We're Moving!!!

Well my wife and I aren't moving (yet). But this blog is. The entire contents of this blog have been moved over to a new site --> http://blog.nakednutritionguide.com

If you have subscribed via RSS feed don't worry about changing your feed or re-subscribing as I've already taken care of that for you. Head over to the new blog's home and let me know what you think!

This will be the last post here at the blogger account so if you have linked to the blog on your blog or webpage please update the link to http://blog.nakednutritionguide.com

See you over there,
Mike

Video Friday - Bob Paris

I'm going to be traveling tomorrow for Memorial Day Weekend so I thought I'd post the video for Video Friday early.

Bob Paris is one of my favorite bodybuilders of all-time. He isn't a mass monster. Bob has the kind of physique that many men would aspire to - symmetrical, proportional, and not over the top. Today's video is a great as it is one of Bob's posing routines. If you have read Bob Paris' book Gorilla Suit then I highly recommend that you check it out. It is one of the few good books written on bodybuilding.

Tags: bob paris, bodybuilding, youtube, good books

Rooibos - Better Than Green Tea??

I've been getting a lot of emails lately about Rooibos tea. People are wondering what it is and if it is better than green tea (especially because a talk a bunch about Green Tea in Your Naked Nutrition Guide).

Rooibos (pronounced Roy-bus) isn't necessarily better than green tea but it is good. Rooibos comes from a South Africian legume. It is naturally caffeine free and brews up a dark rich red cup of tea. Rooibos is also loaded with antioxidants. Many of the health claims surrounding Rooibos tea and Rooibos extract are from animal and cell culture studies and thus should be taken as suggestive and not definitive.

While reading up on the research regarding Rooibos, I found a study that showed that Rooibos tea inhibited the activation of the COX-2 enzyme in human cells. The COX-2 enzyme is a major gateway for inflammation. Aspirin, Advil, and DHA (one of the fatty acids in fish oil) all also exhibit anti-inflammatory actions through inhibiting COX-2. This research is interesting as it suggests that Rooibos has anti-inflammatory properties.

So should you throw out your green tea for Rooibos?? Nope. Drink them both. Because Rooibos tea is naturally decaffeinated and Green Tea is naturally caffeinated they both can find a place in your day. Green Tea in the morning and Rooibos at night. Plus they both contain different types of antioxidants so drinking them both will give you a nice blend of antioxidant in your diet.

On a completely different note - NSCA Strength Coach of the Year Robert Dos Remedios has just launched a blog and website - www.CoachDos.com

Tags: rooibos tea, green tea, anti-inflammatory, health, nutrition

Black Cohosh - uber Supplement For Women or Not?

One of the most popular supplements for females is Black Cohosh. Black Cohosh is a member of the buttercup family and was originally used by Native Americans. Black Cohosh is now commonly sold as a dietary supplement with the claim of increase estrogen production/action. As a result Black Cohosh is popular among women under undergoing menopause.

However, a recent study from the Annals of Internal Medicine showed quite the opposite result. 351 women ages 45-55 who had reported getting hot flashes at least twice a day were given 1 of 5 treatments. The treatments ranged from 160mg of Black Cohosh to multi-herbal mixtures containing 200mg of Black Cohosh to Estrogen replacement therapy, to nothing (placebo).

After 1 year none of the herbal treatment groups had any reduction in symptoms while the estrogen replacement therapy group did.

Tags: supplements, black cohosh, estrogen, menopause

Workout Music - myTunes Part II

My last entry prompted a lot of messages into my inbox wondering what else is on my training muscle playlist. Here are some more songs that will boost your workout intensity.


Blood Pressure - LOX
Where the Hood At (Remix) - DMX
There It Go (The Whistle Song) - Juelz Santana
Last Ones Left - Tupac
Bump Heads - Eminem feat G Unit
So Much Pain - Tupac (this is hard to find)
Is That Yo Chick - Memphis Bleek, Jay-Z, Twista
Trill Recognize Trill - Bun B
Touch It (Remix) - Busta Rhymes & DMX
Rite Where You Stand - Gangstarr & Jadakiss
Wu-Gambinos - Wu-Tang Clan
Certified Gangsta - Jim Jones
It's Mine - Mobb Deep feat Nas
Triumph - Wu-Tang Clan
I'ma Hustla - Cassidy
Blaze of Glory - Bon Jovi

...now that's good music.

Tags: workout music, ipod

Workout Music - myTunes

I've mentioned it previously on this blog that I currently workout at one of the gyms on the Penn State campus. It has A LOT more equipment and space that when I worked out in our basement in Vermont but I would give anything to be back in the basement with a wobbly squat rack, 450lbs of weight, 1 olympic bar, and two plate loading dumbbells. It was low budget but the atmosphere was amazing. Fast forward to now. The gym is full of fancy machines, guys in polo shirts talking on their cell phones between sets, other guys talking to girls during sets of dumbbell curls (I'm not making that up!), and the music...don't get me started.



Fortunately, I have Maximus. Maximus is my red 8GB iPod Nano. I currently have 86 songs on my Training Music playlist with more songs being added everyday. Here are some of my current favorites:

Ebonics - Big L
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
Hoody Hoo - TRU
The Ruler's Back - Jay-Z
Diamonds Is Forever - Jay-Z
Tell Me Where to Go - E-40
Break Ya Neck - Busta Rhymes
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Deliverance - Bubba Sparxxx
Built this City - Diplomats
Quiet Money Anthem - AZ
Black Repulbican - Jay-Z & Nas
Blackout - DMX
Keep It Thoro - Prodigy (from Mobb Deep)
Why We Thugs - Ice Cube
Let's Go - Trick Daddy
Paradise City - Guns and Roses


Have a great weekend! Remember to take time to plan your meals this weekend. It will greatly improve your chances of success.

Tags: ipod nano, workout music, weight training

Plan Your Nutrition Ahead

A key component to nutritional success throughout the week is making your nutrition a no brainer. When I was in Washington DC at the Experimental Biology conference I came across a poster presentation by the graduate students of Brian Wansink (the author of Mindless Eating)

They were reporting the results of a study that showed how people think they make ~15 food decisions a day but in reality they make >200. Whether or not these numbers are accurate is debatable but you get the point. We make a lot of decisions about food whether we like it or not.

This is why planning your meals ahead of time is so important. It takes all the thinking out of nutrition for the week. In the morning you get up, pull your pre-prepared meals out of the refrigerator or freezer, put them in your mini cooler and you're off. No cooking, portioning, or thinking.

Take the time on Sunday to cook and prepare your meals. You will find that your nutrition is much more consistent and you'll stay on track during the week as a result. Here's a picture of what I grilled up this past Sunday.




If you want more information about nutrition planning and strategies for success check out my new manual Your Naked Nutrition Guide.

Resveratrol Does Damage Control

Resveratrol is one of the hottest up and coming antioxidants. Resveratrol is a polyphenol that is most notably found in grapes and red wine. For a long time many people believe that red wine was a superior type of alcohol because of its high resveratrol content. Recently I co-authored a scientific manuscript in which we found that resveratrol has little to nothing to do with the increase in "good" cholesterol found with moderate red wine (or any alcohol for that matter) consumption.

Regardless of resveratrol's lack of influence on HDL cholesterol it has been shown to have powerful anti-aging and anti-inflammatory effects in animal and in vitro studies. This is where I see the main problem with Resveratrol research to date. There is a complete lack of direct human data. The amounts of resveratrol being given to mice and rats in the animal studies far exceeds the amounts one can consume by drinking red wine. Resveratrol supplements are now becoming more popular and those dosages are more comparable to the ones used in animal studies.

