Pure HMB

Biohack Review: Build (and preserve) muscle, like a boss!

If you'd like to take your workouts and fitness to the next level but are a bit confused by the dizzying number of supplemental options (some of dubious safety) for doing so I'll simplify things for you: take HMB and Creatine. Here I'll review HMB and break down the recent science done on it.

HMB is a reliable workout performance enhancer; you'll be able to push yourself a little harder in the gym. You'll walk home from the gym a little sorer than usual but with a proud smile on your face for the gains you've made; pushing more weight, achieving more reps, or sweating it out doing more cardio. I stack it with one of my other favorite workout performance enhancers, Creatine, for epic workouts that I'd be sore from for days if it wasn't for the recovery hacks I employ: red light therapy on my muscles, healing PEMF frequencies, and a before-bedtime massage from my lady.
More good news: HMB preserves muscle mass if you're slacking on your workouts and Creatine has a complementary effect. A vain yet economically-minded Biohacker would want to use them both; take 5 grams of Creatine and HMB on workout days to build muscle, and then if you need to take a few weeks off the gym for travel, work, or over the holidays take just a few grams of Creatine daily as a Nootropic and HMB to preserve your strength gains.

Scientific overview

Let's delve into some of the recent research on HMB, in this young decade alone there have been 45 articles published on Pubmed (including over twenty human clinical trials - an impressive amount of quality science!)

It's a body composition hack for healthy adults according to a recent resistance-training study, 30-60 grams of whey protein and 3 grams increased fat-free mass over twelve weeks.

A 2022 American systematic review and meta-analysis crunched the data of hundreds of athletic subjects in a multiplicity of exercise studies. Its abstract is conservative in its estimation of HMB...

The principal finding of this analysis suggests HMB may have a small, positive impact on [fat-free mass] in athletes

This conclusion suggests that athletes (and people, like me, who simply want to look better naked) wouldn't want to rely on HMB alone for their fitness transformation.

A Japanese study established a smaller dose (1.5 grams) as an "elbow hack" - it addresses muscle damage resulting from exercising the elbow.

The low-dose HMB supplementation demonstrated a moderate overall impact and played a beneficial role in muscle dysfunction and joint flexibility following [eccentric contractions].

Anybody with much experience inside a gym knows that the elbow is a particularly vulnerable extremity - injure it (even just a little) and your workouts will suffer for months. In my book, HMB is well-worth taking as an elbow-injury preventative!

Much of the recent science has focused on HMB as a strength-building (and preservation) hack for the elderly, to look at just one...

A synergy with Vitamin D3 was established by a 12-month Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Study that evaluated the combination's long-term effect on the muscular function of 60 Americans over 60 years old (that means they had a combined age of over 3600 years!) Its abstract concluded...

This study demonstrated the potential of HMB and vitamin D3 supplementation to enhance muscle strength and physical functionality in older adults, even in individuals not engaged in an exercise training program.

Many older folks know that Vitamin D3 is important to maintain health and vitality, so it should be an easy sell to get grandma or grandpa to add on HMB so they can enjoy their golden years - especially considering the fact that it will help keep them limber even if they don't exercise.

And a smaller Swiss study notes that 3 grams also significantly improved amino acid metabolism (at least in critically ill hospital patients).

I appreciate having both the powdered and capsuled HMB.

Some days I have the time and inclination to mix powdered HMB in a beverage or yogurt with other supplements. But other days I just want to drop a capsule or two before rushing out the door to the gym.

HMB is a pretty great value

Capsuled 20 cents per workout
Powdered 10 cents per workout

Assuming a higher dosage of 1000 milligrams per workout - It's quite the no-brainer compared with the costs of a gym membership and gear!

In a previous review, I compared HMB and Yohimbine - an herbal performance enhancer that superpowers your workouts (and sex life) with adrenalin. Having accrued ample (vertical and horizontal) experience (in the gym and the bedroom) with both, HMB is my favorite pre-workout supplement (along with Creatine).

HMB Calcium is an active metabolite of leucine that reduces muscle protein breakdown. HMB Calcium has been shown in clinical studies to significantly reduce muscle fatigue and the catabolic break-down of muscle tissue that accompanies strenuous exercise, intense bodybuilding workouts and/or muscle trauma.