Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Arnold Schwarzenegger 3 Day Split Bodybuilding Routine

Arnold Schwarzenegger 3 Day Split Bodybuilding Routine


This routine is inspired by the way Arnold Schwarzenegger used to train during his competition days. The workout is split into 3 parts, and each part is trained each day, with one rest day. The idea is to cycle the workout so that while you are working one set of muscles, the other sets are recovering.


Arnold Schwarzenegger 3 Day Split Bodybuilding Routine
Arnold Schwarzenegger 3 Day Split Bodybuilding Routine
If you do a full body workout, you need more time to recover, and this means more days with no training. By doing a 3 day bodybuilding routine you can train every day without over training. Saying that, Arnold Schwarzenegger trained his abs everyday on top of this workout. For abs Arnold kept the workout simple with 5 sets of 25 crunches, after each day’s weight training.


 We will not specify the number of reps and sets for each exercise, as this is something that you should be discovering for yourself. However, Arnold generally did 8 to 12 reps for the upper body muscles, and 12 to 16 reps for the lower body muscles.


He also suggests that each set should increase the weight so that failure comes sooner (he liked to train to muscular failure). This would generally involve a warm up set of 15 reps, then the second set would be 10-12 reps, then the third 8-10, and the fourth around 6 reps.

In each session he would choose a weight that would result in muscular failure on the last rep. This is calculated using the previous weight lifting session stats. Obviously keeping a training log is essential.

Day 1 – Chest, Back and Legs
Arnold’s Chest Workouts
•Bench Press
•Incline Press
•Pullovers
Arnold’s Back Workouts
•Chin-ups – maximum of 50 pres for this, work until failure up to 50 before that
•Bent-over rows
Arnold’s Leg Workouts
•Deadlifts. Start with 10 reps, then 6, then 4. Arnold liked to add power lifting exercises to his workouts
Day 2 – Shoulders and Arms
Arnold’s Shoulder Workouts
•Barbell Clean and Press
•Dumbbell Lateral Raises
•Heavy Upright Rows
•Push Presses
The last two exercises are the power exercises, which meant that Arnold would go heavy on these, work intensively to failure.

Arnold’s Arm Workouts
•Standing barbell curls
•Seated dumbbell curls
•Close-grip press
•Standing triceps extensions with barbell
•Wrist curls
•Reverse wrist curls
Day 3 -Thighs, Calves and Lower Back
Arnold’s Thigh Workouts
•Squats
•Lunges
•Leg Curls
Arnold’s Calf Workouts
Arnold’s calves were his weakest point when he started training.

•Standing calf raises, 5 sets of 15 reps on each leg
Arnold’s Lower Back Workouts
For the lower back Arnold utilized power training once again:

•Straight-leg deadlifts
•Good mornings – always take extra care on these exercises, as too much weight and poor form can be lethal! Remember Bruce Lee.
Putting the Arnold 3 Day Bodybuilding Split Together
The easiest way to perform this routine is to start on a Monday, work everyday, ensuring that you eat and sleep well, and give yourself a break on Sunday.

This is considered to be a beginners bodybuilding routine, but you still need to have a reasonable foundation in weight training to be able to workout everyday.

If you feel that you are struggling in the early weeks, consider skipping some of the power training moves, such as the deadlifts, heavy upright rows and good mornings, until you are stronger. This will help to speed recovery and reduce risk of injury.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Reasons Fish Oil Will Make You Stronger, Leaner and Healthier

Reasons Fish Oil Will Make You Stronger, Leaner & Healthier

 Fish Oil Can Help You Lose Body Fat Fish oil can help you lose body fat for a number of reasons, some of which are well known, while others are just emerging. First, fish oil provides essential fats because it is made up of omega-3 fatty acids. Essential fats are those which the body can’t produce on its own—they must be eaten—and it must have them for optimal function.

Healthy Fish Oil
Healthy Fish Oil

Fish oil won’t turn into fat in the body. Instead, the body will favorably use the fat from fish oil to build the outside lipid (fat) layer that protects our cells. Any kind of fat can be used to do this—trans fats, omega-6 fats, whatever you eat—but your cells will function the best, and metabolism will be optimal if fish oil makes up the cell lipid layer because it improves the activity of insulin.

This allows for better insulin sensitivity, which is a principal factor in fat loss. If you have poor insulin sensitivity, you will have a very difficult time losing fat. The other benefit of fish oil is that it is anti-inflammatory, which will be explained in greater depth in #3.

You can see fish oil working its fat loss magic in a recent study that gave healthy subjects 4 grams of fish oil or the same dose of safflower oil (an omega-6 fat) for 6 weeks. The participants who took the fish oil significantly lost body fat and increased muscle mass—and they weren’t even exercising!

Of interest, the participants in this study had a decrease in their levels of the stress hormone cortisol after taking the fish oil. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that degrades muscle, leads to fat gain, and makes you feel stressed out.

Fish Oil Can Help You Build Muscle: It’s Anabolic
As mentioned in #1, since fish oil decreases cortisol it leads one to think that it is anabolic, and the happy news is that there’s research to back this idea up. For instance, a new study that was performed on aging rats showed that giving them fish oil for 8 weeks significantly increased protein synthesis and helped them increase muscle cross-sectional area.

Fish oil is anabolic for humans as well. A study that gave middle-age adults 4 grams of fish oil a day found that it increased protein synthesis, producing a significant muscle building effect. The mTOR pathway that produces muscle growth was enhanced by 30 percent, as was muscle cell membrane signaling—the same mechanism via which insulin health is improved also enhances muscle building. Muscle mass increased by 2 percent, however, due to the small study population, researchers didn’t measure changes in body composition.

In fact, the anabolic effects of omega-3s prompted the NCAA to ban the distribution by major colleges to scholarship athletes. The rationale was that omega-3s gave an unfair advantage to the more financially advantage institutions who could afford to give this supplement to athletes.