Most recently I came across a new study from the Journal of Applied Physiology in which researchers found that when human endothelial cells were exposed to oxidized LDL cholesterol (oxLDL) particles (these are thought to be one of the molecules that begins the cascade of events leading to heart disease) in the presence of resveratrol. The oxLDL had a decreased ablilty to cause the generation of reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species are molecules turned rouge that fly around our system causing cellular and DNA damage until are quenched by anti-oxidants. From this research is seems that resveratol can protect against oxidative damage by

1. Quenching reactive oxygen species
2. Slowing down the cellular machinery that produces reactive oxygen species

This is just another feather in the cap of resveratrol and with data like this being produced every month you can bet that resveratrol will have a central role in the prevention and treatment of many diseases in the future.

Tags: resveratrol, heart disease, antioxidants, DNA damage

Crockpot Questions

On a previous edition of Max-Out Radio I featured a recipe remix using a crockpot. Crockpots are a great tool for busy people as you can prepare the food ahead of time, leave it to cook during the day, and then when you get home your house smell great and dinner is ready. Here are some questions I received from a listener regarding using crockpots.


Can you prepare the food the night before? Yes, definitely. That is the beauty of using a crockpot. You can prepare all the food, put it in the crockpot liner, and stick it in the refrigerator until it is ready be used.


Is it only a matter of an hour or two longer cooking time if you do so? Yes. Because I leave the crockpot in the refrigerator over night it is a little cold and that may require a little longer cooking. What I do is remove it from the refrigerator when I get up and just put it on the counter. When I’m ready to leave the house I'll put it on the base and it is usually cooled down to room temperature (or close to it)


Does the crock-pot have a timer so you can put it to turn on itselfe, say 3 hours after you left home? They do have timers usually 8 and 10 hours. If you leave it longer than that then they will just go into warm mode. So if you are out of the house for 11 hours it won't matter.

What people are saying about Naked Nutrition

The launch of Your Naked Nutrition Guide has definitely generated some buzz. Here are some links to what people some people are saying:

http://forums.jpfitness.com/showthread.php?t=25142


http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/2007/05/six-pillars-of-naked-nutrition.html


http://tonygentilcore.blogspot.com/2007/05/your-naked-nutrition-guide.html


http://billhartman.blogspot.com/2007/05/get-naked-nutrition-now.html

Tags: Naked Nutrition

It is time!

After months and months of writing, rewriting, planning, and drafting...Your Naked Nutrition Guide is now available at

http://www.NakedNutritionGuide.com

Click on the link and go pick up your copy.

Get "Naked".....Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day that I know many of you (by the volume of emails in my inbox) have been waiting for. Yes, Your Naked Nutrition Guide will be available tomorrow at NakedNutritionGuide.com.

I was up late last night formating the bonus workout plans from Alwyn Cosgrove, Nate Green, and Jimmy Smith. This is a dynamite package that will allow you to stop with the nutritional guess work and get results.

10:00am EST Tomorrow.

See you there (figuratively of course)

I'm Hungry...How 'bout 1,000 calories?

I've had this article sitting in my bookmarks for some time now and thought I should post it. "Hungry Girl" (someone who blogs for Yahoo!) complied a list of +1,000 calories entrees that are served at various food joints. It is pretty scary and definitely worth reading.

------------------------


Attack of the 1,000-Calorie Entrees!
Posted Mon, Feb 26, 2007, 6:00 am PST


Think salads are safe? That grilled always equals guilt-free? Even healthy-sounding entrees can be cleverly disguised diet disasters! Here are some of the worst offenders, courtesy of your pal HG.

SALAD INSANITY

Bob Evans Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
(1,108 calories, 63g fat, 2,741mg sodium, 63g carbs, 7g fiber, 43g sugars, 40g protein)

Fruit, nuts, and sliced chicken...on lettuce? This salad sounds wholesome enough. But don't be fooled! Bacon, bleu cheese, and gobs of Italian dressing all play a part in this salad's pitiful nutritionals. Over 1,100 calories for a salad?! We're on to you, Bob.

Hardee's Southwest Chicken Salad
(1,100 calories, 83g fat, 1,910mg sodium, 59g carbs, 4g fiber, 6g sugars, 29g protein)

Yes, Southwest chicken salads are delicious, but one with 83 fat grams is embarrassing. You may as well have a fat hamburger and a giant order of fries. Sheesh!

Bob Evans Chili & Cheese Taco Salad
(1,381 calories, 72g fat, 3,263mg sodium, 182g carbs, 23g fiber, 30g sugars, 42g protein)

Aha! Another salad sure to screw up your day, courtesy of Bob Evans. This one's slightly more suspicious sounding, with a double whammy of chili and cheese right there in the title. Mounds of cheddar and sausage chili smothered in avocado ranch dressing make this plate of fatty goo one you don't wanna mess with!

Chili's Mesquite Chicken Salad with Dressing
(1,050 calories, 69g fat, 3,110 sodium, 56g carbs, 11g fiber, 58g protein)

You might have guessed that their famous Baby Back Ribs are bad for those battling the bulge (and you'd have guessed right), but a mesquite chicken salad, too?!? Yep. Layers of bacon and cheese, complete with a thick blob of fat-packed ranch dressing, all adds up to over 1,000 calories of horribleness.


CRIMES AGAINST CHICKEN

McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (10 piece)
(1,270 calories, 66g fat, 3,100mg sodium, 92g carbs, 0g fiber, 77g protein)


Premium Breast Strips? That's just a fancy way of saying fried chicken fingers! Call 'em what you want, Ronald, but your Chicken Selects are a clucking MESS! And you KNOW people dip those things in your sugary BBQ sauce or creamy honey mustard, too. And those just take this already offensive meal FAR over the edge.

P.F. Chang's Orange Peel Chicken
(1,151 calories, 47g fat, 127g carbs, 61g protein)

Here's another seemingly healthful offering. Chicken "tossed with chili peppers and fresh orange peel" -- how bad could that be? Upon closer inspection, we uncovered that this particular chicken dish contains both Kung Pao and Sichuan sauces, two notoriously high-cal condiments. By the time this bird hits your plate, it's dragging more than eleven hundred calories with it. Yeech!

Macaroni Grill Honey Balsamic Chicken
(1,220 calories, 67g fat, 2,750mg sodium, 94g carbs, 10g fiber, 57g protein)

Think choosing poultry over pasta at Macaroni Grill will keep you fitting into your skinny jeans? Not if this dish is any indication. Here's a little tip: Instead order something called Pollo Magra (Skinny Chicken), and save yourself more than 900 calories and over 60 grams of fat!

Chili's Monterey Chicken
(1,170 calories, 71g fat, 3,530mg sodium, 70g carbs, 8g fiber, 72g protein)

Yet another of Chili's calorically challenged chicken dishes. Their Monterey Chicken, a cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce smothered entree, packs in an alarming 1,170 calories and more than 70 grams of fat. Gross!


BROCCOLI BEHAVING BADLY

P.F. Chang's Beef with Broccoli (dinner portion)
(1,120 calories, 65g fat, 38g carbs, 93g protein)

Come on, Chang! Beef with Broccoli is one of those Asian entrees even WE were sure we could safely chew! But it just isn't so. P.F.'s meat 'n mini trees are suffocated with sugar, sauce, cornstarch, and oil. That's just wrong.

Ruby Tuesday Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta
(2,061 calories, 128g fat, 109g net carbs, 13g fiber)

Yikes! It's official; we have a winner (well, actually a loser). This dish has broken the calorie barrier, racking up more than any other on the list. Chicken and broccoli were clearly assaulted over at Ruby T, and emerged as a freakishly fattening entree with more than 2,000 calories and nearly 130 fat grams! How on Earth can Ruby T's get away with this?!


