HMB by Double Wood

Biohacker Review: A notable uptick in gym performance

I've taken 1000 milligrams (two capsules) of HMB before workouts and I believe there is a notable uptick in my gym performance. I'm able to lift more, along with doing more pullups and pushups. I've been getting acquainted with some pre-workout supplements in the last few weeks. I've also tried Mildronate before workouts. It's hard for me to compare and contrast the two from my subjective experience because I'll admit that when it comes to my gym performance it's hard to tell the difference between pharmacologically enabled gains and me just being more aggressive or the placebo effect. There's not much subjective experience with HMB as there is with many Nootropics.

 Yohimbine vs HMB

For several months now I've been alternating two workout stimulants that I like, Yohimbine HCL® and HMB. Both enhance my workouts qualitatively and quantitatively. I'm able to move more weight for more reps on these stimulants. Subjectively the big difference between the two is that Yohimbine works by releasing adrenalin, the fight or flight stress hormone. So it makes you feel a little more on edge and energized. I generally manage stress and anxiety well so I haven't experienced any negatives from using Yohimbine, although I would want to be doing something visceral while on Yohimbine. I wouldn't want to be just sitting in my home office while on Yohimbine. HMB, on the other hand, does not make me feel energized as a classic Nootropic would, but there is a clear uptick in my gym performance.

It is hard to objectively say which enhances my workouts better. I would say that they both enhance my performance by 10% - 20%. I'm perhaps limited in evaluating these because I'm not a hardcore athlete, I go to the gym several times a week for 90-minute sessions to stay fit and healthy. I'm rather conservative at the gym; making gains and putting on muscle are secondary goals for me. I'd rather have slow, consistent growth in my lifts and weight than really push myself and risk injury.

I did experiment with combining the two. One Sunday afternoon I did a 90-minute workout on 1000 milligrams of HMB and 5 milligrams of Yohimbine, which was (unsurprisingly) very stimulating and resulted in a great workout, I made gains in my lifts and did 25 pull-ups. I usually do about 20 minutes of cardio at the gym while brain training with Dual N-Back Pro, which is usually a bit challenging because my gym often blasts awful Hip Hop music, which is, to say the least, a non-optimal audio background for brain training. My brain training scores while doing cardio are usually lower than when I do it sitting at home. I do think that Yohimbine at least is a bit of a cognitive enhancer because I had a nice uptick in my brain training scores on this stack despite the distracting music.

Dual N-Back Pro

 

4.3

Category: Software & Apps

Cost and Dosage Comparison: Fifty 5-milligram Yohimbine tabs are 21 euros ($22), I've been doing 15 milligrams per workout session which comes to $1.30 per workout. I found that 1000 milligrams of HMB has a similar effect, a bottle of 120 x 500 mg capsules costs $19.95, that's just 0.33 cents per workout. Both are pretty affordable but HMB is a better deal!

Yohimbine

Category: Nootropic Ingredients

Once I exhaust my supply of Yohimbine I'm not sure if I'll be reordering it, I'd rather use HMB going forward and will continue using Creatine.

What is the science saying about HMB

There are over 200 papers mentioning HMB, notably a 2019 Polish Meta-Analysis that describes the scope of clinical trials it's undergone.

HMB supplementation has been carried out with various groups of athletes. In endurance and martial arts athletes, HMB supplementation revealed positive effects on specific aerobic capacity variables. Positive results were also disclosed in resistance trained athletes, where changes in strength, body fat and muscle mass as well as anaerobic performance and power output were observed.

A paper by the Sports Science Sports Medicine Centre at the Australian Institute of Sport synopsizes its mechanism and benefits to athletes:

[HMB] a metabolite of the essential amino acid leucine, is one of the latest dietary supplements promoted to enhance gains in strength and lean body mass associated with resistance training. Unlike anabolic hormones that induce muscle hypertrophy by increasing muscle protein synthesis, HMB is claimed to influence strength and lean body mass by acting as an anticatabolic agent, minimising protein breakdown and damage to cells that may occur with intense exercise.

About HMB

HMB (Hydroxy Methyl Butyric acid) is a metabolite of the amino acid leucine, and is naturally synthesized in the human body. Studies have shown that HMB plays a key role in protein synthesis, a process that is important to the addition and maintenance of lean muscle tissue.

When taken as a supplement, studies have shown that HMB can both promote the addition of new muscle mass and slow the loss of muscle mass that occurs when eating at a caloric deficit.

Benefits

• IMPROVE POWER OUTPUT - Improves performance while strength training.
• REDUCE MUSCLE LOSS - Reduces lost muscle mass when eating at a caloric deficit.
• INCREASES PROTEIN SYNTHESIS - HMB increases protein synthesis, aiding in the growth of new muscle tissue
• MADE IN THE USA - HMB is manufactured right here in the USA.

Recommended Dosage

Take two 500 mg capsules per day while participating in a strength training program in order to aid in muscle growth when eating at a caloric surplus, and to maintain muscle mass when eating at a caloric deficit.

Side Effects

HMB supplementation is non-toxic and causes no adverse side effects. Studies have found its use to be completely safe at daily doses of up to 3 grams, and higher doses are suspected to be safe as well.