Whey Protein Shortage and Price Increases
Many of you who buy protein supplements will have had a shock while doing your supplement shopping in recent weeks - a big increase in prices! As an example, Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey which previously had an RRP of £39.99 has shot up to £47.99 - meaning typically the online price has gone from £31.99 to £38.39 - a massive 20% increase.
So why is this happening? Basically there is a massive shortage of whey protein worldwide due to a number of factors.
Firstly, dont forget that the bodybuilding supplement markets is very small compared to the babyfood market - which is the #1 consumer of whey protein worldwide. What percentage of the population takes protein supplements? At most 10% perhaps and thats being generous, its probably more like 5 or less. What proportion of the population take milk formula as a baby? Well virtually all of us when we’re that age. So really the protein supplement market is dwarfed by the babyfood market, which pushes it well down the pecking order for whey.
So thats old news and nothing has changed there, but in recent times the demands on the whey protein industry have grown significantly. Previously not big users of whey, China are now becoming more westernised in their diet and are buying up huge supplies. Similar buying patterns are occurring with the Middle East. Add to this a drought in one of the biggest whey producing countries, Australia, meaning decreased whey protein output and you have a real bottle-neck situation. Increased demand meets decreased availability. To cap it all off, constantly rising fuel costs mean its more expensive than ever to import raw materials like whey also - so the end result is that there is less whey to around and its now massively more expensive for supplement manufacturers to buy and use in their products.
What all this means to you, the consumer, is unavoidable increased purchase prices. And the really bad news, is they may not be done yet. There’s word that more increases could be on the way, so if you find a good deal now then stock up.
Dymatize Elite Whey Protein Reviews
Dymatize Elite Whey is one of Europe’s best selling whey protein powders. This is probably due to a) the relative low price to other branded proteins, b) the wide range of flavours (10 of them!) and c) the good protein content. Whilst there are proteins with higher contents to them, Elite Whey represents a good compromise of cost vs quality. It is also one of the least badly hit products in the recent whey protein shortage, with a price rise of only £2.50 on the RRP - from £34.99 to £37.50 - which means typically at most a £2 increase with online stores, with some not raising the price at all in fact.
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Here is what Dymatize have to say about their flagship protein product:
Everyone knows that Dymatize has a reputation for our great tasting high quality protein. The time has finally come for Dymatize to produce a high quality whey protein in a 5 pound size for incredible value. The Elite 5 pounder is the perfect blend of whey protein concentrates, ion-exchange whey protein isolates, and whey peptides. Elite has no added sugar, fructose, salt, or carbohydrates. And Elite now contains a proprietary digestive enzyme blend including Zytrix® to help amplify absorption, and to make Elite even more agreeable to lactose intolerent individuals. With protein being the cornerstone of muscle recovery and growth, what better way to save a few bucks and build your physique than with the Elite 5 pounder from Dymatize.
As always we welcome your views on this supplement - please leave a dymatize elite whey review here:
- Vistor Reviews:
Number of Positive Reviews: 3
Number of Positive Reviews: 2
Kre-Alkalyn/CEE - Science or Scams?
An interesting post has appeared on the blog over at AST Sports Science’s US website regarding Kre-Alkalyn and Creatine Ethyl Ester. AST have long been very sceptical on these allegedly new and improved versions of creatine, and now they seem to have some good scientific research to go towards proving them right. The sources they are quoting are from the 4th International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) annual meeting in Las Vegas, where two studies were presented which examined both these newer versions of creatine and the claims that they are more efficient and safer than creatine monohydrate.
The findings of the two studies were that a) Kre-Alkalyn has no beneficial effect on creatine degredation from creatine to creatinine and b) CEE degrades very rapidly in the stomach. So in short, there seems to be no scientific basis behind the claims these products make to have superior absorption.
