Myogenesis: The Key to Near Perpetual Muscle Gains

 Understanding the "Precision" Approach to Growth: Complexed, Sublingual

Epicatechin + NAD

As regulars may know, I'm currently in the middle of my "All Natural Myogenesis" experiment where I have prepped my muscle satellite stem cells through fasting and ketosis and am now In-bleeping the following natural products to assess their ultimate muscle building potential: Plant Sterones, DHEA, Genistein, Lemon Myrtle, Epicatechin, and NAD+.

Savvy viewers will know that some muscle stem cell growing substances are powerful enough to have an effect on their own- such as: IGF-1 in slow release form (i.e. increlex), oil-based oxytocin, subQ Plant Sterones. And, while some others, such as epicatechin, may turn out to fall into this category, many others really shine when combined with one or more other substances. i.e. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts when combining specific substances that trigger a specific stage of the myogenic process.

Why is this? Why can't we just take a "be all and end all" product for myogenesis like we can with say, testosterone, when talking traditional PEDs?

Well, you can to a large extent. Like I say, properly prepared IGF-1 and oxytocin are good examples. However, by approaching myogenesis (the true growth of NEW muscle tissue) so simply, you'd likely be leaving up to 40% or more of the benefit on the table. That's a number I pulled out of my head by the way- a personal guestimate.

But, let me explain: With testosterone and other AAS (testosterone variants and analogues) we are stimulating growth directly through the Androgen Receptor. The AR signals the body to perform a number of muscle growth promoting functions- making testosterone somewhat of a "one size fits all" master hormone.

Think of puberty in males as a great example of this- When I hit 11 or 12 years old, my growth rate sped up, my voice deepened, and all the other fun and not so fun aspects of being a hormone filled teen began to occur. To a large degree, this happened from an increase in 1 hormone- testosterone.

And, here's something interesting to consider: How much of the muscle growth that occurs during that time is myogenesis- the maturation of immature satellite cells? Think about it. Puberty literally IS the rapid maturation of cells.

So, why not just use Testosterone to stimulate myogenesis? Well, many do. Traditional PED protocols are based on using increasing or intermittent levels (blast/cruise) of test and other aas. In other words, it's the "off the chart" levels of exogenous hormones experienced periodically that are stimulating "new growth" when cycling. We need testosterone for healthy function of various systems as men. But it's the extraordinarily high dose "blasts" that "kick off" new growth.

This is the reason I'm not having aas cycle-like effects from my generous trt. I've been on the same dose for years. I likely put on some bit of quality muscle when I first went on, and again when I raised my dose a bit from 175-225mg/week (sometimes slightly higher or lower depending on my consistency in microdosing). But, I don't even recall that happening- i.e. I likely gained something but nothing like I did when I first discovered slow release oxytocin.

Any of us who have cycled a fair bit, as I did when younger, can tell you that MOST of the size/bulk you put on DURING an aas cycle is glycogen, and water weight. Beginners may not want to believe this, but after years of on and off you succumb to reality. You might gain a legitimate 8 lbs of lean tissue your first cycle- though you won't be satisfied because at the peak of your cycle you had put on 20 total, fluffy lbs. So, you think you MUST have done something wrong since you "ONLY" retained 8 lbs. And, steroids are, of course, magic. So, next cycle you'll surely gain at least 12 lbs of lean tissue. But, that doesn't happen, you eek out 4 lbs. Why?

To use the analogy of gold mining- when you dig in the same spot over and over, you keep finding less and less gold.

So, why not just take more juice? Why not dig in the same spot, just deeper. The problem is, in gold mining and in muscle building, there's not necessarily more and more gold deeper down just because some was on the surface.

For example- think of training stimulus as one potential "vein of gold." If you're outright wrecking yourself in the gym 3 hours a night, 100% intensity, 5 nights a week and not growing, the answer isn't to train even longer and harder. The potential growth from training stimulus was likely surpassed and began to be counterproductive at half that volume and intensity. Now you're chasing gold that long since ran out and destroying your mining gear in the process. Ahem, your poor shoulders and elbows.

But, again, since PEDs are magic and "everyone says"... there must be no limit to what they can do, right? Right? Well, if that's the case then why do the vast majority of pro bodybuilders use as much GH as they can afford? Why use insulin? Ohhhh, Because GH and insulin are the "master hormones" of the IGF-1/myogenic growth pathway and, for them, that's a whole new vein of gold.

See, we (the bodybuilding community in general) are already growing via myogenesis. In fact, it's the main way we've always grown muscle. We just never realized it. Whether through increased testosterone at puberty, increased testosterone via cycling, or the addition of GH and insulin to an up and coming competitor's protocol, the gains occur when an individual experiences a significant shift or increase in anabolic signalling that was previously untapped. i.e. We're seeing new muscle tissue, not just hypertrophied existing fibers expanding endlessly. No one truly experiences a slow, steady, linear growth of all muscle over time. Right? What do we realistically see? Significant "jumps" that just happen to coincide with changes to our biology, training, diet, or supplement and ped protocols.

So, What is this Precision Protocol and Does it actually Work?

