what do you guys think about this
Product description
Just when I think I've got a few things figured out - ketogenic diets promote fat loss, creatine is safe, gains in muscle mass are 90 percent-plus genetic - life throws a wicked (but welcome) curve ball. But this time the potential impact of this discovery might help thousands of physique freaks attain the body of their dreams. And I'm not exaggerating one bit. Here's the story.
Despite what our high school gym teachers told us, getting bigger and stronger is not as simple as just eating right and trying to lift progressively heavier weights. Just ask anyone who's been busting their butt in the gym for more than a few years. Gains seem to come easier for a select few. I know a lot of guys who have been lifting for over ten years and still weigh less than 170 pounds! Make no mistake, they are lean and tough as nails, but just can't seem to put on lots of mass. But I also know a few lucky ducks who have been so blessed by the genetic gods that, if they even look at a 45-pound plate, they seem to explode with muscular growth. But these chaps are the exception to the rule.
So what's the story with these guys? Maybe their levels of anabolic hormones (e.g., testosterone, GH and insulin) rage in response to training? Or maybe they have a preponderance of hypertrophy-prone fast twitch muscle fibers? But even together, differences in hormone levels and muscle fiber architecture only explain a small piece of the muscle / strength gain puzzle. There's got to be something else going on. But what?
According to recent research, that "something else" is probably myostatin, and if you're in the iron game to get bigger and stronger, you'd better listen up. Myostatin makes the effects of anabolic steroids, growth hormone and insulin look downright silly by comparison. And if the animal literature is any indication, it won't make a bit of difference what training program you use, because myostatin causes growth without exercise!
What is it?
Myostatin, previously known as Growth and Differentiation Factor 8 (GDF-8), is a recently discovered growth factor that is a potent inhibitor of muscle growth. In other words - all other things being equal - the more myostatin a person has the smaller and weaker he (or she) is likely to be. In fact, myostatin is thought to be one of the main reasons why aging, lack of exercise and decreased anabolic hormone levels result in muscle loss. And if certain bodybuilding gurus are right, it may also explain why some guys who train can't get past looking like a Sears underwear model, while others are ready to tear up the bodybuilding circuit in no time.
As with many things in science there are at least as many questions as answers when it comes to myostatin. However, thanks to top research teams from Johns Hopkins University, Purdue University and UCLA (as well as other research institutes all over the world), we do have convincing data that link myostatin to changes in muscle mass and have sequenced the myostatin gene in humans, chickens, pigs, turkeys, sheep, baboons, zebra fish, and rats. As of today, the following factors are known to up-regulate myostatin expression:
