I have studied muscle development for most of my life - 30 of my 52 years - and after all this time there are just a few things I can say with certainty: First, exercise stimulates muscle growth; Second, proper nutrition will make your efforts in the gym pay the greatest dividends and; Third, our most important muscle-developing agents are the insulin-like growth factors type 1 (IGF-1s). You’ll see these three points pounded over and over again in my posts and other publications. In fact, I am staking my scientific career on these three truths and yet another… The fourth I will tell you about one day just as soon as the initial studies become published. Stay tuned.

The first point is simply common sense, the second is also obvious enough, the third point, however, may come as a surprise to most of you. In my reading of popular fitness literature I have rarely seen this extremely important developmental agent “directly” mentioned, which is disturbing given its profound importance in muscle and bone development. On the other hand, nearly everyone who has ever picked up a beauty or fitness magazine has heard of Growth Hormone (GH) and the transformations it can bring about. Here’s the catch, GH’s muscle building and bone fortifying potentials are actually mediated by IGF-1, which is the true muscle-and bone-building agent. Quite frankly, to make the greatest gains in muscle mass you must first understand how to correctly combine exercise and nutrition to directly stimulate IGF-1 production - without GH as an intermediary… GH will still be there later on (mostly at night) to do what it does best, dissolve fat.

Here is a link with more info about Growth Hormone: www.creatinemonohydrate.net/growth_hormone.html

These three factors act synergistically yet interdependently to stimulate muscle development. For one, exercise is more effective when accompanied by the right nutrients and in fact, facilitates nutrient uptake. On the other hand, certain nutrients stimulate the production of the IGF-1s as does exercise itself. The IGF-1s in turn, stimulates muscle growth that ultimately heightens the payout of the previously described scenario during subsequent training sessions.

In the next few posts I will try and illustrate just how exercise, nutrition, and the IGF-1s combine to promote muscle growth and why it is important to understand exactly what is going on within muscle to reap the greatest benefits.

If you are in a hurry for the answer click here: www.creatinemonohydrate.net/creatineguide