Dave Barr: Exclusive Interview About Supplements, Testosterone, Growth Hormone, and Exercise

One of the things that I love doing is hanging out, talking shop about exercise, nutrition, and movement.    I feel so honored to be able to pick the brains of many of the top people in the industry.

Movement, Movement, Movement

A few weeks ago, Cal Dietz from the U of MN left me a message that Neil Rampe, the therapist for the AZ Diamondbacks was going ot be in town, so I should stop down for a movement pow wow.   I was sooooo stoked and it was a great meeting.

Three hours there flew by like it was 20 minutes.  Movement of all forms was discussed from cranial work for more internal rotation (like 30 degrees more in minutes), breathing patterns, asymmetries, soft tissue work (a great local soft tissue expert was present too), and how to extract maximal performance from athletes.  Great, great time.

More This Weekend

Just last night I was hanging out with Dave, Brad Nelson, Adam T Glass and Frankie Faires and will be with them and many more today too.  Aaron S from UND (great strength coach at Univ of North Dakota) will be sleeping on my couch for 2 nights (check out his blog HERE) and a few others are scheduled to be in town also.  The amount of information I will be able to pick up and use after just a few days is going to be insane, and I am so excited about it.  I am like a kid in a candy store.  Whooo ha.

Conferences for Vacation?

I am a huge geek and I go to conferences on exercise physiology for fun.  This past May Jodie and I flew out to Seattle for a vacation and I attended the American College of Sports Medicine’s Annual conference for 3 days.  I decided to not present this year, so I just got to hang out with much less stress and absorb as much as I could (read, pester people at posters about their research).

I had a blast and learned tons of new things, although some of the presentations can be a bit dry.  Ok, a bit dry is an understatement, but I endure this all to bring you just a few worthwhile tidbit of info to have you set another PR.

Enter the Barr

Good thing there are other geeks (albeit with much bigger arms) than me there like my good buddy Dave Barr.   Dave is a very bright guy and has a great background in exercise physiology and nutrition.  He currently works for Muscle and Fitness, so be sure to check out his blog there below

David Barr’s blog at Muscle and Fitness

I was able to corner him and got to pick his brain.  Luckily for you I have it on tape here!

Sit back as Dave Barr drops knowledge bombs from the ACSM 2009 Annual Conference.

Note this was previously released as a special bonus, but now I am making it available to everyone.  The conference was this past May, but many time oral presentations have data that is not published for many months to even years after it was presented (if it gets published); so this info is still cutting edge.

Enjoy!

Thanks Dave!!

Let me know what you think about this in the comments section!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

PS

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Metabolic Flexibility: You Need to Burn That Fat Off!

Large and In Charge Mouse

I hope all of you got to watch the Vikings win this past Sunday!  Whoo ha!!

Onward to today’s topic of Metabolic Flexibility.

What is that and why do I care?

Physiology is Messy

Physiology is complex and messy.  Most theories just don’t hold up since they are too simple.  Note, this does NOT mean that the actions you need to take have to be complex, but the theory to explain all the inter-workings gets complicated at times.

Metabolic Flexibility (Met Flex) is the term to describe the ability of the body to burn both fats AND carbs efficiently.

Enter the Diabetic Stage Left

The basic definition of a diabetic is someone who does not handle carbs (carbohydrates) very well.  Their glucose management has gone awry and is messed up.  Don’t get me started on why the popular recommendation is then for diabetics is truck loads of CARBS!  Ok, just a short rant since it is my blog and I read research studies for fun.

Now to be entirely fair, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has cracked the door a bit to  low-carb diets for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes (and insulin resistant) but for weight control ONLY and it doesn’t recommend low-carb diets for blood glucose control, even though the new guidelines say,

“dietary carbohydrate is the major determinant of postprandial [after meal] glucose levels”.

If you are a diabetic or borderline diabetic, dumping a crap ton (technical term) into your system of the very thing that you have a hard time processing, is a bad idea.

Toxic Sugar

Keep in mind that HIGH level of glucose (sugar) in the blood is TOXIC.   Low levels are also bad, so the body has tons of controls to keep you at a happy medium (homeostasis for my fellow geeks).    The downside is that some of these short term controls (read, so you don’t die) come at a very high cost long term (read: destruction of other tissues).

