Workouts Hurt...Carbs Help.

You work hard to build muscle – lots of it. But with hard work comes the risk of getting sick and an increased vulnerability to infections of opportunity, such as upper respiratory tract and ear infections.

It’s well-known that drinking a carbohydrate drink after your workout is a great way to help offset the hard effects of training on the immune system. A new study by researchers from the University of South Carolina tested the effects of two specific carbohydrate types on markers of immune system strength. They found that glucose and oat beta-glucan reduced susceptibility to infection following stressful exercise.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: Exercise can make you sick, but carbs can fix what ails you. The key is to use the right kinds. Although sucrose and other refined sugars are used in sports drinks, the research shows that a solution of 50% oat beta-glucan and 6% sucrose is highly effective not only as a post-exercise carbohydrate source but also in strengthening your immune system. And this means you can train harder and longer without getting sick.

Source: EA Murphy, JM Davis, MD Carmichael, et al. Benefits of oat β-glucan and sucrose feedings on infection and macrophage antiviral resistance following exercise stress. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2009 Aug 19;297:R1188-R1194.

PRESS RELEASE: A Couple of New FUSION Developments.

http://www.prlog.org/10493120-2009-cbbf-junior-mr-canada-darnell-collins-signs-to-fusion-bodybuilding.html

http://www.prlog.org/10493133-fusion-bodybuilding-has-enlisted-professional-bodybuilder-craig-bonnett.html

Ironically, the Islamic Solidarity Games are cancelled because of disagreement.

It was announced today that the Islamic Solidarity Games have been officially cancelled because the organizers couldn’t agree on referring to Gulf as either the Persian Gulf or the Arab Gulf. This dispute over the name of the Gulf has been a sensitive issue for some time for the countries bordering it. The problem arises because the terms Arab and Persian refer to two distinct cultural groups within the region. Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates prefer the term Arab Gulf, while Iran, who was the host of the event, is a Persian nation. The federation said Iran had taken, "unilateral measures concerning logos used on printed material and medals," in a statement sent to Reuters news service. “It is such a shame the games were cancelled again, because it is one of our main tryouts before the Guangzhou games,” said Sony Kasiran, the head of athletes’ development for the Indonesian Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Association (Pabbsi).

Sources: Reuters, The Jakarta Globe

Does cardio really make a difference?

It's the debate that continues to rage: the cardio debate. Some experts claim that cardio costs you muscle, and others claim that cardio is essential – that without it, you simply won’t grow. For years, there have been no clear answers – until now.

Researchers conducted a study measuring cardio training’s influence on the size and function of muscles. For 12 weeks, study participants underwent ergometer training, doing no other form of workout. After 12 weeks, researchers found that quadriceps muscle volume increased by 12 percent and power generated from the knee extensor increased by 55 percent.

Biopsies showed that the cardio training alone increased participants’ type I muscle fiber size by up to 21 percent and increased type I fiber power generation by 28 percent.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: This study is a smoking gun! Not only is cardio important just for general health, but this study shows that doing cardio helps physically change the structure of muscles, leading to “pronounced muscle hypertrophy.” So be sure to incorporate cardio into your training program. It’s no longer a question of if you should do cardio to build muscle, but only a question of when and how much.

www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Source: Harber MP, Konopka AR, Douglass MD, et al. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2009 Nov;297(5):R1452-9. Epub 2009 Aug 19.

Don’t be creepy to the booth babes

It’s hard in a sport that’s driven by the perfection of the human form not to be taken by the voluptuous near-perfection of the booth babes. And really, if they aren’t making you sit up and take notice, they’re not doing their jobs. But there are, of course, limits. Take a look at this little “documentary” about what the booth babes had to go through at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas last weekend. And don’t kid yourself: A group of bodybuilders aren’t automatically smoother than electronics geeks. So be nice, not creepy. Then again, if I were sitting next to a Suicide Girl on a flight, I’d be doing some flirting too. I just hope I’d come up with something better than, “It makes me so horny.”

$10,000 to glory or How not to bribe your way to success in bodybuilding

If you haven’t heard about it yet, here’s the scoop. Back in April, the IFBB suspended the Asian Bodybuilding Federation (ABBF) and its Secretary General Paul Chua for allowing three expelled bodybuilders who had previously tested positive for banned substances to participate in the Doha Asian Games three years ago.

One of those banned athletes, 43-year-old Chan Yun To, has recently been charged by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption with conspiring to offer a US$10,000 bribe to ABBF Secretary General Paul Chua. Chan won the gold at the Doha Games in the 75 kg weight division.

The chairman of the China Bodybuilding and Fitness Association, Simon Chan Siu Man, 39, has also had five charges laid against him due to his involvement in related incidents. Three of the charges against him are for bribery; he also faces one for fraud and one for conspiracy to defraud.

The lesson here? What’s the point of bribing your way into a competition? Drawing attention to yourself – say, by winning – isn’t a good idea, and if you’re not going to try to win, what’s the point?

Source: The Standard

Popeye's® Athlete of the Month.

New FUSION Athlete Darnell Collins has just been acknowledged as Popeye's® Athlete of the Month: January 2010. http://www.popeyescanada.com/athlete_january10.php

Looking at this pic, it's pretty easy to see why. Way to go Darnell!

Think You Can?

We’ve all heard the maxims: If you can see it, you can achieve it. If you want something badly enough – if you just think about it and visualize it – you’ll get what you want. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works … at least, not most of the time.

As bodybuilders, however, we’re a different breed. We see the lift before we do it, feel the pain that comes from stretching muscle and relish the growth pains afterward. For us, the standard rules don’t apply. We use visualization because it actually works.

But what can you do if you want results and have switched up your program but simply can’t get the results you want? It’s simple: Get inside your own head and switch it up!

A ton of psychological research shows the connection between what you believe happens in the gym and your workout success. More specifically, researchers have shown that the more you feel in control of your workout and that you’re getting results from this control, the better you feel about your workout and the more you feel like you can make changes and overcome potential obstacles and difficulties. And researchers say it’s simple: You have to make your own breaks.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: Working out is hard work. It’s demanding but worth it. If you are stuck in a rut and feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel – no solution, no way out – change your thinking. Instead of trying to do something you can’t do or continuing to do the same thing without results, do something specifically to give yourself a sense of confidence and control. Do your favorite exercise or a week of your easy routine. This will not only give your body a break from the constant stress of high-intensity, balls-to-the-wall training but also give your mind time to relax and recuperate from continual frustration. So next time, you’ll be physically and mentally charged for victory!

www.fusionbodybuilding.com

Source: Coffee P, Rees T, Haslam SA. Bouncing back from failure: The interactive impact of perceived controllability and stability on self-efficacy beliefs and future task performance. J Sports Sci. 2009 Aug 19:1-8. [Epub ahead of print]

AGENT•M Review.

A 30-day Review of AGENT•M - The Muscle Mechanic: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=120726711

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.