 Fish Oil Will Decrease Inflammation, Enhancing Body Composition
Inflammation in the body is horrible for health, but it also significantly impacts your ability to lose body fat and build muscle. I can’t overstress the importance of decreasing inflammation if you want to be lean!

Inflammation seems to be this word that has no meaning for the general population, and people just don’t seem to understand that “inflammation” equals disease, illness, delayed recovery from injury, and obesity. Did you know that fat tissue actually produces inflammation on its own, progressively increasing the inflammatory status in the body?

Fish oil has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, which is a principal reason it helps you lose fat. First, we saw in the study mentioned in number #1 that the people who took 4 grams/day of fish oil had lower cortisol at the end of the study. Anytime cortisol is unnecessarily elevated it causes inflammation and has a protein degrading effect that causes muscle and lean tissue loss.

The anti-inflammatory evidence of fish oil goes further: It is not just chronic inflammation that fish oil can prevent. It also decreases the acute inflammatory response to intense exercise. A recent study had young athletes take 3 grams of fish oil for 7 days and then perform very intense eccentric exercise to failure.

Results showed that compared to a placebo group, the fish oil group had much lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers, less muscle swelling, and less soreness and pain in response to the workout. Researchers suggest the fish oil helped with the elimination of waste products produced in response to energy metabolism during exercise, enhancing the anabolic properties in muscle tissue.

What it all comes down to is that getting the optimal percentage of your dietary fat from fish oil will convey these anti-inflammatory benefits: a) speed detoxification of stuff you don’t want in your body (waste products, inflammatory biomarkers), b) improve cellular health and the building of muscle, c) decrease hormones that cause inflammation, and d) help you be lean and feel better.

Take Fish oil To Improve Insulin Sensitivity And Metabolism
Recall that fish oil improves insulin sensitivity because it gets incorporated into the cellular lipid layer, which allows the cell receptors to bind more easily with insulin. Once insulin is bound, its purpose is to shuttle glucose from dietary carbs into the muscles to be stored and used as energy later. If insulin can’t bind easily, it elevates cortisol, causes inflammation, and the overall result is that you get fat.

Insulin also plays a role in muscle building, which is the reason it is called an anabolic hormone. The good news is that by taking fish oil and limiting your carbohydrate intake, insulin will improve the muscle building process and it helps to load nutrients into the muscle like creatine and carnitine that are essential for physical performance and fat burning.

An example of the effect of fish oil on insulin sensitivity and body composition is seen in a recent study of women with type 2 diabetes who took either 1.5 or 2.5 grams of fish oil a day. After 30 days, both groups decreased body fat and shrunk their waistlines, while having significantly improved insulin sensitivity. Of interest in this study, the group on the low 1.5-gram dose experienced the greatest reduction in belly fat and improvement in insulin health, indicating that supplementation should be based on individual needs to pad omega-3 intake from the diet.

Get The Right Ratio of Fish Oil To Other Fats For Body Composition
Hopefully, you agree that fish oil will help you build muscle and lose body fat. Studies have only tested relatively small doses of up to 4 grams a day, but anecdotal reports suggest more rapid fat loss from higher doses in the range of 1 to 1.5 grams of your body fat percentage a day. The idea behind this large dose—if you have 20 percent body fat, you should take 20 to 30 grams of fish oil daily—is that you are getting a large portion of your dietary fat from fish oil, which is logical because omega-3 fats are the healthiest.

Say your total fat intake is 60 grams a day, getting 20 to 30 grams divided between a fish oil supplement and however much is provided from organic meat and fish is common sense. There remains that other 30 grams of fat to account for, and it’s critical your intake be optimal if you want to reap the anti-inflammatory, muscle building, fat loss benefits already described. Here’s what you need to know:


Omega 3 fish oil
Carlson Labs Elite Omega-3 Gems Fish Oil 1250mg, 120 Softgels
• Get most of your omega-3s from fish oil—that means you are getting primarily EPA and DHA, with only a small intake of the third omega-3, alpha linolenic acid (ALA) that is provided by flax seed.

• The omega-6 fats are from plant rather than marine sources. They include olive oil, nuts, avocados, and the isolated vegetable oils—corn, soybean, canola, and the like. The Western diet is VERY high in omega-6 fats due to the overuse of isolated vegetable oils. Ideally, you want a balanced intake of omega-6 to omega-3 fat, while avoiding isolated vegetable oils completely.

• The isolated vegetable oils cause inflammation when you eat too much of them. The reason is that the body uses the same enzymes to convert the omega-3 and the omega-6 fats into a form that can be used by the body. Simply, if you eat too many omega-6 fats—studies estimate the average Western diet provides a ratio around 16:1 of omega-6 to omega-3 fats—there won’t be enough enzymes available to convert the omega-3s.

• Researchers estimate that large reductions in omega-6 intake decrease our need for omega-3s dramatically—by 90 percent in some cases—because they won’t be fighting for enzymes and the omega-3s won’t be needed to counteract the inflammation caused by the overabundance of omega-6 fat.

• Try a “whole diet” approach to get the complex nutrient and fat requirements for optimal body composition: Eat wild cold water fish, pasture raised, grass-fed beef, and wild meats. Supplement with high-quality fish oil that is in triglyceride form rather than ethyl ester because it has superior bioavailability. Round your fat intake out with nuts, olive oil, avocado, and coconut oil, with very limited intake of other organic oils. Avoid hydrogenated, trans fat, and processed foods.

