Myogenesis: The Key to Near Perpetual Muscle Gains

9/19/2024

Myogenesis: The Key to Near Perpetual Muscle Gains

* Myogenesis is the process of growing and maturing satellite muscle stem cells to become new muscle tissue.

* There are several distinct stages, but on a practical/real-world level we can reduce our efforts to two separate phases: 1) Activation/Deep Quiescence and 2) Growth/Integration

* Deep Quiescence/Activation is achieved by: Growth Factor response to training (MGF), ketosis (and ketone bodies such as BHB), physical stress to muscle tissue itself (injury, extreme stretch etc.)

* Growth/Integration is achieved by: rest/recovery, excess calories (especially including carbohydrates due to insulin signaling), anabolics/androgenics, oxytocics (oxytocin, pgf2a), igf-1 (long-acting native- NOT lr3)

* There must be 2 separate phases for maximum results- i.e. training during recovery period interrupts the process and refocuses internal resources and signaling toward deep quiescence. i.e. either stress your body or recovery- can't do both at once.

* The Growth/Integration/Recovery phase takes roughly 72 hours (3 days).

My Personal Experience:

I stumbled onto this by chance. I had been looking into why those in the know rave about Increlex (a bio identical form of IGF-1) but reports of results with any other form of IGF-1 were sketchy and rare. I had used and written about various forms 15 years ago and was basically picking up where I left off. A viewer of my YouTube Channel reached out with a study on Oxytocin and it's anabolic potential. I noticed that both oxytocin and igf-1 (bio identical) have incredibly short half-lives (time in the system to do their work). I found the actual official label for Increlex online and studied the label. In the formula was polysorbate 20, couple different salts, and glacial acetic acid. In the official instructions for the drug I noted that the half life was listed as 5.8 hours- not the 2-8 minutes for "normal" igf-1. Yet, the actual active ingredient was "normal" igf-1. It was clear that the half-life had been extended due to the liquid the active ingredient was in, not a change to the igf-1 itself.

I copied the carrier formula, then made it even more long-acting eventually coming up with both an oil-based formula and a hydrogel. I went through over 150 mg of oxytocin in testing (a normal "bottle" is 5-10mg for many many doses), using myself as a human guinea pig. I'll do a deep dive into those experiences at another time. For now I will say that when I finally got a "smooth" formula in oil I used it several days in a row- mostly because it made me feel great! (dopamine and serotonin increases). But, holy heck did I grow too! They say that first effective peptide cycle is your best- and mine certainly was. I gained 8+ lbs of lean tissue in just 3 weeks (my body weight went up 20 lbs).

Matt, Juraj, and J. Gross all sent studies and engaged in discussions that moved my thinking forward on this topic. Combing through forums, reddit etc. I found that the key was the cultivation of quiescent satellite cells before "blasting" into new growth. i.e. I hadn't done a legit "cycle" of anabolics in many many years, just trt. So, over that time I accumulated lots of activated/deep quiescent muscle stem cells waiting to be "kicked off" into new muscle tissue. They say that your second round you can expect half the gains. And, after a short period of farming new satellite cells with fasting/keto etc. I found that to be very true. But, for a guy that has been training consistently for 23 years, I'll take any gains I can safely get.

My current "scheme" for training diet is this: 3 days of keto and training, followed by 3 days of rest (from weights) and high carb/high calories. I've done several rounds of this (4 now I believe) and it works. On the keto days I train hard, get in less than 50 grams of carbs, take BHB and mct oil (ketone bodies/fuel). On the recovery/growth days I eat fairly high calories, plenty of carbs and take slow release injectable oxytocin (200-300 mcg per day). I also use my (as of yet unreleased) new form of Viking Gains that has a sublingual insulin stimulator in it, extra protein powder, creatine and betaine anhydrous (TMG)- anything to support growth. I'm tailoring my Quick Cuts and Viking Gains formulas to heighten the results from these two distinct phases. Again, I'll do a deep dive on these soon.

Currently I'm at my all-time best muscle size wise in my mid-40s. And, this is compared to blasting gear in my late 20s. I'm 230 lbs and my lean body mass is slightly higher than it's ever been. I'm no pro bodybuilder (yet- I plan to turn pro in classic once I hit 70 years old... lol) but for this former skinny kid to be this big and muscular on no more than mg per lb trt and oxytocin, I'll take it!