Christmas Props.

Leigh Mollison, a national-level bodybuilder, sent us some props over Christmas.

"Hi FUSION,
I hope the holidays treated you and your families well. Just sending you a quick note to let you know, I REALLY enjoy FUBAR!! I am the current Ms. Manitoba women's bodybuilding champ and I used your product for my provincials and nationals prep. Thanks and all the best in 2010!!"

- Leigh Mollison

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Haven't Got the Heart for Cardio?

Do you hate cardio? Do you have problems doing it? If you’ve always disliked cardio for unknown reasons or because it got you overtrained in a hurry, you may have an underlying cardiovascular problem. It’s sad but true: Some bodybuilders will eventually develop cardiovascular trouble, possibly even including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

We know a lot about exercise’s effects on muscle; eat and train right, and you grow. But exercise’s effects on the cardiovascular system have been less understood – until now.

Researchers examined how much muscular oxidative stress and pulmonary oxidative stress was occurring during exercise for people with prior cardiovascular problems. They used people known to have no cardiovascular problems as a control group.

They had participants work out for 20 minutes at 40 percent of their calculated 1RM and studied their blood and urine before and after exercise. Those with preexisting cardiovascular problems experienced increased pulmonary oxidative stress and overall systemic inflammation after exercise, while healthy subjects didn’t.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: Hating cardio because it’s boring isn’t the same as hating it because it gets you overtrained quickly. If you hate it for the latter reason, get a cardiovascular stress test from your doctor. After all, your heart and lungs pump oxygen and nutrients to your muscles so they can grow, so if you’re having cardio trouble, it’s a sure bet that you’re not growing as much as you should either.

www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Source: Mercken EM, Gosker HR, Rutten EP, Wouters EF, Bast A, Hageman GJ, Schols AM. Systemic and pulmonary oxidative stress after single-leg exercise in COPD. Chest. 2009 August 20. [Epub ahead of print]

FUSION Awards Supplement Contract.

We’d like to send a huge shout-out to Zaid Adamo for claiming the overall title at this year’s NLABBA Championships. He was able to come in super ripped and edged out a very competitive field. As a result he was awarded at one year supplement contract with FUSION BODYBUILDING. Great work Zaid…see you on the national stage!

V.I.P. Update.

We have been getting a lot of great feedback on our V.I.P. site. The how-to posing and training sections have received a lot of praise. However, here at FUSION BODYBUILDING we are more concerned with what you don't like, what we're doing wrong...because that makes us better. One point of mention was the fact it required between 8 and 10 proof-of-purchases to receive FUSION gear. The feeling was that's way too many...that we were expecting too much. So...after some quick decision making, we've decided to chop that number in half. You'll now only need to submit 4-5proof-of-purchases for your choice of hat, skully or t-shirt.

FUSION users know what's right and from time to time we need to be told. So, please keep your feedback coming and we'll be sure to keep getting better.

A cool letter and a great testimonial!

This was a cool letter we recieved from powerlifter Serge Leduc looking for sponsorship. I thought I'd share it with you as it's a great testimonial for FUSION. It's also great when someone takes the time to actually send us a letter in the mail; it made me smile:-)

Injuries: In Your Genes?

As bodybuilders, we spend a lot of time talking about genetics, especially when talking about our ultimate potential and maximum natural (and chemically assisted) limits. Talking about genetics has almost become cliché. Now, however, scientists have made a remarkable discovery: Your risk of injury may be genetically determined.

Using recent advances in genetics and tendon and ligament research, scientists in Cape Town, South Africa, have implicated the COL1A1 gene in soft tissue and ligament injuries. This has been confirmed as an explanation for why some people are predisposed to injuring their Achilles tendons, knees, and rotator cuffs and shoulders.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: You should continue to train all-out, but you have to train your body. That means knowing your genetic risk factors and changing your training to accommodate them. Let’s face it: You can’t grow when you’re injured. Injuries suck! So train hard and smart, and you’ll stay injury-free on your one-way trip to Muscletown.

www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Source: Collins M, Raleigh SM. Genetic risk factors for musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries.
Med Sport Sci. 2009;54:136-149. Epub 2009 Aug 17.

We really don't have any excuses.

An Apple a Day ...

… keeps the doctor away – it’s an old saying that’s been around as long as there have been old sayings. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. For bodybuilders, eating an apple a day may be the best way to keep the doctor away ... from your kidneys.

