Summary
Highlights
The speaker introduces HMB as a white powder that, unlike creatine, yielded 'real hard dense muscle' when taken at maximum and even twice the maximum dose. He admits to experiencing some side effects and explains his initial skepticism and curiosity about HMB, noting it's a natural byproduct of leucine breakdown.
HMB is produced naturally when the body breaks down leucine, an amino acid known to stimulate muscle growth through the mTOR pathway. The speaker discusses the 'broscience' argument that HMB might be the direct agent of muscle anabolism from leucine, and since only about 5% of leucine converts to HMB, directly supplementing HMB could be 20 times more potent.
Upon opening his plain HMB supplement, the speaker was hit by a strong, pungent, 'body odor' smell, which he later confirmed through internet searches to be a common characteristic of HMB. He began with a 'weenie hut juniors' dose of 1 gram pre-workout on an empty stomach during a lean-out phase, noticing no significant effects but also no negative side effects.
After starting with 1g, the speaker increased his daily dosage to the recommended maximum of 3 grams, split throughout the day. By the end of the first week, he experienced a noticeable increase in 'muscle confidence strength' during workouts, especially in a calorie deficit. This feeling was described as a deep, internal strength, surprising him given his lighter weight.
Convinced of HMB's benefits, the speaker went to great lengths to ensure continuous supplementation, even making custom capsules for a short trip. As his lean-out phase continued and strength began to wane even at 3g/day, he decided to double the dose to 6 grams per day.
At 6 grams per day, the speaker noticed an immediate, but short-lived, boost in strength for just one workout. More significantly, he began to develop a distinct, strong body odor that smelled similar to the HMB powder itself. This made him re-evaluate the cost-benefit, as the smell was particularly unpleasant and appeared to emanate from his sweat glands.
Due to the unpleasant body odor, the speaker decided to take a complete break from HMB for about two weeks. During this period, he unequivocally noticed a significant decrease in strength in key compound lifts, confirming his earlier perception of HMB's positive impact.
After the break, he resumed HMB at 3 grams per day. The 'muscle confidence' quickly returned. More recently, he observed what appeared to be new, dense muscle growth, which he attributes to HMB, especially considering he was still in a lean-out phase where such gains are unexpected. He dismisses the idea of it being a placebo.
The speaker mentions studies on HMB's benefits for older individuals (sarcopenia) and its synergistic effect with creatine for muscle growth. He plans a two-week complete supplement detox in December, then intends to reintroduce HMB as a staple in his stack in January due to its perceived significant results. He also emphasizes that his experience with HMB's benefits occurred predominantly during a cutting or lean-out phase, raising questions about its effectiveness during a bulk.