Older Men: Take HMB, it's No Joke

I've tried pretty much every supplement out there in conjunction with healthy eating and 5 to 6, 50-minute workouts a week (combining weights, calisthenics and cardio). I'm 6' tall, hovering between 185-190 lbs at what I estimate is around 13% bodyfat, size 40 coat and 33 waist. I will turn 57 in a few weeks. My goal is 180 lbs, 10% bf and visible abs by Memorial Day. The problem I had was getting 185-200g of protein a day at 2,200 calories, which is where the fat seemed to start coming off, but didnt allow for enough protein to keep my gains much less get bigger and stronger. After reading about HMB I decided, why not try it, especially as it was specifically recommended for older guys who are skinny or skinny-fat hard gainers and need all the [legal] help they can get to protect and keep building muscle mass. Here's what I've noticed after a few weeks:

- Workouts are much better. I'm able to increase weights/reps more often and feel much less fatigue during the session, especially on lower body exercises which is my weak area.

- Reduced muscle soreness

- Marginally better sleep

- Increased appetite. Could be a problem, but wait! Since taking HMB I have experimented with 2,400-2,500 cal a day (and corresponding higher protein macros) and am getting the same body comp results if not better than at 2,200 before. In other words, HMB appears to be "buying" me an additional 200-300 cals a day which makes hitting 190-200 g of protein much easier.

What it hasn't done (and is ok, because I take other things too):

- Affected stress one way or the other

- Affected libido or the size or functioning of my equipment, which are all just fine, thank you

- Affected T levels (that I can tell, but I haven't been checked since last summer, either).

100, 1g capsules on Amazon run less than $15 and that lasts you a little over a month at 3g per day (note: it's recommended you split the dosage up into 3, 1g doses a day)

If any of you see yourself in my situation, I strongly recommend giving HMB a try. It has been a game changer for me. Happy to answer any questions here or privately.