the size of other organs. HGH also has the potential to increase the size of certain facial features including the nose, the ears and the jaw. While growth plates prevent the growth of the limbs, there is no such limitation on the facial features and thus these can end up growing to disproportionate levels. Fortunately, the relatively low increase in HGH triggered by GHRP-6 means that you won’t likely need to contend with these side effects. Legal Status One reason that athletes and gym-goers might consider GHRP-6 over more potent options is the legal status. GHRP-6 is illegal in most countries and states, however some sources claim that a ‘legal loophole’ allows it to be sold online. This would make it one of the stronger substances that you could obtain legally and this would explain some of the interest surrounding the substance. Whether or not this is true however is a subject of some debate. What’s more, buying online from unverified sources is something that will always carry significant risk. The question you need to ask in these cases is why you would be willing to potentially risk breaking the law and damaging your health for such a marginal increase in hypertrophy. Even if GHRP-6 itself does not carry a lot of risk, the reality is that you can’t be sure what you would actually be getting when using online sources. It’s very possible that you could be using water or something more dangerous. Another consideration is that GHRP-6 is an injectable peptide. This means it will carry all of the risks that come with injecting and it means you’ll need to be sure to avoid infection as well as going through the rigmarole of injecting. This also leaves scars and it can put strain on your relationship as many people will be alarmed to learn you are ‘injecting’ anything. Again, these kinds of inconveniences are hardly made up for by the limited benefit of this substance. Conclusions In conclusion then, GHRP-6 is an interesting option for bodybuilders and athletes looking to build more muscle – and so are peptides in general. Glutamine and creatine can be taken in peptide form and tend to be more easily absorbed and more potent. Likewise, peptides can be a great option for getting more amino acids into your system and aiding muscle mass. GHRP-6 itself is a relatively safe option for increasing HGH but still comes with some risks and downsides. Moreover, it is in a legal grey area and requires injecting a substance that you will have purchased online from a vendor with no regulation. The overall benefits are relatively mild and for most, they won’t be worth the amount of risk and hassle involved in using the peptide. That said, for someone already using a stack of PEDs, it may be more worthwhile and less of a concern. |