Dantrolene - Workout edge?

[CYCLEON]

This is part of a Darkham article over on Meso - What I would like to know is has anyone had any good experiences with using Dantrolene or any other calcium channel blocker? Also, what about the use of grapefruit seed extract or juice to enhace its effects and keep it in the bloodstream longer?
____________________________

How does muscle breakdown occur?
The most up-to-date theory concerning muscle breakdown involves two distinct steps. First, calcium-dependent proteases called calpains are upregulated by the calcium leaks induced by training. Each of our muscle cells hold on calcium in small pockets called sarcoplasmic reticulum. It is the rapid entry and exit of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum which induces muscle contractions. Repeated contractions induce an impairment of this highly regulated calcium movement. Calcium accumulates inside the cell rather than in its sarcoplasmic reticulum reserve. The first consequence of this loss of homeostasis is the reduction of strength experienced as sets accumulate. The second long term consequence is the upregulation of the activity of calpain. Calpain in turn cuts out large chunks of myofibrils that are called easily releasable myofilaments. This is for the first act.

Second act: Those large pieces of muscle cells will then be attacked by another proteolytic mechanism called the ATP-dependent ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Ubiquitin is only a marker which detects abnormal, denatured or damaged muscle proteins such as the easily releasable filaments. Then, the proteasome is attracted by these marked proteins because of their association with ubiquitin. Once attacked by the proteasome, a damaged protein is digested into single amino acids ready to be recycled as raw materials for muscle rebuilding or more likely as waste products such as urea. Needless to say, an intense workout rapidly increases the activities of both ubiquitin and the proteasomes.

I cannot stress enough the necessity of the large cuts to the myofibers for the ubiquitin and proteasome to act. If we can reduce the actions of the calpains, we can prevent the proteasome from acting. If the cleaving of muscle fiber doesn't take place, myofibers will be very resistant to the catabolic actions of the proteasome. On the other hand, a small break up of the contractile apparatus will markedly increase the likelihood of degradation by the proteasome. We should nonetheless also attempt to tame the activity of the proteasome. In this way we have two possible ways of acting to prevent catabolism. We'll combine them for maximum effect.

Dantrolene: The weapon against calpains.
We should first attempt to impair the normal functioning of muscle calpains. As calpains are activated by excessive calcium leaks, let's limit this leakage. Dantrolene is an oral drug which belongs to a class of medication called calcium channel blockers [1]. Dantrolene is the most muscle specific member of this class. This is why it is so popular among athletes. It is commonly used as a muscle relaxant. As intracellular calcium release is responsible for muscle contractions, inhibition of this release induces a relaxation of the muscles. This reduces the muscle's need for ATP, which allows a faster recovery of the training-induced diminution of the ATP "stores." By inhibiting the calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, Dantrolene will impair the normal activation of the calpains by training.

Dantrolene has two major flaws. First, it acts on every muscle and not only specifically on the trained muscles as we would wish for optimal effects. Second, as a muscle relaxant, it will reduce muscle strength if you are not extra careful about the intake timing and dosage. What you want is for Dantrolene to produce its magic right after but not during the workout. If your training lasts less than one hour, you can take Dantrolene before your workout. This way, the drug will kick in at the right time. If you train for more than an hour, it is best to take Drantrolene in the middle of your workout. Start with the 25 mg tablets and build up SLOWLY to the 200 to 300 mg per day. It is ideal if you work out at night as Dantrolene will help you to sleep (it is a relaxant). If you have to drive or to perform something which requires attention while you are supposed to be under the influence of this drug, please do not take it. However most people work out in the evening, so it should not be a problem. If you have to drive home after your workout, take Drantrolene right after your workout so that it kicks in while you are home ready to go to bed.

[Psycoswole]

Everytime i click on one of your posts Cyc i know im in for some reading , so a couple questions, first of course is where do i get the stuff, doesnt sound like an otc so im guessing south of the border or inquiring with AAS suppliers, second is it addictive at all? Can you dig us up some more research as if you dont do enough digging

[CYCLEON]

the brand name is Dantrium - you can find it in most any pharmacy

in the US - 100 25mg tabs can run 50-100 and 100mg tabs maybe $100-160




but that doesnt answer my question

[CYCLEON]

anyone?? where are my intrepid vets???

[Mr. Nobody]

Never tried Dantrium, I am using 800mg-1200mg magnesium post workout though. Magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker. Makes me nice and relaxed... As far as noticable gains go, its a wash with all the other shit I am on.

[Psycoswole]

Ill bump this up for you bro, anyone, anyone...

[noneyours]

bump... anybody know of a source for this? I'm assuming you have to have a script to get it at the pharmacies... How comparable is magnesium to this drug for the muscle building effects? It takes about an hour for this drug to kick in, how long does it take for magnesium to kick in? Would all of the vitamin C and E in endurox interfere with the magnesium?
This is the link to the article the first post is from:
http://www.****morphosis.com/article...teroids-02.htm

It also mentions Pentoxifylline, outside of the info presented in the article, anybody know anything about it, experiences? how to get it?