Body Building Supplement Review:
When you are involved in the sport of body building, taking supplements can help you hone your body to new levels. There are literally hundreds of supplements on the market you can choose from. The choices can be confusing. A body building supplement review can help you make the choice about which one is right for you.
There are lots of different supplements you can use depending on your body building goals. Which one you choose to take makes a difference in the effectiveness of your workout program. We’ll review some of the high points of each of the most popular, legal body building supplements.
Creatine
Creatine has a variety of uses. Besides being used to gain strength and muscle mass, the other benefits of creatine can really help body builders achieve their goals. Creatine is also known to battle fatigue as well as muscle atrophy. It can reduce cholesterol and enhance the body builder’s metabolism to better process food. Creatine has also seen a therapeutic benefit in Parkinson’s disease as well as other brain problems.
Nitric Oxide
This supplement is known to increase and sustain the flow of muscle building agents to skeletal muscle. It can increase the amount of weight you are able to lift, boosts your power output, and quickens muscle contraction. Some people also report that taking nitric oxide as a body building supplement enhances their sexual feelings and stamina.
Proteins
Protein is very important in the diet of a body builder. It is the building block of muscle building nutrients that can build mass in ways you never thought possible. It is an amino acid that lends itself to building massive muscles that are toned and fit. It is often recommended that protein supplements be taken with some form of carbohydrate for it to be effective. Whey protein is considered to be one of the best types of protein supplement for most body builders.
Glutamine
Some body builders call glutamine creatine’s “sexy sister”. Glutamine is also an amino acid that is produced naturally by the body on its own. The problem is that stress, including the stress of a workout depletes the natural glutamine found in the system. Without glutamine, you will suffer muscle loss which can undo all your hard work in the gym. That’s why a glutamine supplement is important in any body builder’s arsenal.
Most body building supplements are reviewed on a regular basis by fitness magazines and experts. Getting a review of body building supplements can be the best way for you to figure out which ones you want to include in your regimen. Then go for it and realize some great gains in muscle tone!
domingo, 11 de marzo de 2012
sábado, 10 de marzo de 2012
Ginseng For Athletes
Ginseng For Athletes
Hello Will, What is your opinion of ginseng for athletes? Some people make it out to be the best thing since human growth hormone while others say it's worthless. What do you think Will?
Ginseng is often called an "adaptogen" which basically means it helps the body adapt to higher levels of stress. Ginseng proponents claim is can cure just about everything ranging from nervous disorders, anemia, poor libido, wakefulness, forgetfulness and confusion, nausea, chronic fatigue, and angina, to name a just few. Exactly how ginseng supposedly accomplishes all this is unclear and still being investigated. In animals, ginseng appears to have positive effects on metabolism as well as the cardiovascular system, central nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system.
Does it do all this in humans? Several recent reviews that examined the data on ginseng concluded, that while studies with animals show that ginseng (or its active components) may have positive effects, there is generally a lack of controlled research showing it improves performance in humans. There is also some data that suggests ginseng may have estrogenic effects in men, which of course is not what a male athlete wants.
The general consensus regarding the effects of ginseng in humans is that most studies suffer from methodological problems such as inadequate sample size and lack of double-blind, control and placebo designs. Several recent studies have found no improvements in performance from ginseng.
The reason for the contradictory finding between humans and animals may be due in part to the type of ginseng being used, the quality of the ginseng being used, the amount of the ginseng used. For example, there is American ginseng, Indian Ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and Korean ginseng, all reported to have different effects. Also, many ginsengs on the market are known to be lacking in the active ingredient in ginseng, known as "ginsenosides."
One study found that over 85% of ginseng products on the shelves contained virtually no gensenosides. This makes ginseng something of a confusing supplement for athletes, but not a supplement without potential merit or health uses.
Some studies have found ginseng has powerful anti cancer and anti oxidants properties as well as an ability to improve blood sugar metabolism. One recent study found ginseng was able to treat some men with erectile dysfunction! This may be due to ginseng being possibly able to effect Nitric Oxide (NO) production in men, as NO is essential for obtaining an erection.
Clearly, there is a need for research dealing with the efficacy of ginseng, and this research needs to take into account basic, fundamental design considerations if there is to be any hope of establishing whether or not ginseng actually has a place in an athletes supplements regimen.