• Avoid foods fortified with omega-3s because you don’t know the source or quality of the fat.
by Charles Poliquin

 

Friday, June 28, 2013

Alflutop

Alflutop



Alflutop
Alflutop
Alflutop is a natural, injectable formula that is reported to be more effective than corticosteroid injections, as it not only reduces inflamation, but encourages repair and regeneration of cartilage and connective tissue. Alflutop has proven effective in clinical trials in degenerative joint disorders (bursitis, tendonitis, and arthritis).


Dosing: Intramuscular (IM) injection of 1 amp every day for 3 weeks, for a 21 day cycle, which can be followed up 2 months later. Intra-articular (IA) injection has also shown effective in later-stage clinical trials. 1-2 amps into the joint, E3D for 21 days. If it's all the same, I think I'd go for the IM route. Not too big a fan of the prospect of stabbing through some cartilage or tendons, personally. There is probably little benefit, if any, to a local IM injection (close proximity to the injured joint), so I would skip it. You probably stand to do more harm than good by "threading the needle", so to speak, into your injured joint. Alflutop has an active life of approximately 24-36 hours. The dosing protocols above are just guidelines, and the bottom line is you should continue treatment as long as necessary, if need be. There are no indications of toxicity, or any other negative side effects from Alflutop.


Comparable in effect, though different in formula from Adequan, Alflutop is reported to be a miracle drug for joint injuries. Alflutop is manufactured by BIOTEHNOS S.A. Romania.

Adequan

Adequan



Description: Each 1ml ampule of Alflutop contains 10 mg sea fish bioactive concentrate (amino acids, low molecular mass peptides, mucopolysaccharides, trace elements: Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn), and maximum 5mg/100ml phenol as preservative.

How it works: Alflutop falls into the group of chondroprotective products having anti-hyaluronidase, anti-inflammatory and analgesic action.

Alflutop: inhibits hyaluronidase excess; restores chondrocytes homeostasis in damaged tissues; stimulates regenerative processes at cartilage level; adjusts synovial fluid synthesis; stimulates superoxide dismutase; inhibits occurrence of superoxide free radicals.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

POST INJECTION PAIN

POST INJECTION PAIN:
The causes and when to worry.



Time after time I hear of people experiencing injection pain with both UGL and pharma grade gear. I have decided to put together a little guide and although most of it won’t be new information to you it doesn’t harm to remind our self from time to time.

IMO there are 3 causes of injection pain.

1) Tissue Irritation
This is probably the most likely cause of post injection pain and the least serious. Tissue irritation is likely to start 12-24 hours after injection, pain can be mild to moderate depending on the level of tissue irritation and the volume injected. The injection site is likely to swell within the muscle, maybe red and likely to be warm and very firm to the touch. The pain and swelling will start to fade after 72 hours and can last over a week in the worst cases. The most likely causes of tissue irritation are:

The steroid hormone crashes out of the solution in the depot. This causes crystallisation of the steroid hormone, this in turn places a lot of pressure on the nerve endings in the muscle belly causing knotting, swelling and pain - this is most common in long chain esters, high mg/ml concentration anabolic steroids and steroids compounded with less than idea oil blends.
A reaction to the acid compounds within the ester. With the metabolic breakdown of the ester attached to the hormone free form acids are released which can cause the muscle tissue rapid irritation at the injection site – this is most common with propionic acid of the propionate ester. Poor quality raw materials also liberate more freeform acids.

Excessive preservative. If too much benzyl Alcohol is used to formulate the solution inflammation and pain may result. Pharma grade usually contains 0.9% Benzyl alcohol where the common senseu states UGL products contain on average 2%. Anything above 1.2% offers no added anti-microbial effects. Due to water soluable nature of benzyl alcohol tissue irritation of this nature has been known to “travel” as the excessive alcohol disperses via the blood stream. This is most common with injection into the quads (vastus lateralis).The pain travels down toward the knee. This may however be in part due to lymphatic drainage and leads me nicely to my next point.

Ice and ibuprofen may help with the swelling. Hot baths, showers and massage of the injection site may help to distribute the injection and reduce pain.

2) Hitting the lymphatic system.
Hitting the lymphatic system is very rare. The lymphatic system is as vast as the circulatory system but the standard injection sights (Glute, ventro-glute, medial delts and vastus lateralis) are generally void of lymphatic nodes. If a lymph node is hit with an injection pain is likely to be severe and edema vast. The swelling will come on very fast and be extensive. It is also likely to “travel” along the lymph system to the next lymph gland. This is most noticeable with a vastus lateralis shot where the swelling tracks down toward the back of the knee. Unlike the edema experienced with tissue irritation (within the muscle only) the edema with a lymphatic puncture will be both inter and intra-muscular with a moderate amount of swelling just underneath the skin giving it a softer puffy feel. This can be tested for by pressing the swollen area with your finger, if in indent remains you have a more systematic edema and more than just local tissue irreation. The other most noticeable difference is that the swelling should not be warm/hot to touch.
Ice and ibuprofen may help. The affected area must be rested and the patient can expect pain and swelling to start to disperse after 72 hours and last at least 10 days. The painful area must not be massaged.

3) Infection and abscess.
So now to the most serious reason for injection pain. An infection will start in the same manner as tissue irritation with local pain and swelling, with heat and redness around the muscle. The major difference is that after 72 hours tissue irritation should start to subside, if the area is indeed infected this pain and swelling will get worse. The swelling will change in nature becoming more systematic and edema will start to form under the skin becoming softer and more spongy (as described with a lymphatic puncture).

There are many reasons why an infection can manifest, below are some of the most common examples.
Poor injection technique. Correct, and sterile injection technique is a must. You must make sure the injection site and rubber stopper is clean and swabbed with an alcohol wipe.

Also the moisture from the alcohol swab must be allowed to dry before preparing to inject. It is extremely rare but if the alcohol is not allowed to dry the bacterium has not been allowed adequate time to be killed off. If this partly destroyed bacterium was then pushed into a muscle through an Inter-muscular injection the bacterium can “evolve” into a superbug. My wife’s horse died this way due to an impatient vet.

