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April 20, 2018 by Will Brink

The Creatine Grave Yard


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2018 update.I have added  Creatine hydrochloride to the list. Thought it was there, but I wrote that article before HCL existed, hence why it was not on the list. Someone asked why HCL was not on the list, and to my surprise,  they were right!

See 2012 update to this article HERE

The Creatine Grave Yard
By Will Brink © 2009

Looks like another “high tech” form of creatine has got one foot planted firmly in the creatine grave yard. What is the creatine graveyard? It’s where forms of creatine – other then monohydrate – go when either science has shown them inferior to monohydrate, and or it’s life cycle of hype has come to and end.

I refer specifically to creatine ethyl ester (CEE). As with the many “high tech” forms of creatine before it, all manner of claims were/are made about how superior it is to creatine monohydrate (CM). It always starts the same. First the company will invent a long list of negatives about CM such as “poorly absorbed” or “causes bloat” or “is not stable” and then goes onto claim their form of creatine has solved all those invented negatives. The problem is, the data already shows CM does not suffer from virtually any of the negatives they invent, nor do they show their form “cures” those negatives.

 
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April 6, 2018 by Will Brink

The Golden Age Of Bodybuilding On Tape!


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Those old enough to remember the  90′s know it as the “golden age of bodybuilding” and it was! The magazines – pretty much all of whom I wrote for – were at their peak in sales and popularity, the industry was growing rapidly and still a lot of fun, and people actually cared about who won what show and so forth.  Bodybuilding on all levels at that time was truly fun and exciting and I was lucky enough to be right in the middle of it.  Those who were part of that time will remember Muscle Media 2000 as perhaps the best of the mags, and names like Dan Duchaine, Bill Phillips, Mike Mentzer, Shawn Phillips, Will Brink (yours truly), Charles Poliquin, and many more, were the names people knew and followed.

MM2K023B

Now digitized and online!

Why this trip down memory lane? Shawn Phillips literally found some boxes full of the original Muscle Media 2000 audio tape series and has digitized them and put them on line! When he called to tell me he was looking in the warehouse for something else and found this box of old cassette tapes interviewing all the popular names of the time, we went down memory lane laughing like idiots. It was obvious what needed to be done next, and the MM2k Vault was created for those who want to be transported back in time to the golden era. For those who may not remember all this with the clarity us old dudes, this is your chance to see what the big deal was! I had a great time doing them, and even more fun listening to them myself. If you wanna go down memory lane, or want to listen to what the most popular people at the time had to say and what it was like to listen someone like Dan Duchaine or Bill, or a much younger me pontificate about all manner of fun topics, these are a MUST listen.

If you wanna take the trip click  HERE

 

 

 

 
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March 30, 2018 by Will Brink

How 2 Set Styles May Build Muscle In Half The Time


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Editors Note: Here’s a guest article via Carl Juneau, PhD. Doctor Juneau is the developer of the Dr. Muscle App, which I recommended previously in a past article about how so many bodybuilders are stuck in the 70′s readers may recall. The app does a solid job of removing the guess work for people looking to utilize more modern approaches than typical – and less effective – linear training models. Feedback from BZ followers has been excellent.

 

How 2 Set Styles May Build Muscle In Half The Time By Carl Juneau, PhD.

Monica-Mollica-gym-trainergize

BrinkZone author Monica M shows what smart training, good nutrition, intelligent supplement use, and good genes looks like!

How many sets do you do when you work out to build muscle? When you bench press? When you squat? 3 sets, right?

For most people, 3 sets seem just right. 2 sets… you’re leaving too much in the bank. 4 sets… it’s hard work. But 3 sets! Boom!

The problem with 3 sets is that they take a long time to do. If you take 1, 2, or even 3 minutes of rest between sets, you’ll spend up to 10 minutes training just one exercise. When you add up your other muscles groups, you can easily spend an hour and a half in the gym. Many guys do.

But what if I told you there’s a better way? 2 ways, actually! Ways to do your sets that let you build just as much (or more) muscle… in about half the time? Yeah! That’s right. These set styles build muscle in half the time because each set is the equivalent of about 3 normal sets. I’m talking about drop sets and rest-pause sets.

