30 Days 2 Shredz is evolving from an extreme fat loss experiment I did with my VIP Mastermind clients into the ultimate sequel to my prior two books on the subject, Metabolic Blowtorch Diet and Guaranteed Shredded.
It’s estimated to come out in early July, but I can’t wait to share all of the exciting new Golden Age agents re-defining what we know about torching stubborn body fat.
So much like I did with GW0742, I want to provide you with a sneak peek into a new compound we’re in the ‘Jay Campbell Lab’ using:
An L-Carnitine injection.
While I myself don’t have any personal experience with this compound, my co-author Hunter Williams has been successfully using it for the past 1.5 years.
And in his experience, the L-Carnitine injection is a “jack-of-all-trades” for fat loss:
- Appetite suppression
- Increased metabolism
- Enhanced cognition
- And a host of other health benefits.
That’s why I AM letting Hunter take the reins in helping me write this blog post, combined with my own personal research.
Keep reading to see why the recent hype behind the L-Carnitine injection for fat loss is growing within underground bodybuilding circles.
If you’re pressed for time, Hunter already made a 15-minute video summarizing his experience with injectable L-Carnitine:
NOTE: This article will be much more to-the-point and less heavy on scientific references, but it will be updated in the near future with more esoteric intel and clinical research.
What Is An L-Carnitine Injection?
If you are already familiar with the popularity of L-Carnitine as an oral supplement, then you already know what this compound is.
But if this is your very first time hearing about the L-Carnitine injection, let me catch you up to speed with some background info.
L-Carnitine is a compound that dates back to its discovery in 1905 within muscle extracts, later having its physiological form – the L-isomer, a.k.a. levocarnitine – fully characterized in 1962.
(Source)
What’s interesting about L-Carnitine is not only its abundance in red meat, but also its near-complete absorption if consumed via dietary sources.
Additionally, it is synthesized in the human body using the essential amino acids methionine and lysine to form an intermediate called tri-methyl-lysine, which acts as the precursor to eventually form L-Carnitine through a series of enzymatic reactions.
We’ll get to how L-Carnitine fits into the picture of fat loss, but it is interesting to note how applications already exist for using this compound to treat various diseases:
“L-Carnitine therapy has shown considerable promise in addressing a variety of disease states that involve both primary and secondary carnitine deficiency.
…Carnitine therapy has been used to treat patients with heart failure; typical benefits include improved exercise capacity and peak oxygen consumption, reduced fatigue, and improved muscle conditioning
…In chronic hemodialysis patients, carnitine supplementation has been shown to improve myocardial fatty acid metabolism, cardiac arrhythmias, and other aspects of impaired cardiac function typically related to impaired fatty acid metabolism.”
The words “fatty acid metabolism” should stick out to you, because that’s what we’re going to talk about next.
How Does L-Carnitine Work?
Put simply, L-Carnitine helps transport fatty acids into the mitochondria and thereby enhance the burning of fats for energy:
“Following transport through the cellular membrane, [long-chain fatty acids] undergo activation to acyl-CoA in the cytoplasm or on the external mitochondrial membrane.
Though some of activated fatty acids undergo esterification to triglycerides, the majority become a substrate for beta-oxidation in the mitochondria.
The primary function of L-carnitine is to permit the entry of esterified fatty acids (the source for the ATP synthesis) into the mitochondrial matrix, where beta-oxidation occurs.”
When our body is low in L-Carnitine, it is more difficult to use stored fats for energy and this leads to compromised physical performance and fatigue (especially during extended fasts).
From this, mitochondrial dysfunction can take place… which not only leads to the formation of free radicals and lower ATP (energy) production, but is heavily linked to insulin resistance.
Therefore, if we remedy this problem in the form of an L-Carnitine injection, we can experience numerous benefits: Improved athletic performance, increased energy, and enhanced fat burning.
Benefits of L-Carnitine Injections
Thanks to Hunter’s status as an elite-level athlete, combined with his ruthless biohacking experimentation, he can share the benefits he experienced first-hand when he used an L-Carnitine injection for fat loss.
Nootropic Effect
This was probably the most surprising thing Hunter noticed when using the L-Carnitine in general.
Although he noticed a boost in cognitive function while using the oral formulation, the effect was much more powerful once he switched to a daily intramuscular injection
(Later on, we’ll tell you why he made the switch)
Not only was his focus more dialed in during workouts, but he also found himself better equipped to handle larger workloads while juggling multiple businesses at the same time.