You should always use a clean and new syringe barrel and pin and not allow the pin to touch anything before you inject. Avoid pinning through a hair follicle or hair and don’t be tempted to inject too quickly. Injecting too quickly can increase the risk of infection as this in turn increases injection trauma.

Not rotating injection sites. The risk of infection is massively increased if the same injection site is used over and over again without giving it time to recover. The more an injury (injection trauma) is irritated (re-injected) the more likely it is to become infected. Think back to being a child and picking that scab on your knee excessively and then being told “I told you so” when it becomes a yellow puss infected mess.

Contaminated Gear. IMO this is probably the least common cause of infection with oil based injections (I cannot say the same for water based injections). This is a no brainer really. Use a reputable UGL or pharma and avoid water based suspensions.

What to do in the case of an infection.


post-injection-pain
post injection pain redness
So the pain and swelling has not subsided and the edema is pitting and moving outside the confides of the muscle fascia after 72 hours. With an infection the body is attempting to contain the bacterium and prevent it from reaching the circulatory system by forming a cyst. This is essential to prevent blood poisoning. Firstly you need anti-biotics to help the body combat the infection, so it’s off the doctor’s office ASAP. The quicker you start treatment the better chance you have of preventing the cyst growing and leaving a nice big hole in the muscle. The problem here is that the bacterium and infection is contained within a cyst which makes it very difficult for the anti-biotics penetrate.

IMO the single most important thing you can do to ensure a rapid recovery, prevent a creator forming in the infected muscle and avoid a “cut and drain” is to self aspirate the cyst. After 4-5 days of pain and after starting the anti-biotics. Take a syringe barrel at least 1ml larger than the injected volume and a very large gauge pin (18 gauge is ideal). This may hurt but the after effects are well worth it. Directly over the injection site the abscess will be the most swollen part, maybe discolored and will be spongy to touch.

Swab the area very well and slowly penetrate the 18g pin directly into the abscess. Keep pushing the pin in and gentaly aspirating every few millimeters until you hit the cyst. Slowly aspirate the cyst. You should be able to draw out the initial volume injected and then some blood and puss. You can expect to drain out 3ml from a 2ml injection 4-5 days post injection. This will give your immune system and the anti-biotics the best chance of fighting the infection. Always complete the course of anti-biotics even if the symptoms and swelling subside.

I once had a minor abbess probably most likely due to poor injection technique. From that day on I have always had impeccable injection technique. I also suggest having a few 18g pins on standby and anti-biotics in place if this is possible for you.

Posted by redman

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bromocriptine

Bromocriptine


Bromocriptine mesylate is a drug most often medically prescribed for its ability to inhibit growth hormone and prolactin secretion via its action as a dopamine agonist. Used in the treatment of such diseases as acromegaly (1), hyperprolactinemia (2), and Cushing’s syndrome (3) among others, the drug has been adopted by bodybuilders and strength athletes as a means to combat prolactin related side effects caused by certain anabolic steroids. For this purpose bromocriptine mesylate is extremely effective while exhibiting no serious side effects to the health of the user.



Steroid users should be concerned about excessive prolactin levels because of the side effects associated with them. Prolactin is a naturally occurring hormone primarily produced by the lactotrophs located in the pituitary gland, with a minority amount of the hormone being produced by other tissues/cells of the body. Prolactin plays a major role in lactation in most mammals including humans. It both stimulates milk production as well as inducing lobuloalveolar growth of the mammary gland. Obviously both of these side effects would be of great concern to bodybuilders and strength athletes from both a health and cosmetic standpoint. Decreased sex drive, sperm production and sexual function may also be related to elevated levels of this hormone.

The anabolic steroids that can lead to excessive levels of prolactin are primarily nandrolone and nandrolone-derived compounds. Steroids such as deca durabolin, trenbolone, and durabolin all can have this effect. For this reason users of these drugs may want to have a compound such as bromocriptine mesylate in their possession to treat negative side effects related to prolactin if they should develop at any point during a steroid cycle.

Bromocriptine
Bromocriptine
Bromocriptine mesylate helps to reduce prolactin levels in humans by mimicking the actions of dopamine, thus it being a dopamine-receptor agonist (2). Dopamine inhibits the secretion and synthesis of prolactin by binding to the receptors in the lactotrophs, thereby negating the possible action of them to secrete prolactin itself. Therefore bromocriptine mesylate can bind to these receptors in the lactotrophs just as dopamine can. This action of course should prevent any abnormal prolactin levels from occurring in steroid users as they relate to any use of nandrolone or nandrolone-derived steroids.

A secondary factor in controlling the levels of prolactin in users of anabolic steroids is the amount of circulating estrogen in their systems. Estrogen has an apparent positive effect on the amount of prolactin produced, with the more estrogen that is produced being related to the amount of prolactin that is produced accordingly. For this reason often times prolactin can be controlled by way of the reduction of estrogen levels. Use of aromatase inhibitors can be used for this purpose. However when prolactin levels reach a point where a reduction of estrogen levels does not inhibit excessive prolactin secretion, administration of bromocriptine mesylate should be sufficient to inhibit any further overproduction.

While dopamine exhibits an ability to inhibit the secretion of prolactin it of course has numerous other functions in the body, with bromocriptine mesylate being able to mimic the action of dopamine and also performing many of these. These include creating a sense of wellbeing or contentment via a chemical reaction in the body, most often released during pleasurable or satisfying physical actions. It has even been shown that dopamine-receptor agonists such as bromocriptine mesylate can help increase the likelihood that individuals that are quitting smoking be successful (4). Dopamine can also help improve brain function. For this reason bromocriptine mesylate is sometimes prescribed to sufferers of Parkinson’s disease. For the average user however it may help in improving memory or even motor functions, although if normal dopamine levels are already being produced by the user this effect will likely be minimal at best. However the primary reason for use of bromocriptine mesylate by steroid users remains for the treatment of prolactin related side effects.