Chances are that you spend more time thinking about getting rock-hard abs than kidney stones. But a kidney stone can seriously sideline you – to the point of putting you in bed for a week at a time. And that’s not good for keeping your hard-earned muscle growth.

Researchers in Maine examined the diets of over 250,000 people and calculated a special score called the DASH score – Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The higher the score, the more apples the study subjects consumed and the fewer kidney stones they formed.

The highest scoring study participants – i.e., those who ate a lot of fruits such as apples – were 40 to 45 percent less likely to develop kidney stones than the lowest scorers. And the researchers pointed out that these findings held for everyone, regardless of age, weight, gender or ethnicity.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: You might be focused on getting the best set of abs in your gym, but you should pay serious attention to your kidneys. While you can’t see them from the outside, they’re vitally important to your overall health and bodybuilding career. So be proactive: Eat an apple a day to keep the doctor – and catabolism – away!

www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Source: Taylor EN, Fung TT, Curhan GC. DASH-style diet associates with reduced risk for kidney stones. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009 Oct;20(10):2253-9. Epub 2009 Aug 13.

Are You an Exercise Addict?

Can’t stay out of the gym? Describe yourself as a “gym rat?”

Every so often, a study is published examining exercise addiction. This particular animal study is especially interesting because of its implications for bodybuilders.

Tufts University researchers had 44 male and 40 female rats either run for several weeks on an exercise wheel or remain inactive. After this initial phase, the rats were divided into two groups. The first group was given food for an hour a day, and the second group was fed around the clock. All rats were then given naloxone, a drug that simulates immediate heroin withdrawal symptoms.

After the injections, the hardest-exercising rats showed the most severe withdrawal symptoms – trembling, writhing, chattering teeth and drooping eyelids. Upon the resumption of exercise, these symptoms lessened or went away.

This led researchers to the following conclusion: “Exercise, like drugs of abuse, leads to the release of neurotransmitters such as endorphins and dopamine, which are involved with a sense of reward.”

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: You hit the iron because you look good and it feels good – it’s the best kind of high there is. But too much exercise can get you seriously overtrained and burned out, costing you muscle now and destroying your physique in the long term. That’s something you want to avoid at all costs.

www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Source: Kanarek RB, D’Anci KE, Jurdak N, Mathes WF. Running and addiction: precipitated withdrawal in a rat model of activity-based anorexia. Behav Neurosci. 2009 Aug;123(4):905-12.

Olive Oyl and OMEGA•OIL

It looks like Olive Oyl is also getting in on the act. Travis Williams of Popeye's Grande Prairie sent us this pic. It really shows how much confidence his customers have the in the FUSION BODYBUILDING brand.

Gym god? Pshaw! You mean “sex god!”

We all know ZEUS does a damn good job boosting your test levels, but a new study on its core ingredient shows that it can help you in the bedroom too. A recently completed human clinical study in Australia showed Testofen to significantly increase libido, including sexual cognition, sexual arousal, sexual experience and orgasm. These results demonstrate that Testofen is safe and effective for increasing libido in healthy males.
So, if you aren't too busy taking advantage of the libido-boosting power of ZEUS, you can hear the details of the study as they're presented at SupplySide West today. Isn't testosterone great?

HOT & FIT 100.

The search is on as Inside Fitness compiles the hottest list in Canada with HOT & FIT 100!

If you have any Canadian females that are Hot & Fit, please email the submission and pictures to Lori Fabrizio: lori@ifmmedia.com

The deadline for entries is tomorrow, Friday November 13th, 2009!

Canada’s hottest and fittest females are finally going to have a place to call home! Only Canada’s biggest fitness magazine could bring you the sexiest women from across the country! Inside Fitness has gone one step further and will compile an annual list of 100 of the hottest and fittest Canadian females. With the expertise of their editors along with the help of Canada’s best photographers and show promoters, women all over the country will be striving to be a part of this elite list.

This prestigious list will appear in the February/March 2010 issue, on sale January 4th, 2010!

Visit www.HOTandFIT100.com to submit pictures and to see which of the hottest Canadian females make the cut for 2009!

Training: Protect Your Mitochondria...

It’s a fact: Although training gets you huge, it does so by inflicting stress and damage on your muscles. But what’s good for your muscles may be bad for your DNA. That can be bad news for your recovery and growth, both now and in the future.

Researchers in São Paulo, Brazil, wanted to see how taking a supplement mixture of vitamins C and E before exercise might affect DNA and mitochondrial health. They measured antioxidant capacity and the healthy appearance of muscle cell mitochondria.