First of all, there is no cruise and blast, but their is an equivalent: Prep and Grow. As I stated at the beginning of the video, I prepped my muscle satellite stem cells for growth through keto dieting and fasting. I go more into depth on this in last weeks vid. But, put simply, there needs to be a "down" time where the body is being stressed through training and somewhat through diet to prepare and fortify muscle stem cells. If you don't have a cache of these prepped stem cells built up, your growth period will be a disappointment. This is the absolute simplest explanation for this half of the muscle growth equation. I will get into drugs and supplements that influence this aspect in upcoming videos.

But, today I'm talking growth through taking the right nutrients and supplements at the right time they are needed. This is the precision aspect. During the prep phase I stressed my body to toughen up the stem cells, now I need to stimulate them to get them to mature. Luckily, I don't need extra testosterone to do this. Every supplement I'm detailing in this experiment affects a specific aspect/stage of myogenesis. Some encourage proliferation, some differentiation. Even carbohydrates (glucose) specifically stimulates differentiation- see episode 999,998. So, by keeping a slow drip of hydrogel Ecdysterone/genistein/DHEA/lemon myrtle/epicatechin in my system, I am constantly stimulating both proliferation and differentiation. By feeding myself with high carbs and protein and training with decent volume, I'm creating glycogen turnover in the muscle, stimulating differentiation at the cellular level. Vitamin D3 and K2 have both been linked to myogenesis- and both of those were available at Walmart and I didn't even have to complex them!

So, it's a lot of moving parts. But, honestly, no more complicated to put into action than a traditional "cycle." I take my shots, my vitamins, creatine, protein, and eat my carbs and train. No so different. But, I'm not stressing my heart with high androgen levels. I'm not thickening my blood, stiffening my arteries. In fact, many of the products I'm taking increase blood flow and reduce inflammation. And, I'm growing- more than I expected.

So, where does Sublingual Epicatechin + NAD fit into all this?

Epicatechin may very well be a quite major player in this experiment's success. I've previously used many of the items in my current tool belt. But, Epicatechin is new for me. And, it's interesting. I'm clearly leaner than normal at this point in the cycle. While I can't specifically prove it's the epicatechin, I want to refer to Vigorous Steve's excellent deep dive on his epicatechin experiment. Lots of great info in that vid. Something that jumped out was that he felt he had clearly re-comped- lost fat and gained muscle. I see that same tendency in my experiences so far- though I work hard to outpace my metabolism to take advantage of as much growth potential as possible. i.e. I'm leaner than usual, but I'm still really pushing the calories, erring on the side of fluffy vs. lean as I have no trouble fasting off any excess lbs each prep period.

I've actually cut back on my daily subQ plant sterones- using 50-70mg/day last 5 days. And, with everything in place, that seems to be working just fine- i.e. let some of the ancilliaries like epicatechin carry some of the load. I have made a useable, but not particularly pretty, injectable epicatechin. I'm not listing it for sale just yet. But, the extremely curious and brave feel free to reach out. What I'm really excited about this week is a successful sublingual, complexed Epicatechin and NAD+ combo.

I was attempting to replicate the "feel" of the vapable version. And, I'm happy to say that I've got the dosing correct for this now. i.e. if you wanna get buzzed off it you can. But, if you want a subtle uplift/clarity etc. you can have that too- just take 1/3 as much. Why am I excited about this? Well, no. 1, it's strong. It's as strong as you want, trust me. You could probably take 2 ml and give yourself a headache. (serving size is 1/3 mL) 2) convenient, little squirt bottles for now. fit's in the pocket 3) tastes decent. Unlike most of my products, lol. You can really get a "tea" flavor from the epicatechin in this product. And, its liquid portion is glycerin, so it's like a slightly spicy sweet tea- if that makes any sense.

Ok, but why NAD+? NAD helps with metabolism and cell health, growth etc. at the molecular level. It, in theory, should support changes and growth- as long as you don't go over board with it. Too much NAD is no bueno- too sped up, not enough methyl donors etc. I supplement with TMG for the methyl donors- especially when using NAD. So, energy, growth support, fat loss, focus. That's NAD. And, it just pairs so well in "feel" with epicatechin. That said, I use this currently at a low dose (1/3ml) once or twice per day while growing. Maaaybe more now and again. But, honestly, I don't even take it every day. Sometimes it's too much and I need to just recover a bit. Hard to explain- but a caution- everyone is different. Some are topped off on their natural NAD, many are not. Some handle it well, and some have methylation issues like me.

To be clear- I can't confirm with any certainty how much this sublingual form will help with muscle growth. I do feel that the subQ form I've been using for the last 10 days is having a positive effect on muscle growth. But, again, that's a "feel". I don't have anything concrete. And, the experiment isn't even over yet. I'm going to keep it going about 2 more weeks and get as good an idea as possible on the potential of what I'm running. Until then, this is how I'm getting my NAD+ in (and yes, it is possible to stabilize- see vid link in pinned comment) as I feel it's easier to regulate than with injections. I'm definitely enjoying the nootropic effects. And, I have a hunch the sublingual epicatechin/nad combo will help quite a bit in regulating bodyfat while I grow. We'll see.

As usual, I hope this made some sense and that you got something from it. Head over to our free patreon vid for the making of the titular epicatechin product and a sneak peak at one I'm working on as a transdermal/topical pain reliever.

All the best, I'll see you here next week.

https://www.patreon.com/c/UltimateFormulationsGroup for the making of this supplement