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Essential Supplementation - HMB: Hype

or Help?

Many studies have been done recently on HMB

supplementation. Is this product all hype? Or is HMB the next
big muscle-building breakthrough?
I was in the gym the other day and I overhead a conversation that went something like
this. . .

“I just found this supplement that is going to pack on some serious muscle. It’s got this
crazy name, ‘beta methyl something’…. I mean with a name like that it has to work.”

What the guy was actually referring to was a supplement called Beta-hydroxy-beta-
methylbutyrate. Otherwise known as HMB.

What is HMB?
HMB is a metabolite of the amino acid Leucine. Basically that means your body turns
leucine into HMB.

With touted benefits such as increased lean body mass, improved strength, and
improved body composition, let’s see exactly what the science says about HMB.

Your Body is an HMB Factory

Research has shown that HMB production is correlated with leucine intake1. Essentially,
you are a regular ol’ HMB making factory. While you can get increased HMB through
leucine supplementation, it's a horribly inefficient process as only 5% of leucine is
converted to HMB1.

Imagine if you only got 5% of your paycheck!

HMB supplementation basically gives you the other 95% back. You can increase your
HMB levels by taking it in supplement form. Well who cares…I mean what the heck is
HMB and what does it do? And more importantly can it help you increase muscle and
strength? (see what I did there?)

How Does HMB Work?

Since HMB is a small molecule, it's important to explore what molecular mechanisms it
is involved in. Put your science hat on, it’s time to get nerdy.

Firstly, it is well documented that HMB activates mTOR, a key “muscle growth” signaling
molecule.2, 3, 4 HMB also activates another critical component in muscle protein
synthesis, the very appropriately named P70S6K (seriously….who came up with that
name)5.
In addition to increasing signals for muscle growth, HMB is also known to reduce the
process in your muscles that is responsible for muscle-protein breakdown6.

Does HMB Give Results?

The nerdy lab stuff is one thing; results in the real world are another. Does HMB deliver
any actual benefit? Let’s take a look at the research as a whole and draw some
conclusions.

Unlike many supplements, HMB has been tested in a lot of different people. We are
talking trained and untrained, male and female, old and young. It has also been tested in
different training modalities, with and without dietary intervention.

Looks like research in our field is really starting to get legit.

This amount of research does 2 things: 1) gives us the ability to draw more generalized
conclusions, 2) makes data interpretation a nightmare and requires substantial thought
and insight.

Despite the wide range of the studies, we can make some good conclusions from the
data available.

HMB in Untrained Individuals

Most of the research in untrained individuals has been conducted in the 4 to 8 week
time frame. In the shorter studies that lasted 4 weeks, individuals who took HMB had
bigger increases in fat-free mass (FFM) than those who took the placebo7, 8. Have we hit
the gold mine?
Well, unfortunately when you look at the longer studies (8 weeks), HMB is not any more
effective than placebo9. What gives? It is likely due to a problem with the research
methodology.

Most of the 8 week studies did not include any type of periodization, this may have
slowed the muscle growth of the HMB group which “adapted” sooner. They may have
reached the same point because the stimulus for the HMB group at 4 weeks was similar
to the placebo by 8 weeks.

At least that is my most educated guess. . . and there is some evidence to back it up. In a
12 week intervention study with periodization, HMB supplementation lead to greater
improvements in lean mass and muscle strength than placebo10.

Another thing we should point out is that there appears to be a dose-response curve
where increasing the dose from 1.5g to 3g led to greater increases in FFM. No one has
looked at doses higher that 3g/day. . . . can I get some volunteers?!

HMB in Trained Individuals

Now if you are reading Muscle & Strength you are probably a “trained” individual, so you
will care more about this section.

What’s weird/interesting is that we see the opposite effect of HMB with respect to time
relating to the trained athletes. HMB does not elicit greater improvements in the short-
term, but it does in the long-term.
There have been a host of poorly-controlled studies which give almost useless data for
drawing conclusions. As a scientist by training this kind of stuff drives me insane. So I
will focus on the well-controlled ones.

