Albuterol is quite an interesting compound but it is often overshadowed by another Beta 2 agonist, clenbuterol. I just want to talk a bit about albuterol, share some information and facts, some personal experience, and my personal thoughts on the compound.Albuterol; Some Facts and My Opinion
As mentioned above albuterol is a Beta 2 receptor agonist. This means it activates the Beta 2 receptor in the body. B2 receptor activation is primarily associated with the relaxation of smooth muscle tissue; however its effects extend much further than that. It has been shown to induce an increase in basal metabolic rate, activation of cAMP, AKT and mTOR pathways, and the activation of the lipase enzyme.
All that sounds well and good but what does it mean. Well obviously the increase in basal metabolic rate results in an increased metabolism, which the effects of our obvious; the faster your metabolism then the better the body’s ability to burn calories. These sounds great but ask any hard gainer and they will tell you it does not come without a cost. It can also make it more difficult to gain muscle and it would stand to reason, preserve muscle when in a caloric deficit.
So why then are beta 2 agonists such as clen and albuterol so popular? Well that brings us to the second group of aforementioned effects of b2 receptor activation. The activation of CAMP,AKT and mTOR. Now we could get into to each one and what they are and what they do, but the important thing to note is they are al recognized in varying degrees as anabolic pathways. More on that later.
The third effect of b2 receptor activation mentioned was the activation of the enzyme lipase. Lipase breaks down stored body fat and it can then be used as a source of fuel or energy, thus the term lipolysis.
So putting it all together, Albuterol increases your metabolism, activates anabolic pathways, and increases lipolysis. One can begin to clearly see the potential benefit Albuterol brings to the table for our purposes. It sounds like an amazing compound, and it can be, but it needs to be looked into a bit more so things are taken in context.
First of all the increase in metabolism is undeniable as is the increased fat burning as well as increased energy benefits it offers. Perhaps the most interesting benefit the compound offers is its ability to induce the burning of body fat while sparing muscle tissue. Notice I said sparing muscle tissue, not building muscle tissue. While albuterol activates anabolic pathways I am not so certain it offers direct anabolic properties, but I feel it offsets the normally catabolic effect the increased metabolic rate would create. This is due to, as I just mentioned, the anabolic pathways activated but also the activation of the lipase enzyme as well. Now this is often a hotly debated topic and on it I would say while Albuterol shown anabolic effects in certain studies, in certain scenarios, it should not, in my opinion, be primarily utilized for that. If you were to do so I feel you may be disappointed. However if your goal is to lose fat, gain muscle, and get some ergogenic benefit from a compound this may be the one for you. It has been for me.
So how does albuterol compare to clenbuterol and why am I writing this? Well clenbuterol is a long acting b2 receptor agonist, albuterol is a short acting b2 receptor agonist. They both do the same things but the difference is how long the effects last. Also clenbuterol is dosed in micrograms and albuterol in milligrams. Celnbuterol can be effectively dosed once per day, albuterol I dose 2x/day.
I used clen for a long time and very effectively. The problem with clen for me is the side effects. The tremors and sweating I could deal with, but the insomnia I could not. We all know how important rest is for our recovery and even our general metal acuity and well-being. I could not get good sleep while taking clen. It was a dreaded effect I put up with…until I tried albuterol.
I used to dose clen first thing in the am and still would not be able to sleep properly. When I tried albuterol I started dosing it 2x/day. First thing in the am, and again in the afternoon, around 2-3pm. Well dosing in this manner I could sleep! I also found if I could I would take it around my pre workout time and it seemed to enhance my workouts. Like an effective pre workout. Also my pumps were astounding. The pumps, I later came to find out, were due to the effect of b2 receptor activation as well. B2 receptor activation simulates the “fight or flight response”. This response shifts the flow of blood from unnecessary areas into skeletal muscle.
Essentially Albuterol was giving me much of the benefits of clen, with better workouts and far fewer sides. I have become pretty fond of this compound.
So how do I dose it? Well I started off at 3mg, 2x/day for a total of 6mg, as I mentioned first thing in the am and again in the afternoon, preworkout whenever possible. I then upped it to 6mg, 2x/day for atoal daily dose of 12mg, and have gone as high as 2/ 9mg doses for a total of 18mg. I have heard of people running it as high as 24mg/day safely. For me I have found this, I have now settled in at 12mg/day pretty comfortably. I run albuterol with ketotifen at night so my b2 receptors do not become less responsive to the compound which would illicit the necessity for an increase in dosage. I dose the ketotifen at 1mg/day, just as I did when I ran clen. It works beautifully and allows the albuterol to remain effective at is what would be deemd by many a very conservative dose. I prefer to look at it as aa safe and effective dose.
For those of you not familiar with ketotifen and what I just said, very quickly, when taking b2 agonist such as clen or albuterol, the b2 receptors will become less responsive to the compound and they will do so relatively quickly. Taking ketotifen will prevent this. This allows steady use of the compound (often people would do 2 weeks on/2 weeks off to prevent this, and that works too) but more importantly for me it allows the compound to remain effective at a responsible dose.
So to sum it up I will say this. If you have tried clen and don’t like the sides, give albuterol a go. If you haven’t tried such a compound definitely try albuterol over clen in my opinion. Even if you have used clen and are pleased, give albuterol a go. It offers clen like benefits with less sides and I fell more benefit in the area of workout performance enhancement. I also tend to look at it as a bit of a safer alternative.
I hope this explains albuterol well. I really enjoy the compound for its fatloss, muscle sparing benefits with far reduced sides over clenbuterol. Any questions feel free to post them I will be happy to share any experience I have with this compound.
Refs:
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006 Jan;117(1):18-24; quiz 25.Molecular mechanisms of beta(2)-adrenergic receptor function, response, and regulation.Johnson M.
Schmitz JM, Graham RM, Sagalowsky A, Pettinger WA (1981). "Renal α1 and α2 adrenergic receptors: biochemical and pharmacological correlations". J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 219 (2): 400–6. PMID 6270306
Albuterol increases lean body mass in ambulatory boys with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy.Skura CL, Fowler EG, Wetzel GT, Graves M, Spencer MJ. Albuterol increases lean body mass in ambulatory b... [Neurology. 2008] - PubMed - NCBI
Metabolism. 1994 Sep43(9):1119-25.Comparison of the effects of salbutamol and clenbuterol on skeletal muscle mass and carcass composition in senescent rats. Comparison of the effects of salbutamol and clenb... [Metabolism. 1994] - PubMed - NCBI
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Originally Posted by numbere