I have to admit, in the real world, that is reports from people and person use, I have never noticed any performance enhancement (i.e. increases in strength, etc.) from ginseng and I think there are probably better supplements to spend your money on.
About Will Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.
Hello Will, What is your opinion of ginseng for athletes? Some people make it out to be the best thing since human growth hormone while others say it's worthless. What do you think Will?
Ginseng is often called an "adaptogen" which basically means it helps the body adapt to higher levels of stress. Ginseng proponents claim is can cure just about everything ranging from nervous disorders, anemia, poor libido, wakefulness, forgetfulness and confusion, nausea, chronic fatigue, and angina, to name a just few. Exactly how ginseng supposedly accomplishes all this is unclear and still being investigated. In animals, ginseng appears to have positive effects on metabolism as well as the cardiovascular system, central nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system.
Does it do all this in humans? Several recent reviews that examined the data on ginseng concluded, that while studies with animals show that ginseng (or its active components) may have positive effects, there is generally a lack of controlled research showing it improves performance in humans. There is also some data that suggests ginseng may have estrogenic effects in men, which of course is not what a male athlete wants.
The general consensus regarding the effects of ginseng in humans is that most studies suffer from methodological problems such as inadequate sample size and lack of double-blind, control and placebo designs. Several recent studies have found no improvements in performance from ginseng.
The reason for the contradictory finding between humans and animals may be due in part to the type of ginseng being used, the quality of the ginseng being used, the amount of the ginseng used. For example, there is American ginseng, Indian Ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and Korean ginseng, all reported to have different effects. Also, many ginsengs on the market are known to be lacking in the active ingredient in ginseng, known as "ginsenosides."
One study found that over 85% of ginseng products on the shelves contained virtually no gensenosides. This makes ginseng something of a confusing supplement for athletes, but not a supplement without potential merit or health uses.
Some studies have found ginseng has powerful anti cancer and anti oxidants properties as well as an ability to improve blood sugar metabolism. One recent study found ginseng was able to treat some men with erectile dysfunction! This may be due to ginseng being possibly able to effect Nitric Oxide (NO) production in men, as NO is essential for obtaining an erection.
Clearly, there is a need for research dealing with the efficacy of ginseng, and this research needs to take into account basic, fundamental design considerations if there is to be any hope of establishing whether or not ginseng actually has a place in an athletes supplements regimen.
I have to admit, in the real world, that is reports from people and person use, I have never noticed any performance enhancement (i.e. increases in strength, etc.) from ginseng and I think there are probably better supplements to spend your money on.
About Will Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.
Question: How Do I Break A Chocolate Addiction?
Question : How Do I Break A Chocolate Addiction?
Dear Will, I follow our articles and column every month. One article in particular I really enjoyed was about the many uses of whey, from depression to performance. It was very interesting. One thing I have suffered from is depression which seems to get worse if I am under stress, like studying for a test. Can whey also help me perform better on my school tests as well as being a great protein source for my bodybuilding efforts?
Dear Melissa, Interesting you would refer to your monthly chocolate intake as a "habit" as some scientists have argued that chocolate is in fact addictive. In fact, recent studies have used chocolate as a model for addictive effects of drugs on their brain and one study found chocolate affected the same area of the brain as cocaine! Using a method known as "positron emission tomography" a team of U.S. and Canadian neuroscientists believe they have identified areas of the brain that may underlie addiction and eating disorders.
The research was carried out by Dana Small, assistant professor of neurology, and colleagues at Northwestern University Medical School and published September issue of the journal Brain. No surprise then that chocolate is often reported as the single most craved food when people are interviewed. Ok, so we know that chocolate has some interesting addictive effects not unlike some drugs, but does that make it bad for you per se? The answer is no.
Chocolate contains compounds called flavanoids, which are a large group of plant based compounds known to have a wide range of effects. Lignans and flavanoids are naturally-occurring diphenolic compounds found in high concentrations in whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables and chocolate! In fact, a small bar of dark chocolate contains as many flavonoids as six apples, 4.5 cups of tea, 28 glasses of white wine and two glasses of red wine!
