HMB vs Triandrobol

[Thommo]

I am thinking of using one of these supplements but I can't decide which.

I am 22 years old 6'3" and weight about 98kg. I am quite fit and recently completed a half-marathon. I haven't trained using weights for about 2 1/2 years now and have just started again in the last two months.

Despite being quite fit I still carry a fair bit of body fat and have been working on my abs a bit. But I really want to build my size/definition/strength of my upper body. I have made a bit of progress doing 3 sets of 8-12 reps for most exercises, but have decided to get serious and lift my weights and drop my reps.

I really want to build some muscle and definition (especially in my chest as thats where I seem to be making the least progress)

So which would be the better supplement to use?

is it true that HMB is almost useless unless also taken with protein powders etc - as money is an issue here.

any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

[dsade]

I think the verdict was that HMB was not effective at the doses that were marketed initially. From people I have spoken to, it is effective at doses over 10 grams/day. Unfortunately, price has been the limiting factor so far.

Don't know much about Triandrobol.

10 grams a day?!? Ouch....

Triandrobol appears to be an herbal supplement (or several) that is like tribulis. Is supposed to up natural testosterone, prevent conversion to estrogen, etc. Don't know much else about it yet.

[Thommo]

well then what are the verdicts on HMB if not much is known about Triandrobol?

Is it worth taking for someone in my position looking for the results I listed? and is it only worth taking if I stick to a certain diet etc? ie: will it be rendered useless if I eat or don't eat certain things?

[bone266]

Somewhere i read a scientific study that showed HMB with creatine was the way to go, as far as building or retaining muscle mass. That said, im taking both currently, and am noticing nice gains in strength while losing weight, but, ( and its a big but ) when my supply of HMB runs out, in 2 more weeks or so im just gonna stick with creatine because the HMB is fairly expensive at the high dosage that ya have to take. A 120 pill bottle lasts aprox. 10 days!

[dsade]

FYI...The Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc. owns the patent rights on HMB. They charge outrageous fees - which is why HMB is so expensive. Some lawyers have taken a look at the patent, and they are saying it is only a use patent which only covers HMB sold specifically for anabolic/anti-catabolic claims.

Basically, what this means is that anyone can sell HMB, as long as they dont make those claims. A company (i'll post the name when they release it officially) has made public plans to release bulk HMB at a price that will make 10 grams a day feasible to try. It'll be interesting to experiment with it.

[Brewsky]

I beleive there has been some research showing that 3g of hmb along with creatine promotes lean muscle gains. I think its a worthy supplement, and have been wanting to try it but haven't yet. You said something about protein powder. If your not using a protein supplement, that is where you should invest your money.

[Thommo]

I'm definately getting a protein supplement, but I was thinking about using either HMB or Triandrobol as well.

At this stage I think I'll try Triandrobol as it is a little cheaper and HMB seems to have a lot of focus on decreasing recovery time, which doesn't bother me because I am going to reduce my workload soon, and try not to train on consecutive days.