Look Ripped

Wearing fat genes

Attended a seminar at the Garvin institute last night the subject “are our genes making us fat” interesting subject and highly regarded professionals spoke on the research they had uncovered in regard to genetic predisposition for obesity, there was a definite genetic cause and the consensus was that we may all carry the gene although the common thread was that environment had changed so had our daily workloads. So it was the intersection of the genetic preponderance for obesity and an environment conducive to conserving energy that has us where we are today. But rather than answer some of the more flummoxing questions it would seem we have only created more, Epigenetic is a new area of research that suggests quite strongly that our genes are influenced by our epigenes they either turn our heritable genes off or on. So why do some of us have the fat gene switched on and others don’t? Quite the conundrum!

Protein bars and drinks waste of time and money

So your thinking of bulking up and you have swallowed the line that to do so you need to get yourself into the energy bars and protein drinks that  guarantee to make you bigger better and stronger just like your heroes in the muscle mags.well sorry i have some bad news if your buying these products your wasting your money because most of them have no legitimate studies to back up the assertions of their efficacy let alone have you looking like the big boys in the muscle mags.

The post work our meal

It's true that having a post work out meal as close to the time you stop training is essential, well at the least optimal for replenishing your spent stores of glycogen and amino pool for building lean muscle mass.But does it need to be a protein bar or a powdered shake to get the optimum post meal benefit? that's a resounding no! studies have found that a 600ml glass of flavoured milk will give you all the benefits for an ideal post meal.

The price

Whats a litre of milk worth compared to a $5 protein bar or $80 protein powder $2.50 and some flavouring a few cents extra.It would seem the promoter's of the supplements are relying the naivety of the customers when they talk about the amino mix the right protein balance for optimum uptake and the amount of carbohydrate needed to facilitate the process. It isn't that hard the bodies an gentic phenomena that doesn't require the intake of so called growth promoting supplements, the only one rally benefiting id the supplement promoters who are reaping billions of dollars selling to the gullible.

The face on the can

And who's face do we see on the can of powdered milk most often a massive body builder ripped to the bone an Olympian or competitive body builder.These guys aren't products of protein powder and bars these guys are the product of pharmacological interventions.They get lean with diuretics and bulk up with  steriods thers nothing natural about it if they were to rely on these supplements there is no doubt theyre massive frames would disappear overnight.So wake up and smell the roses there's nothing wrong with using flavoured powders i use one myself . but i have no illusion's about what it does flavour the shake.  

Big Boys just full of juice piss and wind

Reading through on on line article i was dismayed to find that Ronnie Coleman was to be a guest at the fitness expo being held in Sydney Australia, now how many of you would want someone full of gear to represent your idea of health and fitness? Now i don't know personally of Coleman's use of performance enhancing extraneous pharmaceuticals but history has shown many of those at the top are there for one reason only they're on the juice!

Dying to look great

It doesn't take a genius to work out that you can train all day and eat like a horse or eat a horse and you are not going to reach any where near the proportions displayed by the really big guys that often grace the pages of muscle mags.The amount of drugs these guys need just to get the old bod into gear for the big day is mind boggling one would imagine even for a pharmacist.A list of some of the pharmaceuticals needed to get your pin cushioned arse on stage are as follows.

14 week drug regime

400mg /wk testosterone

200mg/methenolone

25mg/day methandrostenolone

0.70mg/day tiratrical

3 IU's Growth hormone 3 x week

approximate weekly total of androgen = 775 mg

As the cycle closes in on the date for the big day the drug list increases and so does the amount and frequency taken. towards the lead up other drugs that may be introduced are Tess suppressant, stanozolol, clenbuterol, oxandrolone to name a few the total of androgen now sloshing around in the old systemafter a 14 week cycle is approximately 15,937 mg. 

At a cost of about $25,000 dollars it's not hard to see that the script of under the counter drugs is amounted to a sizable sum considering even the winner only gets a shitty plastic trophy and his sunken face on a protein can. 

Its harder on the gear

You have probably heard it all before those that take this compendium of drugs do so believing that they have to, to reach their full potential they need to, to be a chance of getting into the winners circle, they must because it's their destiny "Get big or die trying" unfortunately some do die trying .its harder to do it naturally than it is on the gear the gains are harder the training is harder.But guess what? the gains stay and the effort is yours not some under the counter hormone that was destine for a race horse or someones fricking dog. 

