Carbs, Insulin, and Bodybuilding. How does it work?

The role of insulin is a current topic reverberating through gyms everywhere. Insulin is a hormone best known for its role in glucose metabolism. In an attempt to provide some clear scientific information to our trainers, this article will discuss the different classifications of carbohydrates, and how the body regulates blood glucose levels. Practical applications to bodybuilders will close out the article.

Carbohydrates 

Carbohydrates provide direct energy for the human brain, central nervous system, and muscle cells in the form of glucose (blood sugar). Carbohydrates can be broken down into simple carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates.

Simple Carbohydrates are sugars, organic compounds whose bonds are easily broken down by digestion. Sugars are classified as monosaccharides (mono = one), or disaccharides (di= two). Monosaccharides include glucose, galactose, and fructose. Disaccharides are two monosaccharide units linked together and include maltose (two glucose units), sucrose (fructose plus glucose), and lactose (galactose plus glucose). Your body only has the ability to absorb monosaccharides into the blood.

Complex carbohydrates are defined as polysaccharides (poly = many) that are found in starch and fiber. Starches are polysaccharides humans can digest, but must be broken down into monosaccharides before they can be taken into the blood. Polysaccharides are either linear (amylose-polymer of 400 to thousands of glucose) or branched (amlyopectin-polymer containing hundreds of glucose). Glycogen (stored glucose within the muscle), is similar in structure to amylopectin, and will be discussed later in bodybuilding applications. Cellulose is fiber within vegetables which humans are unable to break down and absorb into the blood.

How the Body Uses Carbohydrates 

The body, after digestion and absorption through the walls of the small intestines, can put glucose to work in three ways.
It can burn the glucose immediately within mitochondria, releasing carbon dioxide, water and energy.

If the glucose is not needed immediately, it is converted by the liver or the muscles into glycogen. Muscle glycogen provides energy only to muscles. Liver glycogen can supply energy to any part of the body.

Any glucose left over after glycogen saturation is converted to fat by the liver, and stored in adipose tissue around the body. The degree and pattern of fat buildup depends on an array of factors, but are primarily linked to whether a person consistently consumes more calories than are burned through activity.

Blood-Sugar Connection 

The body's natural regulatory system automatically maintains close control over the level of blood glucose. The body has approximately 20 grams of blood borne glucose circulating continuously. If blood sugar increases then the pancreas releases insulin. If this level is too low than glucagon is released.

Pancreas
Monitors blood glucose concentrations If blood glucose level is too high Insulin is released... If glucose level is too low Glucagon is released

Signals Signals

Fat and muscle cells to Absorb glucose liver to break down glycogen and release glucose to the blood
thus lowering blood glucose to normal levels thus raising blood glucose to normal levels
Happens right after a meal Happens between meals
Note: Muscle glycogen does not provide glucose to the blood. Muscle glycogen is used only by muscle tissue.

Bodybuilding Applications 

It is important for bodybuilders to understand that when insulin levels are high your body will store excess glucose as bodyweight. Unfortunately, your body does not care if it is muscle weight or fat weight. It is important to realize the difference in carbohydrates and their use by muscle tissue. Enzymes within muscles readily metabolize starch, which is broken down into usable glucose. The liver has the intermediary enzymes to convert glucose, fructose, galactose, amino acids, and other metabolites for its glycogen stores. Since your muscles have the ability to store 250 to 400 grams of glycogen and your liver only has the ability to store 100 grams of glycogen, it is advisable to keep a high proportion of your carbohydrate calories from complex sources. As mentioned earlier, muscle glycogen is only used by muscle tissue. Since muscle glycogen is similar to an amylopectin as in starch, it is logical to supply your body with complex carbohydrates to replenish muscle glycogen stores.


At first glance carbohydrates and insulin can be a confusing topic and if left to the rhetoric of the average gym can spawn into a deluge of misinformation. We hope that the article served to clarify some of the confusion surrounding carbohydrates and insulin. 

