Archive for nutrition and supplementation
The ideal way to do things.
Posted by: | CommentsYou know I get asked a lot about supplements by people essentially looking for the magic pill that will take the to super strength and the body of their dreams. The thing is what they really should be looking for is a better method of training because that will set them up for long term results. Once you have knowledge, it lasts forever, unless you get hit in the head.
Gains in strength are usually an effect of training and if you train the nervous system you can get immediate gains in strength. The same can’t really be said about supplements. As a matter of fact if the supplement you are using gives you results that are mind blowing check up on it.
Back in 05 some athletes were using a protein supplement called Nitro Tech and when it came time for the steroid testing they tested positive for the steroids norandrostenedione and androstenediol. Needless to say if there were gains they had gotten from their protein supplements that wasn’t a direct effect of their training it is from the steroids that were put into their drinks. Steroid like results? Yup, from steroids.
On the other hand if you have a sound nutrition program and you training consists of lifting heavy weights even employing something as simple as feed forward tension and power breathing can bring you near instant steroid like results, minus the steroids or excessive supplement costs. That’s why I tell people there is more too exercise then exercise because even though it boils down to diet and exercise some ways are better then others and that’s why it is my purpose to find out the best ones.
You see if something on my car breaks, I can try and figure it out on my own, and I might get the desired result though it would take a little longer or I might never figure it out, or…
I could take it to my mechanic who can get it figured out in minutes and do it the right way. And that’s why training and nutrition programs exist.
This is more then I care to learn
So what do you think? Would you rather try and figure it out on your own? Or bite the bullet and follow a proven path that can bring you to your results quicker?
Buyer beware, some protein drinks contain toxic substances
Posted by: | CommentsI just discovered this report but haven’t had much of a chance to look into it. Apparently some of the more popular protein and meal replacement supplements contain some heavy metals (not the cool stuff like Judas Priest, Ozzy, Overlorde, Iron Maiden and Metallica but lead and cadmium) and other toxic substances like arsenic. Admittedly the studies need to be checked out to make sure they were legit studies but in the mean time I would suggest laying off of Muscle Milk, Myoplex, Synthesix, Nitrotech and a couple others, at least until they have had a chance to clear their name. You want a little more info watch the video.
If you still need some protein supplements probably the cleanest one out there (at least that I have found) is called Prograde Nutrition. You can only buy it online since it is not sold in stores (maybe thats why it doesn’t contain all that crap thats bad for you)
Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
Posted by: | CommentsWarning there are UFC spoilers below the video.
So this past Wednesday I got a call on my cell phone from one of my clients at the Montville Sports Center telling me Frank Mir was going to be in my gym for some last minute preparation before his fight against Shane Carwin. For me this was huge. Frank was rated I think 3rd in the world for the most brutal sport that exists…mixed martial arts. Him coming to my gym was a rare opportunity to see how one of the best actually trains.
I was hesitant to blog about it until now because with this blog you never really know who is watching and I didn’t want to give away any of his tactics. I was asked to keep everything hush hush and wasn’t allowed to film anything until he had actually finished training. That’s because youtube allows anybody to see anyone that gets seen with a flip cam (or Kodak Zi6 which is what I use). Totally understandable.
Now I really wanted Frank Mir to win. Frank Mir in person is about as cool as it gets and yeah I have met a few fighters since in my profession you over hear a lot of things and news comes my way pretty often. Him training in the mma gym where I run kettlebell classes almost makes it feel like he is a teammate as well.
Having observed him one of the things I noticed was how fast his hands moved when throwing punches and kicks and how loud the pads were. Frank wasn’t practicing fancy footwork or what the creator of Krav Maga Imi Lichtenfeld called “cavaliers” (because he thought that sounded fancy). Frank Mir practiced the basics. His groundwork was practicing the basics of escaping the mount and defending from the bottom because he knew that Shane Carwin is an aggressive and opponent.
Now here is where the spoiler comes in.
It didn’t do him much good. Shane Carwin was too much for him to handle that night. As dialed in as Frank was when I was watching him and as dialed in as he was that night Shane Carwin was also dialed in. Shane Carwin didn’t defeat Frank Mir with anything fancy. Just basic punches to the chin that came in through the tiny opening that Frank Mir had.
Now try and think about that for a second. Frank Mir practiced the basics. Shane Carwin practiced the basics. Shane Carwin’s won with basic punches. That night his basics happened to be the better of the two. If you watch mixed martial arts like I do you might notice that they use the same moves over and over again. That is because they have to master the basics. like Bruce Lee once said “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Whoever has Bruce Lee’s fear got it through mastery of the basics.
When it comes to being the best one quote comes to mind.
“The best are better at the basics then everybody else.”
Nutrition and Supplementation
Posted by: | CommentsAlright so it was brought to my attention that I almost never write about nutrition and supplementation. The main reason I don’t do this is that I am not a dietician, nutritionist, doctor or a pharmacist. I am a fitness professional and even though I constantly remind people that they have to have a nutrition program that reflects their training program, I am only qualified to prescribe the former.
Having said that as someone who has done body transformations and as someone who is still ripped and who gets stronger everyday I do know a fair amount about nutrition and about supplementation. I however see that people are looking for a magic pill…and if you have seen what I write about…there are no magic pills…get off yer ass and get to work.
Now here is how it works. When it comes to strength and conditioning the most important part of that is the way you train. When it comes to fat loss the most important part is the way you eat. The way you train can definitely help you in your fat loss goals and the way you eat can definitely help you in your strength and conditioning goals. It is a matter of which is more important then the other. Combining proper nutrition and proper training can make the whole greater then the sum of its parts. And as for supplements, all they are meant to do is to fill in the gaps of a proper nutrition program. For example food is not as nutritionally complete as it was thousands of years ago. Add to that as well the fact that we don’t eat as balanced as we should, which would lead to a vitamin deficiency. That is why we need to SUPPLEMENT with a multivitamin. To supplement the missing part of a proper nutrition program.
Ok so now you know where I stand on things. I wanted it noted before I start the new series about this because I believe in getting the most bang for the buck. Remember you can’t get strong with out strength training, you need to eat for fat loss and supplements are just there to fill in the missing pieces.
So stay tuned