Fat Metabolism: Torch the Muffin Top

In the USA, Even the Wild Animals Are Now Fat!

source: James Marvin Phelps (mandj98)

On the other end of the spectrum, although not as common, are people who can’t handle high amounts of dietary fats.  The machinery that processes fat has gone off the tracks and this too results in lots of collateral damage.

Summary So Far

So those are the bad circumstances

1) poor handling of carbs

or

2) poor handling of fats

For all practical purposes, the burning of protein as a fuel does not happen that much; despite all the fear mongering of bro-scientists everywhere in the bodybuilding circles.

Now, some poor bastards can have BOTH (fat and carb metabolism) gone awry and are an unfortunate metabolic wreck.

The Good Side

So if that is the bad side, people who are very metabolically INflexible to fats and carbs; there is a good side -  people are who very metabolically flexible to carbs and fats.  This is where you want to be.

You want the ability to handle fats AND carbs without any collateral damage and increase your health and performance.

How?

The most profound effector of this is ………EXERICSE!   Any surprise there?  A high levels of exercise, your body becomes very efficient at handling fats AND carbs (2).  There is accumulating evidence (1) that lower levels of body fat are also correlated to metabolic flexibility.    We used to think that fat cell sat around on their collective fat butts all day, but we now know they run a host of chemical messengers throughout the body.  Fat as it turns out is very metabolically active (think busy fat cells not lazy ones).

Metabolically Flexible Robots?  What?

KITT from Knight Rider: A Smart Robot

Now I don’t believe much of anything I read on Fox news, but there was a story about the military making new robots that can eat anything.  Sweet!  A metabolically flexible robot!  I always knew DARPA was ahead of us.

from Fox News (yeah I know, I am quoting fox news, eeek)

“Robotic Technology Inc.’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — that’s right, “EATR” — “can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable,” reads the company’s Web site.”

You gotta love the name too EATR.  ha!  For those that want to see the whole presentation on EATR, I tracked it down and you can get it HERE.

Are the Robots Ahead of Us?

It is time to add some more exercise and get more metabolically flexible soon, before a robot comes looking to eat you for lunch.    This also has a great side effect of decreasing that spare tire and muffin top too.

Sprints anyone?  Catch me if you can you lazy robot!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

For those that are interested in this topic, hold on to your hats as I have a whole product coming out soon called “The Truth about Protein, Fats, and Carbs: Implications for Metabolic Flexibility”   I am also in the process of writing up some studies for peer review on metabolic flexibility (silly dissertation).

REFERENCES

1) MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION IS INCREASED FOLLOWING
LIPID EXPOSURE IN CULTURED MYOTUBES FROM LEAN BUT
NOT OBESE DONORS

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. Vol. 34, 2009
Boyle KE, Zheng D, Anderson ET, Neufer PD, & Houmard JA. Dept.
of Exercise & Sport Science & The Metabolic Institute, East Carolina
University, Greenville, NC

The skeletal muscle of obese humans oxidizes less lipid compared to
leans and is unable to respond to a lipid challenge. We utilized satellite
cells derived from vastus lateralis tissue of 7 lean (BMI=22) and 8 obese
(BMI=38) human males to determine the mechanisms involved with
the inability to utilize lipid with obesity. On day 6 of differentiation,
myotubes were incubated in differentiation media supplemented with
either 100?M oleate/palmitate + 0.05% BSA or 0.05% BSA for 24h. Cells
were then permeabilized and state 4, state 3, and uncoupled respiration
was measured in the presence of palmitoyl carnitine + malate (+succinate
for uncoupled). State 3 and uncoupled respiration increased in leans with
the lipid incubation (50% & 35%, respectively; P<0.05). There was no
corresponding change in the cells from obese donors. Mitochondrial
DNA copy number increased in leans but decreased in obese with lipid
incubation (16% & -13%, respectively; P<0.05) and COX-IV protein
content showed a significant lipid incubation x body size interaction (38%
increase in leans and -13% decrease in obese; P<0.05). These data suggest
that the skeletal muscle of obese individuals does not respond to lipid
exposure by increasing lipid oxidation; this metabolic inflexibility may be
a mechanism involved in the reduced ability to oxidize lipid evident in the
muscle of obese subjects.
Funded by NIH DK561112 & DK073488.

2) ADAPTATIONS IN NR4A3 ISOFORMS FOLLOWING EXERCISE
TRAINING IN OBESE HUMANS
Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. Vol. 34, 2009

Haus, J.M., Solomon, T.P., Kirwan, J.P. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH

The orphan nuclear receptor NR4A3 responds to acute exercise and
has been implicated in the regulation of genes that mediate glucose
and lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle. Data on the effects of exercise
training on NR4A3 gene expression are lacking. We examined mRNA
expression of the known NR4A3 isoforms (A,B,C) from muscle biopsy
samples obtained at basal and under insulin stimulated conditions (INS)
during a 40 uU/m2/min hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp before and
after 12 weeks of aerobic exercise training. Subjects included obese
men and women. At baseline, NR4A3 isoform C was most abundant
(2.7±1.1, 3.5±1.4, 5.6±1.7 AU), and INS increased expression of all three
isoforms (3.4, 1.6, 4.7 fold; P<0.05). Exercise training increased basal fat
oxidation, glucose disposal rates (GDR) and basal mRNA expression of
NR4A3 isoforms B and C (1.4 and 2.1 fold; P<0.05 vs. pre). In addition,
the expression of NR4A3 isoforms A, B and C were decreased during INS
(-55, -29, -61% vs. Pre INS). Following exercise training, increased basal
expression of NR4A3 isoforms B and C may reflect the increase in basal
whole body fat oxidation. The exercise-induced attenuation of NR4A3
gene expression during INS is consistent with the observed improvements
in metabolic flexibility following exercise training. These novel data
provide evidence that NR4A3 may regulate glucose and lipid metabolism
following exercise training in obese, insulin resistant adults

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Preventing Neurodegeneration and New Eat Stop Eat Contest

New Contest

I did a very cool interview with Brad Pilon of Eat Stop Eat in yesterday’s post.  I know everyone is super busy and the interview is a whole hour long, but I want to give you an incentive to check out the post by having another contest.

Review of Eat Stop Eat: Intermittent Fasting to Lose Body Fat

Starting now until this Friday Jan 15, 2010 at midnight central time, I am going to give away a free copy of my lectures on protein, fat and carbs.  They will take you through all the basics and distill YEARS of info into about 4 hours.  You will get them on MP3 so you can listen to them anywhere.  I will have this product out for sale (at some point soon, silly dissertation work) so you will be getting it WAY in advance.

4 Hour lectures Series: The Truth About Protein, Fats and Carbs: For FREE?

No matter what your goal, you need to know about how protein, carbs and fat affect your performance; from recovery to fat loss. Now you can take time to read all the websites, all the latest research and sift through all the information out there or you can just sit back and listen to a lecture on each one.  Nevermind that most of the information out there is conflicting and you will probably end up confused!

The lectures are from an Advanced 12 Week Nutrition online course I did this past summer; so you get to hear live questions being answered. The sound quality is good, but nothing stellar as I did not initially planned to release it; but after getting numerous questions about are fats evil, too many carbs will make my fat, too much protein will destroy my kidneys; I decided to release them and clear up some massive confusion.

Value: a normal hour of my time is currently $110 an hour x 4 hours = $440, you will get it for free IF you are selected!

• 1 lecture on protein
• 1 lecture on carbohydrates
• 1 lecture on fats
• All on MP3 to put on your ipod

Here is some feedback from the overall course that each person paid $300 for a full 12 week course (you are just getting the first 3 weeks)

Seriously, it was most invaluable.

Was it worth the money?  Absolutely.  Very thorough. I would sign up again for the same topic or similar ones.  Keep me on your list please if that happens.

Jeanne Petrick, Chicago, IL

Occupation:  Pilates Instructor

Was it worth the money? Yes

Mike is very up-to-date with current literature and research

Tom Gallo Grinnell, Iowa

Occupation Physical Therapist

Was it worth the money? Yes.  It motivated me to probe more detailed into the material  to ask questions that were not perhaps covered in the reading material.

No matter how much you know about nutrition  ( I have some background) , a person can continue to learn and benefit from others who have studied and researched the same subject.  Also, you are genuinely interested in assisting, answering questions and your sincerity comes across.  I feel I have a great resource in you now and I could write to you at anytime and ask questions, etc.

Carrie Strom  Tucson, Arizona

Occupation— co owner of baseball academy  www.gabriels.biz

All you have to do is read the post and make a comment on the blog.  Make sure to enter your email address when you place your comment so that I can reach you.

After all comments are placed by midnight this Friday, I will then randomly pick one person as the winner and email them the product for free!

How Do I Potentially Win A Copy?

For a few minutes of your time to learn about some cool stuff you may win a free product.  Go to the post right now by clicking below, leave a comment, and you may win!  Feel free to pass it around to all your friends.

Review of Eat Stop Eat: Intermittent Fasting to Lose Body Fat

What If I Don’t Win, Can I Buy A Copy?

If you don’t win and still want to buy a copy, email me by clicking HERE.

Preventing Neurodegeneration

As you know I am a huge neuroscience geek and am convinced that the concept of brain neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to undergo physical changes) will have HUGE impacts to fitness, sports performance and overall health.

Dr. Bryan Walsh over at Precision Nutrition had a great article on Preventing Neurodegeneration that just came out, so check it out below.

Preventing Neurodegeneration

by Bryan Walsh

Take a moment and think about an elderly person you know.

* How well do they taste or smell their food?

* How good is their memory?

* How well can they balance or walk?

* How healthy is their digestion?

If they haven’t aged gracefully, chances are they can’t do any of those things very well. And you can thank their brain function for these symptoms of degeneration.

Anti-Aging Gone Wrong

The degree to which the elderly can perform normal daily activities is directly related to the amount of brain degeneration they’re experiencing in their twilight years. In fact, the anti-aging movement has it completely wrong. It’s not about hormones. It is about brain function.

When your brain stops functioning, your body stops functioning. And conversely, the healthier your brain, the healthier your digestion, your response to stress, your hormones and your response to exercise.

In this article, we’ll provide a broad overview of a very complex system in the body, the brain. Plus, we’ll share some ways of nutritionally improving your brain function today.

Your Brain – The Basics

Your brain is a vital organ that helps run every other system in our body. For example, 90% of the brain stem’s output goes into something called the pontomedulary reticular formation, which stimulates the vagus nerve.

Uh, what?

Well, that’s just a fancy way of saying that 90% of your brain’s output directly impacts activities such as digestion, gastrointestinal motility, enzyme production and salivation, and other parasympathetic activities.

read this rest at Precision Nutrition by clicking HERE.

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

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Cooking in the Lab: Low Carb Egg Nog Super Shake

Happy Holidays and time we do some cooking the lab!

I’ve tried it a few times after and I like it a little better now without the vanilla, but feel free to adjust to your taste. I have not added too many veggies to it yet, but I was thinking a few figs may be interesting.

Let me know what you think and if you have any other great super shake recipes to share in the comments.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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3 Tasty Tips for More Muscle Mass

In this video

• Find out my 3 favorite foods to gain muscle (the answer may surprise you)

• Can you eat “bad” foods and gain muscle?

• Do calories matter? (a hint, YES!)

Let me know what you think by posting a comment.   Let me know if you like video format or more written format too.   I love comments!!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are looking for high quality protein at rock bottom prices, check out Protein Factory HERE (note, I do make 4% on each sale, but this is the same protein I have personally used for the past 5+ years).

Ranting on Exercise, Nutrition and Lifestyle

Hang on to your hats as I smell a rant brewing. Here we go.

My good friend David and I had a good chat about nutrition and exercise this past summer while we were hanging out his cabin.  Huge shout out to him and his wife Lisa for having Jodie and I come up there this summer to see everyone else too. I was so desperate to kiteboard, that I brought all my gear and there was no wind. So we did the next logical thing and I kiteboarded behind the pontoon boat! Whoo ha.

Oh, I got carried away there and back to the topic on hand. David said his blood pressure was high and he decided it was time to change his nutrition and exercise.

Fast forward to this email I got the other day.

I just wanted to tell you that my diet has pushed my blood pressure back to normal! I have been eating

2 bananas every morning and lots of apples, no carbs basically. I went in 4 weeks ago and they put me on the machine that takes 3 readings and averages them, 121/73!!!! 6 months ago it was 153/98 and I was in taking excessive Diet Dew also.

– David Timmersman

Sales and Marketing Manager, Plymouth, MN

Massive Action

Huge CONGRATS to David for taking massive ACTION. You would be amazed at how many people I talk with about nutrition and exercise and how many still don’t take any action. While there are many reasons for that, some just don’t believe that nutrition and exercise have that big of an effect and they need drugs for the rest of their life.

Really?

Last time I checked, I have yet to find one person with a statin deficiency. While drugs are needed at times, the long term goal should be to work with your doc and a consult a qualified trainer/ nutritionist. Note, I said “qualified”, not some bone head that you pay lots of money to who just counts your reps for you and just passed their 2 hour open book online certification. You can hire a chimp to count reps for you and just pay them in bananas.

You need someone who has a background in exercise and nutrition and they should work with you to meet YOUR goals. This include nutrition advice, a program custom designed for your needs with exercises, sets and reps, mobility work and accountability. Progress is key as the old Mel Siff line goes “Any monkey can make you sweat” Maybe that is the same monkey that is counting reps. Hmmmmm

Massive Action + Knowledge = Results

Who is going to make some massive change next? Let me know by placing a comment below!

The time is now.

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

Time to Kiteboard!

Jodie and I are on our way to South Padre Texas, hitting up some kiteboarding down here and some time away.  It has been a crazy year, but I would not have it any other way (ok, I will admit to wishing my dissertation was done).

Fear not though, as the blog will continue on and I have some killer posts coming up, including this guest post here.

I may be a bit late responding to and approving comments, but I will get to all of them as soon as I can for sure!

Protein Controversies Regarding Bone and Coronary Heart Disease

Today I have a very special post for all of you regarding protein.

The amount of piss poor information floating around about protein is insane!    Good thing we have Jamie here to help sort out myth from truth.

Take it away Coach Hale.

The Author Himself Out for a Stroll

Protein Controversies

By Jamie Hale

Claim: High Protein diets are bad for bone health

Investigation: At one time or another you have probably heard the claim “high protein diets are bad for your bones, they cause calcium losses.” However, when examining the scientific evidence we see a different picture. A large study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research showed that both elderly men and women who consumed the most animal protein had the lowest rate of bone loss whereas those who consumed little protein had much higher rates of bone loss. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that postmenopausal women who consumed the highest amount of protein, particularly animal protein, were least likely to suffer from hip fractures and had the strongest bones (1).

Heaney and colleagues showed, that in free-living middle-aged women who were studied in a metabolic ward and ingested diets that matched their everyday intakes of protein and phosphorus, calcium losses were significantly positively correlated with protein intake and calcium balance was significantly negatively correlated (2). This study, cited extensively since its publication, contributed to the common belief that protein is harmful to bone. Almost two decades later in an editorial that was featured in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Heaney critiqued his own study and reported on recent findings (3). In conclusion Heaney stated “analysis of the diets of hunter-gatherer societies, and nitrogen isotope ratios of fossil bone collagen, indicate that human physiology evolved in the context of diets with high amounts of animal protein. Although caution has been urged in the interpretation of such analyses, it remains true that there is certainly no evidence that primitive humans had low intakes of either total protein or animal protein. That, coupled with the generally very robust skeletons of our hominid forbears, makes it difficult to sustain a case, either evidential or deductive, for overall skeletal harm related either to protein intake or to animal protein. Indeed, the balance of the evidence seems to indicate the opposite.”

Research suggests that consuming high protein diets that contain sufficient amounts of calcium and Vitamin D do not negatively affect bone health. Researchers at Tufts University in Boston found that adequate ingestion of dietary calcium helps to promote a positive effect of dietary protein on the skeleton in older adults. Also, phosphorus (e.g. milk, meat) and potassium (e.g. milk, legumes, grains) reduce calcium loss, thus negating protein-induced urinary calcium excretion.

Conclusion: A high protein diet that lacks sufficient amounts of calcium and Vitamin D may cause harm to bones. But a high protein diet that contains sufficient amounts of calcium and Vitamin D can have positive affects on bone health.

Claim: High protein diets increase the risk of coronary heart disease

Investigation: A review conducted by Li and colleagues (4) looked at the relationship between read meat consumption and coronary heart disease factors; 54 studies were reviewed. Findings of the review indicated “Substantial evidence from recent studies shows that lean red meat trimmed of visible fat does not raise total blood cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels.” And “lean red meat is low in saturated fat, and if consumed in a diet low in SFA (saturated fatty acids), is associated with reductions in LDL-cholesterol in both healthy and hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) subjects.” In conclusion “lean red meat trimmed of visible fat, which is consumed in a diet low in saturated fat does not increase cardiovascular risk factors.”

Conclusion: High protein diets that contain excessive calories and high fat may increase risk factors associated with coronary heart disease. But high protein diets that are low to moderate in calories and saturated fat do not increase risk factors. I generally recommend a few servings of lean red meat each week. Red meat is loaded with micronutrients and is a good source of quality protein.

References

1. Tbk Fitness. How to Prevent Osteoporosis. [Online] September 11, 2009 http://www.tbkfitness.org/Osteoporosis.html

2. Heaney RP, et. al. Effects of nitrogen, phosphorus, and caffeine on calcium balance in women. J lab Clin Med, 99:46-55 1982.

3. Heaney R. Protein intake and bone health: the influence of belief systems and the conduct of nutritional science. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 73,1:5-6 Jan 2001.

4. Li D, et. al. Lean meat and heart health. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 14(2):113-9 2005.

About Jamie Hale

Jamie Hale is a Sports conditioning coach, author, lecturer, outdoor enthusiast and exercise and nutrition consultant. He is the owner and founder of MaxCondition Training, MaxCondition Nutrition and HNE Research Group. He is also a member of Kentucky Association of Science Educators and Skeptics. He has contributed to numerous exercise and sports publications (nationally and internationally) and has authored six books. Jamie is a member of the World Marital Arts Hall of Fame in recognition of his conditioning work with martial artists. In 2008 Jamie’s gym Total Body Fitness, which he owned and operated for eleven years, was featured in Men’s Health as one of the top 30 training facilities in the USA. He is considered by most in the industry as a specialist in agility and comprehensive fitness training. He is also known for his ability to get bodybuilders super lean for competition. Jamie’s scientific approach and critical thinking ability has earned him the nicknames, “The Practical Scientist” and “The Fitness Skeptic”. To learn more about Jamie, visit his websites at www.maxcondition.com and www.knowledgesummit.net

Thanks again to Jamie!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

Nutrition Chat : Cholesterol, Protein, Muscle Growth and More!

Here I talk about the latest research on how to maximize muscle growth through nutrition based on a phone chat I had with Dr. Lonnie Lowery.

You probably know Dr. Lowery from his writings at TMuscle.com (may not be uber work friendly and also Iron Radio.  I encourage you to check out both.

Here we go!

Here I yap about

• Cholesterol -  Is it that Evil?

• mTOR – What the heck is that?  Why do I give a crap?

• Calories Are King!

• How Much Protein?

• Diabetics and Carbs

• Metabolic Flexibility

Let me know what you think and what questions you have!  Post away in the comments!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Q and A Time: How Much Protein Do You Need to Build Muscle?  Is Whey Protein the Best?  Is Glutamine Good?

I have been looking to get some stuff from Protein Factory per your recommendation for post workout and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. A lot of the stuff just confuses me past the regular whey, casein, isolate, concentrate, hydrolysate… So that would be a big help. And is it worth getting the glutamine and creatine dropped in with it?

Just curious, you know more about this one than i do so any info is appreciated!

Dustin Schlichting BS, ATC, CSCS, USAW

Answer:

Hi there Dustin!  Thanks for the comment, and yes, it can get VERY confusing and few people want to sit down and read tons o’ research on new types or protein.  Ok, I do, and I will put my hand down now.  Add to the confusion is very supplement company telling you that their gold micro filtered subfractioned protein from organic goats that live up in the Himalaya is the most anabolic thing you can buy for $90 a bottle since it will add 27 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks!  Ok, so we all know that is bogus!  There is ZERO literature to support it.

Back to the Future: Got Protein?

Protein is good.  Get some first before you go bananas trying to figure out which is best.  Cover the basics first.  Protein has been a key thing for strength trainers for decades.  Make sure you actually LIKE it as the best protein on the planet if it tastes like you are drinking week old cottage cheese gone bad will not do you any good.  You have to consume it first before it can have any effect.