GRILLS GONE WILD


Macaroni Grill Grilled Salmon (Teriyaki)
(1,290 calories, 81g fat, 6,600mg sodium, 79g carbs, 5g fiber, 57g protein)

Record highs were reached on the sodium scale the day this dish was born. There's nearly three times the daily recommended allowance of the stuff swimming around with this salmon. And even if we could get past the icky amounts of salt, we're deeply offended by the crazy calorie and fat counts attached to this simple grilled fish dish. Yikes!

Macaroni Grill Grilled Pork Chops
(1,800 calories, 107g fat, 4,950mg sodium, 92g carbs, 8g fiber, 115g protein)

Yep, a third entree on our thou-cal-plus list from those maniacs at Macaroni Grill. This one contains more than 100 grams of fat and a horrifying 1,800 calories. Uhh, pork, the other white meat?! Not in this case...


AFTERNOON OFFENDERS

P.F. Chang's Lo Mein Combo (lunch portion)
(1,740 calories, 122g fat, 98g carbs, 55g protein)


If you think ordering up the lunch portion keeps you safe out there, you are sadly mistaken. Chang's downsized order of Lo Mein includes beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, and enough fat and calories to feed an entire family. Can you even IMAGINE how many calories and fat grams the dinner size packs in?!

Burger King TRIPLE WHOPPER Sandwich
(1,130 calories, 74g fat, 1,160mg sodium, 51g carbs, 3g fiber, 11g sugars, 67g protein)

And rounding out our list is a true triple threat. This BK burger's a royal mess of a meal. But then again, would you expect anything less from a TRIPLE WHOPPER?!

Tags: 1, 000 calorie meals, yahoo, eating out, triple whopper

Move or Your Fat Cells Will!

I've got bad news....You can't ever stop exercising....Well, you can but you'll get fat.

What am I talking about? A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology made rats run for about a month and a half increasing their distance such that the last week they were running 9km/d. The rats were then forced to be sedentary from anywhere between 5hours-7days on either a controlled diet or eating as much as they wanted.

The rats on a controlled diet had an increase in abdominal fat independent of food intake. The rats that ate as much as they wanted had an increase in fat cell number. Usually our fat cells just fill up - this is the better option because once a fat cell is produced it never goes away.

This study is interesting. Because it was done in animals it should be taken with a grain of salt. However, what are the implications of these findings?

*It could possibly mean that running is an even worse form of exercise than I previously expected. It would be interesting to have seen a group that did weight training but have you ever seen a rat trying to deadlift...not pretty.

*These findings could also caution us against overeating during periods of being sedentary as it could possibly result in fat cell hyperplasia (increase in numbers).

If anything this is a glowing recommendation for life long exercise and not a quick fix approach followed by being sedentary and overeating.

Tags: fat, weight gain, running, weight training, rats

I'm a knucklehead!

If you have tried to subscribe to my blog via the RSS feeds on the right hand column of the page but were unsuccessful I'm sorry. Last night it came to my attention that when you click the "add to google" or "add to yahoo" chicklets that you get subscribed to Max-Out Radio and not the blog. I've fixed the problem and do apologize.

-Mike

No More Trans Fat in KFC Chicken - Does it Matter?

It is official. KFC has eliminated the trans fat from their chicken as reported by Healthday.com

KFC restaurants announced Monday that all 5,500 of its U.S. outlets have stopped using artery-clogging trans fat to fry chicken, the Associated Press reported.

...I'm sorry did they say that KFC has "stopped using artery-clogging trans fat"? So KFC isn't going to clog your arteries?? The problem here isn't trans fat in KFC chicken, but the entire KFC menu. Trans fat is a hot issue and it has become a political agenda for some people. I'm not saying that we shouldn't get rid of trans fat but aren't there more important things from a big picture stand point? You know like getting crack off the streets.

Plus, this news story is a little misleading as the only prodcuts that aren't going to contain trans fat is the chicken

"...its non-fried items -- including pot pies, biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and some desserts -- still contain trans fat."

Tags: KFC, trans fat

Fat Loss Q & A

Here is a good fat loss Q & A from my most recent article on T-Nation.


Q: When dieting down and finding that fat loss progress has stalled, how long a time period would be recommended for slightly ramping up caloric intake?

Would a week's time be sufficient to jump start the metabolism again? Or would more time be needed than that or, possibly,less?


A: If your fat loss has stalled (defined by caliper, girth, and scale) for 3 weeks then it is time to test a change in your program.

I would try to add an interval session to your training week and see if that gives you the boost you need. Otherwise add ~300 calories/d for 3 weeks and see if that gets you going again. If you start losing fat again don't drop your calories back down until your fat loss stalls again.

Of course you won't want to increase you calories like we've discussed until you've hit the lowest caloric intake you feel comfortable with.

So if you start at 3000 calories and eventually make it down to 2000 calories but then your fat loss stalls at 2000 calories, one of the things you can test is what happens when you increase to 2300 calories.


-Mike

Tags: fat loss, increase calories, weight loss plateau

Video Friday - Steve Cotter

Coach Dos Remedios told me about this Steve Cotter video when I was at the Fitness Summit two weeks ago. When he was describing it I didn't believe him...but its true. Check it out and you'll be just as amazed as I was.

Tags: steve cotter, youtube, pistols, kettlebells

Starbucks, Naked Nutrition, & Things I Can't Stand

It is pretty crazy around here with the semester ending and the launch of Your Naked Nutrition Guide coming closer everyday. Here are some random thoughts for today. Be prepared for some rambling as I'm not sure where this post is going.

Vente Coffee at Starbucks - I was very tired this morning and passed a Starbucks on my way to drop off some exams at the University Grading Center. On my way back I stopped in. Upon walking in the door you truly realized that this place is not about coffee but atmosphere. It made me think about gyms. Have you ever trained at a really great gym? I'm not talking about a place with great equipment but great atmosphere. Great gyms, like Starbucks, are not about the weights or equipment. They are about the atmosphere. Back to the coffee. I ordered a vente (why don't they just call it a large) of whatever the blend of the day was, no cream or sugar. Whoa! Those things are huge! Carrying around that massive coffee for the next hour or so made me feel like I was broadcasting to the world that I was over tired and trying to overcome it by self medicating with caffeine. Five hours later I'm still rev'd up.

Naked Nutrition - My inbox has been flooded over the past week with people asking about when YOUR NAKED NUTRITION GUIDE is going to be released. Very Soon. I'm going away this weekend to a scientific conference and when I get back things should be finalized with the webpage and various other tasks that are slowing the release. I appreciate your patience.


Things I can't stand - It is amazing that in one day I had two interactions with two separate people regarding the number one thing I can't stand. I can't exactly get into the details of my interactions as these people may stumble upon my blog but here's the theme.

It drives me nuts when people are so set in their ways about a topic or idea that they refuse to even entertain the idea that they are wrong or an alternate approach would work.

Mike Boyle has a great quote regarding this: "People don't want to hear new ideas, they only want to hear shit that validates the stupid they are already doing."

I work very hard to be open to all kinds of nutritional ideas and approaches but my number one turn-off it people who have "figured it out" and are not interested in any other opinions or approaches.

Tags: starbucks, Naked Nutrition Guide, rant, turn offs

Video Friday - Fitness Summit & Dave Schmitz

The video of today is from the JP Fitness Summit this past weekend. Dave is an awesome guy with a lot of great stuff to say. Here's a little taste of his energy.



