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The Emotion of Dieting.

Being a bodybuilder isn't easy, even for the most seasoned athletes. Proof of this came to me today when I opened an email from FUSION athlete Dave Naugler and felt his rush of emotion. This is what he had to say:

"..brief update bro, i abit less than 3 weeks to go and im feeling EXTREMELY DEPLETED as of yesterday bro.... Had all i could do to make it through my Quad training.... Today i woke up at 197.5lbs. Legs are F'N INSANE BRO!... Vascualrity is rediculous and detail is tight...Patiently awaiting my first meal of the day, which is Protien Sahke and Peanutbutter....mmm... i bought new P.P yesterday... ABSOLUTE HEAVEN FLAVOUR BRO.... i know i could drinK the whole bottle.. The flavour is INSANE!!Anyway Age.... this season will be my all time best pullout.... even though i want to QUIT....lol...., but deep inside im pushing my passion and Tammy is right there with me.. Shes keeping me afloat when i feel like im ready to quit and for that i am gratefull.To you all there at FUSION, i want to extend my ENDLESS GRATITUDE for all of your support and look forward to making team FUSION a stand out this year In Vancouver....3lbs to shed.... CUT n DRY!!!I WILL BE READY THIS TIME!! Hammer Your Business!Dave"Ballistic"Naugler"

This is what Dave is looking like today.

Bodybuilding.com Nabs Two Nutrition Business Journal Business Achievement Awards.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bodybuilding.com Nabs Two Nutrition Business Journal Business Achievement Awards

Boise, ID – July 28, 2009 - Bodybuilding.com, the Internet's most-visited bodybuilding and fitness site and largest online retailer of nutritional supplements, is the proud recipient of two Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) Business Achievement Awards: for “Growth in Large Companies” (recognizing their outstanding 43% revenue growth in 2008), and “Deal of the Year” (for their acquisition by conglomerate giant Liberty Media).

NBJ is a monthly executive journal focusing primarily on the nutrition industry. NBJ also addresses how the industry impacts the larger food, pharmaceutical, and health care industries. They focus on such topics as business activities, market size & growth, trends, and opportunities in the nutrition industry.

In order to win a Business Achievement Award, companies must first be nominated by their peers, with final winners being decided upon by an internal committee of NBJ staff and editorial advisory board members.

Bodybuilding.com President Jeremy DeLuca had the honor of accepting these prestigious awards at the 2009 NBJ Summit at St. Regis Resort in Dana Point, CA.

“To be recognized by such an important group in the health and fitness industry is quite the honor. As exciting as our growth has been, the best part is knowing we are able to help more and more people every day reach the healthy lifestyle they are striving for,” said DeLuca.

Bodybuilding.com offers more than 10,000 health and fitness supplements & accessories to help people achieve their health, fitness and appearance goals, as well as over 25,000 pages of FREE bodybuilding & fitness information—including more than 12,000 articles (written by 525+ writers), video & audio segments, and new content added daily.

For more information: http://www.bodybuilding.com
Contact: Crystal Matthews
Phone: 208.472.9311
Email: crystal@bodybuilding.com

Front Double-Bi: Dave Naugler 4 weeks out.

Bodybuilding in Asia.

You all know by now that I like to keep an eye on bodybuilding around the world, so in that spirit, I want to give a shout-out to our Thai brothers. The Multi Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships will be jointly hosted by the Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (ABBF) and the ThailandBodybuilding Association (TBBA). What makes this interesting for us Westerners is the scale of the competition. This competition is going to be much bigger than ever, with competitors from all over Asia competing in 38 categories. What makes it such a large event is that they’re combining the men’s and women’s categories, which were originally supposed to be divided between Iran and Thailand. Plus, they’re folding in the South East Asian Bodybuilding Championships, which were supposed to happen in October. (Ouch – that will cut some training schedules short.) It’s all happening in Pattaya, Thailand, on August 11 to 17. And if you’re thinking “skinny little Asian guys,” don’t. These guys represent. Check out some pictures, and I’ll post a link to the competition when it happens. And good luck to everyone competing, especially for those whose competition dates have jumped from October to August.

Recovery in a shirt?

By now, most of us are already familiar with the standard advice on how to recover: eat more protein and calories; use ice and, if appropriate, heat on your wounds and sore muscles; massage stiff and sore body parts and use compression on any wounds.

We all know that bench-press shirts help increase our lifts and take our strength to the next level. And we know that compression is a method that can speed recovery. So what if we combined the use of compression with a shirt? And so the compression shirt was created – but does it work?