Old Dudes rule !!!!!!!!!!!!!

As i read an article about the B/B dilemma of the ever shrinking upper body of an ageing athlete a chill went up my spine, at 54 I’m few years older than this  guy  and have been weight training since i was 15 and love the feel and the look of being a lean mean flexing machine but the ravages of time i know will finally catch up with me. To date i have maintained my muscle integrity although i concede i probably have lost some of the bulk i had at 40 yet my weight is stable and the muscle to fat ratio is still as good if not the same as when i was at my peak. I still push heavy weight even compared to others in the gym and much younger trainers. It’s not my intention to delude myself I’m still young but i believe that if i keep my body under the stresses it’s been used to for most of my life it will accommodate me by responding accordingly. A recent sore knee had me thinking maybe the machine is breaking down. Although i train hard i also train smart there’s no point getting older without getting smarter.

Rippedrooster

Over training and injury

This should come as no surprise to any way that has been training for a while but there are many out there that have the knowledge but still over train and end up injuring themselves then wondering why.As an example one of the more senior trainers at my gym not only trains his clients but also trains with them.Although he trains only once a  day the intensity of doing so every day with clients can and does exact a toll on his body.

Forgetting that your flesh and bone

The other mistake that gym rats make is to overestimate their capabilities to recuperate especially when they are also taking performance enhancing drugs such as testosterone and other hormone related pharmacopoeia. steroids can mask injuries or increase the risk to an injury due to aggression or increased strength  possible that your ability to push may be beyond the capability of your muscle or ligaments.It takes time to build up to increasing the weight that you can press or the amount of reps you can achieve.Naturally you have the limitations placed on you that for all intentional purposes keep you within your limitations, conversely using drugs you often can exceed them.

When it all comes crashing down

As i pointed out previously the trainer that is pushing himself beyond the normal limitations of his body and without adequate rest has as i expected ruptured a disc. It only takes a serious injury to bring home the message that you are flesh and bone, unfortunately he now had reduce the amount of weight the intensity and duration of his sessions and may even need surgery as a result of nerve impingement.

Train smart and rest often

There isn't any secrete to longevity when training its about knowing your limitations and listening to your body if it wants to rest allow it too, if you have a niggling pain don't train through it train around it or adapt your activity to accommodate the pain.If your using drugs keep in mind that they be masking underlying injuries.It takes time to build a great physique and time to build muscle do nt rush into it and remember it wont happen over night but it will happen.    

Reducing cardiac events or increasing PHARMA profits

A lie told often enough becomes the truth  .Cholesterol lowering drugs (statins) have become ubiquitous in our society so much so that few question the wisdom that we should all have our cholesterol around a predetermined level regardless of lifestyle family history or genetic predisposition. There is compelling evidence for not taking statins yet we hear little of the side effects and even less about the studies that fail to support medicating the populace. The assertion that taking statins reduces the risk of heart disease would appear to have become truth contrary to the fact there is scant evidence to support it. Conversely there has been a plethora of larger studies that have found that statins have little if any effect on mortality in people without established heart disease. The studies went further to assert that there was not a single legitimate study to show any benefit for taking statins in people that hadn’t had heart attacks, little benefit for those men that did and no benefit what so ever for women. The question is not should we allow pharmacists to prescribe cholesterol lowering drugs without a current script but whether they should be prescribing them at all.

The five minute work out

What a joke who can in their right mind advocate that someone could make gains with a five minute work out? Michelle Bridges that's who! It beggars belief that in these enlightened time that a person that has placed herself at the top of the fitness food food chain could espouse such utter shit.realistically you cant even take a shit in 5 minutes let alone get fit.

The Crap comes thick and fast

Fifty sit ups would take you longer than five minutes, bench press would take you longer than five minutes boiling an egg that would take you three minutes.So you could boil an egg and with the other two minutes try and figure out how the hell your going to get fit with 5 minutes a day i assume seven days a week.Even seven days a week equates to 35 minutes. Michelle Bridges is going ot get you fit with her new book doing exercise for 35 minutes a week, give me a fucking break!

