22YO Natural Bodybuilder -- Seeking advice on Peptide Use

[glowboy44]

Hello, I am 22 years old and I am a natural bodybuilder that is looking to experiment with peptides for the duration of my summer (9-11 weeks).

Before you ask, I am highly knowledgeable in the field of performance nutrition and training protocols. I center everything in my life towards living healthy and it is truly my passion.



I have already gained ~35-40 lbs of muscle (measured by body mass indicators and machines) and the purpose of me doing this cycle is to maximize the amount of muscle I can add while I am still in college (this is my last summer that I can fully devote to living the lifestyle all in before I get a job).



My entire training philosophy/ outlook on training is centered on maximizing the amount of muscle I can attain while I am arguably in the most physiological anabolic environment of my life (optimal hormone profile, low commitments, low lifestyle mediated stress).



That being said, I want to do the cycle.



Anyways, here is my cycle.

1. BPC-157: 150mcg's/3x week.
2. Ipamorelin: 200mcg's/daily
3. Tesamorelin: 750mcg's/daily
4. Kisspeptin: 150mg/ 3x week.

Duration: 9-11 weeks.



Need to knows:

• I plan on getting blood work PRIOR to starting
• EKG PRIOR to starting
• I will consult a licensed professional on their opinion-- though my mind is set on doing this.
• I will measure my blood insulin levels (potentially daily??) to make sure there are no crazy spikes with the IGF-1 (as an aside, I plan on using cluster dextrin or some quick acting carb agent in the middle of my lifting sessions-- I have already used this product before)
• I sit in the sauna about 3-5 times a week and do cold pluges/cryotherapy almost daily. I am just noting this because of the GH release that occurs when doing those modalities-- which in my case are often backed to back or "sandwiched"

Any advice you have is greatly appreciated. Please feel free to add your critiques or suggestions. I am keeping the Tesamorelin low to preserve lifespan/longevity. Plus being so young I already have a good amount in it. Compared to all the other reddits I have viewed, people that are older are more depleted of it and thus require a stronger dose.



Thanks!

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

A couple of thoughts. For GH release, you generally want something that stimulates a pulse combined with something that increases the size of the pulse, hence the CJC1295(no DAC)/Ipamorelin blends. You might want to look into a credible ecdysterone product such as Synthagen. Given the amount of muscle you have gained (great job!) it is probable the "easy" gains are behind you. In my experience which is somewhat similar when I was your age, the biggest challenge is not gaining more muscle but rather not losing what you have by trying to continue to gain at the pace you were before and then going backwards due to overtraining and/or injury. If you are adding strength at a rate of around 5 pounds every two months on your major upper body lifts and 5 per month on the lower body lifts, (measured over a period of at least 6 months) then that IME is about max you can expect long-term unless you are a genetic outlier, and even that is not sustainable. You are better off broadening your focus (general conditioning, explosiveness) rather than just focusing on muscle which will have diminishing returns.

 

[FangFang]

Personally I'd be focusing on nutrition and training for longevity. Put yourself in a position that you can still be enjoying this lifestyle in 30 years. Watch some of Mike Ohearn and John Meadows on YouTube. Nothing wrong with peptides. Easy gains are gone. Good luck on your journey.

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

Also, I'm suspicious of "performance nutrition and training protocols" since a lot of what is touted as such are either wrong or inappropriate for your goals. You nutrition for your goal is basically eat as many calories as you possibly can without eating seed oils. When I was in your situation (40 years ago) I was on the college all-you-can eat plan and my dinner alone was 8 glasses of chocolate milk and three pasta main courses. For training, you want to focus on work capacity and sub-maximal volume over all muscle groups. That said, chasing muscle for muscle's sake is a dead end. Much better to focus on all-around health and athleticism as FangFang said. Also, you're just coming to the end of a phase where almost any training approach will "work" and it will take years of experimentation to find what will work for you to continue to progress now that the easy gains are gone. Most exercise "science" focuses on fairly new trainees for fairly short periods (e.g. 16 weeks) and hence cannot be followed with high confidence. The biggest risk in your "cycle" is that it could reinforce a focus on chemicals and a self-image based on muscle rather than sustainable elements of athleticism.

 

[BigTex]

Anyways, here is my cycle.

1. BPC-157: 150mcg's/3x week.
2. Ipamorelin: 200mcg's/daily
3. Tesamorelin: 750mcg's/daily
4. Kisspeptin: 150mg/ 3x week.

Duration: 9-11 weeks.

OK, here is my advice and I am speaking strictly about the use of peptides with bodybuilding as I have dealt with quite a few pros. 9-11 weeks is not enough time to get much results from peptides as far as burning fat. You need a minimum of 6 months.

2nd, dosing once a day is great for life extension for for bodybuilding purposes you need 3x a day, 7 days a week. I think for gaining muscle and generally getting rid of fat, modified GRF (1-29)/Ipamorelin is a great combination. Dosing 100mcg of mod GRF (1-29)/500mg of IPA. You can still add the bed time dose of Tesamorelin in place of the mod GRF (1-29). Caveat: Tesamorelin is friggin' expensive. For the money I would go modified GRF (1-29)/ IPA x 3. Much less money and works as good a 4-7iu of HGH. If you are willing to spend that much on Tesamorelin, you would be better off going the HGH route....3iu x 3. Another idea would be going to CJC 1295 with DAC, 1-2mg split in 2-3 doses during the week, plus the Ipamorelin 2/d. Lots of very good BBers are using this combo in the EU.

With the Tesamorelin, you really need 1-2mg/d taken at bedtime to help burn fat. Ipamorelin taken any time but I would still go way upon the dose of IPA. High doses of IPA do not create prolactin or cortisol. Most studies done on Tesamorelin and fat burning are done for 6 months and using 2mg/d.

BPC 157, IMHO, you are wasting your money doing this unless you have a connective tissue or muscle injury. It is not going to help protect you from getting one.

Kisspeptin is usually used by TRT guys or as PCP for guys who are off steroids. Not sure what you are using this for. Research does show it very slightly increases serum testosterone levels (serum testosterone increased from 16.6 ± 2.4 to 24.0 ± 2.5 nmol/liter (P < 0.001). In the world of bodybuilding, that is not so much. The half life is 27 hours but going 3 x wk is not really going to help you in that department. You can add clomid to it and get a bigger bang for the buck but again, I am not so sure this is going to benefit you so much especially at your age.

Hope this answers some of your questions.