P.S. This was around 8:30 in the morning. He was still working people out a 8:00pm...the guy is a machine!

Tags: band training, dave schmitz, jp fitness summit, exercise

Whole Foods Protein Powder Reviews

I'll have more on what when down at the JP Fitness Summit in the upcoming days. Here is a review that I received from a avid Street Smart Nutrition reader regarding several of the protein powders found at Whole Foods. Enjoy!


All these protein powers were taste-tested with the following smoothie ingredients:

1.5 cups vanilla soy milk
.3 cup acai paste
.5 cup frozen raspberries and blueberries
.3 cup green tea

(Blended for 30 seconds in electric blender)

Here's a short review:

Brand: Biochem Sports
Product: 100% Hemp Seed & Whey Protein Isolate
Protein per serving: 25 grams
Flavor: Vanilla

Comments: The hemp sounded interesting, and is organic, but the whey made it taste totally gross! The consistency was definitely thicker than my standard protein power, the delicious Whole Foods 365 Brand of Vanilla soy protein (24 g protein).


Brand: Peaceful Planet "The Supreme Meal"
Product: Quinoa, Millet and Amaranth, non-GMO pea protein isolate
Protein per serving: 17 grams
Flavor: Vanilla

Comments: The flavor was mild, with hints of the grains, like oak aged chardonnay. The consistency on the tonque felt like a suspension, with tiny protein-power granules grating around. Overall, a wholesome earthy powder. I woudl definitely try it again, or spring for a canister and bake with it.

Brand: Soytein
Product: Non-GMO Isolated Soy Protein
Protein per serving: 14 grams
Flavor: Vanilla

Comments:Sort of unappetizing, kind of like whey. An odd taste for a soy powder product. Not memorable, definitely would not try it again.

Brand: Nature's Life: Super-Green Pro 96 Soy Protein Power
Product: Non GMO Identity Preserved Soy Protein Isolate
Protein per serving: 25 grams
Flavor: Vanilla

Comments: No notable flavor, a little grainy in consistency, but not chunkiness or lumps, very smooth blend. Not sweet. A good neutral soy product. Left wondering what Identity Preserved soy isolate is. I would buy this again.

JP Fitness Summit - Day 1

I'm back from day one of the summit getting ready to go over my Nutrient Timing talk for tomorrow. Today was great and very informative. Here's a run down of the talks in order of appearance:

Lou Schuler - This was an amazing way to kick off the summit. Lou talked all about Fitness/Muscle magazines, how they lay out their magazines, and what effect that has on content. He also discussed how to go about getting your writing into magazines. Lou is a great guy (with a great blog).

Alwyn Cosgrove - Alwyn gave his Real World Fat Loss talk. His talk is interspersed with amazing before and after photos of clients from his facility. Alwyn has a very practical and effective approach to getting his clients lean fast. Basically harder work is better and you get done faster.

Coach Dos Remedios - Dos is the NSCA Strength coach of the year. I again was riveted by the information he had to share. Dos can get 100 football players in and out of the gym in 50 minutes with no assistance - Amazing. The premise of Dos's talk was his new soon to be released book. It was a great preview and I picked up some strategies that I am going to apply to my training starting this week.

Zig Zigler - No this isn't the famous salesman. Zig's talk was all about the feet and how foot problems can lead to other imbalances higher up the body. All in all pretty interesting.

Chad Waterbury - Again, a great talk. I love Chad's methods. He spoke about the nervous system and then started discussing some of this new theories about how to maximize hypertrophy via maximal motor unit recruitment. Chad has talked about training and the CNS before but this was totally new. We spoke about this new theory a bunch after his talk - cool stuff. Again I have some new strategies that I am going to apply to my own training this upcoming week.


Other things from today:

*Finally got to meet Lisa Holladay who edited Your Naked Nutrition Guide.

*Met and chatted with "Coach Mike" (from Precision Nutrition) a bunch. He's a very smart guy.

*Talk about smart guy's I was floored by Bill Hartman today (and he hasn't even spoken yet!). He diagnosed my shoulder problem in less than 3 minutes. He is truly is the smartest man in fitness.

*Also got to meet and speak with Nate Green a bunch. Nate is a great up and coming guy in the industry.

That's all for now. Gotta go over my talk.

Blogging from the Summit

I'm in little rock! Got in last night. The airline travel was poor as usual but I had a bag full of homemade protein bars, beef jerky, and mixed nuts. I'm off to get some breakfast but will see if I can post some updates from JP's computer at the gym.

-Mike

Lift Strong and Blog Neglect

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Little Rock (AR) for the JP Fitness Summit. Hopefully I'll be doing some blogging from the event (that would make this blog very cutting edge). When I get back I promise to update more regularly.

On a different note the Lift Strong eManual has been on sale for 1 week and almost 10,000 dollars has been raised for cancer research. If you haven't ordered a copy head over to www.LiftStrong.com

-Mike

Naked Nutrition - It Has Arrived!

More info to come....

Duh!

Quick entry...hopefully I'll be back later today as I have something interesting to write about.

I just sat down to read a journal article on binge eating and how it effects food intake patterns. The paper starts with this sentence:

"Children who report episodes of binge eating gain more weight than do children not reporting binge eating."

Not to be rude but....duh! Talk about stating the obvious!

Anyway...the much awaited project Lift Strong has been released. All proceeds go to charity. Check it out at LiftStrong.com

Free Resources (Seriously, you don't even have to give your email)

Here are a couple free resources that have come into to my attention over the past couple weeks. You don't even need to give out your email address so they are really FREE - Just download

The Cut Diet 2 Right Click and Download

Gourmet Desserts - click the link scroll to the bottom and download.

Precision Nutrition Strategies click the link scroll to the bottom and download.

Have a great weekend.

Tags: free, ebooks

Video Friday - Hippies Teaching Biochemistry

I first saw this video as an undergraduate and was very happy to see it on youtube (thanks Dr. Eades for pointing me to it). It is a human depiction of protein synthesis. My favorite parts are the high energy bond breaking. The tRNA and GTP chats are awesome! Enjoy! Oh yeah. You can skip though the lecture part if you want.

Tags: protein synthesis, video, youtube, hippies, biochemistry

More on Beef

Here is a question that was posted in the comments section of my previous entry on beef

Q: This is interesting info, but I'm a little confused. What would you recommend that the package should read when buying meat in a supermarket? Anything with a "select" label?

Do you have to pay attention to the cut of meat or just the grade?

Also, how much red meat do you think is an acceptable part of a healthy diet?

A: I do recommend that you purchase SELECT grade beef whenever possible but this can be a problem as depending on where you shop SELECT is hard to find. In fact the supermarket where I shop every week, Wegmans, only carries CHOICE. They actually boast with signs and labels saying that they only carry best beef grade - CHOICE. Best for who? If you were going to go for taste then PRIME would be the best as it is the fattiest and if you were going to go for lean protein then SELECT would be the optimal choice.

It is important to pay attention to both the cut and grade. I am far from a beef expert. After my meeting with the beef guy my beef I.Q. increased about 300%. but Top Round, Eye of Round, and Bottom Round are all good lean choices. Most of the time you can just look at the beef. I always aim to select the cuts with less marbling (or visible fat within the meat)to reduce the fat content (I'm not anti-fat but with red meat it can add up quick!).

How much red meat to include in your diet isn't a predetermined number. You shouldn't restrict your consumption of lean red meat but for variety sake (taste and fatty acids) I wouldn't eat meat exclusively. I normally have red meat at least 4 times a week. It really depends what is on sale at the market that week.

