The Best Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) For Muscle Building On The Market?

If you are a newsletter subscriber you will know how highly I regard Protein Factory for being a true innovator in cutting-edge no bs result producing supplementation.

Well it seems they have done it again by releasing a whole new whey protein isolate that from the looks of it seems to be of the highest quality ever.

Their new Bio-Fresh WPI makes it from the cow to the bag in less than 48 hours! The nutritional profile of this protein is also fantastic as you would expect.

You can read all about it here.

Having said that, Protein Factory also carries some serious muscle building powders beyond even the top quality whey that they feature. Check out their Hydrolysed Caesin and Super Bovine Plasma as well. I have used both of these and rate them highly. A supplement industry insider I know believes that Hydrolysed Caesin will be the foundation of the next generation of supplementation as whey is today. Be warned these two proteins are serious stuff and don’t taste the best but they are at the absolute cutting edge without a doubt. Nothing tastes better than results though does it?

Fat Loss In A Box: The Real Story You’re Not Told

If any of these scams actually worked then the first company that ever made a prepackaged diet shake would be bigger than Microsoft.

But the fact is that they don’t. These things have been around for ages and there has been a strong resurgence of late due to the new ‘weight loss celebrities’ from the Biggest Loser who didn’t win the prize and are thus pimping for cash. As an interesting aside many of them are pimping these products as helping them lose the ton of weight they put back on after the show. It actually gets worse as now doctors and pharmacies are touting their own products as well, using their position of trust in the community to cash in.

The ridiculous thing is that virtually all the products are the same – a low carb poor quality protein shake with some vitamins and minerals thrown in. The protein technology alone in most of these things is 20 years old and taste about the same too.

And the premise is even sillier – replace some of your meals with this low calorie shake that will leave you feeling hungry and deprived. Yes you will forcing yourself to take in less calories so you should drop a bit of weight, probably muscle though not fat which only serves to slow your metabolism down. Of course as well in this hungry deprived state you are expected to diet on your other meals as well. This of course won’t lead to overeating on the other meals or snacking and binging that will completely negate the whole point of a meal replacement diet shake will it?

If you are tough and masochistic enough to last a few days then you find some weight on the scale has fallen off. So it must be working right. Well yes you have lost some weight but as mentioned before it’s likely some muscle and your lowered calorie intake has also caused some changes in your physiology. Congratulations you are the proud new owner of a slower metabolism! But they don’t tell you that do they? So you keep pressing along and fall into the low calorie trap.

This downward spiral fortunately is not endless. Once you hit rock bottom, this is where the fun part comes. You throw the shakes out the window as you finally crack it and start eating again. Your metabolism though is still on survival mode and thus happily puts all the weight that you lost back on and then some just to be safe for the next time you convince yourself that the stuff that they are selling must really work this time – after all it is new and improved and surely those endorsers wouldn’t outright lie to your face would they?

Fat loss is fundamentally very simple but the nature of our society and lifestyles have made it a complex challenge for many. Thus the prevalence of those offering a solution to your problems at a steep price is not surprising. The stark reality is this though – despite the thousands of products that you can use or consume or equipment you can buy there is not a single one that will deliver you to get the body you want, no matter what they say. There is no magic solution, there never has been.

The only way and all that there ever has been is understanding how your body works and then living your life in a way that gives you the body you want. End of story.

Truly Huge Interview Part 5

Ok on to supplements.

I am an avid fan of supplements but at the same time the amount of hype, misinformation and outright lies related to supplements is just abominable. I also think that it is a very fine line between optimizing every edge you can versus covering deficiencies in training and nutrition.

There are very few truly innovative and dedicated companies that are not seeking to make a buck with cheap ‘me too’ versions of the latest trends. They care about quality and research and are run by some very smart guys but they are supplements made for lifters by lifters.

There is a lot of stuff on the cutting edge but does the average person really need it? Probably not, at least not until they have everything else in order. Most of the time the best thing is to stick with the basics from reputable body building supplement brands that you find work for YOU.

The big caveat though is that although it is all down to personal choice, I am a big believer in getting everything perfect in your training and nutrition before deciding to take steroids and to a lesser degree supplements. It’s just not the best use of your time, potential and reward for the choice you are making.

The Truly Huge Interview Part 4

Q. Where do you stand on the use of steroids and supplements?

A. Soapbox time I guess. But then again you did ask where do I stand, so here it is.

I have no problem with people using any form of steroids and supplements they can lay their hands on. It’s their body, their choice and their life. What right do I or anyone have to say what they can and can’t do? Globally there is no consistent legality whatsoever so to me it is simply an abuse of power by certain governments in specific countries interfering in the sovereignty of a person’s body. All the more considering tobacco and alcohol and food chemicals are legalised in the interests of business that pay the government in some form.

From a health perspective, the hysteria is completely unfounded. Though I have never taken any myself, my research has been very extensive for my own knowledge and to answer questions for clients. Of course steroids have side effects. Can they kill you or contribute to your death? Yes they can. But just about any pharmaceutical will when abused. Are there risks? Yes of course, but nowhere near the levels the media would have you believe if taken in sane, medically prescribed and controlled dosages. And in the end, it should be a matter of personal choice. The whole argument of public safety through prohibition goes through the window due to the creation of a greedy, misinformed, minefield that is the black market. If people are going to use steroids they will. If they abuse them, then they take their lives in their hands. The thing is though a whole lot more people suffer health problems not from taking steroids but because they were forced into the black market of fake, impure, contaminated and dangerous supplies. Had they not been impeded by the government it would have been a different story.