While he would normally get tired at 3-4pm every day, the L-Carnitine injection allowed him to be more creative and high-energy for the majority of the working day.
Better Pumps
Hunter noticed a MASSIVE pump during his workouts (although this is highly dependent on the type of training you do).
Specifically, he noticed:
- Much more powerful sweating, felt like he was getting in a real workout (not to mention sweating is a potent detox mechanism)
- Muscles felt much more full
- Increased vascularity
Could all of this be a placebo?
It’s unlikely due to Hunter’s years of strict experimentation, not to mention the anonymous testimonials from other bodybuilders:
“[Been using an intramuscular L-Carnitine injection for 5 months straight]. Huge pumps, increased vascularity. Better mental energy due to the oxygenation. I’m eating tons of carbs every day and maintaining my bodyfat level. I should also mention, amusingly enough, I tested very highly for oxygenation despite popping positive for Covid a week back, they were stumped by that and I had to play dumb at the Dr. office, kind of funny” (Source)
“Vascularity, temperature increase, pump were all immediate in the loading phase sweating was increased as well. Long term effects pump always after dose increased recovery between sets and no doms. Libido seems to be increased as well more like a piece of steel as opposed to just a foam bat.” (Source)
More Energy
Hunter noticed he had much more energy and stamina to push through the last few reps of each set and train to positive muscular failure.
Fortunately for him, just like the pumps, he was far away from the only person to notice this positive benefit of using an L-Carnitine injection instead of an oral capsule or powder:
“To be honest i thought there was just gonna be a shit load of hype over this product with 0 return and well i am not gonna lie it’s out done my expectations. I don’t fatigue as easily when hammering out leg and back training, i easily get another 3-5 reps per set now or I add in an additional set or whole another exercise.” (Source)
“I am on injectable l-carnitine pre-workout (500-750mg) daily for 2 months now. Benefits I experience: Endurance while doing cardio is around 30% better, more energy in the gym (~20%), more energy after the gym (~50%), mood seems to be better overall but can’t tell with certainty (~10%), seems like fat loss is progressing a bit faster but can’t tell with certainty (~10%), and it seems like testosterone works better (250mg feels like 330mg)” (Source)
“50 days at 50 mcg. of Pharma T3, 800-900 calorie deficit per day coming from the diet. High fat, 1.25g./lbs of protein, very low carbs with carb refeeds every 4 days.Train as usual, first thing in the morning do 60-90 minutes of 3-3.5 mph walking, fasted. Add in Caffeine/Ephedrine when you’re below 8-9%. Add in Winstrol or Anavar to get to 5-6%. Inject L-Carnitine ED 400-500 mg IM, and inject GHRP-2/MOD GRF1-29 100 mcg. each before morning walk to get to a real 3.5-4%
Injectable L-Carnitine is really the secret to get past the huge barrier that is 5.5% bf. This shit is so much better than DNP for a myriad of reasons… Injectable L-Carnitine gave me so much energy it was incredible. Other than that, [my energy levels were] significantly lower, but I would attribute that to the low calories at that time.” (Source)
Fasting Becomes Easier
Given that extended fasting WILL be a part of 30 Days 2 Shrez, it’s only fair to see how an L-Carnitine injection will hold up against the rigors of not eating for +24 hours.
As it turns out, we already have a human study from China showing L-Carnitine makes things a hell of a lot easier.
30 middle-aged obese men took either 4 grams of L-Carnitine injected intravenously per day, or a placebo for 7 days.
Everybody had to walk for a couple of hours a day and their calories were heavily slashed to something like 200-300 per day.
“There were significant differences in weight loss, and waist circumference, waist hip ratio, insulin concentration, and γ-glutamyltransferase concentration [in L-Carnitine users versus the placebo group]. Perceived hunger scores were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the [placebo] group during starvation, which was alleviated with L-carnitine administration in the [L-Carnitine] group. Physical fatigue and fatigue severity were significantly reduced in the LC group but were aggravated in the CT group.”
The takeaway?
No matter what kind of fasting protocol we follow, we want to prime our body to do everything it can to burn fat.
When we supplement with L-Carnitine, especially when we’ve gone without food for +24 hours, we can better tap into our fat stores and use them as fuel, thereby enhancing lipolysis while boosting our metabolism.