Gurus with little idea other than selling the book

So many books so much miss-information and unfortunately the masses are swollowing it hook line and sinker, if you were to forgoer food and eat the book you may lose weight.There's nothing you can do in 5 minutes that is going to improve your fitness your muscle strength or your attitude to being fit.Michelle Bridges get a grip you may be the biggest loser but advocating these diatribe is just marketing bull shit take 5 minutes and give yourself a real good reefing up the coit!    

What women want is not what most bodybuilders think

 

I see it all the time guys looking in the mirror pumped with pride that their huge and chunky it’s all about size or is it? Ask any body builder what they would like to be and most often the response is Bigger! But bigger is not necessarily better and if you’re trying to attract the opposite sex bigger may not be the key.

On the juice

It’s a fact guys take more notice of other guys size than women do, what girls really like is to see is a nice chiselled frame not to big not to small just right, i like to call it the Goldilocks syndrome. And there’s the nub once guys start pumping the iron they become so self focused and consumed by the anabolic effects of resistance training they fail to check for aesthetics of their work in progress. And before you can say my cocks shrunk their on the juice.

Naturally built is better built

I don’t care whether you are training for a beach body or one to climb on stage with the quintessential ingredient for a great physique is the aesthetics of it. Time and time again i see guys building muscle for the sake of building muscle it’s not pretty if it isn’t sculptured give me the muscle bound jerk and i will give you back the sculptured athlete. Most of us have a particular body part that is either stubborn or responds excessively well to stimulation. Building the physique that others will admire and woman will swoon for is about identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your body.

The bods that prove looking good isn’t just about the size

The bodybuilders that i most admire are the ones that would be termed small in comparison to guys like Ronnie Coleman or Dorian Yates. A the top of my to be like list are Frank Zane, Francis Banfatto, Rory Leidelmeyer  and Serge Nubret  to name a few these guys had the muscle and the aesthetic appeal that not only rattled the cages of the bigger beasts but also made the girls hearts skip a beat.

Maybe milk isn’t just for babies!

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger was credited with saying “Milk is for babies” well it would seem that may not be entirely correct. A new study on post exercise nutrition specifically drinking milk has identified that when pumping iron a glass of milk can be the most effective way to replenish spent stores of glycogen. Half a litre of flavoured milk post work out replenishes the glycogen lost through weight training by converting the sugars to glycogen which is then taken up by the muscle. Another bonus is that the sugars increase the amount of insulin released from the pancreas, this increases the amount of amino acids being taken into the muscle tissue as protein.

The recruits

20 women that hadn’t trained with weights for over 9 months they were put on took on weight training regime for 12 weeks and given sports drinks post work out, they gained 1.1 kilo of muscle and 0.3 kilo of body fat. When the sports drink was supplanted with flavoured milk they gained 1.9 kilos of muscle and lost 1.6kg of fat.

Milk isn’t just for babies

It would seem that all the expensive post preparations on the market aren’t much better than the old flavoured milk if not even less effective. So it would seem that what most of us are digesting rather than effective post work out protein is a propaganda campaign by those with a vested interest and selling expensive post workout products.  

The mirror sometime lies

I recently trained at another gym and found the wildlife not so much different but just a variation of what i was used to seeing. One guy in his late fifties came strutting towards me looking like he had watermelons under his arms. He was wearing a baseball hat with hair sticking from under it like it may have been sown into the lining of the hat. He obviously figured that he was massive the way he strutted from one mirror to the next arms out wide and taking shooting glances at himself.

The emperor’s new clothes

I'm not sure what he was seeing when he looks in the mirror but I'm sure it most definitely wasn't what i saw. Sloppy lats covered in pock marks no shoulders skinny arms dangling from a torso that was more at home on a sofa eating chips than perusing the mirrors of the gym. It was not long before my attention was drawn away by another peacock, big black dude with a little tuft of hair on his pumpkin head. He wasn't showing anyone his physique until he was pumped to the max. Once the Michelin man was blown to full capacity off came the sweat shirt and out fanned the lats. I think after a few glances he was disappointed with what he saw so the sweats went back on.

The eclectic gym rats

It’s interesting sometimes to just look around and see what’s going on in the gym it would seem there's always a few characters that provide monetary entertainment in between your own sets. The gym environment is really a strange eclectic mix of individuals that under any other circumstances would never share the same space, that's what i like about the gym it’s a great leveller we all have our peccadillos.