Hey guys, relatively new to this side of lifting and thought I’d come here and ask some of you more experienced guys for advice.
So, normally I pin with a 1 inch syringe but like a dumbass I’ve accidentally ordered 1/2 inch syringes. I know these are normally used for subq injections but is it possible to get an effective intramuscular injection with these? If so, where particularly?
Any other advice is appreciated, cheers
I use 1/2” insulin pins for my delts every day. If you’re lean in certain places the 1/2” will work. If not then it’s not a huge issue.
Yeah what Iron said! I also use them (insulin) for my shoulders (all three parts), traps and I reach around and get my lats with them too!!! Basically anywhere you have thin skin and there is a nice chunk of meat to fill with oily solutions.
Delts it is then. What size pin are you using, 23g, 25g?
29g insulin pins.
The only non insulin syringes (27g, 28g, 29g, 30g, 31g) that I have seen at 1/2 inch are 25g. Exactly why they are considered insulin syringes at 27g and not 25g idk. And the 1/2 25g I am talking about are one piece units like an insulin syringe but I think they are technically called a tuberculin syringe. I have also seen some longer 25g one piece syringes at 5/8 and also 1 inch but for some reason I have never seen a 24g or larger guage at any length below 1 inch. The 1 inch 25g one piece unit was definitely classified as a tuberculin syringe.
Yeah definitely makes sense that below 1 inch they wouldn’t make any thicker than 25g. The 1/2 imch I have are 25g, will this be fine for delts?
Ever since I saw Derek from more plates more dates’ video on why he only uses insulin pins, I only use 29 gauge 1/2 pins. I’ve pinned delts, ventroglute, dorsoglute, and outer quads many times with no issues hitting muscle. And I’m not lean at all…sitting around 20% BF at the moment. With glutes, where I have the most fat, to make sure I hit muscle, I push the syringe very firmly (but perfectly straight) into my buttock to compact the fat and get the needle into the muscle.
I will caution you though 
Be very careful not to apply any lateral or shearing force to the syringe when pressing hard into your glute. You do not want that puppy snapping off into your fat. I use both hands to make sure I execute this very carefully.
Arguably the easiest method would be to just pin delts every day, as many do. I just personally prefer not to do this because it causes terribble acne on my delts and upper back. If you can get away acne free, or just don’t mind acne, delts are prob the easiest and safest.
I found that if pinning any more than 0.5mL in the delt with a 1/2” needle than the oil starts seeping out of the injection site. Just something to consider. If it’s seeping out, than a lot of the fluid is going SubQ rather than IM. I’ve experimented a lot, and found 23-25g 1” in the thigh or quad works best for me. I also inject 0.7mL every 5 days.
Trying to draw the oil through a 29g insulin syringe every day is annoying as fuck, especially when you’re in a hurry or tired or whatever. And the pain reduction is negligible between 23 and 29g. It’s more of a mental thing rather than a pain thing when sticking yourself with a harpoon.