Once you get that down, there are some great proteins that work well, taste good and won’t break your bank.

Got Protein, Now What?  Do I Need Whey Protein?

For post training my favorite is some type of whey protein.  Whey protein has tons of benefits for building muscle and my favorite is CFM Whey as it is high quality and tastes good. If you add enough carbs and sweetner, the Hydrolyzed 1400 is good and does not have any lactose either.  With athletes over the years, I’ve found it to be the most non allergenic of almost all proteins too (rice protein would be high on that list too).  On its own, Hyrdolyzed 1400 (and Hydrolyzed 520 is worse) tastes like crap and mixes just as bad. I get it with vanilla and sucrolose and it is fine, but most don’t care for it.  A hydrolyzed (or hyrdo) protein is one that is broken into very small pieces.  The smaller the number, the more hydrolysis, thus the smaller the pieces (measured in daltons).  The theory goes that the smaller the proteins, the faster it is absorbed and should spike protein synthesis (building muscle processes) higher.   Not sure I am completely sold that yet, but the protein seems to work well; esp if you have allergies.

A slightly cheaper whey protein is Isochill and tastes pretty good too. I have used the TriFX whey and it is good also with a slightly bitter taste if you get it plain with no flavor or sweetner.  Can’t say I notice any huge difference or have found any lit. to show a massive difference to all the different types of whey.   Buy a good high quality one (such as the ones listed above) and add about 20-40 grams around your training time and you are set.

Total Amount of Protein?

Total protein should be around 1 gram per pound of body weight.  Yes I know there is not one piece of literature that comes up with that EXACT amount, but it is pretty close and I like easy math.  Currently i weigh about 215 lbs, so I shoot for about 215 grams of protein per day.   If I get 200 or 240 grams I don’t worry about it.  6 meals a day with about 30-40 grams works great.  No, your kidneys will NOT explode and fly across the room with that amount if you are healthy.   If you want some more benefits of protein, see this newsletter from Dr. John Berardi here JB answers “Is there a limit to protein?”

I love the Precision Nutrition system and use it all the time!

Protein Factory (Click below to order)

Creatine?

You can add creatine to it directly, but I just add it on its own and I buy my creatine from Protein Factory also.  5 gm per day is about all you need. Don’t waste your money on other forms of creatine; just go wtih creatine monohydrate.  Hundreds of studies to show it is safe and effective.  I have personally been using creatine monohydrate since my graduate work at Michigan Tech in about 1995, back when I was in college the first go round – ha!  You can take some time off from it, which is a good idea with any supplement, but taking a small amount on most training days should be just fine.

Glutamine, Don’t Believe the Hype?

Glutamine is worthless. There, I said it.  Most of the studies done to show its “anti catabolic” properties were done initially on burn patients, who break down muscle at an incredibly rate; not a rate seen by even the most hard training athlete. I have not seen one study yet that shows glutamine to help your average gym rat.  If you find one in trained athletes, please post it below as I would seriously like to read it.  Heck, if it works I will report on it here.

Evil Doers of the Gut

You can make an argument that glutamine may help gut health, but I would go with a pro-biotic first then and maybe some special types of fiber (like FOS). Here is a tip, if you or your athletes you work with have been on an antibiotic in the past 1-2 years I would automatically have them use a probiotic.  While antibiotics have there place in medicine, they are like indescriminate killers and they wipe out tons of good and bad bacteria in your gut.  If your gut is left on its own, the bad guys can start to take over.   Kind of like the US in the Middle East.  We could wipe out a whole area, but it may be built up to more “evil doers”; so we would be better off seeding it with new buildings, security and returning it to the people that will take care of it and keep out the evil doers.

Protein Factory

Click on the link below to get all the great products from Protein Factory.  ff you use the links here I make a whole 4%, but every bit helps.  I lost count of how many supplement companies I have turned down offers from since I feel that clients hire me to provide the best to them, not sell them some supplement that I make 50% commission on and they pay for it.   I have not disrespect to anyone that works or sell other supplements, it is just a personal decision that I made only for myself.  If you find a company that you believe it and it helps your athletes, go for it.

Get Protein Here

This can be a confusing area, so drop me some comment love with your thoughts on this article and any questions you have.

Rock on
Mike N