Let’s look at what the science says:

 
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March 20, 2018 by Will Brink

High Reps Vs. Low Reps, The Science!


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Higher reps vs lower reps has been a debate for decades among those focused on hypertrophy, such as bodybuilders and casual lifters just looking to add some muscle mass. When people ask me what rep ranges are best for hypertrophy, my typical response is “all of them!”

DSC_0405-Monica-Mollica_1200x797

Monica shows what smart training, good nutrition, targeted supplements, and good genes looks like!

There’s been a number of studies looking at higher rep ranges using lower loads that support the use of higher reps in programs focused on hypertrophy covered by Monica M HERE worth reading if you have not already. Anything by Monica is always worth reading, but I digress.

Recently, a large meta review of studies examining the topic and using a stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria for the review, that lower reps with higher % of 1RM and higher reps using lower % of 1RM have similar effects on hypertrophy. If the specific goal is improvements in 1RM in a given lift, than higher loads and lower reps is superior, although increases in 1RM strength does take place with higher rep/lower load training.

So should those focused strictly on hypertrophy drop the heavy lifting and just train in the 15-30 rep range? In my opinion, No. Is there a place for higher reps and lower loads in the program of people focused on hypertrophy? That’s a resounding yes! This section from the aforementioned review from summarizes nicely;

 
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February 9, 2018 by Will Brink

Protein Intakes For Female Physique Athletes


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2018 update:

The 2015 study  below was  the first study I’m aware of that looked specifically at female physique athletes and the effects of a higher protein intake, and comes from Dr. Bill Campbell’s lab via the University of South Florida, Performance & Physique Enhancement Laboratory, which I gave a talk at in 2016 and presented at conferences. It’s interesting to note they found increased LBM with higher protein off season.

A new study looked at female physique athletes, and the effects of a high vs. low protein intake. This new study by some of the same authors of the prior study, found although strength of the athletes didn’t vary (reach statistical significance), they did find improved bodycomp in the high protein group. If trying to increase FFM and limit BF, eat your protein ladies!

Effects of High vs. Low Protein Intake on Body Composition and Maximal Strength in Aspiring Female Physique Athletes Engaging in an 8-Week Resistance Training Program.

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2018 Feb 6:1-21. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0389.

Abstract

Aspiring female physique athletes are often encouraged to ingest relatively high levels of dietary protein in conjunction with their resistance-training programs. However, there is little to no research investigating higher vs. lower protein intakes in this population. This study examined the influence of a high vs. low protein diet in conjunction with an 8-week resistance training program in this population. Seventeen females (21.2±2.1 years; 165.1±5.1 cm; 61±6.1 kg) were randomly assigned to a high protein diet (HP: 2.5g/kg/day; n=8) or a low protein diet (LP: 0.9g/kg/day, n=9) and were assessed for body composition and maximal strength prior to and after the 8-week protein intake and exercise intervention. Fat-free mass (FFM) increased significantly more in the HP group as compared to the LP group (p=0.009), going from 47.1 ± 4.5kg to 49.2 ± 5.4kg (+2.1kg) and from 48.1 ± 2.7kg to 48.7 ± 2 (+0.6kg) in the HP and LP groups, respectively. Fat mass significantly decreased over time in the HP group (14.1 ± 3.6kg to 13.0 ± 3.3kg; p<0.01) but no change was observed in the LP group (13.2 ± 3.7kg to 12.5 ± 3.0kg). While maximal strength significantly increased in both groups, there were no differences in strength improvements between the two groups. In aspiring female physique athletes, a higher protein diet is superior to a lower protein diet in terms of increasing FFM in conjunction with a resistance training program.

Full Paper HERE

2015 study:

Effects of a high (2.4 g/kg) vs. low/moderate (1.2 g/kg) protein intake on body composition in aspiring female physique athletes engaging in an 8-week resistance training program

Bill I. Campbell, Danielle Aguilar, Andres Vargas, Laurin Conlin, Amey Sanders, Paola Fink-Irizarry, Layne Norton, Ross Perry, Ryley McCallum, Matthew R. Wynn, Jack Lenton.

University of South Florida, Performance & Physique Enhancement Laboratory, Tampa, FL, USA

Background

Aspiring female physique athletes are often encouraged to ingest relatively high levels of dietary protein in conjunction with their resistance-training programs. However, there is little to no research investigating higher vs. lower protein intakes in this population. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of a high protein diet vs. a low protein diet in resistance trained, aspiring female physique athletes.

Methods

Sumi Singh Fitness Model

BrinkZone author Sumi Singh shows what hard work and a solid nutrition plan can achieve

17 resistance-trained female subjects (21.2±2.1 years; 165.1±5.1 cm; 61±6.1 kg) participated in this investigation. At baseline and following 8-weeks of a periodized daily undulating resistance-training program (DUP), participants were assessed for body composition (body weight [BW], fat mass [FM], body fat % [BF%], and lean body mass [LBM]). After baseline testing, participants were matched according to total FM and randomized to the high protein group (HP; n = 8) or the low/moderate protein group (LP; n = 9). Participants in the high protein group were instructed to ingest at least 2.4 grams of protein/kg body mass per day and participants in the low protein group were instructed to ingest no more than 1.2 grams of protein/kg body mass. There were no restrictions or guidelines placed on dietary CHO or Fat intake during the study intervention for either group. Body composition was assessed via ultrasound (A mode, 2.5-MHz transmitter). The DUP program consisted of two lower body and two upper body workouts conducted a total of 4 times per week for 8 weeks. Data were analyzed via a 2-factor [2x2] between-subjects repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The criterion for significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.

 
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May 30, 2017 by Will Brink

What Makes A “Super Responder”?


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What makes an exercise  “super Responder”?

A Roundtable Discussion with Alan Aragon, Dr. Conrad Earnest and Dr. Jose Antonio

superman-images-22

Super Man is the ultimate super responder!

Most people most of the time people will respond to exercise in a fairly predictable manner. When doing research on a group of people put on a specific exercise regimen, the majority will respond in a fairly typical and expected fashion. However, what they will also find, are a small percent of people who fall on both ends of the extreme, what might be termed non-responders on one side and super responders on the other. They are always a very small percent of a study as expected, but have been a consistent finding since, well, forever. Those two groups that fall well outside the typical response of the larger group, were once considered a statistical anomaly, or perhaps non-compliant, or other possibilities, without much attention given to them. However, more recent studies have focused on those non-responders, and studies have found identifiable genetic differences in non-responders to more typical responders. I cover that topic in a prior post HERE for those interested.

What of super responders? What do we know of them? It’s my view if we can identify what makes these genetic elites respond as they do, we may be able to apply some of that information to us mere mortals in the future.  There’s surprising little hard data on super responders, but anyone who has been involved in exercise physiology research, and or worked with athletes over the years has seen them.

What’s a super responder? As the name implies, a person who responds to exercise in a manner so unusually and un expectedly, you just marvel at their elite genetics to the point it’s hard to view them as the same species as the rest of us! I will admit my bias here in that I’m mostly interested in resistance training super responders, but they will exist in other endeavors too to be sure.

I have seen what I’d consider genetic elite super responders a handful of times in my thirty plus years in the “biz” and they never fail to amaze me.  I worked with one guy who trained sporadically at best following a haphazard program and his nutrition, in a word, sucked. He’d diet for a few weeks, and win every local and regional show he did, then with a little actual effort – via my assistance with keeping him on track – won a national level show and got a pro card. After he won his pro card, he decided to take time off from the gym. Six months later he comes to a cookout I was having and after six months of no exercise, looked only slightly smaller! He still looked better than 99% of the people busting their butts in the gym year in and year out and I wanted to kill him. I kid!

 
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April 12, 2017 by Will Brink

(Natural) Testosterone Rebound: A Case Study


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First, the important part: I’m not against testosterone replacement/hormone replacement (TRT/HRT) in the least, and was writing about the importance of testosterone before the internet existed and decades before the current “low T” trend seen all over the TV via the commercials these days. Readers can find various articles and vids on BrinkZone covering the topic as well as my recent teaming up with AMC to be able to directly work with people on their TRT/HRT needs. If anyone concludes I’m some how anti TRT/HRT from this article, they’d be wrong…

Having said all that, some people and medical professionals will jump quickly to TRT/HRT in individuals who may not require it, or worse, refuse to treat those that do. Each person’s situation is unique as to why they may have disturbances in their hormonal milieu, some times the reason can be ascertained via proper testing and evaluation, some times it can’t. There’s no doubt whatsoever in my view that those who need TRT/HRT will benefit if properly treated, and there’s many out there not being properly treated. Again, there’s also individuals who may show very low testosterone (T) levels but do not require TRT. That’s why it’s essential to fully evaluate each person vs. treating them as a lab number.

Second test, only slightly better at just over 100ng/dl

Second test, only slightly better at just over 100ng/dl

This is a case study I have put together of a young man who had a total testosterone level of 92ng/dl that went to 775ng/dl with no TRT or any medications used, such as Clomiphene (Clomid).  Yes, it’s an extreme case but also one that demonstrates how resilient the human body and mind can be if given the proper tools to heal itself.

Note, it didn’t happen quickly nor easily but it did happen, and today he’s a much happier and healthier person. His was a perfect storm of both physical – and all too often ignored – psychological factors that lead to his extremely low T levels and what he did to reverse it. Anyone looking for a quick fix or magic pill here will be disappointed. Those who identify with him and perhaps have similar issues, hopefully this is the wake up call that leads you to address it and realize you’re not alone. The interesting thing is, he was exactly that guy who people would ask how he stayed so lean all the time. Always lean, strong, and constantly in the gym, he was the paragon of what many wanted to achieve, not knowing that under that shell was a person who felt both physically and emotionally terrible.

When I’d speak with him, I became more and more convinced his issues (as he’d mentioned depression, lack of sleep, no libido etc.) were not a matter of a change of diet or training per se, but stemmed from psychological aspects he needed to address first if long term, recovery was to take place. I also recommended getting his testosterone and other hormones checked, and suspected his excessive training, dieting, and stress levels would show his T and or other hormones far from where they should be for his age and seemingly impressive conditioning. Even I was shocked to see it came back at 92ng/dl!

 
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January 31, 2016 by Will Brink

IFBB Pro Natalie Graziano Does Back And Biceps


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Fitness Competitor and IFBB Pro Natalie Graziano Does Back And Biceps “old school” style, which is heavy, basic, and brief. No toning and firming here!

 
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September 10, 2015 by Will Brink

Gaining Muscle & Losing Fat Simultaneously?


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“I want to gain muscle and lose fat Will” is a common statement I hear or get the “how do I gain muscle and lose fat?” question, and sellers of supplements and designers of magical programs and diets are all to happy to feed into those wishes as if it was easy to do with their particular program or supplement.

Can you gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously? I answer that Q in this vid. If interested in my general approach to gaining strength and muscle mass, see the BBR program.

The Essentials:

Basic facts #1: Losing bodyfat requires you to be in a sustained caloric deficit,

Basic fact #2: Gaining muscle mass requires you to be in a sustained caloric surplus.

One can’t serve two masters, nor defy basic physiology and laws of thermodynamics.

One can train for a power lifting meet and an ultra marathon at the same time, but they won’t be terribly successful at either for a reason…

Pick a specific goal, eat and train for it, vs attempting multiple goals that may be opposed to each other giving sub par results.

 
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June 29, 2015 by Monica Mollica

Fish Oil for Muscle Growth


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A key hallmark of aging is a progressive loss of muscle mass, which occurs independently of health status.[1] Exercise and nutrition are the two main anabolic stimuli for muscle growth and its maintenance throughout the life course.[2-11]

It is clear that maintaining high physical activity and exercise levels throughout ones lifespan reduces aging related loss of muscle mass and function, compared with living a sedentary life.[12-19] However, even active older adults and master elite athletes still experience some loss of muscle and physical performance with advancing age.[8, 13, 20]

When it comes to nutrition, high protein intake [2, 3, 10, 21] and creatine supplementation [4-8, 22] are two of the best documented interventions, which together with resistance exercise training, result in greater increases muscle mass and strength in both young [21-23] and older people [2-8, 10], and prevent its loss with aging. Here I will present the relatively unknown effects of fish oil (most well-known for its cardiovascular health promoting effects) on muscle growth (anabolism) and its possible contribution to prevention of aging related loss of muscle mass and function…

 
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