But isn’t it cheating? In all but one specific example, no, not really (in varying degrees). In any case the context of this discussion is probably more for personal use so ‘cheating’ doesn’t really come in to it. The only time I strongly object to steroid use is in any declared ‘natural’ competition where every single competitor is drug tested at least once upon each instance of competition. The reality is that this only happens in certain body building federations. Why am I so specific about the testing?

Well the reality is that every sport at every level is already full of people that use banned substances. The testing is simply not up to scratch and never will be for the simple dichotomy that testers have a burden of proof that they must discharge and the chemists don’t. Testers could spend years to perfect a test for a certain drug but a biochemist in a lab can change one molecule easily and it’s back to square one.

Moreover the governing bodies really don’t have an interest in stamping out the use of substances, particularly at a professional level. There is just too much money at stake for too many scandals, even if the testing was able to detect the complex pharmacology of the modern elite athlete. If they did, then they would do as the strictest natural body building federations do and no less. These federations are also far less resourced than other more mainstream sports yet they still make the commitment to invest in expensive testing for every competitor.

In short the playing field is such a grey area particularly at the top that cheating loses any real meaning. There are contradictions as well as to where you draw the line. For example, pain killing injections such as cortisone are not banned and yet they will allow a hobbling player to run at full speed. It’s injected, it’s a drug and it’s obviously enhanced performance so why is that not banned?

In the past I was much more easy going – if people want to use it that’s none of my business. But in light of the false hysteria and misinformation (any type of misinformation seems to make me go Incredible Hulk) and hypocrisy by governments and sports bureaucrats, it’s something I now feel very strongly about.

Tomorrow…the wonderful world of supplements.

The Science Of Bodybuilding Supplements – What Works, Really Does Work!

 

Bodybuilding supplements can be a minefield. With so many outrageous claims about sub par products that fail to even remotely deliver as promised or worse yet, companies unconscionably selling an absolutely useless product using the institutionalised fraud that is inherent in most of the muscle media it is no wonder.

 

The reality as we present in the Ultimate Body Success program is basically that there is a small handful of things that work quite well and the key is to know what they are, what brands you can trust, and exactly what the science says and finally to test it for yourself – after all everyone is different and even though you get a benefit, it may not be enough for you to justify the cost. Getting savvy enough to do this though can take a bit of work but if you are serious about your results then this is definitely an area to put some effort into. It gets easier with time though and I purposefully designed UBS to give anyone a fast-track to a solid grounding in the area of body building supplements.

 

Complex research aside though, it’s always great to see some ‘real world’ results – as always coming from that small handful of supplements that really work to balance all the hyped up crap that is out there.

 

 I recently had the pleasure of designing a supplementation program for a promising young AFL (Aussie Rules Football) player, who was one of the best 200 young talents to be selected for the annual Draft Camp. Using just three key supplement weapons from my own daily arsenal to boost his recovery and endurance, he managed his all time bests in the key selection trials by a significant margin. Most importantly though the feedback from his brother was that the supplements worked great and that was what gave him the extra edge. Leading up to Draft Camp there had been interest from two clubs in this young player and the latest that I hear from his brother that after his performance at the camp, pretty much every single club is now interested. On top of that, although he was almost certainly going to be selected in the draft, it looks like now he has moved up perhaps 20-30 picks or more, increasing the likelihood of being picked up by a good club and increasing his starting salary by a healthy margin as well.

 

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to bodybuilding supplementation.

Supplements – Are They Really As Effective As You’ve Been Lead To Believe?

Do you know, with a solid grounding in functional nutrition and how your body really works you have a massive edge, without even using supplements – Eating clean will already deliver you massive results.

Supplements are really just the final edge that they were always meant to be. By actually fuelling your body correctly, and seeing it change you will no longer be clinging to the false hopes that many of the supplement companies depend upon to sell their inferior products. Instead you will be able to make intelligent and rational decisions about what you would like to use and invest your money in, measure the results and stick to what works without having to voraciously consume in blind hope for an easy way out.

In the morass of corruption that is the supplement industry at large, there are companies that honestly innovate and research to create products that actually increase performance and play a role in improving your body. You will often find that their advertising is more down to earth (though not always) but the main thing is that they back up their claims with solid scientific journal research as opposed to fake statistics or studies done by their paid scientists and outrageous before and after shots.

You will also find that these more reputable companies also pride themselves on making better quality products. They don’t just copy but strive to make what in their opinion is a superior product. You can often tell when you read comparisons of the active ingredients to see who is serious. It’s no guarantee but it helps. The bottom line though is if you see and feel a result from a product on a consistent basis and you are happy to invest the money then for you, it is a good supplement.

Supplements are often dressed up in the realm of complex science and there are new products coming out every day. In time you will also see old products make comebacks and you can chuckle at the audacity of seeing something you saw 10 years ago being hyped as the next big thing.

The key is to simplify things.

First of all it is important to note that most supplements fall into various groups. Once you know the basic supplement groups which are related to a specific goal or body function, there is essentially a small core of things that work very well in each group as well as several others that work well for most people but may not have as solid research to back it up (as yet) or may not work for all people. This second tier may also include new or emerging products that show a lot of promise from respectable companies.