Researchers had eleven people each do two workouts, separated by seven days. One group in the study was given lower-body compression garments to wear during the recovery period, and the other group was not given these garments. The researchers found that although the subjects given the compression garments reported lower levels of perceived muscle soreness, the actual effects on performance and recovery were minimal.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: Just because something sounds like a good idea in theory doesn’t mean that it actually works. There really are people out there marketing these products and promising that you’ll grow muscle from their use. Don’t believe it. While bench press shirts really do work and compression on wounds really does help recovery, a compression shirt or pants will have little or no effect on recovery.

Source: Duffield R, Cannon J, King M. The effects of compression garments on recovery of muscle performance following high-intensity sprint and plyometric exercise. J Sci Med Sport. 2009 Jan 6 [epub ahead of print].

Dave Naugler - 5 weeks out from CBBF Nationals.

I just got off the phone with Dave Naugler and he's pleased the way his contest prep is coming together. This is what he looks like 5 weeks out from the CBBF Nationals in Vancouver.

Do cardio, burn fat - and stay amped!

Ever wish you could do cardio, get beyond ripped and totally avoid cardio fatigue? Until now, this was seemingly impossible – a bodybuilder’s pipe dream – but breaking research just published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine shows that you can now do cardio, burn a lot of fat and still be amped after your session. And here’s the best part: They reveal the protocol and it’s easy to do!

Scientists found that running speed and blood glucose levels were related. When study participants ran faster on a running task, the total amount of sugar in their blood decreased by a predictable rate. As this happened, concentrations of lactate also increased, leading to fatigue. Simply put, blood glucose levels are predictive of failure and fatigue when doing cardio.

Researchers found that drinking an simple carbohydrate drink in divided parts, with an initial glucose load of 20 grams followed by subsequent doses of 5 grams each over the course of cardio, was most effective for maintaining blood glucose levels.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: The best way to not get fatigued during long cardio sessions is to maintain your blood glucose levels. Give this protocol a try during your next cardio session. This will help keep lactate levels from increasing, making sure that you don’t tire out before your time is up.

Source: Sotero RC, et al. Blood glucose minimum predicts maximal lactate steady state on running. Int J Sports Med. 2009 Jun 30 [epub ahead of print].

Re: UFC - FUSION Athlete Paul Lazenby in the News

UFC pencils in Vancouver match despite ban

CBC Sports Jul 13, 11:10 pm EDT

A mixed martial arts match will be held in Vancouver next June despite the city’s current ban on the sport, announced Ultimate Fighting Championship’s president over the weekend. “Canada is the mecca of mixed martial arts right now,” said UFC president Dana White at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas.

Though the controversial sport is not regulated in British Columbia and Vancouver banned it in 2007, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson gave his support Monday. “We’re hopeful we can resolve all this and host an event in 2010, but we still got some work to do,” said Robertson.

Vancouver Coun. David Cadman opposes the event, saying the violent nature of the sport would require increased security downtown. “I personally don’t feel that the residents of Vancouver want to pay taxes to police this kind of event,” said Cadman.

Paul Lazenby, a Vancouver-based Canadian mixed martial arts champion, says UFC would be an easy sell in the city. “Vancouver is one of the top 10 cities per capita in the world for UFC pay-per-view buys. I can guarantee that if UFC comes to GM Place, it will sell out in an instant,” said Lazenby. He said new rules have boosted the sport’s popularity. “It is now as respectable a sport as boxing is. And it’s really helped us to move the sport forward and divorce it from the old image of just two bar brawlers basically bashing each other to pieces in a cage,” he said.

Be Like Bruce.

The web is awash in newspaper stories about guys and gals who are training to compete onstage. And while I’m all for good bodybuilding press, I’ll have to admit I don’t pay a lot of attention to the articles themselves. It’s great to hear that some wonder woman in Red Deer, Alberta, trains hard, or the nerd turned bodybuilder in Dalton, Georgia, is in a growing phase, but I’ve read (heck, I’ve lived) that story before. But every once in a while, a story catches my attention and impresses even a jaded guy like me.

This time, that story came from the Grand Bahama Bodybuilding and Fitness Show, where athlete Bruce Silvera stepped up onstage for his very first competition. What made Bruce’s story special was that while he looked surprisingly like a seasoned pro, he certainly wasn’t. In only 20 months, Bruce has lost over 100 pounds and put on some serious and striated muscle, all at the age of 51. That’s the kind of story that makes me proud to be a bodybuilder. Great job, Bruce!

Bodybuilder Dances the Samba.

Do what you love.

I was just reading through the latest issue of Inside Fitness with GSP on the cover and I was reflecting on how great it is to see people doing what they love. You can tell by reading George's training article that he's willing to do what it takes to excel at the sport he loves. It’s impressive. But if you are in 'the know' and dig deeper you can see this reflecting in other peoples work. The publisher of the magazine is Terry Frendo. He's been in the game for a long time, he knows everyone. I'm sure that he could've been quite successful working for his former employer, but a few years ago he decided to go out on his own and start the magazine. Well, I know how hard he's worked to get Inside Fitness off the ground and he is now building a publishing empire. He's doing what he loves.

