Ullis, K., & Shackman, J. (no date). Growth hormone vs. testosterone: A retrospective based on the latest research. www.United-Pharmancy.com. [https://www.mesomorphosis.com/articles/ullis/growth-hormone.chtm].

"It is well established in bodybuilding circles that testosterone is superior to growth hormone for gaining muscle. However, growth hormone still is enormously popular and generally has a better reputation than testosterone both in bodybuilding and anti-aging circles. . . . growth hormone is not as anabolic as testosterone, people still think of growth hormone as a hormone that will make you lean and toned with almost no side effects" (p. 2).

Not much, if any, of the lean mass gained while on growth hormone is actually muscle. It is not muscle or type-of-exercise specific. It is either non-anabolic or very weakly anabolic for skeletal muscle when taken by itself. It should not be considered for developing muscle bulk. On the other hand, growth hormone is very effective for weight loss and is valuable for fat loss ("sculpting the body"). Testosterone is far better for building muscle.

Testosterone and testosterone analogs are not anabolic when in small amounts (e.g., 100 mg/week of testosterone enanthate). Testosterone is effective for producing fat loss even in amounts small enough to not be anabolic. Testosterone has a reputation for being dangerous but as evidence is produced, it appears many of the dangers have been exaggerated.

". . . the overall benefit/cost ratio for improving body composition is higher with testosterone than growth hormone. . . . testosterone is far cheaper than growth hormone, and the side effect/safety profile -- testosterone is safer than high-dose growth hormone use" (p. 6).

Implication. Neither testosterone nor growth hormone should be deemed good or bad. One should be very careful when using growth hormone and strongly consider only using it when IGF-1 levels are very low or growth hormone stimulation tests are failed. At present, testosterone therapies are preferable in anti-aging therapy programs but both substances have their valuable uses.

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