HMB: lo bueno y lo malo

HMB: The good and the bad

HMB: the good and the bad

HMB (β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate) is an active metabolite of leucine (one of the amino acids in BCAAs). It has some very beneficial functions, but unfortunately, most people are unaware of them. Let’s get to it!

Same function as leucine?

When comparing them, we can observe that HMB has greater potential to reduce the rate of protein breakdown, although it is less effective than leucine for protein synthesis. For this reason, HMB is viewed more as an anticatabolic supplement that is 20 times more potent than leucine.

Benefits of HMB

  • Reduces protein breakdown, hence its anticatabolic effect.
  • Slight activation of protein synthesis.
  • Increase in strength.
  • Increased recovery capacity after training (by reducing the muscle damage caused).
  • Increase in muscle mass. This benefit has been reported mainly in untrained subjects, who benefited the most by gaining more than 200% more muscle mass. These effects are greater when consumed with creatine. I discussed it in this article: https://www.moremuscle.com/blog/la-biblia-sobre-la-creatina/
  • Reduction in LDL cholesterol.
  • Lower likelihood of reaching overtraining.
  • Increase in power (for example, jumping power).
  • Reduction in metabolic acidosis.
  • Increase in maximum VO2 consumption.
  • Reduction in the amount of muscle lost due to aging or injury through its anticatabolic effect.
  • Reduction in fat mass (although not very significant).
  • Increased endurance.
  • Reduced muscle soreness.
  • Increased protein synthesis (not very relevant, in my opinion). At the same time, increasing protein synthesis through HMB is very expensive, and it is better to use leucine.
  • Increased anaerobic capacity.

 

Dosage, timing, and safety

A dose of 3–6 g of HMB is recommended to achieve all the benefits mentioned above. Personally, I prefer a daily dose of 3 g. As for when to take it, I recommend taking it in two doses: one pre-workout (1 hour before) and the second post-workout.

Regarding its safety, it has been shown to have no side effects, and a dose of 3–6 g per day is completely safe.

Which one should you buy?

HMB can be purchased in two forms: as the calcium form (HMB-CA) or as its free amino acid form (HMB-FA). Both work, but not for everyone.

HMB-CA works mainly for beginners, overtrained individuals, or the elderly.

By contrast, HMB-FA works for everyone, including trained individuals. In addition, HMB-FA is more bioavailable, meaning it is absorbed better.

 

Conclusion

HMB is a useful supplement for endurance, strength, and hypertrophy sports. There are two forms of it, HMB-CA and HMB-FA, the latter being the better version. The only disadvantage is that most companies sell HMB-CA, while the form that is absorbed better (HMB-FA) is quite expensive, in my opinion.

 

Oriol Balart Cano.

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