Looking further into the GSP article, is yet another example of someone following their passion. Liana Saadi is a good friend of mine and before she sky rocketed into photographer stardom she was only struggling with the idea. You could always see her walking around with her camera, taking shots and being creative, but it was only a hobby. It wasn’t until Liana put her fear aside has she made a mark in the industry. She’s so driven by her passion that she was actually able to secure a shoot with the most recognizable UFC athlete on the planet. She has heard her calling and I know you’ll see a lot more from her.

There’s a lesson just under the surface of the GSP Inside Fitness cover: do what you love! Get passionate, follow your dreams and make great things happen…then send me and email about it.
culture@fusionbodybuilding.com

Come support Dave - August 22nd.

We've been talking about FUSION athlete Dave Naugler a lot as of late and it's little wonder why. He is a man on a mission. He has been keeping his diet tight for almost a year now, in an effort to be in top condition when he steps on the national stage. This year the CBBF Nationals are held in Vancouver and it looks like the lineup is going to be awesome. If you are in the area, I encourage you to pick up some tickets and come cheer Dave on. I know he'd appreciate it.

FUSION's Newest Team Member.

We'd would like to introduce you to our newest team member. Please say hello to Armstrong. He's the bodybuilding version of the Twitter bird and can be found at www.twitter.com/avoidthehype.

COMING SOON: Being A Bodybuilder.

Click below:

BEING A BODYBUILDER

Heat Affects Recovery.

When summer rolls around and the nice weather hits, you’ll probably be spending more time outside. But when you are inside, chances are good that it’s going to be several degrees warmer than normal – especially when you’re at the gym. And it’s well-known that a hard workout in the heat is much more demanding than the same workout in a nicely air-conditioned building.

For bodybuilders, there has always been one big question: How does heat affect recovery?

Scientists examined this question by getting male and female athletes to do two 30-minute exercise sessions seven days apart, each followed by a one-hour passive recovery session of sitting. During this recovery session, the researchers put one group of people in a room heated to 22 degrees Celsius and put the other in another room heated to 33 degrees Celsius.

Researchers found that the athletes who recovered in the cooler room recovered faster and better than those athletes who were in hotter conditions.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: Heat affects your performance before, during and after a hard workout. To have the best workout, avoid overheating before you get there. Ideally, your gym should be air-conditioned, but it if isn’t, make sure you take a cool shower after your workout just to help bring down your core temperature. This will help flush out lactic acid and promote circulation. And be sure to stay as cool as you can for the rest of the day; this will help speed your recovery and launch you into the anabolic phase of recovery: growth.

Source: Duffield R, King M, Skein M. Recovery of voluntary and evoked muscle performance following intermittent-sprint exercise in the heat. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2009 Jun;4(2):254-68.

FUSION User Has Great Results.

It is always exciting to get emails from bodybuilders who have had success with our supplements. The most recent was from Craig Hall who ended up placing 2nd in Indianapolis and then 10th at the Junior Nationals. Craig expressed that he has a lot of work to do but he was happy with his prep. He also said he'd be back stronger than ever next year.

Congratulations Craig...keep striving and working hard.

Question this blog.

It amazes me what passes itself off as expert advice on the web, and yes before you point it out, I see the irony of saying this on a blog. While I was surfing around I came across this bit of junk: http://bit.ly/4ERj5. It’s a perfect example of half truths, misinformation and downright ignorance, and what’s even worse, it’s coming from someone who should apparently know better, a supposed Navy Seal. First let’s see what this “expert” is saying:

“The whole thing behind "creatine" (the secret bodybuilding fix) is that you have to drink constantly to keep it moving through your system. These bodybuilders are dopey. They've been lifting dehydrated for so long that when the prescription for creatine calls for drinking 10 large glasses of water per day, they assume that it's the creatine that makes them able to lift longer and heavier. That, my friends, is the gimmick behind this whole creatine fixation! During these big weightlifting competitions, competitors are supposed to quit drinking liquids of any kind 24 hours before a show. So we can all just push these huge steroid monsters over with one hand tied to a scuba tank!”

Now let’s break it down:

“…you have to drink constantly to keep it (creatine) moving through your system.”

This in a way is true, creatine fundamentally uses water. It increases the intracellular (in the cell) water volume. Therefore it’s important to increase your water intake when taking creatine. However this increase in intracellular water volume is not creatine’s primary function.

“These bodybuilders are dopey. They've been lifting dehydrated for so long that when the prescription for creatine calls for drinking 10 large glasses of water per day, they assume that it's the creatine that makes them able to lift longer and heavier.”

