The Strategic Use of Creatine

Many users of creatine confuse the initial fluid-based cell volumization with increased muscle growth. The old adage is true that "only a fool or a journalist could get this wrong" and I actually read this exact assumption about creatine usage in a health article written by non-SME (non-Subject Matter Expert) journalist. The true strategic position of creatine supplementation is based on amplifying power and strength to attain higher intensity anabolic signals with increased training loads. At the same time, users want to hedge against increased muscle breakdown from the employed strength increases that result from creatine usage. This net positive difference in power utilization for anabolic response and anti-catabolism is where growth lies. Creatine provides an extra phosphate molecule to the ATP cycle, thus supporting increased movements of the actin and myosin sheets or filaments within muscle, not to mention the rest of the Krebs cycle. In layman's terms, creatine increases contractile power and strength, which when used creates more muscle mass (long-term) in direct proportion to the body's ability to protect itself from muscle breakdown.

When the body manufactures new muscle protein, it expands the training targeted muscle cells with more fluid for increased amino acid assembly. If the cell membrane is locked up, then amino acids can't exit into the bloodstream, and deflate the cell. This is why anti-catabolics like HMB work so well. The more activity regarding increased assembly net of disassembly and breakdown for glucose energy conversion, the greater the level of muscle growth. In this manner, creatine outside of its activity at the metabolic position, really addresses the first part of cellular expansion. The rest of the process is highly contingent on amino acid direction, nitrogen retention, DNA instructed assembly, and cell membrane protection. In other words, use creatine to get stronger, repartitioning agents to cell volumize, HMB to recover, and all three unit types to grow. Look for this article to be expanded shortly with new information.


Recommended Product(s):

Micronized Creatine Monohydrate


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Fat Loss Preparation For Summer

Conventional wisdom has it that in January you start "dieting" early for Memorial Day, and after Labor Day you focus on developing muscle well into the winter. This notion of breaking up the body's metabolic cycle into seasonal counterparts is so widely accepted by the general populace and promulgated by weight loss industry pundits that the vast majority of people can't see how and why this frame of thought and execution actually contribute to the problem. Elements of the aforementioned fat loss and muscle development ideology work well in very specific cases, such "dieting" down for a bodybuilding competition or other event that requires extraordinary body composition make-up with over-developed muscle and extremely low body fat levels. But for most people, fat loss should really be a year around (and highly focused) process to be managed outside of extreme measures. Muscle building does not necessarily have to be compromised for fat loss. If you manage the direction of food intake, and constantly steer it towards muscle cells, and away from fat cells, with every meal, then fat mass has to go down, and muscle mass has to go up. Furthermore, doing this all year around lowers the amount of fat mass that needs to be lost in preparation, for the summer, as the constant churning out from efficient caloric utilization from body fat improves body composition (to the point of being nearly in shape before the correct eating and training modifications have to be made in preparation for the summer). Many who follow this prescription notice that the amount of weight that has to be lost is usually in the single digits, somewhere between 6 and 9 lbs. However, if you're stuck in a tight spot, and don't have much time, start by switching the bulk of caloric intake towards fiber or fibrous carbs, and then use a clean whey/casien blend protein. Afterwards, position essential fats or EFAs behind protein, and then bring in smaller amounts of complex carbs. If you're constantly consuming high calorie juices, then it is strongly recommended that you switch to water, preferably purified. You may not get to where you wanted to go had you prepared earlier, but your future destination is better than your present one.


Recommended Product(s):

R-Alpha Lipoic Acid

Lipodrene - Ephedra Fat Burner

Sports One - Ephedra Fat Burner

HMB


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Supplementation: Start with a Multi-Vitamin

Sports nutrition undertaking need not be complex, but should be simplified for the masses. A basic Multi-Vitamin should always be the mainstay of any nutritional supplementation program. Proper internal organ function requires micro-nutrients, some of which cannot be synthesized by the body. Therefore, they are classified as "essential" vitamins and minerals. Body composition improvements in fat loss and muscle conditioning cannot be effectively commenced, let alone sustained, if the body's basic needs across all its systems are not adequately met. Plus, the incorporation of the right multi-vitamin actually accelerates results in fat loss and muscle conditioning (organic multi-vitamins in easy to swallow gel caps are preferred). The B-Complex assists in the metabolization of carbohydrates and the other two macro-nutrients, while anti-oxidants and minerals such as chromium picolinate and R-Alpha Lipoic Acid help to repartition broken down food away from fat, and into muscle. In addition, proper organ function facilitates increased metabolism and contributes to greater fat burning of stored bodyfat, through the energy conversion process of lipolysis. Always start off with a multi-vitamin, before progressing to more potent anti-oxidant formulas and repartitioning agents.


Recommended Product(s):

MHP Activite - Potent Multi-Vitamin formula

What is Product Pre-Selection

Large scale bodybuilding oriented sports nutrition web sites carry around 5,000 plus different products, when in fact most people's eating, training, and nutritional supplement patterns can tolerate a highly varied array of more likely 30-50 products (to choose from, not necessarily to take) that address the entire fitness lifestyle development cycle. About 100 or so different products maximum can be tolerated in terms of scaling up choice selection for consumers before confusion becomes an emerging threat. The Paradox of Choice is this; the benefits of wide selection that are afforded to consumers quickly become compromised at early inflection points, at which increased selection not only breeds diminishing marginal utility (in terms of perception of each marginally added product), but also introduces adverse consequences in selection perception, since more knowledge is required to make the optimal choice(s) (in sifting through more products than would otherwise be absent in making the optimal choice, within an easier selection process). In other words, too much choice is worse than too little, since the latter can at least be analyzed to predict the categories of upward selection scale. The former looks glamorous, but requires a steep process of product elimination along with high inventory restructuring requirements, extensive administrative adjustments, and consumer attachment consequences.

Product Pre-selection extends the advantages of consumer decision-making by repositioning its function within the scope of expertise not readily available to the consumer populace. Products are reviewed, selected, and merchandised based on their biological implications using knowledge of nutrition science, chemistry, biology, and food engineering. This level of expertise allows for optimal selection of products within each area, with proven historical results (in addition to each selection's theoretical underpinnings) in real world application. By the time consumers review our selection, they notice that overall it's narrow. However, every product merchandised is of extremely high quality, and has fresh in-depth content about its characteristics, uses, proper expectations, gauging parameters, results information, and follow-up customer service not found anywhere else. Also, all media herein originates from BioAvail Knowledge and its parent company Synexio Systems, and does not use manufacturer or other marketing information to communicate product and/or selection value. The only information used from the manufacturer is product label information, which is and should be afforded to all prospective consumers.

Long-term use of BioAvail's Pre-Selection process promotes extreme discipline and contributes to better results, for consumers who purchase through this process. This is for a number of reasons. Consumers in the sports nutrition industry tend to culturally incur a battle between the discipline required to stay with a selection for the appropriate period of time and the constant trying out of new products, switching from product to product to see how things work. The latter has more varied and expensive experience, but the former almost always gets better results and greater economic value because less money was spent on developing and maintaining the optimal configuration of personal selection out of already pre-selected supplements. In sum, Product Pre-selection is an intelligence process of value configuration in merchandise selection, for the consumer.


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Repartitioning Equals Year Around Fat Loss

The vast majority of weight-related issues in America stem from the long-term mismanagement of the body's insulin response, due to incorrect macro-nutrient selection, eating time-specific caloric capacity, and inadequate timing of eating patterns. Weight loss, more specifically fat loss can actually occur all year around, as the body will constantly direct and partition nutrients into myocytes or muscle cells away from fat cells, thus perpetuating improvements in body composition. Many, who diet, really don't have to, since repartitioning is constant and actually accelerates the effectiveness of selected fat burners used in making the right metabolic adjustments toward fat loss. The accepted view of "dieting" promotes difficulty in progress by offering an incorrect perception of the entire situation that encourages the addition of unnecessary elements (i.e., hybrid and well-marketed dieting schemes that are too onerous to implement long-term), whose accrual of implemented mistakes ultimately leads back to the same problem that was to be addressed in the first place.

Eating patterns should be long-term and really be based on fiber consumption (as the base substance of consumption, from which proteins, EFA fats, and carbs should respectively follow), which paradoxically has no nutritional value beyond cleaning out the system and ensuring proper absorption of ingested macro and micro-nutrients. This is critical for both long-term metabolic and insulin response stabilization. The bulk characteristic of fiber discourages fat promoting insulin spikes, for the reason that the fiber mass activates the body's hunger suppression mechanism with little to no glycemic index and load activity, on its own. When protein is combined with fiber, the slow glycemic loads that fiber consumption promotes regulate the amino acid release for sustained absorption over longer periods. This has repartitioning effects, for the reason that no caloric surplus exists for fat storage, as the timing of amino acid release encourages the pancreatic function to selectively and fully partition those nutrients out to muscle, and away from fat.

Essential Fatty Acids should be incorporated into the eating pattern, in efforts to take advantage of the long-chain polyunsaturated hydro-carbons, in terms of their sustained energy promoting capabilities and insulin regulatory assistance. By using fat as the preferred energy source, the body trains itself to handle its own bodyfat for energy conversion. Regarding supplements, R-Alpha Lipoic Acid and Vanadyl Sulfate should be stacked with a good multi-vitamin formula, during meals. Most multi-vitamins have more than a sufficient amount of B-Complex vitamins to facilitate carbohydrate digestion and energy conversion (also facilitates digestion of proteins and fats), while R-Alpha Lipoic Acid and Vanadyl Sulfate alleviate pancreatic pressure for insulin production, by slowly substituting for its effects in repartitioning activity. Plus R-Alpha Lipoic Acid has the upside of providing simultaneous anti-oxidant activity, during free radical promoting periods, such as that of food consumption. This stack alone would cause fat loss provided all other constants are held equal. Even without training, fat loss would occur albeit to a minimal extent. Therefore, users should first view fat loss through the lens of repartitioning, which can also promote lean mass density and development: The metabolic context of macro-nutrient management and insulin response for long-term body composition improvement is the proper method of positioning the body's metabolism year around.


Recommended Product(s):

R-Alpha Lipoic Acid

Chromium Picolinate

Fat Loss Clearly Explained

Body composition at a basic level of conception is primarily determined by long-term eating patterns relative to consistency in metabolic response. Fat tissue usually accrues on the basis of consuming more food than what the body is capable of partitioning out to muscle tissue (for glycogen storage) net of what's converted to glucose in support of the energy requirements of internal organ function. Prospective users of fat loss supplements need a more simplified perception from which to start. The problem with many conventional fat loss concepts is not that they are incorrect (in the vast majority of cases, they are). It is that the proper understanding of fat loss as a multi-dimensional process is not communicated in a fundamental context that should at least impart a realization that fat loss is really about long-term metabolic adjustments in the correct variables that affect body composition. For example, nutritionists state that macro-nutrients (i.e., proteins, carbs, and fats) should be rationed out evenly or in a ratio that optimizes metabolic stimulation (i.e., 40/30/30 Zone diet of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fats). But they fail to convey that what's really happening is that the deployment of 30%-40% complex carbohydrates along with 20%-30% fats (mostly polyunsaturated) is stabilizing the pancreatic function's insulin release, so that the amino acids from the 30%-50% of protein (and other nutrients) consumed is slowly released over a consistent range of hours (give or take 1-2 hours for metabolic fluctuations, due to outside stressors).

The thyroid gland, which is the primary organ that controls the body's metabolism, is responsible for T3 --> T4 conversion: T4 conversion escalates the body's metabolic rate, thus positively affecting glycogen to glucose conversion and also more specifically stored tryglyceride to glucose conversion, as well. Supplement consideration needs to be elevated beyond the basic CNS (Central Nervous System) precepts to a more accurate manner of thinking, in which fat burners are judged by the concentration of specific alkaloids or families thereof that target the proper range of organ-specific stimulation (increased thyroid and adrenal output, but within natural means). Also, fat burners that target key fat receptors (with alkaloids like yohimbine, alpha-yohimbine, tyramine, evodiamine, and/or octopamine), such the A2 receptors, whose fat tissue stubbornly occupies the bottom of the stomach and its sides (obliques) should be considered, as top priority fat burning supplements. The key is to influence the body to break apart the long-chain hydro-carbons for glucose conversion. Another method used in fat loss is to create flexible supplement dosing and wide caloric ranges that are consistent over time, but extreme in polarity to the point of causing self-induced metabolic shock. This shock can facilitate large breaks in the tryglyceride-based hydro-carbon chains in the energy conversion process of stored bodyfat: This method of caloric volatility, which when performed properly leads to substantial fat loss.

For example, there's an esoteric diet known as the ABCDE program, which stands for Anabolic Burst Cycling Diet and Exercise program. The ABCDE program, which was developed by Swedish scientist Torbjorn Akerfeldt (while studying medicine at Uppsala University, near Stockholm, Sweden), was designed to exploit caloric polarity between the extremes of weight gain cycles with vast surplus caloric intakes and sudden fat loss cycles with sharp caloric deficits, every 14 days. What was found was that this programmatic form of metabolic shock consistently induced states of reinforced repartitioning, during lean mass gain periods, and substantial fat loss in hydro-carbon breakage and energy conversion, during periods of fat loss. In other words, every 14 days the body was able to go from one extreme to the other in total body composition transformation. The core point is that when formulating eating patterns for fat loss, such programs should have flexible caloric ranges designed to throw the body's metabolism and its adaptive response mechanisms off, for extended metabolic efficiency. For example, when the metabolism slows down from carbohydrate reduction, T4 starts to convert back to T3 to adapt, resulting in slowed metabolic patterns. The sudden ingestion of complex carbohydrates ramps up T4 conversion and phosphate production in the liver, for an increase in metabolic response and fat burning.

The body's pancreatic function also assists in metabolic regulation through macro-nutrient response controlled insulin release.
Dieticians, nutritionists, personal trainers and health-related consultants will normally tell clients to evenly distribute the day's caloric intake, within the context of selecting nutrient-dense foods with substantial fiber to modify insulin release and nutrient partitioning to muscle and internal organ tissue over longer periods of time. In sum, this is correct. The problem with following this sage concept of fat loss is that users tend to view the situation at a surface level, and not correctly perceive the underlying imperatives behind insulin stabilization and caloric consistency. Users should not think about it in terms of manipulating eating patterns alone per se, but also employ an inverse perception of using macro-nutrient triggers to influence specific organ functions, whose chemical release and suppression mechanisms control fat loss. Here's an example: Some advanced users will use pre-workout fasting techniques to suppress insulin before training, which accelerates natural GH (Growth Hormone) release in the body. Downstream GH will convert to IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor), which causes growth of adjacent tissues this substance encounters.

During training, those employing fasting techniques similar to the aforementioned will train very hard to push GH release even further, inside the caloric deficit range. Anti-catabolics are normally used to hedge against muscle breakdown, while energy supplements are used for the pre-training stimulus, in the total absence of calories. As training proceeds, the body's priming itself with sharp increases in enzymatic production and insulinogenic sensitivity. Keep in mind, that in this type of situation, it doesn't start with the training stimulus, but it accrues from the range of caloric deficit the body reaches well into the fasting phase. In other words, priming occurs long before training. Training itself accelerates priming, but it also accelerates cortisol production and increased risk of muscle protein breakdown. Again, anti-catabolics are used to hedge against the effects of cortisol and other amino acid-to-glucose conversion processes. In the post-training phase, the body's rebound effects cause extreme repartitioning to occur from the prolonged accrual of enzyme production and insulinogenic sensitivity. The optimal effects of this repartitioning window usually last for a period of 2-3 hours, but afterwards its diminishing marginal repartitioning activity still lingers on for many hours into the night. Users have more options available to them that what's currently perceived, but with the right eating patterns, proper training, and the correct supplement choices.


Recommneded Product(s):

R-Alpha Lipoic Acid

Lipodrene - Ephedra Fat Burner

Sports One - Ephedra Fat Burner

HMB

The Supplement Wars: How HMB stacks up against pro-hormones and anabolic steroids

There's still quite a bit of confusion, as to how HMB really works and its correct long-term perception. Most of the content that's been drafted here referred to HMB and its uses in a somewhat isolated format. But a better understanding may be conveyed if HMB's comparative nature to high-end pro-hormones and anabolic steroids was illustrated here. Pro-hormones and anabolic steroids act directly on the anabolic pathways primarily affecting the process of hypertrophy (by instructing hypertrophy and cortisol suppression to occur beyond normal genetic means), while HMB acts directly on the anti-catabolic pathway reducing the process of proteolysis or protein breakdown (by suppressing it through cell membrane reconstruction and layer reinforcement). HMB works primarily on a reverse pathway to the same objective (muscle growth or hypertrophy), as hormonal anabolics. Not surprisingly, HMB's positive affects on cardiac function (i.e., lower LDL cholesterol) are the reverse of the adverse effects users of anabolic steroids normally experience on the cardiac system long-term. The vast majority of pro-hormones don't have the potency of real anabolic steroids, and according to anecdotal evidence from users, many of these products may arguably place consumers at greater risk of product-specific side effects, depending on ingredient configuration and prolonged dosing patterns. The reason for this contention is that many pro-hormone products are improperly modified androgens, whose anabolic effects were marketed on the basis of establishing correlation between increases in androgenic substance production and molecular modification of highly controlled variables (i.e., molecular repositioning of targeted hydro-carbons) in isolation, outside the context of the human body. Anabolic steroids always have documented effects on human and/or other intended animal subjects before its potential medicinal uses are assessed, reviewed, and defined (according to FDA regulation).

Although, a comparison between HMB and hormonal anabolics is drawn here, pro-hormones and anabolic steroids need to have certain differences clarified for consumer understanding. HMB in terms of its growth contingent is slow, and will most likely not produce visible results within the time normally seen with fast-acting substances like creatine and high-end hormonal anabolics. In an industry, whose customer base leans toward instant gratification, HMB will not sound attractive, due to its metabolic constraints: It works through reduction of the body's catabolic effects on muscle, allowing the anabolic process to become more effective, but at the same metabolic rate producing faster and more efficient recovery. The real question is this: Does the average consumer have the patience to allow HMB to slowly produce results, in full accordance with the body's natural growth mechanisms, even if the fringe benefits were that there are virtually no known side effects from its use and the gains although modest, are seemingly near-permanent? People who do not take into regard the risk of using hormonal anabolic substances will most likely not consider the level of required patience that important a factor (again, immediate benefits and delayed costs). Those who look to evaluate products' long-term benefit(s) within their proper margin(s) of safety will find HMB an attractive option, for further consideration. In terms of immediate results in visible cell volumization, hypertrophy scale, and fast hardening and density, the high-end anabolics win the battle. In terms of long-term gains (near-permanent) from slowly accrued muscle and strength, reduced cardiac risk with long-term fat loss, and extended hardening effects/density enhancement, HMB wins the war.

One of the key points this post makes is that trade-offs exist in many product selection challenges. Therefore, when comparing products, their costs and benefits, and advantages and disadvantages should also be made in comparative fashion. Users want to assess the differences between one product's effects on the body versus another product's effect on the body. In sum, HMB stacks up rather well for a natural downstream metabolite that's molecularly two steps down from the amino acid Leucine.


Recommended Product(s):

HMB