Hyaluronic acid site enhancement
Site enhancement is an enhanced bodybuilding practice which consists in injecting specific muscles with volumizing agents that can increase the visual appearance of muscle overnight.
Synthol is a great example of site enhancement. Synthol is an oil that many professional bodybuilders (and those crazy Brazilian guys with fake swollen arms we’ve all seen) use to bring up specific body parts.
As you can imagine, injecting your muscles with a synthetic oil so that they can swell up and look inflated overnight is not a very safe practice. Many synthol abusers have ended up in the hospital, needing to undergo a procedure to get the oil drained before their muscle mass starts to rot due to loss of blood flow.
Is safe site enhancement possible?
The answer is yes, as long as expectations are kept low. It is possible for anyone to bring up lagging body parts such as their delts, upper chest or even the peak of their biceps with Hyaluronic Acid.
Hyaluronic Acid is a naturally occurring substance that plays an important role in wound repair, skin quality, joint strength and ocular health.
Ever wondered what those girls with big fake lips actually put on their lips, jaws and cheeks to get that plastic look? Hyaluronic Acid is the answer.
When injected into muscle tissue, Hyaluronic Acid increases its volume without causing unwanted reactions, since it is a substance that is already found in the body and therefore isn’t seen as a foreign substance that needs to be eliminated.
Hyaluronic acid fillers can last for up to one year, sometimes even longer depending on how much is injected.
Just like HA can be used to increase the volume of lips, cheek bones and the masseter muscles in the jaw, it can be used to increase the volume of muscles like the delts, chest, biceps and triceps.
How is it administered? Most people do 2 to 4ml per muscle group, depending on how much volume they need to add. A simple intramuscular injection into the muscle that one wants to grow is enough to see a decent effect.
However, the exact placement of the shot matters, especially when trying to create a realistic look. For that reason, filling up big muscle groups like the chest can require multiple shots throughout it, so as to avoid a big lump on a very specific area of the chest.
Should you do site enhancement?
In my opinion, site enhancement should only be considered by advanced bodybuilders who just need a subtle improvement in very specific muscles.
Using it as a shortcut will backfire, since replicating a full, big look throughout the body with hyaluronic acid would require tons of injections and would ultimately look unrealistic.
It is called SITE ENHANCEMENT for a reason, and not FAKE MUSCLE. If you decide to use it, use the minimum amount you can get away with and only where strictly necessary.
