Testosterone Pharmacology & The Unspoken Truth About Growth Hormone

Many guys use growth hormone in order to build up their body composition and reverse aging. Does it really achieve this, or does it actually do more harm than good? What is the pharmacology of injectable testosterone? What is the best way to work out if you want to live long and be functional? On this episode, I’m joined by the founder of Fortitude Training, Dr. Scott Stevenson, to go really deep on these topics.

People would rather inject something instead of just changing their lifestyle, but major lifestyle changes are have so much more payoff. -Dr. Scott Stevenson

 

Three Takeaways

• Pharmacokinetics is what the body does to the drugs, and pharmacodynamics is what the drug does to the body.  
• When you just give 22 kDA growth hormone, you’re not really replacing growth hormone from an endogenous production standpoint, because the body produces two forms of it.
• One of the side effects of growth hormone administration is the loss of insulin sensitivity.
• Metabolic stress is a very important stimulus for muscle growth.

At the start of the show, Scott shared why greatest thing that can come from our lives is learning to be self-actualized, and why so few people reach that point. Next we talked about interindividual differences that play a role In the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of injectable testosterone. We also talked about the two types of growth hormones, and how replacement therapy only deals with one of them.  

 

We also discussed:

• Training over 40 and the beauty of resistance training
• What causes the antibody response with growth hormone
• The counterfeiting crisis with growth hormone

 

Increasing growth hormone does nothing for life expansion, and its impact on body composition is not significant. You basically end up with a bunch of negative side effects, which don’t bode well from an anti-aging and health standpoint. While it makes sense from an evolutionary perspective for us to look for the quick fix and the easy way out, there is no injection that can take the place of a healthy lifestyle, eating well, working out and getting enough sleep. If we want a real payoff with our health, this is where we should put our effort.

 

Guest Bio- Dr. Scott W. Stevenson, PhD, LAc is an applied exercise physiologist (PhD from University of Georgia, ACSM and NSCA-certified), licensed acupuncturist (State of Florida) and competitive bodybuilder (four overall titles, including the 2009 NPC Mr. Arizona, and four top 5 national level showings). He is the founder of Fortitude Training and the author of a few books including Fortitude Training and Be Your Own Body Building Coach. Scott has over thirty years in the gym and two decades of experience personal training and coaching online. Go to http://drscottstevenson.com/ for more information.