Strength Conditioning and Nutrition 101

Everyone wants to improve their performance, get bigger, and stronger faster. One way that has caused an explosion in the supplement industry is rooted in scientific theory. The theory goes as such increasing blood flow to working muscles by way of vasodilation may increase work capacity during both aerobic and anaerobic performances. Also, it may enhance recovery through increased nutrient delivery. Due to these potential benefits the supplement companies grabbed on to the semi-essential amino acid L-arginine because it can be converted to nitric oxide (NO) via NO synthase. NO is responsible for vasodilation. The supplement companies developed a vast market of NO products with L-arginine as the primary ingredient without any human trials being done. The NO supplements continue today to be one of the leading forces in the supplement industry.

Megavitamins 

Everybody knows about multivitamins and more than likely have helped make them into the number 1 supplement. Multivitamins are the largest supplement in the supplement industry. With the huge demand for them, every supplement company is competing in producing thousands of gimmicks to make them stand above the rest.

These supplement companies are praying on the consumers who have heard from the TV doctors that multivitamins are great. Many TV doctors and famous health books have put multivitamins as one of their top 5 supplements everyone should take. However, they haven’t provided us with much information on what constitutes a good multi vitamin.
Today I write in order to educate and protect you from the supplement companies propaganda and the health risks associated.
Yes multivitamins are perfectly fine for you and can be beneficial for the majority of North America but only when multivitamins do not exceed 100% of the RDA value.
I know that the majority of multivitamins on the market have 800% of this, 1600% of that, and so on. This comes with an awesome tag line/gimmick “multivitamins that meet the athletes needs” or bodybuilder or weight lifter and so on.
Unfortunately, this is completely bogus and puts you at incredible health risks. Once your enzyme system becomes saturated the vitamins taken in “megadose” begin to act as chemicals (drugs) in the body.

This probably doesn't mean much to you so let us look at a couple of examples.

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Whey protein is probably the biggest supplement purchased.  Most people go to the supplement store and purchase whey because that’s what everyone does. But, is it the right choice and are you using it properly? Could you be using your protein more effectively and see significant improvements?

Written By Vincent St. Pierre

• Everyone has asked the question when starting creatine: how should I take it? 
• I have heard about loading, should I, and how much?
• Is there a difference for athletes or general public?

We will attempt to answer all these questions through the course of this article.

I have gone through all these questions myself and have received a million and a half answers: “You should take this much for loading”.....“no, this much”...”no, loading isn’t important it’s just marketing”.... etc.
I found this so frustrating trying to find the true answer, yet no one could supply me with one. They would just tell me what they did. However, I don’t care what they did, I care about what the most effective way of using creatine is; in order to get the full benefits and my money’s worth.

The most common and effective way of increasing your creatine stores is through loading. So, what is the best way to load? How much should you take? And for how long should you load?

Now as previously mentioned the best form of creatine to take is creatine monohydrate; for why please refer to this article. don’t fall for the sales pitch that you don’t need to load with this form of creatine or this new mix..... It’s not true!!!

I’m sure many of you have walked into your local supplement store or online site looking to purchase some creatine. You walk over to the section and see a vast quantity of different forms of creatine. In total and utter confusion, you turn to an employee and ask what creatine you should be taking. Being on commission or having no knowledge at all, they spew out information based on what the supplement companies claim and try to influence you to buy the most expensive one.

This article is meant to help you understand what research has to say on this topic. To help you avoid being scammed by your local supplement stores and the supplement companies propaganda.

Throughout the academic world, there has only been one consistently reported side effect associated with ingestion of creatine which is weight gain.

After looking at the health risks of using stimulants let us consider how to use them appropriately. I believe it always preferable to understand the risks in order to avoid going overboard when you hear the possible benefits. In case you missed the last post here is the link 

Do not abuse?
As Kelly Baggett wisely said “Low grade stimulants like caffeine can give you an extra boost if used intermittently and judiciously.” When selecting the stimulant to use, there are a few considerations:

• Select one that does not make you feel jittery 
• Avoid ones that contain significant amounts of sugar
• Consider additional benefits associated with the stimulant
• Side effects of the stimulant 

If you greet the morning with the aroma of freshly brewing coffee, you are one of billions of people worldwide who indulge in the daily grind of coffee consumption. According to the latest coffee statistics from the International Coffee Organization (ICO), we pour about 1.4 billion cups of coffee a day worldwide. That's a lot of coffee!  And about 45 percent of it (400 million cups a day!) is drunk in the United States. The United States is the single biggest consumer of coffee in the world - but that does not mean that the typical person in the U.S. drinks more coffee than the typical person in any other country.