Benefits of growth hormone and how to stimulate it

For years it has been one of the most commonly used doping products in cycling to improve performance, however, as was also the case with the sadly famous EPO or testosterone, growth hormone is naturally generated by the body. Stimulating it to produce as much as possible will be a natural way to improve.

How to help your body produce more growth hormone

It is not surprising that one of the most commonly used doping products during the dark years of the 90s and the first decade of the 2000s was growth hormone. A hormone generated by the pituitary gland located at the base of the brain and whose function, in addition to controlling growth, regulates metabolism and the entire energy acquisition mechanism of the human body.

In the case of cycling, its use as a doping product was aimed at the lipolytic effect, that is, promoting fat burning without loss of muscle mass as well as increasing strength. In fact, its use is considered to have been widespread until 2008 when its exogenous presence could be detected in anti-doping controls.

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However, as with the famous EPO, there are mechanisms to enjoy the benefits of growth hormone in a completely legal way, that is, with actions that promote our body to produce more of these hormones.

In the case of EPO, the most common way to stimulate its production is through altitude concentrations, which today have become mandatory for any top-level cyclist. With growth hormone, it is more complex, although ultimately, it is part of the routine of any athlete seeking performance.

Initially, growth hormone has a nocturnal secretion pattern, so to achieve the maximum supply of it, nothing better than maintaining regular and quality sleep patterns.

Another factor that promotes growth hormone secretion is exercise, something that is assumed in an athlete seeking performance. Especially high-intensity exercise. In summary, maintaining discipline in training will result in requiring a greater supply of this hormone from the body, which will result in improvements.

While these aspects serve to improve the supply of growth hormone, it is also important to consider those that inhibit it. The main one is hyperglycemia, that is, an excessive amount of sugar in the blood is detrimental to the supply of growth hormone. Obviously, we will need carbohydrate intake to have the necessary energy for physical activity, but we will seek to avoid simple sugars, especially during dinner since sleeping with high levels of blood sugar, in addition to affecting the quality of sleep, would limit the supply of growth hormone just at the time of day when it should be higher.