Flavanoids are a large group of compounds including catechin, daidzein, equol, genistein, beta-naphthoflavone (BNF), quercetin, rutin, chrysin, and genistein, as well as many others. For example, the famed "Flavone-X" mentioned in Dan Duchain's articles (which I believe turned out to be chrysin) is a flavanoid as are the recent "methoxy" based products. Interestingly, recent research showed the consumption of chocolate can have positive cardiovascular effects and according to Carl Keen from the University of California, Davis, at a recent conference, chocolate actually increased antioxidant capacity after volunteers consumed chocolate consumption, as well as other positive effects on blood vessels. Now here is the interesting twist on all this; they found not all chocolate is created equal to get these positive effects. Apparently, depending on how the chocolate is made, it can contain vastly different amount of healthy flavanoids.
So, Melissa you are off the hook as an occasional chocolate intake may in fact be good for you! Unfortunately, we don't have a list of chocolate bars that tell us whether they have high or low levels of flavanoids but it is known that darker chocolates tend to have higher levels over light chocolate. As for me, I didn't feel bad about my one chocolate bar per week "habit" even before I learned this!
About Will Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.
Dear Will, I follow our articles and column every month. One article in particular I really enjoyed was about the many uses of whey, from depression to performance. It was very interesting. One thing I have suffered from is depression which seems to get worse if I am under stress, like studying for a test. Can whey also help me perform better on my school tests as well as being a great protein source for my bodybuilding efforts?
Dear Melissa, Interesting you would refer to your monthly chocolate intake as a "habit" as some scientists have argued that chocolate is in fact addictive. In fact, recent studies have used chocolate as a model for addictive effects of drugs on their brain and one study found chocolate affected the same area of the brain as cocaine! Using a method known as "positron emission tomography" a team of U.S. and Canadian neuroscientists believe they have identified areas of the brain that may underlie addiction and eating disorders.
The research was carried out by Dana Small, assistant professor of neurology, and colleagues at Northwestern University Medical School and published September issue of the journal Brain. No surprise then that chocolate is often reported as the single most craved food when people are interviewed. Ok, so we know that chocolate has some interesting addictive effects not unlike some drugs, but does that make it bad for you per se? The answer is no.
Chocolate contains compounds called flavanoids, which are a large group of plant based compounds known to have a wide range of effects. Lignans and flavanoids are naturally-occurring diphenolic compounds found in high concentrations in whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables and chocolate! In fact, a small bar of dark chocolate contains as many flavonoids as six apples, 4.5 cups of tea, 28 glasses of white wine and two glasses of red wine!
Flavanoids are a large group of compounds including catechin, daidzein, equol, genistein, beta-naphthoflavone (BNF), quercetin, rutin, chrysin, and genistein, as well as many others. For example, the famed "Flavone-X" mentioned in Dan Duchain's articles (which I believe turned out to be chrysin) is a flavanoid as are the recent "methoxy" based products. Interestingly, recent research showed the consumption of chocolate can have positive cardiovascular effects and according to Carl Keen from the University of California, Davis, at a recent conference, chocolate actually increased antioxidant capacity after volunteers consumed chocolate consumption, as well as other positive effects on blood vessels. Now here is the interesting twist on all this; they found not all chocolate is created equal to get these positive effects. Apparently, depending on how the chocolate is made, it can contain vastly different amount of healthy flavanoids.
So, Melissa you are off the hook as an occasional chocolate intake may in fact be good for you! Unfortunately, we don't have a list of chocolate bars that tell us whether they have high or low levels of flavanoids but it is known that darker chocolates tend to have higher levels over light chocolate. As for me, I didn't feel bad about my one chocolate bar per week "habit" even before I learned this!
About Will Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.
Question: Over Training Syndrome?
Question : Over Training Syndrome ?
Dear Will, I am often tired for days after I workout. I also notice my strength is down and I get sick more often than others. I am thinking I must be in an over trained state. I am a tri-athlete and it often comes with the territory, though I try to avoid it. What information do you have that would help me? By the way, your e-book was very helpful.
Recently I went to a symposium on Over Training Syndrome (OTS) that was put on by a panel of scientists who have looked at OTS is a variety of athletes, ranging from bodybuilders to runners. In many respects, truly defining OTS in athletes has been more difficult to do than expected. Athletes that suffer from OTS can have alterations in immunity, loss of strength and energy, reductions in testosterone with a rise in the muscle wasting hormone cortisol, and other negative effects. However, these physiological markers don't appear in all athletes suffering from OTS, so diagnoses is not always easy. Trends with athletes, especially endurance athletes, regarding OTS have been coming to light. The panel of scientists at this symposium had some interesting findings and comments to share with the audience.