Dianabol Dosing

Dianabol is a fast acting steroid and can withstand oral ingestion due to it being a 17-alpha-alkylated anabolic steroid surviving the ‘first pass’ through the liver and becoming active in the bloodstream. Once there is begins its positive effects, which are increasing nitrogen retention, protein synthesis, limiting catabolic hormones and protein turnover/breakdown. It is a dose dependent steroid, where larger doses exert more extreme positive and negative effects. It does have a toleration dose of around 150-200mg, where it will no longer exert positive effects, just increase stress on the body by increasing side effects. Doses this high are not suggested and are used by extremely experienced individuals. These doses are termed as abuse by many and will bring a long list of side effects, some temporary and others permanent.

Most user’s don’t use Dianabol as a standalone stack because of its ability to lower natural testosterone levels and cause side effects. It can be taken alone and the user can just get on with the lowered sex drive, loss of energy and confidence, but this is not an optimal way to stack it. It is stacked with other steroids, such as Deca-Durabolin, Testosterone Enanthate and other estered testosterone based steroids used for 4-6 weeks at the start, mid cycle or end leading to post cycle therapy.

Dianabol is a relatively safe androgen when used in safe effective doses in males. The user should start on a small dose of 15-20mg every day and adjust this comparing gains and side effects experienced. Below are examples of how Dianabol should be used in a steroidal cycle.

 Using Dianabol as an introduction to anabolic steroids is not necessarily a bad idea but it has to be done correctly and the dose needs to be correct and other medications can be taken to limit the damage it may cause.

First off, Dianabol will inhibit the body’s own natural (endogenous) testosterone production. Because it’s a steroid, it will cause leutinizing hormone and follicile stimulating hormone to decline, thus testosterone production. This can’t be avoided and larger doses of Dianabol will cause more inhibition. Dianabol taken alone will not cause complete cessation of natural hormone output, simply put as “shutdown”, even in large doses. So we need to expect a drop in libido if using it alone. What the user of Dianabol can do is to use herbs, such as Tribulus to increase sex drive during this period.

Dianabol aromatases and increases estrogen, thus causing estrogen related side effects. These include acne, gynecomastia, water retention, hypertension and mood swings. This can be limited with the use of aromatase inhibitors, such as Exemestane and/or Anastrozole.

 Because Dianabol is hepatoxic to the liver, its use should be limited. For first time users 4-6 weeks is suggested at 15-20mg every day. This will limit the estrogen increase and also reduce the amount of HPTA inhibition Dianabol causes when taken alone.

Intermediate users or those wishing to use Dianabol with other anabolic steroids need to take more precautions. As Dianabol should be used with a form of injectable testosterone, an aromatase inhibitor is more important as the testosterone preparation will also cause estrogen levels too climb. We have already discussed the dangers of having too high an estrogen level, so it should be controlled with the needed drugs. Intermediate users often use around 30-50mg every day, splitting the dose due to its short half-life of 8 or so hours. More advanced bodybuilders, power lifters or steroid users exceed the 100mg every day mark, but this is a very large dose and for the experienced only.

Dianabol can be used to “kick start” a steroidal cycle for the first 4-8 weeks, waiting for the longer esters to become fully active in the blood, can be used alone as a cycle or can be used at the end of a cycle leading to coming off of anabolic steroids. It is not suggested that Dianabol is used as a “bridge” in between steroid cycles. This idea was thought of a long time ago so has been around for decades. The reasoning behind it was that that the Dianabol dose would be small enough not to impact natural testosterone production and given in the morning upon awaking, this is when testosterone is at its highest. Unfortunately, this is using bad logic, because the 10mg dose of Dianabol will do hardly anything positive. It will not increase nitrogen retention and protein synthesis, which are the two main pathways Dianabol operates. But it will reduce circulating levels of total and free testosterone, impairing the post cycle therapy period, prolonging the users recovery time and being generally, counterproductive.

Dianabol dosing for women should be low due to its androgenic component. Dianabol is both an anabolic and androgenic anabolic steroid, so will give females side effects even in low doses. Dianabol is not advised for women, due to the high instances of virilisation that may occur, which often mean permanent side effects. If women do choose to use Dianabol, 5mg every day is suggested, but even at that dose, the positive impact its use will yield are minimal.

Guidance of a physician is suggested at any dose.