Those who took the supplement mixture before exercise increased their antioxidant capacity by an astonishing 53 percent, and their muscle cell mitochondria were healthier than those who didn’t use the supplement mixture.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: This is the latest of a series of studies that show that using antioxidants helps increase overall antioxidant capacity, and that this translates into solid muscle and rapid recovery. So get with the times! If you thought that antioxidants were just for after your workout, think again! Take 500 milligrams of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E with a glass of water one hour before your workout. Repeat after your workout for best results. You’ll not only save your DNA and mitochondria but also gain more muscle!

www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Source: Rosa EF, Ribeiro RF, Pereira FM, Freymüller E, Aboulafia J, Nouailhetas VL. Vitamin C and E supplementation prevents mitochondrial damage of ileum myocytes caused by intense and exhaustive exercise training. J Appl Physiol. 2009 Aug 20. [Epub ahead of print]

REMEMBER.

To all our veterans...thank you. Your sacrafice and dedication does not go without notice. You are heros to us all.

New INSIDE FITNESS On Sale Now!

Terry Frendo and the Inside Fitness team have always been great supporters of FUSION. Over the past year they've increased thier page count by 50%. WOW! If the mag was a bodybuilder, what a freak he'd be :-)

Here's the new cover...it goes on sale today:

Popcorn...for Muscle Growth?

Popcorn is a delicious, ideal snack food in the first several weeks of a fat-loss program. It’s relatively low calorie, it’s high in fiber and it contains zero sugar and fat. But would you believe that popcorn may be good for muscle growth and recovery? It’s true.

A new study presented at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) examined popcorn for levels of antioxidants, the inflammation-fighting, recovery-speeding, muscle-building polyphenols typically found in fruits and vegetables.

Researchers found that popcorn contains high concentrations of antioxidants and polyphenols – comparable to many fruits and vegetables.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: You eat fruits and vegetables because they kill inflammation and speed muscle growth. Popcorn may do the same. So if you’re dieting down – and even if you’re not and simply want a delicious food – try popcorn. It may not make a huge difference in terms of your overall growth, especially if you’re already eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, but it’s a nice, healthy snack-food choice. Best of all, it can be made to taste pretty good. Just make sure you skip the sugary syrups and additional calories and stick to healthy toppings such as herbs and other low-calorie options.

Source: Vinson J, et al. Whole grain cereals, popcorn rich in antioxidants, not just fiber, new research concludes. 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society; 2009 August 19; Washington DC.

I may not know much, but I know what I like. (Or … I’m gonna buy me some art, maybe a Garfunkel.)

If you happen to be in Pittsburgh in the next week or so and have a little time, head over to the Center for the Arts and check out the work of Dylan Vitone, their 2009 Emerging Artist of the Year. He takes some wide-format pictures that are quite cool. On display is his Miami Project, a series of pictures shot in Miami, which Vitone describes as "a city that wears socioeconomic status and sex appeal on its sleeve." With pieces titled "Body Builders," "Male Model with Lots of Photographers" and "Bikini Models on Steps," he brings different perspectives to the world, including ones with which bodybuilders are very familiar. So get out of the gym and get some culture!

OMEGA•OIL Hits Store Shelves Nationwide.

OMEGA•OIL , the bodybuilders EFA, has hit shelves nationwide and it looks like it’s getting plenty of attention. Mark Garces from Popeye’s, in Burlington Ontario, understands the importance of a good omega-3 product and wants his customers to understand the benefits of OMEGA•OIL. He believes OMEGA•OIL is a good choice for his clientele and says it will benefit everyone from top bodybuilding athletes to the average Joe looking to stay healthy. Mark is impressed with the informative packaging that will assist his customers with their choice.

Mark wanted to create awareness for OMEGA•OIL and displays it in the prominent spots in his store. He choose their health and wellness section where customers have the choice of a variety of products directed towards consumers of all ages to promote a balanced healthy living. He also selected the sports section to remind athletes and bodybuilders of the importance of OMEGA•OIL. In addition, he also displayed the OMEGA•OIL on the shiny silver tray which Popeye holds to serve customers. Apparently Popeye himself understands a person needs more than just spinach alone and OMEGA•OIL is available to support everyone’s health goals.

Thanks for the support Mark!

Mr. Gaza contest held in Strip

Wow. Now you don't think bodybuilding when you think the Gaza Strip, until now that is. Apparently this past Saturday, the Gaza City University sponsored a bodybuilding competition which had 20 contestants. Who would have thunk it?