Use/Dosing



Due to the active life of bromocriptine mesylate a user is able to only administer the dosage once per day, ideally taking their dose at approximately the same time every day to maintain levels of the drug within their system at all times.

In terms of dosing the maximum required dosage for user would be 2.5 milligrams per day. This is the largest dosage that is used therapeutically to treat hyperprolactinemia in clinical studies and in regular medical treatment of the condition. However most users that are using the drug to combat prolactin-induced side effects as a result of steroid use should be able to use dosages smaller then this. Doses as low as .5 milligrams per day have been effective enough for many users to quell the negative side effects related to high prolactin levels. However larger doses may be necessary for some up to, and including, 2.5 milligrams per day.

Studies have demonstrated that bromocriptine mesylate is safe for use for extended periods of time, with those that suffer from diseases such as acromegaly and Cushing’s syndrome often administering the drug for years or even decades at a time. However for use by steroid users it should definitely not present any serious or significant health issues when run for relatively short periods of time if needed when using anabolic compounds that could increase prolactin levels in the user.


Risks/Side Effects

The potential side effects associated with the use of bromocriptine mesylate are for the most part related to the discomfort of the user but not the general health of him or her. Frequently reported side effects include insomnia, fatigue, light-headedness, nasal congestion, stomach cramps, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. Many of these side effects can be avoided by the user by administering their dose of the drug with food. However for some many of these side effects are also a result of using a larger then needed dose. If side effects become unbearable reduction of the dosage being administered may relieve many of the symptoms.

Although for the most part bromocriptine mesylate will not be used or be beneficial for women in a bodybuilding/strength athletics sense, the drug itself has been found not to be harmful to women. In fact, it has been shown that bromocriptine mesylate will not negatively impact fertility in women long term or short term (5). There is even some evidence that use of the drug during pregnancy should not have any negative impacts (6), although this should most definitely be considered a risky undertaking for normally healthy women and should always be used in consultation with a medical doctor.

Toxicity with this compound does not appear to be a concern as there is no evidence that it negatively impacts organs or other tissues in the body (7). Also due to the adverse side effects presented by the drug, namely stomach upset, overdosing on bromocriptine mesylate in a short period of time would be difficult. For these reasons users should not be concerned with toxicity as a result of the normal use of this drug.



References

1. Selvarajah D, Webster J, Ross R, Newell-Price J. Effectiveness of adding dopamine agonist therapy to long-acting somatostatin analogues in the management of acromegaly. Eur J Endocrinol. 2005 Apr;152(4):569-74.

2. Gillam MP, Fideleff H, Boquete HR, Molitch ME. Prolactin excess: treatment and toxicity. Pediatr Endocrinol Rev. 2004 Nov;2 Suppl 1:108-14.

3. Francia G, Davi MV, Montresor E, Colato C, Ferdeghini M, Lo Cascio V. Long-term quiescence of ectopic Cushing's syndrome caused by pulmonary neuroendocrine tumor (typical carcinoid) and tumorlets: Spontaneous remission or therapeutic effect of bromocriptine? J Endocrinol Invest. 2006 Apr;29(4):358-62.

4. Frishman WH, Mitta W, Kupersmith A, Ky T. Nicotine and non-nicotine smoking cessation pharmacotherapies. Cardiol Rev. 2006 Mar-Apr;14(2):57-73.

5. Atmaca A, Dagdelen S, Erbas T. Follow-up of pregnancy in acromegalic women: different presentations and outcomes. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 2006 Mar;114(3):135-9.

6. Bronstein MD. Prolactinomas and pregnancy. Pituitary. 2005;8(1):31-8.

7. Gillam MP, Fideleff H, Boquete HR, Molitch ME. Prolactin excess: treatment and toxicity. Pediatr Endocrinol Rev. 2004 Nov;2 Suppl 1:108-14.




Bromocriptine
Bromocriptine

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The Insulin Advantage How to Bulk and Cut on the Same Day

The Insulin Advantage How to Bulk and Cut on the Same Day


Forget the outdated idea of months-long "bulking" and "cutting" phases that the newbies love to talk about. Instead, bulk and cut throughout the day, maximizing muscle gains while controlling body fat.

How? By manipulating insulin.
Depending on your background, you probably think of insulin as either the anabolic Holy Grail or the natural enemy of fat loss. Which is it? Let's find out.
Insulin is Like a Woman
insulin

It's human nature to label something as good or bad, but this myopic outlook often does us more harm than good. You'd think we would've learned this lesson in the 80s when we erroneously demonized dietary fat, but alas, we humans tend to be slow learners.
Those passionate about fat loss label insulin an evil bastard of a hormone that's making us chubby by inhibiting fat burning and promoting fat storage. On the other hand, those focusing on muscle building label insulin's anabolic and anti-catabolic actions as nothing short of magical.
How can a simple hormone be a fat boy's nemesis anda skinny boy's secret weapon?
The truth is, insulin is like a woman: sometimes she loves you, sometimes she hates you. But the good news is that unlike a woman, we can accurately predict how insulin will act.

Know Your Opponent
Insulin is an anabolic hormone. In fact, it's even more anabolic than growth hormone. The problem is, it's indiscriminately anabolic and doesn't care whether it helps promote the building of muscle or the accumulation of fat.