Tags: beef, red meat, supermarket

Brief Thoughts on Beef

I love beef! There is no way getting around it, red meat rules! However, picking the right cuts of meat can be a little confusing. Chicken is easy - boneless skinless chicken breast and the occasional whole chicken or split chicken breast. but did you know that there are 27 cuts of beef that have fat contents ranging between that found in chicken thighs and chicken breasts?



All this beef talk comes from a meeting I had today with a gentlemen that works in the meat lab here at PSU (cool title huh?). Here are some take home points.

*Red meat comes in grades from fattest to leanest. Prime, Choice, Select, Standard. Standard is so lean (and "gross" according to my meat guy) that you will never find it in a retail setting. Most stores stock Prime and Choice. Select maybe hard to find.

*Bottom Round, Top Round, and Eye of Round are all essentially of the same leanness and can be cooked in similar manners.

*Of those three cuts top round has the potential to have more marbling (read "fat") so just make sure to look at the meat before you buy it.

*Shoulder cuts are good for crockpot cooking as the meat will fall apart.

That's all I have for today. Quick and Practical!

-Mike

Tags: beef, steak, grades, fat, chicken

Differing Views on Macronutrient Intakes

I just had a very interesting conversation with a group of my fellow nutrition graduate students. A friend of mine was leafing though a nutrition magazine that I get and was surprised to see a recommended intake of 0.5g protein/lb bodyweight.

Grad 1: "Isn't that a little excessive"

I chuckle..

Me: "You don't want to know how much I eat then"

Grad 1:"How much do you eat?"

Me:"Anywhere from 1.25-1.5g/lb."

Grad 1:"What! That's a lot of protein. How can you eat that much? Do you eat 6 times a day?"

I chuckle again..

Me:"Yes"

Grad 2:"You don't need that much. You only need .8g/kg"

oh god...here we go

Me:"No...I only need .8g/kg to survive. But is that optimal? No. I use extra protein calories to displace carbohydrate calories as they are less insulinogenic (amongst other things) this allow for a more favorable body composition."

Grad 1 & 2 "hmmmm"

Grad 3:"But that is bad for your kidneys."

Ding Ding Ding...It was only a matter of time until that came up.

Grad 1: "That's actually not true." - I knew I liked this guy.

Me:"Exactly. That has never been show to be true. It IS true in renal patients."

Grad 3:"Well, I would like to see some longer term studies first."

oh lord....

Grad 2:"Well what would you estimate your macronutrient breakdown to be?"

Me: "I don't have to estimate. It is 40/30/30 on workout days and 30/40/30 on nonworkout days."

Shock spreads throughout the room that I know that off the top of my head.

Grad 3:"Why do you change you intake on different days?"

Me:"The short answer is I replace the calories that I would normally consume during my workout with protein and some calories from vegetables on nonworkout days."

Grad 3:"Well, why are you consuming the below the required 45% of calories from carbohydrates? You need at least 125g of carbohydrates to for your body to function properly."

Me:"That isn't true either. You don't need any carbohydrates to function. Your body works just great on 20grams a day. You might be tired for the first two days until your body adjusts but then you'll be all set."



This conversation when on some more but you get my point...

Tags: protein intake, graduate students, calories, macronutrient, workout nutrition

Video Friday - 300 Workout

The 300 Workout is the hottest video in the fitness industry right now. It is pretty interesting. Definitely worth watching.

Tags: 300 workout, youtube

The Transition from Eating Like Crap

Often times people experience what I call the "flip of the switch". This is the sudden enlightenment that occurs one day when you realize that you diet is full of garbage, you're 30lbs heavier then you were 10 years ago (that 3lb per year weight gain doesn't seem like a lot but it adds up), and your health is gradually going down the drain. Usually when people flip the switch they become very motivated. This can result in a total dietary turn around in the course of 24 hours.

Another senario might be you've been on vacation for a week, ate a lot of garbage, and now it is time to return to your clean eating (See Nutritionists Gone Wild).

Unfortunately, this can be a huge shock to your system. The best way to easy yourself into or back into eating good clean foods is to give your body a little digestive support. I recommend you do this through the use of probiotics and ginger tea. I have written extensively about probiotics previously and I find that ginger tea can be best used following a meal to also aid in digestion.

So don't let the initial pains of good eatin' send you back to the Big Macs and treat your GI track well as it was once said "I'd take a good set of bowels over brains anyday" (or something like that).

Tags: probiotics, diet, vacation, ginger

New Article Published on "the good" cholesterol

I'm back in the swing of things after my ice cream cake eating escapades in Hawaii. I was just made aware that a scientific article I co-authored with my doctoral mentor Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton has been published in the new Journal of Clinical Lipidology. I know you're probably thinking clinical lipidology...yawn. But this article is actually very practical as it has to do with lifestyle interventions to increase HDL-C a.k.a. the good cholesterol. Unfortunately, I don't currently have access to check out the published pdf but here's the abstract and link. Enjoy!!

Volume 1, Issue 1, Pages 65-73 (March 2007)

Effects of lifestyle interventions on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels

Michael A. Roussell BS, Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD

This review summarizes intervention studies that evaluated the effects of lifestyle behaviors on high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Current diet and lifestyle recommendations beneficially affect HDL-C. Individual lifestyle interventions that increase HDL-C include: a healthful diet that is low (7–10% of calories) in saturated fat and sufficient in unsaturated fat (15–20% of calories), regular physical activity, attaining a healthy weight, with moderate alcohol consumption, and cessation of cigarette smoking. Combining a healthy diet with weight loss and physical activity can increase HDL-C 10% to 13%. When combined with interventions that beneficially affect other cardiovascular disease risk factors, this increase in HDL-C is expected to contribute to a overall reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.

Nutritionists Gone Wild!!!

Do you dig this blog???

Just a little favor to all you avid Street Smart Nutrition readers. If you have a blog or a website it would be greatly appreciated if you would put a link on your site to this blog. We are getting more and more new visitors everyday and your links can help increase that.

Thanks so much,
Mike

P.S. Are you coming to the JP Fitness Summit??

The Price of Convenience

Americans are all about convenience.

*TiVo let's you watch TV when ever you want.

*Cell Phones allow you to talk to anyone when ever you want.

*The internet allows you to find out any information you desire at the click of a button.

*Heck, I know researchers that will only use a scientific journal article if they can get it online because the library is too far away.

We, as Americans, really excel at convenience when it comes to food. But food is interesting because convenience can come at an immediate price or a delayed price. Most people pay the delayed price without even realizing what they are doing.

Let me explain...today I found myself on the other side of campus, without any food, and it was meal time. I headed over to the school Creamery (not for ice cream) as they have a small place that sells food. I was hungry and had a couple options.

Whole grain turkey sandwich or Chips

Choosing the chips would be result in paying a delayed price for convenience as they were very inexpensive but eating them would 1. Make me feel crappy in about 10 minutes. 2. Contribute to clogging my arteries 3. Be essentially wasting calories. I guess #1 is an immediate price but 2 and 3 can be very detrimental if repeated over the long term.

The whole grain turkey sandwich was a better long term option but it was also almost 5 bucks (what a rip off!) With the turkey sandwich I would pay the initial high financial price of convenience but over the long term would not suffer the consequences of potato chip consumption.

Do you see how everything has a price? I actually didn't chose either option and instead got some mixed nuts and a little locally made beef jerky.

Many people complain about how eating healthy is expensive but will go out and by a crappy lunch everyday. Yes, if you want convenience then eating healthy is expensive over the short term. However, if you want convenience and you don't want to pay a financial price (initially) then you will most likely pay with your health in the long term.