Their findings show that many elite athletes experience viral infections and upper respiratory infections (URIs), chronic fatigue, and other problems. Runners who ran a marathon are up to six time more likely to get a URI than runners who trained for the race but did not run it. The researchers also found that the athletes immune systems had half the ability to kill invading organisms vs sedentary controls, showing how hard intense exercise can be on the immune system. They found cortisol and norepinephrine are elevated up to six hours after intense exercise vs non exercising controls. Relating directly to the immune system: they found a 38% drop in immune cells essential to fighting infection called lymphocytes (T-cells). T-Cells function tests showed the T-cells don't react properly to an immune challenge (e.g bacteria, viruses, etc) for up to 6 hours after exercise. Natural killer cells (NK cells) needed as a first line defense for immunity were down while pro-inflammitory products such as IL-6 are up 500%! Ouch! For up to a solid week after intense endurance exercise, they found various immune disturbances and other problems. Not good mojo.
The most obvious way to avoid OTS is to avoid overtraining in the first place by cycling intensity levels, ingesting adequate calories, and making sure to get plenty of sleep. Nutritionally speaking, it was found a carb drink immediately following the event helped to greatly reduce immune problems by increasing insulin levels which combat cortisol. Other nutrients that might help would be whey protein, anti oxidants, flax oil, glutamine, and possibly products like creatine and ZMA, but there is less data on those specifically for OTS. If you are tired all the time, get sick easily, or have a general loss of strength and endurance, you are probably suffering from OTS.
Good luck.
About Will Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.
Dear Will, I am often tired for days after I workout. I also notice my strength is down and I get sick more often than others. I am thinking I must be in an over trained state. I am a tri-athlete and it often comes with the territory, though I try to avoid it. What information do you have that would help me? By the way, your e-book was very helpful.
Recently I went to a symposium on Over Training Syndrome (OTS) that was put on by a panel of scientists who have looked at OTS is a variety of athletes, ranging from bodybuilders to runners. In many respects, truly defining OTS in athletes has been more difficult to do than expected. Athletes that suffer from OTS can have alterations in immunity, loss of strength and energy, reductions in testosterone with a rise in the muscle wasting hormone cortisol, and other negative effects. However, these physiological markers don't appear in all athletes suffering from OTS, so diagnoses is not always easy. Trends with athletes, especially endurance athletes, regarding OTS have been coming to light. The panel of scientists at this symposium had some interesting findings and comments to share with the audience.
Their findings show that many elite athletes experience viral infections and upper respiratory infections (URIs), chronic fatigue, and other problems. Runners who ran a marathon are up to six time more likely to get a URI than runners who trained for the race but did not run it. The researchers also found that the athletes immune systems had half the ability to kill invading organisms vs sedentary controls, showing how hard intense exercise can be on the immune system. They found cortisol and norepinephrine are elevated up to six hours after intense exercise vs non exercising controls. Relating directly to the immune system: they found a 38% drop in immune cells essential to fighting infection called lymphocytes (T-cells). T-Cells function tests showed the T-cells don't react properly to an immune challenge (e.g bacteria, viruses, etc) for up to 6 hours after exercise. Natural killer cells (NK cells) needed as a first line defense for immunity were down while pro-inflammitory products such as IL-6 are up 500%! Ouch! For up to a solid week after intense endurance exercise, they found various immune disturbances and other problems. Not good mojo.
The most obvious way to avoid OTS is to avoid overtraining in the first place by cycling intensity levels, ingesting adequate calories, and making sure to get plenty of sleep. Nutritionally speaking, it was found a carb drink immediately following the event helped to greatly reduce immune problems by increasing insulin levels which combat cortisol. Other nutrients that might help would be whey protein, anti oxidants, flax oil, glutamine, and possibly products like creatine and ZMA, but there is less data on those specifically for OTS. If you are tired all the time, get sick easily, or have a general loss of strength and endurance, you are probably suffering from OTS.
Good luck.
About Will Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.
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