But you can't blame insulin. After all, it's just a hormone doing its job. And its primary job is to maintain safe and steady blood glucose levels of around 80-100mg/dl.
So when blood glucose levels rise above 100, insulin is secreted by the pancreas. Then, ever-so-helpful insulin "picks up" the extra glucose out of the blood and takes it to a storage depot for safe keeping.
There are three different storage depots for this extra glucose: muscle glycogen, liver glycogen, or adipose tissue. Of course we prefer storage in the former rather than the latter, but the reality is that insulin doesn't care. It'll simply do what it's programmed to do.
So let's look at exactly what insulin is programmed to do.

The Good
1. Insulin Builds Muscle
Insulin stimulates protein synthesis by directing ribosomes to make more protein. If that sentence didn't give you muscle-building fans at least partial wood, then I need to explain.
Muscle is made of protein. protein is manufactured by ribosomes. Ribosomes are turned on by insulin. Allow me to quote Guyton and Hall's Textbook of Medical Physiology:
"In some unexplained way, insulin 'turns on' the ribosomal machinery. In the absence of insulin, the ribosomes simply stop working, almost as if insulin operates an 'on-off' mechanism."
So does this mean that insulin "helps" build muscle? No, it means that insulin is required to build muscle.

2. Insulin Inhibits Catabolism of protein
Insulin inhibits the breakdown of muscle. Although it may not seem as exciting, the anti-catabolic nature of insulin is every bit as important as its anabolic nature.
Anyone with financial intelligence will tell you it doesn't matter how much money you make; it only matters how much money you keep. The same goes for muscle.
Every day, your body synthesizes some protein and breaks down some protein. Whether or not you gain muscle mass over time is like a physiological math game. To build muscle, you must synthesize more protein than you catabolize. It's like keeping more money without making more money.
3. Insulin Transports Amino Acids into Muscle Cells
Insulin actively transports certain amino acids directly into the muscle cells. Guess which amino acids get this special treatment? That's right – bcaa! Branched-chained amino acids are personally escorted into muscle cells by insulin, a very good thing if you want to build muscle!
4. Insulin Increases Activity of Glycogen Synthase
Insulin increases the activity of the enzymes (i.e. glycogen synthase) which stimulate glycogen formation. This is very important as it helps ensure the storage of glucose in muscle cells, thereby improving performance and recovery.
In more immediately tangible terms, muscle glycogen formation results in much fuller, denser-looking muscle.
So far so good, but what about the other side of the coin?


The Bad
1. Insulin Inhibits Hormone-Sensitive Lipase
Insulin inhibits an enzyme called hormone-sensitive lipase, which is responsible for breaking down adipose tissue. That's obviously not good, because if you can't break down stored fat (triglycerides) and turn it into a form that can be burned (free fatty acids), you're not going to get leaner.
2. Insulin Decreases Utilization of Fat
Insulin decreases utilization of fat for energy, and instead promotes the burning of carbohydrates for energy. To put that another way, insulin "spares fat."
Although that's not good for our body composition, it makes perfect sense when you recall that insulin's main function is to get rid of extra glucose in the blood. And insulin will accomplish this by both storing more carbs and burning more carbs.
3. Insulin Increases Fatty Acid Synthesis
Insulin increases fatty acid synthesis in the liver, which is step one in the process of gaining body fat. But, this is dependent upon the availability of excess carbs – an amount above what is immediately burned or stored as glycogen.
4. Insulin Activates Lipoprotein Lipase
Insulin activates an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. If you know a little medical terminology, this may sound good at first. After all, lipase is an enzyme that breaks down fat, so why wouldn't you want to increase it?
Recall that we just discussed how insulin increases fatty acid synthesis in the liver. Once those extra fatty acids are converted to triglycerides, they're picked up by lipoproteins (i.e. VLDL), dumped into the bloodstream, and told to go find a home.
The cool thing so far is that triglycerides can't be absorbed into adipose cells. So even though you may have ample triglycerides in your blood, you're not actually getting fatter... yet. That's where lipoprotein lipase comes in.
Once activated by insulin, lipoprotein lipase breaks down these triglycerides into absorbable fatty acids which are quickly and easily soaked up, converted back into triglycerides, and stored by adipose cells.
5. Insulin Promotes Glucose Transport into Fat Cells
Insulin promotes the transport of glucose across fat cell membranes and into the fat cells. As you can imagine, the story of excess glucose in fat cells doesn't have a happy ending. Guyton and Hall summarize:
"All aspects of fat breakdown and use for providing energy are greatly enhanced in the absence of insulin."

Notice they said fat breakdown and fat burning are enhanced in the absence of insulin.
Solving the Insulin Riddle
Insulin is simply an anabolic transport hormone that does its job. It's not good or bad. It doesn't care whether you gain fat or gain muscle. All it cares about is keeping blood glucose in the normal range. When blood glucose gets high, insulin will be secreted and will work quickly to restore normal serum glucose levels.

It's not up to insulin to secrete itself at the right time. It's up to YOU to stimulate insulin release at the right time, and in the right amount if you're really good. And there's a way to do just that.

First, decide where on the fat loss/muscle gain continuum you lie:
I Only Want Muscle Gain!
If your primary goal is to gain muscle, then you want high levels of insulin throughout the day.
You especially want high-insulin levels after training to take advantage of the fact that at that time, the muscle cell membrane is extra permeable to insulin and whatever it is carrying (i.e. glucose, bcaa).
I Only Want fat loss!
If your goal is strictly fat loss, then you want lower levels of insulin throughout the day, on average.
At first thought, some people think that having low insulin levels all day every day is the way to lose fat. But unless your idea of exercise is mall walking, you need a more intelligent strategy.

Even if you couldn't care less about gaining muscle mass, it's still important to initiate some insulin secretion post-workout. This will stop the training-induced catabolism as well as shuttle glucose and amino acids into the muscle cells. Otherwise you'll find yourself losing valuable muscle and therefore hampering the metabolic machinery that burns fat!

You don't want to look skinny-fat, do you? Well, that's exactly what you'll look like unless you routinely give your muscles much-needed carbs.