The answer to this problem is easy. Plan, Cook, and Prepare you meals ahead of time. Healthy food, bought in bulk, and prepared ahead of time are in fact not that expensive over the short term or long term.

Think about your nutrition? What price are you paying?

Tags: nutrition, convenience food, potato chips

Back & Legs at the Arnold Classic....Are You Serious???

This past weekend was the Arnold Classic, one of the biggest events in the bodybuilding /Fitness Industry. Victor Martinez was the winner of the Men's IFBB Event but I think the most incredible part of the show was Warren Branch. The lats and legs on this guy are incredible and a little freakish. Take a look at the picture...



Seriously...the lower lat, inner, and outer thighs on this guy are incredible. The best part is the Warren isn't into traditional "hypertrophy" training. He trains with Johnny Jackson (bodybuilder/powerlifter) and they lift heavy and hard. Granted I'm sure that many of you will say..."But he's on steroids". True. But that doesn't take away from all the hard work he puts in to look the way he does.

How's your training? Have you been stuck lifting weights for 12-15 reps for what seems like forever?? If so consider dropping your reps down to 3-6 range and be prepared for magic!! Plus, lifting heavy stuff is fun.

Have a great day.

-MR

Tags: bodybuilding, Arnold classic, warren branch, legs, back, hypertrophy training

Nutrient Timing Seminar

Just wanted to remind and encourage everyone to attend the JP Fitness Summit, it is going to be a killer event. I'm mentioned before that I'll be speaking there along with Alwyn Cosgrove, Chad Waterbury, Charles Staley, and several more all-stars.

The topic of my talk will be nutrient timing and I'll be discussing the following:

*Why you probably should have carbs in the morning.

*The workout nutrition shake that was shown to pack on 10 pounds of muscle while allowing users to simultanously drop body fat.

*Do carbs during your workout prevent fat loss?

*How to use different proteins throughout the day for maximal benefit.

*and a whole lot more!!!!


I hope to see you there. I'll also be releasing the new Your Naked Nutrition Guide at the Summit. This won't be available to anyone else until several weeks after the event.

I've Launched a New Site

In preparation for the launch of the new Your Naked Nutrition Manual - www.NakedNutritionGuide.com has been launched. Check it out and let me know what you think.

-Mike

The Problem with Losing Weight

As I've mentioned previously over the past several months I have diligently been working on the Your Naked Nutrition Guide - A results driven all encompassing manual for nutritional success. I have also included in this a couple chapters at the beginning on mindset, planning, and goal setting. In this section I pose the question

"What are the negatives of achieving your goal?"

Have you ever thought of this? Over the past couple months I've dropped a bunch of extra weight. Living the life of a graduate student had been taking its toll on my physique (I know excuses, excuses). As a result a good bunch of my clothes don't fit. My pants sag off my waist, I need new belts, and my button down shirts need to be tapered...this isn't something that most people consider.

What about birthdays? It seems like we are always having mini birthday parties in the lab. This means cake. It is awkward refusing birthday cake at a party, standing there drinking water while everyone else enjoys the fluffy sugar laced baked goods. It makes you sort of an outcast...have you considered having to deal with these social situations?

What about drinking? An all to common occurrence is getting a drink on Friday after work. What will you do in these situations? Say no and not attend? Does that make you antisocial? Will you go but not drink and just have a diet coke instead? That's fine but be prepared to be on the receiving end of some ribbings from your buddies.

Most of the time we talk about food and training....but learning to deal with social pressures and stick to your plan regardless of the birthday parties, happy hours, and telling the waitress exactly how you what your food prepared ("Hold the fries, double the steamed vegetables, and I'll have the dressing on the side.") is extremely important. This can be the hardest part for many people.

So don't forget to look at the whole picture. What is it really going to cost to reach your goals?

Tags: goals, weight loss, success, nutrition

Protein Bar or Candy Bar???

The world of "protein bars" is probably the most misleading and ingenious marketing idea ever. Most of the bars are loaded with sugar and low quality protein but since they are protein bars and not candy bars companies mark them up 100-200%. Plus they usually taste like garbage.

I was at the super market yesterday and found myself very hungry (it is never good to go to the market hungry). I went over to where they sell the protein bars and was extremely disappointed. Of course there were not Metabolic Drive bars (my first choice) but they didn't have any Greens+ bars either.

Here's what I did find...I won't mention the company name because it is too embarassing. The bar contained 360 calories. The first ingredient was a protein blend but the next three ingredients were corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and high fructose corn syrup. The bar had 51 grams of carbs, 25 of which came from sugar. Oh yeah it also contained partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Total crap.

The moral of the story is that it is extrememly important to read the labels before you purchase "health food" items.

Video Friday - JUMP! (Again)

What a day! I wrote a whole paper on iron metabolism then it got erased from my computer (I accidentally saved it in the temporary folder) so I had to rewrite the whole thing this afternoon...ugh

On the the video. I'm not sure why I've been so into amazing vertical leaps but this video is awesome (Thanks to the diesel crew for putting me on to it).

Deadly Left-Overs

Proper planning is probably THE key to nutritional success (aside from application of planning). An integral part of the planning process is cooking food ahead of time. However if not treated properly these pre-cooked meals can be a fertile playground for all kinds of food borne pathogens and bacteria dying to make you feel like Bill Murray in Osmosis Jones.

To prevent this from happening I recommend that you follow the 2 Hours - 2 Inches - 4 Days rule.

2 Hours - Within 2 hours of cooking you should refrigerate or freeze the food.

2 Inches - If you have made a stew or chili don't store it in the pot you cooked it in. Store the food at a maximum depth of 2 inches to allow for fast cooling.

4 Days - If the leftover have been in your refrigerator for more than 4 days then it is time to get rid of it. This means that if you cook chicken on Sunday by Wednesday it is time to cook some more. Don't try to cook chicken for the whole week unless you are going to freeze it.

Follow these tips and stay pathogenic bacteria free.

No Video Friday - Read a book!

Yesterday on T-Nation an interesting article from John Berardi was published. The article was a collection of speculations that John was making about different issues. He quoted some amazing statistics:

58% of the US adult population never reads another book after starting high school (this includes graduates and non-graduates).

33% of US high school graduates never read another book after high school.

42% of US college graduates never read another book after college.

70-80% of US households haven't purchased any books in the last year.

70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57% of new books are not read to completion.

Do you fit in these statistics? Growing up I wasn't a huge reader but know I can't find enough time to read all the books I want to read. Jim Rohn always says it isn't the book you read that matters but the book you DIDN'T read.


So on a quest to read more books I've embarked on a speed reading course called "Eye-Q". I do it everyday (or every other day if I forget). In just over a week I have increased my reading speed by 400 words per minute (550 words per minute if I push it but I don't comprehend as well).

Last week I finished 2 books and 2 more books on tape. This week I have pick up a couple more. This is what's currently on my list for the weekend.

Under the Bar
The Magic of Thinking Big
My Unfinished Business

What are you reading this weekend? What is the book that you haven't read that will make a huge difference in your life??

Tags: books, Jim Rohn, Speed Reading, dan kennedy

The Sh*t is about to hit the fan...literally

The FDA has done it! They have approved the over the counter sale of the weight loss pill Xenical. The drug is being sold under the name Alli. Please understand that Alli, Xenical, Orlistat (what ever you want to call it) is NOT the miracle pill.

Do you remember olestra? Companies put it in potato chips for a while because it was a fat that couldn't be absorbed. Products containing olestra become unpopular really quick becasue if you aren't absorbing the fat it still has to go somewhere thus diarrhea became a common symptom of potato chip eaters.

