Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Stretching for Muscle Gains

A recent study on stretching showed that those who regularly stretch can make some impressive strength gains even without weight training.

Muscle Stretching Study

32% average strength gains, a 7% increase on a vertical? Those are things that should get the attention of all athletes.

The study is just one study, was done on sedentary people and not active trainers, and so it is a bit limited. You can bet with the results found on rats and now this one human study, there will be more studies to come and muscle building stretching may become a hot topic in a few years time.

As of now, stretching isn't exactly a high-priority among lifters looking for muscle gains. Just maybe it should be.

In reviewing all of the current muscle building programs out there, only Vince Delmonte seems to be putting an emphasis on stretching and flexibility (see my review of Delmonte's No-Nonsense Muscle Building).

He may be onto something.

See my ratings and reviews for all the top muscle building and bodybuilding programs.

JP Clifford

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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Dietary Supplement Industry Exposed

Mens Health has a good article on the supplement industry. Definitely worth a read.

Beyond Balco: The Untold Dietary Supplement Scandal

The article tells you just how easy it is to start a supplement company. The supplement companies want you to believe they are really producing something scientifically mind-blowing with their high hype supplements. They aren't.

While not covered in the article, knowledge of just how easy it is to mix up your own muscle building supplements is leading an increasing number of trainers to start doing just that. Not for profit, but just for the savings. Jeff Anderson has a good "how to" book on this (see my review of Homemade Supplement Secrets).

The article talks about the difference between the big supplement companies and the smaller ones (some so small as some guy mixing up stuff at his kitchen table and then selling it through ads on the web or in bodybuilding mags). The big companies aren't generally the ones participating in the most deceptive and dangerous tactics - its the little ones trying to make a quick buck.

Ever since I've been saying anything on bodybuilding supplements, I've been saying the following:
Buy your supplements at a reasonable cost from a trusted and respected company

Following the above advice will help insulate you from the bulk of the danger. Its when you allow yourself to get lured in by goofy marketing and "too cheap" pricing that you can find yourself getting truly ripped off and even endangering your health.

More good advice presented in the article:
"Well-formulated multivitamins, protein powder, fish oil, and creatine, for instance, have all been proved safe and effective, but none can outweigh or even counterbalance a steady diet of junk food."

The lesson there is to make sure you have a good muscle building diet, without that you are simply paying for some expensive urine.

You can check out my supplement recommendations here: Bodybuilding Supplement Guide.

• One final thing in the article that really made me laugh - A creatine serum supplement was tested by consumerlab.com and found to have only 26mg of creatine in it (the typical dose is 5,000 mg). When questioned about the result, the supplement company's response was "that their product's trade secret formula is too complex for ConsumerLab.com to accurately determine its creatine content."

Now that is a good one. I don't hear much about creatine serums anymore... Has everyone finally figured out that creatine is simply unstable in liquids? Let's hope so.

JP Clifford

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