Coupled with the cellular health benefits of fasting, we set the foundation for our body to accelerate maximal fat loss.
The Best L-Carnitine Injection Dose For Torching Stubborn Belly Fat
Here’s the part where we get into WHY we’re using an L-Carnitine injection instead of the standard oral capsules and powder formulations the fitness community has been using for so many decades
Without getting too deep into the details, L-Carnitine is roughly 10-15% bioavailable if consumed orally while an injection is close to 100%.
The approximation used by bodybuilders is that 4 grams of L-Carnitine taken orally is roughly equal to 500 mg of L-Carnitine injected into the body.
Based on Hunter’s experience, the best L-Carnitine injection dose is 250 mg administered intramuscularly right before a fasted cardio session in the morning (using any insulin needle between a 28 gauge and 31 gauge size).
In the absence of carbohydrates from food, and when your body’s glycogen stores are depleted, it is more likely to rely on stored fats as an energy source.
However, there are a few things to note about this method:
- You can titrate up to 500 mg per injection but that would be about the maximum you take per day
- Pure L-Carnitine comes in a water-based solution, which means you don’t have to deal with the side effects of oil-based solutions (i.e. clumps around the injection site that cause bad scar tissue and/or significant post-inject pain)
- Since L-Carnitine usually comes in ~500 mg/mL vials, DO NOT inject it fast (aim for 20-30 seconds per 1 mL)
- It’s advised to experiment with different injection sites since you are going the intramuscular route. Hunter would experiment with injecting the entire 500 mg of L-Carnitine into his glutes one day, and then split the dose evenly between each shoulder if he was going to do an upper body workout, as an example.
Finally, be aware that 99% of the bodybuilding community uses L-Carnitine very differently from Hunter.
There are arguments over minutiae, but the general gist is L-Carnitine MUST be taken alongside ~60-90g fast-digesting carbohydrates around 30-60 minutes before a workout (and low-to-zero protein) in order to maximize L-Carnitine absorption.
(The more hardcore bodybuilders will opt for 1-2 IU of insulin with or instead of the carbohydrates to really ramp things up, but that’s not going to be discussed in this article).
I can’t say if the second way of using L-Carnitine is necessarily the best despite the overwhelming consensus but I’m going to trust Hunter’s judgment on this.
Where To Buy L-Carnitine Injections (For Now)
For the time being, the only research chemical company that Hunter trusts for sourcing his L-Carnitine injection is Amino Asylum.
Although L-Carnitine is widely available in your local vitamin shops and Amazon as an oral formulation, the injectable version has to be sold as a research chemical.
Such is the name of the game.
One last thing before I conclude this article… injectable L-Carnitine is NOT a steroid.
Technically, since it is an injectable supplement, this has to be sold as a research chemical.
There are numerous research chemical websites that sell it, but a very common one is Amino Asylum.
But don’t worry – you are NOT taking a steroid by going down this route.
That being said, I would not recommend using L-Carnitine if you are a professional athlete.
Because while it is technically legal, The World Anti-Doping Agency has a hard limit on how much you use and when you use it:
“The WADA code limits IV infusions and/or injections to 50 ml over a 6-hour period.
USADA argues it’s scientifically impossible to raise your post-infusion L-carnitine levels to over 2,000 umol/L from a starting point of less than 100 umol/L in the span of a treatment that only lasts about an hour without infusing way more than 50 ml.”
Conclusion: L-Carnitine Injections May Be The Rediscovered Future Of Fat Loss
Although I never would have thought of using an L-Carnitine injection for fat loss, let alone the popular oral capsules, Hunter has introduced me to a novel modality for accelerating metabolism I never considered before.
I can’t wait to soon use it myself for my second round of 30 Days 2 Shredz and see where it takes me.
As with any Golden Age agent I recommend, it overwhelmingly works best when your health is fully optimized.
I don’t have any additional reading resources to recommend, except for this extensive podcast by Alex Kikel that breaks down the science of using L-Carnitine for fat loss in immense detail.
He also has a paid eBook dedicated exclusively to L-Carnitine that I haven’t read, but one anonymous person was kind enough to write a high-level sumary of the important points.
As always…
Raise Your Vibration To Optimize Your Love Creation!
PS – If you want to hear about drugs like injectable L-Carnitine years ahead of when I talk about them on my email list and website, join The Fully Optimized Health Private Membership Group.
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