Alli works the same way but instead of eating chips you will take a pill. It will run you about $2 a day. Imagine paying $2 a day for diarrhea?

One study on the 60-milligram dose of orlistat that GlaxoSmithKline plans to make ended with 46 percent of participants losing at least 5 percent of their body weight over six months, compared to 26 percent of those taking a placebo.

So the people using the pill lost 5% of their bodyweight in 6 months. That's terrible. That means if you weight 200lbs you'll lose 10lbs in 6 months! Just commit 12 weeks to Alwyn Cosgrove's Afterburn II and you'll probably lose almost double that! Double the weight loss in half the time. That's what I'm talking about.

I really think this diet pill is going to be a flop. Initially it might be popular but the side effects are just nasty. The fact that it is 1/2 as potent as the prescription version isn't that meaningful because people will just double the dosage when they find that out.

The real answer to weight loss is solid nutrition and weight training. Not a fat blocking pill.

Here's a story on from CNBC

Tags: alli, fda, weight loss pill, weight loss drug, olestra, xenical

Nutrition Tip from Dr. Lonnie Lowery

Here's a great tip that I just read over at T-Nation.com from Dr. Lonnie Lowery. If you are not familiar with Dr. Lowery I recommend that you google him or look up his articles over at T-Nation. He is definitely one of my nutritional mentors.

=================
Eat or Shrink!

Eat on a schedule regardless of hunger! Simply divide the number of needed daily macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) by six meals and that's what's needed every two to three hours. Eat them or be a shrunken flabby-man. Period!

===================

This is a great tip especially when it comes to packing on muscle. If you wait until you are hungry then you have waited too long. Something else that I've started doing this week when I have two lifting sessions in one day is slip on a BCAA or Protein drink throughout the day. This can help boost recovery, protein synthesis, and if you are using protein boost your calories.

Tags: nutrition tip, Lonnie Lowery, muscle growth, testosterone nation, t-nation.com, BCAA

Get Rid of the Negativity

One of my favorite books is Psycho Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. If you haven't read it I highly recommend that you pick a copy up. It has been the secret weapon of thousands of successful people throughout the 20th century (i.e. Vince Lombardi, Jack Nicklaus, etc).

I subscribe to the free Psycho Cybernetics newsletter and it is great. The Psycho Cybernetics foundation is now run by Matt Furey and Matt sends out killer emails several times a week that really make you examine your life and habits to ensure you are functioning at your highest level. Here's a quote from today's email that I wanted to share with you.

"Truth is, if you aren't surrounding yourself with people and information designed to lift you UP - then by law you'll be pulled further down. You must continually feed your mind good thoughts and good ideas. If you don't, you'll end up with a garden full of weeds. "

Are you constantly working to build yourself up?

-Mike

Tags: books, matt furey, self image, psycho-cybernetics

Max-Out Radio and Meal Planning

The latest episode of Max-Out Radio has been published. This episode was great as I had TWO guests. Dr. Chris Mohr came back on the show this time joined by Jayson Hunter CSCS, RD. We talked about keys to meal planning, how to put together meal plans, and the new incredible software they created called Meal Plans 101. This is definitely a show you want to check out.

At the beginning of the show I talk about a controversial study regarding arachidonic acid supplementation for increased muscle growth.

Here's the direct download link for the show

The Blind Leading the Blind

I occasionally lurk around the bodybuilding.com forums since my post yesterday was about nitric oxide supplement I thought highlighting some of my findings would only be fitting.

"Out of all my experience, N.O. Shotgun is by far the best. It's got arginine-ethyl-ester, creatine-ethyl-ester, glutamine-ethyl-ester....Pretty much everything in it is -ethyl-ester, so you know it has a very fast delivery system."

My favorite part is "so you know it has a very fast delivery system". Really? I wasn't aware that -ethyl-esters automatically increase the speed of nutrient delivery (said with extreme sarcasm)


"The taste is horrible, but the product is well worth the money."

Why would you want to pay lots of money and ingest something everyday if it tastes horrible? It isn't like this guy is drinking androgens.

"I did, however, have many problems with taking this product. Instead of creatine-ethyl-ester or creatine-gluconate (like most other pre workout products have), this product just came with outdated creatine monohydrate, and lots of it. Along with that, the digestive problems were horrible. 2 hours after taking it I had massive diarrhea, and stomach cramps like no other. The taste doesn't help much either...."

Honestly this post gets more entertaining the more this person writes. I love how he refers to creatine monohydrate as "outdated" as if it doesn't work anymore.

Please, let this post serve as a warning about fitness and nutrition forums. They should mainly be treated as entertainment unless you know the person giving out information is a reputable source.

Tags: forums, bad advice, nitric oxide supplements

Supplements to Avoid

The following was going to appear in my upcoming project "Your Naked Nutrition Guide" but I decided to leave it out and instead wanted to share it with you now. Enjoy!!


Arginine / Nitric Oxide Supplements – If you have opened a fitness magazine anytime in the past several years then I am sure that you have come across these products that claim to
enhance nitric oxide production…
which increases blood flow to your muscles…
resulting in greater nutrient delivery…
and eventually greater muscle growth.

While that is a nice story it just doesn’t work that way. The main ingredient in most of these products is arginine or some arginine derivative. If you were to open a biochemistry text book you would see that yes arginine is a precursor for the production of nitric oxide so theoretically arginine would be a good amino acid to supplement with, theoretically. But it just doesn’t pan out in the real world. There are a couple problems here. The first problem is that when ingested arginine can go to all kinds of places in the body and be used for a myriad of different functions other than nitric oxide production. The second problem is that in research has shown that in order to get an appreciable increase in nitric oxide production a person would need to continually consume an inordinate amount of arginine throughout the day. This is a problem because excessive arginine consumption (the kind needed to see increases in nitric oxide production) lead to terrible gastrointestinal complications.

So if these products truly don’t work then why are the consistently on the best sellers list of sports supplements? I have know idea. It must be really clever marketing. But please don’t be fooled. Nitric Oxide supplements can cost up to $60 a month to use. This stuff is truly snake oil. Save you money for basic or performance enhancing supplements…or even better – real food!

Note: In "Your Naked Nutrition Guide" I outline what I consider to be basic and performance enhancing supplements.

Tags: supplements, muscle growth, nitric oxide, arginine

Drugs for fat dogs....are they serious???

The FDA has recently approved a drug for the treatment of obesity in dogs. It looks like this drug acts like Orlistat (a drug for humans) and decreases the absorption of dietary fat.

Honestly this is out of control. People not only can't control their own eating habits but overfeed dogs has become such a problem that we drugs for it!! Stop feeding your dog table scraps. Here's the article from health day. I'm really shocked by this.

----------------------------

U.S. Approves First Drug for Obese Dogs
Not a remedy for overweight people, FDA warns

THURSDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Recognizing that overeating isn't limited to beings with two legs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first prescription drug to manage obesity in dogs.

Pfizer's Stentrol (dirlotapide) reduces appetite and a dog's ability to absorb fat, the agency said. The FDA cited surveys showing that up to 30 percent of U.S. dogs are overweight and about 5 percent are obese (more than 20 percent above ideal weight).

Overweight pets, like people, are at higher risk of health problems ranging from cardiovascular conditions and joint problems to diabetes, the FDA said.

To discourage use of the medication by people, Stentrol's label will warn that the drug is not intended for human use, should be kept away from children, and may cause adverse reactions in people, including abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, nausea and vomiting.

Tags: dogs, FDA, obesity, overweight dogs

The Media is reporting inaccurate information!!!

