36 In the index

Insulin INS

The essential hormone that controls blood sugar, used by millions of people with diabetes, and sometimes misused by bodybuilders because of its muscle-building side effects. It's absolutely proven and life-saving for diabetes care, but using it without diabetes is genuinely dangerous — it can cause fatal drops in blood sugar.

Also known as Humulin, Novolin

Effects Build muscle

Routes Subcutaneous

Legal status Prescription drug

WADA Banned at all times

Reported dosing

Approved label

What has been reported in the literature and by users. This is a record of what is done, not a recommendation.

Typical dose Individualized based on blood glucose, body weight, and carbohydrate intake (as prescribed for diabetes)

Reported range Highly variable by formulation and patient; non-medical bodybuilding use reports doses far outside any clinical guideline

Route Subcutaneous injection

Frequency Multiple times daily (as prescribed) or timed around meals/training

Duration Chronic/ongoing (as prescribed for diabetes)

FDA-approved and life-saving when used to treat diagnosed diabetes under medical supervision. Non-medical use for muscle growth is exceptionally dangerous — insulin has one of the narrowest margins of any hormone used in bodybuilding, and unsupervised dosing has caused fatal hypoglycemia. No 'typical' non-medical dose can be responsibly stated.

Where this comes from FDA prescribing information

These figures are recorded for reference and are not a recommendation. Dosing is a decision for you and a clinician.

Variants

Name	Abbr	Route	Notes
Insulin regular	REG	Subcutaneous	Standard short-acting human insulin.
Insulin NPH	NPH	Subcutaneous	Intermediate-acting insulin with added protamine.