A short-term (4 week) study found no improvements in strength or lean mass with HMB
supplementation in college football players, but a longer-term study (7 weeks) using
trained individuals shows that HMB supplementation lead to a 4.5 kg (9.9 lb.) increase in
the bench press, and a 3.2 kg (7 lb.) increase in their squat, when compared to
placebo11. So based on the research we have to date, this is the picture of what might
happen with HMB supplementation in trained individuals.

HMB in Caloric Restriction

Caloric restriction: a fancy word for eating like a rabbit. But seriously caloric restriction
and building muscle don’t usually go hand in hand. However, sometimes we want to
lean out and the only way to do that is to cut calories (find another way and you will be
the richest person on the planet…I'm talking Zuckerberg rich).

Remember earlier that HMB has been shown to reduce catabolism. So maybe HMB
could be effective in preserving muscle mass during times of caloric restriction.

I wish I could offer a glimmer of hope here, but the science isn’t on our side. One study
found that 3g of HMB supplementation had no real effect on preventing lean mass loss
and only slightly prevented decreases in power output in trained judo athletes12.

Again, my inner scientist is frustrated because the study only lasted 3 days which makes
gleaning any real usable information difficult.
Another study that lasted 28 days also showed no benefit of HMB on muscle catabolism
in Division 1 football players13.

The Final Word on  HMB

HMB is interesting. It appears to be most effective for increasing lean mass during early
stages of training in untrained individuals and at improving strength over longer training
periods in trained individuals.

Currently, the amount of evidence is pretty wide but not really deep. It looks hopeful, but
more studies need to be done in a well-controlled manner to determine how much of an
effect HMB has and whether it is repeatable in well-controlled conditions.

Here is my personal opinion. Give it a shot. Take detailed notes and conduct a self
experiment. If it works run with it. If it doesn’t, move on to the next tool in your arsenal.

References
 

1. Oxidation of leucine and alpha-ketoisocaproate to beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate in vivo.

2. β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) enhances the proliferation of satellite cells in fast muscles of aged rats during
recovery from disuse atrophy
3. Role of mTOR and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) in leucine stimulation of muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and
fatty acid oxidation
4. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate ingestion, Part I: effects on strength and fat free mass.
5. β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) attenuates muscle and body weight loss in experimental cancer cachexia.
6. Attenuation of proteasome-induced proteolysis in skeletal muscle by {beta}-hydroxy-{beta}-methylbutyrate in cancer-
induced muscle loss.
7. Effect of leucine metabolite β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate on muscle metabolism during resistance-exercise training
8. Creatine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) additively increase lean body mass and muscle strength during a
weight-training program
9. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate ingestion: effects on strength and fat free mass.
10. Effects of amino acids supplement on physiological adaptations to resistance training.
11. Nutritional supplementation of the leucine metabolite β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (hmb) during resistance training
12. Effect of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate Supplementation During Energy Restriction in Female Judo Athletes
13. Effects of Calcium β-HMB Supplementation During Training on Markers of Catabolism, Body Composition, Strength
and Sprint Performance

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About The Author

Brad Dieter
Brad is a research scientist, nutrition coach, and aspiring Olympic
weightlifter. He received his M.S. in biomechanics and his Ph.D. in exercise
physiology. His goal is to bridge the gap between science and the public
and to bring the best information to the industry.
View all by Brad Dieter »

2 Comments + Post Comment

 Posted Fri, 04/28/2017 - 11:29 LIKE 2
Jenn
Thanks for using real science and actual thought! It's hard enough to figure this stuff out
without wading through a load of marketing messages and skewed opinions masquerading
as "science". I did have a random thought while reading the article though. If only 5% of
leucine gets metabolized into HMB, what happens to the other 95%? I see a lot of excitement
around BCAAs, including leucine, so I can't help but wonder about the other 95%...does it
turn into something useful?
--Jenn

REPLY
REPLY

Posted Tue, 11/03/2015 - 21:37 LIKE 14

jerry sharpe
Good well balanced article.

REPLY
REPLY

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