In adults, human growth hormones increase the breakdown rate of fat and thus increase energy, but taking them over only a month unless in very large quantity shouldn’t have any serious effects. It does seem like a strange choice for the show.[/quote]
More than that, actually. Growth hormone, when injected, metabolizes fat from fat cells and also promotes muscle growth. It’s essentially the only substance that does both things at the same time, or at least, is the most efficient at doing so by far. Taking a month’s dosage is more-or-less as chancy as taking steroids for a month (or cycle). It might be, it might not be - usually only time will tell, if at all. You sure shouldn’t take it consistently. It’s like the Unholy Holy Grail of bodybuilding, since GH allows for anabolic (muscle creating) and catabolic (fat burning) biochemical pathways to occur in unison, as opposed to conventional methods, where you have to cycle between long periods of anabolic work to build muscle (with, usually, accompanying localized fat and loss of definition) and catabolic work to burn off the excess fat and regain definition (with no gain and a perceived loss in muscle density due to fat loss).
Amateur bodybuilders often fall into an “anabolic trap” where they are too concerned with lifting as much weight as they can in the gym (because they aren’t dedicated enough to stick to a regular schedule and feel they need to start over or make up for lost workout time, or they don’t want to look bad by lifting lighter weights in a public gym, where absolutely nobody fucking cares). That leads to less reps per set, which is the diagram for anabolic work. Catabolic work requires a lower weight (often, a lot lower) and more reps per set. You want 6-8 reps for anabolic growth and 12-15 reps for catabolic burn (these are general rules of thumb, incidentally).
But, you can’t do both in the same workout if you want actual gains - workouts that combine the two are good for maintaining a physique, but not for improving it (if you’re already in shape). You have to build up, and then tear down. Well, unless you inject yourself with GH. Then you can do both. That’s a good subject for this show, really. GH doesn’t get the press that steroids do because it’s hard to get GH, and it has to be hGH, human growth hormone. Steroids come from where the Hell ever, and are thus easier to obtain. Plus, again, steroids will give you bulk way quicker than GH will, so lunkhead bodybuilders will prefer it anyway.
Stuff like this is why nobody should try to learn how to workout by going to a gym and trying to watch what other people do. Holy shit, 1/3 to 1/2 of all the people in the gym at the very least have little idea what they’re doing. They learned by watching someone else who didn’t know much, either. Dudes will try to emulate the big guys. The rule of thumb for dudes is thus: don’t emulate the really skinny guys (obviously) or the big thick guys. Big thick guys with no definition are too obsessed with bulk gain (as likely as not, which makes copying them fare too risky), and anybody who disregards half the proper method for physique building is either a dummy or a powerlifter, and you shouldn’t copy off either. Hell, even the ones with decent definition are suspect, thanks to steroids. And anyone who would make fun of you in the gym for lifting light weights is a complete jerkoff. It probably won’t be the big muscular guy, either, it’ll be some chunky doofus who keeps his Oakley’s on inside the gym. You’ll look much worse trying to lift too much weight, bonking after your first 3 reps and having the dumbbell hit you in the fucking face after you achieve rapid total muscle failure. Then everyone laughs at you, even the big guys. They point, too.
You can copy off the nicely-built, medium-sized dude if you want. But he’s gay and if he catches you watching him, well…I dunno, apparently something really bad happens when a gay guy likes you or whatever.
