Where your body gets HMB from:
The body naturally makes 1g/d HMB from amino acids
We get about 0.5g/d HMB from foods like fish and citrus
Research shows that an additional 3g/d HMB impacts performance
How does HMB work?
HMB makes your muscles more efficient:
HMB is thought to work by slowing muscle protein breakdown and speeding protein production in muscle. This has a protective effect, reducing exercise induced damage. The outcome is you need less recovery time and will adapt to training more quickly (18).
HMB will help you bounce back after injury
HMB has been shown to reduce muscle loss when you’re inactive. It also speeds muscle and strength gains. Taking HMB when injured may therefore help reduce the impact of downtime, and then speed how quickly you return to full training.
HMB is ideal for masters athletes
HMB has been shown to slow age related muscle loss (4). This makes it an ideal supplement to take as we work hard to maintain our athletic ambitions as we get older. Interestingly, research also shows that as we get older our muscles contain less HMB (20). It theoretically works by simply slowing the rate at which our body breaks down muscle protein (21).
Research References
1. Thomson et al. (2009): Controlled 9 week study on trained men. HMB increased lean mass, decreased fat mass and resulted in a substantial increase in lower body strength. Read the research
2. Nissen & Sharp (2003): A meta-analysis of all research to date on supplementation for strength and mass. Found that HMB and creatine are the only two supplements that have been shown to enhance strength and mass with resistance training. Read the research
3. Rowlans & Thomson (2009): A meta-analysis of existing research. HMB supplementation resulted in clear overall increases in strength in men starting a resistance training program, but the benefit of HMB in trained athletes was smaller. Read the research
4. Vukovich et al. (2001): Controlled 8 week study in weight training elderly men. HMB increased muscle strength and lean mass while increasing fat loss. Read the research
5. Lamboley et al. (2007): Placebo controlled study in college students. HMB supplementation increased maximal oxygen consumption by 5%. Read the research
6. Jowko et al. (2001): Controlled study in weight training males using creatine and HMB in combination. HMB and creatine supplementation results in even greater strength and lean gains than either HMB or creatine supplementation alone. Read the research
7. Baier et al. (2009): 1 year long controlled study in the elderly. HMB with two amino acids increased lean mass and protein turnover in older adults. Read the research
8. Slater et al. (2001): Controlled study in trained males. HMB enhanced strength and mass but the increases were small over the research period. Read the research
9. Vukovich & Dreifort (2001): Controlled study in trained cyclists. HMB supplementation increased cyclist endurance as measured by VO2 peak and lactic acid build-up. Read the research
10. Panton et al. (2000): Controlled study using male and female trained and untrained subjects. The study showed that regardless of gender or prior training, HMB increases strength and minimizes muscle damage when combined with a four week resistance-training program. Read the research
11. Kraemer et al. (2009): 12 week study on resistance trained men. HMB combined with two amino acids doubled the effects of training on lean mass and increased fat loss. Read the research
12. Gallagher et al. (2000): Controlled study with male weight lifters. HMB increased lean mass and peak muscle torques. It also decreased blood markers of muscle damage. Read the research
13. Knitter et al. (2000): Controlled study in male and female runners. HMB reduced muscle damage after a prolonged run as well as the perception of muscle soreness. Read the research
14. Kreider et al. (1999): Controlled study of 40 experienced, resistance trained men over just 4 weeks. HMB numerically increased lean mass and strength over the period of the study. Read the research
15. Wilson et al. (2008): A review of research on HMB. Concluded that collectively there is not only clinical data, but also mechanistic data supporting HMB's effect on increasing muscle mass and strength. Read the research
16. Nissen et al. (1996): Two controlled studies in weight training males for three and seven weeks. HMB increased strength and muscle mass while reducing muscle damage in all subjects. Read the research
17. Ransone et al. (2003): Controlled study in 35 trained collegiate football players. HMB increased muscle mass and reduced body fat however this was not statistically significant probably because the athletes only used HMB for 4 weeks so gains were small. Read the research
18. Wilson et al. (2013): The official position paper of the International Society of Sports Nutrition on HMB supplementation. HMB is one of the few supplements considered to be both safe and effective by the society. Read the research
19. Durkalec-Michalski & Jeszca (2016): A placebo controlled crossover study in 58 highly trained male athletes showed an increase in lean mass, reduction in fat mass and improvements in aerobic training performance. Read the research
20. Kuriyan R, Lokesh DP, Selvam S, et al.(2016): The relationship of endogenous plasma concentrations of beta-Hydroxy beta-Methyl Butyrate (HMB) to age and total appendicular lean mass in humans. Exp Gerontol. Read the research