# Using Insulin off cycle



## MrRippedZilla (Mar 2, 2016)

*How to maximise the results of an Insulin only cycle*

Since this topic came up recently and I decided it was the right time to paste this article I wrote elsewhere:


*How to maximise the results of an Insulin only cycle*

This topic comes from an interesting review that everyone has access to read:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25646407

The review assessed all the available data to see if exogenous insulin had the ability to promote protein synthesis and therefore be considered "anabolic". 

The findings of the review were as follows:
- Exogenous insulin along side an excess of amino acids (hyperaminoacidemia) lead to protein synthesis but this was attributed more to the amino acids (protein intake) than the insulin.
- Exogenous insulin administered systemically actually resulted in lower blood amino acid levels (hypoaminoacidemia), which eliminated any insulin-induced effect on protein synthesis.
- Exogenous insulin resulting in levels above 50,000 pmol/l improves protein synthesis.
- Exogenous insulin isn't effective for protein synthesis in older adults due to anabolic resistance.
- Exogenous insulin, by itself, does not induce protein synthesis in healthy adults.


_My interpretation_

The basic takeaway from this study is that you need to have a good level of protein intake combined with dosing insulin to a point that results in levels above 50,000 pmol/l in order to for it to be worthwhile. 

The study doesn't really let us know the dosing & duration of insulin use required to gain this benefit. I suspect the dose will be high enough to increase possible side effects such as hypoglycaemia, insulin resistance, etc & timing it around workouts would be the best route since an excess of amino acids is required to maximise its use. 
This makes me question those who use very low doses (below 5ius per day) since this will add close to nothing unless combined with something else (GH). 

Now, though insulin's benefits to protein synthesis appear to be pretty minimal, let's not forget that its main role is to prevent protein breakdown and therefore enhance overall net protein balance (this is what matters for muscle growth). So though insulin shouldn't be called "anabolic", it certainly can be classified as "anti-catabolic". 
Here the question becomes can exogenous insulin help prevent protein breakdown MORE than normal levels achieved through diet? IMO, you need to dose insulin very, very high (40ius per day) in order to maximise this effect - how many guys actually do this? Very, very few.


So, in summary, if you want to gain the maximum benefit from insulin off cycle you need to use it in this manner:

*- Overall dosing would need to be very high, around 30-50ius per day, so attention needs to be given to the possibly dangerous side effects.
- Protein intake should be high in order to provide the body with plenty of amino acids to utilize.
- It should be timed to go around your workouts. 
- Low doses (below 5ius) are a complete waste of time and should be avoided at all costs. *


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## Uncle manny (Mar 3, 2016)

Interesting, I'm cutting now and was wondering how slin would be on refeed days. I'm no where near ready to try it out tho..


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## MrRippedZilla (Mar 3, 2016)

Uncle manny said:


> Interesting, I'm cutting now and was wondering how slin would be on refeed days. I'm no where near ready to try it out tho..



For me personally, that's the only time I found it be useful at all.

It helped me look fuller, with less bloat, better training performance, more muscle retention, etc compared to non-insulin aided refeeds but you have to mess around with refeed frequency to truly get the most out of it. I found that refeeding 2-3 days per week (either EOD style or weekends) produced much better results. 
Of course you have to accept slower fat loss but that's due more to the carb intake increase than the insulin per se.


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