The gold standard growth hormone peptide stack. Optimal dosing, timing, and protocol for maximizing natural GH release.
CJC-1295 (no DAC / Mod GRF 1-29) is a GHRH analog that tells your pituitary to produce growth hormone. Ipamorelin is a GHRP that tells your pituitary to release it. Together, they produce a GH pulse that is 3-5x larger than either peptide alone. This synergistic effect is why the combination is considered the gold standard for peptide-based growth hormone optimization.
The key advantage of ipamorelin over other GHRPs (like GHRP-6 or GHRP-2) is its selectivity. Ipamorelin does not significantly raise cortisol or prolactin and causes minimal hunger increase, making it the cleanest option for daily use.
Must be injected on an empty stomach (2+ hours fasted). Wait 20-30 min before eating after injection.
Same timing as CJC-1295. Both are drawn into the same syringe and injected together.
Your body produces its largest natural GH pulse approximately 1 hour after falling asleep. Injecting CJC-1295 + ipamorelin 30 minutes before bed on an empty stomach amplifies this natural pulse dramatically. If you can only dose once daily, make it the pre-bed dose.
Most protocols recommend 8-12 weeks on, followed by 4 weeks off to prevent receptor desensitization. Some users run 5 days on / 2 days off (weekdays only) as an alternative cycling approach.
Calculate your doses: CJC-1295 calculator | Ipamorelin calculator
These two are combined so routinely that the stack has its own name, and the reason is that they act on two different receptors that both feed into growth hormone release.
CJC-1295 is a GHRH analogue. Growth hormone releasing hormone is the signal that tells the pituitary to produce and release GH, so CJC-1295 increases the size of the pulse the pituitary is capable of.
Ipamorelin is a ghrelin receptor agonist, sometimes called a growth hormone secretagogue. It acts on a separate receptor that triggers release, and it also suppresses somatostatin, the hormone that puts the brakes on GH secretion.
Those are three distinct levers: increase the signal to produce, trigger release, and reduce the inhibition. Using one alone leaves the others untouched, which is the mechanistic case for the pair. Ipamorelin is specifically favored over older secretagogues because it is comparatively selective, with less effect on cortisol and prolactin than some alternatives in the same class.
More than almost any other stack, this one is governed by timing rather than dose, and there are two separate reasons.
The empty stomach requirement is not folklore. Elevated blood glucose and insulin blunt growth hormone release. Eating shortly before a dose, particularly carbohydrate, works directly against the mechanism. The usual guidance is a window of roughly two hours after eating and thirty minutes to an hour before eating again.
The pre-bed dose exploits an existing pulse. The body's largest natural GH release happens shortly after the onset of deep sleep. Dosing before bed adds to a pulse that is already occurring, rather than trying to create one from a flat baseline. This is why, if only one dose per day is realistic, the pre-bed dose is the one to keep.
The half-life difference between the two versions of CJC-1295 also matters here. The no-DAC version clears in roughly 30 minutes, which sounds impractical but is deliberate: a short, sharp signal produces a pulse resembling natural secretion. The DAC version has a much longer half-life, producing sustained elevation instead, which is a different strategy rather than a stronger one. The CJC-1295 calculator covers the DAC and no-DAC distinction in more detail.
The cycling guidance above exists because continuous stimulation of a receptor tends to reduce its responsiveness over time. That is the reasoning behind protocols structured as 8 to 12 weeks on followed by roughly 4 weeks off, and behind weekday-only alternatives that build a break into each week.
Worth being straight about the evidence: these cycling conventions come from practitioner protocols and reasoning about receptor biology rather than from controlled human trials of this specific combination. Neither compound is FDA approved, and neither has completed human trials for these uses.