Here’s the Best Way to Take HMB for Muscle Growth
Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, or HMB, is popular in bodybuilding circles because it has been touted as a supplement that can help build new muscle and enhance strength levels. In order to get the most of any supplement, however, you need to take it the right way and in the right dosages.
So, how should you be taking HMB to enhance muscle growth?
Let’s look at the factors involved.
What Is HMB?
The branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) leucine is one of the essential aminos, meaning that your body needs it but cannot produce it from the other nutrients you eat. You must take it in directly from food or supplements.
Researchers discovered in the 1980s that leucine can boost the rate of protein synthesis in the body, and they also noted that it can slow down proteolysis, or muscle breakdown. Because more leucine is needed in order to affect proteolysis than to improve synthesis, the scientists speculated that it was actually a metabolite of leucine that prevented muscle breakdown. More research showed the most likely candidate to be HMB, a byproduct of leucine produced when the amino is burned for energy or during protein synthesis.
Because HMB can help prevent muscle breakdown, it should be able to help you build new muscle under conditions of significant muscle trauma, such as intense weight training. While results of HMB use have been varied both in the gym and in research experiments, many studies do point to HMB as a growth promoter for at least some lifters.
How Should You Take HMB?
While HMB is a natural metabolite of leucine, your body produces only about half a gram (or less) per day. Most studies showing muscle growth with HMB use have administered 3 grams or more per day to the involved subjects.
Then general recommendation, both from available studies and from health and nutrition experts, is that you should consume only about one gram at any one time. That means you’ll be taking three to nine doses per day depending on your bodyweight and goals, and you should try to spread them out fairly evenly to keep protein breakdown in check on a consistent basis.
Perhaps most important is the period around your workout, before and after. While scientists from Florida State University found in 2009 that HMB timing made little difference to ultimate results, it makes sense that you would time your intake so that at least one of your servings falls before or after training. In terms of protein breakdown, there is no more stressful time in your day than an intense workout, and any help that HMB can provide might jump start your recovery phase and set you up for muscle growth.
As you can see, there is no magical formula to taking HMB, and there is no need for a loading phase, as many practice when using creatine.
What you do need to do before using any new supplement, though, is visit your doctor and discuss your plans with him to make sure that you’re not inviting health problems. If you get his nod, HMB might help you build new mass and strength if you use it the right way.
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