2009 Studies & Research Blog

For those of you who are getting into your later years but still wanting to continue strength training and see corresponding increases in muscle mass as well as strength, there is a good chance you might have considered using growth hormone as an ergonomic aid to help you get results faster.

But, how effective is growth hormone administered in the later years at increasing muscle size and strength? That’s the question researchers out of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California decided to look at.

Studies have already demonstrated that the normal aging process is characterized by negative changes in body composition and
muscle strength, and we also know that human growth hormone declines as one age as well.

The researchers took eighteen healthy elderly men ranging from 65-82 years of age and had them undertake a progressive weight training program for 14 weeks so they would then be classified as ‘trained’.  

From there, they were randomized into two groups, the first group receiving 0.02 mg/kg BW day of recombinant human growth hormone, and the second group receiving a placebo.

Measurements of muscular strength, body composition, circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor and IGF-binding protein were then assessed to determine the effects of the growth hormone supplementation on the body.

The results demonstrated that the IGF-1 levels o f the treatment group increased both after the initial week of use as well as after week 24 of the study, over and above the control group.

It was also noted that the growth hormone had no effects on the  measures of muscle strength, or body weight, however the lean body mass did increase in the growth hormone group while fat mass decreased.

Therefore, these results suggest that supplementing with growth hormone will likely not increase your overall muscle strength or body weight, but could have favorable effects in terms of body composition.

Reference:
Butterfield, G. et al. (1994) Effect of recombinant human growth hormone on the muscle strength response to resistance exercise in elderly men.  Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Nov;79(5):1361-6.