This should come as no surprise to anyone that has been reading my blog for sometime now. But yet again the media has twisted the message from scientific research to make a good headline. This proliferation of inaccurate information is terrible! This is the latest (that was actually on the Yahoo homepage so lot's of people are getting bad information).

"Grape juice seems to have the same protective effect against heart disease as red wine, French scientists said on Wednesday."

WRONG!

Apparently they don't have Medline in France. This conclusion is a huge stretch and actually the opposite is probably true. I have recently written a review article (soon to be published) on the different effects lifestyle changes can have on HDL (or good cholesterol). This included looking at the effects of red wine (and other alcohols) on cholesterol and other predictors of heart disease. Several studies compare wine vs. wine extract (essentially just the antioxidants) or wine vs. grape juice and the wine always has the greatest effect.

"But Schini-Kerth, whose research was partly funded by Welch Foods Inc which is a leading producer of grape juice, said little information is available on the levels of polyphenols in grape juice."

That's an interesting disclosure. I'm not against food industry funded studies only when crazy claims are made to make their products look better. I can only imagine Welch's marketing campaign now.

"The scientists were studying cells from pigs, which provide a good model for studying human cells."

This is another important piece of information. The researchers were studying pig cells in a dish. Not human cells. Not even pig cells in a pig. These findings should be taken with a big grain of sea salt! Especially because prior research in live humans has shown that the alcohol is the important part when it comes to modifying cholesterol levels and heart disease risk factors.

Here's the link to the article.

Tags: wine, heart disease, polyphenols, misinformation

Great Cooking Tips from Eating Well

I just came across this great mini article over at eatingwell.com. This is the great food magazine that I spoke about on the most recent issue of Max-Out Radio.

----------------------------

Think Like a Chef
You don't have to be a short-order cook to create meals in a hurry, but we can all learn some culinary wisdom from those who can prepare hundreds of meals in a single day. Follow these short-order steps to make healthy meals easy.

1. Relax, put on some music and pour yourself a cup of tea. A composed cook is a more efficient one.

2. Read the recipe through ahead of time so you know everything that’s going to happen. Take a minute to imagine doing the steps.

3. Lay out your prepared ingredients in bowls. Having everything at your fingertips means the dish will come together faster. Cutting an onion before you start to cook is actually a time-saver; cutting it after the cooking has already begun wastes time—you have to take the skillet off the heat, then heat it back up when you’re done chopping. That being said, remember that quick cooking is about getting maximal results in minimal time. So, for instance, if a recipe calls for cooking an ingredient first, make use of that cooking time to get other prep work done.

4. Room-temperature vegetables cook faster than cold ones. While we don’t advocate letting meat, poultry, fish or dairy sit out, we do let our vegetables come to room-temperature so they will sear quickly, cook evenly and blend more readily with other ingredients.

5. Substitute carefully. Although some substitutions seem obvious, they can be tricky business. A ruined dish is a waste of time. See The Well-Stocked Pantry.

6. Measure accurately. Nothing wrecks a quick-cooking sauté like a double portion of flour or an overdose of salt.

7. Work in a bigger bowl than you think you need. Ever seen someone try to make tuna salad for four in a cereal bowl? Get out the big bowls—you’ll avoid a mess on the counter, and you won’t have to transfer contents to bigger bowls once they become unwieldy.

8. Do messy work in the sink. Stir batters, coatings and spice mixtures in bowls set in the sink. Spills are simply washed down the drain.

9. Turn up the heat. While you shouldn’t sauté onions in butter over high heat (the butter solids will burn and the onions will then stick and scorch), you also shouldn’t do so over low (the onions will just wilt and turn greasy). Don’t be afraid of higher temperatures—within reason. If you’re minding the skillet, the ingredients will not burn.

10. Always have towels and oven mitts at the ready. And make sure they’re dry. Wet mitts conduct heat right to your hands.

11. Clean up as you cook. Put things in the dishwasher while you’re waiting for the onions to soften, or wash the cutting boards and mixing bowls while you’re waiting for the tomato sauce to come to a simmer. Always put each tool back in the same place—so you will know exactly where to find it next time. Aim to start and finish with a clean kitchen. (Don’t be afraid to recruit help from the ranks of those who will be eating what you cook.)

12. A watched pot always boils. Pay attention to the dish as it cooks; don’t just set a timer and leave it. All timing guidelines are just that: guidelines, not laws. Pay more attention to visual and olfactory cues.

Tags: cooking tips, food, recommendations

See Mike Roussell Live

Here's an exciting announcement that I've been waiting to announce and today's the day!. On April 13th & 14th I will be speaking at the JP Fitness Summit in Little Rock, AR.

The focus of my talk will be Nutrient Timing and how to maximize its potential. The summit will be full of several other incredible speakers such as Chad Waterbury, Charles Staley, Alwyn Cosgrove, Bill Hartman, Coach dos Remedios, and Lou Schuler. I am honored to be speaking with this crowd as they are all incredible men.

You can find more about the event at JP Fitness Summit. I hope to see you there!

What Products Do I Buy??

I get lots of emails with people asking me about what products I buy/use so here are a couple.

*Workout Pass - I just got a membership here and am blown away by the sheer volume of workouts. How could I ever complete over 100 workouts by alwyn cosgrove??

*OmegaRx Fish Oil - I've used this product for well over 2 years.

*Surge - My favorite PWO shake. I find myself actually craving the taste - weird huh?

*Metabolic Drive - My (and my wife's) favorite protein powder, hands down!

*Xtend by Scivation - A tasty BCAA supplement that comes in some great flavors

*ZMA by Optimum Nutrition - ZMA definitely improves my sleep.

*Hot-Rox Extreme This is a solid product that definitely will get you amped up.


I usually like to keep my supplementation simple. When I start using some different products I'll update my blog with changes.


*Note: By clicking on the links for Xtend, ZMA, or HRX you'll be able to save %10 on your orders.

Tags: supplements, fish oil, bcaa, recommendations, bodybuilding.com

Video Friday - Amazing Strength

I am often amazed by the upper body strength of rock climbers. Just think about how many chin up you can do? Imagine doing that over and over and over...just incredible. Here's a great video of a rock climber. Enjoy!

Tags: rock climbing, youtube, strength, chin ups

When More isn't Better

In the newest episode of Max-Out Radio (just published today) I talk about one of the popular studies regarding the new supplement beta-alanine. Beta-Alanine is an interesting beast because like creatine it allows you to do more work. Some would say that is a similar mechanism to anabolic steroids as they too allow you to train more often. However a main difference between anabolics and creatine or beta-alanine (and there are tons so don't think I'm saying creatine or beta-alanine are "like steroids" because they are not.) is that anabolics will help you recover faster by several mechanisms one of which is increased protein synthesis. More recovery means you can workout more and more often thus building more muscle.

Beta-alaine will allow you to do more work BUT it won't necessarily allow you to recover faster. Herein lies the problem. If your nutrition isn't sufficient to start out with and you are not maximally recovering from your workouts what would happen if you all of a sudden give your body the ability to lift more weight and do more work in any given session? Over the long term I think this is a recipe for disaster. This is when more ISN'T better. Because if you are nutritionally lacking, more work is just going to contribute to a greater chance of overtraining and not more muscle.

Proper nutrition is such a powerful weapon that when wielded properly yields incredible results. Couple that with a supplement that seems to have the ability to increase your work capacity and you have set the stage for a level of physique development most people dream about.

-MR

Tags: creatine, beta alanine, proper nutrition, steroids, recovery

Video Friday - JUMP!

I received an email from my buddy Eric Cressey last night talking about a client he has been working with. The video of this vertical leap is just incredible. Check it out!

Have a great weekend.