Unless you a complete noob every bodybuilder knows you need to be well hydrated to lift your best. In fact, there isn’t any group that I can think of more aware of what their bodies need – be it protein, carbs and yes even water. And I’m not just talking the pros here. I’m thinking the guys in my gym. Maybe this “Navy Seal” is saying this because he only sees the bodybuilders at his gym just taking little sips of water while they work out. Of course we all know that’s because you start hydrating long before the gym, not while you’re there.

“That, my friends, is the gimmick behind this whole creatine fixation!”

No, the “gimmick” behind creatine that has made it one of the fundamental supplements is its scientifically proven ability to increase the muscle’s available energy. Creatine achieves this by increasing the availability of Adenosine TriPhosphate (ATP), which is used by the cells as fuel. While creatine doesn’t increase the amount of ATP stored in the cell, it “revitalizes” it.

Here’s how the process works. (You can skip this if you don’t want to wade through the quick and dirty science.) To become physiologically active creatine needs to bond with a phosphate group to form PhosphoCreatine (PCr). When you lift weights your muscles needs energy quickly and get it by breaking down ATP by removing one of its phosphate molecules. The result is the ATP is converted into ADP(Adenosine DiPhosphate). This is where PhosphoCreatine goes to work. In the seconds following an intense muscular effort PhosphoCreatine donates its phosphate to the ADP which renews the ATP molecule and it can now produce energy. Whew!

“During these big weightlifting competitions, competitors are supposed to quit drinking liquids of any kind 24 hours before a show. So we can all just push these huge steroid monsters over with one hand tied to a scuba tank!”

What does competing have to do with training? The off season is about building muscles, competitions are about showing off those muscles. Bodybuilders cut water before a competition to reduced the volume of subcutaneous water (water below the skin) to cause the skin to wrap tightly around underlying muscularity. Correctly done this gives a bodybuilder a shredded look that shows off their muscle striations. I feel confident in saying that no bodybuilder ever has tried to build muscle while cutting water. Water reduction is only done for the stage, and even then if overdone it can be very dangerous as it could potentially cause grave injury or even death. As for having this guy push one of us over he should give it a try, I’ll bet he might be surprised.

Bottom line folks, don’t blindly believe everything you read on the web. Whether it’s supposed experts like this, sites like Wikipedia or even guys like me, do a little research and draw your own conclusions. And yes before anyone points it out I might appear bias as FUSION has its own completely wicked, awesome, mind-blowing creatine product PURPLE-K, but at FUSION we don’t ever ask you to blindly accept supplement hype, we always want you to make up your own minds. So get out there and lift! Oh, and go have a big glass of water on me.

500 LB SQUATS.

Here's a little Monday morning inspiration.

All Roads Leads to Arnold.

As you may have heard character actor Karl Malden died on July 1st. He was in several notable movies such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, Patton, Birdman of Alcatraz, One-Eyed Jacks and one I’ll always remember the schlocky, but amusing, disaster flick Meteor with Sean Connery. Now I can hear you asking, “what the hell does this have to do with bodybuilding?” This, smart alec. Malden was also on a little TV cop show in the 70’s called The Streets of San Francisco. And guess what? So was Arnold. In one of his very early roles Schwarzenegger played a huge, but mentally slow bodybuilder that unintentional kills a woman. Look at that. Don’t all roads lead to Arnold? I think so.

Check out this clip.



Hey Canadians, hope you enjoyed the 1st. And you Americans enjoy the 4th.

GLUTAMINE: Gets You Pumped.

You’ve been hearing it for years from bodybuilders, doctors and chemists: When it comes to getting a pump, enhancing blood flow, increasing muscular contraction quality and more, arginine in its various forms is king.

But a new German study shows that arginine isn’t the only kid in town. Enter glutamine.

Researchers examined the metabolism of glutamine, arginine and citrulline. They found that glutamine contributes 64% of the arginine production that results from a single dose of citrulline. The researchers concluded that glutamine is important for natural arginine production.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: Arginine may be important for the pump, enhanced blood flow, increased muscular contraction quality and more, but glutamine plays a central role in arginine production. No glutamine, no arginine. No arginine, no pump. It’s pretty clear that you need glutamine, so if you want to get pumped and build a bigger physique, get on glutamine! It’s best to take glutamine in four equal doses of 5 grams each on an empty stomach, four times per day – once upon rising, once before your workout, once after your workout and once again prior to bed.

Source: Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;87:1282–9.

'Nother Naugler Update...

Well...this is just getting silly now. Every time I see pix of FUSION athlete Dave Naugler I can't help but shake my head in disbelief. He is about 7 weeks out from the Canadian Nationals and he's looking thick and dicing it up. He has made some great improvements on his back this year...here's the proof: