FUSION COMMERCIAL

WANT POWERFUL LEGS? STEP-UP!

It's a fact: if you want a powerful physique, you need big quads. Your quads are the largest muscle group in your body and comprise half of your physique – so skipping that leg workout can lead to disproportional development and a lack of functional strength and muscular symmetry. Ultimately, this can lead to injury.

While squats are undeniably effective not only for leg development but for overall development and strength, science shows that dumbbell step-ups are, in fact, superior to all other leg exercises for quadriceps strength development and muscular growth.

How so? It's simple: squats place the weight load across your back in a balanced fashion, but dumbbell step-ups not only work your quadriceps but also force you to develop and use maximum control over your body balance in order to properly execute the exercise and maintain correct body position from beginning to end.

So while squats are an indispensable, foundation exercise, and while many other exercises are useful growth-triggering tools in your arsenal, do step-ups if you want to build big quads.

Source: Strengthening Conditioning Journal, 28:60-61, 2006.

- FUSION Research Team
www.fusionbodybuilding.com

SICK SPIT

Every bodybuilder knows that there's a downside to hard-training: getting sick. Bodybuilders have known for years that while training hard is needed to get strong and build serious muscle, overtraining is sometimes just a rep away. In a new study, researchers tried to figure out part of the reason why training can make you sick, and they think they've found part of the answer: it's in your spit.

Researchers tested a team of World-class rowers, and wanted to see how intense exercise affected levels of lactoferrin and lysozyme – two immune system saliva proteins that kill microbes. High levels of these proteins is a good thing, and low levels not good – if levels get too low, you get sick.

After examining saliva samples from these athletes taken before and after an intense workout, scientists discovered an intense workout lowers the total count of these protective proteins, so your body kills of less microbes – making it easier for you to get sick.

It's not clear why training has this effect, but to combat your risk of getting sick, researchers recommend drinking plenty of water during exercise to flush out potentially harmful bacteria. We also recommend supplementing with vitamin C for oxidant protection and eating plenty of protein so you heal faster.

Source: West, Nick. Griffith University. Elite Athletes More Susceptible To Common Illnesses, Research Suggests.

- FUSION Research Team
www.fusionbodybuilding.com

WBFF Kicks Off - 2008 Season

After the huge success of the WBFF World Championships last September, things are ramping up again for a great season. The WBFF's first of a string of hot-bod contests will be on March 15. Check out the poster below. You can find more information at www.wbffshows.com


- FUSION - Media
www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Post-Exercise Calorie Burn

For years it’s been thought and taught that the way to burn more calories following your workout is to increase the total volume of your training, either by increasing the number of total sets that you perform over the course of your workout, by increasing the total number of repetitions per set that you perform, or by increasing both set and repetition count. Millions of bodybuilders have followed this advice hoping to increase post-exercise calorie burn. Unfortunately, while popular, this approach is wrong and doesn’t work.

The fact is, while lifting weights does burn calories and keeps your metabolism higher than normal once your workout is finished, nothing beats cardio in the calorie burning department. And, while doing more reps and sets during your workout will slightly increase the total calories you burn while in the gym, only cardio keeps your metabolism high and burning calories long after you’ve left the gym.

Source: International Journal Sports Medicine, 27:143-148, 2006.

- FUSION Research Team
http://www.fusionbodybuilding.com/

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Well, it's that time of the year where caloric intake should never be a concern or questioned - EAT and GROW!

On behalf of FUSION I'd like to thank everyone for your support this past year. It's been an honor to get to know many of you and to see how bodybuilding has impacted your life. It truly is the most focused and dynamic sport in the world - you should be proud to be a bodybuilder. I wish you and your families the best of luck in '08 - keep working hard.

AND - may all your Christmas trees be ripped!!!

- Adrian Burke, Co-Prez
http://www.fusionbodybuilding.com/

FUSION - FREE INSIDE

Aside from developing the reputation as being bodybuilding's strongest supplements, FUSION has been hard a work thinking of how to bring you more added value. The solution has been to give FREE tools and information with every FUSION product. Inside every box of FUSION's products you'll find a fuctional tool to help you achieve you bodybuilding goals. This is what you'll find:

SUB•Q - 50-Page Beyond Ripped Diet and Training Manual

PURPLE•K - Strength Tracking Poster and Pro-Bench Tips

ZEUS - Report on Testosterone and Gym God Program

FUBAR - (is being re-packaged to incorporate some bad ass motivational stickers)

Our focus will always be on making the strongest supplements in bodybuilding, but you deserve more. We want to help you as much as we can to make sure you have every possible tool at your disposal to mazimize you bodybuilding potential.

- Chris Belanger www.fusionbodybuilding.com

GOT SQUATS?

It kills me that so many guys in the gym tend to stay away from training their legs – they procrastinate. When leg day comes around they make up excuses such as, “bad knees”, “bad back”, or, “I don’t want to bulk up – I am looking for more definition”.

Here’s the truth: a properly executed squat will help you benefit drastically from bad knees since it will help strengthen the muscle around the knee joint and increase the stability. The same goes with having a bad back – when properly executed the squat will strengthen the supportive tissue throughout the back and spine.

For those who say they are not looking to bulk up in the legs and they would prefer to perform leg extensions or legs curls, or use abductor-adductor machines to obtain more definition, forget it. You will only bulk up if you are consuming enough calories to do so.

Some benefits to performing squats are: increased bone density, an increase in core strength, increase in stamina and an increase in lower body strength and stability.

Another good reason that you should perform squats is to increase the anabolic hormone testosterone. Testosterone allows you to build lean muscle, reduce body fat, improve mood, and increase sexual performance. If you are stuck at a plateau on your bench, there’s a good chance hitting some good squats will elevate your testosterone enough to break it.

If you are not sure how to perform a squat properly, speak to a certified personal trainer and have him or her go over the movement. Even if you think you know how to perform a squat, I suggest you have a qualified individual take a second look to make sure you are performing it correctly.

Make sure you have a good warm-up and stretch before performing squats. I prefer to do my cardio at the end of my leg workout, as the increase in oxygen will help eliminate the build-up of lactic acid – the burn. Finally, take the next 10-15 minutes for a good stretch.

So, don’t forget about your squats and remember: procrastination is just like masturbation – it seems like a good thing at the time, but in the end you’re only fucking yourself.

- Chris Belanger www.fusionbodybuilding.com

VITAMIN C - don't forget about it.

It is commonly known that vitamin C is a powerful nutrient. Mainly due to its ability to prevent colds and keeping you scurvy free. But, it’s lesser known benefits are those that can help you be a better bodybuilder.

Plasma ascorbic acid, vitamin C in your blood, has been shown to have an inverse relationship to degenerative joint pain and osteoarthritis. This is because vitamin C is needed for collagen synthesis and the repair of it. What does this mean to you? It means it can help reduce the pain, or prevent the pain that you get from doing heavy compound movements like squats.

It has also been shown that a person low in vitamin C can have more trouble burning fat. This is because vitamin C is needed for the formation of carnitine, a biological molecule needed for adipolysis, the metabolism of fat tissue. So take your vitamin C supplementation seriously and watch how the addition of it can change your performance.


References

Evangelou A, et al., Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) effects on withdrawal syndrome of heroin abusers.
In Vivo. 2000 Mar-Apr; 14(2):363-6.

Johnston CS, et al., Marginal vitamin C status is associated with reduced fat oxidation during submaximal exercise in young adults. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2006 Aug 31; 3:35.

McAlindon TE, et al., Do antioxidant micronutrients protect against the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis?Arthritis Rheum. 1996 Apr; 39(4): 648-56.


KURT KUHN - Bodybuilding Researcher
www.fusionbodybuilding.com

My SND Experience.

This past weekend Sport Nutrition Depot and Popeye’s Supplements across Ontario, Canada had their Customer Appreciation Day. I was lucky enough to be in the Waterloo, SND location on Saturday and WOW – the service was great! The last experience that I had of this type of service was when I attended the Mr. Olympia in the adult fun park of Las Vegas. For those of you who have ever attended one of their stylish nightclubs you will know what I am talking about. You walk in and this big-ass doorman greets you with a smile and asks where you would like to sit and even takes your coat – gets the waitress over to you and the drink is in your hands minutes later. Well this is what it felt like walking through the door at Sport Nutrition Depot in Waterloo. The big-ass doorman opened the door, gave me a greeting, and cleared the path through one hell of a line-up that can’t be described, and I took care of my business. A killer experience!

- Chris Belanger - www.Fusionbodybuilding.com

Reasons and Methods for Improving Grip Strength

There are some very valid reasons why an individual would want to improve grip strength:

1) Boost one’s ego – a bit shallow, yes.

2) Will provide symmetry to a physique, so your biceps and triceps don’t over power the forearms in a pose.

3) Perhaps most importantly, help you lift more weight on certain exercises such as dead lifts and rows, and this can potentially help you achieve insane numbers.

The methods for improving grip strength are numerous, but they all encompass one aspect - don’t neglect your forearms in the gym! Thankfully, a variety of methods are available on how you can train your forearms. You can add hammer curls, which would hit both your forearms and biceps. Or superset reverse wrist curls and wrist curls using a thick barbell. All of this can be done the same day you hit your biceps, or even back. Another method is using a kettle bell, which is an old school version of the dumbbell and always one to do a single exercise with one apparatus. To view some different exercises using a kettle bell and improving grip strength, check out this great article on Bodybuilding.com.

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jasonbrown2.htm

Often people ask if it’s all right to use wrist straps in the gym. In my opinion straps should only be used under certain conditions and should not be used for every exercise, or if it neglects your back training. Say you burned out your grip doing a few sets of heavy dead lifts, and your grip is the failing out point. Now would be a good time to use straps – preferably chalk, however, only if your gym allows it.

- Kurt Kuhn www.fusionbodybuilding.com

THE MUSCLE TIMES

Hey guys - we just launched the registration page for THE MUSCLE TIMES.

THEMUSCLETIMES.COM

The Muscle Times is our quarterly newsletter, but this isn't about Fusion - it's about you and the bodybuilding culture. What you'll get when you sign-up for The Muscle Times is some great training tips, athlete interviews, current bodybuilding news and the odd rant. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for all your support.

- Adrian Burke

NAC Linked to Hypertension

N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC) is an amino acid that has been shown to increase the levels of the antioxidant glutathione. The antioxidant can reduce cell damage, speed recovery from injury and aid muscle growth. The anabolic effect of NAC on muscle tissue makes it a popular supplement for bodybuilders who want to gain lean muscle size and strength.

However, I came across a recent article, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation examining the effects of NAC. The study indicated that the antioxidant properties can form a red blood cell-derived molecule that makes blood vessels think they are not getting enough oxygen. This can lead to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), which is a condition characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries carrying blood to the lungs.

I have used N-Acetyl L-Cysteine for a few years now at 1500mg daily and consider it a foundation supplement for antioxidant purposes and will continue its usage. However, the recent article published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation should not be taken lightly and if you have any concerns about taking this supplement to discuss it with your doctor first.

Chris Belanger – www.FUSIONBodybuilding.com

Biological Functions of Amino Acids – Part 2

Conditionally Essential Amino Acids Functions

Arginine

• Plays a role in cell division, healing of wounds and removal of ammonia from the body
• Important for immune function and the production of T lymphocytes
• Integral in protein synthesis
• Precursor to nitric oxide which has many physiological functions, including vasodilation

Cysteine

• Provides an antioxidant function by being a pre-cursor to glutathione
• Source of sulfur
• Aids in hair growth

Glutamine

• Potential to be converted to glucose
• Maintains physiological pH levels of blood
• Increases the production of human growth hormone

Glycine

• Essential for synthesis of nucleic acids, bile acids, ATP and creatine
• Acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and increases activity of certain neurotransmitters
• Stimulates glucagon

Proline

• Strengthens myocardium
• Precursor for hydroxyproline, which the body uses for tendons and ligaments
• Important component of collagen, which aids in the maintenance and healing of cartilage and joints

Tyrosine

• Precursor for the neurotransmitters: epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine
• Can be converted to melanin, which protects against ultraviolet light

Nonessential Amino Acids Functions

Alanine

• Vital for the function of the central nervous system
• Maintains blood glucose levels
• Can be converted to glucose during intense bouts of exercise
• Aids in the production of lymphocytes, which is used in immune function

Asparagine

• Used as a transport of nitrogen in the body
• Essential function in proteins used in neuronal signaling, neuron development and transmission across synapses

Aspartate

• Used in gluconeogenesis, the creation of glucose
• Serves as an excitatory neurotransmitter

Glutamate

• Most readily available excitatory neurotransmitter
• Is a precursor for GABA (gamma-aminobutyric-acid)
• Key role in transamination

Serine

• Used in the metabolism of fats and fatty acids
• Aids in the production of immunoglobulins and antibodies

Kurt Kuhn - www.FUSIONBodybuilding.com

2007 Candian Nationals

We're all heading to Edmonton to see the Nationals this weekend. It's going to be an awesome event with some great competition - so if you get a chance, be sure to make your way there.



I'd personally like to wish the best for FUSION athlete Dave Naugler. This guys been working non-stop since his Middleweight win last year. Kick some ass Dave - you're a real bodybuilder - 100% pure dedication.

See you there!

- Adrian Burke http://www.fusionbodybuilding.com/

Biological Functions of Amino Acids

General Overview of Amino Acids

The most common purpose of protein we know of is for its purpose to help repair damaged muscle tissue after a workout. Protein has other functions, such as: aid in the transport of oxygen to tissues; play a role in immune function, so we don’t get sick; help control our mood. All of these doings are possible by the basic building blocks of protein, amino acids.

There are over twenty different amino acids, each one with a specific function in a physiological system. There are many ways of categorizing them. The most common way of sorting them is into categories: essential, conditionally essential and non-essential amino acids.

Essential amino acids are those that the body cannot synthesize, or it cannot create enough of. So it must be consumed via diet.

Conditionally essential amino acids are amino acids that are not always needed, but in certain individuals they are. Such as: a young and growing individual, or during illness.

Non-essential amino acids are just that. The body can synthesize enough of it to maintain normal function, so it does not need to be consumed through diet.

Essential Amino Acids Functions

Histidine

• A precursor of histamine, a compound released by the immune system when an allergic reaction occurs.
• Needed for the repair and growth of tissues. As well as the maintenance of the myelin sheath that is found in the neuronal cells.
• Needed for the creation of red and white blood cells. Helps produce gastric juice in the stomach, aiding in digestion.

Isoleucine

• Helps aid in the recovery of muscle tissue after physical stress (i.e. working out).
• Used in for formation of blood clots.
• Synthesis of hemoglobin.

Valine

• Has a stimulating effect for muscle metabolism, repair and growth of tissue.
• It is a BCAA, can be used as energy source in muscle tissue, and doing so prevents the use of muscle glucose.

Leucine

• A BCAA that prevents the breakdown of muscle tissue.
• Maintains and regulates the blood-sugar tissues.
• Aids in the growth and repair of muscle tissue and bones.

Lysine

• Required for the bone development in children.
• Needed to produce antibodies, hormones, enzymes, and the repair of tissues.
• Assists in calcium absorption.
• Maintains a correct nitrogen balance, and maintains a lean body mass.

Methionine

• Aids in the breakdown of fats.
• Acts as an antioxidant.
• Used in the formation of creatine in the body.

Phenylalanine

• Helps elevating mood.
• Aids in memory and learning.
• Has been used as an appetite suppressant.

Threonine

• Required to maintain a proper balance of protein in the body.
• Assists in the formation of collagen and elastin in the skin.
• When combined with aspartic acid it has lipotropic functions.
• With the aid of methionine assists in immune function by producing antibodies.

Tryptophan

• Required for the biosynthesis of niacin (vitamin B3).
• Used to produce serotonin, an important neurotransmitter, which is important in sleep.

Kurt Kuhn - www.FUSIONBodybuilding.com

WBFF - Get Your Tickets!

So - the entire FUSION crew made the trip to Toronto to see what Mr. Paul Dillett was up to. As a ramp-up to the first ever WBFF Championships being help in September, he hosted the Summer Hot Bod contest at a great venue called C-Lounge. I didn't quite know what to expect, but when I got there the place was rammed. I am talking serious energy and some wicked physiques. The dudes were jacked and the women were sizzling - definetly top-notch athletes. It would appear that the word is out and the WBFF is gonna leave it's mark.

If you get a chance, visit their web site and reserve your tickets - this is going to be a great show www.WBFFShows.com



Adrian Burke - www.FUSIONBodybuilding.com

HOW CREATINE IS MADE

Many bodybuilders are unaware of how supplemental creatine is made or even where it is derived from – natural sources or synthetic sources. I will shed a little bit of light on this subject.

Naturally, creatine is produced in our body from the combination of 3 amino acids – glycine, arginine and methionine also chemically known as a-methyl-guanidinoacetic acid. Creatine can also be found in animal and fish sources but extracting large enough amounts for commercial use would be very impractical as it would be quite expensive.

This leads to me to discuss how the creatine we supplement with is produced. The creatine that we consume is synthetically produced by the manufacturing of 2 chemicals – sarcosine, which is a sodium salt and derivative of acetic acid, and cyanamide, which is an organic amide not to be confused with the similar sounding poison cyanide. Although these are chemicals, at the end of their reaction process is a product that is perfecting fine for human consumption – creatine. Reacting the chemicals sarcosine with cyanamide in a specific amount of water, inside a glass-lined filled vessel known as a reactor is the only way to make synthetic creatine.

Just for an example of how chemicals can be combined for human consumption let’s take a look at table salt. Sodium is pretty much safe to consume in its raw form but chloride is toxic to humans and will burn the skin. This is why it was used during WWI. Chemistry has allowed sodium and chloride to be combined into a new and harmless compound – common table salt.

The process for synthesizing creatine has been the same for many, many years and has not changed. The only thing that may have changed is the advancement in technology, which has improved the process, is regards to quality of the finished product.

The process to manufacturing creatine happens in 4 stages – reaction phase, cleaning phase, drying phase, and the milling phase. At the end of this process is a pure finished creatine ready to be packaged. Pure finished creatine is usually 88% creatine and 12% water because creatine picks up and bonds to water molecules during the initial reaction process.

This, my friends is how creatine is manufactured or ‘synthesized’. Later on we will discuss the brand of creatine – PURPLE•K and why bodybuilders consider it a staple supplement in their bodybuilding program.

Chris Belanger – FUSIONBodybuilding.com

TRAINING LAWS

When you go to the gym and train, it is a very systematic process, essentially all one does is lift, push, pull the weights. However, it is damn enjoyable. When one is training, there are certain principles one should consider when heading off to the gym or going for a run.

Law of Overload

The principle of overload is perhaps one of the most important and obvious concepts - if one does not push themselves harder (i.e. lifting more weight with proper form, running further) the body has no need to adapt, and thus one will not make any desirable gains in strength and/or endurance.

One can ‘overload’ themselves by adjusting one of the following:

• Frequency – how often
• Duration – how long
• Intensity – how hard

Law of Reversibility

Simply stated, “If you don’t use it, you will lose it”. If you are not training consistently, the body has no need to adapt. So the gains that you have made in the gym will slowly start to relapse.

It is also important to note that one shouldn’t train so frequently that the body goes into a state of over training. Rest is needed for the body to recover.

Some symptoms of over training:

Irritability and moodiness
Altered sleep patterns
Loss of appetite
Loss of motivation or competitive drive
Persistent muscle soreness that does not go away
Fatigue not relieved by rest
Increased incidence of minor illness or injury
Principle of Variety

Doing the same thing over and over again gets boring rather quickly. Incorporating different exercises for each body part will keep your body guessing, and not grow accustomed to the routine you are using. Instead of doing low rep squats; try doing light weight 20 rep squats. Or instead of barbell shrugs, try dumbbell shrugs.

Law of Specificity

The exercise or training that you do will elect a certain and specific response and adaptations. Specific anaerobic exercise stress (i.e. strength-power training) induces specific strength-power adaptations; endurance exercise stress elects a specific aerobic system adaptations. There is only a limited interchange of benefits between strength and cardiovascular training.

So if you have a single goal in mind, train specific for that goal and not something else. If you want big legs don’t go continually training biceps.

Law of Individuality

Everyone is different. Different training routines affect each person in a different way. Some people will respond very well to high reps and light weight exercises, while others will only respond to heavy weight and low rep exercises. So if someone says “You have to try this new routine, it worked wonders for me.” Feel free to try it out, but don’t get disappointed if it doesn’t work out for you.

Kurt Kuhn - www.FUSIONBodybuilding.com

The ATP-PCr System and Creatine

High intensity exercise of short duration (ie.100m dash, 25m or heavy ass squats) requires an immediate energy supply. This comes almost soley on banked stores of intramuscular, high-energy phosphates, phosphagens, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PCr). Each kilogram of skeletal muscle (the kind of muscle you use when you workout) contains 3 to 8 mmol/l (millimoles/litre) of ATP and 4–5 times more PCr. For a 70kg person, with a muscle mass of 30kg, this represents between 570 to 690 mmol/l of high-energy phosphates. Assuming that 20kg of muscle becomes active during “big-muscle” exercise, sufficient stored phosphagen energy can supply energy for 5-8 seconds of sprint running for 5–8 seconds, or up to 15 seconds of heavy, maximal effort weight lifting.

All sports use the high-energy phosphates, but many depend almost entirely on this means of energy transfer. For example, success in football and the gym requires brief but maximal efforts during the performance. Sustaining exercise beyond a brief period and recovering from all-out effort requires an additional energy source to replenish ATP. If this does not occur, the “fuel” supply diminishes and high-intensity movement comes to a screeching halt. The carbohydrates, fat, and protein found within the cellular fluids and tissue depots remain ready to continually recharge the available pool of high-energy phosphates to sustain muscular activity. However, there are other methods of help maintaining this energy currency. This is where creatine comes into play.

When creatine is consumed it passes through the digestive tract intact and eventually gets shuttled into skeletal muscle. About 40% exists as free creatine; the remainder combines with a phosphate molecule to form PCr.

PCr also shuttles intramuscular high-energy phosphate between the mitochondria and muscle filament cross-bridge sites that initiate muscle action. Maintaining a high ratio of ATP:ADP (adenosine diphosphate) ratio is important for maximum effort activities lasting up to 3-15 seconds. This exercise duration places high demands on ATP re-synthesis that exceed the energy transfer from intracellular macronutrient breakdown.

Generally speaking, creatine has the potential to accomplish the following:

- Accelerate ATP turnover to maintain power output during short-term muscular effort

- Delay PCr depletion

- Diminish dependence on anaerobic glycolysis and decrease resulting lactate formation

- Facilitate muscle relaxation and recovery from repeated bouts of intense, brief effort via faster ATP and PCr resynthesis; rapid recovery allows continued higher level power output

Molecular Structure of PCr




Molecular Structure of ATP




Kurt Kuhn - http://www.fusionbodybuilding.com/