For those interested in futher reading please visit:
AST’s blog: http://www.astss.com/blog/default.asp?bm=7&by=2007
and
The original article on the 2 studies: http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=18806&zoneid=28
BSN NO-Xplode Reviews
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BSN NO-Xplode:
From BSN:
BSN NO-Xplode is the world’s first and only pre-workout supplement that produces immediate results in energy, size, strength, pumps, performance, mental focus, and training intensity. You will literally see and feel it working within minutes of taking it!Not only does NO-Xplode start producing results you can see and feel almost immediately, but it also doesn’t require sugar to make it work. In contrast, other creatine products come loaded with fat promoting sugars. They can cause you to gain fat and appear bloated or “puffy”. With NO-Xplode you’ll never feel bloated, retain water, or get fat. Plus, your stomach won’t have any problems absorbing it, which eliminates painful cramps or stomach discomfort! Now even the toughest creatine “non-responder” will experience intense pumps and pack on rock hard muscle!If you’ve taken NO-Xplode, no doubt you’ve experienced its’ profound energy and pump-inducing affects. It is very highly rated within the bodybuilding community and could well be the #1 pre-workout supplement available in the world. Please let us know your views on this immensely popular product below.
If you’ve taken NO-Xplode, no doubt you’ve experienced its’ profound energy and pump-inducing affects. It is very highly rated within the bodybuilding community and could well be the #1 pre-workout supplement available in the world. Please let us know your views on this immensely popular product below.
If you’ve taken NO-Xplode, no doubt you’ve experienced its’ profound energy and pump-inducing affects. It is very highly rated within the bodybuilding community and could well be the #1 pre-workout supplement available in the world. Please let us know your views on this immensely popular product below.
- Vistor Reviews:
Number of Positive Reviews: 5
Number of Positive Reviews: 1
Common Fitness Myths & Realities
The fitness industry is sadly full of misconceptions and misinformation. Some of these things are what used to be believed to be true, has since been proven false but the general public have not caught onto yet. Others are information that the corporate giants help proliferate so that the public will buy whatever products they happen to be selling. In both cases, convincing the majority otherwise is very difficult. Here we examine some of the mis-truths out there in the fitness industry:
Training
Myth: Aerobics are the best way to lose weight and get in shape.
Truth: Aerobics are a poor way of improving your physique. On their own they will do very little to improve body fat levels or muscle tone. Go by any aerobics class in the world then do so again a year later and you’ll see that half of the class will have dropped out and those remaining from the start still look exactly the same. That’s not to say that aerobics are useless, they can improve your cardiovascular health considerably, they’re just not a good way to improve your body. So why do so many people still do so much aerobics and why do the health clubs still run so many classes? Simple - it makes the fitness industry millions of pounds, that’s why. Get 50 - 100 people in one room at a time, charge £3 a time, pay a 17 year old school leaver with minimum fitness qualifications £5 to get them to bounce around for an hour and you’ve made up to £300 for virtually nothing. The fitness industry knows aerobics are poor for shaping the body, but it’s too good a money spinner to stop.
Myth: So long as I diet, I don’t need to train to lose fat.
Truth: If you lose weight by diet alone, you will lose weight, but most of it won’t be fat. At most 20-40% might be fat, but for the most part you will actually lose lean body weight. If you lose lean tissue then your body weight will drop but your fat weight will stay the same so your percentage of body fat will actually rise. This means you actually get technically ‘fatter’.
Myth: Cardiovascular exercise is the only way to burn body fat.
Truth: Perhaps the best way to burn body fat is actually training with weights. Training with weights can burn 700 calories in an hour if done properly and will help tone and build your muscles. This is not the only way that lifting weights burns calories and hence burns fat. Muscle requires more calories to survive than fat does. If you put on one pound of muscle, that pound will burn an extra 40 calories a day to survive. That’s 40 more calories a day without even exercising! So you’re burning extra fat while doing nothing! Over a year that pound of muscle will burn an additional 14600 calories a year. It takes 3500 calories to burn a pound of fat, so by gaining a pound of muscle you will burn an extra four pounds of fat a year – doing nothing! Good deal don’t you think? One pound of muscle isn’t very much at all. Imagine how much more fat you will burn with five pounds of extra muscle - ten pounds - more! That’s more fat than you’d burn sitting on a stationary bicycle for hours on end. And remember those calories counters on cardio equipment? Rubbish! Divide that figure they show by four and you’re getting close- those counters measure mechanical calories not the thermal calories the body uses!
Myth: If women lift weights they get big, muscular and masculine.
Truth: Women do not have enough of the male steroid – testosterone – in their bodies naturally to grow big muscles. This myth comes from seeing female bodybuilders who take steroids and become masculine. If normal, non steroid taking, women lift weights as prescribed in a good exercise program they will tone and firm their muscles, become leaner and actually look more feminine.
Myth: Weight training workouts are long, boring and tortuous.
Truth: Any workout is what you make of it. If you put your heart into it and perform the exercises correctly and within your ability then weight training can be very enjoyable. Weight training sessions don’t need to be long. In fact they are better if kept to 45 minutes or less. For many people two or three 30 to 45 minute sessions a week will work wonders.
Myth: If I want to train, I need to go to an expensive, health club chain.
Truth: Many smaller gyms offer just as good a training experience as large health clubs, but for more reasonable prices and without minimum term contracts
Myth: If I want personal training or a fitness program, I need to go to a big health club because they have the best instructors.
Truth: In reality, the larger health clubs actually tend to have the least qualified instructors. Becoming an instructor is very easy these days, with the abundance of ‘cash cow’ weekend courses where anyone who can afford the course gets the qualification. These raw, inexperienced instructors are very attractive to chain health clubs, because they will work for lower wages. Independent gyms and fitness centres, on the other hand, are generally run by people who have years of experience, take great pride in what they do and the results they achieve. Ever been to a big health club chain and got a program using exclusively machines? That’s because many of their instructors don’t know how to safely perform free weight exercises. Plus there is less risk of injury on machines and by keeping you to these they lower their risk of facing insurance claims. Having worked for probably the most well known chain in England, I can tell you that the programs they give to members vary very little from one to another. How can this be right? How can you give the same program to a twenty year old male and a forty five year old female? Believe me, I’ve seen it done. I used to work with instructors who never used barbells or dumbbells so never included them in the programs they wrote. Bear in mind that this was at one of the best clubs of this particular chain as well!
Myth: Professional bodybuilders make the best trainers and if I follow their routines in the magazines I’ll get the same physique as them.
Truth: Professional bodybuilders are uniquely gifted individuals whose genetic distribution of muscle fibres are greatly superior to the average person and is usually improved even further by chemical assistance. What works for them, more often than not won’t work for normal people. In reality they can often make the worse trainers because they don’t know how to effectively train normal people who have an average amount of muscle fibres and normal recovery rates and don’t take steroids.
Myth: Only beginners need personal training.
Truth: Even personal trainers need personal training! A good personal trainer can correct mistakes that you can’t see, help you train more intensely and effectively, suggest alterations and routines that you wouldn’t think of, and give you impartial views on your progress. Have you been training with weights for a long time but have hit a rut? Have you tried periodization? It consists of a several training periods put together, that work the muscles using different techniques (power, endurance, circuits, bodybuilding) to shock the muscles into further growth. Been exercising for years but can’t shift those last few inches? Been doing hundreds of situps? Forget them and learn the most effective way of training the stomach and why being able to see your six pack has very little to do with the training itself and more to do with nutrition.
Nutrition
Myth: If I starve myself I’ll lose weight and get lean.
Truth: If you starve yourself you’ll lose a little weight to begin with, but since it’ll all be muscle you’ll actually have a slightly higher body fat percentage. Then your metabolism will drop drastically and when you resume normal eating you’ll put on a large amount of fat.
Myth: I need to eat less often to get slim.
Truth: You need to eat MORE often to get slim. Eating more often will raise your metabolic rate so you’ll burn more calories all day long. The western way of eating two or three large meals a day is not a healthy way to live. Look at animals – the ones who eat only a few large meals a day are generally fat (e.g. pigs) whilst those that graze are lean (e.g. horses). By cutting your meal sizes in two, but eating twice as often (five or six small meals a day) you use your calories much more effectively and less will be stored as fat. The body can only process so much of what you eat at any one time. Anything over this is stored as fat, that’s why you should eat little and often.
Myth: To lose fat I need to go to a slimming club or fat loss clinic.
Truth: The only pounds you’ll lose permanently from these places are those from your wallet. A few years ago, in America, the four main fat loss clubs were criminally indicted by congress and charged with unfair practices. The same thing should happen over here, but our legal system isn’t strong enough to tackle these kinds of issues. Slimming clubs make their money by getting members and making them keep coming back. They turn their members into what is called yo-yo dieters, by putting them on crash diets that they can only manage for a few weeks. After this few weeks they resume normal eating and end up back where they started or often worse. During the congress trial, the following example was used: A man went to one of the indicted clubs weighing 200lbs with 30% bodyfat. This means he only weighed 140lbs (ten stones) without his fat. After following the club’s program he lost 30lbs in six weeks. Not bad you may think, but his bodyfat remained at 30% so he now only has 119lbs of lean weight. In other words he may have lost 9lbs of fat but he lost 21lbs of muscle and remained just as unhealthy. After finishing the six weeks he returned to normal eating and before he knew it he was back up to his old weight but now with 35% of body fat. So the end results was that for over $400 he had lost ten pounds of muscle and gained ten pounds of fat. Slimming clubs and fat loss clinics are not smart places to go to get in shape.
Myth: My meals should all be of equal size.
Truth: When you eat a meal, first think about what you are going to do in the next few hours. If you’re about to have a nap then you only need a small number of calories. If you’re going to the gym you may need as many as 800 or more. Consider what would happen if you did the opposite. If you ate 800 calories then slept, you’d use up to around 300 then store the rest as fat. If you ate 100 calories then went to the gym and burnt up 700 calories, then your body would use the 100 from food then would have to break up 600 from your body (most likely from your muscles). Each meal should correlate with what your activity levels will be for the next few hours wherever possible.
Supplements
Myth: All health supplements do exactly what they say on the can.
Truth: A number of supplements are ineffective and some are plain scams. Many supplements claim that they have been proved to be stronger than the steroid dianabol. These claims always reference one freak study on dianabol that resulted in no muscle gains in its’ subjects. It neglects to mention the many other studies that show steroids work extremely well, but suddenly every new supplement is using this one study to claim that it is stronger than steroids. Nothing is ever stronger than steroids, but they are both illegal and dangerous. When reading articles on supplements always consider the source of the material and what’s in it for them for you to believe what they are saying. Remember a few years ago there was a load of people saying how great soya protein was? Do you think it might have had something to do with a whey protein shortage at that time?
Myth: All supplements are useless.
Truth: Many supplements work very well. So long as you choose a good manufacturer you can get some great products. Whey proteins, weight gainers, meal replacements, fat burners and multivitamins are the safest bets, but there are many other innovative products that work.
Myth: Women don’t need supplements, only bodybuilders use them.
Truth: Women absolutely need or could use supplements. Meal replacement powders and bars in particular can make life so much easier. If you’re going to follow our advice of six meals a day, it’s much easier to fill your quota by using meal replacements for two of the meals. The ones made by sports supplement companies are considerably better and more nutritious than those made by fat loss companies. Getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need can be difficult sometimes; supplements can help you out with that. There are also several excellent fat burners in our store that can aid your physique goals also.
Powerlifting - The Dead Lift
The deadlift brings almost every muscle group in the body into play, with the spinal erectors and hamstrings being the main prime movers. The traditional style deadlift begins with a loaded barbell resting on the floor. The lifter steps close to the barbell with feet shoulder width apart. As the lifter squats down to grip the bar the hips should be as close to the bar as possible, the lower back arched and the bar very close to the shins. The shoulder blades should not be pulled back and together as some suggest, this merely increases the distance to pull the weight and over stresses the trapezius. In fact the shoulders should be slightly rounded. The hips should not be too low to the ground in the start position. Many people make the mistake of starting low, and it results in a large amount of wasted movement as their hips travel back up to the point where the weight actually starts to leave the floor.From this start position, as much air as possible should be drawn into the belly (not the chest as expanding the rib cage increases lifting distance) before using leg and back power to lift upwards. The deadlift has the lifter and the weight in a kind of pendulum, the weight is pushing down and pulling the lifter forward whilst the lifter is leaning back and lifting the weight up. This counterbalancing needs to be understood before attempting a lift. To lift that weight you have to pull the bar back and lean backwards into the lift. At first it may feel as if you will fall backwards but this wont happen as the barbell will balance you out. The way to achieve this pulling back of the bar is to drive the weight through your heels, keep your shoulders behind the bar and keep your eyes focused on a spot a few metres above eye level. During the lift, back and legs should work synergistically to create one smooth movement. Many people who do not master the proper technique first lock out their legs then peform the last part of the motion with their back alone (as in a stiff legged deadlift). This is not only dangerous for the lower back with heavy weights but it would also fail in a competition as it counts as two movements. To successfully complete the lift, the lifter must pull the bar back and up far enough that they lock out in an upright position with shoulders pulled back. This is most successfully completed by thrusting the hips forward to bring both the bar and shoulders backwards. As in the Bench Press, when the bar is being lifted it must at no time start to lower back down again else the lift will not count.
The alternative method of deadlifting is the ’sumo’ deadlift - so called because the only major difference is a sumo style wide stance. In the sumo version, the feet are placed up to two shoulder widths apart and the arms hang imbetween the legs. There are several biomechanical advantages to this version, the biggest being a shorter distance through which to lift the bar and not having to bend the torso so far forward. Ultimately it comes down to personal preference and which the individual finds easier to perform.
Stretch Reflex - Discussed in more detail in the bench press section, the stretch reflex is an important consideration for powerlifters. When a muscle is stretched close to its maximum, it contracts forcefully - this is called the stretch reflex. In other words, during the eccentric phase of a lift as the weight is lowered, the prime movers are stretched and at the bottom of this phase the stretch reflex aids in making the muscles contract and lift the weight back up. In the deadlift, there is no eccentric portion of the repetition because you lift the bar from a dead stop, you don’t lower it then lift it. Therefore there is no real stretch reflex. It is argued that by rocking the hips slightly a small stretch reflex can be created, but this is unlikely to make a large difference to the lift. For dynamic strength there is no greater test than the deadlift.
A Typical Training Program For Deadlift
A common mistake in the deadlift is to try to train heavy all of the time. Many lifters rarely do more than four repetitions of the lift. Training at submaximal levels will however create greater increases in strength than training at full throttle week in week out. Similar to the periodization program for bench press, a steady progression over a twelve week period from higher reps to low reps is the most commonly used method. Rather than start with ten sets of ten reps in the deadlift though only six sets are performed as it such a taxing lift that more than six sets would probably be overtraining for most people. The program would look something like this:
6 sets of 10 reps for two weeks
6 sets of 8reps for two weeks
6 sets of 6reps for two weeks
5 sets of 5 reps for two weeks
4 sets of 4 reps for two weeks
3 sets of 3 reps for two weeks
As the reps go down, increase the weights. This workout need only be performed once a week. Try incorporating this sequence with ancilliary work for the back, for instance lat pulldowns, barbell and dumbbell rows and machine rows.
Once the twelve week program has finished, take a week off to allow the body to recover then start again.
Other Training Methods
A common exercise done to increase deadlifting strength is the partial deadlift where the lift is done in a power rack with the bars set at varying heights. This can help improve lockout technique, as well as grip and back strength. More weight can generally be used in partial deadlifts so the lifter can use this exercise to become accustomed to performing at least part of the lift with the heavier weight before attempting a full deadlift at the same weight. Partial deadlifts are an invaluable tool, and many find it useful to perform them in place of regular deadlifts once every three to four weeks.
Dorian Yates Ultimate Protein Reviews
Dorian Yates surprised the whole supplement industry recently by severing his long-time ties with CNP (formerly Chemical Nutrition, formerly Chemical Warfare) and striking out with his own brand - Dorian Yates Ultimate Formulas. Initial buzz on the brand has been fantastic with NOX Pump getting superb reviews for its pump-inducing affect whilst the early feedback on the taste of the protein products is superb. We’ve been lucky enough to try a sample of the Dorian Yates Ultimate Protein today and thought we’d give our feedback.
The flavour we had was banana, and I must say the taste was excellent. The label claims it contains real banana flavouring and no artificial flavours/sweeteners whatsoever, and it certainly tastes the most authentic banana flavour supplement I’ve had. Mixability-wise, I used a regular shaker cup and despite it being very thick powder it mixed very well indeed. The mouthfeel was good and it didnt lie heavy on the stomach either.
In terms of ingredients, its all very high quality. To be honest, it doesnt seem that different from CNP’s Pro Peptide except you get 5g more protein (same carbs and fat) and it contains CLA. Price-wise, its a little expensive at £26.36 for a 2lb tub or £37.56 for 1.5kg. In fact its quite strange that they’ve chosen to price it more expensive than CNP when thats their most obvious competition.
Overall I give the product an 8/10 rating, dragged down a little by the poor economy of the tub. Some 2lb tubs for around £25-39 arent so bad if you are geting 30+ servings, but for only 11 servings its no affordable for a large portion of the buying market.
Here’s Dorian Yates Ultimate Formulas’ product information:
“For gaining lean muscle, nothing else comes close! Formulated for optimum absorption and results, using only the highest quality, undenatured protein combination for maximum growth factors.” Dorian Yates, 6 time Mr. Olympia.
Dorian Yates’ Ultimate PROTEIN Formula provides the optimal balance of sustained release protein fractions, peptides and amino acids for maximum anti-catabolic activity, muscle growth and exercise performance. The scientifically proven ingredients work to maximize the muscle building and fat reducing effects of your training. “
Please feel free to leave your views on this supplement.
- Vistor Reviews:
Number of Positive Reviews: 2
Number of Positive Reviews: 0
Powerlifting - The Squat
Squatting involves a heavy barbell being loaded across the trapezius and shoulders and the lifter bending at hip and knee to lower the whole body to a position where the upper legs are slightly below parallel to the floor with the back maintained in a straight position with an arch in the spinal erectors, then rise back up to the start position. The lowering portion is the eccentric phase whilst the rising back up is the concentric portion.
To begin the squat, load a barbell up in the power rack or squat rack. Walk into the rack and position yourself with the bar resting on the trapezius muscles - not the neck itself! Take a wide hand grip and a medium to wide stance. Lift up to take the bar off the rack (with the help of spotters if necessary) and take one or two steps backwards. Bending at the waist and knees, whilst keeping the back flat, lower the bar towards the ground making sure not to allow the knees to come too far forward of the toes (to avoid stress being placed on the knee cap). Keep the weight driving through the heels of the feet and do not allow the bar to make you fall forward. To assist with this, fix the gaze at a point between eye level when standing and the ceiling and keep your head fixed in place. Don’t look down and forward else the bar may well follow you! At the bottom of the squat the upper legs should be slightly below parallel to the ground. At this point most of the weight is being supported by the glutes and hamstrings (this is why people who don’t squat all the way down often have poor hamstrings!) From here drive the weight up by contracting the hamstrings and quadriceps and thrusting the hips forward at the top. For correct breathing, suck air into your belly at the start of the lift, then lower down holding your breath if possible. After a short pause at the bottom, breath out strongly to aid in the exertion of all that force to bring the weight back up to lockout. Some may find this difficult at first and should instead breathe in whilst lowering and breathe out on rising
The Stretch Reflex - as discussed in the bench press article, the stretch reflex occurs when a muscle is stretched close to its maximum, for instance in the eccentric portion of an exercise. This reflex makes the muscle that is stretched contract forcefully which aids in the concentric portion of a movement. Since there is no mandatory pause at the bottom of a competition squat (unlike a competition bench press) the stretch reflex does aid in the performance of a squat. In the case of this lift, the stretch reflex occurs in the hamstrings and quadriceps since at the bottom of the squat they are stretched, so contract via the stretch reflex to aid in returning the lifter to the upright position. The use of knee wraps creates a further stretch reflex - this time in the material of the wraps. A similar effect is caused by wearing a tight squat suit. All of these things assist in getting the lifter out of that ‘dead zone’ at the bottom of the lift.
There are few specialist methods of training for the squat (as opposed to negative reps, partials, lockout work, for bench and deadlift). Some powerlifters train with the bands that fix from the bar to the rack, but for the most part it’s as simple as squatting heavy and often! As usual Periodization is the best method of training going from high numbers of sets and reps to low ones whilst progressively increasing weight. The section below details a typical periodization program for the squat which is very similar to that for the bench press.
A Training Program For Squat
Perform Squats for the following number of sets and reps over a 12 week period
10 sets of 10 reps for two weeks
9 sets of 9 reps for two weeks
8 sets of 8 reps for two weeks
7 sets of 7 reps for two weeks
6 sets of 6 reps for two weeks
5 sets of 5 reps for two weeks
As the reps go down, increase the weights. Peform the workout once a week only. For the first two weeks, ten sets of ten squats is probably taxing enough for the legs without including ancilliary movments. At either week 3 or 5 try to bring in movements like leg extensions and leg curls to improve overall leg strength. The leg press can be used in moderation also. A typical leg workout would be as follows:
Squats See Above
Leg Extensions 3 x 8-12
Leg Curls 3 x 8
Leg Presses (every other week) 3 x 8
Once the twelve week program has finished, take a week off to allow the body to recover then start again. This kind of periodization trainig will pay off better for most in the long run than training flat out doing low reps and heavy weights all of the time. The most important aspect of squat training, especially for competition, is to make sure to go below parallel with the thighs. Not only is this the only way that a lift will be passed in competition but it is also less hazardous to the knees than half squats since at the bottom the stress is loaded onto the glutes and hamstrings whereas in half squats the knees take the stress. Many of those guys you hear complaining of knee injuries from squatting have their poor form to really blame rather than the squat itself.
Maximuscle Cyclone Reviews
Maximuscle Cyclone ‘All-In-One’ formula is a tremendously popular product that combines protein, creatine, glutamine and HMB. The RRP is £39.99, but most online shops sell it for around £31.99 - making it expensive but convenient and high quality. Here is Maximuscle’s sales pitch:
“Maximuscle’s Cyclone™ is a superb product that delivers results felt within seven days. It supplies your body with a unique combination of whey protein and vital nutrients neededby your body to support muscle growth, strength and recovery while training hard. After intense training, Cyclone™ accelerates muscle refuelling, with faster recovery of glycogen stores than carbohydrates alone.
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No other formula on the market contains the potent combination of BiomaxTM whey, creatine monohydrate, glutamine, 97% Beta-Ecdysterone, along with patent pending creatine and glutamine absorption systems specially created to deliver optimum results in conjunction with your weight training regime”
We invite our visitors to submit your user reviews on Maximuscle Cyclone below.
- Vistor Reviews:
Number of Positive Reviews: 34
Number of Positive Reviews: 2
Powerlifting - The Bench Press
In the first of three articles looking at the powerlifts - we are going to examine in detail the bench press and how to increase your poundages in this popular lift. Master this most powerful of upper body lifts and your bodybuilding progress will rocket.
A bench press, in it’s true competition form, can be best fully described as follows:
The lifter lays on the bench face up. Feet must be flat on the floor and throughout the lift the position of the lifters torso and legs should not change. Arching of the back is allowed so long as the arching takes place before the lift and during the course of the lift does not alter. Arching can perform an assistive function in that it draws the scapulae together, shortening the distance through which the bar must be pushed. The lifter takes an overhand grip on the bar that is slightly wider than shoulder width. Width of grip is optional and offers different benefits. A wide grip reduces the distance the bar has to travel and gives a greater stretch in the pectorals. A narrow grip involves the triceps more (only a benefit in those with strong triceps!) and some believe helps to generate more force out of the bottom position. There are rules on how wide the grip is allowed to be and an excessively wide grip will be failed.
Once set on a lifting position, the lifter can unrack the bar from above their head themselves, or have it lifted out for them by the spotters. Once the bar is released by the spotters the judges will instruct the lifter to commence the lift. From here the lifter lowers it to the lower chest. At this point the bar must rest on the lifter’s chest for an obvious pause or the lift will be failed. The bar must not sink further into the lifters chest after the pause. The lifter must then press the bar back up until the elbows lock out and hold it there until taken by the spotters. On the press up the extension of the arms must be even. The bar must also not fall back towards the chest at any time else the lift will be failed.
The Stretch Reflex
- this is an important term for powerlifters although not all of them are aware of it. When a muscle is stretched close to its maximum, it contracts forcefully - this is called the stretch reflex. For instance in the bench press, when the bar is lowered to the chest and then pressed out without a pause (i.e. not in competition) the initial burst of strength at the bottom of the lift comes from the strength reflex of both the pectoral and latissimus muscles.
In competition the stretch reflex is virtually negated by the pause that is required at the bottom of a bench press. The most successful bench pressers are those that learn to preserve the stretch reflex by keeping the muscles taught even during the pause. However, to compensate for the lack of stretch reflex that most lifters suffer in competition benching, a good training method is to set up a bench press in a power rack, with the racks set so that the bar stops just above the chest. From here press the weight to full extension, then lower, pause and repeat. By effectively benching without the negative part of the repetition you are lifting from a dead stop. This will develop dynamic strength in your pectoral muscle fibres and help to ‘teach’ the fibres to create explosive force after the pause in competition.
Another way to compensate for the lack of stretch reflex in competition is the ever more frequent use of bench shirts. These are extremely tight fitting, tough fabric shirts that force the lifters shoulders forward, and when the bar is lowered to the chest creates such a stretch in the material that the fabric has its own kind of stretch reflex that creates an initial momentum to get the bar off the lifters chest. The only problem with these shirts, besides that they are difficult to put on, is that many are getting so tight now that the users find it difficult to lower the bar to their chest and/or keep a long enough pause.
Negative Reps
A useful method of increasing strength on the bench press is to include negative reps in the training program. The muscles are capable of lifting more weight on the eccentric part of an exercise than on the concentric part. In bench pressing this means that a person can lower more weight to their chest than they can press from their chest to lockout. To help build overall strength in the lift, load the bar with more than you can press and have one or two spotters lift it out of the rack for you, then allow you to carefully, slowly lower the bar to your chest. They then pull the weight back up and repeat. Generally four repetitions is the most that you would want to do in a set of this exercise. Negative reps should only be used occasionally to shock the muscles into a little bit of growth.
Other training methods
Some of the more outlandish training methods that can be used to aid the bench press include the use of chains laid over each end of the bar or bungees wrapped around the bar and fixed to the rack to provide increasing resistance with height from the chest (this aids with lockout strength). More usual methods generally mean the use of ancilliary exercises for the chest, shoulders and triceps to improve overall upper body strength. Many lifters find triceps to be a weak point, hence they have difficulty locking the weight out. Others find that the shoulders cause them to fail a few inches above the chest. Identifying weak areas is the first place to start when trying to increase bench press strength. Once the weak point is established then perhaps an extra training day a week could be applied to that weak area (e.g. an extra day of training the shoulders).
A Typical Specialist Training Program For Increasing Bench Press
Perform Bench Press for the following number of sets and reps over a 12 week period
10 sets of 10 reps for two weeks
9 sets of 9 reps for two weeks
8 sets of 8 reps for two weeks
7 sets of 7 reps for two weeks
6 sets of 6 reps for two weeks
5 sets of 5 reps for two weeks
As the reps go down, increase the weights. Peform the workout once or twice a week depending on other training (e.g. squat and deadlift) and recovery abilities. If concentrating on bench press, do the workout twice if your body can handle it, if doing all three lifts only train bench once a week. Incorporate this bench sequence with the ancillary exercises as below.
Bench Press See Above
Incline Press 3 x 12
DB Flyes 3 x 12
Front DB Raises 3 x 8
Side DB Raises 3 x 8
Tricep Pressdowns 4 x 12-6
Once the twelve week program has finished, take a week off to allow the body to recover then start again. Some powerlifters prefer to train heavy all the time, rarely going over five reps, but this kind of rotation is the most successful method for most.
Weak Point Training
Shoulders - if shoulders are a weak point then drop the shoulder training from the bench day routine and have a seperate day for training shoulders. Include front barbell presses for anterior (front) and lateral (side) deltoids, front raises, side raises, and upright rows.
Triceps - if triceps are the weak point, then create an extra training day for this muscle group, whether on their own or with biceps or even shoulders or back. Do lying extensions (skull crushers), seated dumbbell extensions, close grip bench press and tricep cable pressdowns with a bar or rope.