I Want to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat!
Now here's a goal everyone can relate to: gaining muscle and losing fat.
Sadly, most of us believed others when they told us that it wasn't possible to gain lean muscle while losing body fat. Conventional wisdom still says that one must alternate between "bulking" and "cutting" cycles to achieve more muscle mass with less body fat. But this so-called wisdom isn't so wise after all.

When blood glucose is high, insulin is secreted and glucose is stored in muscle glycogen or liver glycogen. When blood glucose is low, insulin secretion is diminished and fat becomes the body's primary fuel source.

Insulin is like a switch that controls from moment to moment whether we're burning fat or building muscle. It doesn't take a whole day for this change to occur. In fact, it only takes minutes!

What this means is that you can plan your day to have periods of time focused on building muscle and periods of time focused on burning fat. And you can manipulate the length of these periods to alter the rate at which you gain muscle and lose fat.

Want to gain muscle faster? Increase the amount of insulin you secrete. This is especially beneficial to do immediately after resistance training for many reasons, one of which is because insulin will not convert glucose to fat if it can first store it as glycogen. And after an intense weight-training session, both muscle and liver glycogen are depleted and ready to soak up serious glucose. So, don't be shy with the carbs at this time.

For even faster muscle gain you should also boost insulin levels another time or two throughout the day. You could accomplish this with a couple more carb-containing meals. You could either have one of these prior to training and one after, or both after training (and after your post-workout drink).

Then, in order to cover the fat loss part of this equation, keep insulin levels low during the remainder of the day.
Flip the Switch

Whether you're promoting muscle gain or maximizing fat loss, insulin is the switch you need to learn to flip: "on" for muscle gains, "off" for fat loss.

Whichever you choose, remember that the switch doesn't have to stay flipped up or down for months at a time. Choose to manipulate insulin on a daily basis and you can reap the benefits while avoiding the drawbacks.

by Clay Hyght

Arnold Schwarzenegger split routine

Arnold Schwarzenegger split routine



"Heavy movements stimulate the deep-lying
muscle fibers that lighter movements never reach. The objective is to use fewer exercises, employ heavier poundage and train your whole body in one workout. I gained most of my weight and massiveness on a program of 10 exercises that I performed three times a week. After I reached a satisfactory bodyweight, I changed over to the more advanced split system and began training six days a week."

"If you need to put on 20 pounds or more, the following program is for you."


Gain-Weight Routine
Squats 5 x 8,8,6,6,6
Bench Presses 5 x 8,8,6,6,6
Incline Presses 5 x 8,8,6,6,6
Wide-Grip Chins 5 x 8-10
Bent-Over Rows 5 x 8,8,6,6,6
Behind-the-Neck-Presses 5 x 8,8,6,6,6
Barbell Curls 5 x 8,8,6,6,6
Lying Triceps Extensions 5 x 8,8,6,6,6
Deadlifts 5 x 3-5 (building up to one max set)
Machine Calf Raises 5 x 10-15

"The above program will build tremendous size and power, but it's too rugged for the beginning bodybuilder. Here's a more appropriate version for the novice."

Beginner Routine
Bent-knee Situps 1 x 15-25
Squats 3 x 10
Bench Presses 3 x 8-10
Bent-Over Rows 3 x 8-10
Military Presses 3 x 8-10
Barbell Curls 3 x 8-10
Deadlifts 2 x 10
Machine Calf Raises 3 x 15-20
Bent-leg Leg Raises 1 x 15-25

"During the first week of training do only one set of each exercise and rest for two to three minutes between exercises. Do two sets for the second week and increase to three sets for the fourth week. If the reps are easy when you hit the top number in the listed range, add weight to the bar - five to 10 pounds is sufficient. Increase the weight whenever possible, but use correct form at all times without straining. Beginners can make continuous progress for at least three months on this program."

"If you're a bodybuilder who works long hours or has limited time to train for some other reason, try the following routine."

Abbreviated Mass Routine
Squats 5 x 6-8
Bench Presses 5 x 6-8
Wide-Grip Chins
or Pulldowns 5 x 8-10
Behind-the-Neck-Presses 5 x 6-8
Barbell Curls 5 x 6-8
Lying Triceps Extensions 5 x 6-8
Deadlifts 5 x 3-5 (building up to one max set)

"Although this version is somewhat shorter, some people gain faster on fewer exercises - probably because they're able to recuperate better and they don't become exhausted from their training."

- "Rest for two minutes between sets of squats and deadlifts, but for most other exercises keep your rest to no more than 1 1/2 minutes."

- "Use these programs three days a week with at least a day of rest between workouts. For example, train on Monday, Wednesday and Friday."

Of course there was more to the article than that, but that sums it up.

Insulin and Bodybuilding - Using Insulin for Bodybuilding

Insulin and Bodybuilding - Using Insulin for Bodybuilding

The performance-enhancing properties of insulin mean misuse of the hormone is becoming increasingly common in Bodybuilding. But health experts warn that those dabbling in the drug could cause themselves irreparable damage.

Almost the “perfect drug”
Insulin use in bodybuilding
Insulin use in bodybuilding

Recently, it emerged that a 31-year-old man was admitted to hospital in Yorkshire in a coma having taken too much insulin as part of a bodybuilding regime. Last year the 35-year-old holder of eight power-lifting titles in Scotland was in a coma for two months after suspected abuse of insulin.

Dr Rob Dawson is a GP who runs a confidential needle exchange scheme for bodybuilders and sportsmen. He says about 10 per cent of the 450 patients he regularly sees have said they use insulin.

Insulin is almost the perfect drug to increase stamina or endurance for athletes. It is readily available, cheap, difficult to detect and actually enhances performance. But it can be lethal.

“Insulin is bad for body builders…I cannot stress it enough. I would never ever use it,” says 45-year-old Mick Hart, an expert on bodybuilding. He runs a bodybuilding magazine and has written the acclaimed book, “The Layman’s Guide to Steroids”. He says, “As an authority in the sport, it is the deadliest thing that has ever hit the sport.”

Insulin info

Insulin is a natural hormone secreted from the pancreas, which controls the levels of glucose in the body. Diabetics need to inject it to prevent a rise in blood glucose. However if too much is injected and blood sugar falls to a very low level then this can lead to sweating, shaking and eventually a coma or death. It is important for anyone who injects themselves with insulin to know exactly how much they require.

For a few years, insulin has been used to help improve endurance in athletes as well as to build muscles for athletes.

Endurance athletes are helped because insulin helps glucose enter muscle cells. If more glucose enters the cell than is needed then it will stimulate glycogen formation. Glycogen is a kind of “power pack” that can be switched on very quickly.

In an article on insulin, growth hormone and sport, Dr Sonksen from St Thomas’ Hospital in London wrote, “Since performance in many events is known to be a function of muscle glycogen stores, bulking up these stores will most probably enhance performance.”

Insulin is used in bodybuilding to increase the bulk of muscles. Regular injections of short-acting insulin are combined with a high carbohydrate diet and this has two helpful effects.

Firstly, the insulin works in the same way as it does in endurance athletes – increasing the volume of glycogen and leading to an increase in muscle bulk.

The second effect is that it prevents the breakdown of muscle protein. This means more muscle is made than destroyed, thereby increasing the size of muscles.

But this method of bulking up carries risks. As in the case of the man in Yorkshire, it can lead to a drop in blood-sugar levels, leading to coma or even death.

Some experts also warn that used over the long-term, it could ironically, lead to the development of diabetes, as the body’s own ability to produce the hormone falters.

Aside from these problems, most athletes who use the hormone endanger themselves further because they are unsure of the dose that is required. What follows is a game of trial and error – lethal when injecting insulin. Without professional advice this can lead to dangerous practices.

“One [shot] might be good so two might be better and three might be better than that,” says Mick Hart. He says he has seen fellow bodybuilders admitted to hospital after taking too much insulin, believing that the bigger the dose the better.

Most people who abuse insulin in sport get hold of it from diabetics but there are reports from “underground” sources that private doctors may well be prescribing insulin to athletes who are not diabetics.

The nightmare scenario according to Hart is if we see criminal gangs importing poor grade insulin from the Far East or Russia. This will cause far more problems than sport faces at present.

What the judges say

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has very specific guidelines on the taking of insulin. Unsurprisingly, it permits only the treatment of athletes with certified insulin-dependent diabetes and considers it an offence if any other competitors take the substance.

The medical director of the IOC Dr Patrick Schamasch says they can detect the abuse of insulin because injectable insulin differs from natural insulin. Some forms of insulin come from animals such as pigs and some is human insulin but genetically manufactured. “We [at the IOC] are aware that insulin is used in athletes but we are confident that we are able to detect it,” he says.

Insulin may appear to be an effective way of boosting performance in a sport where the pressure to be the best is always on. But medics wonder how many more athletes will have to come to harm before its full danger is realised.

Monday, June 10, 2013

3 Quick fixes for Bad Squat Form

3 Quick fixes for Bad Squat Form

arnold proper squat
Proper way to squat

When a lifter is first learning correct squat form, there is often some confusion as to the many nuances of the movement relative to the different weaknesses the lifter brings to the table. Most lifters have limited hip flexibility, improper bar position, quad to hip strength imbalance, and whole host of other things that can make learning the squat more complicated than it needs to be. Here are three cues that cover the primary mistakes made with the squat that will fix 90% of a beginners form issues.

1. Squeeze the bar. Most lifters new to the sport have no clue what “tightness” is. Gym rats with some bodybuilding experience are always in for a rude awakening the first time they try to do any powerlifting movement because as soon as the weight gets heavy they fall apart. The best way to illustrate tightness is to clench your fists as hard as you can for a 5 count. Do you notice how your whole body immediately tightens up. This is the same thing we want to happen on the squat. Before you get your air and step out of the rack, squeeze the hell out of the bar and don’t stop squeezing until you re-rack the weight. This simple solution works on all the lifts, but is a great way to get a new squatter to understand how to get tight and optimize proper squat form.

2. Arch your upper back. A problem many lifters face is collapsing near the bottom of the lift, meaning that their chest will fall, there hips will rise, and they will be forced to do a good morning to get the weight back up. The simple fix is to squeeze your upper back together as hard as possible. You will notice that this creates an arch in the lower back as well as making the chest come up and forward. Similar to the proper starting position in the bench press. Focusing on keeping your upper back locked together as you descend will keep your chest and head up at the bottom. You can then use your hip and leg strength to drive out of the hole and not your lower back.

3. Sit back / ass down. Most lifters’ idea of squatting is some type of horrible bodybuilding hybrid move where the bar is high on their back, they only go down halfway ( to keep tension on the muscles), they push off their toes, and their ass is a mile high. Basically the complete opposite of proper form , and it’s usually REALLY painful to watch. I’ve seen guys do three and 4 plates this way and was just cringing the whole time. The easiest way to teach the concept of sitting back is to position the lifter facing a wall, with their toes 1inch away from the wall. Now squat down to parallel without you knees touching the wall. Most guys either have their knees hit the wall after 3 inches down or just fall over backward. To do this simple move correctly you must first push the glutes backward while you start your descent, then open up your hips and push your knees outward, all while keeping your back arched and your chest up. It usually takes a couple of sessions for them to get it right, but it’s the easiest way to learn proper squat form in terms of body positioning. We don’t even let new guys train with a bar on the squat until they can do this. 

By Ian Smalley